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

              Gina looked at him.  “So you pay people to wash your employees’ clothing?  That doesn’t make sense.”

              Joe smiled and leaned against the wall next to the washing machine.  “Sure it does.  It’s good for the economy and I need my employees to do their work to the best of their ability.  If they’re worried about doing all of this other stuff, like laundry, they’re gonna be tired and won’t perform each of their specific jobs as well.

              “Take Eddie, for example.  He’s my head groom.  He needs to do that job and not be thinking about whether he has clean underwear or if he has to wash some.”

              Gina laughed at Joe’s reasoning.

              “Now, now, I’m not done.  He has five grooms under him that have to be supervised, we have sixty head of horses now, all of which require grooming, training, and the like.  He’s also in charge of keeping equipment in working order, tack cleaned, and stalls clean, so he also oversees all of the stable hands.  So when does the man have time to worry about his underwear being clean?  I pay him well because he does a hell of a job for me.  And why does he do his job well?  Because that’s all he has to worry about.”

              “Addie is our cook and there’s a couple of kitchen girls who help her.  She also doesn’t have to worry about her laundry.  Why should she not have to worry about doing her laundry?  Because her main focus is cooking for all of us.  She cooks three meals a day, six days a week.  I force her to take one day a week off and she doesn’t know what to do with herself that day.

              “Randy, along with opening the door and announcing people, is in charge of the housekeeping staff, including Addie and the sisters.  The sisters clean the whole place and help with the kids.  None of them do their own laundry.  Lacey and I both take care of the kids except for when we’re working, so we don’t need to worry about doing laundry.  Plus, if we send our laundry out, we’re giving someone else work, allowing them to earn money to help put food on their tables and such.  See what I’m gettin’ at?” Joe said.

              Gina thought about it and she could see how smart Joe’s idea was.

              “So where do I fall in this employee chain?” she asked.

              “Well, you have the most important job of all; taking care of me.  Wait, that came out wrong.  That’s my wife’s job, which she does admirably, by the way,” Joe said with grin.

              Gina laughed at his off-color humor.  It was hard to take offense at Joe’s charming, slightly rakish behavior.

              “No, you take care of keepin’ our clothing repaired, which I suppose would put you under Randy’s supervision.  But I don’t think you’re gonna have to worry about gettin’ in trouble with him.  He likes your work and, in fact, stated to me just yesterday that he has a few things he’s gonna ask you to look at for him.  So, you can wash your own clothes or they can get sent out with the rest.  It’s up to you,” Joe said.

              “I have a question,” Gina said.

              “I might have an answer,” Joe said.

              “If all of your laundry gets sent out, why do you have a washing machine?” Gina asked with a smile.

              “That’s a good question,” Joe said as Randall came into the washroom.  “Randy, why do we have a washing machine?”

              “Is this a trick question, sir?” Randall asked as he gave Joe a dubious look.

              “No, sir.”

              “I know that you are out of touch with domestic chores, but shouldn’t the answer be obvious?” Randall said with a rare smile.

              “You’re feelin’ a little frisky today.  Did you see your special lady last night?” Joe asked.

              “Yes, sir, I did,” Randall said.

              “Who is it?” Joe asked.  “Don’t you think after all these years that I should know?” Joe said.  It drove him crazy that Randall wouldn’t divulge the name of his “special lady” as Randall called her.

              “We have a washing machine in which to wash clothing,” Randall said.

              Joe frowned at Randall.  “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.  But we send out all of our laundry, so why do we have one?”

              “We’ve always had one because when your father, otherwise known as Satan, resided here, we had a wash lady.  She did a terrible job and when you took over, you fired her, but we still had the washing machine,” Randall responded.

              “Oh, that’s right.  I forgot all about that.  But this machine is fairly new,” Joe said.

              “Yes, sir.  That’s because one day you wandered through here for some obscure reason and said, and I quote, ‘Get rid of that damn ugly washin’ machine and get a new, prettier one in here’.  And so I did.  I believe you were rather intoxicated at the time, sir,” Randall said.

