Daddy Lessons

An orange Volkswagen Beetle was parked next to his pickup truck. No one was in the ancient little car, and he could only guess that the blond woman streaking up the sidewalk to the front entrance of the building had been the driver.

Could that have been his new secretary? Surely not! She’d looked like a teenager!

Joe sat at his desk, but before he had time to consider that horrible idea the tapping of high heels sounded outside in the corridor, then a softer knock came at the door.

Leaning up in his seat, Joe sucked in a bracing breath, then folded his hands atop the walnut desk.

“Come in,” he called.

Dear Lord, was that her boss’s voice? Savanna swallowed nervously, then forced herself to reach for the doorknob. Even if the man sounded like a grizzly bear, she couldn’t stay out here in the corridor, she scolded herself.

After wiping her sweaty palms down her hips, Savanna slowly turned the knob and pushed open the door. Yet before she could step inside, a male voice barked loudly.

“I said come in!”

The unexpected summons caused Savanna to practically jump over the threshold and into the office.

“Good morning,” she said in a breathless rush to the man staring at her from behind a wide desk. “I’m Savanna Starr. The temporary help. Are you Mr. Joe McCann?”

He nodded, then stood. Savanna’s eyes followed his movements and she was instantly struck by his tall, muscular body, thick, tawny blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

“I am,” he said brusquely. “And you’re late. Did you know you were supposed to be here at eight o’clock?”

Color flooded Savanna’s cheeks, but she bravely held his gaze. Dear Lord, she thought with surprise, Joe McCann was a young man! She hadn’t expected that. How many men in their mid-thirties were capable of drilling for gas or oil, much less owning their own drilling company? She’d been expecting an old man with gray hair and a pot belly. Joe McCann wasn’t anything like that. He was—all man!

Finally managing to unglue her tongue from the roof of her mouth, she said, “Yes, sir, I did. But—”

“I don’t like tardiness, Ms. Starr.”

Carefully, she placed her purse and lunch sack on the floor beside her feet, then straightened before she spoke. “Neither do I, Mr. McCann,” she said in her most crisp, businesslike voice. “But unfortunately it couldn’t be helped. You see, I—”

“Save the explanations,” he interrupted. “You should have started earlier.”

Before Savanna could stop it, a gasp of disbelief rushed past her lips. She needed this job. But did she really want to work for a man who was looking at her as if he’d never seen a woman before? Much less a woman who had happened to commit the evil sin of being late? What sort of man was he, anyway?

Feeling an unusual spurt of temper, Savanna decided to damn the consequences and speak her mind. “For your information, Mr. McCann, I did start early. But I had a flat tire on I-40. Do you know how many big, strong, macho men like you stopped to help me?”

Joe’s eyebrows shot up as Savanna Starr impatiently tapped the toe of her beige high heel. Obviously she was waiting for his answer, but he could only stare at her. He’d never seen anything like this woman.

When he didn’t immediately respond, Savanna felt inclined to go on before she lost her nerve. “I’ll tell you, Mr. McCann. Not one stopped to give me a hand. I guess they all had bosses like you and were afraid of being late themselves.”

Joe’s lips parted, but still he didn’t say anything. He was too busy trying to figure out what a woman like her was doing in his office. She didn’t look anything like a secretary. And as far as he was concerned, she wasn’t behaving like one, either. What had he done to deserve this? he wondered as frustration poured through him. First Megan and now Savanna Starr. A man couldn’t be expected to deal with two unpredictable females in his life at the same time. It would be impossible. Pure hell, in fact.

From the grim expression on Joe McCann’s face, Savanna knew it was too late to worry about making a first impression on him. She’d opened her big fat mouth before she could stop herself and now he couldn’t get rid of her fast enough.

Well, that was the story of her life, Savanna thought miserably. Until a few months ago she’d hopped from one town and one state to the next. Her jobs had been mixed, some of them several weeks here, or a few short days there. Here today and gone tomorrow. That was the way things went for Savanna Starr. But this time it looked as if she’d be moving on even faster than usual. Like in a matter of minutes!

“Oh, brother,” she groaned aloud as she glanced down at the dress she was wearing. The plain linen sheath was the color of a spring daffodil and had been one of her very favorites. Now grease marks striped her hips where she’d inadvertently wiped her dirty hands. “Looks like I’ve ruined my dress along with my chance for this job. I guess today just wasn’t my day.”

