Mail Order Bride - Westward Secrets: A Clean Cowboy Romance Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 13) (8 page)

“Thank you, Rick,” Ben said.  “You’re being nice.  What’s wrong with you?”

Rick said, “Can’t I just give you a compliment?”

Ben gave him a deadpan look.  “You know that’s not your normal personality.  Where’s your pal?”

“Where do you think he is?” Rick said.

Ben called Curtis and the ferret bounced onto the table.  However, he never got a chance to hold Curtis because the chair was knocked out from under him.  Gina let out a cry of surprise, but Rick laughed.  Ben got up and faced Reckless whose black eyes danced with mischief.

“Damn you, Reckless!” Ben shouted and held his left hand against his chest.

“Oh, Ben, I am sorry,” Reckless said, suddenly contrite.

Ben’s right fist caught Reckless in the stomach and Ben laughed.

Reckless caught his breath and said, “That was dirty.”

“But fair since you snuck up on me,” Ben said.

Rick looked at Gina and said, “This is our other bouncer, Reckless.  That’s his name, although the adjective applies.  Reckless, this is Gina.”

Gina said, “I’m happy to meet Joe’s very brave brave.”

Reckless laughed.  “I see he has been talking about me.  I do not know if this is good or bad.”

“It was all good things, I promise,” Gina said.

She studied Reckless since she’d never had contact with any Indians.  He was a handsome young man and seemed very friendly despite his prank on Ben.  During the skirmish, Curtis had bounced around on the table, becoming very excited.  He now hopped over to Ben and scurried up onto his shoulders.

Ben grabbed him and cradled him like a baby so he could pet Curtis’ belly.  Curtis lay still, enjoying the attention.

“Hey, Dr. Dummy, don’t put him to sleep.  He’s here to work,” Rick said.

Ben put Curtis back on the table and gave Rick a dirty look.  “Gina, it has been a pleasure meeting you.  I must go warm up a little before we start.  Have a nice time.”

As Ben walked over to the stage, Reckless sat down and said, “I think you offended him.”  He grinned.

“He’ll get over it,” Rick said.  “Gina, do you like to dance?”

“Yes, I do,” she said.

“Good.  Then we’ll have to do that tonight,” Rick said.

Reckless’ expression showed surprise.  “You are going to dance?”

“Yes, I’ll dance,” Rick said.

“How come you never have before?” Reckless asked.

“Because I didn’t have anyone as pretty as Gina to dance with, that’s why.  Were you expecting me to ask you, because from what I understand, you can’t dance.  Now if it were your Uncle Owl, that would be different,” Rick said.

Gina watched the byplay between the two men.  Rick’s cutting remarks didn’t seem to bother Reckless at all, but they had bothered Ben. 

Reckless laughed and said, “Yes, he dances well.  I don’t want to dance with you, either.  Although, it would be funny.  Uncle Seth dances with Geoff as a prank.  It is funny to watch them waltz.”

Rick smiled even though his stomach tightened suddenly.  “I can imagine.  I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never seen it.”

“When he gets here tonight, I will see if he will dance with you,” Reckless said.  “No, never mind.  You are not pretty enough for him.”

“And Geoff is?” Rick said.

“Yes.  Much prettier than you,” Reckless said. 

Rick grinned.  “I’ll tell him you think so at brunch on Sunday.  Geoff is Jack’s grandfather.”

“Oh.  Do you often have brunch with him?” Gina asked.

“Twice a month or so.  We like to talk books.  Speaking of which.”

Gina watched a woman with short, dark, curly hair come running over to their table.

“There she is,” Rick said as the woman hugged him.  “Where’s my book?”

“I have it for you,” she said and put a book on the table.  “You’ll love it!  Where’s mine?”

“Jake’s office.  I didn’t want to leave it out around here for someone to get their mitts on,” Rick said.  “Abby, this is Gina.  Gina, Abby, Zach’s mother.”

Gina smiled in relief.  She thought that Rick might be seeing this other woman.  Then she chastised herself.  She didn’t think Rick was the type of man to take one woman out and be seeing another.  Lacey would have mentioned that to her.

“Zach was right; you are very pretty.  I think my son has a crush on you,” Abby said.

Gina laughed as she looked into Abby’s blue eyes.  “He’s very cute.  It’s fun to listen to him and Emily argue.”

“I know.  They met at a wedding a couple of years ago and have been inseparable since then.  Elliot and Joe have decided that they’re going to get married someday,” Abby said. 

