Her Old-Fashioned Husband Read Online Free Page B

looked down at the clear strip on the pregnancy test , desperately willing it to give her the result she wanted. A red line appeared . Just one. She waited and waited. But there was only the one line.
    Not pregnant.
    In a fit of pure temper she threw the tester across the bathroom, watching furiously as it banged against the wall then fell to the floor. Damn thing wouldn’t even give her the satisfaction of shattering.
    Like her insides were.
    She slumped to the floor, her temper fading as sorrow overcame her. It had been a whole year.
    A year of no alcohol, of eating healthy, of hoping and dreaming and praying.
    A year’s worth of failed tests and disappointment.
    Tears ran down her cheeks.
    What was wrong with her? Tom didn’t believe there was anything wrong, he’d told her many times that some people just took longer t o get pregnant .
    She knew that. She was a nurse, after all. But she’d done everything right and it had been a year. A whole year. How long was she expected to wait?
    Frankie ha d begged him to take her to a specialist, for them both to get checked out. He ’d promised that after a year he’d make an appointment for both of them.
    Well, a year was up.
    And now she wasn’t sure she even had the energy to try any more. She was tired. Tired of being disappointed. Tired of being a disappointment.
    Tom may not show it, but she knew he was disappointed by each failed result.
    Frankie had watched him with her best friend Ava’s little boy. Tom looked at Jaron like he was the mo st precious thing in the world. Yes, he wanted children and it had to be a real letdown every time she told him they weren’t pregnant.
    But he didn’t show his pain, not really.
    He was such an Alpha male; he thought he had to stay strong for her, look after her. She’d started to get so depressed each month that Tom had told her that she wasn’t to do a test without him.
    But he was away at a conference in Seattle at the moment and she hadn’t been about to wait two more days to take the test.
    Frankie sighed and rubbed her cheeks. No use crying about it, she told herself. That wasn’t going to help a thing. Tiredly, she pulled herself up and , picking up the discarded tester, chucked it in the bin. Turning on the shower, she slowly undressed. Testing the water, she climbed into the shower, hoping the hot water would ease the tension in her muscles.
    Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. She wasn’t meant to be a mom, it was a thought she’d had often. This was the Universe’s way of telling her she’d be crap. Probably true. She was pretty selfish. She tended to be impulsive and she could be really blunt.
    Yeah, maybe be com ing a mother wasn’t a good idea.
    But Tom deserved to be a dad.
    Tom was kind and patient . He was also breathtakingly handsome. He’d been cute as a teenager, but he’d grown more into his looks over the year s . His honey-colored hair went perfectly with his dark blue eyes and lightly tanned skin. Years of running had toned his long body, giving him a sleek, muscular appearance.
    They’d had a rocky start. Tom was a few years older than Frankie. He was good friends with her youngest brother, Brax. Growing up, he’ d spent so much time at her house that he felt like a part of the family. His own home life hadn’t been wonderful. His father had left his mom when he was young and she’d remarried a man who had his own family . Neither of them had much time for Tom.
    As Frankie had grown older, she’d started noticing how cute he was, with his gorgeous smile and cute looks. He’d never teased her the way her brothers did, instead he’d treated her like an adult.
    She’d adored the ground he’d walked in.
    Then her parents had died and Frankie had gone slightly off the rails. She’d gotten in with the wrong crowd. She’d started smoking, drinking. Amazingly, she’d been able to hide it from her brothers. Her oldest brother, Heath, had gained guardianship over her. Her other brothers,