Stella Bagwell - Daddy's Double Duty

“And are you glad you took the job?”

“So far,” Vanessa replied. “What about you? Do you wish you’d offered it to someone else?”

“Giving you the job was one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made.” Conall gently smoothed her hair away from her cheek. “And coming on this trip with you was even smarter.”

By now her breathing was coming in shallow sips and she had to swallow before she could finally form one word. “Why?”

“Because it’s opened my eyes. And I’m beginning to see all the things I’ve been missing.”

“Conall.” His name passed her lips as she hesitantly pressed a hand against his chest. “This… you… I don’t understand.”

“That makes two of us.”

“But we…”

“Don’t talk,” he whispered. “Talking won’t change the fact that I want to kiss you.”

Dear Reader,

Being the eldest child of the Donovan family, Conall feels a load of responsibility to make his parents proud, to keep the Diamond D Ranch running smoothly and prosperously, and to set the best example for his younger siblings to follow.

To say he’s a traditional man is almost an understatement. All Conall has ever wanted was to be like his father and raise a large, loving family of his own, and to know his heirs will carry on the custom of raising some of the best Thoroughbreds in the southwest. But dreams have a way of hitting snags and before Conall can persuade the woman he loves to be his wife, he has to learn that having children isn’t an entitlement, it’s a gift. And that being able to father a child is not the sole measurement of a man.

June is the month for brides, but it also has a special day for fathers, too. I hope you’ll travel with me once again to Lincoln County, New Mexico, and celebrate this Father’s Day with Conall and the rest of the Donovans!

Thank you to all my readers and may God bless each trail you ride,

Stella

STELLA BAGWELLhas written more than seventy novels. She credits her loyal readers and hopes her stories have brightened their lives in some small way.

A cowgirl through and through, she loves to watch old Westerns, and has recently learned how to rope a steer. Her days begin and end helping her husband care for a beloved herd of horses on their little ranch located on the south Texas coast. When she’s not ropin’ and ridin’, you’ll find her at her desk, creating her next tale of love.

The couple have a son, who is a high school math teacher and athletic coach. Stella loves to hear from readers and invites them to contact her at stellabagwell@gmail.com

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my late father, Louis Copeland Cook, who always said don’t do anything unless you intend to do it right. I hope he thinks I have.

His secretary was crying!

Conall Donovan stared at the woman behind the cherrywood desk. Vanessa Valdez had been in his employ for more than two months and during that time she’d been nothing but cool and professional. He could hardly imagine what had brought about these waterworks. In the past hour, he hadn’t even yelled once! And even if he had, it wouldn’t have been directed at her. She was the epitome of a perfect, professional secretary.

Cautiously, he approached the desk. “Vanessa? Is something wrong?”

With one slender hand dabbing a tissue to her cheek, the petite brunette glanced at him. At thirty-five, she looked more like twenty-five, Conall thought. And though he wouldn’t describe her as gorgeous, she was an attractive woman with honey-brown hair brushing the tops of her shoulders and curling in pretty wisps around her head. Usually, her large brown eyes were soft and luminous but presently her eyes were full of tears.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a strained voice. “It’s… I… Something has happened.”

“Your father? Has he taken ill?” he demanded.

Vanessa paused and he could see her throat working as she tried to swallow. The sight of her discomposure struck him unexpectedly hard. In spite of her being an old family acquaintance, they hardly shared a close bond. For the most part, the woman kept to herself. The only reason he knew she’d lost her mother two years ago, and that her aging father now resided in a nursing home, was because he happened to attend the same small church where her parents had been regular members. Still, these past months, Vanessa had become a quiet and dependable fixture in his life and he’d come to respect her dedication to this job and the subtle finesse she used with clients in order to make his life easier.

“No,” she answered. “It’s not my father.”

When she failed to elaborate, Conall fought back an impatient sigh. He hardly had time to play mind reader.

“Do you need to take the rest of the afternoon off?” he asked bluntly. There was still a hell of a lot of work that he needed finished by the end of the day, but if necessary he’d somehow manage without her. Even if it meant calling on his mother, Fiona, to fill in for the remainder of the afternoon.

Shaking her head, his secretary sniffed and tried to straighten her shoulders. Even so, Conall could see tears sparkling upon her smooth cheeks and he was shocked at the sudden urge he felt to round the desk and wipe them away.

Hell, Conall, you’ve never been good at consoling women. Just ask your ex-wife. Besides, women and tears don’t affect your iron heart. Not anymore .

While he shoved that unbidden thought away, she finally answered in a ragged voice, “I—I’ll be all right, Conall. Just give me a few moments to… get over the shock.”

Shock? As usual, the phone had been ringing all afternoon. The Diamond D Ranch was a huge conglomerate, with business connections all over the world. With it being the middle of summer, they were in the busy height of Thoroughbred racing season. His office was only one of several set in a modern brick building situated north of the ranch yard and west of the main ranch house. His younger brother Liam, the ranch’s horse trainer, also had his own office along with a secretary, and then there was the general accounting for the ranch, which took up several rooms. As for Conall’s job, he rarely saw a quiet moment during working hours and the overflow of correspondence kept his secretary extremely busy. Especially now that he’d also assumed the job of keeping the Golden Spur Mine operations running smoothly.

“Look, Vanessa, I realize I’m asking you to handle an undue amount of work for one human being. But it won’t always be like this. I have plans to hire an assistant for you, just as soon as I have a chance to go over a few résumés.”

Her brown eyes widened even more. “Oh, no, Conall, it’s not the work!” She gestured toward the piles of correspondence lying about on her desk. “I can easily handle this. I just received a call from Las Vegas,” she attempted to explain. “It was… horrible news. A dear friend has passed away. And I… well, I just can’t believe she’s gone. She was—”

Suddenly sobs overtook the remainder of her words and Conall could no longer stop himself from skirting the desk and taking a steadying hold on her trembling shoulders.

“I’m very sorry, Vanessa.”

Averting her face from him, she whispered, “I’m okay. Really, I am.”

Whether she was trying to reassure him or herself, or the both of them, Conall didn’t know. In any case, she was clearly an emotional wreck and he had to do something to help her, even if it was wrong.

“No, you’re hardly okay,” he said gruffly. “You’re shaking. Let me help you over to the couch.”