Mail Order Bride - Westward Secrets: A Clean Cowboy Romance Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 13) (4 page)

Jake said, “I can’t believe he’s that scared of Curtis.  It cracks me up every time.”

Rick chuckled.  “Yeah.  It’s entertaining all right.”

He didn’t have to call Curtis out again that night, which made it a good night in Rick’s estimation.  As he rode home that night, his thoughts kept turning to Gina and her kids.  He’d meant what he’d said to Jake about Gina being very pretty.  She certainly was and Steve would have been a lucky guy had he lived.  Rick felt that Gina and the children would have been happy with Steve, too. 

His death had caused chaos and Rick hated chaos.  It was why he’d gotten involved in law enforcement.  He wanted to keep chaos to a minimum and doing that kind of work allowed him to do that in some small way.  He was tired and wondered if he would get any sleep that night.  He hoped so.

              Gina sat in the room Joe had dubbed the “sewing room” in front of a beautiful new Singer single treadle sewing machine and thought she’d died and gone to heaven.  The machine was perfect and had many nice features that would enable her to do almost any kind of work.  She had insisted that Joe take a little out of her generous pay to reimburse him for the machine.

              Joe hadn’t been happy about it, but had finally given in.  He’d had her pick out all kinds of material that she might need and insisted that she was not paying for it out of her pay because it was work related.  Gina looked at the mound of clothes Joe and Lacey had for her to work on and knew that Joe hadn’t been kidding when he said there would be plenty of work.

              She smiled as she heard the kids across the hall in the play room.  Zach Bradbury had come to stay over and he and Ryan were getting along well.  They were all playing jacks and laughing loudly.  Little Timmy was down the hall far enough in the nursery that their boisterous behavior didn’t disturb his nap.

              As she began working on taking the bad lining out of Joe’s vest, Gina counted her blessings.  Within the space of two days, she’d lost the man who she was supposed to marry, but had gained some friends, a place to live, and a job.  She shook her head a little as she thought about how unpredictable life was.  When she’d answered that ad, she’d never dreamed that all of this would come from it.

              Her musings were interrupted by a soft knock on the doorframe of the room.  She looked up to see Deputy Westlake standing in the doorway.

              Gina felt a funny little flutter in her stomach at the sight of him.  He was certainly an attractive man, she thought as he smiled at her and took off his hat.

              “Hello,” he said.  “You look busy.”

              She smiled.  “Yes, thankfully.  How are you?”

              “I’m fine, thanks.  And you?”

              “We’re settling in fine.  As you can hear, the kids are having a good time,” Gina said.

              “I’m not surprised.  Emily is very outgoing and kind.  She gets that from both of her parents,” Rick said.  “Do you mind if I sit down?”

              “No.  Go right ahead.”

              Rick picked a chair that was close to Gina.  He looked the room over but his gaze settled on her from time to time.  She wore a deep maroon skirt and white blouse.  The outfit emphasized her hourglass figure and Rick could well imagine what it would feel like to embrace her.  That thought had come out of nowhere but he didn’t mind.  Her deep brown eyes were luminous and she wore her dark hair loose.  The soft waves flowed down her back.

              Gina said, “Thank you for all your help with Ryan and Chloe yesterday.  It was nice of you to entertain them.”

              “Are you kidding?  I can’t stay away from kids.  They’re great kids, too,” Rick said.  “You’re very lucky to have them.”

              “I know.  They’re my blessings,” Gina said.  “I was so happy both times I found out I was pregnant.  Tony, my late husband, was thrilled.  He was such a good father.  Ryan doesn’t really remember him since he was only two when Tony passed away.  But Chloe remembers and it’s been so hard on her.  She misses him so much.”

              Rick nodded.  “Losing a parent at such a young age is a very difficult thing to have to deal with.  I think you’re doing a great job given everything that’s been thrown your way.  It’s obvious that you’re a good mother.”

              Rick’s praise brought color to Gina’s cheeks.  “Thank you.  I try to be a good mother,” she said with a smile.

