The Daddy Plan

by Karen Rose Smith

  “Shirley lived meagerly in her farmhouse, but she didn’t have to. Before he retired, her husband owned the hardware store in town and essentially had no competition. He saved his money wisely, invested it when lots of folks were just putting it into savings accounts. He sold out when a chain store started buying up old hardware stores in small towns. He made a wonderful profit. But when he retired, Shirley’s arthritis kicked in and they didn’t want to travel or buy a big car or move to a more modern house. They liked their life. They were happy with each other, and their investments kept accumulating. After Marvin died, even though Shirley’s arthritis became more debilitating, she wanted to stay at the farm where all her memories were. She adopted Jasper and with help from people like you, she had a happy life.”

  “Mr. Bancroft, I don’t see what this has to do with me.”

  “You were the only friend Shirley had who consistently cared about her and looked in on her. You brought her groceries when she needed them, you took Jasper to the vet for her, and you even arranged for her neighbor to take her to her doctor’s appointments. I can’t tell you how grateful she was for all of that.”

  The truth was, when Corrie had moved to Rapid Creek, she’d been lonely. She’d taken care of her mother for two years because her mother had needed her. In Rapid Creek, no one had needed her except for her furry patients at the clinic.

  “Shirley told me over and over again the story of how she met you. She’d phoned the veterinary clinic when Jasper was sick but had no way to get him to the doctor.”

  “He’d gotten into a box of chocolates,” Corrie remembered.

  “Exactly. When you learned she had no way to transport Jasper to the clinic, you went and picked him up.”

  “He was one sick puppy.”

  “That he was. But you looked after him, the veterinarian made him well and then you took him home to Shirley’s. She never forgot that kindness.”

  “She was a wonderful lady. I’d just lost my mother and missed her. I loved to listen to Shirley’s stories.”

  “And she loved listening to yours. You brought the world in to her again. Because of that, I have an offer to make to you.”

  Corrie had no idea what was coming. Of course, she’d keep Jasper if that’s what Mr. Bancroft was getting at.

  “Shirley was a wealthy, wealthy woman. She had no family. These papers I have here are just the beginning of her legacy, a foundation for animals who need a home.”

  “What a wonderful idea!”

  “I’m glad you think so because my instructions are to turn the farm into a shelter for homeless animals if you will run it. You will receive a yearly salary.” He named a sum that was twice the amount that Corrie made now. “If for some reason you don’t want to run the shelter yourself, you can still become its director, staff it and oversee it. Shirley trusted that you would hire the right people. As the director, you would also earn the same yearly salary. You would not have to be on hand on a daily basis, but you would supervise, organize, hire, fire and replace staff as need be. If you don’t want to do either, I have orders to sell the property to a developer, give you a life-long stipend for Jasper’s care if you choose to keep him and give the rest of Shirley’s money to the Humane Society.”

  Corrie’s head was whirling with everything Mr. Bancroft had told her. “How soon do I have to make a decision about this?”

  “You can take your time. I can give you until April first. The only answer I need tonight is whether or not you want to keep Jasper.”

  “Oh, yes, I want to keep Jasper. There’s no doubt about that. But the rest…I’m in the process of doing something that could change my life.”

  “As much as Shirley’s offer could change your life?”

  “Yes, just like that.”

  “I see. Why don’t I let you think about it? If you have any questions, or if you want to discuss it further, you can call me at any time.”

  Corrie stroked Jasper once more and stood. “I miss Shirley,” she said simply, her eyes filling with tears.

  He patted her shoulder. “I know you do. You both loved animals and that’s what brought you together. Just know that whatever you decide, one decision is not better than another. This is your choice, Corrie. Shirley didn’t want this to be a burden, but a legacy and a new way of life for you if you want it.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Bancroft.” She walked him to the door.

  After she’d said good-bye, she watched him walk to his car. She should tell Sam about this. She should tell him about it right now.

  Yet maybe she needed to think about it first. Yes, she needed to think about it. She needed to sort out her feelings. She needed to think about the baby they could have, and how a child would fit into the job of caring for homeless animals.

