What If I'm Pregnant...? Read Free

and he couldn’t help but notice that shehad pretty cupid lips, lips that appeared just perfect for kissing. “Yes, the Little Bit Baby Boutique. I officially opened the doors two years ago.”
    Their conversation halted as the waitress appeared with their food. She served them, chatting about the weather and how busy the restaurant had been since the coming of spring, then departed.
    â€œI would assume owning your own business requires a lot of time and energy,” Tanner said as he cut into his thick T-bone steak.
    â€œIt does,” Colette agreed. “Which is why I was so pleased to hire Gina. She’s been a real godsend and is a wonderful salesclerk.” She smiled in obvious affection at Gina, who smiled back with the shine of hero worship in her eyes.
    â€œGina’s very bright,” Tanner replied. Far too bright to work for minimum wage as a clerk in a baby store, he thought.
    His biggest fear was that not only would Gina not live up to her intellectual potential, but that a smooth-talking city slicker would take advantage of her, break her heart and leave her not only working in a store for babies, but shopping there, as well. Then she would never fulfill the future Tanner had envisioned for her. All his hard work on her behalf would be for naught.
    â€œGina tells me you run a big ranch in Kansas, so you must know about long hours and expended energy,” Colette said.
    Tanner nodded. “Yes, it definitely requires hard work and long hours…especially this time of year.”
    â€œThen I’m sure you’re eager to get back,” Gina quipped.
    Tanner laughed at her lack of subtlety. “You know me, Gina. Family has always been more important than anything else in the world.” Again he turned to Colette. “You have family, Miss Carson?”
    â€œPlease, call me Colette,” she replied. “And my family consists of just my mother and me.”
    â€œShe lives here in town?”
    â€œYes, but unfortunately we aren’t very close.” She turned her attention to Gina. “The salad is wonderful, isn’t it.”
    Tanner frowned and cut off another bite of his steak. She wasn’t close to her mother. As far as Tanner was concerned, that was just another reason to get Gina away from her influence.
    Tanner knew the importance of family. Colette Carson had no idea how lucky she was to have a mother. But Tanner knew all about being without a mother and a father and the importance of hanging on to the family left behind. And his family was Gina.
    â€œSo, what kind of a ranch do you have, Mr. Rothman?” Colette asked.
    He grinned. “Make it Tanner, and we raise cattle. I’ve got a large herd of Charolais and a large herd of Hereford cows.”
    â€œOh, is one for milk and one for meat?” she asked.
    Both Tanner and Gina laughed. “They’re both meat cows,” Gina replied.
    â€œDon’t be embarrassed,” Tanner said to Colette, whose cheeks had turned a charming pink. “I wouldn’t know a bunting from a bonnet when it comes to babies.”
    She laughed, the sound musical and sweet. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about cows.”
    â€œTanner also breeds horses,” Gina explained. “Two Hearts has been responsible for several championship quarter horses.”
    â€œTwo Hearts…that’s the name of your ranch?” Colette asked.
    â€œYeah. Gina named the place,” Tanner explained, remembering the day the ranch had been named. It had been two days after their parents’ funerals as they had stood on the front porch and gazed out across the expanse of pasture and fields that surrounded the ranch house.
    â€œTanner didn’t like it,” Gina replied. “He thought it sounded too feminine.” She gazed at Tanner and smiled. “But he said if Two Hearts is what I wanted, then that’s what it would be.”
    â€œI always did spoil