Daughter on His Doorstep Read online

  Knock, knock. Guess who’s a dad?

  Nine years of secret-keeping was finally over

  When Luke McCoy moved back next door, Shelby Richards knew he’d discover the truth. Within minutes, young Emma was on his doorstep, asking Luke if he really was her daddy. Though Shelby believed not telling Luke had been the right thing to do, the police detective was not so quick to forgive. And as Shelby saw Luke with their daughter, her heart was not so quick to forget what they’d all missed out on.

  “The only thing I ask is that you let me talk to her first. Explain things in a way she’ll understand.”

  “You mean make me look like the jerk who abandoned you and her?”

  “I’ll tell her the truth and make sure she understands that you didn’t know about her. But she’s nine, Luke. I have to pick the words carefully.” She sighed. “Do you want to be there when I do? Keep me honest?”

  She’d betrayed him in the most elemental way possible, so the word honest coming out of her beautiful mouth was hard to take. And the fact that he could still think she was beautiful felt wrong but couldn’t be helped.

  “After you tell her, I want time with her.”

  “Okay. I’ll be in touch, Luke.”

  He wouldn’t hold his breath on that but at least he knew where to find her.

  Dear Reader,

  It’s said that no one gets out of this life without regrets. Hindsight is 20/20. “If I’d known then what I know now.” There are probably more common expressions but those are the ones that popped into my mind. The point is that we all make decisions with consequences, but usually a consequence that looks exactly like us doesn’t show up unexpectedly at the front door. This is what happens to Luke McCoy in Daughter on His Doorstep.

  Ten years ago he was a screwup in love with Shelby Richards, the girl next door. He felt she deserved a better man than him and broke up with her, then enlisted in the army. But he had to see her one last time to say goodbye.

  At that meeting, Shelby planned to tell him she was pregnant with his child. Before she could, Luke said he was leaving for basic training, and she didn’t want to get in the way of the new life he was making. Ten years later he’s back and his daughter knocks on the door, demanding to know if he’s really her father.

  It was exhilarating to write Luke and Shelby’s story. I hope you enjoy their bumpy ride from mutual distrust to acceptance and finally the realization that they never stopped loving each other.

  Happy reading!

  Teresa Southwick

  Daughter on His Doorstep

  Teresa Southwick

  Teresa Southwick lives with her husband in Las Vegas, the city that reinvents itself every day. An avid fan of romance novels, she is delighted to be living out her dream of writing for Harlequin.

  Books by Teresa Southwick

  Harlequin Special Edition

  An Unexpected Partnership

  What Makes a Father

  The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake

  How to Land Her Lawman

  A Word with the Bachelor

  Just a Little Bit Married

  The New Guy in Town

  His by Christmas

  Just What the Cowboy Needed

  Montana Mavericks: Six Brides for Six Brothers

  Maverick Holiday Magic

  Montana Mavericks: The Lonelyhearts Ranch

  Unmasking the Maverick

  Montana Mavericks: The Baby Bonanza

  Her Maverick M.D.

  Montana Mavericks: What Happened at the Wedding?

  An Officer and a Maverick

  Montana Mavericks: 20 Years in the Saddle!

  From Maverick to Daddy

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  I want to acknowledge two amazing women who answered some important questions for this book.

  Much gratitude to army specialist Tiffany Rubecamp for information about basic training. And thank you for your service.

  Much appreciation to Taylor Boyle for your input on children’s computer tablets. Lucy and Parker are so lucky you’re their mom!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Excerpt from The Bartender’s Secret by Caro Carson

  Chapter One

  Luke McCoy was back.

  Like a bad rash. Or a bad dream. Everything bad.

  From her upstairs bedroom window Shelby Richards had a view of the house next door where he grew up. She happened to glance out and saw a man carrying a bulky duffel bag up the walkway. Something about his loose-limbed, sexy stride was familiar and a shiver of awareness made her look closer. He was broader and more muscular than he’d been ten years ago. But that was definitely Luke.

  Don’t panic, she told herself, but it was hard not to.

  The man didn’t have any idea she’d had his baby.

  All those feelings from a decade ago came back to her now. She’d been seventeen, pregnant, scared and ashamed because she was going to have a baby before high school graduation. She’d wanted to tell him but when you’re a pregnant teenager who broke the rules, you don’t have a lot of choices except to do what you’re told.

  “Shelby, what’s wrong?” Her mother stood in the doorway. Pam Richards had a laundry basket resting against her hip. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Luke. Luke McCoy, the guy I used to—”

  “I remember who he is.” The temperature of her mother’s voice could freeze water.

  “He’s next door. Right now.” Did that thready, whispery voice belong to her? “It looks like he’s moving in. After he left, his mother rented the house. When she moved out a few weeks ago I thought that was it. Why would he be back now?”

  “I don’t know.” Pam set the basket down just inside the doorway.

