by Linda Bridey
Joe nodded. “True. Rick, you better treat Gina right. These other things that you don’t want people to know; will they hurt her or the kids?”
Rick bristled at Joe’s words and the dangerous undercurrent got stronger. The deputy was usually slow to anger, but he was near that point. “What is your problem with me developing a relationship with Gina? Do you have designs on her or something?”
Anger sparked in Joe’s eyes and they turned green instead of hazel. “Don’t you ever accuse me of cheating on my wife.”
“Well, it just seems funny that you keep trying to interfere. Why is that?” Rick asked.
“I’ve come to like Gina very much, sort of like a sister. She’s my friend. I don’t want to see her or the kids hurt and there’s just something about you that seems… I’m not even sure what the word is. Unsettling, I guess you’d say.”
“Gina doesn’t feel that way, so that’s all that’s important. I’m not involved with you, so I really don’t care what you think. Stay out of it, Joe. I told you if you made a problem, that you and I would have one, and it’s getting awfully close to that point. Now, I’m going to talk to Gina. Good talking to you, Joe,” Rick said with a sardonic smile.
Joe fumed as he watched Rick walk to the barn.
Gina gave her horse to Darryl who smiled at her and then led the horse away. She walked around the barn petting and talking to the horses. There had been a foal born the day before and she looked at the cute little colt that stood beside his protective dam.
“Nice looking colt,” Rick said as he joined her at the mare box.
“He is, isn’t he? Joe’s very happy with him. He insisted on overseeing the birth himself. The kids watched, but I made sure they didn’t interfere. Once it was over, Ryan said, ‘Way to go!’.” Gina laughed softly as she remembered the excited look on Ryan’s face.
Rick grinned, “Yeah, that sounds like something he would say. He’s a great kid. They both are.”
“Thanks. I’m rather fond of them.”
Rick nodded. “I’m tied up tonight, but I was wondering if you would like to go out tomorrow night?”
Yes! “What did you have in mind?” Gina tried to keep her enthusiasm under wraps.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Dinner in Wolfe Point?” Rick asked.
“If someone will watch the children, I’d love to,” Gina said.
“Good. I’ll pick you up around six-thirty.”
“I’ll be ready.” Gina watched his profile as he looked at the mother and baby horse.
He is such a handsome man. Any woman would be attracted to him. He’s strong, and kind, and so much fun. It would be so easy to give in to becoming completely involved with him. So easy to let myself fall in love with him, but I can’t. Please be patient with me, Rick.
Rick caught her gazing at him and locked eyes with her. A soft light shone in her eyes along with a hint of fear. He smiled at her reassuringly. “I have to go to work, and I’m sure you have things to do, but I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“All right. I’ll see you then.”
He nodded and turned to go.
“Wait.”
Rick stopped and looked at her.
“Come with me.”
Rick followed Gina into a store room. She shut the door and leaned against it. She was unsure if she could do what it was she’d wanted to when she’d brought him in there. She put her hands over her face and then let them fall again. She saw that Rick watched her with a mix of confusion and amusement on his face.
“Why is this so hard?” she asked.
“Why is what so hard?”
“This!” she said as she made a gesture that included the both of them. “Us!”
Rick cocked his head a little. “Does it have to be?”
“No! But it is! If it was just me, it wouldn’t be. It would be so easy, so uncomplicated. But the fact is that I have children and I don’t want them to become attached to you and then get hurt. Do you understand?” Gina asked with tears in her eyes.
“I understand completely, Gina. I’m not fighting you here. You’re fighting yourself. The woman in you and the mother in you are going to have to find some common ground,” Rick said. “I can’t do that for you. What I can do is promise to do everything I can to act in the best interests of you and your children. What that means is up to you to decide. I’ll abide by your wishes.”
“I don’t know what I wish! No, that’s not true. I wish you would kiss me right now. I wish you would make love to me right now! But that’s the woman talking and not the mother. She is so afraid because her children have been hurt already by their father’s death and getting attached to another man only to have him drop out of their lives would be devastating for them,” Gina said.
Rick smiled a little, “While I really like what the first ego is saying, I completely respect what the other ego is saying. While I would really like to kiss you right now, and make love to you at some point, I don’t want to do anything to hurt your children. I also don’t want to do anything that’s against your morals—”
“You’re Canadian. Aren’t you supposed to help me with that?” Gina asked.
“What?”
“I thought Canadians were polite and very… reserved about these things.” Gina knew her statement was irrational, but couldn’t seem to come up with something more intelligent. He was so handsome that she couldn’t think straight.
Rick couldn’t control the shout of laughter that burst from him. “I’m not sure what my being Canadian has to do with me helping you decide what your morals are, but as far as being polite and reserved goes, I guess I don’t fall into line with your perception of what that is. It’s one of the reasons I was kicked off the force. I think all of my traveling showed me that there are so many different ways of doing things, that only the individual person can decide what is right for him or her.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Gina said.
