Baker's Bargain (Culpepper Cowboys Book 5) Read online

  “Oh, honey. You never need to ask that of a minister’s wife. We learn to keep stuff to ourselves fast.”

  “My mom taught me that sex is dirty and enjoying sex, even with your husband, is wicked.” Grace looked down at her hands, embarrassed to have the conversation, but she hated disappointing Marcus so much. “I threw up last night, because I felt so guilty for liking it.”

  Ethel shook her head. “Your mother needs to be put before a firing squad. There’s nothing wrong with liking sex, honey. Not one little thing. In fact, God must have intended for us to like sex, ‘cuz it feels so darn good. Have you ever read the Song of Solomon?”

  “No, ma’am. Mama said that single women were forbidden to read that book.”

  “Of course she did. Trust me, you should read it. It’s filled with very interesting information about sexual relations. If you believe the Bible is inspired by God, and I’m sure you do, then you’ll see that He intended for us to enjoy it by reading that book.” Ethel took Grace’s hand. “Trust me, honey. You’re not the first person to have been raised by someone preaching that nonsense, and you won’t be the last. Do yourself and your new husband a favor and fight the guilt. I think it’s more wrong to withhold from your husband the pleasure you feel.”

  “Really? You do?”

  “Definitely. Do you think Marcus can enjoy making love with you when he knows how upset it makes you? If he knows you’re throwing up from the guilt? That’s not fair to him or to you.”

  Grace sighed, feeling a tear prick her eye. “It’s just so strange to me. I was taught that birth control is wrong as well, but Marcus says it’s fine.”

  “Marcus is right! You’ve been married for two days. If you want children right away, then you should have them. If you want time alone with your husband before the children come, then you should use birth control.”

  “But—are you sure? My parents say that having sex without the thought of having children is against God.”

  “Let’s take just a minute to face facts, Grace. Your parents are morons. Plain and simple.” Ethel shook her head in disgust. “I don’t criticize the way people parent often, but your parents? They’re idiots. Please tell me there are no more girls at home.”

  Grace shook her head. “Actually all six of us are here in Culpepper now. Four married the Culpepper brothers, I’ve married Marcus, and my sister is going to marry Angus tomorrow.”

  Ethel nodded approvingly. “All good men. You’ll all be so much better off without your parents’ influence.”

  Grace frowned. “Will I ever get over the idea that what I’m doing is wrong?”

  “If you let yourself, you will. You need to think of making love as a way to express your love to your husband. A God-given way of expressing it, and one that He made to be wonderful.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Did you bring your Bible with you?”

  Grace nodded. “Of course. I always have my Bible.”

  “I challenge you to read Song of Solomon before Marcus comes home tonight. I promise you, you’ll look at things differently when you’re done.”

  “I will then. If you really think it’ll help.”

  Ethel took the steps between them, hugging Grace. “I know you want to please him. You’re a good girl, Grace.”

  After she’d gone, Grace found a snack, before lifting the lid of the crock-pot and sniffing the food cooking there. Then she went into the living room and grabbed the Bible from the bookshelf. It wasn’t hers, but that didn’t really matter to her. As long as she had one.

  She flipped through the Bible to the Song of Solomon and began reading, determined to get through the whole book before Marcus got home from work. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was only three, so she should be able to do it if it wasn’t too long.

  As she read, she was both surprised at the contents and shocked that her mother had deemed it inappropriate reading for her. When she finished, she closed the Bible and set it aside, spending a few moments staring off into space and thinking about what she’d read.

  After thinking for a while, she reached for her phone and dialed her parents in Kentucky. Her mother answered. “Hi, Mom. It’s Grace.”

  “Gracie! It’s so good to hear your voice. How are your sisters doing?”

  “We’re all fine.” Grace paused for a moment, working out how to formulate her question. “Mom, what scriptures have you read to prove that women shouldn’t enjoy sex?”

  “Grace Quinlan! That is not a topic for an unmarried young lady!”

  “I’m Grace Wells now, Mom. I got married on Saturday. What scriptures?”

  Her mother sputtered for a moment. “You got married? Who is this man? Is he a Christian?”

  “Yes. His grandfather is a pastor. What scriptures?”

  Her mother was silent. “I have seen no actual scriptures, but that’s what the pastor says, and we know he’s right about these things.”

  Grace closed her eyes, wanting to scream. “So when you told us that enjoying sex within marriage was against God, you were lying to us?”

  “It wasn’t a lie! No Christian woman would ever enjoy sex!”

  Grace took a deep breath. She wanted to reach through the phone and choke her mother. “I’m not sure I have anything else to say to you, Mom. Good night.”

  “Grace, don’t you dare hang up this phone! I need to know about the man you married!”

  Grace ended the call and put her phone down. Her entire life she’d believed her family just followed the scriptures more strictly than others did. To find out she’d been lied to made her furious.

  She looked at the clock on the wall. Marcus would be home at any moment. She needed to calm down before he walked in the door, so she went upstairs to shower, ignoring the phone that kept ringing and ringing. Yes, she knew she showered more than was normal, but for her, water was calming. And right then, that’s what she needed more than anything.

  When she got out of the shower, she put on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, her mind still grappling with both the phone call with her mother and the Song of Solomon.

  She went downstairs to find Marcus just coming in the front door. “Hi.”

  Marcus smiled at her, walking to her and kissing her softly. He set something down, but she ignored it. A husband was allowed to have secrets after all. “Hi. How was your day?”

