Rescue Me (Colorado Blues) (7 page)

“I
don’t have a preference actually.” Gina looked at the trays in front of her and
shuddered. Ho
w on earth did anyone choose between all of this stuff?

“Well
now, let me get out some that I think will suit your hand and we can take it
from there. Do you have a budget, Sheriff?”

Rory
shook his head.

For
the next hour and a half, Sally showed them ring after ring until Gina was
ready to pull her hair out. Nothing stood out as
the one
for her. Ready
to give up she turned away. “Gina, how about this one?” Rory was pointing to a
small block set ring on a plain gold band.

She
glanced at it, ready to shake her head when she caught herself. “It’s perfect.”
When it was on her finger, a happiness she had never know settled upon her
shoulders.

“Happy?”
Rory leaned on the counter watching her.

“Happy.”

Together
they walked back toward his office holding hands. “Are you sure it’s what you
want to do, Rory? I hate the thought that I might have pushed you into this.”

“No,
you didn’t push me into it. I realized I wasn’t being fair to you anyway, it
was something I had to work out for myself. It was selfish of me to keep you
waiting like that after I had you come all the way over here. I know you said
you would do this for Fisher, but I wanted to do this for you, Gina.”

“That’s
so sweet.” She squeezed his hand, a smile on her face and a spring in her step.
“So long as you’re sure. I promise no more secrets between us.”

He
lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles before pulling her into the café. “Time
for a quick bite to eat before I have to go back to work.” They took a table by
the window and ordered, holding hands until their food arrived. When they
finished lunch, Rory paid for their meal and then walked her out the door. Hand
in hand they wandered over to his office.

She
kissed him on the steps before heading to the furniture shop to get a highchair
for Fisher. It was getting too hard to feed him on her knee when she needed to
do other things as well. Finding what she was after, Gina paid for it and the
shop keeper loaded it in the back of her car for her. The hair on the back of
her neck prickled as she got in behind the wheel and she shivered before
looking around. It felt as though someone was watching her, although there
seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary happening in town. No people lurking
under lamp posts or hiding behind corners peeking at her. The kind of people
that worried her in San Francisco’s poorer streets were a long way away from
this small country town. She was as safe as she could be here under the
protection of the local sheriff.

Rory
decided to pick up Gina and Fisher and take them to the ranch before dinner. If
he knew what she wanted in her new home, he could start the contractors and it
wouldn’t be too long before they’d be in their own place. When he pulled up at
the ranch house, she was out the back bringing in a basket of washing and
Fisher was tottering around the lawn on his chubby little legs.

Gina
smiled and waved when he hopped out of his truck, hurrying over to greet him.
His arms wrapped around her welcoming body, Rory leaned down for a much needed
kiss. She tasted like warm sunshine and roses, her lips soft and supple under
his. He slid his hands down over her back to cup her butt, lifting her against
his awakening body. The moan coming from her throat sent his blood racing and
he decided then and there that tonight he would go to her bed. They were both
ready for each other.

A
small fist grabbed a hold of his jeans leg and slapped against him. Rory broke
the kiss and looked down, a smile readily coming to his lips. “Looks like this
young man wants the attention his mama is getting.” He kissed Gina on the nose
and leaned down to pick up Fisher. The child wriggled and bashed his small
fists against Rory’s chest, excitement evident on his little face.

“Seems
to me you’ve made a hit with the biggest critic. He doesn’t usually take to
many people like he has with you.” Gina bent over and picked up the washing
basket, hitching it on her hip.

“The
feeling is mutual, believe me. I love the little guy already.” He followed her
inside the house and watched as she placed the basket on a chair and started to
fold the laundry. “I thought since it’s not late, we could go to the ranch and
maybe work out what you want in a home so the contractors can get started.”

“Are
you for real? I thought it was just getting a cleanup and we were moving in.”
She stood still, the folding suddenly forgotten.

“No,
I was always going to fix it up. There’s no way I’d expect you to move into it
like that. The kitchen has to be, what—thirty years out of date?” He had a
sinking feeling she wasn’t as happy as he thought she’d be by this news.

“So,
tell me why did you pretend that was my new home then?” Gina’s face was showing
her building displeasure, her lips tight and pressed together.

“Well,
I wanted to see if you were money orientated or not. If you knew who my brother
was, you might think it was an easy ticket to the good life. Not that I think
you’re like that now I’ve met you. I wanted someone to marry me for me and not
what they thought I could offer.” This wasn’t feeling good and he knew he
should have kept his mouth shut and just told her she deserved better, not test
involved.

