Contractor's Cookies (Culpepper Cowboys Book 9)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “I did some research on you, and I discovered you’re divorced!” Bertram Quinlan said the last word with a curled lip, giving the impression there was an unpleasant odor.

  Allen nodded. “I am divorced, which Felicity knew before she ever agreed to marry me. This is my son, Tristan. His mother has remarried and relocated to California.”

  “Marriage is forever, young man. It’s not something that’s meant to be tossed away when two people get tired of living with one another.” Bertram’s voice was at its very haughtiest, and Felicity wasn’t sure if she wanted to vomit or kick him more.

  Dorcas’s eyes met Felicity’s. “I’m sorry,” her mother murmured softly.

  “It’s none of your business, Dad,” Felicity announced, her voice carrying around the room. “Allen’s right. I did marry him knowing all about his previous marriage and divorce. I’m happy with him, and I’m not ending my marriage.”

  “Whether you’re happy or not, you married a man who’s divorced. You’re obviously not showing clear judgment, so I’ll have a court declare you unfit to make your own decisions. I’ve told Jacob from church about your marriage, and he said he’d still take you, even though you’re damaged goods now.”

  Felicity stared at him, sputtering. Damaged goods? Her father considered her damaged goods because she’d met and married a man she could actually love? Jacob had been trying to catch her eye for years.

  Marcus walked over, holding his hand out to Bertram Quinlan. “Mr. Quinlan, I’m Marcus Wells. I’m married to Grace. I’m a lawyer, and I’m happy to inform you that your allegations will never hold up in a court of law.” Grace walked over with him, staying close to Marcus’s side. None of the women were willing to get too far from their men, especially after Bertram’s pronouncement that he planned to get Felicity’s marriage annulled.

  “You don’t know Kentucky law, and you certainly don’t know church law. Why, I’d be willing to bet you’ve never stepped foot in a church in your life.” Bertram’s nose wrinkled as he looked at Marcus.

  The door opened and Brother Anthony came in with his wife, Lovie, in tow. “I hear you’re preparing a feast today, Linda!” The usually forgetful man was sizing up the conversation quickly.

  Bertram turned and glared at the other man. “Is there a reason you’ve come? Are you related?”

  Brother Anthony frowned at Bertram. “I’m related to the man standing in front of you. He’s my grandson, Marcus.”

  “He’s telling me that I don’t have a right to any say in my daughters' lives.”

  Marcus shook his head. “That’s not what I said at all, Grandpa. I said he doesn’t have the right to force an annulment on Felicity, just because Allen was divorced.”

  Brother Anthony walked closer to Bertram, refusing to be cowed by the short man. “Marcus is right. Allen had scriptural grounds for divorce, unlike most divorces today. He did absolutely nothing wrong and had every right in the world to remarry.”

  “What would you know about a scriptural divorce?”

  “I’m the pastor of our local church. Call me Brother Anthony. Everyone does.” Brother Anthony held out his hand to shake Bertram’s.

  Bertram ignored the proffered hand as he took in Brother Anthony’s clothes, which consisted of a pair of plaid shorts that had seen better days and an old worn shirt. “Are you the one who performed the weddings of all the Quinlan girls?”

  Brother Anthony nodded. “And I must say, I thought I’d never get them all married off. Do you have any idea of how many girls there are in your family? I was starting to feel like every time I turned around there was another girl in a white dress. Well, except for the one who wore pants when her husband wore a dress…”

  “What? That’s it. I think all of these girls need to go back to Kentucky with us. None of them should have been married without their fathers’ permission.”

  “You do realize that they’re all of legal marrying age, right?” Marcus asked, obviously fighting to keep his voice even. “You and your church,” the word sounded like a curse word coming from Marcus’s lips, “have done enough to destroy these women. The fact that they’re able to function at all after the way they’ve been treated is pretty miraculous.”

  Felicity smiled as she felt Allen’s hand on the back of her neck, silently supporting her. She leaned into him and softly whispered, “The zingies are still as strong as ever.”

  He chuckled, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead.

  Bertram glared at him. “Take your hands off my daughter!”

  Allen shook his head. “No. She’s my wife, and that gives me every right in the world to touch her. She’s the only person who has the right to tell me no.”

  Bertram’s eyes grew wide. “She has no right to tell you no! She has no rights at all! You own her!” He seemed to forget that he was going to try to annul their marriage as he attempted to force his beliefs about marital rights upon his daughter.

  Allen let go of Felicity and his hands fisted at his sides. “No one owns my wife.” He took a deep breath, trying to calm his temper. “Get out. I’ve had enough. We’re married, and we’re not getting an annulment. We’re staying married. Do you understand me? Get out!”