  “Interesting.” She walked into the kitchen and dished the casserole Ethel had made out onto two plates.

  “What did the doctor have to say?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I’m healthy. We decided on the shot for birth control, so I don’t have to worry about trying to remember to take a pill every day. She said we needed to use other precautions for at least a week.”

  “We can do that.” He sat down at the table and smiled as she sat beside him. “I brought you a present.”

  She looked at him with a grin. “I hope it’s not something else as expensive as a car.”

  He shook his head. “Nope, not a car. I’ll give it to you after dinner.”

  She leaned toward him and kissed him softly. “You spoil me.”

  “I think everyone needs to be spoiled at some point in their lives. It’s your turn.”

  After the meal, she rinsed the dishes and put them in the sink before joining him on the couch. He handed her a wrapped box, and she turned it over in her hands, shaking it slightly as she tried to guess what it could possibly be.

  “Stop! Just open it!” Marcus was laughing as he shook his head at her.

  Grace smiled. “I like the anticipation when I open a gift.”

  “Obviously. I want to see my wife’s face when she opens it. Hurry up!”

  She giggled, sliding a finger under the paper and carefully tearing it. She didn’t really care about saving the paper, but she knew it was driving him crazy, which was fun!

  Finally, she had the present in her hands, and she stared down into a framed picture of her with Valerie and Jesse Savoy. The couple was on either si
de of her, and they each had an arm around her. “Oh, it’s wonderful!”

  “That’s why I was a little late getting home. I had that done today.”

  “I’ve never received anything that I will treasure quite so much.”

  He grinned, thinking about the huge cardboard cutout of the picture he’d ordered that would be delivered in a week or two. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “Like it? I love it!” She carefully set the photo on the coffee table before flinging herself into his arms.

  Marcus closed his arms around his wife, loving her enthusiastic thanks. His hands stroked her back. “I missed you while I was working today.”

  She grinned. “I missed you too.” And she had. She was surprised by just how much she loved him after such a short time knowing him. She just hoped he could forgive her for how silly she’d acted. She got to her feet and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  He raised an eyebrow at that, but he was sure she couldn’t mean what he wanted her to mean by her words. She led him up the stairs, holding his hand tightly in hers. When they reached the bedroom, Grace closed the door, before turning to him.

  Without a word, she pulled her T-shirt over her head before unfastening her shorts. After she’d divested herself of her bra and panties, she went to work on his clothes, doing her best to ignore the shocked look on his face.

  Marcus couldn’t believe this was the same woman he’d married. What was going on in her head? He was afraid to ask and break the spell.

  Thirty minutes later, he lay in the bed, holding her close in his arms. “Do you want to talk about what that was about?”

  She looked up at him, love shining from her eyes. “It was about two things, actually.”

  “Okay. Two things. And they are?”

  “The first was apologizing for being a ninny the past couple of days. I talked to Ethel today, and I read the Song of Solomon, and then I called my mother.”

  “Wait, you called your mother? Why did you call your mother?”

  “Because I wanted her to tell me which scriptures told her that it was wrong for a woman to enjoy making love with her husband.” She held his eyes as she talked about it, surprising him even more than her sudden attack on his person.

  “What did she tell you?” He was honestly curious to know. He’d never understood why some people felt that enjoying sex was so wrong.

  “That she’d never seen actual scriptural backing for the belief, but because the pastor talked about it, she knew it has to be true.” She shook her head. “All this time, it’s been a lie, and I believed it!”

  He nodded, smiling slightly. She didn’t seem the least bit upset about making love with him tonight. She hadn’t even run for the shower yet, which was a very good sign. “What’s the second reason?”

  She grinned, and he could see the hint of a siren in her eyes. “The second reason was pleasure, plain and simple.”

  He gathered her close, burying his face in her neck. “I’m so glad you sorted this out for yourself.”

  She nodded. “So am I! I thought I’d spend the rest of my life vomiting every time we made love, and I don’t think that was acceptable to either one of us.”

  He closed his eyes. “Did you vomit last night?” He hated that he’d caused that much mental anguish for her.

  “Yeah. But I didn’t tonight.” She stroked his face. “Thank you so much for putting up with my silly insecurities. I’ve never in my life felt so much for anyone.”

  “Felt so much for anyone? What exactly does that mean? I’m a lawyer, so you’d better speak slowly.”

  She giggled. “It means I love you. I love you so much. I think I knew you were the man for me from the instant you kissed me. I’m so glad you put up with all my nonsense to get us to this point.”

  He sighed happily. Kissing her again, he stroked her cheek with his hand. “I love you too, Grace. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you.” He winked at her. “I’m not sure I could have put up with the lawyer jokes for so long otherwise.”

  “Lawyer jokes? What lawyer jokes?”

  He laughed, sitting up in bed and pulling her up with him. “We should probably watch a little more Lazy Love before we go to sleep, shouldn’t we? I mean, now that I’ve met the main stars, I’m a bit more invested in the show.”

  “I knew it! I knew you’d love it as much as I did, and you just had to give it a chance!”

  He shrugged. “It’s growing on me a bit.” Anything that made her that happy, he would watch whether he liked it or not. But the truth was, Lazy Love wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be. And doing it with her made everything just right.

  About the Author

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  Kirsten Osbourne

  www.kirstenandmorganna.com

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