Daddy Lessons

by Stella Bagwell

  “McCann Drilling,” she said cheerfully. “May I help you?”

  “Who are you?” A young female voice blurted the question.

  Savanna glanced uncertainly at Joe McCann. Right now she didn’t know if she was a secretary or an unemployed mediator.

  “I’m Savanna.”

  “Oh, you’re the one who’s taking Edie’s place?”

  “That’s right. And who are you?”

  “I’m Megan. Joe is my daddy. I need to talk to him.”

  Obviously the girl had been forewarned there would be a change in secretaries at her father’s office, Savanna concluded. “Well, Megan, right now your father is unable to come to the telephone. Perhaps I can help?”

  The young girl let out a huge sigh of frustration. “I doubt it. But I guess I could tell you, anyway. I want to go to the library, but Ophelia, the housekeeper, isn’t here this morning. She won’t be here until two this afternoon! And I’m only thirteen. I’m not old enough to drive.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, you are in a fix, aren’t you? I don’t suppose you’d settle for watching some videos until the housekeeper is there to take you?”

  Megan groaned loudly. “What videos? Joe—I mean, Daddy doesn’t even have a VCR. He’s old-fashioned and says time spent in front of the TV isn’t productive.”

  Savanna couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s imitation of her father’s voice. “Perhaps you could walk, Megan. Is it very far from your house?”

  “Eight blocks,” she said glumly. “But Daddy would never let me walk. He says it’s too dangerous for kids to walk on the streets nowadays. Especially for a girl.”

  Savanna dared another glance at Joe McCann and was surprised to see he’d skirted around the desk to stand beside her. At the moment he was shaking his head and mouthing the word no. Savanna couldn’t believe he was being so overprotective. It wasn’t as if the girl was a kindergartner!

  “That’s true in many cases,” Savanna said, careful not to go against anything her father might have already instructed her. “But if you had a friend to walk with you, then he might consider it.”

  She looked up to see Joe still shaking his head. A burst of anger suddenly spurted through Savanna. Didn’t the man remember what it was like to be thirteen years old, out of school on summer vacation and stuck in the house alone with nothing to do?

  “Well, I just came here to live with Daddy last week. So I don’t really know many people,” she said, then suddenly her small, dispirited voice brightened. “But there is someone I’ve made friends with. Cindy. She’s my age and lives across the street. She’d want to go with me!”

  If Megan had just now come to live with her father, Savanna mused, that could only mean Joe McCann was widowed or divorced. She didn’t know why that bit of news should strike a nerve in her, but it did. So did the lost, lonely sound in Megan’s voice. Savanna knew what it was like to be in a strange place surrounded by unfamiliar things and people she didn’t know. Joe McCann probably didn’t understand that. But Savanna did. She’d spent her whole life living in places where she felt as if she didn’t belong and that no one cared whether she was around or not. In fact, she was still searching for that place she could call her real home.

  “Tell you what, Megan. As soon as your father comes back in the office, I’ll talk to him about it. In the meantime, why don’t you call Cindy and see if she can go.”

  “Gee, thanks, Savanna. And please beg him if you have to. I can’t stay in this dreary old house all day!”

  Begging Joe McCann was the last thing Savanna intended to do. Aloud, she told Megan, “I’ll do my best. ’Bye, now.”

  “So where is Megan wanting to trot off to now?” Joe demanded the moment Savanna hung up the phone. “You should have told her an emphatic no.”

  Then why didn’t you answer the phone and give her a no yourself? Savanna wanted to ask him. Instead, she bit her tongue and tried to be pleasant. “Do you want her to keep calling back and asking?”

  Joe rubbed a weary hand across the back of his neck. He had to admit the woman had a point. “From the time Megan moved in with me last week, she’s called me constantly here at work. I can’t get anything done and when I point this out to her, she bursts into tears and accuses me of not loving her.”

  Poor little girl, Savanna thought sadly. She must be miserable. “Do you love her?” Savanna couldn’t help asking.

