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

by Ann B. Harrison

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it like that. I try to pride myself on not being a weepy female.”

  Callie jumped up and hurried over to her. “Aw, babe, it’s okay. We’d all do the same, believe me, and I don’t think any less of you for letting your emotions get the better of you. You’ve been through a lot these last couple of years. Let me get you a cup of coffee while we finish this off. Layla said she won’t be much longer.”

  Gina tried to stand up but Rory held her tight on his lap. “Stay here.”

  She wiped her eyes again and looked at the lawyer who smiled in her direction.

  “Right, the plan is this: I’ll go back to the city tomorrow and do some more legwork on this case. I’ll schedule a meeting with the other side’s lawyers. I want proof you two are married before this gets to court, if it ever does. I’ll also need a copy of the advertisement you placed so we can prove you were already on this path before the papers were served on Gina.” She gave them another smile before proceeding. “The way I see it at this point is this: if we can show your son would be better off here on the ranch growing up with loving family around instead of staff, we stand a good chance of this never going to court. I doubt they’ll want their darling son’s memory tarnished. Especially when the public finds out how far he went to distance himself from his parents. If we knew why it would help as well.” She ticked off another entry on her page. “I’ll do some digging around and see what I can come up with. Far better for them to announce that they’ve managed to track down their grandchild and will give him and his mother their full support.”

  “We can do that. I’ll make sure of it, right, babe?” Rory kissed her cheek.

  “If it’s the only way, and you’re sure, I’m fine with it.” She sniffed and looked into his eyes. “I love you, you know that, don’t you?”

  “Back at you, beautiful. You make me a very happy man. Hungry but happy.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Dinner is already in the oven. I wasn’t sure tonight was going to turn out so I made a huge beef-and-chili casserole earlier. I only need to make a pot of rice and it’s good to go.”

  “That sounds wonderful.” Layla put her notebook in her briefcase and stood up, stretching. “I’ve had nothing since a snack on the plane on the way here. Can’t say that was anything to get excited about either.”

  “How about a glass of wine instead of coffee, ladies? I think we’ve covered more than I expected tonight anyway and it sounds better than coffee after that session.” Chance stood up and looked around.

  “Uh, Chance, can I have a word?” Gina bit her lip and Rory watched as she formulated the words in her head. He’d become fairly adept at reading her face in the last couple of weeks and she was gearing up to thank his brother.

  “Sure.”

  “I know from Rory that you don’t hold much regard for your father because of what happened when you were young so I just wanted to say thanks. For offering to try at least to put on a happy family front so I don’t lose my son.”

  “How can I refuse to help the little guy? We all love both of you already so it’s a given I’ll do my share to help.” He walked over to her and took both of her hands in his. “Not saying we’ll ever be the best of buddies, but I’ll give it my best shot, okay?”

  Gina nodded, her face lighting up with relief. “Can’t ask for more than that.”

  Rory passed her a glass of wine before dropping a kiss on her lips “Looks like we have a wedding to plan.” Callie tipped her glass to Gina’s. “How much time do you think we have, Layla, to get this done and dusted?”

  “Is that an Australian phrase? I think I like it.” She took the glass as Rory handed it to her. “Hmm, let me see. Tomorrow I can do some research, get my guy snooping a little bit more. Anything we can find out about the family will help. Then I need to put a proposal together and contact their lawyers. Give me a week, ten days max. Think you can manage that?”

  “We’ll do it. I can go into town tomorrow and see Reverend Davis. See if he’ll marry us.”

  “If he says no, tell him you’ll get Elvis to do it in Vegas if he can’t.” Chance slipped his hand around Callie’s waist and rested his head on her shoulder whispering in her ear.

  “You didn’t?” Layla glanced at them, a look of horror on her face.

  A roar of laughter came from the pair of them and she shut her mouth, lips pressed together.

  “Seriously, how is that even legal?” Tyson spoke for the first time since he was put in his place.

  “I’ll do it. Just lead me in the right direction.” Rory held his hands up. “If the good reverend says no, I’ll book flights.”

  “I suppose so long as you have the correct paperwork it doesn’t really matter who marries you.” Layla shrugged her shoulders. “Never would have thought you’d do that though, Chance. Thought you would have gone down the extravagant route somehow. Big flashy wedding with all the bells and whistles.”

  “Not my style and you know that from all the times you helped me get away from them. A girl from the bush answering an ad in the horse-and-cattle magazine for a wife is hardly going to ask for the public spotlight of a huge wedding like that, now is she?”

  Callie grinned wildly as Layla looked between her and Chance. Seemed the lawyer had caught onto the fact that Rory’s marriage wasn’t the first one to be organized by way of an advert.

  *

  When she crawled between the sheets later that night, exhaustion pulled at Gina. Her eyes ached from the tears she’d shed earlier and her head throbbed with a tension that wouldn’t go away. Rory stripped off, climbed into bed, reached for her, slid his hand down her back, and pulled her into his body.