Picking up her purse and lunch sack, she turned toward the door. “I’ll tell the service to send you someone else. I’m sure they can have a secretary here for you within the hour. Goodbye, Mr. McCann.”

She was about to step into the hallway when the telephone began to ring. Joe’s eyes jerked over to the jangling instrument. God help him, it was probably Megan already. He couldn’t deal with another twenty or so calls from her again today. Before he could consider his actions, he reached out and grabbed Savanna’s arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked her.

What did he care? she wondered. He obviously didn’t want her services. And even though she’d been excited about taking this job, she wasn’t completely sure she wanted to work for Joe McCann. He not only angered her, he disturbed her in a primal sort of way. She wanted to lash out at him. Not as an offended employee. But as a woman. Which didn’t make sense. She didn’t know this man. So why was he getting under her skin?

“I think I’m going down to Lilly’s,” she finally answered.

Joe looked as blank as if Savanna had said she was headed to the moon. Behind them the telephone continued to ring.

“Pardon me, did you say Lilly’s?”

Even though Savanna was annoyed with him, she decided to explain anyway. “You know where Lilly’s is, don’t you? That little bakery down on the corner. She has great apple fritters and since I had to miss breakfast this morning, I think I’ll indulge myself. Who gives a damn about sugar and fat? I won’t get to wear this dress again anyway.”

“Ms. Starr!” he practically shouted. “Did I dismiss you?”

Savanna’s chin tilted a fraction higher. She’d never been fired from a job in her life. But if this man was going to make a big issue of terminating her chance to work here, she wished he’d get it over with and let her be on her way. “Not verbally. But—”

His face darkened with color. “Oh, I see,” he drawled mockingly. “Along with your secretarial skills you also read minds. I guess the temporary service forgot to tell me that.”

Savanna couldn’t ever remember meeting any man as obnoxious as Joe McCann. Which was really too bad, she thought. He had the rough sort of looks that turned women’s heads. And she’d be lying if she didn’t admit to herself that just for a second, when she’d walked through the door, he’d turned hers. His tall, well-muscled body was without an ounce of fat. His face was lean, too, with strong, bony features and eyes as blue as a western sky.

But Savanna wasn’t in the market for a man. Especially a man like this one, who looked as though he rarely smiled, if ever. No, she’d tried romance before and her young heart had wound up shattered. She wasn’t ready, or brave enough, to set herself up for that kind of pain again.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t read minds, Mr. McCann. However, I can read faces. And at the moment I’d say yours looks about as happy as a hound with a flea on its back.”

Joe rubbed his fingers against his throbbing temples. The woman might be an irresponsible oddball, but she’d certainly gotten that much right. “What did you come here for in the first place?”

His voice had suddenly gone weary and dull. As Savanna watched him scrub his face with both hands, she wondered if he was physically ill. Could that account for his waspish attitude?

“I came here to work. But I thought—”

“I believe it would be safer for both of us if you didn’t think, Ms. Starr!”

Savanna’s teeth ground together. She’d be crazy to be concerned about the man. He wasn’t ill. He was an ass! Still, she couldn’t entirely ignore the desperation in his eyes or the fatigue on his face. It was plain to her the man needed help—he just didn’t quite know it yet.

Thankfully, the telephone finally quieted. Joe dropped his hold on her arm and took a step back. He didn’t know why he’d grabbed hold of her in the first place. Normally he wouldn’t lay a hand on any employee. Particularly a woman. But something about Savanna Starr was making him act totally out of character.

Tingling from his touch, Savanna stared at him, her mind spinning as she watched him rake a hand through his wavy blond hair.

“Are you suggesting you still want me?” she asked incredulously.

Joe’s blue gaze swept over her petite but very shapely form. Savanna Starr. What kind of name was that? he wondered. It sounded like something a damn Hollywood producer would make up.

Walking over to his desk, he glanced back at her to see she was still standing in the middle of the room, staring at him with eyes the color of a fawn’s coat in summer. He’d never seen such rich brown eyes on a blonde before, but then Joe rarely looked at women that closely. Since he and Deirdre had divorced, he hadn’t had the time or the urge to involve himself with a woman. McCann Drilling took all his attention, and he figured that was the way it always would be. “If you think—”

Before he could go on, the telephone began to ring again. Grimacing, he motioned with his hand for Savanna to answer it. “Get that. And if it’s my daughter, Megan, tell her I’m out in the work yard and that I can’t talk to her now!”