Free The Cowboy and the New Year's Baby by Sherryl Woods Page A

home, having babies by the side of the road and taking a hike when you should be in bed?” he asked. He had a feeling she could command a small army, if she was of a mind to.
    “Nothing right now,” she admitted. “I sold my business before I left Houston.”
    “What sort of business?”
    “A dinosaur, really. A small, independent bookstore. I specialized in mysteries mostly, which gave me a niche and a loyal customer base. I even had a mail-order catalogue and Internet Web page that were doing really well.”
    “I thought all the independent bookstores were being forced into bankruptcy by the big chains,” he said. “That Meg Ryan movie that made a fortune a while back was about that.”
    “Which is why everyone told me I was nuts,” she agreed. “But with good customer service, the right niche, the right location and some innovative marketing, it’s possible to survive.”
    “Why not do that here?” he asked. He almost groaned aloud the instant the words were out of his mouth. Was he nuts? He’d spoken before he considered the implication. As soon as he’d said it, he regretted the suggestion. Hadn’t he just lectured himself about the dangers of doing anything at all to keep Trish around town? He was usually a whole lot more careful about the words he uttered around any female.
    She stopped so fast, he almost charged right into her. “Here?” she echoed as if he’d suggested setting up shop on Mars.
    “Probably not a good idea,” he said hurriedly. “It’s a small town. You’d go broke in a month.”
    As if she hadn’t even heard him, her expression turned thoughtful. She began to move again, albeit at an even slower pace. “There’s no bookstore in town?”
    He sighed, then reluctantly admitted what she could discover in ten seconds on her own anyway. “No.”
    “What about Garden City?”
    “I think there’s one at the mall, but no superstore, if that’s what you’re asking.”
    “Hmm.”
    He could practically see the wheels turning as she toyed with the idea. As for him, his palms started turning sweaty, and his stomach began churning ashe realized she’d taken him seriously and was actually considering settling down in Los Piños. Heaven help him!
    “Property downtown probably has very low overhead,” she mused. “I could create a new catalogue and a jazzy new Web page. Legally I’d probably have to expand beyond mysteries and be a full-service bookstore, so I wouldn’t be competing directly with the business I sold. Maybe I could add in a lot of Westerns. That might do really well on a Web page. I’ve heard stores in other parts of the country don’t stock that many beyond Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey.” She gazed at him with sparkling eyes. “What do you think?”
    “It sounds like a possibility,” he said neutrally, regretting his lack of nerve to tell her it was insane so she’d forget all about it.
    “Maybe I’ll drive into town tomorrow and take a look at what’s available.”
    “You shouldn’t be driving,” he scolded, seizing on any excuse he could think of to delay her putting this impetuous plan into action. Maybe if he could stall her long enough, she’d forget all about it.
    “Thank you, Dr. Jones,” she retorted.
    He snatched another excuse out of thin air. “Besides, your car’s still in a ditch.”
    “No, it isn’t. Jordan arranged to have it towed, checked out and brought over here this morning.”
    “You still shouldn’t be driving,” Hardy insisted. “Surely that’s just good common sense. After all, you just had a baby.”
    “In some parts of the world, women have babiesout in the field and get right back to work,” she pointed out.
    Having just seen firsthand how difficult giving birth was, Hardy shuddered. “It can’t be good for them.”
    “I’m not saying it is. I’m just saying that giving birth is natural. It doesn’t turn you into an invalid.”
    “Whatever you say. If you’re getting a little stir-crazy sitting