Accidental Dad by Lois Richer

Author:Lois Richer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Though Sam tried everything to dissuade her, Kelly insisted on sitting beside him in the tiny room that housed his office.

She whistled at the stacks of papers covering its surface. “You do need help.”

“I was always more of a hands-on guy. After Dad got sick, Jake took over most of the bookwork. But now it’s a mess,” he defended. “Apparently, things lagged a bit after Jacob Samuel’s birth, though Jake never said anything. Then he and Marina—” He shrugged, his eyes misty as he stared at the littered desk.

Kelly’s heart pinched with compassion. Without even thinking, she reached out and slid her hand into his to share his pain. Sam’s fingers curled around hers automatically. He glanced down at their entwined hands then lifted his gaze to hers, his green eyes dark as the forests outside.

“It’s okay,” she murmured. “We’ll handle it, Sam.”

“That’s your motto, isn’t it? We’ll handle it.” His faint smile gently teased. “I imagine you’re great at your job. There must be tons of things that come up, yet I can just see you calmly handling them all with a cheery smile.”

“Let’s hope that works here,” she said as she slid her hand from his to break the rush of sensations his touch brought. She bent over to study the array before her as she listened to his explanation about how the books were organized. “Okay. Got it. So let’s see what we have.”

Too aware of Sam’s scrutiny as she sifted through the papers and organized them in several piles, Kelly kept her head down as she worked and ordered her brain to concentrate instead of reacting to his closeness.

“You’re putting this all on a spreadsheet program, so why do you need so many paper copies?” she asked after finding a third series of duplicate medical bills.

“I’m worried I’ll miss something,” Sam admitted. “It’s been years since I trained in this program, and I haven’t used it for ages. I’m sure Jake’s updated it many times. He—” He stopped, swallowed then shrugged. “I told you I’m the hands-on part of this operation. Paperwork isn’t my forte.”

“A bonus about my cruise line is their technical side.” Sam’s blank look told Kelly his ineptitude had nothing to do with ability. It was probably like his fear of cooking; he’d simply never learned how.

“Kelly?”

“Sorry. Daydreaming.” She summoned a smile while trying to get back her focus.

“Of traveling.” Sam nodded. “I don’t blame you.”

“Actually, that wasn’t it but never mind,” she said, unwilling to explain she’d been dreaming about him. “Anyway, the cruise line always has updated computers and on days at sea, staff offers guests classes to learn the latest versions of programs. I’ve trained on this program. I’ll give you a refresher.”

Sam grumbled about having to sit when he could be out riding. He grumbled about following her detailed instructions and about his many mistakes. But when he finally caught on, his appreciation warmed her heart.

“This isn’t as bad as I thought.” He beamed with accomplishment.

“Of course it isn’t.

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