“You
have an ego the size of a house, Rory Watson. If you knew my past, you’d know
that money means nothing, especially when I grew up with less than nothing.
Funny how you learn to get by when you don’t have any. How much is it going to
take to get it through your thick skull? I might be poor but I’m not a mercenary.”

Her
lip quivered and he reached for her. “I’m sorry, I did that all wrong. Please
forgive me.”

Gina
leaned against his chest and he could feel the trembling of her shoulders.
Way
to go, Rory.
He looked up as a truck pulled into the yard beside his and
his shoulder sagged. Right now this was a bad time for Tyson to show up.

“Hey.”
He kissed the top of her head and leaned down to look into her eyes. “We have a
visitor. My younger brother Tyson is here. Don’t let anything he says get to
you, okay? His big mouth can sometimes be his downfall, he usually means well.
We’ll talk about the renovations later.”

Rory
turned as the truck door slammed and boots sounded on the gravel then the
porch. The look of surprise on his brother’s face as he spied Fisher nestled in
his arms would have been hilarious if Rory didn’t know there wouldn’t be an
interrogation to follow, he was all too aware of how Tyson worked. The reason
he was shunned by the brothers as a kid was because he was always telling on
them to their father. Nothing was a secret with him around and it hadn’t
changed over the years as he’d grown older.

Rory
walked over and opened the door, breaking his brother’s trance-like stare.
“Hey, what’s up?”

Tyson
looked at Fisher and then peered over at Gina. “Uh, just thought I’d come up
and see if Chance was interested in a couple of stock horses I’ve come across.
Not really what I want because they’re broken in and I want bucking broncos.”
He scratched his head and pulled his gaze back to Rory. “Yeah, I don’t need
them but they’re cheap and it would be a shame to see them go to the glue
factory.”

“How
much are we looking at here, Tyson?” Rory relaxed when Gina slipped her arm
through his and inwardly grinned when his brother’s eyes bugged out of his
head.

“Ah,
um…sorry what was that?”

“I
said, how much does he want for them and do you think they’re worth it?”

“Yeah,
I do otherwise I wouldn’t be up here.” Tyson named a price that bordered on
being ridiculously cheap. “Going to introduce me to your friend here? Heard you
had one.”

“Gina,
this is my brother Tyson. Tyson, I’d like to introduce you to my finance Gina
and her son Fisher.”

“Your
what? You never told me when you got here that you were getting married. Thanks
for nothing.” He glared at Rory. “What the hell changed in the last few weeks
that I don’t know about?” Rory could see the cogs working in his head.

“Back
off, brother. Don’t you dare go letting loose your uppity attitude on me.
Nobody said you had to be involved in my decision making process.”

“I
take it then that you’ve done the same fool thing that Chance did—signed up on
one of those damned sites for a wife, otherwise I would have known about this.
You two will never learn, will you? And a woman with a kid, only after one
thing if you ask me. Money.”

Rory
turned and handed Fisher to Gina before decking his brother with a decent punch
to the jaw. Tyson landed on the porch, shock the only expression on his face.
He looked up and scowled before wiping his hand across his mouth. Blood pooled
in the corner of his lips and he spat it out and reached for his hat.

“Take
your damned attitude back where you came from. If you can’t be respectful, stay
the fuck away from us.”

Tyson
crawled to his feet, glaring at Gina. “You’ll regret this, mark my words,
brother. Just you wait and see. Soon as you buy yourself a nice little plot of
land, she’ll dig her claws in and take you for everything you have.”

***

She
heard the intake of Rory’s breath, and so did Tyson.

“You’re
kidding me, right? You’ve gone and brought the little lady a place already,
haven’t you?”

They
didn’t notice Callie walking up toward the house. “Making a, ass of yourself
again, Tyson? You’ll never learn will you?” She strode up to him and slapped
him on the back, none too gentle, making him stumble and struggle to regain his
footing. “So, what’re you after this time apart from being a nosy little turd?”

“I’m
not here for gossip. I thought you might be interested in a couple of horses I
was offered before they go to the glue factory. I didn’t expect to walk into a
punch in the face.” He banged his hat against his leg before putting it back on
his head.

“Well,
you should learn to mind your manners then. Chance is down at the barn; come
and talk to him about it.” Callie winked at Gina and hooked her arm through
Tyson’s, giving him no option but to follow her. They watched as she dragged
him down to the barn.

“I
can’t believe the little punk could be so damned rude.” Rory rubbed at his
knuckles, frowning at the back of his brother.

“Don’t
let it worry you. Nothing I wouldn’t have heard before, I’m sure.” She sighed,
the pleasure of the day gone. “I think we should give the ranch a miss today,
don’t you?”

