Contractor's Cookies (Culpepper Cowboys Book 9)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  8

  During the drive into Culpepper, Felicity listened to the banter between Allen and Tristan. Tristan gave a blow-by-blow account of football camp, amusing Felicity to no end.

  “When the coach came into the cabin that night, all he could smell was Bob. We’d told Bob to take a shower over and over, but he wouldn’t listen. So Coach picked him up by his pajama pants and the back of his pajama shirt and carried him into the bathroom, dumping him into the shower. Then he turned the spray on high and wouldn’t let him out until he’d thrown his wet jammies out and used soap. He told him to never offend his nostrils that way again.”

  “I’ve got to meet this coach!” Felicity said.

  “He’s the coach for the high school, but he spends some time working with us every summer. Says he wants us to be ready to play for him.” Tristan leaned forward as far as the seatbelt would allow. “On the bus, Bob tried to get everyone to sing Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall. Coach told him to knock it off, or he’d regret it. Bob didn’t listen as usual! Coach threw a football at him and pegged him in the shoulder! I heard Bob complaining when he got off the bus, but his dad just smacked him upside the head and told him he should have listened to the coach!”

  Allen shook his head as he turned onto Main Street in Culpepper. “Sounds like Bob was a pain during this trip.”

  “Bob is always a pain. That’s why he’s so much fun. He wanted to be quarterback, but he can’t throw well enough.”

  “So who got to be quarterback?” Allen asked.

  “Me.”

  “Wait. When did that happen? I had no idea you were even going to try out for quarterback!”

  “I wasn’t, but Coach said he’d bench me the whole season if I didn’t at least try. So I tried.”

  Allen grinned. “Well, this calls for a celebration! Let’s have milkshakes with our dinner!”

  Tristan cheered as they pulled into the parking lot. “I can’t wait. I’ve been hungry for a diner burger the whole time I’ve been gone!” When he got out of the truck, he looked at Felicity. “I’m almost as tall as you are.”

  She sighed heavily. “It’s the Quinlan curse. All of us are short.”

  Tristan thought for a moment. “Quinlan. Like all the girls who married the Culpepper men?”

  “They’re my cousins.”

  “That’s why you have a funny name!”

  Felicity shrugged. “Another Quinlan curse.”

  Tristan looked at her, as if struggling with what he was thinking. “So what do I call you?”

  “Whatever you’re comfortable with. Felicity works if you don’t want to use Mom. It really won’t hurt my feelings either way.”

  “Then I’ll call you Felicity for now.”

  “That sounds good to me,” Felicity told him. “Your dad calls me Cookies.”

  Tristan grinned. “I can see why. He told me you give him cookies all the time while he’s working.”

  They walked into the diner, and Brenda found them a booth. “You’ve been here a lot lately.”

  Felicity nodded. “We have. Hopefully we’ll start eating at home more.”

  “Home?” Brenda looked from Felicity to Allen. “You get remarried?”

  Allen shrugged. “Couldn’t help myself.”

  Felicity slid into one side of the booth and Allen slid in beside her. Tristan looked across the table at them. “It’s gonna be weird having a mom around.”

  “A good weird, or a bad weird?” Felicity asked.

  Tristan shrugged. “I don’t know yet. As long as Dad doesn’t ignore me, and you’re not mean like Cinderella’s step-mother, we’re probably good.”

  “Sounds fair to me. I’m not usually mean, so we’re probably going to be okay.”

  Allen looked at her. “You’re mean sometimes?”

  “Well, I haven’t been yet, but I’ve been working hard at thinking of ways to torture you. Don’t worry, Tristan. You’ll be able to help me make him crazy.”

  Tristan laughed. “Dad won’t know what hit him!”

  “No, he probably won’t.” Felicity winked at Tristan. “So what do you like to do?”

  Tristan’s face lit up. “I love video games! I have to earn video game time, though, which kind of stinks. I’d rather get to play all day, every day like some of my friends do. But I have to exercise or do a chore for twenty minutes of play. So I have to run for ten minutes to play for twenty, or something like that.” He sighed heavily. “I don’t get through games nearly as fast as some kids, but I do get through them.”

