Читать книгу The Rancher's Christmas Baby (incl. Bonus Book) - Cathy Gillen Thacker - Страница 11

Chapter Six

It seemed to Amy that she and Teddy had just gotten to sleep after their night of marathon baby-making, when the alarm beeped. With a groan, Teddy shut it off.

Amy struggled to sit up, saw it was six o’clock.

Teddy pressed a kiss on her bare shoulder, ran a caressing hand down her spine. “You should try to get some more sleep if you can.”

“I wish I could.” Amy yawned, not sure when she had felt that well-loved. Every inch of her tingled with the memory of his touch. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rested her face on her upraised knees. She watched appreciatively as Teddy stretched, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and reluctantly rolled out of bed.

He picked up the clothes he’d left on the floor and carried them into the bathroom, where he put them on top of the overstuffed hamper.

Amy stood and pulled on a robe. She picked a brush up off the bureau and ran it through her hair. “But I’ve got to get going, too.”

Teddy set the full hamper next to the hall door, for transport to the laundry room, then went back to his closet where only a few pairs of jeans and two clean canvas work shirts remained.

“Getting down to the wire there, aren’t you, cowboy?” Amy teased.

Teddy grinned at her. “I’ve got a couple days left before I have to do laundry.”

“Like to wait till the very last minute, do you?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “That way I only have to do it once a month.”

“It must take all day.”

“Pretty much. But then I don’t have to worry about it. Let me guess. You’re a laundry-once-a-week kind of gal.”

“More like two or three times a week. I only like to do a load or two at a time, at most. And that includes my delicates, which have to be washed separately.”

She could see the mess in the laundry room—and the overflowing hamper in the master bath—was going to bother her, in the long run. Fortunately it was nothing that had to be dealt with today. Amy didn’t want anything ruining the glow she felt, after a night of ardent lovemaking.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Teddy headed for the bathroom. “Where do you want to sleep tonight?” he asked, running a razor over his morning beard.

That, at least, was easy. Amy squeezed toothpaste onto her brush. “Here.”

His eyes met hers in the mirror. Clearly stunned by her newly cooperative attitude, he said, “Again?”

Amy shrugged as she rinsed and wiped her mouth on a towel. “How about from now on?” She rubbed liquid complexion soap over her face. “It really doesn’t make sense for you to try to fold yourself into my much smaller bed.”

He caught her against him and ran a finger down the foamy white cream on her cheek. “It might be fun if you were in there with me.”

“I want you to be comfortable,” Amy said. She wanted them to be able to make love unencumbered. There was no way Teddy and she could do that crammed in a trailer bedroom that was barely bigger than the double bed it contained.

“I want you to be at ease, too,” Teddy murmured.

Pulling her to him, he used his free hand to dampen a washcloth and remove the soap from her face. Finished, he dipped his head and found her lips with his. Amy tingled all over as they indulged in a long, steamy kiss. She knew they were just friends, but if this wasn’t romantic, she didn’t know what was.

Slowly, Teddy lifted his head and he gazed down at her with desire. She knew how he felt. When they’d married, she hadn’t expected such thrilling passion, either.

He flashed a crooked grin and traced the side of his hand down her face. “I better go before I’m tempted to stay and make love with you all over again.”

Amy turned her head and kissed the center of his palm. She knew he was right. They could easily pick this up later, when they had all the time in the world….

“Are you going to the marathon cleaning and painting session of the chapel this evening?” she asked.

He nodded.

Amy smiled, glad to be working with him on some thing so important, not just to the community, but to themselves. “Then I’ll meet you there.”

It was only after she had spoken that Amy realized how cozy and domestic their morning “routine” had been, and how very much she suddenly felt like Teddy’s wife.

“YOU LOOK GORGEOUS TONIGHT,” Susie told Amy, hours later.

Broom and dustpan in hand, Amy’s sister Rebecca joined them in the center of the chapel. “You’re positively glowing,” she concurred.

