Contractor's Cookies (Culpepper Cowboys Book 9) Read online

Rikki laughed. “You’re trying to manipulate me, aren’t you?”

  “Nope. ‘Cuz I already did!”

  A truck pulled up in front of the bakery, and Felicity frowned. “We don’t open for another hour.” She walked toward the door. “Whoever it is needs to come back at a decent hour. We don’t even have muffins or coffee ready yet!”

  Rikki hurried to the coffee pot. “I’ll do coffee.”

  Patience rushed to the work table. “I’m on the muffins and scones.”

  Grace smiled. “I’m working too. We’ll be ready when those doors open.”

  Felicity walked outside to see who was in the truck. “We don’t open for another hour. You’ll have to come back.”

  The door opened and Allen, the contractor, stepped out. Felicity had managed to convince herself that her reaction to him was just a fluke the night before, but she realized she was wrong. It wasn’t a fluke. The man had some powerful sexual mojo going on!

  “This is what time I start work every morning.” He looked her up and down. “You don’t look much like a baker.”

  Felicity frowned. “How should I look?”

  “You should be much rounder, wearing an apron over a boring white uniform, and some silly hat on your head.”

  “I see.” She walked back toward the bakery. “I’ll bring you a to-go cup of coffee as soon as it’s ready.”

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  Felicity walked into the bakery and closed the door, locking it again. The man was sexy but rude. He’d been married, so why couldn’t he talk more appropriately to women?

  She was going to make him act human toward her if it was the last thing she did. She wondered how he’d like some of her specialized cookies. “That was the contractor. He starts work at this time every morning. I’m going to take him some coffee when it’s ready.”

  Rikki shook her head. “That should be my job. Here to do grunt work, remember?”

  Felicity sighed. “You don’t want to go near that man. He makes me weak in the knees. You already have a hard time being around men. You don’t need one that’s going to turn you all mushy.”

  Rikki made a face at that. “Why does he make you weak in the knees? Scary looking?”

  Felicity blushed at that, and Patience pounced. “Felicity, he’s making you all hot and bothered, isn’t he? I’ve got to meet this man! I’ll take him the coffee!”

  “No, you won’t. I’ll take care of it.”

  “I can’t believe my sister finally has a crush!” Patience looked at Rikki. “No man has ever made her feel like that. Ever. Well, Bob on Lazy Love, but who likes Bob? All of the intelligent women were on Team Jesse.”

  Rikki laughed. “I was totally Team Jesse. Imagine my annoyance when my own sister married the man I secretly fantasized about every night.”

  “You seem to have gotten over it,” Felicity said with a laugh.

  “Don’t you change the subject. Spill, Felicity! I want to know everything there is to know about him!” Patience refused to be distracted. Especially when it came to her sister’s potential love life.

  “I don’t know a lot. I know he’s really hot. Have you ever heard the term sex on a stick, because I think that describes him really well. He’s—oh, he’s tall with light hair and hazel eyes. And his shoulders! I do appreciate a nice set of shoulders, always have, but his shoulders? Oh, I feel like I’m starting to drool. Am I drooling?”

  Patience laughed. “I don’t see any drool. I can’t believe my little sister is falling for a man. Does he have a name?”

  “I’m not falling in love with him. I’m just very much in lust with him. See the difference?”

  “You’re a Quinlan. Where there’s lust, love will follow. Oh, look. Coffee’s ready. Want me to take it to him?”

  “Patience, if you don’t get off my case about him, I swear I will kick you in the shin!”

  “Violence will get you nowhere! What would Daddy say about how his sweet little girl has been transformed?”

  Felicity ignored her sister as she walked to the coffee pot and poured coffee into a to-go cup. She grabbed a couple of sugars and creams and went through the door Rikki held for her. She handed him the coffee with a little stir stick. “I don't know how you take your coffee.”

  Allen shrugged. “Black is good.” He looked at everything in her hands. “Were you a Girl Scout?”

  “Nah. My dad thought the Girl Scouts were run by heathens who would try to convert me to all sorts of pagan practices.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  She nodded. “He’s not known for his forward-thinking, especially where his daughters are concerned.”

  “Obviously.”

  “Well, I’m going to go back in and bake the daily cookies.”

  “You bake cookies every day?”

  She nodded. “Cookies are my specialty. My cousin, Grace, specializes in cakes and my sister, Patience, specializes in pies, but I’m the cookie lady. I’ll bring you some cookies later.”

  “I don’t need cookies.”

  Felicity made a face. “Everyone needs cookies. Unless they’re diabetic. You’re not diabetic, are you?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Then you’ll get some cookies. What’s your favorite kind?”

  He shrugged. “I have a sweet tooth. I love them all.”

  “Then that’s what you’ll get. Thanks for helping us! Free coffee and cookies any time you want!”

  Allen watched her as she ran back toward the building. What was her game? No one was that nice unless they were playing some kind of game.

  2

  By the time Allen left work that day, he’d eaten enough cookies to put him into a diabetic coma, and he wasn’t diabetic! Every time he turned around, Felicity was there offering him coffee, cookies, or a sandwich.