  Joe stared at her as if she belonged in a mental institution instead of his office. “What the hell kind of question is that? Of course I love her. She’s my daughter!”

  Her question had offended him, but it was obvious to Savanna that this man needed some daddy lessons in the worst kind of way. “And just because she’s your daughter, she’s supposed to know that?”

  He shot her a look that said she was inching onto dangerous ground. Savanna decided she’d better let well enough alone for the time being. She’d already put herself in a bad light with this man. If she intended to help Megan with her daddy she had to hold on to this job for a few more minutes, at least.

  After moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue, she started again. “Your daughter wants to walk to the library with a friend. The friend’s name is Cindy and she lives across the street from you. Shall I tell Megan she has your permission to go?”

  Joe opened his mouth to utter a curse word, then just as quickly snapped it shut. A whole string of expletives wouldn’t relieve the pressure boiling in his head. “Why does she constantly need to be going somewhere? Why can’t she find something to do at home, like any normal person?”

  “Because your daughter isn’t any normal person. She’s a teenager.”

  His mouth twisted. “That’s supposed to explain everything?”

  Savanna was struggling not to lose her patience with him. “Surely you can remember being one, can’t you?”

  One eyebrow arched upward as he looked at Savanna. Did he look that old to this woman?

  “I’m sure the next thing you’re going to tell me is that I should let her go,” he said, more as a statement than a question.

  What was he doing, Savanna wondered. Testing her? Was this job really being a secretary for a drilling company, or in the end would it be more about dealing with his daughter?

  “Thirteen is certainly old enough to walk to the library. And it would show her you trust her to be responsible.”

  “I haven’t been around my daughter enough to know whether I can trust her or not,” he said with a pang of regret, then wondered why it had taken this woman to point that out to him. Damn it, if he’d been a better father he would have used the few weekends he’d spent with Megan to get to know her better instead of trying to entertain her.

  Savanna inwardly shook her head. The man was totally serious. He’d had a daughter for thirteen years. Yet he’d just insinuated he really didn’t know her. Savanna’s own father was hardly perfect, but at least he’d always been there for her. But then, maybe she wasn’t being entirely fair to Joe McCann, Savanna reconsidered. He might not have ever had much time with his daughter. Especially if his ex-wife hadn’t wanted him in the picture.

  “Well, you’ll never know whether you can trust her until you give her the chance to prove herself,” Savanna told him.

  Joe didn’t know anything about this woman except that she’d been late to work and didn’t have any qualms about speaking her mind. But she had managed to pacify Megan without sticking the phone into his hand. And after several days of his daughter’s endless calls, he could only see that as a major improvement.

  “When she calls back, tell her she may go. But she has to be back in an hour and a half. And that you’ll call the house to make sure she’s returned on time.”

  Smiling gladly, Savanna nodded.

  That settled, Joe turned and headed toward a coffee machine situated in the far corner of the room.

  Bemused, Savanna asked, “Does this mean you still want me for the job?”

  He glanced at her over his sh
oulder, and Savanna didn’t miss the wry twist on his lips.

  “Against my better judgment.”

  Chapter Two

  The smile faded from Savanna’s face as she folded her arms defensively over her breasts. “You really know how to make a girl feel needed, Mr. McCann.”

  His eyebrows peaked at her remark. It had been a long time since Joe had wanted to make anyone feel needed, he realized. Especially a woman.

  “Believe me, Ms. Starr, making you feel needed was not on my agenda this morning.”

  Savanna’s nostrils flared and Joe watched her rose-colored lips purse with disdain. He’d never particularly liked short hair on a woman. Certainly not as short as Savanna Starr’s, which left her ears and neck exposed and a shock of thick blond bangs falling over her forehead. But he had to admit that it looked damn sexy on her.

  “Having a flat wasn’t on my agenda, either,” she couldn’t help retorting.