If so, it was a warmth that came from the inside out, Amy thought. She pushed the trash can across the stone chapel floor, assisting in the pickup of the debris left over from the storm and resulting fire.

On either side of the chapel, volunteers were busy removing damaged sections of drywall and wooden pews that needed to be either replaced or refurbished.

“We weren’t sure what to expect….” Susie scooped up bits of tree, leaves and burned roof.

Rebecca made a face. “We heard about the scene in the hospital lobby—or was it elevator—yesterday afternoon.”

Amy paused to admire the new sections of drywall going up. With a fine new roof overhead, the chapel was going to look like new in no time. “That’s the beauty of working out on my ranch most of the time.” She made a face right back. “I miss all the gossip.”

Rebecca swept another square clean. “You don’t seem worse for wear. Maybe this marriage is a good thing.”

Amy knew it was. But it was also so new and precious she didn’t want to share her feelings with anyone just yet.

She changed the subject. “How are the twins?”

Rebecca exuded the excitement of a new mom. “Wonderful. Exhausting. Perfect. Sweet.” She chuckled. “They’re also up all night, every night. We’ve got both their grandmothers taking care of them this evening, but they’re both so busy with their own careers… I don’t know how Trevor and I are ever going to get any Christmas shopping done.”

Up until now, Amy had been avoiding spending too much time with the twins. She knew it was selfish, but being around babies had made her lament her own lack of children too much. Now that she and Teddy were married and actively trying to have a baby, she no longer felt that way. In fact, she was eager to make up for lost time. “Teddy and I could babysit for you, if you two want to go out some evening.”

Rebecca perked up. “Could you do it Friday?”

“I’ll have to check with Teddy, but I think he’s pretty flexible. In any case, I can do it.”

One of the volunteers set up a boom box. Christmas music filled the sanctuary, adding to the festive mood.

“You two still trying to have a baby?” Susie asked, obviously referencing the scene at the hospital the day before. “’Cause if you are, I’ve heard being around babies helps stimulate all those maternal hormones and feelings.”

“Susie!” Rebecca chided.

“It’s true.” Susie chuckled. “Haven’t you heard how people who’ve never been able to conceive, adopt a child, and then boom—they’re pregnant?”

“I don’t think Amy’s situation is the same,” Rebecca said, glaring at the four months pregnant Susie.

“Well, whatever her situation is, I’ve never seen her looking happier,” Susie commented. She leaned close. “What is going on with you two, anyway?”

Amy flushed.

“Are you and Teddy…?” Susie persisted.

In love? The unspoken words hung in the air. Amy wanted to say no, out of habit, but she knew that wasn’t true any longer. Not after last night. The truth was their passionate lovemaking had shown her a side of Teddy that she hadn’t ever allowed herself to see. He was hot. She wanted him. She might even be falling in love with him. And he with her…?

Susie’s jaw dropped open. “Oh, my gosh.” She looked at Rebecca, still in total shock. “I think they’re…”

“Stop!” Amy held up a hand. “You both need to slow down with your observations and assumptions.” They all did. The last thing Amy wanted was her romantic desires to ruin what she and Teddy had. “Teddy and I are taking it one step at a time.” It was the only prudent thing to do. “If I look happy tonight it’s because it is finally beginning to feel like Christmas to me.”

The best Christmas, in fact, that Amy had ever had.

TEDDY HAD BARELY CLEARED HIS pickup truck when his triplet brothers, Trevor and Tyler, approached.

“We need to talk.”

Given a couple of the text messages he had been receiving throughout the day, Teddy had an idea what this was about. “No, we don’t.” Anxious to see Amy after a day spent apart, he strode toward the chapel doors—only to be cut off by Amy’s brother, Jeremy.

“Yeah, I think we do,” Jeremy said.

Teddy exhaled and stopped where he was in the parking lot.

“We all heard what happened yesterday at the hospital,” Trevor said, as if he were the authority on marital relations, just because he had been the first of the triplets to tie the knot.