              Joe and Gina laughed.

              “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Gina said. 

              “Yeah, I used to be hell on wheels,” Joe admitted.  “I still am just a little bit, but becoming a husband and father certainly changed my priorities and made me grow up.  Not to mention being mayor.  There’re some days I still can’t believe I agreed to run in the first place.”

              “Have you ever been opposed?” Gina asked.

              “Not yet, but I suspect someone will challenge me one of these days.  They’ll have to work damn hard to unseat me, though.  I don’t intend to give up the job without a heck of a fight,” Joe told her.  “I’ve put in too much hard work and it’s not over by a long shot.”

              Gina wondered at his suddenly grim expression.  “Is everything all right?”

              “Uh… I’ll just put it this way; there’s stuff happening behind the scenes that shouldn’t be, but I intend to correct that.”  Joe patted her shoulder and said, “Not to worry, Miss Laundress.”

              He gave her a smile and left Gina to her work.

              As Rick drove over to the Dwyers’, he smiled as he thought about Gina.  He hadn’t been smitten by a woman in a long time, and he admitted that he certainly felt that way about her.  Who wouldn’t be?  Rick thought once again that he would have liked Tony, mainly because he had good taste in a wife.  A wife. 

              Rick was finally at a place in his life when he could contemplate settling down and having a family.  It was too soon in their relationship to think seriously about marriage, but in Rick’s mind, it was certainly a possibility.  It wasn’t only the physical aspect that attracted him to Gina, she was exactly the kind of woman he would look for in a wife.

              For tonight, however, he was going to concentrate on showing her a good time.  He wanted her to have fun and get away from some of the stress she’d been under for so long.  Rick was glad that he’d had the idea for her to stay with Lacey and Joe.  He hadn’t expected Joe to hire her, but Rick was happy that something else positive had come of it.  He knew that it was a huge relief to Gina that she had a roof over their heads and a secure income.

              His mind turned to the children.  Rick had also become smitten by them.  They were sweet and funny and they were easy to be around.  He'd been afraid that Chloe would put up more of a fuss about him seeing Gina, but so far she hadn’t.  Of course, the subject of marriage hadn’t come up.  Rick thought there might be some resistance about it on Chloe’s part.  They would have to cross that bridge when, or if, they came to it.

Pulling up to the house, Rick got out of the carriage and rang the doorbell.  Randall opened the door and admitted him.  The butler was friendly as always and went to let Gina know he was there.

When Gina appeared, he said, “Hi, Lovely. Y’all are lookin’ just as purty as ever,” in his best imitation of Joe.

              Gina laughed.  “That was very close.  Much better than I could do.”

              “Although the accent is fake, the sentiment isn’t,” Rick said as he took in how pretty she looked in her deep maroon dress. 

              “Thank you,” she said.

              “Are you hungry? Because I am,” Rick said as he held out an arm for her.

              “Ravenous.”

              “Then let’s not keep you waiting,” Rick said.

              “Yes.  I get a little cranky when I’m hungry.”

              Rick smiled. “Well, we don’t want that.”

              He helped Gina into the carriage and tucked a blanket around her.  She enjoyed his touch as he did so and he was close enough to smell the soap he’d used.  He smelled of pine and something else that was earthy in nature.  She would have to ask him later what it was. 

Right then he was walking around to the other side of the carriage.  She watched his confident, long strides and admired his male form.  There was no doubt about her attraction to him as a man.  He stirred that womanly part of her and she enjoyed the feeling.  Rick got in and smiled at her and Gina felt her heart skip along a little faster.  As they got underway, she decided to live in the moment and not let anything intrude on their time together. 

              “Tell me!” Gina demanded.

              Rick poured more wine into her glass and said, “I can’t do that.”

              Gina pouted.  “Please?”

              He grinned and said, “No.  I can’t.”

              Gina tried scowling at him, but it was met with the same result.

