Daddy's Double Duty Read Online Free Page B

suspected, the Valdez brothers had left Lincoln County. He’d not seen any of them in years and even when they had still been around, Conall hadn’t associated with any of them. He’d never been into strutting around in black leather and begging for scrapes with the law. Some time back, he’d heard the eldest son had served time for distributing drugs over in El Paso, but as far as he knew, no gossip had ever surfaced about the remaining three.
    Conall cast a brief glance at her. What 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.
    â€œI’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 CapitanMountains, blotting out the sun and hinting at an on-coming 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.
    â€œSure,” 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 quicklyshe was pushing herself away and hurrying into the house.
    Conall stared