  Bertram stumbled back a step, but he didn’t run for the door. “I’m not leaving without my daughters!”

  “Yes, you are! Your daughters are happy here, in a place where they’re experiencing freedom for the first time in their lives. They have no desire to go back to Kentucky and live under your rule.”

  Bertram looked at Brother Anthony. “You married them. Tell him what my rights are as his father-in-law.”

  Brother Anthony smiled at Allen. “If he was a reasonable man, I would tell you he deserves your respect. He’s not, though, so please, tell him to leave again. I’m hungry and having to look at that man during my meal is going to give me indigestion.”

  Dorcas took a step forward, grasping Felicity’s hand. “We came all this way. I want to make sure you’re all right.” She looked into her daughter’s eyes, obviously worried about Felicity’s happiness.

  “We’re fine, Mama. You should go, though. I don’t think any of the husbands are going to put up with this treatment for long.”

  Alfred frowned at Honor. “You need to go put on something appropriate.”

  Honor laughed. “I’m dressed just right for being with horses all day, which is what I do. I will not change.”

  Felicity wanted to cheer for Honor, knowing how hard it was for her to stand up to her father that way. Grace made her way across the room to her twin and slipped her hand into Honor’s. “We’re done being intimidated by you. Go home. We’re happy here, and we’re not going back with you.”

  It took another half hour, and a great deal more chaos, before the Quinlan parents were satisfied they’d made a valiant effort. Before they left, Dorcas kissed the cheek of each of her girls, whispering, “Be happy.”

  As soon as they were gone, the girls looked at one another and one of them started laughing. Felicity was never sure if it was Grace or Honor, but it was one of them, and within moments, they’d all started laughing.

  Felicity turned into Allen’s arms, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against his shoulder. “It’s over. They’re gone.” She felt the tears flood her eyes, and she wasn’t sure if they were from relief or sadness. She’d wanted her father to be happy for her, and instead he’d only talked of her annulling her marriage. She should have expected it, but after so much time with Linda, she had hoped for more.

  Allen held her close, his hands rubbing her back. “Do you want to stay for lunch? Or do you want to go?”

  Felicity pulled away, swiping one hand over her eyes to dry the tears. “I want to stay. We’re having a celebration.”

  There wasn’t room for all of them around the table, so some of them took plates and sat on the floor, some sat on the couch, a few sat at the table. Felicity and Patience both ended up at the table with Ryan, Allen, Tristan,
and sweet little Corinne.

  Linda and Rikki joined them. Linda looked between Patience and Felicity. “Are y’all okay?”

  Felicity nodded. “I think so. It was emotional, but no more so than any of us expected.”

  “They were every bit as bad as I expected them to be.” Linda shook her head. “Your mom seemed different than the others, but I’m not sure if that’s because I know she doesn’t drink the crazy Kool-Aid, or if she really is different.”

  Felicity giggled. “Drink the crazy Kool-Aid? I like that!”

  “Well, it certainly suits that church you came from.” Linda shook her head. “I’m glad they’re gone. Now you girls can move on with your lives and not worry about them anymore.”

  Patience nodded. “It’ll be nice to have all that behind us.”

  After lunch, the women helped Linda with the clean up before going their separate ways. As they got into the truck, Tristan said, “You know, after meeting those crazy people, I’ll never be able to complain about you two as my parents again.”

  Allen laughed. “No, you won’t. We’re downright normal in comparison.”

  He looked over at Felicity who seemed more than a little preoccupied. “When we get home, I want you to go for your run. I’m going to help Felicity with the laundry.”

  “You’re not going to run with me?” Tristan sounded hurt.

  Allen sighed. “I don’t think I should today.”

  Felicity shook her head. “No, you need to run with Tristan. I’ll be fine. There’s lots to do, and I can entertain myself.” She didn’t want Tristan to feel like Allen was neglecting him for her. That wasn’t the way to start their marriage.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. You and Tristan should do the things you normally do on Sundays! Don’t let me mess up your plans.”

  “All right.” Allen didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to fight with her. He was just a little worried about the tears she’d shed earlier, and he wanted to make sure she was all right.

  While they were gone, she worked on the laundry and took the time to think. Allen hadn’t said he loved her, but he’d taken the initiative to stay by her side while her father was being stupid. He’d even refrained from hitting her dad, and that thrilled her. She would have loved to see it, but she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if anything bad had happened.

  She stripped the sheets off the beds and found clean sheets for both, collecting the laundry from the floor in Tristan’s room. After starting dinner in the crock pot, she sat down for a bit and started an episode of Lazy Love. She knew it would make her feel better.

