She laughed, her pulse quickening. “No, but thanks anyway. And I’ve been walking the mean city streets alone for the past ten years, ever since I was eighteen years old.”
“Well, while I’m in town, you aren’t going to be doing it anymore,” he replied.
“Aren’t you the gallant one,” she said teasingly.
“Gina would call it overly protective,” he said with a half scowl.
Colette laughed, surprised to discover she was glad he’d decided to walk her home. “Gina is young. All she believes is that you’re here to rain on her parade.”
“But I’m not,” he replied, his blue eyes sparkling earnestly. “Three weeks ago Gina and I had a fight. It was a silly argument and I didn’t think too much about it at the time. She packed a bag, told me she was leaving Foxrun and drove off. I figured she’d be home by nightfall.”
“But she wasn’t,” Colette said. She tried not to notice how the bright sunshine made his dark hair gleam with richness.
“No, she wasn’t. I waited until the next afternoon, then began to ask questions of friends and neighbors. That’s when I discovered Margaret Jamison had a friend in Kansas City and had encouraged Gina to come here.” The muscle in his jaw tightened in obvious irritation.
“I gather Margaret Jamison isn’t one of your favorite people right now.”
The muscle ticked again. “I think she’s a busybody who should keep her nose to her own business.” A slight flush swept up his neck. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I know she’s your friend.”
“She’s also a busybody,” Colette agreed with a small laugh. “But she means well. She worked for me in the shop for about six months before her husband bought the farm out west.” They stopped in front of her apartment building.
“They bought the place right next door to mine,” Tanner replied. He swept a hand through his rich dark hair and frowned thoughtfully. “Anyway, it was Margaret who told me about you, said she’d talked to you about you hiring Gina and giving her a place to stay for a while.”
Colette nodded. “Margaret called me and told me that Gina was a sweet, bright young woman ready to strike out on her own.”
“She is sweet and she is bright, but she is also incredibly naive and innocent and not prepared for life on her own. She’s never even had a real job before.”
“But she told me she did volunteer work at an animal shelter and at the local hospital.” Colette juggled the catalogs into one of her arms and with the other hand retrieved her keys. “Tanner, I really don’t want to get in the middle of this fight between you and Gina. This should be a decision the two of you make.”
“You’re right,” he said instantly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Colette hesitated, knowing she shouldn’t say any more but unable to help herself. “All I know for sure is that in the three weeks Gina has been working for me, she’s proven herself to be very conscientious and responsible. Maybe it’s possible you’re seeing her as the little girl she was instead of the young woman she’s become.”
His eyes grew stormy and the tic once again pounded in his jawline. “I know what’s best for her. And it’s best she come back to Foxrun with me.” His voice rang with an authority she hadn’t heard before.
“Then I guess all you have to do is convince her of that,” Colette replied. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get settled in for the night.”
“Yes, of course.” He smiled, but she could tell the pleasant gesture was forced. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Colette watched him as he turned and walked away. He walked with a loose-hipped gait that held a touch of arrogance.
She turned and went into her building. As she rode the elevator up to the eighth floor, she thought of the conversation they’d just had.
In the last moments of that conversation she’d seen a flash of the man Gina had described to her—a man determined to have his own way. She had a feeling that beneath his obvious charm was a man who could truly be “cursedly stubborn.”
Entering her apartment, she immediately kicked off her shoes, dropped the catalogs on the coffee table and then went into the bedroom to change her clothes.
On the one hand she was taken with the obvious love Tanner felt for his sister, the worry and concern she knew had driven him to the city in pursuit of her. On the other hand she had a feeling he was vastly underestimating Gina’s strength and resolve.
She had just finished changing her clothes when the phone rang. Flopping on the bed, she picked up the phone on the nightstand.
“Colette, I’m glad I caught you in.”
“Hello, Lillian,” Colette said to her mother.
“I got the message that you called last week and thought I would return your call.”
Colette wanted to say that it was a good thing she hadn’t called with an emergency, but she’d long ago realized her mother was incapable of giving the emotions and love Colette had once hungered for.
“Mother’s Day is next Sunday. I was wondering if you’d like to go to lunch with me?” Colette twisted the phone cord around her finger as she realized how much she would love it if her mother said yes.
“I’m afraid I can’t,” Lillian replied, no regret in her voice at all. “Joe and I have planned a little mini-trip for the weekend. You know how he loves to fish.”
No, Colette didn’t know. She knew very little about Joe Kinsell, her mother’s latest boy-toy. She’d only met him once.
“Well, that’s nice. I hope the two of you have a wonderful time,” she said, unwrapping the cord from her hand.
“Oh, I’m sure we will. We always have a wonderful time together. We need you to come over here and feed and take care of Cuddles.” Cuddles was her mother’s poodle.
Colette wondered if her mother hadn’t needed to talk to her about caring for Cuddles, if she would have called at all.
“Of course. I’ll be glad to.”
“Good. We’ll be back late Sunday night and I’ll call you sometime next week when things quiet down again.” With these words, Lillian disconnected.
