Contractor's Cookies (Culpepper Cowboys Book 9)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “So you’re sticking with that name for the new cookies?” Patience asked. “Sure, I’ll run them out there.”

  While she was gone, Felicity took a selfie in front of the mirror so her mother would get the full effect of the gown. In less than twenty minutes, she’d be married to Allen. Brother Anthony performed the shortest weddings in the history of the universe.

  Patience was back a moment later. “He ate one right then, and said you named the cookies well. They’re ready for us.”

  Felicity hugged her sister close. “And the last Quinlan falls.”

  Patience grinned. “I’m going to tell them to start the music, and I’ll leave the door open. Linda will be back in a second to tell you when to start walking.”

  Felicity nodded, hoping Allen would listen to her about not wanting to be kissed before they were alone. She truly worried that she would react inappropriately in front of all those people, and then where would she be?

  Linda was there a minute later, first telling Patience to go and then waving on little Corinne. Felicity couldn’t stay back and hurried into the hallway, watching the little ballerina spinning as flower petals flew everywhere. “I’ll help you pick them up,” Felicity whispered to Linda.

  “You will not! No one expected anything less with Corinne as the flower girl.” Linda hugged her. “You’re on.”

  Felicity clutched her bouquet of flowers to her chest as she slowly walked down the aisle toward Allen and Brother Anthony. She was surprised to see Kolby standing beside Allen, but then she remembered that Linda had said they were good friends.

  Allen’s eyes were on Felicity as she walked toward him. He half-expected her to mimic a few of Corinne’s dance moves. His almost-wife was a surprise in everything she said and did. He hadn’t thought he’d ever be willing to marry again, but the idea of having Felicity as his wife made him so much happier than he’d ever been with Wendi. This wife would be perfect for him. Confusing, but perfect.

  When she got to his side, she offered him her hand to hold, and he gripped it tightly. He wasn’t at all surprised when she leaned over and whispered. “You still make me zing.”

  He grinned at her, leaning down with his lips against her ear. “I hope you still feel that way in thirty years.”

  “Of course I will.”

  Brother Anthony cleared his throat loudly and dramatically. “All you people here are here for another wedding of yet another one of these Quinlan brides. Are there any more of you left?” he asked Felicity.

  She bit her lip to stifle the laugh. “No, sir. I’m the last one.”

  Brother Anthony sighed, as if with great relief. “I like to be busy in my chosen profession, just like any other man, but you Quinlan girls can’t seem to wait more than a couple of days for a wedding. Why is that?”

  Lovie, Brother Anthony's wife who was standing off to the side of the wedding party, cleared her throat and shook her head. “Now’s not the time, Tony.”

  Brother Anthony frowned. “Not the time. It’s never the time,” he grumbled. “Anyway, we’re here to see to the last Quinlan wedding. Finally. Cookies here is marrying Allen Jennings.”

  Felicity stifled a laugh. He was most certainly calling her Cookies because of her gift to him, but he’d hit exactly on the nickname Allen had given her. She loved it!

  Allen looked over at Felicity and winked, letting her know he shared the joke. She looked at him, instead of at Brother Anthony, admiring his shoulders in the suit coat he wore. “You’re pretty darn sexy, Allen.”

  “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that to me during the ceremony.”

  She shrugged. “I’ll say it later then.” He made her feel so tiny standing there beside him. She hadn’t noticed just how huge he was until that moment.

  “Do you, Cookies, take Allen here to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, and kiss only him for as long as you both shall live?”

  Felicity grinned. “I sure do, Brother Anthony.”

  “You’re a good girl, Cookies.” Brother Anthony looked at Allen. “And do you, Allen, take this sweet little Quinlan girl to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love, honor, and kiss for as long as you both shall live?”

  Allen nodded, staring into Felicity’s eyes. “I do indeed.”

  “All right, then. Consider yourselves hitched. Kiss her like you mean it!”

