Stella Bagwell - Daddy's Double Duty

Vanessa glanced down at herself. She was still wearing the simple pink sheathe she’d started out with this morning, minus the matching bolero sweater, but it was wrinkled and even without the aid of a mirror she knew her hair was blown to a tumbled mess. “I really don’t feel like dressing up for dinner, Conall. You go on without me.”

He chuckled and the sound took her by surprise. He was a man who rarely laughed and when he did it was usually about something that she didn’t find amusing. Now as she looked at him, she was jarred by his jovial attitude.

“Have you taken a look at me?” he asked. “I’m wearing jeans.”

Dragging her gaze away from the charming grin on his lips, she slowly inspected the blue denim encasing his muscled thighs and the pair of brown alligator boots he wore. He was one of those few men who looked comfortable dressed up or down, which meant he would probably look even better without any clothes at all.

Dear, God, what was she doing? Now wasn’t the time for those sorts of indecent thoughts, she scolded herself. As far as Conall went, there would never be a time for them. And she had more important issues to focus on. Like two little tots with golden-red hair and blue eyes.

“I am hungry,” she admitted. For food. Not for a man like him, she mentally added.

“Great. There’s a little restaurant right across the street that looks good.”

“Just give me a moment to fetch my purse and sweater from the room,” she told him.

A few minutes later, they were seated at a small table in a family-type restaurant that featured Italian dishes. Vanessa ordered ravioli while Conall chose steak and pasta. As they waited for their salads and drinks to be served, Conall glanced around the long room decorated with early dated photos of Las Vegas and simple, home-style tables covered in brightly striped cloths.

Seated directly across from him, Vanessa asked, “Is this place not to your liking? We can always find another restaurant.”

Surprised by her suggestion, he turned his gaze on her. “I’m perfectly satisfied. Why do you ask?”

One of her slender shoulders lifted and fell in a negligible way. “I don’t know. The way you were looking around and frowning.”

“I frown all the time.” A wry smile touched one corner of his mouth. “At least, that’s what my mother tells me.”

“Mothers don’t like to see their children frown,” she reasoned. “Mine never did. She always told me to smile and count my blessings.”

As Conall’s gaze dwelled on his secretary’s face, he was surprised at how easy and pleasurable it was to look at her and be in her company. He’d not expected to enjoy any part of this trip. He’d only done it because she was a woman alone and in need, and she was a dedicated employee. But he was quickly discovering that Vanessa was more than an efficient secretary, she was a lovely woman and, like it or not, desire was beginning to stir in him for the first time in a long, long time.

“You must miss your mother terribly,” he said. “I was surprised when I heard about her passing. The last time I’d seen her in church she seemed very spry.”

Her gaze suddenly dropped to the tabletop, but Conall didn’t miss the sadness on her face. The image bothered him almost as much as her tears had yesterday. And for some reason he felt guilty for not attending Mrs. Valdez’s funeral services. Even though he’d not known the woman personally, he should have made the effort for Vanessa’s sake. But at that time, she’d not been working as his secretary; she’d merely been a past acquaintance, who’d left the valley years ago.

“Yes. Mama appeared to be a picture of health. That made her sudden heart attack even harder to take,” she said quietly, then lifted her gaze back to him. “Her death was one of the main reasons I left Las Vegas and returned to Tinnie. I missed the end of my mother’s life. I want to be around for my father as much as I can before… he leaves me.”

Other than the twins, she certainly didn’t have much in the way of family. The idea troubled Conall, although he wasn’t sure why. Plenty of people he knew had lost their parents or were lacking family of any kind and they didn’t necessarily garner his sympathy. At least, not the deep sort of regret he felt for Vanessa.

“You gave up a very good job to return to your family home and your father,” he commented. “I have to admire you for that, Vanessa.”

Her eyes were full of doubt as they connected with his.

“I’m not sure that I made the most sensible decision, Conall. I did have a good job and a little house in a nice part of town. Materially speaking, I had much more here in Vegas than I ever had in the valley. But.” Pausing, she let out a long sigh. “Money isn’t a cure-all.”

No one knew that any better than Conall. Money couldn’t change the fact that a childhood fever had killed his chances to ever father a child of his own. Nor had money been able to fix his shattered marriage. In fact, being rich had only compounded the problems he’d endured with Nancy. But since his divorce he’d tried his best to bury those painful personal details. They certainly weren’t matters he wanted to discuss with a woman, and that included Vanessa.

“You’re not worried about the twins’ financial future, are you?” he asked. “Hope’s life insurance appears to have left them set up nicely for college.”

“I’m not worried about the financial part of this,” she replied. “My parents raised six children. Surely I can manage two.”

“But you’re not married,” he pointed out.

From the stiff line of her shoulders to the purse of her lips, everything about her looked offended by his comment.

“You think having a man around would be a help?”

The bitterness in her short laugh was something he’d never heard from her before. The idea that this gentle woman might hold any sort of hard streak inside her took him by surprise. “I’m a man,” he answered. “I like to think we’re a helpful gender.”

Frowning, her gaze left his to travel to an insignificant spot across the room. “Look, Conall, I’ve already had one husband I had to support, I don’t want another. I can do just fine without that added burden.”

So she’d ended up marrying a man just like her parasitic brothers. No wonder there was bitterness on her tongue. But how and why had she made such a mistake in judgment? He would have thought she’d seen enough freeloading men to spot one at first glance.

Yeah. Just like you’d been able to spot Nancy’s twisted character. You didn’t use good judgment with her, either. You allowed love to lead you around. And around. Until you were walking down a path of destruction .

Clearing his throat, he tried to ignore the mocking voice going off inside him. “I wasn’t trying to suggest—”

Shaking her head, she interrupted, “Forget it, please. I… didn’t mean to sound so catty. It’s just that after Jeff… Well, I resent the idea of being told I need a man.”

Like he resented his family telling him he needed another woman in his life, Conall thought. Hell, getting hooked up with another woman like Nancy would finish him. And finding a nice, family-oriented woman that he could love wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Oh, he’d tried. Once the initial blow of his divorce was over, he’d returned to the dating scene and attempted to put his heart into starting his life over with another woman. But as soon as he made it clear that he couldn’t father children, all his dates had backed away from him. Sure, for the most part they’d all been kind and empathetic to his problem, but in the end none of them had wanted to start out their lives with a man that couldn’t give them a family of their own. After a while, Conall had grown so weary of being rejected over and over that he’d finally given up on finding love, marriage and anything in between. And for the past few years he’d pretty much convinced himself that he was better off being alone and focusing all his attention to his job.