Darcy and the Single Dad. Stacy Connelly

      A faint chime echoed from down the street.

      Nick watched as Darcy opened her shop door and stepped out. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, waving in the breeze like a red flag, and every ounce of testosterone in his body was urging him to charge.

      Their eyes met and the impact hit hard—a swift kick of desire straight to his gut. Just the sight of her sent him back to that moment in her kitchen. A moment he still couldn’t decide had really happened or not. But he did know one thing for sure: he should have kissed her. If he had, he wouldn’t be wondering now … He’d know.

      For a brief moment he’d forgotten about his daughter beside him … and the tangled mess of the Clearville grapevine. Darcy had that effect on him. So what if, for a split second, he wasn’t a single dad, worried and scarred? With Darcy, he was something else. A man interested in a woman …

      Dear Reader,

      Have you ever had the chance to start over? The phrase sounds so hopeful, doesn’t it? A clean slate, the possibility of a new beginning … The reality of a fresh start can be challenging, though. How do you get over the mistakes of the past and overcome the fear of repeating them?

      For Darcy Dawson, a new start means a move to a small town and an opportunity for a new business. But a new love with the town’s serious—and seriously handsome—veterinarian is the last thing on her mind.

      Nick Pirelli thinks he’s ready for a new relationship with the right kind of woman, but will painful lessons from the past keep him from opening his heart to a city girl like Darcy?

      Darcy and the Single Dad is the first book in my new Cherish^™ miniseries, THE PIRELLI BROTHERS. I hope you enjoy it. Look for Sam’s and Drew’s stories in the future!

      Happy reading!

       Stacy Connelly

      About the Author

      STACY CONNELLY has dreamed of publishing books since she was a kid, writing stories about a girl and her horse. Eventually, boys made it onto the page as she discovered a love of romance and the promise of happily ever after.

      When she is not lost in the land of make-believe, Stacy lives in Arizona with her two spoiled dogs. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at [email protected] or www.stacyconnelly.com.

      Darcy and the

       Single Dad

      Stacy Connelly

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To Gail Chasan and Susan Litman—

      Thank you for this chance at my first series for Cherish^™. I’m looking forward to telling all the Pirelli brothers’ stories!

      Chapter One

      Nick Pirelli was exhausted. Staring out the windshield of his SUV, he was glad he knew the back routes around his hometown as well as he did. The evergreen-lined asphalt curving through the mountains had landed more than one tourist—and the occasional local—in a ditch or with a new guard-rail-shaped hood ornament. But even under the dark skies of an approaching storm, he could easily find his way.

      It had been one hell of a day. Nick had worked as Clearville, California’s only vet for years, and most days, he loved his job. He had an affinity for animals and recognized the joy they brought to people’s lives with their loyalty and affection. In his almost ten years as a vet, he’d learned to control his emotions to best deal with the animals and owners who trusted him with their care. He’d treated injuries and accidents and the heartbreak of old age.

      But the horse the sheriff had called him out to evaluate wasn’t sick or injured or old.

      Instead, it had been abandoned and left to fend for itself in a weed-and-debris-filled paddock. Nick didn’t know how people could walk away from someone who depended on them. Who needed them.

      The animal had stood still as Nick and the sheriff debated its fate, head bowed, posture as poor as the pitiful creature had to feel. But in that moment of decision, the horse’s head rose and it looked right at Nick. Its eyes had been dull and listless, but in the soulful brown gaze, he saw a hint of … It was ridiculous to call it hope in such a hopeless situation, but he’d seen a flicker of something. Maybe just the ghost of a chance that with a little care, a little love, the future could be so much brighter.

      Not wanting to look too closely at the reason why the horse’s plight seemed to reach inside and grab hold of his gut, he’d pulled out his phone. Within the hour, Jarrett Deeks had arrived with a trailer hitched to his king cabin truck.

      None of the local rescues would have the resources or ability to even try to nurse a horse this far gone back to health.

      The horse barely had the strength to walk, but the two of them managed to ease it into the trailer. Nick had followed Jarrett out to his property. He gave the former rodeo star all the instructions he could, promising to check on the horse the next day and letting Jarrett know he could call for help at any time.

      Nick was still wondering if he’d made the right choice as he headed home. Only time would tell. For now, he was looking forward to relaxing and, hopefully, leaving this day behind. With nothing more pressing to do, he planned to spend a few hours in front of the television, enjoying a baseball game and having a beer. Alone.

      Thanks to a slumber party his daughter, Maddie, had been invited to, he had a weekend to himself, and he was looking forward to it with enough anticipation to send guilt dogging his heels.

      After all, Maddie had just gotten back from a trip to San Francisco to see her mother. He shouldn’t have wanted—needed—a break so soon. The only saving grace was that Maddie had missed her friends during her two weeks away and had been thrilled with the invitation to stay with the Martins.

      So, really, he had no reason to feel guilty at all.

      Trying to force the feeling aside, he focused on the cold, crisp taste of the beer waiting for him at home, the smoky flavor of the burgers he’d cook on the charcoal grill, the peace and quiet of having the house to himself. The cabin in the woods he and his younger brother Drew had built together was more than a home to Nick. It was his haven, his sanctuary, his—

      Cave.

      He’d heard the gibe from more than one family member, and he was tired of listening to their complaints that he was turning into a hermit. Hell, some days he was tired of being a hermit, a realization that had blindsided him more than once lately. The most recent blow had been at his parents’ anniversary party a few weeks ago, a celebration concluding with his sister Sophia’s engagement to Jake Cameron.

      The newly engaged couple had glowed, lit from within by their emotions for each other. His little sister deserved that kind of happiness and a man who loved her as completely and utterly as Jake did. Already they’d worked their way through some daunting hurdles with Jake having to earn Sophia’s trust after she’d been betrayed by a man she’d met before Jake. A man who was the biological father to the baby Sophia carried. But Jake had already vowed to love the baby as much as he loved its mother, and no one in the Pirelli family doubted his word.

      Love—strong and solid after his parents’ thirty-five years of marriage and as bright and shiny as the engagement ring his sister now wore—had surrounded him and yet Nick had somehow felt apart from it all. His mother’s words had only multiplied the feeling of life and love passing him by as she’d embraced his sister in a tearful hug. “I can’t believe my little girl is getting married! It seems like only yesterday you were Maddie’s age.”

      Nick had immediately looked toward Maddie, his own little girl