Page 34 of A Baby for the Texas Cowboy
“Hearing the heartbeat and seeing the picture makes it all real,” he said softly. He reached for the picture, and she held her breath.
“You can take it, if you want. Show your family,” she said. She didn’t want it lying about where it could ambush her, and yet she knew she could never be callous enough to toss the picture in the trash.
That would be courting disaster.
Had her mother gotten an ultrasound picture? Had she smiled at and touched her abdomen in wonder? Tinsley had a hard time imagining that.
“Have you shared our news with any family?” Anders asked as if he were a mind reader.
She nearly crawled out of her skin.
The tasting room blurred in front of her and she willed herself not to cry. Hanging baskets. She should have hanging baskets bursting with colorful blooms outside of the tasting room.
“August implied that perhaps your parents died,” Anders said softly, his voice aching with sympathy.
Of course. He felt he could relate. An orphan, except he’d had two brothers to guide him.
Relief coursed through her. It was an out she didn’t think she’d get, and she seized it. But guilt followed almost immediately. She should be honest with him, but how could she explain her parents? Her life before? The girl and woman she’d been? Her life had been so different from his.
And she wasn’t sure she could take the way he’d change around her. Or perhaps his interest in the money. She was just so tired. She felt like if she said anything or moved, she’d break.
His exhalation sounded defeated, but his fingers lightly brushed the back of her hand.
“You’re not alone in the world anymore, Tinsley. You’ll have me and my family and the baby.”
He was waiting for a response. She hadn’t wanted anyone—the expectations, the hurts, the betrayals. Alone was safer. But Anders was a good man. He thought he was doing the right thing.
Her heart twisted.
She dug deep for words. “Just a lot to take in.”
“Of course. I’ll walk you in.”
She felt too drained to even open the passenger door of his truck.
Not that she needed to. Anders, who always opened doors for her, was there. He helped her out. Carried her change of clothes to the locked tasting room door and then pulled out the keys Catalina had given her and unlocked the door.
The door closed behind them. All she wanted to do was fall asleep. She hadn’t felt this bone-exhausted since she’d left home, John, and her life behind five years ago.
“I’m happy you’ve been taking the prenatal vitamins,” Anders said into the silence.
She had started those even when she didn’t want to think she was pregnant. Not like the extra boost would have hurt her if the baby hadn’t been real.
But it was.
She’d heard proof.
She could see proof if she’d look at the picture.
And even though she hadn’t gained weight and wasn’t showing, she felt so different.
Alien.
“I need some time alone,” she said, certain he wouldn’t give it to her. And the worst part was, part of her wanted him to stay, to hold her.
And then she remembered she had no furniture. She’d picked some out at the barn from a surprisingly large and modern and stylish collection, and Anders had bought a king-size mattress. But she still needed groceries, dishes, small appliances, flatware… Her head felt woozy just thinking of all the things she was going to need to set up the apartment.
She needed to eat something too. The doctor had been firm on that—no skipping meals. And she needed to carry nutritional snacks with her. Her blood sugar was too low, which was causing her dizziness.