  There was an unyielding hardness in her mother’s brown eyes that Shelby recognized all too well. She’d felt the power of it many times but never more than when she’d confessed her pregnancy and admitted Luke McCoy, the one guy she’d been forbidden to see, was the father. What her mother said next was like a slap. If you’d stayed away from that loser like I told you, you wouldn’t be in this mess.

  The only person who’d escaped “the look” was Emma. Her beautiful little girl, her pride and joy. She was precocious and independent was her middle name. And her grandmother adored her. Now she was...

  “Where’s Emma?” Shelby lowered her voice and glanced toward the empty doorway.

  “She’s downstairs in the family room watching a movie.” Pam spoke softly and moved closer. They both looked out the window and watched him carry clothes on hangers into the house.

  “Yup. Definitely moving in.” Shelby’s heart was hammering as apprehension trickled through her. “He’s going to be right next door. How can he not see her? And what will happen when he does? You know she looks just like him,” Shelby said.

  “Only because you know he’s her father.”

  “You should have let me tell him, Mom.”

  “He was wild and reckless and headed to hell in a handbasket. You were an h
onor student with nowhere to go but up. Now you’re a respected high school math teacher but you wouldn’t be if you’d told him. He would have ruined your life. And Emma’s.”

  Shelby glared at the man walking back to his truck where the bed was full of boxes. His dark hair was short and his arms tan. The dark T-shirt was snug across his shoulders and worn jeans hugged his lean hips and strong legs. Her memory filled in the dark brown eyes and lean, handsome features. She’d been an innocent rule follower who never defied her mother but resisting Luke McCoy had been impossible. She was a moth to his flame. A bee to his honey—exciting because he was everything she wasn’t. A rule breaker, a rebel. Fearless. Independent.

  “But he’s her father, Mom. And he’s moving in next door.”

  “Shelby, honey, I’ve always taken care of you. After your father left and started a new family it was just the two of us. And I’m so proud of you.”

  “Except when I was pregnant. There was a time you wouldn’t even look at me.”

  “I’ll admit it was a shock when you told me you were going to have a baby. But we got through it together. And I couldn’t be more proud of you. You finished high school at the top of your class and went to college. Graduated summa cum laude. And you did it while raising Emma.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you, Mom.”

  But she would never forget the resentment she’d felt. Being forced to keep a secret. Then Emma was born and Pam was there. Always. Her biggest cheerleader. Her support system. Babysitter. Loving grandmother. Shelby had been busy and never let herself think about Luke because it hurt too much.

  “I never told you this, but I saw him. Before he left.”

  “What? When?” Pam’s voice was sharp. “You said he broke up with you.”

  “He did. But he contacted me, wanted to talk. I sneaked out to meet him.” She met her mother’s shocked gaze and braced herself, then looked back at Luke. “I was going to tell him the truth. He had a right to know.”

  “But you didn’t.” It was both statement and question.

  “Before I could, he told me he enlisted in the army. He was leaving.”

  “You did the right thing, Shelby.”

  She couldn’t look away as he made trips back and forth from the truck to the house, unloading all those boxes. Never once did he glance over.

  Couldn’t he feel her staring? He’d once told her she was all he had. After his dad died in the car accident, his mother blamed him for reasons Shelby didn’t understand. His relationship with his mom was fractured and Shelby promised he’d always have her. And he vowed to always have her back but he broke that promise.

  “I’m not so sure I did do the right thing. Emma has been asking about her father.” And Shelby had been giving her vague answers. Stuff like him joining the army, or he couldn’t be with her weren’t cutting it. She was nine years old and starting to want details, facts. Now he was here. It was complications on steroids. “I can’t imagine a scenario where he doesn’t see her and figure out that she’s his daughter.”

  “His mother didn’t suspect,” Pam pointed out.

  “After Luke and I broke up she ignored me. It was like this house didn’t exist. Then he left for the army and renters moved in. She was only there in between to get it ready for the next ones. I don’t think she ever saw Emma. If she did, it’s possible she just didn’t want to know about her.”

  “Maybe. But don’t borrow trouble. There’s no reason to believe he won’t ignore us, too.”

  “Seriously, Mom?” Shelby glanced at Pam and in her peripheral vision she thought a shadow moved on the wall in the hallway. “Emma?”

  Quickly she went to the doorway and looked out but there was no sign of the little girl. She walked back to the window. “When you bury your head in the sand you leave your ass exposed. I need to tell Luke, get ahead of this. Tell the truth and get out from under this secret I’ve carried for so long.”

  Just then she saw her strong-willed little secret march across the driveway and head to the house next door. She knocked and Luke answered.

  “Oh, God...” Shelby knew it was time to panic now.

