The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2)(6)

Rory walked back to his truck, climbed back in and drove past the car, taking a note of the registration plates so he could call it in if he didn’t come across the owner. When the old cottage came into view, he slowed. A woman in a flowing red skirt and white blouse stood in the garden with a child on her hip staring at his house, a bunch of wildflowers in her hand.

*

The sound of a truck pulling up startled her and she wiped a hand across her eyes before turning around. He’s here, of course he is. Today is the day we were supposed to meet.

Gina squared her shoulders and held onto Fisher as she met the gaze of the man heading her way.

“Ma’am, is that your car down the road?” The deputy sheriff walked up and stopped just in front of her. She had to look up to see his face when he was this close. The Stetson shaded his eyes, but she noticed the way her body stood to attention in his presence.

“Yes, I’m sorry, I ran out of gas.” She lifted her chin, determined not to let her nerves get the better of her. She’d come a long way, worked her butt off cleaning his house already and there was no way she was going to let him run her out of town.

“Are you by any chance Ms. Gina Taylor?”

“Yes, that’s me.” Who else would do this for you? Here we go. Our first big hurdle, Fisher. Time to start playing nice.

“I’m Deputy Sheriff Rory Watson. You didn’t tell me you had a child though, ma’am, when we agreed on this deal we have.”

“You didn’t tell me you lived in a dump either, Deputy, so I guess that makes us about even, don’t you think?” Her patience had run out. After the long drive, running out of gas, and seeing the house she was supposed to live in, the days scrubbing and polishing, she no longer cared to be polite to this man who’d, in her mind, ripped her off by promising an easier life and instead delivered a crushing blow. Sure, she’d arrived earlier than what they’d planned but if she’d stayed in the city, that would have meant another week’s rent. Something Gina could ill afford. Instead she’d brought food to last them until today and hoped it would all work out. And just where had he been the last four days? Fancy leaving her here by herself wondering about her future.

“Yes, well I can explain that, I’m not sure how you can explain away a child you failed to mention.”

“Oh can you just? I doubt it.” The skin on the back of her neck prickled and her temper fired up a notch. “You know, if I had any choice I would have. But here’s the thing, I needed something and so did you, otherwise you wouldn’t have put that stupid ad in the paper. I answered it for better or for worse and now here I am. Ready and willing to be your wife and look what you have to offer me.” The tears welled in her eyes even as she tried to hold them back and she turned from him. This is the worst thing I’ve ever done in my whole life. If he turns us away, where the heck are we going to sleep tonight? How am I going to feed my baby? As reality hit home hard, Gina knew she had no choice. She took a deep breath, counted to ten, and calmed herself. “I came here to marry you. If I had the money to stay where I was, I would have done so, saving us both the embarrassment of lies and subterfuge.”

“Now listen here, I haven’t lied to you.”

Gina could hear the defensive tone rising in his voice. She didn’t care and turned on him, her tears forgotten. “Oh yes you did. You told me you had a home and it sure as hell wasn’t this one. It’s obvious we both lied and I’m sorry about that, but don’t you dare put all the blame on my shoulders.”

He glanced at her, swallowed, and turned away. Don’t send us away just yet, please give us a chance. What do I have to do to make you keep your agreement? The man appeared to be arguing with himself and Gina watched the muscles in his neck tighten and bunch around his collar. He turned back to her. “You’re right, ma’am. We both lied, but that doesn’t make it right. It’s something we will have to discuss later. Agreed?”

Still furious but seeing no other way to move forward, Gina nodded her head, letting the tension ease from her shoulders as she swallowed her tears.

“How about you come in and have a look around and tell me what you think? We can make a decision about what we’re going to do when you’ve had the guided tour.”

“I’ve already looked at the house.”

“Excuse me?” Rory glanced around, took in the cleared path to the door and met her gaze. “Just how long have you been here?” She hadn’t done much to the outside of the house but pulling a few weeds from the garden had made a big difference.

“Four days.” She swallowed. “I decided to come early. There was no point in staying in the city and I wasn’t sure how long it would take us to get here.”

He stared at her, his hands on his hips. “Let me get this straight, you’ve been staying here,” he chucked his chin toward the house, “in this dump for the last four days?”

“Yes.”

“But the place isn’t habitable yet.” He swallowed and refused to meet her gaze. “I haven’t had a chance to clean up yet.”

“Do you mean to tell me you don’t even live here?” The embarrassed look on his face made her insides tighten. “I had hoped you were working when I arrived but when you didn’t come back at night, there was nothing I could do.”