“We’re not sure what part of the baby-making process you are having trouble with,” Tyler added, with a smidgen of the soothing manner he used as a large-animal vet.

“But in any case—” Jeremy reached into the inside pocket of his blazer and withdrew a white envelope “—I brought you the handout I give the patients in my medical practice on how to optimize the chances of getting pregnant.”

“Assuming you’ve got the basics down pat,” Trevor teased, with a knowing wink.

“If you need help with those…” Tyler added, chuckling.

“Well, at your age…” Jeremy shook his head as if it were a lost cause, if that was the case.

Teddy shot them all a droll look. “Very funny, guys.”

“Seriously, stress is not good for making babies,” Trevor said.

“You want success, you’ve got to be all romantic,” Tyler added.

Jeremy nodded, with a physician’s sage attitude. “Show her that you really care.”

Teddy held up a hand. “You guys don’t need to worry.”

Trevor scoffed. “That scene yesterday says otherwise.”

“Amy and I worked it all out,” Teddy countered.

Three sets of male eyebrows raised.

“And that’s all I’m going to say,” Teddy added firmly, folding up the handout and putting it in the back pocket of his jeans.

There was a long, skeptical silence.

Then three slow grins.

The light of recognition in their eyes.

Trevor was the first to slap him on the back. “If this means what I think it means—that you and Amy are in a real marriage—way to go!”

“Congratulations, dude!” Tyler shook his hand.

Jeremy nodded his approval. “I’ve always said Amy needed to stop being so frivolously romantic and go for the real thing. Apparently, she’s found it.”

“Thanks, guys,” Teddy said. He only hoped he and Amy didn’t lose what they had found the previous night. Their success in the baby-making department had been so unexpected. Amy could be skittish, especially when she was feeling overemotional. He looked all three men straight in the eye. “I really want this to work out.” And for the first time since he and Amy had said their vows, he felt like they had a chance.

“WHAT WERE YOU AND JEREMY and your brothers talking about in the parking lot?” Amy asked when they got home.

Teddy took in the anxious look on Amy’s face. “How’d you hear about that?” he asked, hanging up their coats. More important, what had she heard? He didn’t want her upset or embarrassed in any way. To that end, he was prepared to do whatever had to be done.

“I went out to see if you had arrived yet, and I saw them laughing and smiling and slapping you on the back. It seemed like a guys-only kind of moment, so I went back inside. And then I got drafted to wash the soot off the stained-glass windows, so I got caught up in that.”

Teddy knelt to light the fire he’d built in the hearth.

“So back to my question about what was going on out there…?”

“Oh, yeah. Our brothers. They’re all happy we’re married and going to have a family. Naturally, they were full of ‘advice’ on how to achieve that.”

Amy looked like she wanted to sink through the floor. “You didn’t tell them…we…”

“C’mon, Amy,” Teddy countered gruffly. “You know me better than that. I’ve never been one to kiss and tell.” Although, their brothers had all quickly surmised as much, he recalled ruefully.

“But…” he reached into his back pocket, glad for the opportunity to move the conversation along, to something much more important to both of them. “Jeremy did give me a copy of the handout he gives his family-practice patients who are trying to have a baby.”

Amy cast a look at the laundry room, where clothes took up every available inch of floor. With a slight frown, she closed the door, then went to the fridge and opened it up. “What does it say?”

Teddy scanned the suggestions. “We should both be drinking our milk and having tea instead of coffee. We’re not supposed to be imbibing alcohol. I’m supposed to be wearing boxer shorts. We should be making love every one to two days, at least during the window of opportunity.”

Smiling, Amy poured two glasses of milk and unwrapped the plate of gingerbread cookies. “I think we covered that last night.”

Teddy grinned. “So we did.” He munched on a cookie and kept reading. “Uh-oh.”

“What?” Amy paused, mid-sip.

“We’re supposed to be using the missionary position.”

“We did.”

