The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2)(42)

“What did you do then? Did you know you were pregnant?”

“No. I found out a couple of weeks later. I had nobody to turn to.” She ignored the look of pity in Rory’s eyes. She only had herself to blame, or so she told herself at the time. “The rent was overdue because of, well, Aden I guess, so I packed up what I could, sold what I couldn’t, and walked out.”

“Right, I can use this. Where did you go? Give me all the details you can too, please.” Layla leaned forward and watched her with piercing eyes, making Gina feel like a bug on a pin.

“I took what I could fit into my car and went to a flophouse and rented a room. They didn’t ask for the lasts weeks rent in advance and it was all I could afford. I don’t care what anyone says about it not being a safe place for Fisher, we didn’t have any choice. It was that or the streets. I stayed there until I moved over here.”

“Yes, we’ll get to that in a moment. Back to the, ah, living accommodations. You moved into this room. You were pregnant. You had little or no money, correct?”

Gina nodded her head.

“You continued to work at the diner?”

“Yes, right up until Fisher was born. I had a couple of days off and then found another job. My boss wouldn’t hold my position for me.” She held her head up high, determined not to feel bad about what had already passed. She was a fighter and it was all part of surviving on her own terms.

“Who looked after the baby while you were working?”

“I made friends with an elderly lady in the room next door. We used to share the kitchen and some days we shared what little food we had. She offered to look after Fisher while I went back to work and I paid her what I could. It worked for both of us until my shifts got cut to almost nothing and I couldn’t pay for my room anymore.”





Chapter Sixteen





Rory shared a glance with his elder brother and knew what he was thinking. They both had a soft spot for an underdog and what Gina had gone through was tough. Listening to her talk made him feel guilty for doubting her reasoning for leaving Fisher alone while she went to get his formula. He could see she had done what she thought was best and wasn’t being neglectful, but it still niggled at him. Would Cindy have done the same thing under similar circumstances?

Together they would make sure she was eased through this case with the minimum of fuss and exposure. Rory knew Chance still had his contacts all over America from lawyers like Layla to the media. He could stir up a hornet’s nest if he chose to divert the attention away from Gina.

“Now that’s when you answered the advertisement Rory put in the paper?”

“Not you, too. What is wrong with you guys?” It seemed Tyson could hold his tongue no longer. He glared at Gina, his mouth going into a tight line.

“Let me remind you of something, cowboy.” Layla pointed a shiny red nail in his direction. “If you want to remain in this room, in this family conversation, I would strongly suggest you zip your lip unless you have something nice to say. Preferably about me, but we can discuss that later. Right now you aren’t being helpful in the slightest.” She flicked her hair back. “Behave or you can go outside. I don’t want you upsetting my client.” Layla raised her eyebrow at him and when he looked down at the table, she blew him a kiss making sure he heard the sound effects.

“Right, before I was so rudely interrupted. You answered an ad for a wife. Rather a risky thing to do, I would have thought. So you answered his ad, is that correct, Gina?”

“Yes.”

“All of these things are helping me garner a picture of what your life has been like since you met Aden. If we can prove he was the one who let you down and led you into poverty with his questionable actions, we can turn the tables on the claim, although I still think we’ll have a fight on our hands. I’m not doing this because I enjoy pulling wings off of butterflies.” She smiled and Rory understood why Chance liked her so much. She was sharp as a tack and seemed incredibly determined, even if Gina was finding it a hard interview.

“You placed the ad when, Rory?”

He gave her the date and stared down his younger brother.

“Care to share with me why you did what you did? Just for my own information at this stage.”

“I didn’t feel like going through the whole dating scene again. My wife died three years ago and I was after more of a companion than anything. I liked the sound of Gina when we spoke on the phone and the photo she sent made it clear that she was nice looking. It was all I wanted at the time, companionship. Or so I thought. I’ve since changed my mind.” He gripped Gina’s hand, giving it an extra squeeze. “Fisher was a bonus.”

Layla looked up, her mouth a small round oh. “So you didn’t know about him?”

“No.”

She wrote more notes, her hand moving frantically over the page. Silence surrounded the table while she worked. When she looked up she glanced at Gina again. “So, you didn’t tell Rory about the child then. Tell me why?”

Gina gave her fiancée a quick glance before speaking. “I was desperate by this stage. I had very little money left and my shifts had been cut even more. I was actually looking in the paper for another job when I spied the ad. I was prepared to do almost anything to keep a roof over my baby’s head and food in his stomach. I’m not proud of that fact, but I’d do it again if I had to. And then I lost my job.”