  She doubted she’d get much sleep tonight. She had a whole lot of thinking to do.

  Chapter Seven

  Corrie opened the door to the Hair Hut Saturday afternoon, concentrating more on the offer Shirley’s lawyer had brought to her than on what she wanted to do with her hair. How did this new opportunity fit in with having a baby?

  What would Sam think if she left the clinic? Leaving might be the best option if she did get pregnant. She didn’t want Sam always looking over her shoulder, did she?

  Remembering Sam’s caring attitude after her accident, she wasn’t so sure.

  The Hair Hut was busier these days than it had ever been. Last summer Ralph Durand from New York City had moved to Rapid Creek to get away from the rat race and had bought the salon. His schedule was usually filled three weeks ahead. He employed two other hairdressers and Corrie had made an appointment with Shannon who’d trimmed her hair before. Shannon had just swept the area around her chair and was ready for her. With a smile, she motioned for Corrie to have a seat. “Just a trim today?”

  Corrie suddenly wanted more than a trim. She wanted Sam Barclay to notice her tonight…notice her as a woman. She took the band from her ponytail and let her curls tumble around her face.

  “Actually I want more than a trim. And if I ask you what would look good on me, what would you do?”

  Shannon’s brows arched under her bangs as she narrowed her eyes. “I’d layer it and give your curls more freedom and movement. I’d also take it up a little bit, maybe an inch and a half. You wouldn’t be able to tie it back in a ponytail any longer.”

  Corrie thought about it. “I can’t have it in my face while I’m working.”

  “No problem there. I’ll just give you bangs. With your high forehead, you can wear them. You’ll have a totally different look.”

  Corrie thought about it for all of two seconds, then she agreed. “Let’s do it.”

  Forty-five minutes later, Shannon finished with the diffused-air hair dryer, and Corrie studied her reflection in the mirror. “I like it.”

  “If you let it air-dry, you’ll get the same look. If you want to use a hair dryer, you’ll need the diffuser. Or you could use a curling iron to set your waves. You’ve got lots of possibilities. I’d love to have hair like yours.”

  “The grass is always greener,” Corrie murmured, shook her head and watched the curls swing again. She looked different, more sophisticated…even sexy maybe?

  Five minutes later, she was writing out a check when a woman appeared at her elbow and asked, “Corrie?”

  Corrie wasn’t shocked exactly but she was surprised to see Alicia Walker, Sam’s former fiancée. The woman had been out of town since September. As a travel agent, she’d had the opportunity to work in one of her chain’s offices in California. Corrie had wondered if she’d left because of her breakup with Sam, or if Sam had broken up with Alicia because she wanted to pursue opportunities elsewhere. This was one time when gossip hadn’t had much to say because no one was talking. If Alicia had friends who knew the truth, they kept it to themselves, as had Sam’s friends and family.

  Corrie handed Shannon her check along with a tip, accepted her receipt, and turned to Alicia, feeling uncomf
ortable because the blonde had once been intimate with Sam. Corrie didn’t like that idea at all. Her gaze slipped over Alicia’s figure in designer jeans, a wide leather belt with a sterling-silver belt buckle, a snug black sweater and slim-fitting cropped jacket. She knew there was only one reason this blond beauty had stopped her.

  Sam.

  Still, she forced politeness. “Hello, Alicia. When did you get back in town?”

  “On Thursday. I’ve just been catching up and getting my bearings again. How’s everything at the clinic?”

  “Everything’s just fine. We’re busy, busy, busy. Sometimes I don’t even have the chance to eat lunch.” She knew this wasn’t what Alicia wanted to hear but she wanted to know what the other woman would say.

  Alicia’s smile slipped a bit. “I understand Sam was away for a while. That must have left you short-handed.”

  Oh, Alicia had been catching up all right. “Doc covered for him.”

  “How long was Sam gone?”

  “Over the holidays.” She didn’t need to tell Alicia he was gone for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.

  “I’m sure it was a well-deserved vacation. He always works too hard. Did he go far?”