“The first time.” The second time they had been a little more adventurous.

“Do you want to try again tonight?”

Amy looked so hopeful that Teddy suddenly feared her disappointment if they didn’t conceive this month. Willing to do anything to give her what she most wanted for Christmas—their baby—he referred to the list of instructions once again and told her practically, “It says here sperm count is higher in the morning than at night. Since this is the end of the window of opportunity…what do you think?” He paused, reading her expression. “Should we wait until morning?”

IT WAS A VALID QUESTION. Thoughtfully posed. Yet Amy felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. All the blossoming romantic feelings—and Christmas spirit—that she had been experiencing, abruptly faded. To be replaced by uncertainty and doubt.

“Sure.” Amy finished the last of her milk in a single gulp and turned away. “I’m a little tired tonight, anyway.”

Teddy came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “We can make love tonight if you want.” Still holding her gently, he turned her to face him. The warmth of his hands transmitted through her clothing to her skin.

“What does the handout say?” Seeing a streak of soot on his chin, she reached up and wiped it away. “Is there a problem if we make love too many times in a certain period?”

She could see he didn’t want to answer.

Aware she needed to know, she arched a brow and waited.

He frowned and admitted reluctantly, “With some men, yes, the information did say that too-frequent lovemaking can reduce the sperm count, but it’s not the case in all men.”

Amy bit her lip, torn between momentary pleasure and their long-range goals. She looked deep into his eyes. “But it could be the case with you.”

He shrugged.

“Then morning it is.” Amy pushed aside her disappointment and tried not to think how much she had been longing for this very moment—when they were alone and could make love again. Morning was just hours away, after all. She’d waited years to have a baby.

In the meantime, she needed to ask him something. “I hope you don’t mind, but I told Rebecca that you and I would babysit for the twins Friday evening so she and Trevor could go Christmas shopping.”

Reaching for another cookie, Teddy grinned. “Sounds fun.”

Amy felt compelled to warn, “She said the twins are a handful right now.”

Unperturbed, Teddy drained his glass. He took her by the hand and led her toward the fireplace. “Most four-month-old babies are, from what I’ve heard.”

“Are you up for it?” Amy settled on the sectional sofa beside him.

“Are you kidding?” Teddy pulled her into the curve of his arm. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “It will be good practice for us.”

FOR A SECOND, TEDDY THOUGHT he had made a mistake, putting the science of procreation ahead of the emotional considerations of making love to his new wife. But as they continued to talk and enjoy the evening, Amy relaxed. By the time they hit the showers and went to bed, she was all too willing to let him pull her into his arms and give her a long, leisurely good-night kiss.

Exhausted, content in a way he hadn’t been in a very long time—if ever—Teddy fell immediately into a deep sleep. When the alarm went off hours later, Amy was no longer in his arms. Rather, she was stretched out alongside the edge of the opposite side of the bed.

While he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, she rose gracefully and disappeared into the bathroom. He heard water running, the sounds of her brushing her teeth. Figuring it wasn’t a bad idea to do the same, he waited until she came back, then got up.

When he returned to the bed, Amy was lying on her back, waiting for him, the covers drawn to her collarbone.

The pale pink T-shirt and pajama pants already on the floor let him know she wasn’t wasting any time.

He couldn’t fault her for that. Even though they’d allowed a good hour or hour and a half for the pleasurable “task” ahead of them, there was no sense in wasting precious moments struggling to get out of clothing they weren’t going to need, anyway.

He let his boxers fall to the floor, then lifted the edge of the covers and climbed in beside her. “Good morning, Mrs. McCabe.”

“Good morning,” Amy replied in a voice tight with tension.

Figuring he knew exactly how to relax her, Teddy took her into his arms and began kissing her bare shoulders, the nape of her neck, the shell of her ear, her cheek. As he had expected, Amy’s breath quickened. Her body heated.

Still, he took his time finding her lips with his. Even longer delving into her mouth.

