[Carrigans of the Circle C 03] • Close to Her Heart

Dani Carrigan has always relied on logic when making important life decisions, but when she discovers she's pregnant - and that there's a chance her baby may be born "not perfect" - logic lets her down.

It would help if the baby's father would pop the question, but widowed father Adrian seems more interested in protecting his six-year-old daughter than committing to his new relationship with Dani. The last time she felt this alone and scared was when she was 16 and her mother died, leaving Dani to raise her younger sisters with precious little help from her distant and disapproving rancher father. She felt so inadequate then, but is she any more prepared to be a mother now?

Support comes from an unlikely source. Dani always saw her next-door neighbour and friend, divorce attorney Elliot Gilmore, as a charming, handsome, playboy-type. But with each challenge she faces, from pregnancy, to delivery and beyond - Elliot reveals himself a better man than she ever guessed.

Is it possible that Elliot hasn't been playing the field - but waiting for her?