              Rick’s coat began moving and Gina’s eyes grew wide.  “What’s in your coat?”

              Rick smiled.  “Would you like to meet Curtis?”

              “It depends on what Curtis is.  Please don’t tell me it’s snake.  I hate snakes,” Gina said, becoming nervous.

              “No, Curtis isn’t a snake.  He’s a ferret,” Rick said.  “Do you want to see him?”

              “Does he bite?” Gina said.

              “Nope.  I promise that he won’t hurt you,” Rick said.

              “Ok.  If you’re sure.”

              Rick made kissing noises and Curtis came out of his pocket and settled on Rick’s lap.

              Gina looked at the furry little critter with interest.  She liked animals but had never seen a ferret.  He was a handsome little animal with his dark brown and tan coat.  Curtis rolled over and Rick scratched his belly.  The ferret made noises of contentment. 

              Gina smiled.  “He’s very cute.  So he likes being held?”

              “Oh, yeah.  He loves attention,” Rick said.

              “Can I hold him?” Gina asked.

              Rick’s one eyebrow rose.  It wasn’t every woman who would want to hold a ferret.  “Sure.  Just make kissing noises and he’ll come over to you.”

              Gina puckered her lips and made the appropriate noises.  Curtis immediately dropped to the floor, ran over to Gina, and stood up against her legs.  Gina reached down and Curtis practically jumped into her hands.  She brought him up to her lap and he moved towards her face.

              “He likes to sniff ears to get to know your scent and he loves hair.  So he’s not trying to attack you or anything,” Rick said.

              “Oh, ok,” she said and let Curtis climb up on her shoulders so he could sniff her ear.

              She laughed.  “It tickles.  He’s so soft,” she said as she stroked his fur. 

              Curtis made dooking noises as he plopped back onto Gina’s lap and rolled over.  Gina rubbed his soft belly as she’d seen Rick do.  Curtis grabbed her hand and began washing it.

              Rick laughed.  “That means that he likes you a lot.  He doesn’t do that to just anyone.  I think it’s because he can tell when someone really likes him.”

              Gina grinned as she picked up Curtis and said, “I like you, too.  My goodness he has such a cute little face.  His markings are beautiful.”

              Rick was very pleasantly surprised that she appreciated Curtis’ beauty and his estimation of Gina rose even more.  “Yeah, his wife and kids think so, too.”

              “Wife and kids?”

              “Yep.  Millie is his mate and right now they have five kits.  That’s what ferret babies are called,” Rick explained.

              “I’d love to see them,” Gina said.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  That was a little forward of me.”

              “No, it wasn’t.  I’d love to show them to you and the kids,” Rick said.  “As a matter of fact, let’s go have some fun.”

              He stood and whistled softly.  Curtis jumped down and followed Rick out the door.  Gina followed and watched with a smile as Curtis made little running hops as he followed his master into the playroom.

              Zach spotted the ferret and said, “Curtis!”  The little boy’s blue eyes lit up with delight as Curtis bounced over to him.

              As Gina came into the playroom, Rick shut the door.  “I don’t want him roaming around the house.  Joe hates Curtis and he always scares Joe.  It happened again last night.  It was very funny to see Joe jump like that.  I’ll take it easy on him today, though.”

              Gina nodded.  “I’m sure it was.”

              All of the kids were playing with Curtis now.  Gina was glad to see that Ryan and Chloe weren’t afraid of him.  Curtis became very excited and started bouncing all over the place, bumping into things and making little noises.  The children tried to catch him, but he was slippery and agile.  He easily evaded their hands as he scampered around the room.  Curtis was having as much fun as the kids as he raced from place to place.  He even took a tour through the huge dolls house at one point, which made the kids laugh even harder.

              Then he took hold of one of the dolls and shook it.  Gina laughed so hard her stomach hurt.  She thought that Curtis was a delightful animal and couldn’t imagine why Joe didn’t like him.  Rick watched Gina and when she smiled he noticed that she had a dimple in her right cheek.  He thought it was pretty and liked seeing it.

