The Rancher's Christmas Baby. Cathy Thacker Gillen

insemination were required, she would have assisted Teddy. He would have been there with her, when the doctor did the medical procedure. Their baby still would have been created in an atmosphere of incredible love and tenderness. The clinical details…the presence of others…would not have mattered.

      Amy ran a hand over her hollow abdomen.

      Was this the way it was always going to be?

      She had thirty-six hours.

      And, it seemed, a mighty important decision to make.

      TEDDY STOOD IN THE BARN, mulling over the irony of his situation. Two hours earlier he had been unable to perform the necessary functions at the necessary time, and now, here he was, as usual overseeing the same functions—albeit equine—that made him one of the most sought-after horse breeders in Texas.

      Teddy leaned against the chute wall that separated the mare in heat from his prize stud. The two animals went nose to nose, teasing each other and getting acquainted while Mother Nature spurred them on. Knowing what was expected of him, Catastrophe allowed Teddy to lead him to the nearby breeding dummy and got down to business.

      Short minutes later, the collection bottle had been filled.

      Teddy praised the beautiful stallion and returned Catastrophe to his stall, then took the contents to the adjacent ranch lab for examination. Finding it good, he put the life-giving material in a syringe, returned to the waiting mare and inseminated her.

      Teddy praised the mare for her cooperative attitude and returned her to the isolation unit where she would stay until her owner picked her up at the end of the week.

      Contemplating how easy the two animals made the procedure look, he returned to the lab to sterilize the equipment. If only he could take his emotions out of the process, too, and let impregnating Amy be simply a matter of biology and timing.

      Instead, Teddy found himself wishing for the impossible.

      Wishing they were really married. That she was his wife in more than the legal sense.

      It might be out of the question but he couldn’t help wishing Amy were sharing his bed, letting him indulge every fantasy that had come to mind since the moment they had said their vows.

      “I thought I might find you here.”

      Teddy looked up from his task. “Amy.”

      Damn but she looked beautiful in the dim light of the barn. Her golden hair fell in soft, untamed waves to her chin. The red turtleneck sweater hugged her torso, emphasizing the slenderness of her waist and the fullness of her breasts. Her dark denim jeans molded to her waist and hips, lovingly clung to her long, sexy legs.

      Teddy stripped off his gloves and walked away from the equipment he had just sterilized. “I wasn’t sure you were coming back.”

      “I’ve been thinking.” Amy rocked forward on the toes of her boots. She stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. She tipped her chin at him, her high, sculpted cheeks glowing pink against the fairness of her complexion. “Do you think it would be possible for us to try to have a baby together again? Only this time,” she finished softly, “I’d like to do it the old-fashioned way.”

      AMY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT Teddy’s reaction was going to be. She didn’t expect him to brush by her and head for the house without a word.

      Whirling, she took a few quick running steps to catch up with him.

      “You’re not ready,” he said curtly, still not looking at her.

      “How can you say that?” Amy followed him in the back door.

      He bypassed the kitchen and headed straight for the master bedroom.

      “A few nights ago you practically wigged out because we kissed.” Teddy shucked his denim jacket and pulled his shirt over his head.

      Mouth dry, Amy watched him continue to disrobe.

      Aware this was some kind of a test—one she was determined not to fail—she kept her eyes squarely on him as he finished disrobing and strutted toward the shower.

      Damn, but he had a magnificent body, she noted through the glass enclosure. Satin skin covered taut muscle. Lower still, he was just as well…made. With difficulty, she lifted her eyes from the apex of his thighs, to his face. “That’s because we were just doing it for recreational purposes,” she defended herself hotly. And because it had made her feel like they were on the verge of a romance…a one-sided romance, that would have left her at a distinct disadvantage.

      He arched a brow and stepped beneath the spray.

      “I’ve had a change of heart.” She’d decided she could make love without being in love after all.

      Teddy regarded her skeptically.

      “This time we’d be doing it for a very good reason,” Amy said, continuing to make her case hurriedly, aware if she thought about it too much she’d lose her nerve. “It’d be part of our Christmas gift to each other.”

      Teddy shook his head in mute frustration, even as his lower body rose to the challenge. “I know you, Amy. You’ll never go all the way.”

      Maybe she wouldn’t if she didn’t want a baby with him so very much. She folded her arms in front of her militantly. “I will, too!”

      “Really?” Teddy turned to adjust the temperature of the spray, giving her a fine view of his backside.

      “Yes, really!” Amy wished he would take her seriously.

      “Then prove it.” Teddy turned toward her once again, making no effort to hide his desire. His eyes locked with hers as he rubbed soap over his chest. Lower still. “Go in the bedroom. Take off your clothes. And wait for me.”

      Amy could see from the sardonic curve of his lips that he still didn’t think she had the nerve.

      She turned on her heel and marched back out of the bath. “I thought it was going to be a lot easier to be married to you!” she called over her shoulder.

      “No kidding!” he called right back.

      Huffing in exasperation, Amy marched over to the bed and stood staring down at it for one long second.

      “This is to make a baby,” she whispered to herself defiantly, already toeing off her boots. “Our baby. And he or she will be made in the spirit of tenderness and hope and love.” This baby would be the ultimate Christmas gift to each other.

      With trembling fingers, Amy turned back the covers.

      Hearing the water shut off behind her, she closed her eyes and reached for the hem of her sweater.

      “I’m not sure I understand the rationale for closing your eyes while you undress yourself.”

      Amy gulped again and opened her eyes.

      She turned to see Teddy lounging in the doorway, his strong, tall body glistening with droplets of water, a towel draped around his waist.

      “Oh, hush,” she grumbled, irritated he had just spoiled her semiromantic mood. Now, she was going to have to work to get it back again.

      He strode toward her, smelling of soap and man and…the potential for sex. “The fact you can’t even undress without an attack of nerves should tell you you’re not ready for this.”

      Amy let out a nervous little laugh and finished removing her sweater. “I may never be ready for this.” Sex with her best friend. It didn’t change the fact she wanted a baby. His baby. “Which is precisely why we should keep going.”

      Teddy lifted his hand to her breast, his fingertips caressing the swell of flesh above her lacy black bra.

      Suddenly, he wasn’t the only one getting aroused.

      He regarded her ardently, a sense of purpose glittering in his eyes. “This isn’t a game of Red Light, Green Light.”

      Amy’s