Bachelor Dad

“Talk to me, Libby,” he said, looking into the depths of her amber eyes.

“What is it?” he whispered, afraid he would scare her away.

“It’s nothing,” she answered, and tried to break free, but he held her tight.

When he turned her face with one finger so he could look into her eyes again, he saw the sparkle of tears.

Cupping her cheek with one hand, he pulled her closer with his other. “Won’t you let me help?”

Her sigh seemed to come from the depths of her, but she didn’t look away. Tears mixed with raindrops as they made a path down her cheek, and then her eyes slowly drifted shut. Without thinking, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. Garrett felt her start to pull away, and then she seemed to fold herself into him.

Dear Reader,

The winter of 2010–2011 has been a tough one for those of us who live in North America. Between snowstorms and flooding, no one has escaped unusual weather. The one good thing that may have come from this is the chance to read.

Whether it’s the weather or just the overall enjoyment of books, it seems I’ve been rebitten by the reading bug, doing more reading this year than I have for a long time, and really enjoying it. I’ve also been doing a lot of writing, which has culminated in this, the sixth book set in Desperation, Oklahoma. I’m especially pleased that you’ve chosen the story of Desperation’s City Attorney, Garrett Miles, a man who’s happy with his lot in life, and single mom Libby Carter. When a “package” is delivered to Garrett, his life takes on new responsibilities as he learns firsthand some of the things Libby goes through every day. As for Libby, she has secrets that can’t be shared. But can secrets remain buried in Desperation?

In the United States, one out of four people will be victims of domestic violence. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, over 2 million people called a hotline or domestic violence crisis center in 2004. If you’re in a violent relationship or know someone who is, get help now. For more information, visit the Domestic Violence Resource Center (www.dvrc-or.org) or domesticviolence.org. Help make sure everyone has a chance at happy ever after.

Best Wishes and Happy Reading,

Roxann

Bachelor Dad

Roxann Delaney

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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To the wonderful ladies of

WARA (Wichita Area Romance Authors)

for their encouragement, support, and especially

their friendship for the past fifteen years.

Chapter One

Ignoring the lunch crowd at Lou’s Place, Garrett Miles skimmed the minutes from Tuesday night’s city council meeting and jotted a note on a legal pad. The local tavern might not be the ideal place for the city attorney to be working, but his tiny office in the municipal building had become claustrophobic. Besides, he was hungry.

“Coffee, tea or …”

Smiling, he looked up and into a pair of familiar amber eyes and a devilish smile. “When did you start working the lunch shift?” he asked.

Libby Carter waited until he’d put his paperwork aside before she placed a cup of coffee in front of him. “Jeanine needed a couple of hours off, so I offered to cover for her. I didn’t know you came here for lunch.”

A strand of her blond hair had slipped from the twisted knot at the back of her head and fallen along her cheek, and he fought the urge to touch it. He’d always been attracted to Libby and liked her far more than he should.

He pushed the thought aside, smiled again and shrugged. “I had a hankering for one of Kate McPherson’s barbecue beef sandwiches and didn’t want to wait until after work.”

“I can’t blame you for that,” she answered, tucking the errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Is there anything else I can get you? Besides the sandwich, that is.”

Picking up the cup in front of him, he shook his head. “Just the sandwich,” he answered. “And keep the coffee coming.”

She looked over her shoulder when another customer called to her, and Garrett heard her sigh before she answered. “Be there in a second, Gus.” When she turned back to Garrett, she flashed him a smile. “Duty calls. I’ll have that sandwich for you right away.”

“Thanks.”

He watched her walk to the bar where several locals sat, their beer glasses and bottles in hand, their talk quiet except for an occasional burst of laughter. He didn’t stop in for lunch at Lou’s often, preferring to visit in the evenings after work, but today he’d needed the change of scenery. Seeing Libby was a perk.

Picking up the cup of coffee, he took a drink—and nearly scalded the roof of his mouth, causing him to let out a small yelp.

