Chapter One<br >"OKAY， I WANT an explanation and I want one now，" Dusty<br >MacKanley demanded irascibly as he paced the suddenly<br >immaculate living room of his century-old ranch house. He<br >regarded his children sternly. "What in blue blazes is going<br >on here?"<br > "What makes you think there s something going on，<br >Daddy?" twelve-year-old Lily asked， as she pushed her<br >glasses higher on the bridge of her nose.<br > "Maybe the fact that all five of my children are lined up<br >like ducks in a row， dressed in their Sunday best. On a<br >Monday afternoon. And the house is cleaned up."<br > "We re just trying to ~elp，" sixteen-year-old Jason said，<br >giving Dusty a look of choirboy innocence， as he took a<br >comb out of his back pocket and smoothed his straight dark<br >brown hair. "You know， now that we re on summer vaca-<br >tion and everything."<br > "Uh-huh." Dusty looked at his kids suspiciously. "You<br >guys think I was born yesterday? Is that it?"<br > "No， sir，" they said in unison.<br > " We know how old you are，" five-year-old Billy piped up.<br >"You were thirty-eight on your last birthday!"<br > " Shh! You know you re not supposed to mention that!"<br >eight-year-old Susie scolded.<br > "Yeah，" SaUie chimed in， taking her twin s side imme-<br >diately. "Stop that or you re going to make Daddy feel old!"<br > The truth was， Dusty already felt old. And barely able to<br >cope. Which was why he d been thinking about getting<br >Dear Fairy Godmother<br >married again. It was becoming increasingly<br >kids needed a mother. No one could replace<br >affections， of course. But he couldn t help but<br >be nice to have a woman in the house again， he<br >herd on the kids.<br > "The twins are right. Daddy is in good sha<br >tinued， looking at Dusty as if he needed som~<br >ing.<br > "For someone his age， anyway，" Jason ad<br > " Thanks a lot，" Dusty said dryly.<br > "Come on， Daddy. You know what we me<br >tested with a blush.<br > Yeah， Dusty did. Hard physical labor k，<br >three inches of him fit and trim. As usual， i<br >long between haircuts， but his dark brown<br >pnlously clean beneath his black felt Stetson，<br >jaw was clean-shaven and dabbed lightly wit<br > "But maybe you might want to get dressec<br >lie added slyly.<br > "Why?" Dusty s blue eyes swept his scut~<br >jeans and pale blue Western shirt. "What s<br >way I m dressed?" he asked， incensed.<br > Guilty looks were exchanged， but no one ，~<br > The sound of a car door slamming made tl<br >up expectantly. Dusty strode to the window<br >planation. Only it wasn t a car he reco~niTed<br >a rental. And the person driving it had alrea<br > Frowning， Dusty strode to the front dooJ<br >open before the beU had even rung. He stopl<br >tracks as he stared at the vision of loveliness i<br >It had been--what?--nearly eighteen year.<br >come face-to-face with Meg Winthrop， and y，<br >so little had changed. At thirty-eight， she wa.，<br >most beautiful women he had ever seen. Tag<br ><br >