  “Up north,” she said helpfully.

  Now Alicia frowned. “I bet he went to his family’s cabin. He took me there a couple of times.”

  Corrie specifically remembered what Sam had said, I brought Alicia up here once.

  Once.

  “Did you go ice-fishing?” Corrie asked ingenuously.

  “Ice-fishing?” Alicia gave Corrie a sly smile. “We had better things to do than that.”

  That comment did it. Corrie tucked her purse under her arm. “I’d better be going.”

  “Tell Sam I said hello. In fact, tell him I’ll stop in and see him one of these days and we’ll…catch up.”

  Corrie didn’t exactly remember pushing open the hair salon’s door and walking half a block south before she realized she’d parked her car in the other direction. That woman had always gotten under her skin. What had Sam seen in her?

  As soon as she asked the question, Corrie knew exactly what Sam had seen in her. Alicia Walker was five-ten with a luscious figure, beautiful brown eyes, wavy golden hair and a voice that was as smooth as silk. He’d seen a woman he wanted to take to bed and he’d done just that. Somehow he’d wrapped dreams of marriage around Alicia and he might have lived happily ever after with her.

  Except…

  Something had happened.

  Whatever had happened didn’t matter to Corrie. The fact was—Sam wasn’t with Alicia now. Tonight he was going to be with her—Corrie Edwards—and she was going to make an impact. She loved her new hairdo, but she had to do more than get her hair cut to wow him. She hurried to her car. First she was going to stop at that little boutique that sold overpriced beautiful dresses. She’d have to find a sensational pair of shoes, too. The last stop before she went home would be the makeup counter of the department store.

  Tonight Sam Barclay wouldn’t know what hit him. Tonight, Sam Barclay would see her as a sexy woman.

  Sam felt as if a wrecking ball had hit him. Standing in Corrie’s living room, he couldn’t think of one thing to say. Finally, he asked, “Corrie Edwards! Is that you?”

  Even Jasper, sitting on the floor staring up at Corrie, knew his mistress looked different. Sam couldn’t quite believe this was his vet assistant, normally seen in smocks and usually with little or no makeup. Corrie’s hair was styled and silky, waving around her face in such a way that it enhanced her facial structure, her high cheekbones, the tilt of her nose, her small chin. Her blue eyes looked absolutely enormous. Her lashes seemed thicker and fuller. He could hardly notice any freckles, but her lips were coated with lipstick that looked wet.

  His stomach clenched. His groin tightened. He realized how aroused he was becoming and they hadn’t even gotten to dinner. She was wearing the kind of dress he would never imagine Corrie wearing. It was black velvet and it clung to her. The V-neckline dipped far enough that he could see the swell of her breasts. The long sleeves seemed as though they covered a lot of skin, but the skirt that draped to her calves had a slit up the side. That slit made a man want to see more.

  He was so thrown off balance, he asked, “Can you walk in those shoes?” The heels had to be three inches high. The shoes’ straps went from her toes up her ankle. Could a shoe be any more seductive?

  “Sure, I can walk in them,” she claimed as she crossed to the chair and picked up her coat.

  When Sam saw the hole in the back of her dress, he almost broke out into a sweat. The way her tush moved…He wished he’d left the door open to let the cold air in. He rimmed his finger around the collar of his dress shirt, thinking about unfastening the top button.

  “Am I too dressed up?” Corrie glanced at him innocently over her shoulder.

  Somehow he found his voice. “No. No, of course not. This is probably one of the few dress-up occasions in Rapid Creek.”

  Corrie pointed to Jasper’s bed on the sofa. “Come on. Jump into your bed.”

  The dog did, and Corrie hunkered down to pet him. “Stay out of trouble until I get home.”

  The dog barked as if in understanding and Corrie laughed.

  At that moment, Sam had never seen a more beautiful woman—a woman he’d like to take to bed, a woman who made him feel as if he’d been in cold storage for too long.

  “We’d better get going.”

  Sam took Corrie’s coat from her arm and held it. It was dark-green wool. He realized he’d never seen Corrie Edwards dressed up like this before. She was a sight.

