The Rancher's Christmas Baby. Cathy Thacker Gillen

a lot to both of them, getting the community chapel restored before the Christmas holidays.

      Luke lined up another piece of lumber and ran it through the saw. “I guess it’s no secret Amy’s mother and I remain concerned.”

      “No, sir, it isn’t.” Teddy was pretty sure his parents still felt the same way. They just hadn’t had a chance to corner him yet.

      Luke carried the wood over to the growing pile of cut lumber, then paused to get a drink from the water bottle he’d brought with him. “Had you two told us of your plans, Meg and I would have moved heaven and earth to stop you from making such a big mistake. Especially,” he continued gravely, giving Teddy no chance to interrupt, “since you are the reason Amy hasn’t found anyone to spend the rest of her life with, and vice versa.”

      This was news. “How do you figure that?” Teddy asked. He’d never tried to keep Amy from dating anyone. Heck, he’d encouraged her to go out with other guys, just as she had urged him to date all likely prospects that came his way. It wasn’t his fault—or hers—that none of the people either of them had dated had come close to measuring up.

      Luke clapped a fatherly hand on Teddy’s shoulder. “You two have gotten so close over the years, spent so much time together. No one new coming into either of your lives can compete with that kind of intimacy. Not,” he added quickly, “that it’s all your fault. Amy’s experience with Ken left her wary of giving her heart to anyone again. That’s why I’d held back on trying to set her up with any potential suitors just yet.”

      Teddy eyed him curiously. “You don’t think she considered marriage to me a risk?”

      “I think she figured she would be safe as long as her heart wasn’t involved with you, the way it was with Ken.”

      Teddy pushed away his unease. “Why did they end the engagement?” he asked.

      Luke looked stunned. “She didn’t tell you?”

      “Amy and I made a pact early on never to give each other the details on the people we were dating.” For reasons Teddy had never been able to put a finger on—it just hadn’t felt right, talking to Amy about the women in his life…or hearing about the men in hers. So they’d steadfastly avoided the topic.

      Teddy shrugged, admitting, “All Amy ever said was that ‘Ken wasn’t the man she thought he was.’ I know the breakup left her feeling embarrassed and humiliated, but not a lot more.” Amy had never wanted to talk about it further. And he hadn’t wanted to push her.

      Belatedly, Teddy realized he probably should have been more insistent. Particularly if Ken was the reason Amy was still so closed off, as her father seemed to be indicating.

      Luke gave Teddy a frank, man-to-man look. “You’ll have to ask her if you want to know more than that. It’s not my story to tell. In the meantime, I expect you and my daughter are both stubborn enough to want to see this marriage through, but when it ends—and it will end, Teddy, because no union can survive without a foundation of deep, abiding romantic love—then I expect you to do the honorable thing and let my daughter go. And make it a clean break. So you and she will both have a chance with someone else.”

      Teddy wanted to disregard everything Amy’s father had said. He couldn’t. As close as he and Amy were, there was still a lot he wanted—needed—to learn about the woman he had married.

      Unfortunately, by the time work on the chapel roof wrapped up and he got back to Laurel Valley Ranch, it was ten o’clock. Amy was already fast asleep on the living room sofa. Curled up on her side, one hand pressed to her cheek, the other tucked beneath the pillow, her golden curls tousled…she looked young and innocent and incredibly sexy.

      Aware the trailer had taken on a chill, the way it did every night when the sun went down, he got a second blanket off the back of the sofa and spread it over her. She shifted slightly, sighed softly and drifted right back into sleep.

      Surprised by the tenderness he felt, Teddy picked up his overnight bag and walked soundlessly to the rear of the trailer.

      By the time he had stepped into the shower, he had an ache that wouldn’t quit. An ache that had little to do with friendship and everything to do with the fact Amy was now his wife.

      A piece of paper…a couple of words said in a judge’s office…shouldn’t make a difference.

      But it did.

      And Teddy didn’t know what in blazes he was going to do about that.

      FOR TEDDY, MORNING came all too soon.

      Stiff and sore from a night bent like a pretzel, he pushed back the covers and struggled to get out of bed. As he made his way to the miniscule bathroom, he realized the trailer was awfully quiet.

      He followed the aroma of freshly brewed coffee into the kitchen and his spirits sank. The blankets on the sofa were folded neatly. The coffee carafe sat on the kitchen counter, beside a note scrawled in Amy’s hand.

      Teddy,

      I really need to sleep here tonight. So if you wouldn’t mind… We’ll double up at your place after that, to make up for it.

      Amy.

      Teddy scowled. He’d had more time with his wife when they weren’t married.

      AMY FELT A LITTLE GUILTY FOR repeatedly ducking out on Teddy over the weekend. Not that she could have helped with the roofing of the chapel—that was clearly a guys-only job, with only guys volunteering. And she had needed to work. But she could have stayed around this morning, to have a cup of coffee with him, or at least say good morning before she took off for town, to get some more bundling mesh for the trees she was cutting.

      She hadn’t, because the thought of furthering the intimacy between them left her feeling all jittery inside. They’d had no trouble keeping to established boundaries when they were friends. Now the same rules seemed oddly confining. The thought of setting new ones was even more daunting.

      Fortunately, the note Teddy had left for her on the kitchen counter indicated he had client appointments at his ranch and wouldn’t be home until eight or nine that evening. He advised her not to wait dinner on him; he’d grab a sandwich at his place.

      Realizing she should be relieved not to have to worry about doing anything wifely when she was exhausted from a day spent cutting and bundling trees, Amy made a sandwich for herself. She had just washed her dishes and retreated to her bedroom when Teddy strode into the trailer, looking freshly showered and shaved. And loaded for bear. “What’s this I hear about you driving a load of trees to Wichita Falls by yourself tomorrow?” he demanded.

      So much for the boundaries they’d previously had in place.

      Deciding it was high time she got cleaned up, too, Amy grabbed her pajamas and a pair of panties from the top dresser drawer. “Who told you?”

      Teddy leaned a shoulder against the door frame, watching as she maneuvered the foot of space between the bed and the only other piece of furniture in the room. “Tyler—who heard it from Susie.”

      “Figures,” Amy grumbled. Being the baby of the family made everyone think they had to manage her life for her. She had figured that would change as she got older. To her chagrin, it hadn’t.

      “You know there’s a fierce winter storm from Colorado headed our way.”

      What was it about him that made her trailer feel so small and close, instead of cozy and warm, whenever he was here with her? It was more than just the sheer size of him. It was the way he looked at her since they’d said their vows. Like he wanted to possess her…

      Aware she was letting her thoughts slide into forbidden territory again, Amy went back to her dresser and added a bra to the bundle of nightclothes in her hand.

      “The ice and snow is not supposed to hit Laramie.” She had to kneel on the bed, which pressed up against the opposite wall, to open the sliding closet doors.

      Teddy