The Rancher's Christmas Baby. Cathy Thacker Gillen

Teddy sat on their wide front porch, untangling the string of lights that would be placed along the front-porch roof. It had been surprisingly enjoyable, sleeping in the truck, with wool blankets drawn over them and Amy cuddled up next to him for warmth. The sound of the sleet and the rain thrumming on the truck had lulled them to sleep. “The temperature rose during the night, so by dawn, it was no longer icy, just muddy. A couple of truckers came by and helped us pull Amy’s truck out of the mud, and we were on our way.”

      “How is married life?” Lilah asked.

      A glib remark was on the tip of his tongue. “Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about that,” Teddy said after a moment.

      “Be glad to help in any way we can,” John said kindly, untangling the last of the lights.

      “You two had an arranged marriage, didn’t you?” Teddy knelt to plug in all the cords and make sure every strand worked. To his relief, they did.

      John watched as Teddy set up the ladder at the far end of the porch roof. “It was a different time.”

      “We fell in love during our engagement.” Lilah hung the wreath on the front door. “If we hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have been able to walk down the aisle.”

      Teddy turned to his grandfather. “How did you feel?”

      John held the lights while Teddy fastened them on the hooks. “I wanted to marry Lilah. But when we met, I wasn’t nearly as romantic an individual as she was. I thought marrying a pretty woman who was kind and gentle and understanding, who wanted a family every bit as much as I did, would be enough. But then I fell in love with Lilah and I understood what she had been hoping for all along.” John stepped back as Teddy climbed back down the ladder and moved it several feet to the left.

      “Do you think you and Amy have made a mistake?” Lilah asked.

      “No,” Teddy replied, sure about this much. “I think it’ll work. Amy’s the one who already seems to be having second thoughts.”

      Lilah and John exchanged a worried look that spoke volumes.

      “I want us to be a family,” Teddy continued. “And I need it to happen soon.” Before Amy changes her mind and wants an annulment. “I was hoping you might have an idea how I could make that happen.”

      “The first step is to act like a husband and wife.” Lilah arranged a small potted pine on either side of the front door. “Become a team.”

      “And you can do that,” John added, “by working toward a common goal.”

      AMY SPENT THE REST OF Wednesday working in the greenhouse, trying to forget about the way she and Teddy had kissed each other. She was still there at eight that evening, when her husband strode in.

      “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were avoiding me,” he drawled.

      As it happened, that was exactly what she was doing. Not about to admit that to him, however, she retorted, “I’m catching up on everything that would have been done this week if Sheryl hadn’t been put on bed rest.”

      “How’s she doing?”

      “Better. Her mom flew in today—earlier than Sheryl expected.”

      “So Ed’ll be back soon, won’t he?”

      “Yes.”

      “So this could probably be done then.”

      Amy shrugged. “I need to get the seeds in the planting mix if I want to have starter plants to sell to the nurseries, come February.”

      Teddy nodded his understanding and ambled closer.

      Trying not to think how handsome he looked in the suede jacket, the rim of his hat drawn low across his brow, she asked, “Did you have something you wanted to talk to me about?” Or were you just hoping to snag a few more kisses and see where they led?

      Teddy settled on the edge of one of the heavy wooden planting tables. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and braced a hand on either side of him. “It occurred to me today when I was over helping my grandparents put the lights up on the outside of their house that you and I haven’t done anything to decorate our two places for the holiday.” Mischief glimmered in his eyes. “With less than three weeks to go until Christmas, that’s shameful.”

      Yes, Amy thought, it was. Generally, she had a ton more Christmas spirit than she had this year.

      Refusing to let him steer her into anything, however, she replied, “I usually just plug in this little pre-lit tabletop tree and stick a wreath on the door.”

      His lips curved in understanding. “Well, you’re ahead of me because I’ve never even done that much.” He reached over to trace his fingertips from her elbow to the top of the glove on her hand. “I want it to be different this year.” He waited until she looked him square in the eye. “I want a tree and wreaths on the door in both places.”

      As much as she was loath to admit it, his was not an unreasonable request. “Okay. We’ll work that in.”

      “And I want something else from you,” Teddy continued, even more firmly. “I want you to go to the Laramie Community Hospital fertility specialist with me tomorrow afternoon.”

      Again, the joy she should have felt was nowhere to be found. Amy tensed, cautioning, “We’re going to need an appointment.”

      His cheeky grin widened. “We’ve got one.”

      Amy narrowed her glance in surprise. “How’d you manage that?” she demanded.

      “My grandparents helped start the hospital. I asked them to pull some strings for us, and they did.”

      Finished, Amy took off her gloves and set them on the table, next to the spade. “You work fast.”

      “Not fast enough.” Teddy stood and took her hands in his. He looked down at her so seriously that her heart fluttered. “Look, Amy, we’ve gotten off track. Let ourselves get distracted trying to set up the rules between us instead of focusing on the Christmas gift we want to give to each other.”

      She drew in a quavering breath. “A baby.” His baby…

      “Yes.” Teddy squeezed her hands companionably. He looked down at her, like the very good friend he had always been, and heaven willing, always would. “I figure the sooner we make that wish a reality, the sooner our life together will become as happy as we both know—deep down—that it can be.”

      AS AMY EXPECTED, IT WASN’T easy explaining their plan to the newest obstetrician on the Laramie Community Hospital staff.

      “Let’s make sure I understand,” the young and personable Donna Hudson said. She sat back in her chair and ran a hand through her short dark hair. “The two of you just got married last week. You want to have a baby. And you haven’t yet had intercourse.”

      “Nor do we plan to—which is why we want to have our baby via artificial insemination,” Amy interjected, trying not to blush. Discussing such intimate subject matter in front of a member of the medical profession would have been difficult enough without Teddy sitting completely poker-faced beside her.

      Dr. Hudson looked at Teddy, as if wondering if he, too, was okay with the plan.

      To Amy’s relief, Teddy came through for her like a champ, explaining casually, “Our marriage is based on the kind of deep, abiding love that comes out of a lifelong friendship—not romance. We both want to have a family very much.”

      “For a lot of reasons this seems like the right course,” Amy concluded.

      Apparently Dr. Hudson was satisfied they both knew what they were doing, because her manner shifted from serious to cheerful. “Well, it can certainly be done. We’ll start by giving Amy a physical. Teddy, I suggest you get one from your family doc.”

      “Just