  As she slipped her arm into one sleeve, he caught the scent of perfume, sweet and musky. The dangle of her onyx earrings caught in one of her curls. He slid his thumb under it, releasing it. His face was so close to her there was only a breath between them. “You look fantastic tonight.”

  She smiled up at him. “So do you.” Her eyes were on his lips and he felt a rush of adrenaline surge through him that he had to fight down.

  He helped her into the other sleeve. “Let’s go celebrate Valentine’s Day.” He couldn’t keep his arm from going around her as he walked her to the door.

  Sam felt the pounding awareness between him and Corrie as he drove to the Ski Association, parked and led her inside. He was acutely aware of everything about her whenever he was with her, but tonight, with those dangly earrings almost touching her creamy shoulders, her curls a little bouncier, freer, softer, that dress whispering seductive invitations with the way she walked in it, he wondered if he’d lost his mind or if his libido was simply running rampant. Maybe he’d kept it in check for too long. Maybe not having sex really could make a man crazy. But then he thought about his father and all his dateless years and he knew that wasn’t so. Whatever was happening was happening to him…only him.

  Maybe his body merely wanted to prove he was over Alicia and ready to move on to someone else. But was Corrie that someone else? And did he even want to move on? He didn’t believe she was the type of woman who could have meaningless sex, and that’s all he wanted, wasn’t it?

  In the lobby, Sam took Corrie’s coat and hung it on a rack there. His hand landed on the small of her back to guide her inside and his fingers met skin…bare skin. It was warm to the touch and he was on fire. He tugged his tie just a little.

  When Sara spotted them, she waved and they crossed the room to join her and Nathan at their table.

  “We saved you seats.”

  “I like your hair,” Sara said to Corrie. “It looks great. Did Ralph do it?”

  “No, Shannon cut it. I just told her to do something a little different.”

  Sam wondered why that was. Why was Corrie feeling the need to break her pattern? “That dress isn’t like anything you’ve ever worn, either.”

  “Does that mean you like it?” Sara teased, giving Corrie a wink.

  “Any man would,” he responded noncommittally. He’d noticed men’s ga
zes swing toward Corrie as she’d walked across the room. It had been an odd feeling. He’d almost felt…jealous.

  Because she might become the mother of your child?

  Yeah, probably that was it.

  “Do you ski?” Sara asked Corrie.

  “No, I never have. When I lived in the city, there wasn’t the opportunity. Here, I’ve just never taken the time.”

  “We should have Sam teach you,” Sara suggested. “He’s an expert at cross-country. Ow!” Sara exclaimed and looked over at Nathan who had obviously nudged her under the table. She wrinkled her nose at him and he just shook his head.

  Sam knew what that was about. His brother didn’t think his wife should meddle, but Sara would always do what she thought best. Sam really didn’t think she was suggesting anything romantic between him and Corrie. After all, teaching a friend whom you’d known for three years to ski was something that would be quite natural. However, the only thing that would seem natural between him and Corrie tonight was a kiss that could lead to bed.

  Although the room had filled, Sam barely noticed anyone else at the dinner. Sara and Corrie talked as if they were old friends—about the owner of the hair salon, about the boutique where Corrie had bought her dress, about Kyle and school and Sara opening her own law office in Rapid Creek.

  “Will you specialize in anything?” Corrie asked.

  “No, I’m going to do a little bit of everything—wills, estate planning, maybe house settlements.”

  Corrie’s gaze swung to Sam and he knew she was remembering the discussion about lawyers they’d had with her obstetrician. He supposed she was thinking he would have one in the family. He had two, actually, but Ben couldn’t practice in Minnesota. He still didn’t see the need for a lawyer. Unwise or not, he just didn’t want a third party involved.

  He couldn’t take his eyes off Corrie as the waiter brought chocolate cheesecake for dessert and she smiled up at him asking for a refill of her coffee. He caught the waiter looking at the dangle on her necklace and then the V below it.

  Sam quickly said, “I’ll take a refill, too.”