  He drove the fifteen minutes home from the bakery wondering what had happened. The little brunette spitfire had his mind spinning. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when a girl had packed such a wallop. Not even Wendi, his ex-wife.

  He walked into the house, listening to the silence. He’d let Tristan stay home alone that summer for the first time, and he was used to the boy puttering around and making noise. He’d left for football camp on Sunday afternoon, though, and Allen would be home alone for once.

  In some ways it was a welcome change, because he wouldn’t have to listen to the boy’s endless chattering. But the loneliness was setting in now and he wasn't all that sure he could handle it.

  Going upstairs to his bedroom, he showered the sweat and grime of the day off himself. He’d made some great strides on the bakery that day, and the whole project shouldn’t take more than a month. He’d call in some help on the days he needed it, but for the most part, he’d do it all alone. Just the way he liked it.

  After his shower, he went back out to the main area, where the emptiness of the house caused him to sigh. He didn’t want to be alone. What was it about having a woman doting on him all day that made the emptiness so much harder to bear?

  He grabbed his keys and walked out to his truck, making the short drive to Culpepper. He’d eat at the diner. The food was decent, and he didn’t have to be totally alone all night. Besides, he’d put in a hard day and he shouldn’t have to figure out what to eat, then spend a lot of time making it for just himself.

  When he got to the diner, the first person he spotted was little Felicity Quinlan. What was she doing there? He thought for a moment about getting into his truck and driving clear over to Haskell for a bite to eat, but he took a deep breath and told himself to man-up instead. He wasn’t going to be able to show his face in town if people knew he was afraid of the little baker and the feelings she brought up.

  Felicity spotted Allen and waved. “Are you here alone?”

  He nodded. “Kid’s out of town, so it’s just me.”

  “Linda went out tonight, so it would have been just me. Rikki decided to wait until tomorrow to move in, or there would have bee
n two of us. I couldn’t see a single reason I should heat up the house to cook for one person, especially when the diner already has the stove going. So I figured I’d come here instead.”

  “Sounds good.” He wasn’t going to give her any kind of encouragement. The woman would latch on to it and never let go!

  “So do you want to eat together since we’re both alone? I only see one booth free, and one of us will have to wait otherwise.” When he hesitated, she hurried on. “Of course, we could always play rock, paper, scissors for it if you’re afraid to be seen with me.”

  He shook his head at her. “Why would I be afraid to be seen with you?”

  “I have no idea. But you look like you’d rather cut out your own tongue, cook it over a campfire, and eat that than sit with me.”

  He sighed. “It’s a small town. You don’t know how people talk here.”

  “Are you kidding me? I was raised in a small town. My cousins were the famous Quinlan Quads. You’d think they were the only set of quadruplets ever born! Everywhere I went, people reported back to my parents. I didn’t have time to get into mischief, because everyone could see my thoughts, and those were reported back to my parents as well! I’ve spent my whole life living under a microscope!”

  “If you want away from all that, you picked the wrong place, lady. You should have gone to a big city somewhere.”

  “Oh, it’s fine. At least here, no one is trying to keep me to some impossibly high moral standards. I once accidentally unbuttoned the top two buttons of my blouse at the same time. Do you realize what happened when people saw that tiny little expanse of neck? Two shopkeepers swooned, while the third called my father to get me and take me right back home where I belonged!”

  Allen grinned in spite of himself. “And did your father come?”

  “I was sent to my room for six weeks, and was only allowed to eat bread and water! That’s how I learned to bake.”

  “By being in your room for six weeks?” he asked, puzzled.

  “Yes! I found this book on how to make a solar oven, so I built a small platform onto the edge of my windowsill, and I made myself a solar oven. Then my sister would smuggle baking supplies to me. If she’d been caught with that baggie full of powdered sugar, we’d have both been in deep water!”

  He chuckled softly. “It’s a good thing you didn’t end up in a Turkish prison over that one!”

  “I know! It was crazy! I shouldn’t have acted so rebelliously to begin with. I was allowed to unbutton the top button, but just for breathing purposes.”

  “That sounds like a reasonable rule.”

  She grinned at him, thankful someone on the planet appreciated her humor, if only for a minute. “Have dinner with me, please? Don’t make me eat alone.”

  He sighed. “All right. I’ll have dinner with you. But you’re responsible for the talk it will start around town.”

  Felicity grinned, wondering if she’d get a reputation. She’d always wanted one for something other than being a good girl and baking cookies. She grabbed his arm, tugging him toward the doorway of the diner. “You won’t regret it!”

  “Are you sure about that?” Allen was already starting to regret it.

  When they got inside, they slipped into opposite sides of the only empty booth. Felicity smiled expectantly at him.

  “What?” he asked, frowning.

  “I’m waiting for you to make clever conversation, so I can express my delight at your wittiness.”

  He blinked at her a few times. “Your delight at my wittiness?”

  “Well, sure. You don’t want me to be delighted? I guess I could frown at you or grumble like I’ve seen old couples do. That could be fun too!”

  He tilted his head to one side. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Absolutely! Is this the beginning of our clever conversation?”