  “I can hear that brain of yours ticking away from here.” He kissed the top of her nose. “I’m not going to change my mind. I love you and I don’t care if we get married here in town, at the cottage, or in Vegas. So long as I marry you and gain a son in the process, I’m all for it.”

  “I’ll understand if you want to change your mind, Rory. It’s a lot to take in.”

  “I’m not changing my mind, not now even though it may have looked like it downstairs earlier.” He brushed a finger down her cheek, knowing he finally meant it. After a horrible moment of doubt in the kitchen with the lawyer, Rory had pushed his demons down and committed himself to standing by her side. “You know, last week I still had niggles of doubt flicker up every now and then. I don’t know, guess it’s me being guilty and not letting go of the past. But I figure if you’re prepared to take a chance on me, I should do the same. We both come with baggage, Gina. It’s not a case of whose is worse.”

  “How did I get so lucky?” She sighed and snuggled into his chest, her lips on his warm skin.

  “We both got lucky. I was in a bad place too. Now we have to make sure we do everything we can to stay together. Layla seems to know what she’s talking about and Chance thinks the world of her, so I figure we do as she suggests.”

  “Yeah, I don’t suppose there’s any choice.”

  “You’re thinking it’s a hardship to marry me?” He sounded wounded but she could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Terrible hardship. At least you let me take it out on your body to make up for it.”

  “Prove it then.” Rory hooked a leg over hers and snaked a hand down to cradle her butt.

  “You lay back then, and let me do just that.” Gina pushed him onto his back and straddled his waist. She lifted her arms and pulled the sleep shirt over her head, before throwing it to the floor. His gaze fell to her breasts and she cupped them in her hands. “These wouldn’t be favorites of yours, would they?”

  His cock hardened and pressed into the clefts of her butt. With her thumb and finger, Gina tweaked her nipples, pulling them taut as Rory’s gaze smoldered. Her breath hitched as a wash of pleasure rolled over her body. She lifted her butt up and hovered over his cock, watching the emotions on his face.

  He gasped when she slid down his body
and lay on his legs, her face over his groin. Her hot breath quickened as she gripped his penis in her hand, running her thumb over the slit in the top. His own musky scent reached her nostrils as she lowered her head, mouth open to take him in.

  Gina smiled to herself as her lips locked around him. His body jerked and his hands gripped the sheets either side of him. She raked her teeth over the sensitive edge of the skin on the head of his cock, while her other hand cupped his balls. She drew him in and then ran her tongue up the seam before drawing him in again.

  His balls tightened in her hands and Gina put more force into her lips, pulling against him. Just as she thought he was going to explode in her mouth, she was lifted up and placed down on his lap. Rory slid into her in one swift move, making her gasp and grip his shoulders as he pumped into her.

  Together they found the rhythm that brought them both to an explosive orgasm. Gina slid off of him and crawled into the shelter of his arms, falling asleep feeling protected and very loved.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Well now, Rory. ’Tis a strange request you have there.” The reverend seemed to ponder the situation. “At the end of the day, you would have been married anyway so I really don’t have a problem with it so long as I think you’re well suited and you can arrange a license. It’s the way I work and I can’t change that for anything, goes against my principles you understand. When do I get to meet the young lady in question?”

  Rory let the Irish lilt of the reverend’s voice wash over him, relieved that he hadn’t refused to consider the idea of a rushed marriage in his church. “That’s up to you, sir. I can bring her down or you can come up to the ranch. We’re staying at Chance’s place until our house is renovated. Place is pretty run down as it’s been empty for years.”

  “I’d love to see her down here if you don’t mind. Perhaps she can come and bring the little man with her tomorrow? We can have a coffee in town and I can show her the church and see if it’s what she has in mind for her wedding. St James may not be to her liking.”

  “How could she not like it? It’s the prettiest church for miles around.”

  “I appreciate that, Rory. Regardless, we’ll have coffee in town. Don’t want to go scaring the dear girl.”

  “Thanks. I know she’d appreciate that.”

  “Tell me, Rory. What are the chances of you mending fences with your dear father? I know he’s missed you and a wedding in the family would be the perfect timing, don’t you think?” The priest looked at him keenly.

  “I visited him the other day. Seems things were not as we were led to believe when we were younger.”

  “Now isn’t that always the way? You have to understand, he’s a changed man now. I’m sure he’s sorry for his behavior, but he doesn’t deserve to lose his sons over it. He already lost so much when your dear mother died.”

  Rory sat with his hands clenched. He had been prepared to forgive his father because he knew how he felt losing the love of his life, and he didn’t know how far Chance would go with mending the fences between them. That would be between the two men. “I agree, and I’m doing the best I can.” He stood up and held out his hand. “I’ll get Gina to come in tomorrow and have a chat with you. Thanks for everything, Reverend.”

  “You’re a good man, Rory, and you’ll make a great father to the wee lad. Tell your brother Chance I’d like a word with him sometime soon too, will you? Seems like I missed his wedding and that saddens me greatly.”

  Rory swallowed a grin and stood up, shaking the father’s hand. He put his hat on once he strode out of the little church and headed across the park and back to work. When he walked into the office, he called the ranch to tell Gina the news.

