The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2)

by Ann B. Harrison

  “And what? Decide if it was good enough for me?” Her mood darkened and her lips thinned. The cheeky beggar. “Decide if I could live here amongst all the mess?”

  “Uh, shall we go in and see the house, see what you’ve done?” He looked as though he was waiting for her to erupt and lash out but Gina kept her temper in check, barely. A lot rode on this first impression of the man she had travelled miles to marry. No point scaring him off now when she was so close to sealing her future, but the urge to let rip simmered under the surface with her temper.

  “What I’ve done is scrub my fingers to the bone since I got here to make this place habitable, that’s what I’ve done because you told me it was your ranch and where you lived when you weren’t on duty. And now you tell me you don’t actually live here? Do you even own the place?”

  “Yes. Of course I do.” He puffed up his chest as if she doubted his word? He was a deputy of the law, for heaven’s sake. Surely he was believable.

  “But you don’t actually live here?” The words came out with little bursts of venom as she tried to keep the temper in check.

  “Ah, no. I only bought the place a few weeks ago. My brother has been helping me clear out the garbage but it still needs renovating. I’ve already got the builders lined up.”

  Gina turned and, with skirts swishing around her legs, walked up the steps and into the house, Fisher on her hip. Rory followed. She heard him take a deep breath as they walked down the passage. Where once he would have smelt musty furniture, Gina had replaced it with jars of flowers from the overgrown garden, their smell lingering through the house.

  She stood with her back against the kitchen counter and waited for him to say something. When he just stared at her with an indescribable sad look in his eyes, she spoke. “I think we need to talk now and get this sorted, don’t you?”

  Rory blinked and nodded his head. She’d done so much in a mere few days. “Yeah, guess we do. So you go first. What do you want to know?” He leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and watched her struggle for the right words.

  “You told me over the phone you had a ranch were we would live and your photo had a house behind you but it wasn’t this place. Is this your idea of a joke, because I don’t think it’s very funny?”

  “Are you saying you wouldn’t live here?”

  Gina chose her words carefully. This really was no worse than what they lived in for the last couple of years. At least they wouldn’t be sharing the bathroom with another few families, and she had her own kitchen even if it was out of date and needed a really good clean. “I could live here. I’ve had worse, far worse in fact. Just listening to what you said on the phone, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so run down though.” She swallowed, hoping she wasn’t sounding too much like a needy princess. Spending time here on her own had made her feel as though it was already hers. “Now I’ve cleaned it up, it doesn’t seem quite so bad.”

  “So, you’d live here, especially if the place had a more homely feel about it?” He pulled a face at Fisher and the baby giggled, hiding his face against his mother’s neck before peeking out again and laughing.

  Regardless of how I really feel, I have to grovel and make him feel better so he won’t send us away. I might not like it but I’d hate being scorned and sent packing a heck of a lot more. “Yes, I would.” It was bigger than the room she’d been living in for the last two years and it was away from the city. She could make a nice home here for their little family if only she could convince him they could all make it work. Besides, she kind of like the remoteness and space the ranch offered.

  “You didn’t tell me you had a child. Why not?”

  Heat washed up her cheeks and she glanced away, fiddling with Fisher’s curls, wrapping one around her finger so she didn’t have to look at him. “I didn’t have any choice. It’s not like I told you a lie, I just didn’t tell you the whole story. He’s a good baby, never a problem, I promise. And I meant what I said about wanting a family, more children that is. I’d do it again too, anything for my child. If you were a parent, you’d understand that you’ll always put them first and do anything you can to take away the pain life can inflict on them.” Her throat worked as she swallowed.

  Chapter Three

  If you were a parent. Rory reached over and took the child, holding Fisher against his chest and wondered if this is what his child would have looked like. The baby smell reached his nose and his throat closed up with an unknown emotion. It took a moment for it to subside, time he took to take in every little sparkle in the toddler’s eyes, every eyelash that fluttered against his cheeks.

