Pregnant In Prosperino by Carla Cassidy Page A

right,” she replied and again Chance’s inner temperature rose. “Oh, look,” she said suddenly. “It finally opened.” She pointed across the street to a shop that had a Grand Opening sign in the window. “I’ve been waiting and waiting for it to open up.”
    â€œThen I guess we’d better go in and take a look around,” Chance said.
    Her eyes shone with excitement and she clapped her hands together. “You mean it? I mean, I could always come back another time by myself.”
    Chance smiled at her with amused indulgence. “You just said you’ve been waiting and waiting. I don’t want you to wait another minute. Just lead the way.”
    She tugged on his hand and pulled him toward the corner where they could cross the street, as if afraid he might change his mind.
    Chance figured it was some kind of a dress boutique or maybe one of those stores that sold sexy lingerie. It wasn’t until she was pulling him over the threshold that he realized exactly what kind of store it was—a baby store.
    Strollers, cribs, high chairs and bassinets were prominently displayed just inside the door. Farther in the back were racks of clothing, bottles, stuffed animals, apparently everything needed to make a healthy, happy baby.
    Chance wanted to back out of the door, take Lana by the hand and escape from the sweet-smelling store with its pastel-colored walls and lullaby music. But Lana was already off and running, oohing and aahing over an oak crib with a canopy.
    â€œOh, Chance, isn’t it beautiful?” she asked, her eyes shining with the same kind of glow they’d possessed when she had held her niece.
    â€œYou have great taste,” a saleslady said as she approached where Chance and Lana stood. She placed a hand on the crib railing. “This is one of the top of the line with extra safety features and the added highlight that it changes into a toddler bed when the little one gets too big for a crib.”
    Lana smiled wistfully. “It is beautiful.” She gazed at the price tag and winced. “We’re just window shopping right now,” she explained to the sales clerk.
    â€œPlease, feel free to wander around the store.” She winked at Lana. “And if you fill out a card to get on our mailing list, we’ll give you a free gift.” She smiled with genuine friendliness. “The gift isn’t so great, but the flyers will let you know when we’re running special sales, and you never know when this crib might go on special.”
    â€œThanks, I’ll fill out a card,” Lana said.
    â€œI’ll just leave you two to wander.” The woman drifted away to greet another couple entering the shop.
    Reluctantly Chance followed behind Lana as she went up and down the aisles, lingering over itty-bitty sleepers, soft receiving blankets and amusing tinyT-shirts. He couldn’t help but grin as she held up a pair of the smallest cowboy boots he’d ever seen.
    Still, as he watched her running her fingers over the soft blankets, it was easy to imagine her with a baby in her arms.
    She would be an excellent mother, strong enough to raise a child with patience and love. Her child would be one of the lucky ones—desperately wanted and loved. Her little boy or girl would never know the sting of demeaning words, would never know the pain of a backhand or fist in the face.
    My child.
    The words suddenly shouted in his head. The baby she would carry would not just be hers but his as well. Half of his DNA would be carried by the baby Lana eventually had.
    Although on some level, he’d known this, he hadn’t truly thought about it until this very moment. Genetically, he would always be bound to her child. What would she tell her child about its father? That the child had been created so Daddy could get his ranch and leave forever? He suddenly needed to know how she was going to handle telling a little boy or a little