Lois Greiman - [Hope Springs 02] Read Online Free PDF Page A

bound to feel vulnerable in her current condition. Wasn’t she? Uncertainty stole through Casie like a cat on the prowl. After all, it wasn’t as if she had ever experienced the pangs of pregnancy, emotional or physical. And in all honesty that was probably for the best; she was barely up to nurturing newborn calves. God help her if she ever had a child, she thought, and let her misty gaze settle for just a moment on Em’s rounded belly.
    “Was there any trouble with the vendors?” Emily, true to her entrepreneurial nature, was glancing with concern around the all-but-empty property.
    “Not that I know of,” Ty said and shuffled back a half pace, making room for her bulk. “Everybody seemed pretty happy. But hey, some guy from Lead was interested in your rhub-apple jam. Said he thought it could go mainstream. Whatever that means.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Said it was rhubalicious.”
    “Seriously?” Emily made a face that suggested both delight and the burning need to mock. “He said that?”
    Ty grinned, just the slightest twitch of his lips. He did that more these days, though he would probably never match Colt’s irritating jocularity. “He left his card.”
    “Where is it?” Em’s voice was breathy with excitement. She was ever determined to find a way to increase the ranch’s profitability.
    “I put it on the table . . . or on the counter or . . .” He paused. “Maybe I better come in and find it,” he said. “Things got a little hectic at the end.”
    “Here . . .” Emily handed him the plastic bag. “Carry this, will you?” she asked and shifted the sack into his possession before they headed toward the house together. Watching them walk away was almost painfully poignant. They looked ridiculously pretty, hopelessly vulnerable.
    “Cute, huh?” Colt said.
    Casie swallowed the tears building up in her throat, pursed her lips into a solid line, and changed the subject with careful single-mindedness. “What did the doctor say?”
    Colt shrugged, still watching the pair disappear into the darkness. “She’s doing fine. He’s a little concerned about her blood glucose, but gestational diabetes is a common occurrence, I guess.”
    She nodded, as if she had known that little factoid since infancy, and glanced back toward the shadows just ascending the porch steps.
    “You might want to cut back on her duties a little, though.” His words were soft, as if his mind was elsewhere.
    Casie snapped her attention back toward him. “What?”
    He shrugged. “She looks kind of tired.”
    She felt her back go up, and though she knew better, opened her mouth immediately. “You think I’m standing over her with a whip or something?”
    “Whip? Naw.” He grinned, pulled open the passenger door, and yanked the gun belt out from under the seat where she had stowed it. “I’m thinking these would be more effective.”
    A half-dozen razor-sharp rejoinders came to mind, but she kept them at bay and grabbed the tooled leather.
    He pulled it closer to his chest, effectively tilting her off balance. They were inches apart. His grin disappeared. She blinked. He cleared his throat. Seconds ticked into the gathering darkness. “He’s not for you, Case,” he said.
    She forced herself to breathe and felt her brows rise toward her hairline. “What?”
    “Hedley,” he said. “I know he’s got a dreamy smile and the cutest little butt ever.” He said the words in a breathy falsetto, then inhaled as if he was trying to control his temper, which was simply weird because, as far as Casie knew, he didn’t even have a temper. Still, his dark eyes snapped. “You don’t want to get involved with him.”
    “Well, that’s great because I’m not involved with him.”
    “Really?” He tilted his head at her. “Cuz if you two get any cuddlier, you’re going to be in the same fix as Emily.”
    She felt her jaw drop, heard herself snort. “And this from the man who knows more about women in labor than an