LITMIR.BIZ

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but he for damned sure intended to find out.

      He dampened the cloth with cool water, then headed straight for the phone beside the bed. Shrugging out of his jacket, he sat down on the bed beside Kristen and dialed the front desk. He bathed her face with the cloth while he waited for the hotel operator to pick up.

      What seemed like an eternity later, a woman answered.

      “I need the address of the nearest hospital,” he said, trying to be patient despite the desperation clawing at his insides.

      “Is this an emergency, sir?” the woman asked, her voice efficient. “Do you need an ambulance?”

      His gut instinct told him Kristen wouldn’t appreciate the added attention being hauled out on a stretcher would bring to their situation. “No, that won’t be necessary.” He laid the cool, damp cloth on Kristen’s forehead. “My wife fainted. As soon as she’s feeling strong enough, I’ll take her myself.”

      When the woman rattled off the street name of the closest emergency clinic, Chance jotted down the information on a pad of paper he found on top of the nightstand. Hanging up the phone, he frowned as he ran the cloth over Kristen’s pale cheeks. He couldn’t believe how easily the word wife had rolled off his tongue. Damned if it hadn’t felt almost natural.

      Kristen stirred and murmured his name.

      Taking her hand in his, Chance marveled at how small and fragile it felt. “I’m right here.”

      She opened her eyes and blinked. “Oh, no. It wasn’t a dream.”

      He tried his best to give her an encouraging smile. “Afraid not, sweetheart.” He brushed an auburn strand of hair from her damp cheek. “When you’re feeling stronger, I’ll take you to see a doctor.”

      She closed her eyes. “I don’t need a doctor.”

      “Yes, you do,” he said firmly. He wasn’t quite sure how to phrase his next question, so he took a deep breath, thanked God she wasn’t looking at him and asked straight out. “Are you on any kind of birth control?”

      Her eyes snapped open. “That’s none of your business.”

      When she tried to sit up, he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from rising. “Yes, it is.” He tried to be as tactful as possible, but some things couldn’t be sugar-coated. “We just spent an entire night making love, Kristen. If you aren’t on some type of preventive, there’s a very real possibility that you might be pregnant.”

      She sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes widened. “Maybe nothing happened,” she said, hope filling her expressive green gaze.

      Chance swallowed hard. Although the memories he had of last night weren’t clear by a long shot, and he had several blank spots about exactly what had taken place, his body told him he knew this woman in every sense of the word.

      “Trust me, sweetheart,” he said, unable to keep the knowing grin from his face. “It happened, all right. And more than once or twice.”

      Her cheeks colored a pretty pink. Amazing. He hadn’t seen a woman blush in years.

      “No, I’m not taking anything for birth control.” He watched her fidget with the robe’s belt, her attention devoted to rolling the end around her index finger.

      Was it possible the ice maiden was embarrassed?

      She continued to focus on the terry-cloth belt. “There hasn’t been a reason.”

      “So you haven’t been seeing anyone?”

      Abandoning the belt, she glared up at him. “Why don’t you ask what you really want to know? Have I been sleeping with anyone?”

      Chance gave her a short nod.

      She looked as if she wanted to sock him one. “The answer is no.”

      He refused to dwell on how relieved her admission made him feel. “Then if you are pregnant, the baby will be mine.” Placing the cloth on the bedside table, he took a deep breath. “Well, I think the best thing we can do now is see a doctor, then go from there.”

      “I think it’s too early to tell.” She frowned, and he could tell she didn’t have any experience in this particular area. The observation pleased the hell out of him.

      “When—”

      “I’m not sure about the time table, but I think it will take a few weeks for a test to show any accurate results.”

      “You fainted for a reason.”

      “I told you, I have a cold,” she insisted. “Sometimes they settle in my inner ear.”

      “Are you on medication?”

      She nodded. “My doctor gave me a prescription before I left Dallas to come to the finals.”

      Chance removed his hat, then ran his hand through his hair. “I’d like for you to check with a doctor before you take any more. Some of that stuff can hurt a baby.”

      Kristen felt her stomach do a back flip. The situation grew more complicated by the minute.

      “Maybe there isn’t anything to worry about.” Refusing to stay put any longer, she sat up. “There’s a big chance I’m not pregnant.”

      “But there’s a possibility you are.”

      “Will you stop saying that?”

      The man had the audacity to ignore her protest. “It’s my child as much as yours, and I want what’s best.” She watched him replace his hat, then rest his forearms on his knees and stare down at his loosely clasped hands. “I’m not quite sure how to say this, so I’ll just spit it out.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “I face up to my responsibilities. If you’re pregnant, you won’t have to go through this alone, Kristen. When the time comes, I’ll be right there beside you, helping make decisions about raising the baby.”

      Decisions.

      Kristen’s head throbbed and she really didn’t feel up to facing the possibilities he mentioned, let alone make decisions for a child that might not even exist.

      “Okay, I’ll see a doctor as soon as I return to Dallas.” She might as well be reasonable about this. “When I find out something definite, I’ll call you.”

      “No.” He stood, placed his hands on his lean hips, then stared down at her. “Nothing against you or your honesty, but I don’t know you well enough to know whether you’d contact me or not.”

      “Then what do you suggest?” No way was she taking him with her back to Dallas.

      “After we see a doctor here in Vegas about your fainting spell, I want you to go with me to my ranch in the Panhandle,” he said. “If it’s too early for a definite answer now, we’ll wait out the results there. Once we find out for sure what the verdict is, we’ll deal with it.”

      She shook her head. “I can’t do that.”

      “Why not?”

      “I don’t know you that well.”

      “We’re married.”

      “Not for long.”

      “If you’re pregnant—”

      “I’m not.”

      “But if you are,” he insisted, “I’d like for us to stay married until after the baby’s born.”

      Trying to think, she rubbed her forehead. “I can’t go with you. I’m expected back in Dallas tomorrow for a board meeting. I have to turn in my reports on the most likely candidates to endorse Sagebrush Boots.”

      “That can be taken care of by overnight express or a fax to your father.”

      Kristen felt the color drain from her face. What would Mike say if he knew his daughter

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