His grandfather had always thought Marc should live on the ranch. He thought Marc loved that life more than the corporate world, but as much as Marc did, he wasn’t quite ready yet to be a rancher. He was sure his grandfather thought he knew what was best for his grandson. Marc loved the old man and he wanted to make his last days happy, so he’d try to do what his grandfather wished, but...
Where in blazes would he get a wife in a month? One he could tell goodbye later and dissolve the marriage.
That was the big catch. He didn’t think any of the women he dated would want to marry and then split. He couldn’t think of one woman friend he’d want to live with, even at the ranch where they had lots of space. He glanced at a short list of names on his desk. Each one already had a line drawn through it.
His attention was diverted as Lara passed the open door again. There went someone he could have around for one year. As a secretary, she was a huge help and yet she stayed in the background, usually barely noticeable, but always there when he needed her. Pity he couldn’t ask her. He looked at his list of names again and wrote down another one, crossing it out as soon as he finished writing.
Searching his memory for anyone else, he glanced at Lara, who was seated at her desk putting something in a drawer. He suspected she was coming to see him to turn in her resignation. At her interview a year ago she’d mentioned she was saving her money to go to medical school someday. At the time he’d dismissed her statement as wishful thinking, but after working with her, he now believed what she said. When Lara set her mind to something, she got it done—fast and efficiently.
She reminded him of someone else he knew. Marc glanced at Kathy’s picture on his desk and pulled it closer. “I miss you and need you,” he whispered, thinking about his pregnant wife who’d died in a plane crash fourteen months earlier. It still hurt like hell to be without her. In that crash he lost his wife and his baby. Kathy had been two months pregnant.
He shifted his thoughts back to his ailing grandfather—another big, painful loss that was coming in his life. That made him think of his grandfather’s ultimatum—or bargain, actually. Marc had two giant reasons for wanting to meet his grandfather’s criteria. The first reason was that he wanted the ranch and the inheritance that would benefit not only him but his mother.
The other big reason was that he loved the old man. His grandfather had been the father figure in Marc’s life since he was twelve years old and his dad died. Marc loved his grandpa and he wanted the man’s last days to be happy ones. He wanted that with all his heart—he just hadn’t known that would mean that he’d have to marry within a month.
“Damn,” he said aloud, shaking his head and wondering what he was going to do. The stakes were too high and he loved his grandfather too much to say no to his proposition. But where was he going to find the perfect “wife”?
A knock on the door called a halt to his rambling thoughts. He looked at the clock. Six on the dot. As usual, Lara was right on time.
“Come in.”
In a white cotton blouse with a tan tie at her throat and a matching tan skirt, she looked professional, tailored and so conservative she could easily fade into the background. In fact, there had been times she had to bring him papers during meetings and she had been barely noticeable, slipping in and out, a quiet, shadowy figure while so efficient at her job. Once again he hoped she wasn’t going to quit. He knew she’d had a recent broken engagement, but he had never talked to her about it other than to say he was sorry. She had thanked him and only said she and her fiancé had had differences of opinions on some major issues.
Lara closed the door and turned back to him. “What I have to say is private and very personal.”
He hid his surprise as he pointed at a chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat and tell me what’s on your mind.”
She had a graceful walk. Actually, she was damn attractive, with big blue eyes with amazingly thick, long lashes. She kept her dark brown hair in an upsweep; in fact, he’d never seen her with it down, falling free, but he imagined it was long and thick and luxuriant.
He gave her his full attention, curious about what was personal and important enough to warrant this meeting. She crossed her long legs, her tan skirt falling over her knees. She didn’t need prompting but immediately began to speak.
“I have a situation that eventually I’ll have to let everyone know about, but for now, it’s private. I’ll need to take some time off later.”
“Sure, Lara. Whatever you need. We can fill in until you return,” he said, relieved she wasn’t quitting her job.
Her cheeks became flushed, adding to her looks. She wrung her hands and looked at the floor. The reaction surprised him because he had never seen her lose her poise or appear upset. She hadn’t even appeared bothered by her broken engagement.
“I’m dealing with things I never had to deal with before and never expected to have happen in my life,” she said, looking away as if lost in thought. “This is something I just never expected to have to discuss with my employer.”
“Short of quitting your job, I doubt there’s anything you really need to tell me. Unless you need help of some kind.”
She gave him a fleeting smile that was gone in an instant as she shook her head. “Oh, no. I don’t need your help. Maybe just a little patience and understanding,” she said with a tiny twist of her lips that she may have meant to be a smile.
“Lara, just say what it is. I’m not going to get angry. You’re a great secretary.”
With a deep breath she turned back to face him. “This is so hard, but I feel you should know.”
“Go ahead and tell me if you think I should know,” he said gently, wishing he could ease her discomfort.
She tightened her entwined fingers until her knuckles went white. “Oh, my,” she said, looking away from him. When she turned back, her blue eyes gazed directly at him in a wide-eyed stare as she said bluntly, “I’m pregnant.”
She drew in a deep breath and surged forward. “We didn’t expect this to happen and Leonard Crane—my fiancé—really did not like it, so that’s why we’re no longer engaged.” She paused a millisecond and went on.
“You see, my ex-fiancé didn’t want children for a long time yet. He wanted me to get an abortion and I—well, I can’t do that. I want my baby,” she said with a note of fierce determination in her voice that startled him.
Marc understood now why she was so upset. No matter how much she wanted her baby, an unexpected pregnancy had to push her life off course. Lara was in such perfect control of every facet of her job and helped him keep control of his. She was efficient, intelligent, orderly, capable, dependable, driven. In fact, he was surprised that anything unplanned had occurred to her, especially a pregnancy.
He resisted the temptation to let his gaze drift over her figure, but he knew from the past few days of seeing her move around the office, she didn’t show her condition at all. She was tall, probably five feet ten, and she was still slender.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” he asked. He wondered if Lara needed money or a different place to live. He wondered if she had family to rely on. They had worked closely together and he thought a lot of her. He’d do whatever he could to help her and her baby.
She merely shook her head and gave him a small, forced smile to reassure him she was okay. Instead, it only made him aware of her good looks again.
And that’s when the thought hit him. Lara