              Rick admitted to himself that he was attracted to her.  He hadn’t been expecting that, but since it was a positive thing, he didn’t analyze it too much.  He smiled when Curtis laid down and rolled over to be petted.  He panted and lay very still as he rested.

              “Aw, he’s tuckered out,” Gina said.  “I would be, too, after all that running and jumping.”

              Rick crouched and gave Curtis the whistle to get back into his pocket.  The ferret instantly complied amid protests from the kids.

              “Sorry, but Curtis is tired now.  I’ll bring him again,” Rick promised.  “What’s behind your ear, Ryan?”

              Ryan checked and said, “There’s nothing there.”

              “Hmm.  I thought for sure I saw something.  Let me check,” Rick said as he put a hand behind the boy’s ear. 

              He pulled a penny from behind Ryan’s ear and held it up.  “See?  I told you I saw something.”

              Ryan laughed and grabbed the penny to look at it.  “Wow.  How’d you do that?”

              “It’s magic,” Rick answered with a smile.
              Gina watched as Rick played with the children.  He sat cross-legged on the floor and did a few magic tricks for them before telling them a story about a boy who trekked through the jungle to find treasure.  Gina was entertained along with the children and she lost track of time.  Rick’s deep, slightly raspy voice had a hypnotic quality to it and his laugh was soft and attractive she found.  There was a hint of stubble on his jaw and Gina wanted to reach out and touch it.

              His chiseled cheekbones and sensual mouth drew her eye as well as his long, brown hair. Suddenly he turned his light brown eyes on her and Gina couldn’t look away as he smiled at her.  Rick was surprised at the soft light in her eyes and the hint of color in her cheeks.  He’d caught her looking at him and he smiled a little broader with the realization.

              “So what do you think about coming out to see my critters?” he asked her.

              “I’d like that and I know the children certainly would,” Gina said.

              “Good.  I don’t have to work until early afternoon tomorrow, so I could pick all of you up around ten,” Rick said.

              “Yay!” Ryan shouted.  “We’re goin’ to Rick’s house to see his pets!”

              Rick grinned at the boy.  “Yes, you are.  We’ll have fun.”

              Chloe said, “What kind of pets do you have?”

              Rick said, “You’ll just have to see tomorrow.”

              “Aww.  That’s not fair,” Chloe said.

              Standing up, Rick said, “All right, little people.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

              Ryan stepped over to Rick and held up his arms.  Gina was surprised by this.  Rick picked up Ryan with ease.  The little boy put his arms around Ryan’s neck and hugged him tight.  Then he kissed Rick’s cheek and wiggled to get down.  Rick set Ryan down and smiled at him.

              “You be good, Deputy Ryan,” Rick said.

              He received the same treatment from Zach and Emily.  Though she smiled at Rick, Chloe didn’t participate in the hugging.  Rick gave her a wink and turned to leave.  Gina followed him down the hall to the parlor.

              “Thank you again for all of your help,” she said as they entered the foyer.  “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have a place to stay.”

              Rick smiled and said, “I was happy to do it.  I hate to see people suffer or go without.  Have a good night.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

              “Yes.  We’ll see you then,” Gina said.

              Rick gently cupped her jaw as he looked down at her.  “Gina Silvetti, one of these days I’m going to kiss you.  Yes, one of these days.”  He smiled, dropped his hand, and left.

              His touch had paralyzed Gina and she didn’t move for several moments until the shock his statement had caused eased its grip.  Gina hadn’t been involved with a man since her husband’s passing. 

It wasn’t that she’d been looking for a man until around June when she’d started writing Steve, but some male appreciation would have been nice, she supposed.  But none had seemed interested in her.  Yet here was a man she barely knew who had just informed her that he was going kiss her. 

              Gina was secretly amused by his forward behavior and it made her feel good to know that someone found her attractive.  She thought about their outing tomorrow in a new light and lamented that she didn’t have anything very pretty to wear.  She wondered if Lacey might have something that would fit her and hurried off to find out.