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

City without Gina in tow. Legally he had no leverage. She was of age and could refuse to return to the ranch where she belonged.
    But Tanner knew there was more than one way to skin a cat, and he knew the best way to get Gina back where she belonged was to gain Colette’s support.
    He gazed at the lovely blonde, a rush of adrenaline sweeping through him as he realized that was one cat he wouldn’t mind skinning at all.

Chapter Two
    â€œI can’t believe you did that,” Gina exclaimed the moment the two women were once again alone in the apartment.
    â€œDid what?” Colette asked as she kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the sofa.
    â€œSuggested that Tanner stick around for a few days.” She paced back and forth in front of Colette, her slender body stiff with tension. “That just gives him more opportunity to manipulate me into doing what he wants, not what I want.” Gina sat in the chair opposite the sofa.
    â€œGina, I think he’s just worried about you, and after a day or two of seeing you here, I’m sure he’ll realize you’re doing just fine.”
    Gina leaned forward. “You don’t know him, Colette. He’s relentless. Don’t be fooled by his charm, don’t be fooled by him. He’s so cursedly stubborn, he doesn’t even have a girlfriend.”
    Colette held up her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Gina, this is between you and your brother. He doesn’t have to try to charm me. It’s you he wants to take back to the family ranch.”
    â€œHe wants me to go to school and get a job teaching in the local grade school and eventually marry Walt Tibberman.”
    â€œWho is Walt Tibberman?” Colette asked curiously.
    Gina stopped her pacing and sat in the chair opposite Colette. “Walt works on the ranch for Tanner. He’s a nice guy and a hard worker and I know he has a thing for me, but I don’t feel any sparks with him. There’s no magic between us.”
    Colette bit her tongue. She didn’t believe in that kind of magic. As far as she was concerned, love was a nice illusion used to sell greeting cards and flowers, a nice word to justify lust and passion. As far as Colette was concerned, love was for needy, clingy women who were afraid to live their lives alone.
    She stood and smiled at her young roommate. “Gina, if this is what you want, to stay and build a life here, then stand strong against your brother. And with that bit of advice, I’m going to bed.”
    A few minutes later as Colette changed out of her clothes and into the short cotton nightshirt she alwayswore to bed, she couldn’t help but think about Tanner Rothman.
    She had not only found him ruggedly handsome to look at, but utterly charming, as well. His obvious concern for his sister, his desire to make certain she was okay, only added to his attractiveness.
    A slight wistfulness filled her as she slid beneath the sheet and into bed. She wished there had been somebody who had been concerned about her when she’d been eighteen years old and had struck out on her own.
    Gina might see her big brother as a pain in her backside, but she had no idea how lucky she was to have somebody who cared about her and her well-being.
    Colette shoved these thoughts aside. She rarely thought about what she’d never had, instead focused her thoughts and energy on attaining what she wanted. She’d learned at a very early age that she could depend on nobody but herself.
    She placed a hand on her tummy, wondering if even now, at this very moment, a little soul was inside her. How she hoped, how she prayed that the artificial insemination had been successful. This child of hers would have all the love, all the care, all the dreams that nobody had ever taken the time to give to Colette.
    She frowned sleepily. Funny, she wondered where Tanner and Gina’s parents were in all this. Neither of them had mentioned what their parents