Amy murmured a sound that should have been acquiescence, but wasn’t. She returned his kiss, but instead of the sweet, sure passion of the other night, the exchange was awkward, out of sync.

Figuring maybe they just needed time to wake up, Teddy rolled so he was on his side, bringing her with him via the pressure of his arm on her waist. Flattening his palm on her spine, he brought her closer still. Or tried to—when his hand dipped to the small of her back, instead of curving into him, letting hardness meet softness in that fundamental man-woman way, Amy tensed even more, and drew back slightly.

Teddy tried again, by cupping her breast, but felt her withdraw.

He exhaled, broke off the not-so-great kiss and lifted his head. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

Amy pressed her lips together and wiped the moisture in her eyes away with the back of her hand. She barely met his eyes before dropping her gaze once again. “Nothing.”

“Don’t you like to make love in the morning?” He ran a caressing hand down her bare arm, from shoulder to wrist. “Is that it?”

Teeth raking across her lower lip, she shook her head in mute denial, then sat up, dragging the blankets with her. “It’s… I don’t know. I can’t seem to get in the mood, but I know we should do this so I want you to just go ahead.” She gulped in more air and lay back down.

It was his turn to sit up, only he made no effort to cover himself with the sheet. The ache in his loins was still there, but he could feel his spirits deflating like a leaky balloon. “Amy, I want to have a baby, too, but not unless you’re in the mood.”

“I’m trying.” Sudden tears trembled on her lashes. “Please.” She held out her arms to him. “Let’s just do it.”

Teddy lay back down beside her. Once again, he gave it his all. Once again it didn’t seem to make a damn bit of difference.

“DON’T YOU LOOK LIKE YOU’VE lost your best friend,” Ed said when he walked into the Laurel Valley Ranch greenhouse, several hours later.

No kidding, Amy thought.

Her and Teddy’s planned morning lovemaking session couldn’t have been more of a disaster had the bed collapsed beneath them.

She never had been able to relax.

Teddy had been concerned, hurt and frustrated.

In the end, they’d given up and promised they’d do it again later, just in case the window of opportunity was still the slightest bit open. But Amy wasn’t kidding herself….

Until last night, when she had seen Teddy with that list of instructions her physician brother had given him, she’d thought—hoped—that something magical and romantic was happening between them. She’d imagined he was falling in love with her every bit as much as she was falling in love with him.

Only to discover it was all about having a family, after all.

Given how much she wanted a child, that should have delighted her.

It didn’t.

Instead, she felt foolish and hurt and emotionally exposed in a way she had never been before.

She’d let herself go with Teddy, in a way she had never done before. And it had been more than just the physical. She had completely opened her heart to him. Let herself think they were starting a new chapter in their life together, one that had all the traditional romantic elements of a strong and solid marriage. Only to find out it was all about friendship and having a baby together in the most efficient way.

And now…now she had to figure out how to leapfrog back to where they had been before they’d made love that first time, to the place in her heart where she didn’t expect or want quite so much, the place where she would be able to settle for what her husband was able to give her.

“Earth to Amy…earth to Amy…”

Amy looked up, realizing her employee had been talking to her for several minutes and she hadn’t heard a word of it.

She put down her spade and gave Ed her full attention. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“We’ve rescheduled the couple’s baby shower for a week from Saturday. Obviously, we can’t have it at the restaurant now, with Sheryl on bed rest, so we’re going to have it at the house. I assumed you would want to bring Teddy, now that you’re married.” The words were casual, but there was a question mark in his eyes.

Amy figured Ed was wondering the same thing as everyone else. Was this hasty marriage of hers going to last?

Yesterday morning, Amy had been certain of it.

Now she didn’t know what was going to happen, over time.

Ed carefully moved starter plants to bigger pots. “Do you want to issue the invitation? Or shall I?”

“I’ll ask him.” Amy flashed a confident smile she couldn’t begin to feel. “We promised Rebecca and Trevor we’d babysit the twins tonight. I’ll do it then.”