  “Hey, little one. You’re a cute little button, aren’t you?” Fisher reached out a pudgy hand for his hat and Rory took it off and placed it on his head. The baby tilted his head back so the hat fell to the floor and reached for Rory’s mouth, digging his chubby fingers into the soft fleshy skin of his bottom lip and chin.

  “Gentle baby, there’s a good boy.” Gina crouched down and picked up the hat.

  “Where’s his father?” Wide eyes locked onto his and he saw the moment the tension raced back up her spine. She bristled quite easily but Rory told himself that was to be expected, she didn’t know him and they hadn’t gotten off on the best foot.

  “He died before Fisher was born.” Gina lifted her chin, stared at him.

  “Don’t you have any other family that could have helped you out?”

  She shook her head. “No.” Gina ran her tongue around her bottom lip and something moved inside of his gut.

  The haunted look in her eyes tugged at his heart. Even though he made up his mind that she’d come here under false pretenses, Rory wasn’t mercenary or cold. There was still the chance they could work this out. The emotions in her eyes mirrored what he’d felt for the last few years. Lost and alone, but still well aware of the surroundings while not quite fitting in.

  Luckily he’d managed to clean most of the garbage out of the house before Gina arrived but the last thing he’d expected was for her to arrive early and live here! The fact remained that she had lied, if only by omission, and lying was a big no-no to him; not that he considered he’d lied even though she did. Just because he stood in front of a house for a photo didn’t mean it was his place. “I’m sorry about the state of the house. I only just bought it and thought I’d have more done to it before you got here. I didn’t intentionally mean you to think my brother’s place was mine.”

  “I, um, didn’t have any reason to stay in San Francisco once you made me the offer of a home and marriage.” She blushed beautifully and Rory’s annoyance at her lie began to shuffle away.

  He glanced around the kitchen, saw her belongings placed around neat and tidy. The bathroom door stood open and a woman’s vanity bag sat on the counter. It looked as though she was setting in to stay which is what he’d expected. Just not with a child and four days early.

  “We brought pretty much everything we owned with us, so it hasn’t been that bad.” She ran a hand over the clean-but-faded kitchen counter top.

  He wiped a load of spit from Fisher’s chin with a clean tissue he pulled from his pocket.

  “He’s teething.”

  “Poor little mite.” Would his and Cindy’s child have been like this? All soft and smelling of baby powder? Rory had avoided other people’s babies up until now, knowing the pain was still too raw. The child rested against Rory’s shoulder, his thumb in his mouth. “I don’t know how much you’ve seen of the place but there are stables and a barn too. Let’s walk and talk. He may nod off. Those little eyelids are looking pretty droopy.”

  Gina followed him out, picking her way through the trodden-down weeds he still had to mow over. Fisher snuggled in his arms, reaching out to point to the clouds floating in the pale blue sky.

  “Do you want me to take him? He gets kind of heavy after a while.”

  It felt strange holding Fisher, but a good kind of strange. One he knew he wanted to explore more. “Hey, I’m more than ha
ppy to carry him. Feels like the right thing to do, you know. Unless you’d rather I didn’t until you get to know me better that is.” He stopped and waited for her to take the child.

  Fisher protested when Gina reached out and took him. He twisted his body back to Rory. The toddler held his arms out and opened his mouth to cry. Rory took the baby back before the noise made it past his lips. “I think you’ll find I’m trustworthy and won’t hurt him.” He hoped his job would at least waylay her worry for now until they got to know each other and he decided their fate.

  “Looks like he’s taken to you, which is funny because he doesn’t really know any men.”