  Allen leaned down and pressed a kiss right beside her lips, just as she’d requested. When he lifted his head, she winked at him. “Very nice and zingy. I can’t wait for the zings with a real kiss,” she whispered.

  He chuckled and whispered, “I can’t wait for what follows that real kiss.”

  “Are you saying you want to get into my panties, Mr. Jennings?” She put her hand across her heart. “I’m shocked!”

  “Sure am. And it’s going to happen soon!”

  Brother Anthony crossed his arms and tapped his foot, clearing his throat again. “If the bride and groom are finished whispering?”

  “Sorry, Brother Anthony!” Felicity called to him.

  “You should be! Disturbing your own wedding.” Brother Anthony mumbled something further under his breath. “I’d be mad if you hadn’t made me that fabulous box of cookies.”

  “It won’t happen again.” She hoped he wouldn’t catch on to the fact that she meant she wouldn’t marry again, and that’s why it wouldn’t happen again.

  “See that it doesn’t!” Brother Anthony looked out over the small group gathered for the wedding. “Everybody? I want to present Mr. and Mrs. Allen Jennings.”

  Felicity turned to her family and friends, smiling hugely. “Grace! I might be a little late for work in the morning.”

  Grace laughed. “No one will blame you if you are.”

  Marcus had his arm around Grace, and was grinning at the new couple.

  Linda simply shook her head, knowing better than to try to stop one of the Quinlan girls from speaking her mind. “I have food. Let’s eat!”

  “How fast can we get out of here?” Allen asked Felicity.

  “Oh, eat a few bites and smile at people. In fifteen, I’ll ask to cut the cake and we can be out of here in thirty.”

  “Do you have your stuff packed?”

  She nodded. “Just an overnight bag. I’m not in a hurry to get everything. I can handle all that on Sunday.”

  “Sounds good. Tristan and I will help.”

  She moved closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder. “We’re married!”

  He laughed. “I know. In typical Brother Anthony style!”

  Corinne hurried over. “Auntie Felicity. I have your bouquet!”

  Felicity took the bouquet. “All right, we have a couple of single ladies here, right?” She looked and spotted Rikki waiting alone. “Linda, get over there with her!”

  “Me? I’m not going to go trying to catch the bouquet.”

  “Then I’m not throwing it!”

  Linda rolled her eyes, but walked over beside Rikki. “Happy now?”

  “Yes!” Felicity turned her back and tossed the bouquet toward the two women, then turned around and found Linda standing there holding the bouquet, looking surprised.

  “I didn’t mean to catch it,” Linda said, staring down at the flowers.

  Felicity laughed, walking over to poke Roy. “You know what that means. Make it happen!”

  Roy just shook his head, not saying a word.

  Felicity and Allen each got a small plate of food, eating it quickly. Then she announced it was time to cut the cake. All six of her cousins and her sister were gathered around as she and Allen held the knife together and cut the first piece, feeding small bites to each other with their fingers.

  After they finished, Felicity took Patience’s arm and pulled her into the bedroom she’d used for three months. “Help me get this dress off.”

  Patience made quick work of the dress. “What are you going to wear to his house?”

  “Jeans and a T-shirt. He'll want me to wear something e
asy to remove. Trust me.”

  “Probably. He kissed you!”

  “Nope. He kissed right next to my lips, just like I asked him to. Of course, that made for much zinginess as well.”

  “Are you going to be able to work through all the zingies flying around inside your body tomorrow?”

  Felicity shrugged. “There’s little chance of that, but I’ll at least try. He’s pretty incredible.”

  “I’ll take Ryan any day.”

  “Anything I need to know about my wedding night?” Felicity asked, feeling just a bit nervous, but knowing she was going to love being alone with her new husband.

  “Nothing that Mama hasn’t already told us both. She was pretty thorough. Just remember nothing he does to you is wrong and enjoy yourself. I have a feeling Allen knows how to make you feel good.”

  Felicity nodded. “I’m sure he does. He can make me feel like every cell in my body is alive just by touching my hand. When we’re naked, I think it’s going to be pretty darn incredible.”

