The Daddy Plan. Karen Smith Rose

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      He knew Corrie had lost her mom shortly before taking the job with him and Eric, but he didn’t know much else about her background. “Do you have brothers or sisters…family?”

      “My dad is in Minneapolis. But we’re…not close. I always wanted brothers and sisters. You’re lucky to have two brothers.” Corrie sounded wistful.

      “Nathan and Ben are great when they mind their own business. But every once in a while, they’re not busy enough with their own lives and think they have to poke into mine.” Sam was the youngest, Nathan the eldest and soon to be a newlywed. These days Nathan’s fiancée, Sara, and his son Kyle were his sole focus. Ben was the middle brother, an Assistant District Attorney in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a cynic about women and life.

      “When I was a kid, Ben, Nathan and I were like the Three Musketeers. One for all and all for one. I can’t imagine not having that support. Were you lonely?”

      “Sometimes,” she admitted. “But that’s why I took in strays and found them homes.”

      He’d always known Corrie was a woman who cared deeply. He could tell because of the way she handled animals. Now he saw there was a depth to her he’d never noticed before. Depth and natural beauty.

      If they had a baby together…

      A baby.

      The thought was running around in his head as if it might want to find a permanent place there. Sitting so close to Corrie, he had the sudden desire to stroke her hair behind her ear, to taste her pretty pink lips—

      “We should probably take the dogs out before the snow gets any deeper and the temperature drops for the night,” he decided gruffly.

      As he went to the hook beside the door for his ski jacket to brave the January night, he couldn’t help thinking about the fact that Corrie wanted to have his baby. The idea definitely fed his ego.

      But it also created turmoil.

      Because of what Alicia had done?

      He had to figure out the answer before he could give Corrie a yes or a no.

      Corrie was ready to jump out of her skin.

      Spend the night with Sam Barclay in his cabin? She’d never imagined that in her wildest dreams. Well, maybe she had. Maybe that was the problem.

      She felt Sam’s gaze on her as she pretended to watch Jasper romp in the snow. After Patches chased him, the smaller dog returned the favor. All the while, she knew Sam was trying to figure out exactly who she was.

      She was a woman who’d had a crush on her boss since she’d been hired. She was a woman who didn’t really attract men because she didn’t want to…with good reason. Her father had been unfaithful to her mother. Corrie would never forget the day she had walked in on him and witnessed that infidelity firsthand. It had changed her relationship with her parents forever. When she’d fallen in love in college, she’d learned the guy hadn’t been in love with her. After they’d made love, he’d moved on to the next challenge, and she’d learned she’d been a dare and a notch on his belt. That experience had set her up to steer clear of any romantic entanglement.

      She hadn’t wanted to be attracted to Sam Barclay after he and his partner had hired her. But there was something about his grin, something about his gentle eyes, something about the way he talked to animals that had gotten to her. And then there had been that New Year’s Eve kiss almost two years ago. But afterward he’d never looked her way again. He’d been too busy making a success of the clinic with Eric. And then, last year, he’d fallen hard for travel agent, Alicia Walker, whom he’d met when he was planning a trip to Africa to a game preserve. He and Alicia had been an item until this past August.

      No one seemed to know why the couple had broken up, but Corrie had seen how devastated Sam was. She’d worried about him when he’d left for these woods before Thanksgiving, but she’d also realized she had to make something happen in her own life. That had been her New Year’s resolution. It had taken her the past two weeks to find the courage to drive up here.

      She’d kept asking herself—What’s the worst that can happen? He could say no.

      If he did, she’d go to a fertility clinic in Minneapolis.

      But he hadn’t said no yet and that gave her hope.

      The wind was picking up. Shivering, Corrie headed for the cabin with Jasper following. “See you inside,” she said brightly as if spending the night with Sam was no big deal, as if the quiet of the cabin wouldn’t have to be filled with conversation, as if she wouldn’t be aware of every move he made, every word he uttered, every glance he cast her way.

      Sam was her boss. She had to play this right because whether he said yes or no, she didn’t want to get fired.

      Just as he called to her—“Watch out, that bottom step gets slippery”—she found out for herself. Her boot slipped and she would have ended up as a pile in the snow if Sam hadn’t been right there, his arms circling her, his cheek almost brushing hers.

      “Are you okay?” His voice was low and husky, his breath warm against her skin. “You didn’t turn your ankle did you?”

      Because Sam hadn’t shaved for a while, the stubble on his jaw was as dark as his brown hair. He was so sexy that even with the temperature dropping, hers was warming up.

      After gulping in one very cold breath, she managed to say, “My ankle’s fine.”

      “I’ll help you up the steps.” He was still looking at her, and she had the weird sensation he was really seeing her for the first time. They’d worked around each other for three years yet this awareness hadn’t been there before. Maybe it was all on her part. After all, she’d always hidden her attraction to him, never let it peek out.

      His large hand under her elbow, Sam made sure her footing was secure and steered her to the door. As she opened it and stepped inside, he whistled to Patches and the big dog came running.

      Both dogs shook snow from their coats and sent flakes flying.

      “Do you have a towel I can use on Jasper?” Corrie asked Sam. “I don’t want his fur to get all matted.”

      “Sure, I’ll look for something for you to wear, too.”

      “For me to wear?”

      “You don’t want to sleep in your clothes do you?”

      She hadn’t really thought about it. “I can.”

      “No need,” he said with a shrug. “I have a flannel shirt that will probably fall to your knees.”

      When Corrie thought about undressing and wearing one of Sam’s shirts, she felt all goose-bumpy; the reaction wasn’t from being outside.

      After Sam brought her the towel and laid the shirt on the sofa, she rubbed down Jasper but she could feel Sam’s attention focused on her.

      “What?” she asked, looking up from her crouch next to the dog.

      “I’m just thinking about you being a mother.”

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