  And I don’t know any small children like Fisher, more’s the pity. Guess that makes us even. Rory smiled and continued the tour, wondering if she’d put her touches on this space too. “The barn needs a bit of work but it’s sound enough, as are the stables. Most of the paddocks will need new fencing before I can buy any cattle. There’s plenty to keep you occupied with the gardens and the orchard if that’s what you want to do.” He turned and pointed to the chicken pen. “I can get you some hens in town if you want to gather your own eggs. It’s all up to you, Gina, if we decide to go ahead with this arrangement. You can choose. I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

  She stopped and looked at him. “Why? Why did you advertise for a bride? It’s not like you couldn’t get a wife the normal way, is it?”

  “I had a wife. We were in love, very much in love in fact so it’s not like I haven’t ever been happy. She was killed just as we found out she was pregnant. I put all of my focus into my job until my brother decided it was time I returned home to where we were born. I couldn’t go through the whole dating scene again. Figured it was too hard.” He looked away to the mountains that provided a spectacular backdrop to the ranch. “Chance found his bride through an advert, so I figured it wasn’t such a bad thing to do.”

  She laughed, and he smiled a genuine smile for the first time in years. The sound made his heart flip just a little bit and he felt the bud of heat start to thaw out the cold lump in his chest. “So, what do you think?”

  “I like it. It has loads of potential. Are you staying here with us tonight?” She brushed her hair from her face, turning in the breeze to look around the ranch and Rory noticed the way her eyes slanted ever so slightly above high cheek bones that had a warm tinge of pink to them when she asked the question.

  “No. I live at my elder brother’s place for now.” He gave her a funny look. “You can follow me over there shortly.”

  *

  Gina swallowed hard and bit her lip. “No. I think I should stay here.” He’d made the point that she had lied about Fisher and she had. To move out of her new home already before she could make him see how good it would be with her here wasn’t on the cards. There was so much still to do to the house, paint and repair and fix the damned leaky taps.

  “You’re not staying here.”

  “But I have to. I made a deal, we made a deal and I know that you weren’t expecting me to bring a baby along. So,” she blinked and risked a glance at him, “I propose that I stay here and do what I promised. Make you a home you’ll be proud of. I can do most things, like repairs and painting.” She hurried her words out lest he try to stop her before she made her case. “I don’t have all the tools I need, but maybe you do. I can…”

  Rory lifted a hand and her heart faltered. “Stop right there.”

  Dizziness threatened to make her stumble. How was she going to explain to this man that she had no money, no gas, and no chance of getting either anytime soon? She was totally at his mercy; not something she would ever be proud of.

  “What’s wrong? You’ve gone a horrible pale color. Do you feel okay?”

  “Um…it’s just that, I ah…”

  “Just tell me, Gina. Hell, after driving all this way, I think we can agree to tell the truth from now on. We haven’t started out that great, but we can improve on it and try to make things work. Now tell me what’s got you so upset.”

  “I don’t want to leave here, to give in. I’m afraid that you’ll send us away if I don’t keep my side of the bargain.” She gazed at her little boy. God, if she groveled any more she’d wear the skin off her belly. “I know what I did was wrong, springing Fisher on you, but believe me I wouldn’t have done it if I had a choice. All I’m asking for is a chance to prove that I can be the wife you want.”

  “How is sleeping in a decent bed at my brother’s place going to stop you doing that? I don’t understand.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. It didn’t make sense but call it a sense of foreboding; she feared once she left, he wouldn’t let her come back. “Because I don’t have any gas or money to buy more. We only made it this far by sheer luck.” She risked a look at him and quickly glanced away, embarrassed beyond belief. “That’s why we never came looking for you when you didn’t show up at the house.”

  Rory seemed to think it over before he finally spoke to her. “I have a can of gas in the truck. Always someone breaking down or running out. Let’s go and sort that out and then we can get this little one home to meet Callie and Chance. I don’t want you staying here until the place has been finished and the electrics and plumbing checked. You can come over here all you want during the days, but at least let me give you a decent bed to sleep in.”