  Patience laughed. “Have fun, sweet sister.” She finished unbuttoning the dress and stepped back. “Did you get your gift from Chastity?”

  “Yeah, but I was a little afraid to open it.”

  “Oh, go ahead and open it. If it’s the same thing I got, you’ll want to wear it tonight.”

  Felicity was wearing just her slip, but she walked to the bed and opened the gift lying there. She lifted out a pretty white nightgown with spaghetti straps that stopped at mid-thigh. “Oh, I will definitely wear this tonight. I was expecting something a little trampier from Chastity.”

  “I’m sure Chastity buys all kinds of trampy for herself. Not for us, though.”

  “Good thing. I was thinking about losing it out the window on the way to Allen’s house.”

  “Just stick it into your overnight bag instead.” Patience went to the closet and pulled out the small suitcase she knew her sister had already packed. “I’ll stick it in there. You change.”

  Felicity took a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and hurried into the bathroom, changing quickly. When she came out, she was wearing her casual clothes, but her hair was still perfect in the formal wedding style. “I feel a little lopsided.”

  Patience laughed. “Well, you look beautiful.” She handed Felicity her suitcase. “I’ll see you in the morning. Have a wonderful night.”

  “I plan to!”

  Felicity hurried out into the main room, her eyes immediately going to Allen. He walked to his new wife and took the suitcase from her. “Is this everything?”

  She nodded. “Yup.”

  Linda hurried over with one of the bakery’s boxes. “I filled this with sandwiches and some of your cookies, and just some snacky stuff for later.”

  “Thank you, Linda. I didn’t think I could make it through my wedding day without my mother, but you sure are a great substitute.”

  “I’ve loved having you here. It’s going to be a sad place to be with no Quinlans.”

  Felicity laughed. “I think Brother Anthony is still waiting for another one of us to climb out from under a rock. And you still have Rikki.”

  Linda nodded. “Rikki needs a lot of TLC. I’ll be here for her.”

  Felicity waved at everyone as she left with Allen. He led her to his work truck, throwing her suitcase into the back seat. After she was in and buckled, she smiled at him. “This is my first time alone in a car with a man.”

  “I’ll try not to let my lust overcome me and throw you into the backseat.”

  “Oh, man! That’s what I’ve been hoping would happen!”

  He laughed. “I’ll save that for my nice, soft bed. I promise you, we’ll still have fun.”

  “I’m sure we will. I can’t wait.”

  He looked over at her with his full attention when they stopped at the edge of the driveway, about to pull onto the highway that ran in front of the Culpepper Ranch. “Really?”

  She looked at him and nodded. “Really.”

  “You’re not nervous?” He’d always had it in his head that women were nervous before their first time.

  “I’m nervous like anyone would be with a new experience, but I know you’re not going to hurt me, and there’s no doubt in my mind I’m going to like it. A lot.”

  “A lot, huh?”

  “Definitely. I know how zingy I get. When we’re naked and horizontal, the zingy is going to kick into overdrive.”

  “I’m almost sorry we didn’t do this earlier in the week!”

  “Why’s that?”

  “It would have been nice if we’d had a few more days before Tristan came home from camp.”

  “If you’re worried about time alone, he could go stay with Patience and Ryan with no problem,” Felicity said.

  “Is that what you want?”

  She shrugged. “Really, I’d like to get to know my new son. I’m looking forward to him being home tomorrow.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “Did you think I resented him or something?”

  “No, I just wasn’t sure how you felt about having a kid around.” Allen pulled into his own driveway, looking at the house with fresh eyes. It was smaller than he wanted to give his new bride, but he doubted she’d complain. She seemed to take life as it came at her.

  “I love kids. I have no feelings one way or the other about Tristan yet, other than I’m determined to be a good mother to him. He’s your son, so I’ll love him, I’m sure.”

  “He’s also Wendi’s son.”

