The Daddy Plan. Karen Rose Smith

that kiss had never happened.

      She removed her hand from his forearm. “You don’t have to be a father in the real sense. I mean, this could just be a business arrangement. You donate your sperm and that’s that.”

      He’d donate his sperm and that was that? “If you got pregnant and I had a child, don’t you think I’d want to be in his life?”

      “I don’t know. Would you?”

      He thought about Alicia, what she’d done, the sorrow he’d felt, the absolute sense of betrayal. He couldn’t imagine having a child and not wanting to be part of his or her life. “Do you know how sticky this could get?”

      “Or not.” She put the emphasis on the not. “If I became pregnant, if I have a baby, I would want a male role model in his or her life. You could fit in that way. As I said, I’ve seen you with Kyle. You’d be great. But I also know your brother Nathan said you’re researching setting up veterinary clinics in foreign countries. If you decide that’s something you want to do, you wouldn’t have any strings tying you here.”

      “A child is one awfully big string.”

      Corrie studied him. “I thought men just wanted to donate their sperm then shirk responsibility.”

      “Where did you get your opinion of men?”

      Corrie’s cheeks reddened. “It doesn’t matter where my opinion comes from, does it? I just don’t believe becoming a father is on most men’s agendas when they have sex. They walk away as soon as something goes wrong…as soon as they see someone else they’d rather be with.”

      Sam wanted to shout, That’s not true. My mother was the one who walked away. But he didn’t. Corrie’s opinion was Corrie’s opinion. Something obviously had happened to her to make her believe it. Hadn’t he himself concluded in the past few weeks that he was destined to be a bachelor? His father had trusted a woman and she’d walked out on her husband and kids. Sam had taken a chance on love and had been hurt just as badly.

      “Let me tell you something, Corrie. If I were to father a child, I would not shirk my responsibility. That’s something you’d have to decide whether you could live with or not.”

      Her eyes widened. “I never expected you’d want to be…involved.”

      Because after their kiss in the tavern that New Year’s Eve they’d ignored the chemistry, ignored the possibility of connection? Why had he ignored it?

      The answer came swiftly. He’d sensed Corrie had walls he’d have difficulty breaking down. Besides neither of them had wanted to tamper with a boss-employee relationship that worked. Apparently neither of them had been ready for a relationship much more intimate than that.

      He was aware of a pleasant scent that always seemed to surround Corrie, something like peaches and vanilla. It must be a lotion she used or a shampoo. Right now, inhaling it, studying her heart-shaped face, the wild mass of auburn curls, the scent wrapped itself around him.

      Needing that cup of coffee, he rose to his feet and went to the kitchen. Her gaze followed him, and he found himself unnerved by her proposition. He should just say no. Why was he even considering it?

      Because becoming a dad, even in this way, could give purpose to his life? A purpose it didn’t have now?

      Jasper suddenly decided he’d had enough of a nap. He stood, shook himself and came trotting over to Sam to look up at him expectantly.

      “What can I do for you?” Sam asked, eager to change the subject, at least for a little while until he got his thoughts together.

      “Whenever I go to my kitchen, he wants a treat. I have a few in my coat pocket.”

      Before Corrie could rise from the sofa, Sam said, “I’ll get them.” He went to her coat and found a bag. He took out a treat. The pup stood up on hind legs and danced around Sam until Sam dropped it into his mouth.

      “You haven’t told me why you’re taking care of Shirley Klinedinst’s dog.”

      The expression on Corrie’s face changed and her voice lowered. “Shirley passed on two weeks ago.”

      “Oh, Corrie, I’m sorry.” He knew Corrie and the older woman had gotten close. Shirley’s old farmhouse on the outskirts of town had been too much for her to handle and had fallen into disrepair. Shirley had had no relatives in town and Sam knew Corrie had stopped in at least once a week to check on her and help out.

      “Her lawyer called me after she was taken to the hospital and said he had instructions to bring Jasper to me if anything happened to her…at least until her estate is settled. Apparently she made some kind of arrangement for Jasper in her will. I said I’d take care of him, of course.”

      As soon as Jasper finished crunching on his treat, he ran over to Corrie and jumped up onto the sofa beside her. She laughed and hugged him and Sam felt himself touched in some way. Oh, he saw Corrie with animals every day. She handled them confidently and expertly. But seeing her with Jasper now…was different somehow. In his mind, he imagined her growing large with child, cuddling the baby after it was born, chasing after a toddler. The Corrie Edwards he was seeing today was very different from the one he’d summarily dismissed the past few years.

      Was the change in him today, or was it in her?

      Or had the question she’d asked him changed his perception of her? Maybe that question had made him see her as a woman rather than an employee.

      “You can’t drive back this evening, you know.”

      Her head came up and her gaze locked to his. “Why not?”

      “You’re going to be snowed in. The crews won’t clear this road until the snowplows take care of the interstate.”

      “I have four-wheel drive.”

      “Be realistic, Corrie. It’s already getting dark. What if you get stranded? There’s no cell phone reception. You couldn’t even call me.”

      She looked down at the little cocker spaniel, and he knew she was thinking about Jasper, too. She wouldn’t do anything to put that animal in harm’s way. “I didn’t plan on staying. I didn’t bring extra clothes—”

      “Or a toothbrush?” he teased. “What? You were planning to run in here, drop that question on me, then run out again? Why didn’t you just wait until I came back? Nathan and Sara’s wedding is next weekend, and I can’t miss it.”

      “I heard about the wedding. But honestly, that’s another reason I drove up here today. I thought it might be awkward working together until you gave me an answer. I didn’t want you to feel…pressured.”

      “Once I give you my decision, we’ll still be working together.”

      “I know. But if you don’t want to do it, we’ll just go on as if I never asked.”

      In other words, Corrie wanted him to give this plan of hers serious thought without any distractions.

      Sam’s knee brushed hers as he shifted toward her. “You want me to consider your idea seriously.”

      Her eyes grew shiny. “This means a lot to me, Sam.”

      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