“Ok. Since we’re on the subject of lovemaking, I’ll use that as an example. Some cultures don’t have a problem with it happening outside the bounds of matrimony. Others, such as American, British, and Canadian cultures, just to name a few, frown upon it. Lakota culture is a mixture. Maidens are not to do so before they are married, but it’s perfectly acceptable for men to share a widow’s sleeping robes with her. In fact, the widows often teach the younger men the intricacies of the act,” Rick said.
“Those are just a couple examples. I could spend all day telling you about how different cultures think on the subject, but I digress. What I’m saying is that I am not going to try to influence any decision you make. It’s completely up to you. I will neither refuse any serious advances you make nor coerce you into doing anything. I will respect you if you do not want to become intimate before marriage. And lastly, I will not become angry if you change your mind in midstride, so to speak. Have I clarified my position for you?”
Gina said, “Yes, but that still doesn’t help me. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to do. I know you have to go. What about Reckless? Did the widows teach him?”
Her question was so incongruous with the rest of her statements that Rick laughed. “Why don’t you ask him the next time you see him?”
“No! And don’t you dare tell him I asked that!” she said. “I am so embarrassed and… ”
“Feeling amorous?” Rick supplied.
“Yes!”
“Hmm. I think I’m starting to see your Italian temper and I like it,” Rick said. “Are you sure you don’t want to ask Reckless?” Rick teased her as he stepped towards the door. “He’s sure to be around at some point to see Joe.”
“No!”
“I can help you out with one decision. Do you want me to?” Rick asked as his brown eyes zeroed in on hers.
“Yes!”
“Ok.”
He moved so quickly that Gina wasn’t sure what was happening at first. Gina found herself pinned up against the door with Rick’s mouth
pressed to hers in a kiss that heated her body all the way to her toes. His hat fell off when she buried her hands in his long hair. Gina couldn’t resist the intense physical reaction she had to him.
Everything about Rick excited her. His scent, hard muscles, sensual lips, and the way he held her, all incited her desire. Maybe it was because she had been lonely since Tony’s passing or missed the touch of a man, but Gina doubted it. If that was all she’d been after, she could have found someone in Martins Ferry who would have been willing to have an affair with her. However, no one had ever piqued her interest.
Eddie, Joe’s head groom, was a handsome, eligible bachelor, and yet she felt nothing for him other than friendship. There were a few other men that Gina had come into contact with in town that had shown interest in her, but she didn’t return that interest. No, there was something about Rick himself that spoke to her, but if anyone had asked, she wouldn’t have been able to tell them exactly what it was.
Just as suddenly as it had started, the embrace ended when Rick pulled back and broke their contact. Their breathing came in the form of pants. Rick took Gina’s hand and pressed it to his chest, over his heart. She could feel the strong, rapid beat under her palm.
“Do you feel what you do to me?” he asked in a slightly hoarse voice.
Gina nodded and, though the room was dim, Rick saw the movement.
“Is that what your heart is doing right now?”
Again she nodded.
“It’s as simple as that, Gina. I’ll admit you have more at stake than I do, but in any relationship there’s a certain amount of risk. Involving kids is another matter and I’m not so selfish that I would tell you to satisfy yourself without giving them any thought. What I will tell you is that I know from personal experience how vulnerable children are and I would never, ever, put any child at risk of being hurt, either physically or emotionally,” Rick said as his breathing began to return to normal. “Now that you’ve heard my position on the matter, maybe it will help you make a decision about me. See you for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Y-yes,” she said as she looked into his eyes. “I’ll see you then.”
Rick collected his hat, put it on, and held open the storeroom door for her. Gina made sure no one was around before exiting the room; Rick followed at a casual pace.
“See ya, Lovely,” he said with a last look at her flushed face.
Gina stood in the large doorway of the barn and looked after him as he walked over to his horse and mounted.
“What just happened?” she asked aloud.
Chapter Eighteen
Gina worked on pinning the hem on a dress for Lacey. Lacey stood with it on so that Gina could measure the correct length it needed to be. The first lady of Dawson could see that Gina was preoccupied and thought it must have something to do with Rick.
Curiosity and concern made her ask, “Is everything ok between you and Rick?”
Gina sighed and stopped her work a moment. “I don’t know what to do about him and he isn’t any help.”
Lacey chuckled. “Men aren’t sometimes. What do you mean, exactly?”
“I don’t want the children to be hurt if it doesn’t work out. I don’t want to be hurt, either,” Gina said.
“I can understand that. How do you feel about him? Do you love him?” Lacey asked.
“Love him? It’s a little soon for that, don’t you think?” Gina said.
“Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t,” Lacey said. “I think I fell in love with Joe the day we married. We’d only known each other about four days when we had the wedding.”
“Four days? That’s it?” Gina asked as she went about her task once more.
“Yeah, but it was different for me. I was trying to escape an abusive father and Joe needed to get married to get his inheritance. It was supposed to be a business arrangement, but it quickly turned into love. Love doesn’t always have to take months to develop. Sometimes you just know,” Lacey said.
“I’ve been in love before. I loved Tony so much and I think there’s a part of me that’s afraid to let go of him completely. I feel as if I’ll be dishonoring his memory somehow if I move on with another man,” Gina said.
