Best of Janet Dailey - Bed of Grass & Heart of Stone
BED OF GRASS At the age of 18, wild and somewhat delinquent Valerie Wentworth has a stormy affair with 28 year old wealthy playboy neighbour Judd Prescott, who though sexually obsessed with her, keeps her hidden as his sexual-toy little 'secret', never publicly taking her out or acknowledging their relationship. Predictably, she gets pregnant and her grandfather, who took responsibility for her on her parents' deaths, kicks her out. She then lives the next 7 years raising her son Tadd in poverty, trying to get some qualifications and build a better life for the two of them. When her grandfather dies, leaving her his modest horse stud and breeding farm, she returns to Maryland and runs into Judd again. All these years, he'd believed her grandfather's 'respectable' story on why Valerie left the stud farm, supposedly having met some man, married him and settled to a life of happy wedded bliss with a young son. Problems ensue, with Judd believing she's still married - but then he finds out the truth..... HEART OF STONE Brock is a hardened womaniser, set on seducing innocent Stephanie, the new Bookkeeper at his New Hampshire Hotel resort, one of a chain he owns. He turns up with his current mistress, Helen, in tow, not hiding that they're sharing a room, but still pursues Stephanie. When he feels close to a real commitment to her, he pretends to take up with Helen again and have Stephanie find them together, so she will leave the New Hampshire hotel and break with him permanently - but - he almost loses her in an accident and decides he really loves her.....hmmmm, not a convincing romance.