  Her shoulders sagged in relief. He wasn’t going to renege on his deal, at least not yet. Even though he was talking chickens and gardens, Gina thought that was only if they agreed to go ahead with the marriage. She quickly composed herself and followed him back to the truck where he handed Fisher over to her so he could get the gas from the back. Together they walked down to her car and Gina watched as he poured it into her gas tank.

  “Now, when we get to the ranch, you and I have to have ourselves a good talk. For now, I think you need to get something to eat and drink and let this little one run wild. Follow me, it’s not far.”

  “Thanks, Rory. I really do appreciate everything you’re doing for us.”

  He gazed down at her, a sadness in his eyes she didn’t want to think too seriously about. Heaven help her if the person who put that look there was herself. It didn’t make her future appear too rosy when she desperately needed some sunshine of her own. “I need to get some things from the house before we follow you.”

  She strapped a protesting Fisher back in his car seat and climbed behind the driver’s wheel as Rory stood beside the car. When she turned the key and pumped the gas, the car roared to life and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Drive up the hill and turn around in the gateway. Give me a minute and then follow me home.”

  Home. That word had a warmth to it she hadn’t felt for a long time. Living on the edge of poverty had a way of making every single little thing dark and filled with despair. If it wasn’t for the darling old lady who lived in the room next to them, Gina would never have been able to work as much as she had. When they left, it was hard to say goodbye knowing that she was leaving the only friend they had for a pipe dream and the hopes of a better life which could go either way at any second.

  When she’d gathered their personal belongings, Gina followed the truck down the road and along the main road further away from town. They passed verdant pine forests before coming to a turnoff marked by a large grey boulder erupting from the earth. The light was muted and invoked thoughts of danger on moonlit nights. She gave herself a mental shake. It was safe here, Rory was a gentleman and a deputy sheriff. The city was far behind them and so was the danger. She hadn’t had a single moment of fear at the ranch, so why now? See the forest for what it is, Gina and stop letting your overactive imagination go wild. Besides, you have no choice so play nice and make him love having you around.

  After a couple of hundred feet, the trees stopped and grazing land took over. Paddocks with horses roaming happily flanked either side of the road. “Look, Fisher, horses.” Her baby gurgled happily and waved his hands in
the air toward the animals.

  She followed the truck over a heavy wooden bridge spanning a small quick-flowing river and wondered if it was the same one she had noticed meandering at the back of her new home. They passed a ranch with a small cabin set back from the road where horses roamed in the paddocks and a battered barn leaned drunkenly, showing the way the wind blew.

  Pretty soon they started to climb up towards snow-capped mountains which were breathtaking in their glory. Thick pine forests surrounded the great rise of hills and it wasn’t until they crested a rise that she saw the ranch that sat high above the town.

  A large log house with a bell set into the middle of the roof commanded magnificent views over the valley below. She recognized the porch from the photo Rory sent her. This was the house she thought she was going to make her home. What a letdown that had been. Rory pulled up at a hitching rail and indicated she should do the same. When she turned off the car, he opened the back door, reached into the backseat, and undid the baby harness that held her son in.

  “Let me show you folks around.” Fisher wriggled in his arms and Rory turned to Gina. “Is it alright if I put him down?”

  “Sure. He needs to stretch his little legs.” Gina watched as he crouched down and set her baby’s feet on the ground. He held his arms out in case he stumbled, ready to catch him. Fisher squealed and tottered off as fast as his chubby little legs would carry him. He headed away from the house toward a huge wooden building and Gina followed with Rory beside her.

  “This here’s the barn as you can see. Chance keeps the horses in here at night and there’s a few stalls where Callie keeps any calves that need mothering for whatever reason. You’ll meet them both later.”

  Gina looked around at the beautiful property. Everything was in its place and so very pretty. Cows with calves at foot lazed in the long grass, chewing contentedly. Chickens scratched in the dirt around the barn and Fisher made a bee line for a hen with chickens peeping at her side. They scattered as he toddled closer and he fell to his bottom with a wail, looking for someone to help sort out his problems.