Rick said, “Has any money exchanged hands about this?  If so, I’m afraid it’s a done deal, right Reckless?  Isn’t that how the Lakota do it?”

Reckless said, “Yes, at least how I did it.  But Abby actually gets the credit.  She picked Brook for me and I owe my happiness to her.”

“Aw.  Thank you.  I knew she’d be perfect for you.  How is she feeling?” Abby asked as she practically scampered around to Reckless.  “I miss our rides home together.  I miss working here.  I see Ben is going to play.  He’s a wonderful player.  I miss hearing him play.  Have he and Rebecca played any duets together?  How’s Thor?”

Gina tried to keep up with Abby, but gave up when she saw Reckless’ eyes glaze over. 

“Abby, you are giving me a headache.  Slow down.  Brook is doing fine since you saw her a couple of days ago.  You should not talk so fast.  You are going to confuse your own baby and it is not even born yet,” Reckless said with an amused expression.

Gina only then noticed that Abby’s midsection was a little full.  “How far along are you?”

“I’m almost six months, we think.  It’s a little hard to pinpoint, but that’s what Benny thinks,” Abby said.  “Oh, I have to go say hello before he starts playing.  Nice to meet you, Gina.”

She gave both Reckless and Rick a kiss and then hurried up to the stage.  She slid onto the bench beside Ben.  Gina watched as Ben gave her a one-armed hug and then laughed at something she said.  She saw Rick watching with a smile on his face. 

“Is she always like that?” Gina said.

“Always,” Reckless said.  “She is like a sudden summer storm that never ends.”

“That was a good analogy,” Rick said.  “And spot on.  Abby is hyperactive, right, Sitting Duck?”

Reckless kicked Rick’s chair and he almost toppled off it.  Rick laughed and righted himself.  “Just for that, I’m going to start calling you Crapping Bear.”

Again the chair was kicked even though Reckless started laughing. 

Rick laughed harder.  “Or maybe I should say Crapping Wolf, since ‘wolf’ is part of your full name.”

Reckless couldn’t kick the chair because he was laughing too hard.  “Can you see my father’s face if I would tell White Horse the name?  This is our son, Crapping Wolf?”  Reckless got up and walked away to try to calm his laughter.

Rick just stayed where he was.  Gina laughed until she had tears in her eyes.  “Crapping Wolf?”

“I harass a lot of people and assign them names and we used to have another bouncer, who I called ‘Red’ but that’s not important.  I used to call Reckless ‘the other one’, but since there’s no third bouncer, I have to come up with a new name and I haven’t found one yet.

“We were talking about what Reckless and Brook are going to name their baby and I asked if they would name it ‘Crapping Bear’ if they saw one in the woods when the baby was born.  So that’s where that came from,” Rick explained.

“He’ll kill you if ‘Crapping Wolf’ sticks,” Gina said.

“No, I’ll find something else,” Rick said.

“So what’s Abby’s name?” Gina asked.

“’There she is,’” Rick said.

“Where?” Gina asked as she looked around.

“No, ‘there she is’ is what I call her,” Rick said.  “It’s not always an exact name.  Sometimes it’s a phrase.”

“Oh.  What about Jake?”
              “Boss, which is obvious, I realize, but I try not to bite the hand that feeds me, too much,” Rick said.

“Ben?”

“Dr. Dummy, or Piano Man, depending on what mood I’m in,” Rick said.

“Joe?”

“Tex, which he hates.  I can’t take credit for that one, though.  Ben started that and I just jumped on the bandwagon.  But when I really want to get under Joe’s skin, I call him Joseph.  That absolutely drives him crazy.  Again, Ben started it.”

“So will I get a name?” Gina asked.

“Do you want one?” Rick asked.

“If it’s a nice name,” Gina answered.

Rick looked into her eyes and said, “It’ll be a very nice name, trust me.”

She smiled.  “Then, yes, I would like one.”

“Done.  I’ll let you know when it comes to me,” Rick said as Reckless came back.

“Joe’s here.  Better put Curtis away,” the brave said.

              Rick whistled and Curtis jumped into his coat.  Joe saw him and walked quickly over to their table.

              “Rick, I just saw Mitch and he needs your help over at the Brennan place.  Looks like Prescott is at it again.  You’re the one who usually talks him down.  It’s ok with me and Jake if you go,” Joe said.