Libby appeared within seconds with a glass of water. “Too hot?”

He nodded and set his cup down quickly.

She picked it up and sighed. “I told Lou he was serving it too hot. Did he listen? Like he always does, meaning never. I’ll get it cooled down.” Shaking her head, she hurried to the bar and reached over the top of it.

Garrett stared, instantly forgetting about his burned mouth. He wasn’t the only one in the place who was looking. Nearly every man with decent eyesight was watching, the same as he was. It hadn’t escaped his notice or anyone else’s that Libby’s charms included more than being a good waitress with a sassy attitude. She was a very attractive woman. Especially from the back.

He’d thought more than once of asking her out, but he’d never done it. He didn’t have time, and he wasn’t interested in a relationship. Libby might be fun to flirt with at Lou’s, but he knew from talking to her that she was a single mom and as far as he was concerned, that was a red light.

“I added some ice,” Libby said, hurrying back to his table and setting the cup of cooled coffee in front of him again.

The twinkle in her eyes put him on guard. “What, besides ice, did you put in it?”

“Only ice, I swear,” she answered, placing one hand flat on the table and holding up the other. “I want to make sure it’s all right. After all, we can’t have one of our best customers, not to mention our only non-beer-drinking customer, burning his mouth.”

“It’s okay,” he answered. “I’m good.”

“So I’ve heard.”

He couldn’t keep from chuckling. Having a conversation with Libby was always a game. “Hassling the injured guy, are you?”

“Get ‘em while they’re down, I always say.” She walked away with an exaggerated swing to her hips.

Within minutes, she returned with his sandwich. “On the house,” she told him.

“There’s no need for that,” he assured her, pulling the plate closer. “I’m not going to sue.”

He’d expected a smart answer from her, but instead she said nothing. She looked tired, he thought, noticing the dark circles beneath her eyes, but she always had a smile for everyone.

She leaned forward to wipe a few water rings from the table with the corner of the dishtowel tucked into the waistband of her jeans. “Why hasn’t such a nice guy like you settled down with an equally good woman?”

He considered giving her a flippant answer, but instead he decided she deserved honesty. “I practiced family law back in Chicago for several years. You know, divorce and child custody and all that. I thought I could make a difference. Came to find out, I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep those kids from being pawns of their parents. Divorce is always messy, even when everybody starts out agreeing, but when kids are involved … Well, I guess you could say the whole experience jaded me.”

“I can understand how that could happen,” she answered, without looking directly at him.

“What about you?” he asked. “You’re divorced, right?”

She nodded as she continued to wipe at a spot on the table, but she didn’t say anything.

“What about Noah’s dad?” he continued, curious. When she straightened, a frown marring her usually sunny expression, he knew he’d stepped over the bounds. “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s all right. I started it,” she admitted with a small smile. “Noah’s dad isn’t in the picture.”

He nodded, accepting her brief answer. Before he could say anything else, his cell phone rang. Pulling it from the pocket inside his jacket, he answered. “Garrett here.”

“Garrett, were you expecting a delivery?”

He recognized the voice of Tootie Fredericks, the city administrator. “No. Why?”

“You need to get back to the office, right now.”

She sounded upset, and he knew that wasn’t a good sign. “What is it, Tootie?”

“A package came for you.”

“A package? Can’t it wait?”

“No, it can’t, and you need to get your butt here right now.”

He was accustomed to her eccentricities, chalking them up to her thirty plus years working for the city, and he chuckled softly. Tootie was a great administrator, but sometimes she got carried away. “Why? Will it explode?”

“No,” she answered briskly, “but you might. Get a move on.”

“But what—?” There was no reason to finish. He heard the empty silence and knew she’d ended the call. Sighing, he looked at the half-eaten sandwich in front of him and quickly caught Libby’s eye. “Can you get me something so I can take my sandwich with me?” he asked when she hurried over. “I’d really appreciate it. I have to get back to the office.”