  “Thank goodness. I’ve been so worried.” He could hear Fisher chatting in the background.

  “Told you we’d fix it somehow or other. Once you’ve met him, you can start organizing the wedding. I have to leave it up to you and Callie to arrange, I’m afraid. I have my work cut out for me with the house renovations and things here at the office.”

  “I don’t need a flashy wedding, Rory. Just family will be fine.” He heard her sigh over the line. “And I’m more than happy to move to the cottage now. I can deal with builders working around us. Besides, I’ll be on hand to do some of the work myself and that garden needs a lot of hours in it.”

  “Gina, we’ve talked about this. If we keep out of their way, the renovations will go faster than having to work around us. And you don’t have to keep proving yourself to me, we talked about this.”

  “I know but I’m not used to someone looking after me. It goes against the grain.”

  “Get used to it and it works both ways. I’m not used to having someone there for me, either. Regardless, it makes sense to let the builders get on with the job.”

  “I know but I want to be in our home, just the three of us.”

  “That’s how I feel too.”

  “I feel like I’m being lazy here at Chance’s place. It’s like I’ve been handed a new life on a plate.”

  “And that grates on you, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes it does. If Tyson can think I’ve ripped you off, he won’t be the only one in town to come to that conclusion and with the court case looming, well, I’m on edge. Plus, Callie is doing her best to organize me. Wants to take me dress shopping tomorrow since I don’t have anything at all suitable.”

  “Now that sounds good. You can go in and see Reverend Davis, then drop Fisher off to me. What do you say? I can use my little sidekick to bust the local criminals and stop littering.”

  “It’ll work out great. Can’t wait to see you tonight.”

  *

  The following day she was a bundle of nerves on the trip into town.

  “Stop fretting. You’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll come to the church with you and then we can drop off Fisher with Rory while we shop up a storm at Married in Marietta.”

  Gina’s nerves were on a knife’s edge by the time Callie parked the car in front of the little white church. But this was what she wanted when she answered Rory’s ad so why was she scared now? Probably because you love him and have so much to lose now whereas before you were still fighting for what you needed.

  “Oh my goodness, it’s so pretty.” Her future sister-in-law climbed out of the car and stood looking at St James Church, her mouth open wide as she took in the beautiful old restored building.

  “Regretting the Las Vegas wedding?” Gina watched her as she reached in to take Fisher from his seat.

  Her head whipped around and she frowned at Gina. “What? No, no way. It’s just not what I would have chosen if it was left up to me, that’s all. And I love old places and this is beautiful. Really quaint and pretty.”

  Gina hitched her boy up onto her hip and shut the car door. “It is lovely, isn’t it?”

  Callie turned and frowned at her. “Would you rather get married here than at the cottage?”

  “If I had the time to do it the way we wanted to, yes I would. It has a nice feel to it, you know?” She walked over and stood next to Callie. “The house is lovely and all, don’t get me wrong, having to rush things like this seems so damned unfair. I always imagined I would get married in a pretty little church just like this one with a big fluffy white dress like a princess and have my father to give me away.” She gave a strained laugh. “Well, that’s not going to happen now, is it?”

  Callie leaned over and slipped her arm around Gina. “Aw, honey, so long as you get married to the man of your dreams, who cares. I know what you’re thinking and lots of girls want the traditional wedding. I thought I would too, although I wouldn’t change what I got for the world.” She squeezed Gina tight. “It’ll be fine on the day, you’ll see.”

  Gina gave wobbly smile. She didn’t want to correct Callie. It was not having her father here to give her away that hurt the most, not the church although that had a part in it too. “Let’s go and meet Reverend Davis shall we, then we can give this young man to Rory and go
shopping.”

  Together they walked to the door and peeked inside. The sun shone through into the vestry and down the aisle of the small building. Gina led the way, her shoes tapping out a pattern on the polished wooded floors.

  “Hello.”

  She looked into the shadows of the pulpit and blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the rainbow of color from the stained-glass windows inside the church.

  A door closed and they looked up to see an older gentleman with grey hair walking toward them. “You must be Gina. I’m Reverend Davis.” He hurried down to meet them, holding out his hand in greeting. “And this must be young Fisher, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  He glanced past Gina to Callie. “And who have we here?”

  “Callie Watson.” She shook his hand.

  “Oh, you’ll be Chance’s wife then.” He looked at her, his head tilted to one side. “I’ve been wanting to catch up with you two. Congratulations on your marriage. I’m sorry I missed it.”

  “Oh right, well, we got married in Las Vegas. Kind of a rushed thing.”

  “Such a lovely accent. You’re not from around here then?” He smiled and led them down the front to sit in a pew. Fisher wriggled and Gina let him down.

  “No. I was born in Australia.”

  “Now that sounds interesting. I’ve often thought of visiting there. We must chat about it when we have time, it all sounds very exciting.” He placed a hand on Fisher’s head and was rewarded with a big toothy grin. “So young man, your mama is getting married. That’s very special, Gina. Rory told me of the circumstances and how things have developed between the two of you.” He cast his keen eyes on her.