  Felicity turned in the seat and gave him her full attention. “Wendi’s your ex?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “I don’t hate Wendi, because I’ve never met her. What happened between the two of you happened before I met you. That makes it none of my business.”

  “Do you really feel that way?”

  She nodded. “I’ve never been much of a busybody anyway. I know she’s made you unhappy in the past, but I plan to make you very happy in the future. See how this works?”

  He grinned. “Are you sure I can’t kiss you?”

  Felicity laughed. “Let’s get inside first, and then you can kiss me all you want.”

  He nodded, opening his door and grabbing her suitcase. “Get the front door, would you?”

  Felicity hurried ahead and opened the front door wide. She followed him in, looking around. The house was small, but it wasn’t filthy, which is what she’d expected from a man living with a boy.

  She set the box with the bakery goods on the kitchen counter and looked around the main living area. There was a small kitchen, which made her hope the house was just rented. She hated small kitchens. The kitchen was separated from the dining area by a bar with stools pulled up to it. The living room was right there as well. She could see everything from one spot.

  “Can I look around?” she asked.

  He nodded. “I thought I was going to get kisses, though.”

  She laughed. “You’ll get your kisses. Get that monkey suit off and turn back into you first.” When he started to walk away, she stopped him. “Wait.” She walked over to him and grabbed his tie, one hand reaching up to muss his hair. “Now you look more like my Allen.” She used his tie to pull him down just a little further and kissed him, just a quick hard kiss. “Oh, the zings. Better hurry and change.”

  She stood for a moment, holding herself upright by the back of the couch while he hurried off to change. Then, once she recovered a bit, she began her exploration of the rest of the house. There was a hallway with four doors leading off of it. She opened the first door, and it was obviously a boy’s room. Not exactly neat, but not bad either.

  The second door was a bathroom that she assumed Tristan used. The third was a spare room with a double bed made up. The fourth was obviously going to be Allen’s room. She opened the door, and found him standing in the middle of the room in just his underwear—just like she’d imagined him the day they met.

  She walked across the room to him, her hands flattening on his chest.
“You look just like I imagined you would!”

  “You imagined me in my underwear? Felicity Quinlan!”

  “That’s Felicity Jennings now, and I don’t think I ever hid my attraction from you!” She grabbed her suitcase and disappeared into the bathroom. She changed quickly into the nightgown Chastity had bought her and took the pins out of her hair. When they’d moved to Culpepper, she’d gotten her first ever haircut, leaving her hair to fall to the middle of her back. She brushed her hair out quickly, then opened the bathroom door, standing for a minute watching her new husband who was pulling back the covers on the bed.

  “Have I mentioned how good you look in those boxer briefs?” she asked. “I have always appreciated a good pair of shoulders and a nice butt.”

  7

  When Allen heard the door open, he automatically looked up, his eyes widening. Felicity stood wearing a silky nightgown that ended at mid-thigh. He held his hand out to her, trying not to be too aggressive. Despite her assurances from earlier, he knew she had to be nervous.

  Felicity kept her eyes on his as she walked the short distance across the room to stand in front of him, just inches from his king-sized bed. “Hi, you.”

  He grinned. “Hi. You look beautiful, you know.”

  Her eyes skimmed down his body and back up. “You too. Do I get to touch now? Or do I still have to ask?”

  He laughed, the sound filling the room. He couldn’t remember laughing as much as he did with her in—well, he could never remember laughing as much as he did with her. There was something special about his little wife that kept him laughing and smiling. He hoped that would never end.

  “You can touch me anywhere you like, Cookies.”

  Her hands went to his shoulders again, and he wasn’t surprised. She obviously had a thing for them, and as long as it was his body she was fixated on, he wasn’t going to complain one little bit. “What about me? Do I get to touch?”

  She tilted her head to the side as if contemplating the question. “Well, we’re not horizontal or naked yet, so no. I think you need to keep your hands to yourself.”

  He blinked a couple of times. “That’s not fair.”