              “It wouldn’t matter if you were or not.  My first duty is to the town,” Rick said.  “Gina, I’ll be back as soon as I can.  Reckless and Joe will take good care of you.  Sorry about this.”

              Gina hid her disappointment.  “It’s all right.  I understand.  I’ll be fine.”

              Rick nodded and left the bar.  Gina noticed that Joe wore an irritated expression as he watched the deputy leave.

Rick sighed as he drove Gina back to the estate after he’d gotten done at the Brennans’.  “I’m sorry our night got cut short.  Prescott gets drunk and likes to wave a pistol around while he stands on his front porch roof.  He’s not really dangerous because he never puts bullets in his gun, but it scares folks.  I’m not sure why, but he’ll listen to me after a while.  Maybe it’s because I’m the most patient with him and rarely yell at him.  I’m not sure.”

“It’s not your fault, Rick.  There’s no way you could have predicted something like this happening,” Gina said.  “Being patient is an admirable quality.”

“Thanks.  Unfortunately, this is what my life is like sometimes.  There’re late nights, long days, and dangerous situations.  Do you understand that?” Rick asked as he looked at Gina.

He was warning her that she shouldn’t get seriously involved with him unless she could accept the risk of him being seriously injured or getting killed. 

              “Yes.  I understand,” Gina said.  “Everything has a certain amount of risk, though.”

              “True,” Rick said.  “Very true.  Nothing is a hundred percent safe, but what I do certainly increases the odds of becoming unsafe.”

              Gina fought her emotions and said, “I know.”

              “Lovely,” Rick said.

              She thought that was an odd response to her comment.  “What?”

              “That’s your name; Lovely,” Rick said, smiling over at her.

              Gina laughed.

              “What?  You wanted a nice name.  Isn’t that a nice name?  I know, I’ll call you ‘Racy Lady’ instead,” Rick said.

              “Lovely will do,” Gina said.

              “Ok.  I’ll just call you Racy Lady when we’re alone,” Rick said.

              “No, you won’t,” Gina said and they argued about it the whole way back to the estate.

Gina felt jittery as they drove up to the house.  Rick helped her from the buggy and walked her to the front door.

“I’d like to try this again, but not tomorrow night.  Saturdays are the worst night at the bar and I don’t want you there.  It can get dangerous,” Rick said.

“I understand.  It’s all right,” Gina said.

“What about dinner Sunday night?” Rick asked.

Gina smiled.  “I’d like that.”

“Good.  Say around six?”

“That sounds good,” Gina said.

She moved closer and toyed with his coat lapel.  Maybe it was the two shots of whiskey she’d drunk, but she felt a little daring.  “You know, I’ve never been kissed by a man with a ferret in his coat pocket.”

“No?  That’s strange since almost every man keeps a ferret in his coat pocket,” Rick said with a grin.

“That’s what I hear, but it’s still never happened to me,” Gina said.

“Do you want to be?” Rick asked.

“Yes,” Gina said as her heart began beating faster at the look in his eyes.  “It would be a new experience for me.”
              “Well, I’m all for new experiences,” Rick said.

Gina gasped a little as Rick encircled her waist and quickly pulled her to him.  His kiss was gentle yet firm.  Gina hadn’t kissed anyone like that in a long time and she was surprised at how quickly her body responded to Rick. 

As he’d known they would be, Gina’s lips were incredibly soft and supple against his.  He was thrilled to have her in his arms again, but had to remind himself not to get too carried away for many reasons.  He did, however, kiss her thoroughly so that she knew that he was enjoying the experience and so he could gauge her reaction to him. 

Gina ran her hands along Rick’s shoulders and put her arms around his neck.  Her fingers played with his hair and she liked the soft texture of it.  Gina wanted to go on kissing him, but knew it wouldn’t be a good idea.  She began pulling back and the kiss slowly ended.

Rick didn’t release her right away.  “I’ll see you Sunday evening, Lovely.  Sleep well.”

“I will.  You, too,” Gina said as he smiled at her.

“Lock the door behind you,” Rick said.  “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Gina said.  She slid the bolt home and leaned against the door for a few moments to gather her wits.

Rick waited by the door until he heard her lock it and then left for home.

              After breakfast the next morning, Joe rose from his chair at the table.  “Gina, I have a jacket I’d like you to look at for me.”

              “Oh.  Sure, Joe,” Gina said and followed him down the hall to the room they used as an office for their horse breeding business. 

              “Have a seat,” Joe said as he motioned towards an office chair.