  “I guess that’s what’s important. What’s your favorite game?”

  “Minecraft! I could talk about it for hours, but Dad would threaten to put a sock in my mouth.”

  Felicity laughed. “He wouldn’t really do it, would he?” She looked over at Allen, noting his amusement at the whole conversation.

  “I never know what he’s going to do. Sometimes he carries out his threats, and sometimes he doesn’t.”

  “Oh! What’s the worst threat he ever carried out?” she asked, leaning forward to hear. She liked this kid.

  “He threatened once to drench me with the hose if I complained one more time about having to run. When I complained again, he came after me with the hose, and it was chilly out! I was so wet when he was done, I had to go in and shower to warm up. That was mean of him, don’t you think?”

  Felicity shrugged. “As long as you were warned and kept doing it, I say more power to your dad.”

  Tristan frowned. “I thought you were going to be on my side!”

  “Oh, I will sometimes, but sometimes I have to pretend to be all grown up and stuff and agree with your dad. It’s a tough role to fill, but I think I can manage.”

  “How will you decide when to stick up for Dad and when to stick up for me?”

  “It’ll probably be a mood thing. I’ll act like I’m behind you in every way, and then I’ll support your dad, or vice versa. Anything I can do to keep you both guessing.”

  “You’re going to be interesting to live with, aren’t you?” Tristan asked, shaking his head. “How am I going to know how to act?”

  “You’re not. It’s more fun that way!” Felicity winked at him. “So is this your last year of elementary school? Or next year?”

  As Allen watched the two of them talk about school, he was thrilled at how easily they were getting along. He had worried she’d try to convince Tristan he had to listen to everything she said immediately, but she didn’t do that at all. Instead, she worked hard to build a rapport with him right away.

  After dinner, Allen drove them back to Linda’s house. Rikki came out to the truck to meet them. “Come on, Tristan! I have a movie all picked out!”

  “Are there blood and guts?” Tristan asked.

  Rikki wrinkled her nose. “Ew. No blood and guts. I think you’ll like it, though.” She waved as she took Tristan’s arm and dragged him toward the house.

  After they were inside, Allen looked over at Felicity. “Are you too tired to go dancing?”

  She shook her head. “Not if we only do it for a short while. I’m tired, but I’ll get over it. What’s with the sudden urge to go dancing?”

  He shrugged. “I used to enjoy going to this particular bar, because they always have local country bands playing. It’s something I’ve missed about being married. I thought about it while I was working today and realized you’ve probably never been dancing.”

  She shook her head. “No, I was raised to think that dancing is evil. Of course. My sister, Patience, always wanted to be a ballerina. I think that’s why she and Corinne bonded so quickly and easily.”

  “Do you think dancing is bad? We don’t have to go if it bothers you.”

  She shook her head. “No, not at all. I don’t exactly know how to dance, but it sounds like fun.”

  “I lead, and you follow. Simple.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, doesn’t sound very simple.”

  “You trust me, don’t you?”

&n
bsp; Felicity nodded. “Of course I trust you. I wouldn’t have married you otherwise.”

  Allen smiled at that. She was such an open, loving woman. He hoped he was the man who could keep her happy. With his history with women, he had no confidence at this point, and simply prayed she wouldn’t leave him. There was something very special about her, and he needed her more than he cared to admit. He hadn’t felt as alive as he felt with her in a lot of years.

  “Well, then you’ll have to trust me on the dance floor, won’t you?”

  “I guess I don’t have any choice in the matter.” She sighed happily. “The idea of being held close is nice, though. I like touching you, Allen Jennings.”

  He laughed. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  “Oh, really? Perhaps I’ll try to show you how much again later.” She paused for a moment. “Or maybe I’ll just assume that you don’t pay enough attention to ever figure out that I like touching you and give it up as a lost cause.”