  Once they were home, she frowned at Tristan. “I think it’s time for you to give some attention to your bedroom. I thought it was clean until I went in there to pick up your dirty laundry and caught a glimpse of the floor under the bed. Do you have some science experiments growing down there?”

  Tristan sighed. “I’ll do it right after my shower.” He shook his head as he walked off, obviously not thrilled with having a woman in the house who would expect him to actually clean.

  “Sounds good.” Felicity watched him leave the room before turning to her husband. “Thanks for helping me out with my dad.”

  Allen shook his head. “I’ve never seen anyone like him. Did he really think you’d get an annulment and go back to Kentucky with him just because he told you to?”

  Felicity nodded. “I learned very young not to openly defy him. I’m sure he expected to tell me I was leaving with him, and I’d run back here and pack my things.”

  “I kind of worried you would.” He kept his voice soft, worried Tristan would overhear.

  “Why did you worry about that? Did I make it seem like I wanted to leave?” she asked with a frown. She’d never meant to make him feel that way.

  He shrugged. “Not really. I just— I don’t know how to explain it. I guess I figured since Wendi left after being married for almost nine years, no one would be willing to stay with me for any length of time.”

  “So you were expecting me to leave you anyway.” She shook her head. “It’s not going to happen, you know.”

  “It’s not?”

  Felicity shook her head. “No. I really do believe in the sanctity of marriage. If you’d divorced for any reason other than infidelity on your wife’s part, I don’t know that I’d have married you. And now that we’re married, I believe with everything inside me that it’s forever.”

  “You do?”

  “Of course I do. Did you even listen to my parents? Do you know how many pitchers of Kool-Aid I’ve had to drink over the years?”

  Allen laughed. “I don’t even want to have to think about your Kool-Aid consumption.”

  She walked across the room to where he was sitting on the couch and sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I know it may not seem like I’m going to stay forever, but I promise you, I will. You’re never going to come home and find out that I ran off with an underwear model.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She shook her head. “In fact, the day I met you, I was sure you must have come in with the underwear models and never left. And then I wanted to find the pictures from the shoot, so I could see you in your underwear.”

  He laughed, shaking his head. He was surprised he was a little embarrassed by her words. “You and your fascination with my body!”

  “I could try to curb the fascination if that would make you feel better.” She ran her hand down the front of his shirt, stroking him softly.

  “Why would that make me feel better? I want you to like my body just as much as I like yours.” He put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. “I’m sorry about what I said when you told me you loved me. I just couldn’t say the words when I was so unsure of you.” He kissed the top of her head.

  “If you don’t feel them, then you shouldn’t say them.”

  “That’s the whole problem. I think I felt them from the first moment I set eyes on you. I just couldn’t trust that you wouldn’t run off with—”

  “With some random underwear model?” she finished for him. “Don’t worry. I’d never met a man whose body I found even a little bit fascinating before I met you. Patience and Grace were making fun of me when I was so attracted to you, because it was so out of character for me.”

  “Did it bother you when they made fun of you like that?”

  She shook her head, laughing. “No, I was making fun of myself too. I just couldn’t get over the fact that you were so darn sexy.”

  “Oh? I like where this conversation is headed.”

  She laughed swatting his shoulder. “I do love you, and I think you’re pretty wonderful. I wouldn’t have tried to trick you into marrying me if I hadn’t.”

  “Trick? You didn’t trick me into marrying you!”

  “Well, I did pretend I thought you were serious about the marriage proposal, when I knew you weren’t.”

  “Oh, you knew that, did you?”

  She nodded. “Of course, I did. I may have been raised by Kool-Aid drinkers, but I know that people don’t propose because of cookies, no matter how uniquely delicious they might be.”

  “You know that I’d never have married you if I hadn’t loved you, right? And I might not have married you so soon, but I would have gotten around to proposing before too terribly long.” He kissed her softly. “And not just so I could drag you off to bed, though that part of marriage does make me very happy.”

  She grinned, catching the front of his shirt and pulling him down for a long devouring kiss. She kind of liked that part of their marriage too.

  “Ew! Dad you need to leave the kissing for later after I’m asleep. I don’t want to have to see that!”

  Felicity pushed Allen away. “Yeah, ew! You shouldn’t be attacking me like that in the middle of the day. What’s wrong with you anyway?” She winked at him as she got up and went into Tristan’s room, showing him just what she wanted him to clean.

  When she wen
t back to the living room, Allen watched her move around.

  “Just wait until later. I’ll show you just how I feel about that body of yours,” she said as she went to get a load of laundry from the dryer.

  He laughed, watching her go. “I look forward to it.”

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