Rory shook his head and laughed. “You, woman, are turning into a sex fiend.”
She pouted.
“And no, I’m not complaining. Let’s go. We can discuss the kitchen layout when we get home. I’ll sketch while I watch you cook dinner.” He helped her into the car and shut the door. “I’ll be right behind you so don’t go breaking any laws, ma’am, or I’m going to have to take you in.”
She smiled, liking this game a little too much. “Yes, Deputy Sheriff.” Gina turned the key and drove off, watching in the rear view mirror for Rory to catch up with her while thinking of novel ways to torture him tonight.
Chapter Twelve
Rory took the summons that spewed out from the printer in the main office of the sheriff’s office and cast his gaze over them. This couldn’t be right. The Bellinghams, one of the richest families in San Francisco, taking Gina to court for custody of her son Fisher. Not his Gina, it wasn’t possible. There had to be some mistake. He walked into his office and shut the door. He had to be reading this wrong.
Rory sat down and started at the beginning. The papers stated that Richard Bellingham III and his wife Arabella Bellingham were taking Gina Taylor to court for the sole custody of their grandson Fisher Taylor. The papers were filed in the San Francisco Municipal Courthouse on the previous Monday.
A mix of emotions churned in his gut. Horror at the thought of losing the little boy he had become attached to so quickly. Fear that Gina would lose her child. Suspicion that he had been used as a cover for whatever went through his head—if in fact she was a knowing accomplice to this. Anger at being duped, used, and dragged into a fight with these people.
He picked up the phone and dialed. When Chance answered, he swore him to secrecy and told him briefly what had happened.
“You need to get onto Layla Cox. Sharpest mouth around and she has a mind like a steel trap. She owes me a few favors too.” He gave Rory the phone number before hanging up.
Without caring what the favors were, he dialed the number and waited to be put through.
“Layla speaking.” Her voice was smoky and seductive over the phone, and he had a difficult time imagining her to be the hard-assed lawyer he needed.
“Layla, this is Deputy Sheriff Watson from Marietta, Montana, calling. My brother Chance said you might be able to help me.”
“Well, well,” her voice softened and he could almost see the smile on her face. “How is that cowboy? I miss him being around to help me out.”
“Uh, he’s fine. Happy working on his ranch. Listen, the reason I’m calling is about a case I could be involved in. Can I run it past you?”
“Sure.” She listened as Rory told her everything he knew.
“Right, first things first. Let me get a copy of the file and go over it so I know exactly what and why they’re doing this and what information they might have on your lady. Give me a day or so and I’ll call you back.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“You’re in a bit of a sticky situation here, Rory. Legally you still have to issue that summons against her, sorry I can’t help you out of that one.”
Rory hung up the phone and looked at the papers sitting on his desk wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into. Truth be told, he knew very little about his fiancée and he figured now that probably wasn’t a good thing. Perhaps he should have listened to his head a little more instead of leading with his heart. His mind warred with his gut, knowing he had a job to do. A job he respected and loved, but he wanted to protect Gina and Fisher. Could he do both and keep the life he’d been building for them all intact?
Fisher squealed when he walked into the kitchen that evening. Gina looked up from the cookbook she was poring over and smiled—a smile that spoke of promises to come. Rory gripped the papers in his hand and leaned down to pat the child on the head. He ignored the cries of protest from Fisher when he didn’t get picked up. Instead he concentrated on the woman standing at the counter watching him.
Wariness had crept into her eyes. “Rory, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
He lifted his hand and placed the papers on the counter between them. “This came through today.” He saw the confused look in her eyes and waited as she reached out and picked up the summons.
*
She read the names on the papers and glanced at Rory before reading them again. “I don’t understand.”
“Fisher’s grandparents are suing you for full custody of their grandson.”
“He doesn’t have any grandparents.” Gina dropped the papers on the counter and crossed to pick up her crying son. “We have no one. I already told you that.” Please don’t do this to me. I’ve only just started to relax here with you.
“According to this you do, or at least he does. Why didn’t you tell me this?” His eyes had gone cold and hard, and she backed away, suddenly wary of the man she thought she loved. The tension in her body crossed over to the baby and he howled louder.
Callie came running in from the lounge. “What the heck’s going on?” She reached for Fisher and took him from Gina, soothing his cries. Chance walked in and stood beside her.
“This.” Rory pointed to the papers.
Callie glanced between the two of them and stepped closer to read what was printed on the summons. “Oh, shit.”
“Did you get hold of Layla?” Chance placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder and she raised querying eyes to him. “Rory called me for advice. She’s an old friend and the best person to help out in this situation.”
“Yes. She’s looking into it. It would seem genuine at this stage. Apparently, these people are filthy rich and one of the most prominent families in San Francisco.” He looked back at Gina. “How could you not know about them?”
Her head buzzed and she placed a hand on her stomach, hoping to settle the sick churning in her gut. “I didn’t know. Aden said he had no family. I believed him, I had no reason not to.”
