The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2)(23)
Think positive, Gina. If you can prove you’re not scared of hard work, he will hopefully go through with the deal. He really has nothing to lose while you have, well…everything.
Chickens scratched in the yard and a few of them ran up to her, their fluffy butts waddling from side to side, expecting food. When they realized she had nothing for them, they gave up and went back to their earlier foraging, scratching in the dirt. Fisher clapped his hands when he saw the horses in the paddock and Gina stopped and called out to them, hoping to attract at least one of them to come over but to no avail. They received a curious glance and nothing more.
She pushed open the door to the barn and looked inside for the chickens’ food. It might be a good idea to feed them and collect the eggs. Every small job she did around the ranch was something the others didn’t have to do and, in a small way, it also made her feel like she was pulling her weight. Tubs of wheat were lined up against one wall and they had scoops inside, making it easier to dispense to the stock. Gina looked around for a bucket and half filled it with wheat and, with Fisher on her hip, went looking for the chicken coop.
She sprinkled wheat as she walked, feeling like the pied piper as the chickens all hurried to join her. Fisher squealed in pleasure and wriggled to get down. “Not yet, baby. Let’s wait until we come to somewhere cleaner and you can go for it.”
When they’d fed the poultry and collected the eggs, she carried Fisher up to the house and let him down on the grass to play. Since she never went very far from him, she sat down on the back porch and watched as he explored his new surroundings. It was pleasant here. More than pleasant actually, it was wonderful, almost magical. She gazed out over the ranch and sighed. What she wouldn’t do to make this work between her and Rory.
Gina plucked a piece of grass and started shredding it with her nails. She’d been prepared to struggle with her feelings for the man she was to marry and was more than ready for that. After spending time with him yesterday and this morning, she doubted not getting on with him was going be an issue. He held down a good job, had a home of his own, and great family surrounding him. Everything she was missing in her own life.
It wouldn’t have been fair to Fisher to not take this chance. Staying in the city hadn’t been worth thinking about, not when she was at the stage of making the decision to give up her baby. It was close, so close, and now she felt sick to her stomach thinking about it. It had taken days of soul searching after she lost her job and couldn’t find another one. Days when all she wanted to do was hide under the threadbare blankets on her bed and not be the adult she knew she had to be. Days when she went hungry because the cost of formula was higher than she could afford.
Now Rory had given her another chance and she would do whatever she had to in order to make this work. Fisher jammed a fist full of grass into his mouth and spat it out, looking at her as if it was her fault when he found out it didn’t taste as nice as it could have. Gina hooked her finger into the dribbles and pulled out a strand, wiping it on the legs of her jeans. “Bubba, please don’t eat that. Yucky.”
She scooped him up and, ignoring his protests, headed inside to collect the washing from the machine. She let Fisher play on the kitchen floor while she loaded the basket, listening for any change of noise. Yes, she was overprotective, she got that. Living with the baby’s father had taught her that the only person that was going to look after her and her child was herself.
Aden had been fun when they first met. She was waitressing at a diner when he walked in with a group of friends and sat at her table. He’d flirted shamelessly and she’d been won over when he was waiting for her when she came off her shift. Before she knew what happened, he’d moved in with her and they were a couple.
While she worked, he disappeared, not saying where he was going or what he was doing. It’d taken a few months before Gina realized he was using and, no matter what she said, he wouldn’t or couldn’t give up. Determined to better herself and advance her career, Gina had told him to leave but he refused. He’d begged and promised until it became too hard for her to fight anymore. The small amount of savings she had hidden in her coffee jar disappeared and even that wasn’t worth fighting over. Life had suddenly turned sour and she could think of no way out. And once she found out she was pregnant, there was no point in trying anymore.
Aden went on bender after bender and Gina knew it was only a matter of time before he killed himself. One morning she’d rolled over and reached for him only to find Aden cold beside her. Alone and pregnant with no prospects, no money, and no hope, she took stock of her options and didn’t like what she saw. Aden might have left her alone and destitute but there was no way she was going to lay down and give up. She had a child to bring into the world and it was going to take every scrap of her ability to survive. This wasn’t the time to fall down and feel sorry for herself, and with no family to lean on, Gina had to strengthen her back bone and take on the unpleasant tasks herself.
The first thing she did was sell most of her furniture and move into a flophouse taking only one room for herself and the bare necessities. She worked through her pregnancy until delivery and only took off a few days before going back to work. Her elderly neighbor sat with the new baby while Gina earned as much money as she could. Her whole world revolved around Fisher and she was determined to give him a better life than she’d had herself.
She pushed the memories away and concentrated on the here and now. With the basket under her arm, she took Fisher’s hand and walked him back outside to the clothesline where he played with the bucket of pegs while she hung out the washing.