  “Have you ever spoken to a man before?”

  She shrugged. “Not before moving here, and I’ve never really been alone with a man. Even when I met with Arch the first time, my sister and my cousin were there. My parents had a rule that we weren’t allowed to be alone with boys. Ever. We weren’t even allowed to be alone with our dad.”

  “So this is as close as you’ve ever been to being alone with a man? Are you kidding me?”

  Felicity shook her head. “Weird, huh? I’ve never even been alone in a car with a man. I did talk to a few at the back of the church when I could sneak away from my father.”

  “What about school?” He put his menu down to focus on her. “How did you go to school without ever talking to boys?”

  “I was homeschooled. I’ve seriously never done anything without someone watching me my whole life until we got here. Culpepper means freedom to me.”

  Allen shook his head, disbelief in his eyes. “I can see why it would. How old are you?”

  “Twenty-two.”

  “Did you go to college?”

  “Sure. Online classes at an all-girls Christian university. Not even male teachers were allowed.” She shrugged. “When we had to be on campus, there wasn't any danger of us running into a man.”

  “So you’ve never held hands with a man? Never been kissed?”

  She shook her head again. “I think the only one of us that has been kissed by someone other than the man they married was Chastity.”

  He stared at her for another minute as if she’d grown two heads and had started speaking in parseltongue. “I can see why you feel so free in Culpepper. Do you like owning a bakery?”

  Felicity smiled. “Oh, yes. I don’t know if I’d like being sole owner, but sharing the responsibility is wonderful. I love baking.”

  “So do you bake those huge wedding cakes?”

  “No, that’s all Grace. Sometimes, if she’s short on time, I’ll help her decorate. I don’t like to, but I will. I specialize in cookies.”

  “And who is Grace to you? Your sister? I can’t figure the Quinlans out.”

  “There are a lot of us.” She reached over and patted his hand, feeling as if she’d been zapped by electricity. Instead of removing her hand, she patted him again. Finally, she just took his hand in hers and held it.

  He looked down at his hand, which she’d pulled halfway across the table. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you were about to answer my question about how you’re related to Grace, and then you patted my hand. A lot. And then you just latched onto it. Why?”

  She shrugged. “Consider it a science experiment.”

  “What kind of science experiment?”

  “Biology.” When Allen just watched her, she sighed. “Well, when I patted your hand I felt this strange little zingy sensation, and I wanted to see how long it would take to go away.”

  He blinked. “Zingy sensation?”

  “Yeah, you know. Like when you accidentally stick a fork in a light socket to see what will happen after being warned against it your whole life.”

  “How do you accidentally stick a fork in a light socket?”

  “You don’t think about it first, and you just do it, and then it throws you across the room into the opposing wall, and you have to pretend nothing happened, because you can’t really admit to your parents that you just stuck a fork in a light socket after they’ve been telling you not to for the past ten years, so you just calmly get up and go sit on the couch with your hands folded in your lap, staring off into space because you’re sure you’re going to die any minute with the way your head is spinning, and you can’t tell anyone!”

  “Did you take any breaths at all when you said all that?” he asked, finding her the most fascinating creature he’d ever met in his life.

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I’ve never heard anyone say that much without even pausing for air. Do you do it often?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know! I’ve never been allowed to talk much! I mean, Mama would let us talk during the day while Dad was at wo
rk, but we had to do school too, and Patience was always the more outgoing of the two of us, so I never really got many words out, because I never really had a chance. I never had hour long chats with friends on the phone or spent time just talking about nothing with boys that I liked. My whole upbringing was weird, and I find myself completely unable to talk to real humans!”

  “You’re talking to me. Sort of.”

  “Sort of? I am talking to you! I’ve said more to you than I’ve said to anyone in a very long time. What do you mean sort of?”

  “I asked you how you’re related to Grace, and you still haven’t answered me. You’re talking to me, but you’re not really conversing very well. You’re supposed to answer simple questions when they’re asked, not go off on some sort of a tirade about science experiments and zingy sensations.” He shook his head at her, still trying to understand exactly what was going on. She had a death grip on his hand. “Has the zinginess stopped yet?” It hadn’t for him, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. The very idea of what her reaction would be scared the crap out of him.

  She shook her head, leaning forward. “Have you ever felt this strange zinginess before?”

  He thought about that for a moment. “Maybe a little, but not since high school.”

  “So it’s normal, and I’m not going to die or anything?”

  “No, you’re not going to die. What you’re feeling is sexual attraction.”

  She blushed but refused to back down from the conversation. “I was afraid of that. My dad would tell me I’m going to hell.”

  “What would your mom tell you?”

  The slow grin that spread across her face frightened him, but just a little. “She’d tell me to grab you and kiss you until the zinginess convinced me that you were perfect for me.”

  “The zinginess does not mean someone is perfect for you.”

  She shrugged. “I’m not so sure about that. I’ve never felt it before.”

  “You’ve never been alone with a man before!”

  The waitress stopped at the table then, looking back and forth between them. “Drinks?” she asked casually, not introducing herself, which made Felicity believe she already knew Allen.