Rory
looked at her, concern in his eyes. “No, I don’t. Don’t worry about him; his
mouth is always running off. We’re used to it but that’s just Tyson, he’ll come
around.”

She
tried to smile and couldn’t quite make it happen. “I’m taking Fisher inside,
it’s getting cool out here.” Her heart grew heavy as she walked over to the toy
basket under the dining room window and placed her son down on the ground. He
turned and wailed looking for Rory. Gina saw him striding down to the barn, no
doubt to give his brother another lesson in manners.

Trying
to distract her son, she crouched down on the floor beside him and started
taking out some of his favorite toys. They were immersed in a game of trains
when the door opened and Callie hurried in ten minutes later.

“Hey,
you okay?” She walked over and ruffled the curls on Fisher’s head.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t
lie to me. I can see from the look on your face his words hit you hard.” Callie
dropped down onto her butt on the floor beside them and grabbed a little red
car. “You have to stand up to people like Tyson. It’s the only way he backs
down, you know. I learned that pretty quick.”

“That’s
all well and good for those of us that don’t have anything to be ashamed of.
Unfortunately for me, I’m not one of them, so what he says hits home whether or
not I like it and that in turn reflects on Rory. Not a good idea when he’s the
local sheriff.”

“Pfft.
As if he cares anyway.” She spun the wheels of the little car up the legs of
her jeans and down around the little boy making all the appropriate sounds.

“I
care.”

Callie
looked at her, the way her eyebrows were raised showing just how much she believed
Gina. So much for the day getting better like she’d planned. Now Rory was
probably thinking over what his brother said. Could he be having second
thoughts about marrying her? She would if it was her.

Eventually,
Callie offered to give Fisher his bath while Gina started on dinner. She heard
the roar of the truck as Tyson left but didn’t look up, preferring to ignore
him. Dinner was almost ready when Rory and Chance came inside. She glanced at
her man and noticed a graze on his cheek. The knowledge that he had been he had
been fighting over her made her cringe Chance grinned from ear to ear.

When
Callie came down with the baby all snuggled up in his pajamas, she whistled at
the mark. “Gave as good as you got, I’m hoping.” She put Fisher in his
highchair and reached for the plate his mother had prepared for him, letting
the little boy eat his chopped vegetables with his fingers.

“Yeah,
he did too.” Chance laughed and slapped Rory on the back. “Damned if Tyson
doesn’t get it. Thought by now he’d know to keep his mouth shut and mind his
own business.”

“It’s
all my fault.” Gina plated up the beef stew and mashed potatoes, pooling the
gravy in the middle of the white fluffy mound.

“No,
it’s not and you need to learn to deal with it. Tyson has a chip on his shoulder
a mile wide. Always has.” Rory took the plates out of her hand and placed them
on the table before walking back and resting his hands on her shoulders. She
glanced up into his face. “He’s always been the same and over some of the
stupidest things too. It’s the way his brain is wired, I reckon. From day one
the little pest has been a gossip and if there’s nothing there, he’ll make it
up.”

“That
still doesn’t mean you need your name dirtied around town. That’s my fault.”

He
dipped his head and kissed her, stopping the buildup of words that she was
getting ready to spurt out. His tongue pushed between her lips and his hand
slid down the length of her back to cup her butt. As he deepened the kiss, her
body took over and she wound her arms around his neck, sinking into the kiss.
Gina forgot her surroundings as she raised her hips to press into his, feeling
the length of him through his jeans.

The
need rushing though her body made her forget her surroundings and she dropped
her hands to undo the buttons on his shirt before sliding a hand in over his
chest. Rory moaned when her finger tips grazed his hardened nipple.

She
cried out when he broke the kiss and gasps of her audience reminded her where
she was. Shame raced over her cheeks and she wanted to crawl up the stairs and
hide. Never before had she reacted to anyone the way she was reacting to Rory.
The man was seriously hot and it turned her on just thinking of him undressing
in front of her.

“Wow.”
Callie grabbed the two other plates and put them on the table. “I think an
early night is in order for you and me, husband of mine.”

“I’m
sorry. Really sorry.” Gina wiped her hands over her face and looked up into
Rory’s face. He grinned from ear to ear.

“There
is no way you are getting away from me, not when you do this to me.” He wiped
his thumb over her bottom lip, sending small jolts of electricity to her girly
bits, pulsing with need. “My brother can go and beat his head against a brick
wall for all I care. You are the one I’m going to marry and that’s final, okay?”

“Say
yes so we can have dinner and get some alone time, for the love of all things
beautiful.” Callie laughed and Gina could see the light in her eyes as she
looked at her own husband.