“Aw honey, that’s just terrible.” Callie closed the distance between them and put an arm around Gina. “To find out you might have family this way is kinda tough.” She looked up at Rory and made gestures with her head.
Gina swallowed, ran her tongue around her mouth in a desperate attempt to find the right words. “It’s okay, I can understand his shock. I wouldn’t believe me either if someone threw this at me.” She tried to smile and it didn’t come off because her lips wobbled. She dug her teeth into them, turned away from the sympathy.
“What can we do to help?” Chance took her hand in his and squeezed it. “You only have to ask, you know.”
Their kindness would be her undoing. “I’ll leave. I have to. I can’t let you get involved in this. It’s my problem, not yours.”
“Why would you want to do that? You and Rory are getting married. This is your home now.” Callie looked at the pair of them. “I don’t believe you would let her go now, Rory. You need to sort this out and fast.”
“No, it doesn’t matter now. This isn’t his problem, it’s mine. Just so you know, this is as much of a shock to me as it is to you.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I swear to you all, if I’d known Aden had a family, I would have gone to them when he died. I wouldn’t have encroached on your goodwill. I’m not like that.”
Rory shook his head. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to think about this. I was as shocked as you are.” He sighed and then focused on Gina but kept his distance. “Tell us more about Aden. What makes you think he had no family?”
So now you ask, after you accuse me. Way to make me believe you love me, Rory. “Because he told me he didn’t. And he had no money either or he wouldn’t have stolen from me to feed his drug habit. Would he?” She felt conflicted and looked to him for help.
“I wonder if he could have been estranged from his family. Didn’t you put two and two together when you found out his name?” Callie stared at her hopefully.
“His surname was Woods. Aden Woods. I told the
police that when they came to interview me. I even showed them his driver’s license.”
“Either they have the wrong person or he lived under an assumed name for whatever reason. We’ll have to wait for Layla to get back to us and figure out what the hell’s going on.” Chance looked between the two of them. “Don’t go making rash decisions now, either of you. Find out what the story is and then take it from there. No good will come of you two battling each other over this.”
“It doesn’t seem fair to do this to any of you. If I wasn’t here, you wouldn’t be involved in this mess.”
“You’re not leaving. I won’t let you.” Rory took Fisher from Callie and held him close, easing the little boy’s tears. “I’m so sorry, Gina. I didn’t know what to think when this came through. I reacted badly and I’m sorry. I should have believed you.”
“It’s still not your problem.” He was only being nice and she couldn’t bear the thought of him thinking she’d deceived him. “I’ll figure something out, somehow.”
“No. I won’t let go you, not now I’ve found you.” He pleaded with her. “We can do this together, don’t you see? I have Chance’s lawyer onto it already to see what she can find out. We’ll fix this. I promise.”
Gina hadn’t been ready for him to offer his support after seeing the look in his eyes when he walked in the door. His yo-yo mood annoyed her, played havoc with her own emotions. She couldn’t help but react, her mood snippy. “Don’t you think that if I knew Fisher had grandparents I would have let them meet him? If Aden had told me about them, I might have gone to them for help when I couldn’t do any more for him. I didn’t know, I swear I didn’t know.” She wiped her eyes but couldn’t stop the tears streaking down her cheeks. “If I’d known, Aden wouldn’t have been cremated by the state and his ashes left unclaimed. He would have been buried with dignity.”
“What a bloody mess. I hope Layla can sort this out because damned if I want my future sister-in-law and nephew dragged through the courts for the public to make a meal out of.” Chance gave her a sympathetic glance. “Reckon now might be a good time to open a bottle of wine and heat up a pizza for dinner.”
“I can do that.” Callie high-fived him and strode over to the freezer, hunting the shelves until she found what she was looking for. “Bingo.” She took the pizza from the box and dug out a tray from the cupboard before she placed it in the oven. Chance found a bottle of wine and glasses, placing them on the table with paper napkins ready for a simple dinner.
Rory opened his arms to Gina and waited for her reaction. She could be pig headed and ignore him or take what he was offering knowing that she would have acted the same in his situation. It had been a shock to all of them. Gina stepped into his embrace, snuggled between her son and the man who had promised to love her. Her heart thudded in turmoil. Partly for the parents of her dead boyfriend and partly for the grief she was going to cause them now, because there was no way she was letting them take her child from her.
That night when they went to bed, Rory held her close but didn’t initiate sex. She wondered if there was still a part of him that doubted her story and it hurt knowing she would probably think the same if the tide was turned. After getting him to propose, this might be the incident that made him demand the ring back.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning when he got to the office, Rory powered up his computer and ran a search on Gina and Aden. Nothing came up on Gina and he breathed a guilty sigh of relief. He hit the search for “Aden Woods” and got the report on his death and subsequent death certificate which verified Gina’s account of what happened. With nothing else to go on, he had to wait for a phone call from the lawyer. Luckily she rang near the end of the day, putting him out of his misery.