              Their third attempt at dinner was working out very well.  There had been no catastrophe, no interferences, or interruptions.  Gina was discovering another side of Rick; a very attentive, amusing dinner partner.

              “What do I have to do to get you to tell me?” Gina asked.

              Rick arched an eyebrow at her and gave her a slightly leering smile.

              Gina laughed and said, “Not that.  Something besides that.”

              “Nothing.  I wouldn’t even for that,” Rick said.

              Gina was tempted to throw something at him.  “You’re just a tease.  It’s not nice to tell a girl something like that and not the rest of it.  Shame on you.”

              Rick laughed.  “I know.  I’m awful, aren’t I?”

              Gina cut off more of her chicken and said, “Yes.  Awfully handsome.”

              “Are you still trying to get me to tell you the identity of Randall’s special lady?” Rick said. 

              “Maybe.  Is it working?” she asked.

              “No.  I still like the compliment, though,” Rick said.  “Let’s change the subject, shall we?”

              “Fine,” Gina said in a grumpy tone.

              Rick chuckled.  “Tell me about when Chloe was born.”

              Gina said, “That’s an odd topic.”

              “No, it’s not.  I want to know more about you.  Your children are an important part of who you are, so I want to know about them, too,” Rick said.

              “All right,” Gina said.  She was touched that he was so inclusive of the kids.  “She was born on February 8
th
around seven in the evening.  It was so cold that year, but I was always hot.  Tony used to get so mad at me because I would open a window at night so I could sleep.  So for about the last month of my pregnancy, Tony slept on the couch because he couldn’t stand how cold it was in our room.”

              “Every woman has different types of discomfort when they’re pregnant,” Rick said.  “Being overly warm isn’t that unusual.”

              She looked at him.  “You seem to know an awful lot about pregnant women.”

              “That’s what Ben told me about Sasha.  She’s having the same type of problem.  That’s the only reason I know,” Rick said and took a bite of food.  “Continue.”

              “Well, I was washing up the breakfast dishes when the first contraction started.  I waited for it to pass and then kept washing the dishes.  I was determined that I would get them done.  The contractions weren’t very close together, so I kept doing housework in between.  I didn’t know when I would have a chance to do it after the baby was born, so I wanted to have it done up,” Gina said.

              Rick chuckled as he imagined Gina huffing and puffing as she went about dusting and whatever else she’d been doing.  “I’d have liked to have seen that.  Of course, if I had, I would have made you stop and lie down.”

              Gina gave him a level stare.  “Nothing was going to stop me.  I think I preferred it to lying around because it kept me from being afraid.  My waters hadn’t broken yet, so I knew I wasn’t close to giving birth.  Well, eventually the contractions came more frequently so I went across the hall to our neighbor and she sent her son to my parents’ house to get my mother.

              “Then she had Sylvester, the neighbors’ boy, go get Tony.  So Mom came over with my Aunt Sophie, who is a midwife, and they made me get in bed.  Tony came home and he was so excited.  He stayed with me until the hard labor started and Aunt Sophie kicked him out of the room.

              “He told me later that he paced the whole time I was in labor and every time I groaned or cried out, he wanted to cry.  Tony was a very sweet man and he couldn’t stand it when he knew I was suffering in any way.  So he paced while I pushed.  As soon as he heard Chloe’s first cry, he came into our bedroom.”

              Gina closed her eyes as she remembered it all.  “Rick, he was so happy.  We both laughed and cried at the same time as we held Chloe for the first time.  She was such a beautiful baby.  I have a few pictures I’ll show you.”

              Rick felt jealous as he watched joy and sadness cross her face.  He wanted very badly to experience that kind of happiness.

              Gina opened her eyes and they glistened slightly with unshed tears.  “Joe reminds me of how Tony was with both babies.  He could hardly put them down and he talked to them all the time.  It was so funny after he went back to work.  Some days he would literally run home on his lunch time because he wanted to see his ‘woman and his babies’ as he would say.  He’d grab me up in a big hug and then play with the kids before running back to work.”

