Daddy's Double Duty. Stella Bagwell

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СКАЧАТЬ had her life been like these past years she’d been away from the valley? She’d certainly climbed the workforce ladder. But in spite of her having more financial security, she was more or less alone in life. Like him.

      Which only proved that riches didn’t always come in the form of money, he thought.

      Ten minutes later, on a five-acre tract of land near the tiny settlement of Tinnie, Conall pulled the truck to a stop in front of a rickety picket fence. Beyond the whitewashed barrier was a small stucco house of faded turquoise. One mesquite tree shaded the front entrance, while a short rock walkway crossed a bare dirt yard. A brown-and-white nanny goat stood on the porch as she reared on her hind legs and nipped at a hanging pot of red geraniums.

      Even though he’d not been by the homestead recently, the Valdez home looked pretty much as it always had. Seeing the family’s modest existence normally wouldn’t have affected Conall one way or the other. Rich and poor was a fact of life. Not just in the New Mexico mountains, but everywhere. Yet now that he was beginning to know Vanessa, he was struck by the stark simplicity of the place. She’d left a very high-paying job to return to this, he thought incredibly. All because her father had needed her. How many women would do such a thing?

      As she collected her handbag and jacket, Conall walked around to the passenger door to help her to the ground.

      “I’ll walk with you to the door,” he told her. “Just in case your knees get spongy.”

      With his hand at her back, they walked through a sagging gate and down the rough walkway. To the east, far beyond the house, clouds had gathered over the Capitan Mountains, blotting out the sun and hinting at an oncoming rainstorm.

      When they reached the porch, the goat ignored them as they stepped up to the door. “Would you like to come in?” she asked.

      He smiled. “Some other time,” he assured her. “If we’re going to leave in the morning, I have a hundred things to tend to before we go. Richardson is coming about the pool at three. I need to be there to see what sort of ideas he has. And to get his estimates for the cost.”

      The idea of discussing plans to enlarge the swimming pool for Diamond D racehorses, while Vanessa was worrying how she was going to house two needy infants, made him feel rather small and out of touch. But it was hardly his fault that their worlds were so different.

      “Sure,” she said, then suddenly looked up at him. Her features were taut with stress. “Could you let me know about our flight time? Since my vehicle is still at the ranch, I suppose I’ll need someone to pick me up and take me to the airport.”

      Placing his forefinger beneath her chin, he passed the pad of his thumb slowly along her jaw line. “Relax,” he said softly. “I’ll take care of everything, Vanessa. Just pack your bags and let me do the rest.”

      She nodded and then her gaze skittered shyly away from his and on to the closed door behind her shoulder. Conall told himself it was time to drop his hand and back away. But something about the tender line of her cheek, the warm scent emanating from her hair, made him bend his head and press a kiss to her temple.

      For one moment her small hand fluttered to a stop against the middle of his chest, and then just as quickly she was pushing herself away and hurrying into the house.

      Conall stared after her for long moments before he finally moved off the porch and walked back to his truck.

      Later that evening, as Vanessa attempted to pack what things she needed for the trip to Vegas, the phone rang.

      Praying it wasn’t another call from Hope’s lawyer, she picked up the phone located on the nightstand by her bed and was surprised to hear Maura’s voice on the other end of the line.

      Even though the two women had been longtime friends, Maura had a husband and two young children to care for, along with her part-time job at Bridget’s medical clinic in Ruidoso. She was too busy to make a habit of calling.

      Without preamble, Conall’s sister exclaimed, “Bridget just told me about your friend—and the babies! Dear God, I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now!”

      Swiping a weary hand through her hair, Vanessa said, “I feel like every ounce of energy has been drained from my body, Maura.”

      “Bridget told me about you fainting. Thank God Conall was there with you. How are you feeling now?”

      “Physically, better. I’m packing for the trip right now. But my mind is racing around in all directions. How can a person feel grief and happy excitement at the same time? I feel like I’m being pulled in all directions.” She eased down on the edge of the bed. “But mostly, Maura, I’m scared.”

      “Scared? You?” Maura scoffed. “You’re one of the strongest and bravest women I’ve ever known. What do you have to be scared about, anyway?”

      Brave? Strong? Maybe at one time, years ago when she’d first headed out to Las Vegas on her own, she’d been brave and determined to make a better life for herself. But her mistakes with Jeff had wiped away much of her confidence.

      “Two little infants, that’s what! You’ve got to remember I’ve never had a baby. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of one.”

      Maura’s soft laugh was meant to reassure her friend. “Trust me, dear friend, giving birth doesn’t give you an inside corner on taking care of babies. It’s a learn-as-you-go thing. Believe me, you’ll be fine. And isn’t it wonderful, Vanna? You with children! You’ve wanted some of your own for so long now.”

      As tears stung, Vanessa squeezed her eyes shut. “That’s true. But I didn’t want them this way—with my friend dying. She was… well, I’ve talked about her to you before. She was such a generous person and so fun and full of life. She was planning to… come back here for a visit later this summer to show me the babies and see where I grew up. Now—” her throat tightened to an aching knot, forcing her to pause “—I’ll be bringing the babies back without her.”

      Vanessa could hear Maura sniffing back a tear of her own. “Yes, it’s so tragic, Vanna. I would have loved to meet her. But it wasn’t meant to be and you can’t dwell on her death now. You have to concentrate on the babies and remember how much your friend wanted them to be loved and cared for.”

      “You’re right, Maura,” Vanessa said as she tried to gather her ragged emotions. “I have to move forward now.”

      Maura cleared her throat. “Well, Bridget says that our brother is traveling with you to Vegas. Frankly, I’m shocked about this, Vanna. The rare times he leaves the ranch are only for business reasons.”

      Surely Maura could see that Conall considered Vanessa a business reason and nothing more. “I tried to tell him it wasn’t necessary.”

      “Oh. I thought you might have asked him to go.”

      Vanessa drew in a sharp breath. “Are you serious? I would never ask Conall to do anything personal for me! He just made all these decisions on his own. And I have no idea why.”

      “Hmm. Well, his last secretary was a real bitch,” Maura said bluntly. “And everyone in the family has heard him singing praises about your work. I’m sure he wants to keep you happy.”

      Vanessa released a short, dry laugh. “I’ve been told that good secretaries are hard to СКАЧАТЬ