Daddy's Double Duty. Stella Bagwell

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ believe he was that cold or stingy with himself. Not after seeing the way he interacted with the twins.

      “Vanessa?”

      The unexpected sound of Conall’s voice had her glancing over her shoulder to see him walking a narrow brick pathway toward her. Figuring something had to be wrong for him to come all the way out here to find her, she rose from the bench and met him on the footpath.

      “I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized. “I left my phone in the room. Has the lawyer or orphanage been trying to reach me?”

      Impatience creased his forehead. “You need to quit all this worrying, Vanessa. No one has tried to reach you through me. The lawyer seemed very competent. I’m sure he’ll have the last of the papers for us to sign before we catch our flight out tomorrow afternoon. And from what Mother Superior told us, the babies are perfectly healthy and able to travel.”

      Shaking her head, Vanessa forced the tenseness in her shoulders to relax. “I am a bit on edge,” she admitted. “My phone has been ringing all evening and—”

      Before she could finish, the cell in his shirt pocket went off and after a quick glance at the caller ID he said, “Sorry, Vanessa, I’ve been having the same problem. This won’t take but a minute or two.”

      With a quick nod, she turned her back and took a few steps away to where water trickled over a three-tiered fountain and into a small pool. As she watched colorful koi swim in and out of water plants, she heard him say, “No. That won’t do…. I understand you mean well. But nothing used…. Everything new… Yes, classic…. No. Something like cherry and antique…. Got it?… Yeah. And anything else you can think of that will be needed.” There was a long pause as he listened to the caller and then he replied. “Yeah. Thanks, sis…. Good night.”

      His sister? That could be Maura, Dallas or Bridget, she thought. Apparently they were planning something together and the notion sent a sad pang through Vanessa. She’d never had a sister to conspire with and share experiences, only older brothers who’d mostly caused great agony for her parents. Now with Esther, her mother, gone and her father, Alonzo, still having trouble communicating with his halting speech, she couldn’t look for family support. Unlike Conall, who’d always been surrounded by loving siblings, parents and grandmother.

      “Well, now that I have that out of the way,” Conall announced behind her, “I came out here to see if you’d like to go to dinner somewhere? We’ve not eaten in hours.”

      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 СКАЧАТЬ