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"KI get a discount on some of the clothes," she added. Julie laughed. "Do it and I'll give them to you
as part of the perks, okay?" "Okay!" "Now go home and rest and eat, or whatever pregnant people are
supposed to do. I'm sorry about the mess you're in, but you have friends here, and we'll look out for
you," she said firmly. "Not to mention that if you need a baby-sitter . . ." "This is one baby who's
hardly ever going to need one, because I don't think I'll be able to let him or her out of my sight at
first," Bess said softly. "But I'll keep you in mind, and I appreciate the offer." "Take care of yourself."
Bess nodded. She went home and put her feet up, dreaming about the future, trying not to think about
Cade off at a resort with that redhead. It made her furious that he could slough her off so easily, and
without so much as an apology. Let him have his stupid redhead. She could get along without Cade
Hollister. After all, she'd had to get along without him for most of their married life. It was so sad,
remembering the way they'd begun, the sweetness of loving him, the warmth of his kisses, the
anguished pleasure he'd taught her in the privacy of their bedroom. But that hadn't been enough for
him. He'd thrown her away like an old shoe when he'd found out that she was barren. Now here she
was pregnant. It was almost comical. She wanted to call Elise and tell her, or tell Gussie. But
something held her back. It was her secret. She wanted to keep it to herself just a little while longer,
before it got out and everyone at Lariat knew. She flew to Saint Louis for her presentation and came
home with a big computer-corporation account for the company. Her clothes began to accentuate her
image as a successful career woman tailored suits and sedate accessories. She had her hair styled and
wore it in a loose chignon which complimented her radiant face. Pregnancy gave her added color and
vitality, rounded her body, and made her look more beautiful than she'd ever been. She even felt great,
thanks to the prenatal vitamins Dr. Marlowe had prescribed. If it hadn't been for the loneliness and the
anguish of losing Cade, her pregnancy would have been the high point of her life. Even so, at night,
she sat and read books on infants and how to take care of them and sorted through books of names,
trying to decide what to name him or her. She had the ultrasound but not the amniocentesis, which
could predict sex. She didn't really want to know if the baby was a boy or a girl. Not just yet. It was
Like waiting for a Christmas surprise package, and the uncertainty made it all the sweeter. She was
shopping on her lunch hour a few weeks after she'd left Lariat, when she ran into Robert Hollister. He
stared at her blankly for a long moment, trying to reconcile the woman who'd married his brother with
this elegant, lovely creature staring up at him with such soft, startled eyes. ''Bess?" he asked, as if he
wasn't quite sure she was.
Chapter 20 Bess was grateful that she was wearing a floppy, fashionable big top, because her
condition was visible now at almost five months, and she didn't want Robert telling Cade. "Well,
hello, Robert," she said easily. "How are you?" "Fine, thanks. How about you?" he asked. She
shrugged. "Couldn't be better." She smiled. "How are things at Lariat?" His expression wavered.
"Okay, I guess. Gary and Jennifer are getting married at the end of the month and I'm about to pop the
question to Audrey. Gary's leaving the ranch to go to work for an accounting firm in Houston." He
grinned. "I'm going to Los Angeles with a marketing firm. Mama is opening a dress shop in Coleman
Springs and plans to live above it with a widow who's a friend of hers. Cade's going to have Lariat
all to himself," he added with a certain coldness in his voice. "He'll finally have exactly what he
always wanted, full control. I hope it makes him happy. Lariat's the only thing he's ever really loved."
Bess knew that, but it hurt to hear it out loud. "He's . . . all right, then?" she asked, hating herself for
voicing that tiny concern. "No, of course he's not all right," he said heavily. He sighed. "My God,
Bess, he's been hell to live with. Why do you think we're all heading for the windows and doors? He
gets up raising hell in the morning and comes home raising hell at night. When he isn't doing that, he's
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