Shane wasn’t certain when he had developed the fierce protectiveness that coursed through him now, but there was no denying its presence or its overwhelming strength. Staring down at the blond-haired woman in his bed, he silently made her a promise. No matter what it took, he would do everything in his power to keep her and their child safe and healthy.
“Where’s Cactus?” Melissa asked when she came downstairs to find Shane sitting at the computer in his office.
“He and a couple of the men who stayed around for the weekend are playing poker down at the bunkhouse,” Shane answered, looking up from the screen.
“What excuse did you give him about my…sudden exit from the room?” She could only imagine what the outspoken old man had to say about that.
“He didn’t ask,” Shane said, shaking his head. “He muttered something about it being my fault he burned the bacon as he scraped your plate into the garbage disposal.” He shrugged. “I didn’t bother to correct him.” His expression changed to one of concern. “Are you feeling all right?”
His consideration touched her deeply. She had awakened to find a plate of crackers and a cup of weak tea on the bedside table, along with a note from him, telling her not to get up until she had consumed both. Apparently Shane had found the home remedy on the Internet, and whether it had been the nap or the crackers and tea, she did feel a lot better.
Nodding, she sat down in one of the two leather armchairs in front of his desk. “Right now I’m doing fine. I don’t know for certain, but I assume since it’s called ‘morning sickness’ that I won’t be bothered again until tomorrow when I wake up.”
“Good.” He stood up and walked around the desk to sit in the chair beside her. “I’ve been checking the Web for information on pregnancy and doctors. If the tea and crackers work to help alleviate the worst of the nausea, it’s best to stick with that, rather than a prescription medication. I’ll set my alarm to get up earlier and have them waiting on you when you wake up tomorrow.”
She smiled. “It sounds like you’ve done quite a bit of research.”
“You wouldn’t believe how much information there is on pregnancy.” Clearly amazed, he shook his head. “The first thing we need to do is make an appointment with an obstetrician and get you on prenatal vitamins. Then, we’ll have to review your diet to see where nutritional adjustments are needed.”
Melissa stared at him a moment as she tried to assimilate Shane the ladies’ man, with Shane the expectant father. “I intend to call for an appointment as soon as you take me back to Aspen,” she assured him. “And I’m certain I’ll be given instructions on what foods I should avoid and what I should add to my diet, when I see the doctor.”
Nodding his obvious approval, he went on. “We’ll also need to—”
She held up her hand to stop him. “Back up, Cowboy. Where is all this ‘we’ stuff coming from?”
“I told you, angel. I’m going to be with you every step of the way.” He reached over to take her hand in his. “You’re not going through this alone.”
“I truly appreciate your willingness to help,” she said slowly. “But if I’m in California and you’re here in Colorado—”
“That’s unacceptable,” he interrupted, shaking his head. “I’m not going to let you risk losing your inheritance, Lissa.”
“And I can’t take the risk of having even one of the investors pull out of the upcoming projects planned for Jarrod Ridge.”
Unable to sit still, Melissa rose to her feet to pace the floor in front of his drafting table. They had reached the moment she had been dreading. Decisions were going to be made that would affect the rest of their lives, as well as that of their child’s. She just hoped with all of her heart they made the right choices.
“There are a lot of people dependent on the resort’s success.” She needed to make him understand. “Jarrod Ridge is the single largest employer in Aspen. If future projects like the Food and Wine Gala are canceled because the investment capital isn’t there, people will start losing their jobs.”
“None of that is going to happen,” he said calmly.
Turning to face him, she couldn’t believe his assertion. “You know Elmer Madison and Clara Buchanan. They are huge investors in Jarrod Ridge and two of the most puritanical members of the group, not to mention the most influential. We both know they’d disapprove of me becoming an unwed mother and convince several of the other investors to take their money elsewhere. I can’t be responsible for—”
“The first thing I want you to do is calm down,” he cut in. “Stress isn’t good for you or the baby.” His commanding tone indicated that the issue wasn’t up for debate. “And the second is, you’re worrying for nothing. Once they learn we’re getting married, there’s nothing they can say without looking like the pompous, judgmental asses they are.”
“Shane—”
“Hear me out, Lissa.” He rose to his feet, then walked over to loosely wrap his arms around her waist. “There’s no way I’m going to allow you to go back to California to have our baby alone.”
“You’re starting to sound like a bully again,” she warned. No one had told her what she was or wasn’t going to do since she had left home after high-school graduation, and she wasn’t inclined to let Shane pick up where her father had left off.
