Winter in Rapid Creek, Minnesota, the Present

Corrie Edwards wants a baby...badly. But she's torn. She's thirty-three; she has no significant other; it would have to be through donated sperm or not at all. Yet the idea of a stranger fathering her child just doesn't appeal to her. If she could choose the perfect man, it would be Sam Barclay, her boss at the veterinary clinic where she works. Sam is honest and honorable and gentle and caring with his patients and their owners, and Corrie has had a secret crush on him the whole three years she's worked with him.

Sam can't face the holiday season at home this year. He recently broke his engagement after finding out his former fiancée secretly aborted their child. That's the reason for his isolation at the family cabin in the north woods, to mend a broken heart. He no longer loves her; he actually mourns his child more than the loss of Alicia. Sam has been at the lake for six weeks, alone but for his dog Patches, when Corrie Edwards shows up and drops a bomb on him. She wants his sperm!

Sam has always liked Corrie; she's good with the animals and a dedicated employee. Their association has always been friendly and business-like except for once a couple of years ago -- before Alicia -- when they shared a memorable New Year's Eve kiss. Sam doesn't immediately dismiss Corrie's proposition. Another chance to be a father is appealing, though giving his sperm in the cold environs of a clinic is off-putting. And he knows he would want to be a part of the child's life. There are many complications in such a decision that need a lot of thought.

Corrie is surprised by Sam's statement that he would want to be involved in her baby's life. Her experiences with men have led her to expect otherwise. Corrie has no one to answer to, and she wants it that way. Sam gets lots of input, welcome and not, from his family. You can imagine the trust issues he must have after his mother, who abandoned the family years ago, and Alicia. As if the road ahead weren't rocky enough already, another obstacle looms when Corrie is offered a choice from an unexpected source.

Readers of THE DADDY DILEMMA, book one in Ms. Smith's Dads in Progress series, will have met the Barclay men: father Galen, Ben the eldest brother, Nathan in the middle, and Sam, the youngest. The brothers formed a strong bond after their mother walked out and remain close in spite of their differences. Nathan's moving story was beautifully told in last February's SSE #1884. He, his Sara, and their son Kyle have parts in THE DADDY DILEMMA, as well as Galen and Ben. Ben is a rather cynical assistant DA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His tale, THE DADDY VERDICT (September 2008), is bound to be full of conflict. He's badly in need of some tenderness to soften his hardened heart. I can't wait to see who's in store for Ben.

For all the sweetness and warmth in THE DADDY PLAN, there is plenty of spice in the form of awakening passions. The well written plot, character development and interactions, as well as natural dialogue make for a tale sure to stir readers' emotions. What's more intriguing than watching testosterone-laden males turn into devoted daddies?

Jane Bowers