  Joe glanced over at his desk. Not because he was searching for something. He merely needed to get his eyes off her and remind himself that just because she had a cute little face with warm brown eyes and a body that curved in all the right places didn’t mean he needed her for a secretary. He already had enough on his mind without adding a woman to his problems.

  But the way she’d dealt with Megan led him to believe she could actually help matters where his daughter was concerned. And right now that was the most important thing he needed to consider.

  As though they couldn’t bear it any longer, his eyes traveled back to her. “Tell me, Ms. Starr, do you normally have flat tires on your way to work? Or can I depend on you to be here on time?”

  Savanna decided not to let his gibes anger her. She didn’t like the wasteful emotion, and from what she could gather from the few minutes since she’d arrived, things hadn’t been running very smoothly for him. She could only wonder how long it had been since he and his daughter had actually lived in the same house. And what had happened to his marriage in the first place?

  Dear Lord, had she lost her mind? Joe McCann’s past family life was none of her business. She shouldn’t be thinking of him as a man. He was her boss! And even that was a shaky deal.

  Giving herself a hard mental slap, she said, “No, I don’t normally have flats and I’m rarely late.”

  “That’s good. Because I don’t need you out on Interstate 40 waiting for some macho man to come to your rescue. I need you here.”

  I need you. Why did those words blot out everything else he’d said up until now? Whenever she looked at him, why did she want to peel back the layers of his sarcasm and look for the real man she suspected was underneath? Changing that flat this morning must have addled her brain!

  “I’ll tell you what, Mr. McCann. In the future, if I need rescuing on I-40, I’ll be sure to call you.”

  He could tell from the impish light in her eyes and the curve of her lips that she was teasing. In spite of his sour mood, he found himself wanting to smile back at her. But he didn’t. He had serious things to consider. He couldn’t let himself be drawn into her teasing humor.

  Turning his back on her, he reached for the coffeepot. By now the liquid was burned to a bitter black, but Joe poured himself a mugful anyway. After these few minutes with Savanna he figured a shot of Scotch would have been more fitting. But since he wasn’t a drinker, he’d have to rely on the caffeine to fortify him.

  A few steps away, Savanna watched him swallow a mouthful of coffee, then allowed her eyes to slip down the hard-rock length of his body. He was dressed casually in blue jeans, laced-up work boots and a khaki shirt with the cuffs turned back against his forearms. He wore the clothes well, she decided. Too well for her peace of mind.

  Joe took another sip of coffee, then moved back to his desk. Once there he motioned with his head for her to join him.

  “Right now I think it’s time we both got to work.”

  Her hands laced loosely in front of her, Savanna walked over and stood in front of his desk.

  “I don’t know how much Edie told you about the job you’ll be doing here,” he said, “but it’s mainly answering the phone, typing correspondence and making out the payroll. Delta, our dispatcher, works in the back of the building. You’ll be talking to her from time to time. Otherwise, you’ll be working in this room with me.”

  For the first time since she’d arrived, Savanna took the time to glance around the long room. It wasn’t anything fancy. Calendars, charts, maps and photographs of gas and oil wells covered most of the paneled walls. In one corner there was a small table with a coffee machine, foam cups and a bag of stale-looking doughnuts on it. Next to the table were a couple of plastic chairs. On the opposite side of the room, a few feet away from where she stood, was another metal desk and typing-style chair.

  As she looked at the desk, the first thing that ran through Savanna’s mind was that she’d be facing Joe McCann all day long. She couldn’t imagine what that would be like. She’d worked as a temporary for several years, and during that time she’d had all sorts of bosses. But none of them had looked like Joe. Nor had they raised her hackles the way he had in the very first minute she’d met him.

  Still, she wasn’t about to tuck tail and run just because Joe McCann wasn’t the ideal boss. She was going to stick around and make him sorry for his sarcastic attitude!

  Looking at her new boss, she said, “Your secretary explained the duties of my job and how the books are set up. I’m sure I won’t have any problems.” Unless it’s with you, she mentally added.