              “All right,” Gina said.  She was perplexed.  “There’s no jacket, is there?”

              “No.  I wanna talk to you about Rick,” Joe said.  His expression was very serious.  “I like you, Gina, and I like your kids.  You got a raw deal when you came here and I don’t want to see anything else bad happen to you.”

              “I don’t understand, Joe.  What does that have to do with Rick?” Gina said.

              Joe pursed his lips before saying, “I like Rick, but he’s a little strange.  I’ve never heard of anyone who carries around a ferret like he does.  He’s got other weird pets, too.”

              “I like his pets.  They’re a little unusual, but I see no harm in that,” Gina said.

              “Gina, no one knows a damn thing about him.  I mean nothing of any importance.  He answered Mitch’s ad for a deputy, moved here, and didn’t provide many details about his past.  Rick says odd things, but no one knows if they’re true or not,” Joe said.  “That’s not normal behavior.  I’m an excellent judge of character and somethin’ about him just gives me the sense that he’s hidin’ a lot of things.”

              Gina raised her chin.  “So you’re saying that I shouldn’t see him romantically.”

              Joe saw a defiant light in her eyes and decided to tread lightly.  “I’m sayin’ that I would proceed with caution.  I’m not tryin’ to stick my nose into your business.  I’m not.  But, as your friend, I don’t want ya’ll to get hurt.  That’s all I’ll say about it.”

              “Thank you for being concerned, Joe.  I appreciate you looking out for me.  You’re a good man,” she said with a smile.

              Joe smiled back.  “Thanks.  All right.  I’m off to town.  I’ve got some mayor-like things to do.”

              “See you, Joe,” Gina said.

              As she left the office to get Chloe ready to go outside, Gina thought about the things that Joe had said about Rick.  She decided the best way to handle it was head on.  Tomorrow night, at dinner, she would ask Rick straight out about his past.  She felt protective of him for some reason, but Rick didn’t need protection.  He seemed perfectly able to do that himself, yet Gina couldn’t shake that feeling.

              The kids were excited to go horseback riding and Gina turned her attention to her daughter and son.  Seeing them run excitedly to the barn along with Emily made her heart swell with joy and love.  She loved seeing them happy and she had to admit that she was happy, too.  Their lives had already changed so much for the better.  Gina wondered if Rick would be another positive change in their lives.  However, she had to protect her children, so before she proceeded any further with him, she needed some answers. 

              Brunch with the O’Connors was always fun.  Rick didn’t bring Curtis to their house and he always dressed up a little nicer than normal.  He wore a pair of black dress pants, a red dress shirt, and a black vest.  Maureen answered the door when he rang the bell.

              “Hello, Rick,” she said.  “Come in.”

              “Thank you,” he said and kissed her cheek.

              “Don’t you look handsome?” she said as she took his arm and walked with him to their dining room.

              “Thank you and you are prettier than ever,” Rick said as he smiled down into her blue eyes.

              “Always a charmer,” Maureen said with a chuckle.

              Geoff sat at the head of the table, but got up when he saw Rick.  “Good to see you, Rick,” he said and shook hands with him.  Geoff was a tall man in his early sixties, who stood at six-foot three and still had a muscular build.  His dark eyes were striking in his strong-jawed face.  Geoff’s thick, dark hair had turned gray at the temples, giving him a distinguished appearance.

              Rick said, “Likewise, Geoff.  So who’s joining us today?”

              “Actually no one,” Geoff said.  “It would seem it’s just the three of us.”

              “All right,” Rick said. 
Clench
, went his stomach.

              Their maid came into the dining room carrying trays of food with her.  Rick rose to help her, as he usually did.  Dolly, a buxom middle-aged woman, smiled at him.  “Hello, Deputy,” she said.

              “Hi, Dolly.  Don’t you look fetching today?” he said with a grin.

              “Oh, go on with you,” she said with a chuckle as her dark eyes roamed over him.

              “It’s true,” Rick insisted as he sat a steaming plate of Belgian waffles on the table.

              Geoff said, “That looks wonderful.  Tell Cook we said so.”

              “I will,” Dolly said and went back to the kitchen.

              As they ate, Rick’s stomach grew tighter with anxiety and he had to force his food to go down.  He kept up a calm façade, as he smiled and talked about books.  It was a skill at which he’d become adept early in life.  They discussed Jack and how much like Dean he was.  They talked about their grandkids and about stock prices.  Rick dabbled a little in stocks and Geoff gave him advice.