As Colette hung up the phone, a painful emptiness resounded in her heart. She should be used to the fact that she wasn’t on her mother’s list of priorities. She never had been. She’d learned very early not to need anyone, not to depend on anyone other than herself.
She rolled over on her back and placed a hand on her tummy. She’d never wanted anything as much as she wanted a baby. And the thought that at this very moment she might be pregnant filled her with a sweet warmth that banished the emptiness of moments before.
Although she’d been told that it might take several attempts for the artificial insemination to succeed, she was hoping she’d be one of the lucky ones and the first attempt had been successful.
Thoughts of Tanner and Gina once again filled her head. They were so lucky to have each other. But she had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before she felt as if she was in the middle of a war zone. She wondered how long she could remain neutral, and if eventually she had to choose a side, which side would she choose?
As Tanner walked back to the store, he couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so energized, and he knew what the feeling was—sexual tension.
He wasn’t even sure if he liked Colette Carson, but he knew damn straight he wanted her. It was crazy, it was utterly irrational, but it was there…thrumming through his veins, reminding him of just how long it had been since he’d been intimate with a woman.
Too long. When Gina had been younger, Tanner had wanted to set a good example for her and had never had a woman to the ranch. He hadn’t started dating until recently, but had found no woman he particularly wanted to be intimate with.
Again and again throughout the course of the day he’d found his gaze drawn to Colette. He’d found himself wondering what her lips would taste like? If her skin was really as silky to the touch as it looked as if it would be?
His desire for her had nothing to
do with his desire to make her see his side of the issue with Gina. They were two very separate issues—one using his head, and the other utilizing a visceral part of him that had little to do with his mind.
As he walked through the shop door, all thoughts of Colette blew out of his mind as he saw his sister leaning over the counter obviously flirting with a young man wearing a delivery uniform.
She straightened as she saw Tanner. “Tanner, I’d like you to meet Danny Burlington. Danny, this is my brother, Tanner Rothman.”
The young man held a hand out to Tanner. Tanner grasped it and gave it a shake. “You here making a delivery or trying to pick something up?”
“Tanner!” Gina exclaimed angrily.
Danny released Tanner’s hand, but held his gaze. “I’m here to visit with Gina, sir. In fact, I’ve asked her to go to a late dinner with me this evening and perhaps see a movie.”
“And I’ve told him I’d be delighted to go with him,” Gina exclaimed. Her expression warned Tanner, and he suddenly realized that if he handled this situation the way he wanted to, he’d risk losing Gina forever.
He placed an arm around Gina and forced a smile to his lips as he looked at Danny. “I trust you’ll make it a relatively early night since Gina is a working woman.”
Danny visibly relaxed. “Yes, sir. I start my job early in the mornings, too. We won’t make it a late night.”
Tanner decided it would be better if he didn’t ask for a copy of Danny’s driver’s license or get fingerprints from the young man, although that’s exactly what he wanted to do.
“Come on, Danny. I’ll walk you out,” Gina said. She slithered out from beneath Tanner’s arm and walked with Danny to the door.
Tanner watched his sister as she smiled up at the handsome delivery boy. This was just what he’d feared…that she’d be swept off her feet by a sweet-talking city slicker.
At worst, he’d leave her pregnant and alone. At best, she’d fancy herself in love with him and never agree to return to the ranch with Tanner.
Still, as much as he wanted to rant and rave and call off her date, he couldn’t. He knew that the way he handled this latest crisis would either lead to his ultimate success in gaining what he wanted or doom him to failure.
He forced a smile at Linda, the part-time worker who had come in just before he’d walked Colette home. She glared at him, then returned to folding baby blankets. He wondered what his baby sister had told her about him? Somehow he knew by her glare that whatever Gina had said had not been too favorable.
Gina smiled, her eyes sparkling as she came back into the shop. “Thank you,” she said as she got to where Tanner stood.
“For what?”
“For not being mean and hateful to Danny.” She leaned her elbows on the counter, her features retaining her smile. “He’s been really nice to me since I came to Kansas City. Most evenings he comes here to walk me home after I close up the store. I told him he didn’t have to tonight because you’re here.”
Tanner shoved his hands in his jeans, fighting the impulse to reach out and grab her to his chest, hold her tight and keep her safe from life. “So what do you know about him?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light.
She shrugged and walked over to a nearby display of baby shoes. “I know he’s twenty-five years old and has been working for the delivery company for four years,” she said as she straightened the boxes of shoes. “He lives with his family not far from here and has two younger sisters and a little brother.”
Tanner felt somewhat better knowing Danny didn’t have a place of his own. If he took her back to his house, with three siblings and parents, it would probably be difficult to sneak in anything more than a kiss or two.
“Now, tell me, big brother, what do you think about my roommate. She’s nice, isn’t she?”
“She’s all right,” Tanner replied.
Gina gave him a sly smile. “I saw the way you looked at her all day. I’d say you thought she was better than all right.”
Tanner was shocked to feel a slight flush of heat rising up his neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered.