              Rick chuckled.  “He sounds like a good man.  I think I’d have liked him if I’d met him.”

              “You would have.  He
was
a good man.  His job was hard, but he liked it and he worked with a good group of guys.  Some of them used to come over to play cards and just visit with the kids.  After Tony died, a few would come by to see how I was doing.  They eventually drifted away, though.  He died in a dock accident.  It was during the winter and the docks had gotten icy after a bad storm.”

              Gina stopped and put her fingers to her suddenly trembling lips.  Rick reached across the table and took her other hand.  He squeezed it and she tightened her fingers around his.

              “Tony slipped off the dock and hit his head on something.  When they got him out of the water, he was gone.  I was heartbroken.”

              Rick said, “Who wouldn’t be?”  Seeing her pain triggered his empathy and he felt his own eyes grow moist.  “I am so sorry you lost him.”

              “Thank you.  He spoiled both of the kids, but since Chloe was older, it was hardest on her.  She remembers all of the good times with him and how he helped take care of her when she was sick; all of those kinds of special memories.  She didn’t want to come here because she hated the idea of me marrying someone else.  She was convinced that she wouldn’t like it here.  I’m glad to see she’s enjoying herself.”

              “So she likes school so far?” Rick asked.

              Gina said, “Very much.  She said she’s having fun and she likes Claire, too.  Emily introduced her around and thinks it’s very nice having two friends named Chloe.  Ryan wants to go with Chloe, but he’s not old enough yet.  He’ll go next year, though.”

              Rick smiled.  “I’m glad she likes it so much.  I was a little worried that she wouldn’t or that one of the other kids would upset her.  You know how kids can be sometimes.”

              “Oh, yes, I know.  There was a girl back in Martins Ferry who was always picking on Chloe.  They’d even gotten into a fist fight the one day.  No one could ever figure out why they didn’t like each other,” Gina said.  “So I was concerned that the same sort of thing would happen here.  So far so good.”

              “I’m happy to hear it.  It always does my heart good to see kids happy,” Rick said.

              She smiled at him.  “Yes, I’ve noticed that about you.  You seem to like children very much and you’re good with them.”

              “It’s because of my upbringing.  I simply feel that no child should suffer and that they should have people around they can count on,” Rick said.

              “I like how accepting of the children you are.  Not all men are.  When I started writing to prospective husbands, there were some who stopped writing me because I already had children.  Steve was different, though.  He was very excited about meeting them and he wasn’t opposed to having more,” Gina said.

              He nodded.  “I would have felt the same way had it been me who was writing you.”

              “I can believe that about you.”

              “And whenever I do become a father, I plan to be there through the entire birth.  I want to help bring my child into the world,” Rick said.  “I know that it’s not usually done that way, but I want to be right by my wife’s side, sharing it all with her.”

              Gina’s eyes widened.  “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a man say that before.  You’re right; it's highly unusual.”

              “Marcus prefers it.  He’s discovered that some women are comforted by their husband’s presence during that time.  He also said that the husbands seem to end up enjoying the experience, too,” he told her.

              “Really?”  Gina said.  “That’s very remarkable.  I didn’t know that about him.”

              “He’s gotten Ben into doing it, too.  So, at least around here, it’s becoming a common practice.”

              Deena, one of the waitresses at the Grady House, came to get their dessert order.  Once they’d each ordered apple pie, they resumed their conversation.  Gina was amused by Rick’s humorous accounts of his training period with the NWMP.  He enjoyed hearing about Chloe and Ryan’s mischievous exploits.

              Even after their pie was eaten, they sat talking and laughing.  As it neared time for the restaurant to close, they left.  It had rained a little while they’d been having dinner making the air damp and chilly.  Rick was glad that he’d rented an enclosed carriage again.  He helped Gina inside and put a blanket over her legs.

              Once he was seated next to her, he said, “I had a wonderful time tonight.”

              Gina asked, “Does it have to be over?”

              “What did you have in mind?”

              “Maybe a little dancing?”