The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2)(55)
“Gina, please be sensible, my dear.” Richard leaned forward. “If you had been brought into the family when you had Fisher and Aden hadn’t died, you would be incredibly rich by now. It’s a fact of our life which we need you to understand. We’re wealthy and some of that must go to you and our grandson. There is no one else for us to leave it to. When we pass on, Fisher is going to be a very wealthy boy.”
“I don’t want your money. That’s not why I said you could come here today.” She glanced at Rory, panic starting to set in.
“We know that, my dear. If we thought otherwise we wouldn’t be here. You’ll have to get used to it, I’m afraid. There are opportunities for Fisher that you couldn’t possibly imagine.”
“I don’t want you to take over my son. What if he wants to be a cowboy like his uncle or a sheriff like his father?” She licked her lips and glanced at her baby boy. “What if he doesn’t want your money?”
“Then that is his decision to make when he’s of age, my dear. I will make sure that a management committee is in place to guide him or take over if he decides corporate life is not for him.” Richard looked between Gina and Rory. “The main thing is this, I want you both to be taken care of and have everything you need.”
“I can support my family, thanks anyway.” Rory’s shoulder stiffened and it didn’t go unnoticed by the Bellinghams.
“We know that, Rory, and we aren’t trying to take over or stand on your toes. I want to make sure that if, for any reason, Gina or Fisher need anything at all, they can have it. Put the money away and don’t touch it if you want, Gina. Just know that it’s there as a safety net.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Gina took the soggy cookie from Fisher and wiped his fingers. When he wriggled to get down, Rory let him go. The little boy looked at his mother before holding his hand out to his grandparents.
“It’s okay, baby. You can go and say hello.”
Arabella and Richard sat with their gazes locked onto Fisher as he tottered over toward them, gurgling and spitting out unintelligible words as he went. He reached them and pointed his pudgy little fingers at his grandmother’s gold bracelet. She held it up let him fiddle with the charms. After a couple of minutes his interest changed to the beads around her neck. Fisher held his arms out. “Up up.”
Arabella looked at Gina, tears in her eyes waiting for permission to lift up her grandson. Gina smiled at her and wiped away a tear of her own before sliding down into Rory’s lap to watch her son get to know his grandparents.
Epilogue
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Rory stared at Gina over their morning cup of coffee. “We can get married tomorrow, you know. I have the license and you have the dress, and shoes, and sexy underwear.”
She smiled at him, a serene smile that wasn’t possible for her before. Now with her future firmly planned out with no hiccups or court cases coming her way, Gina was a relaxed woman and Rory liked it that way.
“Well, we could go ahead and get married now but there’d be something missing and I don’t think that’s fair. I want all of your brothers to be here for you. I think it’s important.”
“Are you sure?” He reached for her hand. “I mean, Chance managed to get a half a conversation in a few days ago with Evan, but he got called to an emergency. He might not call back for days or weeks.”
“I’m sure. We’re together anyway so it doesn’t matter. And now Fisher’s Nana and Pop don’t want to drag us through court, we can take our time.”
“Did I hear Arabella say she wanted to come to the wedding?”
Gina smiled. “Yes, you did. I hope you don’t mind. They’re so very easy to get on with, I seriously don’t know what Aden’s problem was with them. Their personal life should be just that, personal. They’re the sweetest things and they’re going to be a big part of our life so I’m more than happy to have them there on the day.”
“You didn’t have to live with them, he did. If you’re sure it’s what you want to do, I’m fine with it. Don’t think you’re putting this off for very long. I want a ring on your finger, my darling girl. The sooner the better.”
“As soon as you nail down all of your brothers to be here at the same time, we’ll do it; and if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get married in that little church in town. It’s so very pretty, Rory.”
“For you my love, anything. You rescued me from a life of loneliness and I’ll be forever grateful. If all it takes is a date at St James church, you have it.”
The End