“Okay, here’s the deal from what I could garner from the paperwork.” Layla’s voice took on a professional tone as she summarized the case. “Aden Richard Woods Bellingham was the only child of Richard and Arabella Bellingham, heir to a massive fortune which includes real estate, business interests here and overseas, seats on numerous boards, etcetera, etcetera. They are claiming full custody of his child, now their only heir, sighting Gina Taylor as an unfit parent. For proof they are holding documents that go back to her early childhood. Her father was a drug addict and a drunk, in and out of court, finally dying when she was seventeen leaving her alone. The courts decided she was able to look after herself and didn’t require her to go into foster care.”
She paused and Rory heard papers being shuffled. “Apparently she dropped out of school and went to work as a waitress which is where she may have met Aden, the golden child. He was flexing his wings and got in with a bad crowd, so they claim. Anyway, that’s where his parents lost sight of him. It’s taken them this long to track him down and well, we know what they found.”
There was silence for a moment and then Rory heard the click of her tongue. “Basically what they’re trying to say is that Gina was a bad influence, and got him hooked on drugs with the intention of getting her claws into the family money. As a drug addict, they say she is incapable of raising their grandson the way he should be raised and therefore should not retain custody.” She let out a sigh. “I’m telling you, these guys are ready to play hardball and they have the money to back themselves up. I hope your girlfriend is worth it because you’re all going to get dragged through the mud if this gets to court.”
Rory pinched the skin between his eyes and gripped the phone. “Believe me, Layla, we are going to fight this. I don’t care how much money these people have, there is no way they’re taking that child. And I doubt his mother is a drug user, either.”
“Well now, if we can prove that, then we have a starting point. I want you to be prepared for this to get dirty ’cause it will, I can guarantee you of that unless we come up with something that will halt them in their tracks. The press is going to have a field day with this one.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Have at it, I say. They have no grounds to take Fisher away from us.”
“Us? Does that mean you are in a somewhat permanent relationship with her?” Hope sounded across the phone.
“Yes, we got engaged this week.” He tapped his short-cut nails on the edge of his desk, wondering if he’d ever see his wedding day now this had come to surface.
“Well, now that I can work with. When did you lovebirds meet?”
A cold spike of dread followed those words. “Do we have to get into that? Isn’t it enough that we’re living together and engaged?”
“No. They’ll dig around and find out so you may as well tell me the truth now. Listen, tell you what. I’m going to catch an afternoon flight down there. Get this all sorted out in person. It’s the least I can do for Chance anyway.” She paused as though thinking. “I can meet you both and we can work out where we’re going from here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Definitely. I could use a day or two in the country anyway. This damned city is getting so busy, some days I just want to walk away, but I still love the fight too much. See you later on. I’ll call you when I get to the airport before I board my plane.”
Rory put the phone down and looked aimlessly out the window. How would it go down when Layla found out that theirs was an internet hookup that turned into an arranged marriage of convenience? It might not come across too well as a solid relationship where a child could grow and be happy compared to what his rich grandparents could offer. Last night they’d all managed to convince Gina that this would all work out. After listening to Layla and what she’d found out, he wasn’t so sure anymore, which only added to his personal doubts creeping back in.
Dealing with petty complaints and traffic violations didn’t help his day go any faster, so when he got the call from Layla to say her plane would be arriving before the end of his shift, Rory was keen to pick her up. When he told Chance she was coming to town, he found out that they’d spoken earlier and he’d already offered her a room while she was there. It made sense t
o have her at the ranch to sort things out, according to his brother.
Standing in the line at the arrivals gate at Bozeman Airport, Rory held his hat in his hand. He was anxious about meeting this lawyer and introducing her to Gina. He kept his eyes on the people filing out the gate and looked for a person to match the voice over the phone. His mind had been too full of facts and legal jargon to ask her what she looked like.
A petite blonde in a killer red suit with matching mile-high shoes headed his way. He smiled and looked away, not for a moment thinking this was Gina’s lawyer. She appeared far too young. When she paused in front of him, he raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you, ma’am?”
“Rory Watson?” She held out her hand. “Layla Cox. Nice to meet you.”
It took him a moment to gather himself. From the glowing references Chance had given her, he expected a middle-aged woman with lines of experience on her face, not the glowing model of perfection standing in front of him.
“Yeah, I get it all the time. Under this pretty package is a steel trap you don’t want to get caught in, believe me.” She looked around for the baggage carousel. “I only have the one case.”
Together they walked over and waited for the bags to appear. “There it is, the red one.”
Rory reached for it and swung it off the belt. “We’re staying at Chance’s place while the contractors attack my place. He said there’s a room for you there too and he wouldn’t hear of you staying in town.”
“That sounds like him. Still telling me what to do.” She pulled a pair of sunglasses from her handbag and slipped them on as they walked out the door to the car park. “Such a great sense of family, your brother.”
Layla kept up a brisk chatter as he led her to his waiting truck. “I can’t wait to meet Gina.” She smoothed her skirt down over her shapely legs and hooked in her seatbelt. “How long have you guys been dating? You never did answer that question.”
The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2) Page 11