  Joe looped his thumbs over the top of his jean pockets and continued to regard Savanna through narrowed eyes. “Edie said you’ve worked as a temporary for nearly five years and that you come highly recommended.”

  He sounded as though he found that hard to believe. Savanna decided then and there he was going to make her prove her capabilities. Well, that was all right with her. She knew how to do her job. But more than that, she knew how to adapt to new places, people and situations. She’d been doing it for as long as she could remember. And she’d do her damnedest to show he was wrong.

  In spite of Joe McCann, Savanna wanted this job. She believed working for a drilling company would be interesting and helpful to the career she planned to have in accounting. Petroleum was one of the state’s major industries, and gas and oil companies would always need CPAs.

  True, she needed her degree in accounting before she could land a job of that importance. But Savanna only needed a few more hours of college to acquire it. And thankfully, the chance for her to complete her education had finally come to her here in Oklahoma City. She didn’t intend to let anything stand in her way of that. Not even a difficult boss.

  Smiling as brightly as she could manage, she said, “I’ve never had any complaints.”

  Edie had already told him that Savanna Starr was twenty-five. Yet as he looked at her smooth face and slender body, he found it hard to believe. A woman with her looks was usually married by that age. But then, maybe she was married. He hadn’t asked Edie. Normally that sort of information didn’t interest him and it irked the hell out of him that it did now.

  “So why have you worked as a temp for so long? Wouldn’t you rather have a permanent job?”

  Her eyes dropped to his desktop. He’d never know just how much she wanted—needed—permanency in her life. From the time Savanna had been a small child she’d lived her life on a part-time basis. Her father’s job had demanded the family move from one town and state to the next. As she’d grown older she’d planned to escape the vagabond existence as soon as she was old enough to make a permanent home for herself.

  But things hadn’t worked out that way. Just about the time Savanna had planned to move out, her mother had suddenly died from a stroke. After that, she knew she couldn’t leave. Her father had a mild heart condition. He’d needed someone to look after him and make sure he took care of himself. Because she loved him, Savanna had stayed and never regretted it.

  “Working as a
temp fits my lifestyle. Since I’ve never really been sure where I was going to be living or for how long, temporary work was all I could commit myself to.”

  So she was a gypsy, he thought. Joe couldn’t imagine such a life. He was a man who always stuck to his plan and never deviated for any reason. He couldn’t imagine flitting around from one place to the next, never knowing if he’d be able to find a job or not. He worked hard to keep stability and security in his life. Yet this past month both of those things seemed to be slipping away.

  Megan’s arrival had definitely wrecked the stability of his day-to-day schedule. As for his drilling company, it desperately needed new revenue to stay afloat. Now, on top of everything else, he had to get used to a new secretary, one that created some strange sort of upheaval inside him every time he looked at her.

  “So you move around a lot?” he asked. “You like that sort of living?”

  From the expression on his face, Savanna figured he was summing her up as a flighty female who probably couldn’t hang on to a job, a man or a home. The idea irked her, but she decided now wasn’t the time to set him straight. She needed money for college tuition and rent for her new apartment. And this job with Joe McCann was the way to get it.

  Shrugging, she said, “It’s been—necessary for me to move around. But now it’s not and I’m hoping to stay permanently here in Oklahoma City.”

  Joe shuffled a stack of papers on his desk and tried his best to appear indifferent. “Why is that? Did you marry someone here in the city?”

  Surprised by his question, Savanna shook her head. “Mercy, no! I’m not looking to get married. Actually, my father remarried a couple of months ago and—well, he doesn’t need me to travel with him anymore. So I’m free to sink my roots,” she explained, then cast him a speculative glance. “Are you married?”

  This wasn’t a normal conversation between a boss and a new temporary secretary, Joe thought. He should have already pointed out her duties and gotten on with his work. But somehow one word had led to another and he still hadn’t found a stopping place.