“Of course. It’ll only take a second.” Libby disappeared, taking the sandwich and plate with her.

He’d just finished gathering his paperwork together and was pulling some money from his wallet, when she reappeared with a paper sack and handed it to him. “I hope everything is all right.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is. She probably thinks I’ve taken a long enough lunch today. You know what they say. A man’s work is never done.”

“I do believe it’s a woman’s work that’s never done,” she corrected him, as he moved away from the table.

“Could be.” He realized he was wishing he didn’t have to leave and knew he shouldn’t feel that way. Pressing the bills into her hand, he said, “That should take care of it, with a little extra for you.”

She shook her head, but he ignored it and left the tavern, turning toward the city building, two blocks away. It was a nice day, and he’d chosen to walk to Lou’s and enjoy the outdoors. He didn’t hurry, suspecting that Tootie simply thought it was time for him to be back at his desk.

As he reached the Chick-a-Lick Café, Morgan Rule, Desperation’s sheriff, stepped out and onto the sidewalk. “I didn’t see you inside and thought you might be working at home today,” Morgan said, joining him.

Garrett explained that he’d gone to Lou’s for a change, and they walked on to city hall together. The small building where they both worked sat on the far corner of what was considered the business part of town. Garrett stopped at the first door, while Morgan continued on to the next. Once inside, Garrett passed through the reception area and continued along a hallway.

As he walked by Tootie’s office, she stepped out and grabbed him by the arm, leading him to his office.

“What’s going on, Tootie?” he asked, tired of whatever game she was playing. “And where’s this package?”

“You’ll see,” she answered, hanging back as he walked into his office and put the paper bag on his desk. When he looked back at her, standing just outside the doorway, she nodded her head. “Go on.”

“I don’t see any—” He stopped, then shook his head, thinking he was seeing things.

A small girl sat on a nearby chair, her hands folded in her lap. His first thought was that she looked like his sister, and he couldn’t imagine how that could be. He was pretty sure she didn’t have a daughter.

So who was this child?

He turned to look at Tootie, still standing in the doorway. “Who—?”

“Shush,” she whispered, glancing behind him at the little girl. Crooking her finger at him to follow, she directed him outside the door and then pressed an envelope into his hand. “Maybe this will answer your question.”

Garrett glanced at the child again and then tore open the envelope. Unfolding the single piece of paper he found inside, he read handwriting that was eerily familiar to him, and he wasn’t eager to remember why. It wasn’t long before he knew.

Hoping Tootie wouldn’t see that his hands had begun to shake, he folded the paper and returned it to the envelope. He wasn’t sure he could speak, so he cleared his throat before he tried. “Who brought this?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t see her. Geri was up front, and she brought the girl back to me and asked me when you’d be back. I told her you were out to lunch. She said a woman had walked in and asked for you. When Geri told her you were out, she said something about you expecting the girl, handed her that envelope and hightailed it out the door.”

He didn’t doubt the girl’s mother was in and out before anyone could question her. “Did Geri see the car she came in?”

“She said it was a dark color, and it looked like there was a man behind the wheel, but it peeled away so fast, she couldn’t get a tag number. But it wasn’t an Oklahoma license.” Tootie’s eyes narrowed as she watched him. “You weren’t expecting her, were you?” When he shook his head and avoided looking at her, her sigh was deafening. “What’s going on, Garrett?”

He wasn’t sure how to say it. If what was in the short letter was true …

“Her name is Sophie,” he answered. “Sophie Miles.”

“Sophie Miles?” Tootie repeated.

He nodded, and his throat tightened around the words he needed to say. “She’s my daughter.”

LIBBY WATCH ED AS THE HEAVY wooden door of the tavern slowly swung shut behind Garrett and reminded herself that she could never get involved with any man, especially him. If he knew the truth … She gave herself a shake. He didn’t know and never would.

