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laughter soon followed. He easily moved her off to the side, tapped her gently on the nose, and then said in a low voice, “I think you should go lock up the gun and hide the frying pans, sunshine.”
    Wide-eyed Tessa stared at his broad back as he entered the house. “Oh Lord, they’re going to kill each other. I just know it.” She caught the screen door right before it banged shut, and then went in after him.
    Mentally kicking herself for revealing her heart’s desire, Tessa knew the reason behind it. Lately, she’d thought of nothing else, especially after hearing her two best friends and business partners were expecting. Envy nearly strangled her heart.
    In the old-fashioned room, he dominated the delicate Victorian furnishings as he moved silently toward the chairs flanking the large fireplace with its carved oak mantelpiece. But somehow he seemed oblivious to the sharp contrast as he plopped down in a dainty green velvet chair across from her granny’s. The cream-colored dollies on the arms slipped a little and he nonchalantly fixed them.
    “Get out of here,” Granny said, waving a flowered hankie in front of her colorless face while gathering her floor-length navy blue robe to her bosom.
    “Can’t do that, Mrs. W.” Chance stretched out his long legs and locked his fingers behind his head as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
    “Granny, can I get you your medicine?” Tessa dropped the pink towel on a nearby table and stood a few paces away from them, hugging herself. Chance’s shirt surrounded her with welcoming warmth and his scent. It was odd she clung to something of his so tight. But she knew if ever she was to have a chance at a baby, it would have to be with a man who could stand up to granny. No other man in town fit that description more aptly than Chance Deveraux.
    But, Lord, she’d be taking a risk at marrying him. That’s if granny ever agreed to the union. But, if by some miracle she did… Her mouth went dry at the danger of unwittingly revealing her emotions to him. Could she keep everything bottled up tight for six months? She sincerely doubted it when her heart leapt at the just the sight of him and she spilled out her thoughts whenever his hypnotizing gray eyes fixed on her. But what other choice did she have if she wanted a baby so badly? Somehow I’ll have to keep my secrets locked away from Chance and granny. I just have to.
    “Go, child, get it and some ice water, too. Then call the police to get this riff-raff out of my house. And while you’re at it take off that shirt. It’s his, isn’t it?” Twin spots of red dotted granny’s cheeks as she glared at Chance.
    Looking down at the soft, gray shirt, a well of shame and regret washed over her. Torn between pleasing her grandmother and keeping the comforting clothing on, she knew she had to abide by her granny’s wishes. “Yes, it’s his.” She caught the hem in her hands and began to tug it upward.
    “Oh, no, you don’t,” Chance said. His firm command stopped her in her tracks. “You’re shivering even now. Keep it on.” To granny, he said, “We have business to discuss. I want to marry your granddaughter.”
    “Over my dead body.”
    “That could be arranged.” His wink took the sting out of his words, just barely.
    “I…I never…”
    “Apparently you did once. You did have a son.”
    As she smoothed his shirt back down, Tessa sucked in a sharp breath at that one, waiting for her granny’s reaction. She didn’t wait long.
    “Out, you no-good troublemaker. You’re just as shameless as your grandfather. He didn’t have any manners either.”
    At that, all the humor drained from Chance’s face. A dark, dangerous quality shadowed his features. Ice chips formed in his gray gaze. Tessa shivered, and then backed up a few paces until she stood behind her granny’s chair, clutching the back of it. The decorative wood dug into her hands, but she didn’t care about the sharp sting of pain. If he tried