“Jamie felt much the same way after her husband passed away, but then she started writing Luke and was smitten as soon as they met. It happens. You weren’t expecting to meet someone like Rick. But, as Jamie put it; you’re still alive and so you have to go on with your life. Yes, the children are your first priority, but maybe you being courted by Rick will be good for all of you. It’s easy to see how much he cares for Chloe and Ryan. I also see the way you look at each other,” Lacey said. She gave Gina a knowing smile.
Gina groaned. “I can’t help it. He comes around and he’s all I can see. He makes me feel things that I haven’t felt in a long while and, though it makes me happy, it also scares me. I guess I’m afraid to take that leap.”
“Rick is a good man. A little odd, but a good man. You could certainly do worse. He’s a good friend, fun, good with kids, funny, and very handsome,” Lacey said.
“Yes. He’s all of those things and more. Did you know that he’s Canadian? He used to be a mountie,” Gina said.
“Joe mentioned that to me. There’s a lot about the man that no one knows,” Lacey said.
Gina would never reveal all that she knew about Rick. “Yes. Maybe one day, he’ll feel comfortable enough to start letting people in more.”
“Maybe, but I’m sure he would let you in,” Lacey said.
He already has and I’m so happy that he felt that he could trust me.
Gina just smiled and went back to working on the dress again. As she pinned the hem, she gave careful consideration to what she was going to do about the deputy.
Rick showed up to collect Gina on time. He brought her a bouquet of autumn flowers that he grew on his property. Seeing her pretty smile was worth the effort he’d made to put the arrangement together.
“They’re lovely,” Gina said. “Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. Where’re the little people?” he asked. He’d been missing them and wanted to say hello.
“In the playroom. They’re drawing,” Gina said. “I’m going to put these in a vase.”
“I’ll go see them a few minutes,” Rick said and headed down the hallway.
The kids mobbed him when they saw him and Rick spent a good fifteen minutes playing with them. He drew a picture of Stan, his pot-bellied pig. It wasn’t the best picture, but it wasn’t the worst.
When Gina looked at it, he said, “As you can see, I’m not proficient in drawing, but I gave it my best try.”
“I think it’s very good,” she said. “Just like the man who made it.”
Rick’s smile made Gina’s heart swell and she couldn’t deny her strong feelings for him. Did she want to deny them? What was the point of that? Suddenly her mind was made up. She was going to take it day by day and see what happened.
Rick stood up and bade the children goodbye, promising to come see them the next day.
At dinner in Wolfe Point, Gina started playing a game and Rick quickly picked it up. They looked around at the other diners and made up what they thought their conversations would be like. These conversations were mainly inane, and sometimes scandalous. Rick’s naturally sarcastic nature corresponded nicely with Gina’s ability to come up with harebrained responses and they laughed throughout their meal.
By the time dessert came, both of their stomachs hurt from so much mirth. Gina couldn’t remember a time when she’d laughed so much. Rick had a way of saying things that seemed innocent, but were actually double-edged and could be taken as insults. Gina loved hearing him say such things.
Rick enjoyed seeing the happy light in her beautiful, brown eyes and he was glad that he was the cause of it. He didn’t know if she’d come to a decision about him or not, but he was determined to simply live in the moment and not worry about it. All he needed to know was that he was with the woman
he was coming to care about deeply and that they were having a good time.
Gina thought she’d never seen a more virile man than Rick. His long, light brown hair was styled nicely and the black, pinstripe suit he wore was cut to emphasize his broad shoulders. She’d felt the firm muscles of his chest and arms before and she longed to feel them again.
As they ate dessert, Gina reached for his free hand and thought about what nice hands he had. They were strong and dexterous and she could imagine how they would feel on her body. Try as she might, Gina couldn’t keep these kinds of thoughts at bay.
Once dinner was over and they were ensconced in the carriage, she scooted over on the seat and leaned against Rick. He put an arm around her and smiled down at her.
“You’re warm,” she said and drew a blanket around her legs.
“I’ll get us home as soon as possible. I wasn’t expecting the weather to turn this cold so suddenly,” Rick said.
“It’s fine. I’m fine where I am,” Gina said. “I haven’t seen the ferrets in a while. Would it be all right to have a visit?”
“Certainly. They’ll be glad to see you. Once we get a warm day again, I’m going to bathe them. You and the kids should come watch. It’s a lot of fun the way I do it,” he said.
“I’ll bet. They’re so cute,” she said.
Rick chuckled and inhaled her slightly flowery scent. Her personal scent underlay the perfume and the combination was very pleasing to him. “It surprises me that you like them. Many women don’t. They react to them the way Joe does Curtis.”
“Poor Joe,” Gina said with a giggle. “I shouldn’t laugh, but it is funny. Do you know the reason he’s afraid of Curtis?”
“No.”
“He said he was attacked by a couple of rats when he was young and so he’s scared of anything that looks at all like a rat,” she said.
“Ah, I see. That makes sense now. I’ll try to stop teasing him, but no promises,” Rick said.
Gina chuckled and snuggled closer to him. As they drove, she became sleepy due to Rick’s body heat and the wine she’d consumed. Lulled by the motion of the carriage, she soon slumbered.