The old, scarred door swung open again, but it was Jeanine who breezed inside. Hurrying toward Libby, she smiled. “Thanks for filling in for me,” she said. “I’ll take over. You can go home and rest up before tonight’s shift.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Libby answered and turned to the table Garrett had vacated. “I’ll just finish clearing this table and—” Tucked next to the coffee cup Garrett had used was his cell phone. “Looks like Garrett forgot something.”

“Maybe you should take it to him,” Jeanine suggested, a twinkle in her eye.

Libby knew what her fellow waitress was thinking and decided her best course of action would be to ignore it. “I suppose I should. It will only take a couple of minutes, and then I can go home and sleep until Noah gets home from school.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jeanine said. “I’ll finish cleaning up.”

Libby hesitated. “You’re sure?”

Jeanine gave her a gentle shove. “Of course.”

“Okay, thanks.” Libby pulled the towel from her waistband as she hurried to the bar and stepped behind it. She hadn’t slept especially well the night before. Usually she had no problem, but she’d been restless and dreams that bordered on nightmares had plagued her, waking her with a pounding heart. She was sure there was no reason to be worried, and she tried not to, but something would trigger memories she thought were buried, and that’s when the dreams would start.

Grabbing her purse from under the bar, she slipped the cell phone inside, then headed toward the door, giving Jeanine a wave as she stepped outside. The early afternoon sunshine was bright, and she blinked as she crossed the gravel parking lot to her car. The car door groaned when she opened it, but she ignored it and slid inside. For a brief moment, she was afraid the car wasn’t going to start, but the engine finally took hold, and within seconds she was on her way down the street to the city building.

Within a few minutes, she’d quickly parked the car, hurried inside and pulled the phone from her purse. Expecting to give it someone at the front desk, she was surprised to find no one there. With a shrug, she moved on and discovered a hallway that she hoped would lead her to the city offices where she’d find Garrett. A few steps later, she heard him before she saw him.

“Why didn’t you call me?” he said, his voice not far away.

“I did, if you remember.”

Libby could see Garrett and silver-haired Tootie Fredericks standing just inside a small office she suspected was Garrett’s. Not wanting to interrupt or appear to be eavesdropping, she stopped and waited. But not overhearing what was being said was impossible. Although Tootie’s voice was low, the volume of Garrett’s wasn’t.

“You gave me some crazy talk about a package.” He raked his hand through his hair, leaving part of it sticking straight up. “It wasn’t as if you even gave me a clue.”

“You need to lower your voice,” Tootie said, sounding like a teacher reprimanding a student.

Garrett happened to look up at that moment, and Libby knew the moment he saw her. “Sorry to bother you,” she said, quickly approaching them and ready to get this little visit over with, “but no one was up front.”

Tootie stepped out of the office and into the hallway. “I thought Geri was watching the front.”

“You can’t leave!” Garrett said as she started to walk away. There was no question in Libby’s mind that something had him in a panic. She didn’t recall ever seeing him ruffled by anything.

The frown Tootie shot him immediately softened to what might be recognized as a smile by some, and she patted the hand he now had on her arm. “You’ll be fine for a minute or two. I’ll find Geri. She’s probably upset because I lit into her earlier. I’ll be right back. Until then, Libby can keep you both company.”

“Both?” Libby repeated as Tootie left them. She turned to Garrett. “I’m sorry. I’ve obviously picked a bad time.”

“It’s not that.” He cleared his throat but said nothing else.

Attempting to ignore his obvious discomfort, she quickly handed him his cell phone. “I stopped by to give you this. You left it at Lou’s.”

He took the phone from her and shoved it inside his jacket. “Thanks.”

“Is something wrong?” she finally dared to ask.

“No,” he said, but followed that with a nod. “Okay, yes, there’s something wrong.” He glanced over his shoulder, and then quickly added, “Not wrong, just …”

Libby heard the tap of footsteps coming closer down the hall and looked back to see Tootie. Good. Now she could leave. Whatever was going on with Garrett, she didn’t feel comfortable being a part of it. Talking to him at Lou’s was one thing. Being around him outside of where she worked was something completely different.