  “You wouldn’t do that to me!”

  “Nah. I love you too much for that.”

  Allen sat quietly for a moment, not sure what to say to that. “Thank you,” he finally said.

  Felicity was glad he was driving and couldn’t see her face. She turned away from him, staring out the window. Thank you? That’s how he responded to her first declaration of love? She wanted to curl into a ball and cry, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. He’d think she was weak, and that was the last thing she needed.

  “So tell me about this place we’re going,” she finally said. “Will you drink?”

  “No, I don’t drink. I haven’t in a long time. I just go there because the bands are good. A friend of mine owns the place.”

  “Will I get to meet him?”

  “Probably. He’s the one tending bar a lot in the evenings. During the day it’s more like a community gathering place. Sure there’s alcohol, but there’s also a short-order cook.” He knew he’d hurt her by not telling her he loved her, but he just couldn’t. Not yet. He was pretty sure he did, or he wouldn’t have married again, but giving any woman that kind of power over him was scary. Especially after what had happened with Wendi.

  “Cool. What’s his name?”

  “Austin James. He’s a good guy. You’ll like him.”

  “I like most everyone. I’m pretty easy to get along with.” Just keep talking. He won’t know how upset I am if I just keep talking. When we’re home, I’ll shower and cry, and he’ll never know the difference.

  “That’s one of my favorite things about you.” He could hear the hurt in her voice, and he wanted to pull her close and hold her, but he couldn’t give her the words she needed, so how would it help?

  He pulled into the parking lot of the bar and turned to her, tipping her face up to his for a soft kiss. “We’ll probably have zings flying everywhere when we dance, so watch out for them!”

  “What if they fly off us and onto the couple next to us?” she asked. “What if they steal our zings?”

  “I have a feeling we’ll always be able to make more.” He got out of the truck and met her at the front, taking her hand in his. “Let’s go dance. We’ll stick to slow dances tonight.”

  “That might be for the best.”

  He led her into the bar and took her straight to a stool in front of his friend. “Austin, I want you to meet my wife, Felicity. Felicity, this is Austin. We’ve been friends since we started kindergarten.”

  Felicity smiled and nodded briefly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Austin pushed a dark-colored soft drink across the bar to Allen. “What do you want to drink, Felicity? You one of those Quinlan girls?”

  Felicity nodded. “The name gave me away, didn’t it? I don’t know what I want to drink.” She looked at Allen.

  “Give her a Shirley Temple.”

  “But, I’ve never had alcohol. I don’t want to get drunk!”

  Austin looked at her. “I can tell you haven’t ever had anything to drink. A Shirley Temple is a Sprite with cherry juice.”

  Felicity grinned over at Allen. “You know me!”

  Austin made the drink and pushed it toward her. “Any more Quinlans left? I planned on making my way over to the Culpepper Ranch to meet some of you, but I never made it. It looks like I missed out.”

  Allen put his arm around Felicity’s shoulders. “Back off. She’s mine.”

  Felicity wrinkled her nose. “I was the last Quinlan standing. Got married yesterday.”

  “Dang it. I was hoping.”

  “You should call Dr. Lachele and get a woman matched with you.”

  Austin shook his head. “Isn’t she the crazy purple-haired woman who matches people up at the altar? I’m not nearly desperate enough for that!”

  Felicity shrugged. “Give me a call when you get lonely enough, and I’ll get her number for you.” She leaned down and took a sip of her drink through the tiny straw. “Oh, this is good!”

  Allen grinned at Austin. “I knew she’d like that.” He looked over at the band who had just returned from a break. “These guys any good?” he asked.

  Austin nodded. “They’re the best group I have in on a regular basis these days. All the good ones moved on. Culpepper isn’t exactly a hot spot.”

  “So why do they stick around?”

  “No clue.” Austin moved away to help someone else, and Allen looked down at Felicity.

  “Do you want to dance?”

  She nodded. “As soon as they play a slow song.”

