Albuquerque Assistant District Attorney Ben Barclay and jewelry designer Sierra Girard met at the engagement party of their best friends. It was instant chemistry and they had a memorable night together. Sierra contacts Ben six weeks later to tell him she's pregnant; she wants nothing from him, she just thought he should know he is going to be a father.

Ben doesn't trust women. His mother deserted his father and two brothers when he was ten. His last relationship with a woman lasted over a year and while he was working his rear off, she was seeing someone else. Sierra is a stranger to him. A beautiful, desirable stranger, but he needs more than her word that the baby she is carrying belongs to him.

Sierra's parents have always been more interested in their careers as global researchers than the upbringing of their only child. Sierra was brought up by nannies in Africa, Bali, India, and South America. She never had any roots and not too many friends. When she started high school she came to live with her mother's sister, her Aunt Gina, in Albuquerque. She returned to her parents after graduation, met, fell in love, and became engaged to a doctor. However, he succumbed to one of the diseases he was trying to protect a small village from. Broken hearted, Sienna returned to her Aunt Gina's and opened a small shop in Albuquerque that sells her jewelry. She was not prepared for the strong sexual attraction to Ben. Circumstances keep throwing them together, and the pull between this couple gets stronger.

THE DADDY VERDICT is a great read for a lazy afternoon. The "Dads in Progress Series" introduced us to wonderful, intelligent,likeable characters, which make a visit to Albuquerque and bring you up to date on their lives before they say good-bye. You will probably be rooting for Ben and Sierra to make the right choices for their baby, this reviewer certainly was. Karen Rose Smith can be depended upon to write moving, tender family dramas.