To Take a Chance by Rochelle Alers

Author:Rochelle Alers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-01-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Is this your first one?”

Sheldon pulled his gaze away from The Washington Post and looked at the red-haired man sitting on his right. A slight frown furrowed his smooth forehead. “First what?”

“Baby?”

His frown vanished. “No.”

“Which one is it?”

As promised, Sheldon had accompanied Renee to her obstetrician the following week.

“This one will be the tenth,” Sheldon replied, deadpan.

The man’s face paled, leaving a sprinkling of freckles over his nose and cheeks before a bright pink flush eased its way up from his neck to forehead. “You’re kiddin’, dude?”

Nodding and hoping not to burst into laughter, Sheldon continued the charade. “Nope. I have nine sons. We keep trying because we’re hoping for a girl.”

“Holy…” The redhead’s words trailed off.

Sheldon went back to reading his newspaper.

Renee walked into the waiting room at the same time he finished reading the business section. He placed the newspaper on a coffee table and rose to his feet. Her dimpled smile was as bright as a spotlight.

When she had come to Blackstone Farms he never would have suspected she was carrying a baby. Now three weeks later, a hint of a belly was apparent under her khaki-colored tunic.

He closed the distance between them, putting an arm around her waist. “How are you?”

She snuggled closer to his side, her arms circling his waist. “Wonderful. It’s a girl!”

Lowering his head, Sheldon pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Congratulations.”

The moment she had informed him she was pregnant and intended to raise her child alone he’d hoped for a girl. He’d been a single father, and there were times when his teenage sons tested the limits of his patience and sanity.

He’d found girls quieter, less aggressive than boys. The difference between his three-month-old grand-daughter Vivienne and Sean at the same age was like night and day. Vivienne was content to coo and play with her fingers and toes, while Sean had demanded to be picked up whenever he wasn’t sleeping.

“When’s your next appointment?”

“A month from now.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, Sheldon. Let’s get out of here,” Renee said quietly. Seeing some of the women in their last days of confinement was a blatant indicator of what awaited her.

Sheldon escorted Renee through the waiting area, stopping only to tap the inquisitive man on his shoulder. “We can stop now. It’s a girl.”

He glared up at Sheldon. “What if it was going to be another boy?”

Leaning closer, his gray eyes giving off sparks like streaks of lightning, Sheldon bared his straight white teeth. “Then I’d keep trying, dude.”

Waiting until they were out in the parking lot, Renee placed a hand on Sheldon’s arm. “Did I miss something back in the doctor’s office?”

Sheldon opened the pickup’s passenger-side door. “He asked me how many children I had and I told him nine.” He bit back a smile when Renee’s delicate jaw dropped. “I said we were going to keep trying until we got a girl.”

Resting her hands on his chest, Renee shook her head. “You’re bad, Sheldon Blackstone.”

He moved closer, trapping her between his body and the truck’s door.

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