  She looked around her, surprised at the atmosphere. She’d expected it to be smoky and crowded, but there was no smoke at all and only four or five people there. “It’s dead in here.”

  “Give it a few hours. It’ll start hopping.”

  “We won’t be here that long, will we?”

  He shook his head. “No. I don’t think you’d like it too crowded.”

  “I expected the smoke to be so thick we could barely see through it.”

  He laughed. “Austin doesn’t let people smoke in here. They did when his dad ran the place, but he changed that as soon as he took over.”

  “I’m glad he did!”

  “This song will be slow. You ready to try this?”

  She nodded, looking around. “No one’s dancing.”

  “They will be. Give them time.” He took her hand and led her to the dance floor, happy to hold her close. He hugged her to him, and slowly started swaying to the music, not doing anything complicated.

  She rested her cheek against his shoulder. “You have the best shoulders in the whole wide world.”

  He chuckled. “You sure do like shoulders.”

  “Broad shoulders make my heart go pit-a-pat. You don’t work out at all, do you?”

  “Nope. I just work every day. It makes for strong shoulders.”

  “If you’d gone to school on your football scholarship, what would you have done?”

  He shrugged. “Back then, I thought I’d be a famous football star. Now, I think I’d probably have ended up coaching. The guy the kids all call Coach was on the football team with Austin, Kolby, and me.”

  “And now you’re pushing Tristan to play as well.”

  “I pushed Tristan at first, but he loves it now. He doesn’t love having to run to keep in shape, but he loves actually playing. If he didn’t love it, we’d find another sport for him to play.”

  “But you’d still make him play a sport?”

  Allen nodded. “I think it’s good for kids to play sports. It teaches them sportsmanship, and they learn to be strong and active.”

  “That makes sense.” She sighed contentedly, loving being in his arms. “What about a girl? Would you make a daughter play a sport?”

  “I’d encourage a daughter to stay active as well. If not a sport, then maybe dance.”

  “Oh, we could have another little butterfly ballerina, though hopefully she wouldn’t insist on wearing pink all the time like Corinne does.”

  Allen smiled at the image. “I’d
love to have a little girl who looks exactly like you, who wants to dance every minute of every day.”

  “I’d like another boy who looks just like you and Tristan.”

  “You think Tristan looks like me?”

  Felicity nodded emphatically. “He’s your mirror image! I’ve never seen a kid who looked so much like his father.”

  “I’m pretty proud of him.”

  “I can see why. I know he couldn’t have been happy to get a new mother with no warning, but he was very polite to me the whole time we were talking. He seems like a really good kid.”

  “He is.” Allen was glad she didn’t seem to be angry with him or hurt any longer. He wished he had a way to explain how he felt, but he wasn’t sure he could put it into words. He expected to wake up one morning and find she was gone. He’d take his happiness where he could, though.

  “What does a typical Sunday look like in the Jennings house?” she asked.

  “We’ll go to church in the morning, and then usually we hit the diner after, because neither of us want to deal with cooking as soon as we get home from church. Then we spend the day together. We run together or we play games if the weather’s not good. We play catch with the football.” He looked down at her. “Do you run?”

  “Only if there’s a bear chasing me. There are no bears in this area, are there?”

  “Not that I know of. What will you do while we run?”

  “Laundry?”

  Allen grinned. “Does that mean you’re taking over laundry?”

  She shrugged. “I will if you need me to. I’d rather household chores were shared as much as possible. Like if I wash and dry everything, we can all fold and put stuff away.”

  “That sounds fair to me. I’m sure Tristan would love that. Laundry has fallen on him to do all summer.”

  “I think I’d feel weird having my new step-son washing my laundry. I’ll take it over.”

  “And we’ll help fold and put away. That’s only fair.”

  “I think that will be a good arrangement.” She looked up at him. “I’ll take care of dinner on the days I’m off work, because I enjoy cooking. We’ll split the task during the work week, though.”

  “Also fair. I think I’m going to like being married to a fair woman!”