“I’m not being a bully. I’m trying to get you to see reason.” His tone was less dictatorial and he had apparently gotten the message that she wasn’t going to be ordered around. “This is my child, too, Lissa. We may not have planned on you becoming pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be just as much a part of his life as you do.”
She had always wanted children some day and prayed that their father would be more interested and involved than her own father had been with his. That would be next to impossible with her living in one state and Shane in another.
Nibbling on her lower lip, she shook her head. “I’m sure we could work something out that gives us both equal time.”
“Don’t you see? Marrying me solves everything, angel.” He drew her close to press a kiss to her temple. “You get to keep your inheritance, the resort keeps its investors and our baby gets a full-time momma and daddy to raise him.”
Either her resistance was down or what he said was beginning to make sense to her. She did want to maintain her share of Jarrod Ridge and she could likely only do that by remaining in Aspen to manage Tranquility Spa. If she married Shane, some of the investors might grumble about her becoming pregnant before the marriage, but it should be enough to keep them from pulling their funding.
Leaning back, she gazed up at his handsome face. She had always hoped to have a husband and family, but in her dreams she had imagined marrying for love, not to save the resort’s reputation and funding.
He must have sensed her resolve was weakening. “I give you my word that you won’t regret becoming my wife, Lissa,” he promised. “We can make this work. We already have a lot more going for us than other couples have.”
His statement took her by surprise. “We do?”
He nodded. “We get along well, we enjoy and appreciate some of the same things, we have a fantastic love life and a baby on the way. The way I see it, that’s a damned fine start.”
“But there’s still a lot we don’t know about each other,” she said, unwilling to give in so easily.
“We’ll learn as we go,” he said with a knowing grin.
The skunk knew she was going to agree with his plan. Was it too much to ask that he not gloat about it?
“How would we tell everyone the news?” she asked, wondering what her family would say.
Shane looked thoughtful for a moment. “I can make reservations to throw a dinner party in the Sky Lounge. I’m a Jarrod Ridge investor and given the way your family feels about losing its backers, I’m sure your brothers, sister and their significant others will feel compelled to attend.”
If there was one thing she was certain of, it was the compliance of her family with one of the resort’s investors. Shane and his father before him had contributed quite a lot of money to special events at Jarrod Ridge. There was no way her brothers would risk losing that.
“I can’t think of a single reason that anyone in my family would turn down your invitation.”
“Good.” His grin widened. “Now, can you think of anything else we should do before we tell your family?”
She shook her head. “Not at the moment.”
“Then there’s only one thing left to do.” He dropped to one knee and taking her hand in his, smiled up at her. “Melissa Jarrod, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Staring down at Shane, she couldn’t help but wonder what she was getting herself into. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” she murmured. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Then, straightening her shoulders, she opened her eyes and nodded. “Yes, Shane, I’ll marry you.”
Six
The following week as he sat thumbing through a magazine in the obstetrician’s waiting room, Shane took note of the pregnant women around him. Their stomachs were various sizes, and he couldn’t help but wonder what Lissa would look like in the months to come.
Tossing the magazine on a table beside his chair, he glanced over at her, sitting beside him. He tried to envision her slender figure growing large with his child. From his research, he had learned that some women didn’t start showing their condition until late in the pregnancy, while others blossomed early. He wondered which way Lissa would carry their baby.
His speculation was cut short when a nurse called their names. “Melissa and Shane, if you’ll follow me, we’ll get your blood work taken care of and weigh you before the doctor does your examination.”
Once the woman had drawn Lissa’s blood and collected what she needed for a variety of other tests, they were ushered into a small room at the end of the hall. Taking both of their health histories, the nurse finally gave Lissa instructions on preparing for the examination and left the room.
“I think they know more about me now than I do,” Lissa said as he helped her lay back on the uncomfortable-looking table.
“If you stick with the same doctor, they’ll have all the information on record and it won’t take as long the next time,” he said, seating himself in a chair beside her.
Raising up on one elbow, she looked at him as if he had sprouted horns and a tail and carried a pitchfork. “Next time?”
“Well, I assumed you’d want more than one child,” he said, wondering what the hell had gotten into him. They were just at the beginning of one pregnancy and he was talking about another?
If someone had told him a week ago that he would be sitting in a doctor’s office, waiting to find out when his baby was due, he would have laughed them into the next state. Now, he found himself looking forward to learning the approximate time he would become a daddy and discussing the possibility of even more children.