The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2)(3)
“Mama, up.” Fisher held out his arms and Gina undid the straps releasing the little boy from his car seat. She hooked him up on her hip and slammed the door before walking into the park. In a spot of sunshine, she crouched down on the grass and sat with her son on her lap watching the birds flutter around the old woman throwing bread crumbs to her feathered friends.
Fisher stood up and, without letting go of his toy dog, tottered over to the birds. They scattered and flew a short distance to the other side of the old lady. His face screwed up and he started to cry.
“Here, you feed them and they’ll come back.” The lady smiled and encouraged him to take the bread she held out. Gina sat back and watched as her son was patiently shown the best way to feed the noisy sparrows. When he threw the bread the little birds came back and he squealed in delight. Once the crumbs were all gone, the birds flew away, most of them into the trees in the park.
“Thank you for being so kind to him.” Gina stood and walked to get her baby boy.
“Now what would the world be if kindness disappeared? He’s a cute little thing. You passing through, are you?” Her dark eyes latched onto Gina as she waited for an answer.
“Uh, no. Actually I’m moving to town.”
“Well that’s good to hear. We might see you again, little one.” The old lady ruffled Fisher’s blond curls and waved a frail hand as she walked away, leaning on a cane with each step she took.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, my love, and find our new home.” She scooped her baby up and hurried back to the car to get a clean diaper and a drink. When they were done, she clipped him back into the car seat for the final leg of the journey. Gina checked the address again before turning back onto the road. She glanced at the Get ’n’ Go and the gas station, wishing she had the money to grab a coffee or put a gallon of gas in her car to see them safely through town.
On the other side of the train track, a large hotel stood proudly and behind it she glimpsed quaint shops bunched together with plenty of parking out front. They looked like they were still lost in another time where the pace of life was easier and less hurried. Perhaps she would be able to come back and visit them once her life was sorted out and she knew they were staying.
Gina drove slowly looking at as much as she could while not getting too distracted and lost. She paused at a crossing and waited for the way to clear before driving on.
She spied a diner which only made her feel hungry looking at it. But a glance at her gas gauge made her grimace, knowing she didn’t have the time or gas to dawdle in town. Her meager store of food in the back of the car would have to suffice. There wasn’t money for food they didn’t need. Once the gas gauge hit the empty mark, Gina estimated she could travel another ten to fifteen miles before her car came to a grinding halt. If she kept her speed steady and didn’t have to stop again, they might just make it.
She crossed over the river, headed out of town, and followed the directions Rory had given her to their new home.
A leaning sign post marked the road to her future and she sucked in a big breath before turning in. The butterflies in her stomach threatened to rise up and choke her. What if he was a creepy serial-killer type? How was she going to sleep at night until she got to know what he was like? She should never have gone along with this crazy idea of mail-order brides. So what if statistics proved that the majority of arranged marriages lasted longer than the heady rush of love and lust most people gave in to?
She had no choice but to believe the tales he’d told her over the phone. Desperate to have a home for herself and her baby, Gina had chosen to accept everything he said at face value. If she’d asked her boss to use the computer and Google her prospective husband, he probably would have deducted her wages and that wasn’t feasible right now. It will all work out, it has to.
She glanced in the rear vision mirror and watched as Fisher talked to his dog, the jumble of words going a short way to soothe her frazzled nerves. It was for the little cherub in the backseat that she had packed everything they owned into the station wagon and driven overland to a place she’d never been to before, to make a new life.
Gina saw a property up ahead, its roof peeking out through the trees, and wondered if it was her new home. How was he going to respond to her arrival today? Four days ahead of their agreed time and she hadn’t let him know, too scared in case he changed his mind. She’d be okay, she had to be. Her and her baby’s future was at stake here and she had to make this work.
Before she got a good view of the house, her car missed and hiccupped. “No, no, no!” The light on the gas gauge flashed at her and, with a final cough, the car died. With no option left to her, Gina scooped Fisher out of his car seat and slung her handbag over her shoulder before she started walking up the dusty road. They passed overgrown paddocks, the fences broken with twisted wires pulled down by weeds to lay useless on the ground. As she puffed up to the top of the rise, the cottage she glimpsed earlier came into full view. Overgrown and untidy, the garden was a mess of plants and weeds, its small fence almost laying back down on the overgrown lawn, partly held up with the rambling pink rose bush growing wild. The gate was the most upright part of the structure. She doubted it would withstand a strong wind.
Gina caught her breath when she drew close enough to see the cottage properly. What had looked like brown paint was in fact bare timber. The old white paint had peeled from most of the wooden boards and lay blown over the porch like sad confetti flakes. She stood at the gate, anger building in her chest as reality set in.