“Oh, Tanner.” She danced back over to him and put her slender arms around his neck. “Don’t you realize that my independence is also yours? You’ve given the best years of your life to raising me. Now it’s time to get on with your own life.”
Tanner gave her a hug but didn’t mention the fact that it wasn’t time for her independence yet. She was a baby bird not yet ready to fly from the nest, and he was determined to catch her before she fell.
Two hours later he walked Gina home through the deepening shadows of twilight. “I hate the idea of you walking home alone in the evenings,” he said.
“I told you, most nights Danny walks me home.”
“But what about the nights that he doesn’t?”
She sighed with a touch of impatience. “Then I walk home quickly with my head held high. Colette says if you don’t look like a victim, then the odds are good you won’t become one. And just to be on the safe side, I carry pepper spray in my purse.”
“Nobody ever has to carry pepper spray in Foxrun,” he observed.
“That’s because nothing ever happens in Foxrun,” she replied, as if it were a bad thing. “It’s a nice little town filled with nice people, but I want more than Foxrun can give me.”
They stopped in front of the apartment building. She gazed up at him thoughtfully. “Since I’m having dinner with Danny, why don’t you invite Colette out for some dinner?”
He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I thought you didn’t want me consorting with your roommate and boss.” He smiled teasingly. “I thought you had some sort of a conspiracy theory going…you know, you believe I’m trying to sway her to my side of the argument.”
“I was worried about that,” she replied. “But after giving it some thought, I’ve decided you and Colette hanging out together isn’t a threat to me.”
“And why is that?” he asked indulgently.
“Colette is the strongest most independent woman I know. From what I know about her, she’s never depended on anyone and has already accomplished so much all on her own. I think she knows my dreams are a lot like hers and she’s going to support me in what I want to do.” She grinned at him impishly. “And I don’t think even the famous Tanner charm can make her work against me.”
He returned her grin. “Perhaps you’re underestimating the power of the famous Tanner charm.”
“Maybe I am,” she agreed soberly. “In any case, I’m having dinner with Danny and I just thought you’d rather eat with Colette than eat alone.”
Tanner eyed his sister suspiciously. He didn’t trust this sudden change of heart of hers. Earlier in the day she’d been rabid about telling him to stay away from Colette. Now she seemed to be giving him an open invitation to pursue his plot to get Colette on his side and manipulate Gina into coming back home.
“Maybe I will see if Colette wants to get a bite to eat with me,” he said.
Together he and Gina got into the elevator that carried them to the eighth-floor apartment. It intrigued Tanner, how the thought of having dinner with Colette filled him with a strange sense of anticipation.
He followed Gina through the front door and instantly saw Colette. Clad in what was obviously a short, cotton nightshirt, she was curled up on the sofa with a stack of catalogs on the coffee table in front of her.
It was obvious she had recently showered. Her hair was in damp curls, and her face had a fresh-scrubbed glow that made Tanner’s fingers itch to stroke her creamy-looking cheeks.
It was also obvious she hadn’t expected him to come in with Gina. The nightshirt, although loose fitting, was thin, and he could see the thrust of her breasts against the pink material. A wave of desire swept through him, bringing with it a sweet flood of heat that suffused his entire body.
“Tanner,” she exclaimed and half rose from the sofa, at the same time tugging self-consciously a
t the bottom of the nightshirt. “I wasn’t expecting—” She finally sat and put her feet demurely together on the floor.
“Please, don’t get up,” he said. “I’m not staying. I just walked Gina home.” He remained standing by the front door.
“I’ve got a date and Tanner was going to invite you to eat dinner with him, but it looks like you’ve already eaten.” Gina gestured to the remains of a microwave dinner that sat next to a stack of catalogs.
“Yes…I already ate.”
Tanner thought he heard a touch of disappointment in her voice and was surprised to find that he was disappointed, too.
He told himself it was because he’d wanted an opportunity to sway Colette to his way of thinking, that if he could get her on his side, perhaps he could talk her into firing Gina and making her move out of the apartment. Then Gina would have no other choice than to return home.
Colette looked at Gina once again. “You have a date?”
Gina grinned, her eyes sparkling once again. “With Danny.”
“Oh, Gina. That’s wonderful! I know how much you’ve been hoping he’d ask you out!”
Colette jumped up off the sofa and hugged Gina, the motion giving Tanner a tantalizing view of creamy thighs. He shifted from foot to foot and looked away, fighting a renewed burst of heat that stole through his body.
“Well, then, I’ll just get out of here,” he said, his voice breaking the two women apart. Once again Colette sat down, her cheeks slightly pink as if she was aware that she was inappropriately dressed for company.
“Good night, Tanner. Sorry about dinner,” she replied.
He nodded, then looked at his sister. “Please, call my hotel room when you get home tonight so I’ll know you got back safely.”
“Oh, Tanner…honestly.” Gina rolled her eyes.
“It sounds like a simple enough request,” Colette said, and Tanner sent her a smile of gratitude.
What If I'm Pregnant...? Page 4