Before she could make a move to leave, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking more closely, she saw a small girl sitting perfectly still on a straight-backed metal chair near a tall filing cabinet. The child held a battered teddy bear in her arms.

“Hi, there,” Libby said, smiling at the child, and then turned to Garrett. “Daughter of a client?”

“That’s a good question,” Tootie said, stepping inside the office. “You should answer her, Garrett.”

“Libby came to bring me my phone,” he explained, ignoring her suggestion. He headed for a coffeemaker near the filing cabinet and poured himself a cup. “I accidentally left it behind at Lou’s.”

Tootie chuckled at the information. “Saturday he left it at the post office.”

All Libby wanted to do at that point was leave. “Yes, well—”

“Would you like some?” he asked Libby, gesturing toward the coffeemaker.

“No, thank you. I really should be going.”

“Tootie? How about you? It seems we’re having some sort of get-together here.”

But Libby was watching the little girl, who slid down from the chair and walked slowly to Garrett. Holding her teddy bear in one arm with what appeared to be a fierce grip, she tugged on the sleeve of Garrett’s jacket with her free hand.

He looked down at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. “Do you want something?” he asked carefully.

She nodded and pointed to his coffee cup.

“Oh, mercy me,” Tootie exclaimed. “She’s thirsty. Don’t you dare give her coffee, Garrett Miles. It’ll stunt her growth.”

Libby had to clamp her mouth shut on the laugh that threatened. “Is there water somewhere?” she asked. “An extra glass or cup, maybe?”

“I have something even better,” Tootie said and turned to the little girl. “Do you like milk?”

The child nodded her head and almost smiled.

“We have some in the refrigerator in back for people who use it in their coffee. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll get you a glass.”

The girl took Tootie’s hand when she held it out, and they stepped out into the hall. Garrett let out a loud sigh of what was obviously relief, just as Tootie stuck her head back in the door. “Why don’t you show Libby that letter? She’s a mother. Maybe she can make some sense of it all.”

This time Garrett watched them as they walked away. When they’d disappeared around a corner, he shook his head and leaned his hip against his desk. “This is …” His hand went to his hair again, but stopped midway. He turned to Libby, saying, “I’m sorry you were dragged into this.”

Concerned that whatever was going on was not only serious but very private, she didn’t know what to say. “Since I don’t really know what’s going on, there’s no reason to be sorry. And before I do know too much, maybe I should go.”

She’d taken a step toward the doorway, when he spoke. “I’d rather you didn’t.” When she glanced back at him, he pushed away from the desk. “I could use a more unbiased yet knowledgeable person to counsel me.”

“Knowledgeable? Me?” She couldn’t imagine how she could help him. The only thing she knew about that he didn’t was how to disappear, and he might even have a clue about that. Her life prior to her arrival in Desperation eight months ago was a closed—and tightly locked—subject, not to mention something she’d rather forget.

“You’re a single parent,” he answered. “Most of the parents I know these days are couples, although back in the day, I guess I helped couples become single parents.”

He didn’t appear especially proud of that last part, and she could understand. She also understood that she had to remain silent when it came to her situation and how she managed to get to where she was now. Not only was secrecy about her escape from Phoenix with her son a necessity, but Garrett being a lawyer was a danger, not only to her but to those who had helped her.

And then she thought about what he’d just said.

“What does my being a single parent have to do with you?”

He picked up an envelope from his desk, pulled a folded paper from it and handed it to her. “This might answer your question and explain why I’m acting rather strange.”

She studied him for a moment, trying to decide if he was kidding. Unable to tell, she unfolded the letter and began skimming the handwriting. It didn’t take long before the skimming stopped and the reading began. From what she could tell, it was what people called a kiss-off letter, but it wasn’t Garrett who was getting dumped, it was the little girl. Her name was Sophie Miles, and apparently she was Garrett’s daughter.

Glancing up at him, she asked, “Were you aware of this?”