  * * *

  Luke McCoy looked down at the little girl standing on the porch. She had dark hair and eyes that were spitting with attitude. As if someone had recently ticked her off. She was probably selling something for a school fundraiser and getting turned down. But the cop in him took issue with the fact that her parents were letting her go door-to-door all by herself.

  “Hi,” he said. “Can I help you?”

  “Are you my father?”

  That was not what he expected. “Am I what now?”

  “My father. I heard mommy and Grammy say the man next door is my father. So, are you?”

  Luke was a detective with the Huntington Hills Police Department. He was usually the one doing the interrogating. To say her question took him by surprise was an understatement and he was momentarily at a loss for words.

  “I’m waiting.” There was annoyance in her dark eyes and stubbornness written all over her face.

  A face that seemed familiar somehow. “Who’s your mother? Where do you live? What’s your name? How old are you?”

  “Emma Richards. I live next door.” She pointed. “My mom is Shelby Richards. And I’m nine.”

  Luke felt as if this little bit of a kid had just gut punched him. A quick mental calculation made the timing work and he studied her more closely. The obstinate line of her jaw. An angry tilt of her head. That glint in her eyes warning of the rebellion raging inside. He was shocked, angry and a whole bunch of other feelings, but, oddly enough, surprise wasn’t one of them. The kid looked like him. She had the same indentation in her chin, her eyes and the shape of her brows were the image of his.

  “Emma...”

  Shelby raced up the walkway and pulled the little girl protectively against her side. For the second time in as many minutes Luke had that two-by-four to the gut feeling. Talk about a blast from the past. He saw Shelby’s mother standing back, but the dragon lady was watching and itching to interfere. The woman had hated him ten years ago and judging by the look on her face nothing had changed.

  “What are you doing here?” Shelby asked the kid.

  Emma looked up. “I heard you and Grammy talking about him.”

  “That’s eavesdropping.” Shelby’s tone was matter-of-fact rather than disapproving. “We’ve talked about this.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. But I couldn’t help it and you can give me a time-out from TV.” She moved away and there was a pleading look in her eyes. “Just tell me. Is he my father?”

  “I’d like to know the answer to that, too.” Luke met her gaze.

  To her credit Shelby answered in that same even tone. “Yes.”

  Luke and Emma stared at each other. It felt all kinds of wrong for a father and daughter to find out about each other at the same time. When she was nine. She looked as defensive as he felt. And there was a very long, very awkward silence before Shelby broke it.

  She went down on one knee and took the little girl’s hands into her own. “Look, peanut, I need you to go home with Grammy while I talk to Luke.”

  “That’s his name?” She glanced up at him.

  He nodded. “I’m Luke McCoy.”

  “I don’t want to go home.” Emma’s small face was full of determination and defiance.

  “I understand that. And this is a lot to take in. But I’m asking you for a few minutes. Then you and I will talk.”

  “Promise?”

  “Cross my heart.” Shelby made the sign over the left side of her chest. “Now go home with Grammy, please.”

  “Okay.” Emma’s expression was full of confusion and resentment but she left without another word.

  Luke didn’t know what to say. Shouldn’t a father know how to talk to his child? Shouldn’t
it be instinctive? And the feelings. The love. Wasn’t that automatic? But not so much. The kid was a complete stranger to him. And that was Shelby’s fault.

  Luke felt the anger rise. “How dare you—”

  She gave him a look then held up a finger to shut him up as Emma held her grandmother’s hand and headed for the house next door. The little girl glanced over her shoulder at him before disappearing inside.

  “Okay,” Shelby said. “Now you can say whatever you have to.”

  She met his gaze directly but uneasiness swirled in her light brown eyes with green and gold flecks. He’d forgotten how one or the other color dominated when she was happy, angry or sad. She’d been a girl the last time he saw her but was all woman now, slender and curvy at the same time. Her straight brown hair was streaked with highlights and fell past her shoulders. She was more beautiful than he remembered. In the past he’d loved the dimples in her cheeks when she smiled at him, but she wasn’t smiling now.

  “I don’t need your permission to speak,” he said.

  “Under these circumstances you do. When my daughter is present—”

  “Our daughter,” he snapped. “How could you have kept this from me? I had a right to know.”

  “I was young and scared.”

  At least she didn’t tell him he was wrong. “But why didn’t you tell me?”

  “So many reasons.” She wasn’t the least bit defensive, which was surprising. She was taking responsibility for what she’d done. “You broke up with me and my mom had forbidden me to see you—”

  “That’s no excuse.”

  “Let me finish.” She looked down at her feet, then met his gaze. “That last time I saw you, when you wanted to meet, I actually planned to defy my mother and tell you I was pregnant.”

  “She didn’t want you to tell me the truth?”

  “More than that. She gave me an ultimatum—if I said anything, I’d have to find somewhere else to live.”

  “She would never have thrown you out.” He wasn’t sure how he knew or why he was actually defending the woman who never hid her dislike of him.