The Rancher's Christmas Baby

Amy stared at him in consternation, barely able to believe they had been so close to getting what they both wanted, what would make all their mutual dreams come true, only to have him chicken out! “Teddy—for this to work…for us to have a baby—you have to do your part!” she cried, just as the elevator doors slid open. The involuntary chuckles and gaping expressions on the faces of the people waiting on the other side let Amy know the onlookers had indeed caught every word of her last sentence.

Teddy turned and glared at Amy. Reclaiming his grip on her elbow, he rushed her past the sea of shocked faces and raised eyebrows. “Nice, Amy.”

She cringed and bit down on an oath. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

He increased his strides, forcing her to struggle to keep up. “Too late. That horse already left the corral.”

Amy dug in her heels. “I still don’t get why…”

He pushed out the front doors of the lobby, still hurrying her along. The moment they were out of earshot of others, he wheeled on her. “You think what they asked me to do was easy?” He lowered his face till they were eye to eye. “Well, let’s go back up to Dr. Hudson’s office and have you go in the room and work yourself up to a fever pitch, knowing the nurse and the doctor and the office lab tech and Lord only knows who else, are all out there, waiting for you to—”

Amy lifted both hands in surrender, unable to hear more. “Okay, okay. I get the picture!”

“Do you?” Teddy straightened, six foot four inches of furious male. “Because I don’t think you do—although that easily could have changed, since the nurse asked me if I wanted her to go and get you so you could assist me in doing what I needed to do. Should I have asked her to do that?”

Amy’s face burned as much as her conscience. She stepped back a pace. “No. Heavens, no!”

Teddy braced his hands on his waist. “So we’re going to have to come up with another way of accomplishing this.”

Amy wrinkled her nose in confusion. “What other way is there?”

He merely looked at her.

“Oh…no…” she whispered, as the image he wanted to evoke came to mind.

Teddy put his hands on her shoulders, his touch gentle. “Amy, we have the chemistry.” He looked deep into her eyes. “We proved that when we kissed the other night.” He paused and tightened his grip on her persuasively. “I’m fairly certain if we were to think of this as a necessary ‘procedure,’ we could rally to the occasion and get into the spirit of the big event.”

To Amy’s shock, the idea of making love to Teddy wasn’t nearly as unnerving as it should have been. Nor was the idea that he might use the desired end result as a way to satisfy his basic male needs. Hadn’t he been more open to lovemaking without traditional romantic involvement from the very first?

“There has to be another way,” she insisted nervously.

His expression grim, Teddy released his hold on her and stepped back. “Well, if you think of it in the next thirty-six hours, you let me know.”

THEY’D DRIVEN TO THE appointment in his truck. Hence, Amy had no choice but to accompany Teddy back to the Silverado. As soon as they arrived, she got out of his pickup truck and into hers. Without another word to him, she started the engine and drove to her ranch. She needed time alone. To think. To figure out if she could continue on with this charade of a marriage she had entered into with Teddy McCabe.

Wishing—not for the first time—that she had a big soaking tub like the one in Teddy’s master bathroom, she shucked her clothes and climbed into the tiny vinyl shower stall. As the hot water sluiced down on her tense shoulders, she leaned her head against the wall and waited for the tears to come. To no avail. She could no more cry and release her deep disappointment that way, than Teddy had been able to…

Not that she could have done what was asked, either, if she had been him, Amy realized in mounting frustration.

There was something just so wrong about her and Teddy creating a baby in a doctor’s exam room.

It would have been one thing had that been the only way feasible to achieve pregnancy. Then it would have been more than okay.

Had this been a real marriage and artificial insemination were required, she would have assisted Teddy. He would have been there with her, when the doctor did the medical procedure. Their baby still would have been created in an atmosphere of incredible love and tenderness. The clinical details…the presence of others…would not have mattered.

Amy ran a hand over her hollow abdomen.

Was this the way it was always going to be?

She had thirty-six hours.

And, it seemed, a mighty important decision to make.

TEDDY STOOD IN THE BARN, mulling over the irony of his situation. Two hours earlier he had been unable to perform the necessary functions at the necessary time, and now, here he was, as usual overseeing the same functions—albeit equine—that made him one of the most sought-after horse breeders in Texas.

Teddy leaned against the chute wall that separated the mare in heat from his prize stud. The two animals went nose to nose, teasing each other and getting acquainted while Mother Nature spurred them on. Knowing what was expected of him, Catastrophe allowed Teddy to lead him to the nearby breeding dummy and got down to business.

Short minutes later, the collection bottle had been filled.

Teddy praised the beautiful stallion and returned Catastrophe to his stall, then took the contents to the adjacent ranch lab for examination. Finding it good, he put the life-giving material in a syringe, returned to the waiting mare and inseminated her.

Teddy praised the mare for her cooperative attitude and returned her to the isolation unit where she would stay until her owner picked her up at the end of the week.

Contemplating how easy the two animals made the procedure look, he returned to the lab to sterilize the equipment. If only he could take his emotions out of the process, too, and let impregnating Amy be simply a matter of biology and timing.

Instead, Teddy found himself wishing for the impossible.

Wishing they were really married. That she was his wife in more than the legal sense.

It might be out of the question but he couldn’t help wishing Amy were sharing his bed, letting him indulge every fantasy that had come to mind since the moment they had said their vows.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Teddy looked up from his task. “Amy.”

Damn but she looked beautiful in the dim light of the barn. Her golden hair fell in soft, untamed waves to her chin. The red turtleneck sweater hugged her torso, emphasizing the slenderness of her waist and the fullness of her breasts. Her dark denim jeans molded to her waist and hips, lovingly clung to her long, sexy legs.

Teddy stripped off his gloves and walked away from the equipment he had just sterilized. “I wasn’t sure you were coming back.”

“I’ve been thinking.” Amy rocked forward on the toes of her boots. She stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. She tipped her chin at him, her high, sculpted cheeks glowing pink against the fairness of her complexion. “Do you think it would be possible for us to try to have a baby together again? Only this time,” she finished softly, “I’d like to do it the old-fashioned way.”

AMY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT Teddy’s reaction was going to be. She didn’t expect him to brush by her and head for the house without a word.

Whirling, she took a few quick running steps to catch up with him.

“You’re not ready,” he said curtly, still not looking at her.

“How can you say that?” Amy followed him in the back door.

He bypassed the kitchen and headed straight for the master bedroom.

“A few nights ago you practically wigged out because we kissed.” Teddy shucked his denim jacket and pulled his shirt over his head.

Mouth dry, Amy watched him continue to disrobe.

Aware this was some kind of a test—one she was determined not to fail—she kept her eyes squarely on him as he finished disrobing and strutted toward the shower.

Damn, but he had a magnificent body, she noted through the glass enclosure. Satin skin covered taut muscle. Lower still, he was just as well…made. With difficulty, she lifted her eyes from the apex of his thighs, to his face. “That’s because we were just doing it for recreational purposes,” she defended herself hotly. And because it had made her feel like they were on the verge of a romance…a one-sided romance, that would have left her at a distinct disadvantage.