              When the meal concluded, Rick screwed up his courage and said, “Can we please go to your office, both of you?  I have something I need to talk to you about but it requires complete privacy.”  His stomach was churning and Rick was afraid that he was going to be sick.  He slowly took in a breath and tried to calm himself.

              Geoff and Maureen looked at each other in surprise and then Geoff said, “Of course.”

              Rick followed them and almost chickened out.  Then he steeled himself and put himself in a different frame of mind.  This needed done and it was the perfect time since no one else had come to brunch.

              As they entered the office, Geoff shut the door and locked it.  He and Maureen sat down and looked at Rick expectantly.  Rick sat in a wing back chair that faced them.  He had always admired Geoff’s office.  It was filled with handsome walnut furniture and beautiful draperies. 

              Taking a deep breath, Rick said, “What I have to tell you is very shocking and is going to be distressing.  I’m just warning you ahead of time.”

              Geoff nodded.  “All right.  Go ahead.”
              “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to say it.  Geoff, I’m your son.”

              The room went silent for long moments before Geoff said, “That’s impossible.  Is this some kind of perverse joke? ”

              “I’m afraid not.  My mother was Janine Morrow,” Rick said and looked into Geoff’s eyes.

              Geoff suddenly jerked as if he’d been struck and Maureen gasped.

              “I see you remember her,” Rick said.  “Geoff, you had a very brief liaison with her thirty-one years ago and I am the result of that affair.  There’s no point in denying it.  She listed you on the birth certificate, which I have with me, along with an affidavit stating that the document is valid.  I’m two years younger than Claire.”

              Geoff gripped the arms of his chair very hard and his face went completely pale.  Maureen was in much the same state.  Rick remained silent as he pulled out the documents from his vest pocket and handed them to Geoff, who took them reluctantly.  Geoff read them over carefully and then handed them to Maureen, who read them in the same manner.

              Rick said, “Maureen, I see that you’re not surprised about the news of this affair.  I’m guessing that you know about it.”

              Maureen had to clear her throat so she could speak.  “Yes, I knew about it.  Geoff told me shortly after it happened.  We were separated at the time.  Our marriage wasn’t doing very well.  Geoff went to New York on business and met her at a function.”

              “Yes,” Geoff said as he picked up the story.  “I’m ashamed to say that I gave in to her temptations because I was weak and in need of comfort.  I’m not proud of it and I’ve spent every day trying to make it up to Maureen.”  He looked lovingly at his wife.

              Maureen took his hand and said, “Geoff, you know I forgave you long ago.”

              He gave her a grim smile.  “Rick, I need to know more.  Why didn’t Janine ever contact me about you?”

              “She was very angry at you for going back to Maureen.  She felt the best revenge she could have on you was keeping your son from you.  Consider yourself lucky that you didn’t wind up with my mother, Geoff.  She was a manipulative, cruel, and twisted woman and I hated her with every cell in my body,” Rick said bitterly. 
Flash!
  He pushed past the images that loomed.

              Geoff saw the pain that crossed Rick’s face and could only guess at what life was like with Janine if she were indeed that kind of person.  “Where did you get the Westlake name?”

              “My stepfather.  He adopted me.  Emery Westlake was his name.  He was a missionary and we travelled all over the world after my mother … uh … passed away,” Rick told them. 
FLASH!
It was so vivid that Rick cringed a little.

              Maureen notice the movement.  “Rick, are you all right?  Do you want some water?”

              “No, thank you.”

              Geoff asked, “Janine passed away?  When?”

              “When I was twelve.  That’s when Emery and I began going to various parts of the world, helping the sick and building houses.  Whatever was needed.  He was a good man and I miss him very much,” Rick said.

              “I’m sorry for your loss, Rick,” Geoff said.  He looked at the younger man closely and he could see Janine in him now that he knew Rick’s heritage.  “Yes.  You have her look.”

              “Unfortunately,” Rick said.  “I don’t look in the mirror more than I have to.”

              Maureen said, “You hate her that much?”

              “You have no idea,” Rick said.

              “What is it you want from me, Rick?  Money?” Geoff said.

              Rick was highly offended.  “No!  I don’t want a damn dime from you.  If I did, I would have come to you long ago and demanded it.  I want to have a relationship with you, my father, and my sisters and other relatives.”

              Geoff blanched again at the thought of telling their daughters about an illegitimate son.  “They won’t understand.  Rick, I believe you are my son, but I don’t want the girls to know.”