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

  “I’d love that!” He grinned at her, continuing their walk, but not telling her where he was taking her. The small ranch he owned was just on the other side of the Culpeppers’ and they should be able to get there in another thirty minutes or so. He’d left his truck, but they could take his motorcycle back, and he could bring that home in his truck bed. Besides, he wasn’t dressed for walking. He wanted to get into jeans and a comfortable shirt.

  “Shouldn’t we turn back?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No, I want to show you something, and it’s just a bit further.”

  “All right.”

  “You’re not going to ask what I want to show you?” he asked, surprised.

  She shrugged. “I trust you. Joy said you were a good guy.”

  “And you trust your sister.” Marcus was able to just see his house beyond the trees. There was a fence dividing the properties, but he had climbed through it many times. Never in a suit, but they could do it. He walked to the fence and held the barbed wire apart. “After you!”

  “Are we allowed to go there?” she asked, surprised.

  He nodded. “That’s my property. It’s fine.”

  She shrugged and climbed between the wires on the fence, before carefully taking them to hold them apart for him. “Wait! Give me your jacket.”

  He nodded, taking off his suit coat and handing it to her. She looked at the fence and then at the coat in her hands before shrugging it on, before pushing the sleeves up to her elbows so she wouldn’t snag them when she held the wires of the fence apart for him again.

  He quickly climbed through the fence, and waited for her to offer his coat back, but when she didn’t, he shrugged.

  Grace took his hand again, not needing his coat for warmth, but liking the feel of it fresh from his skin. It felt cozy, and it smelled like he did.

  “Why are we going to your house?” she asked, walking in the direction of the big white house in front of them.

  “Because I took you so far, we were closer to my house than the Culpeppers’. Thought it might be nice to show you around, and I’ll take you home on my motorcycle. I can put it in the bed of the truck and drive it back.”

  “Motorcycle?” Grace asked, her eyes wide. Her parents had always been dead set against motorcycles, so naturally she was fascinated by them.

  He nodded. “Do you mind?”

  She shook her head, loving the idea. “I’d like to see your house too. Make sure you’re a good housekeeper and all that.”

  He laughed. “I don’t keep my own house. One of my grandmother’s best friends, Ethel, lost her husband a few years back, and she had no way to support herself, so I offered her a job as my housekeeper and cook.”

  “Oh.” Grace wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed he had a housekeeper. “Does she live in?”

  He nodded. “She’s probably out right now, but she lives in. She usually spends Sunday afternoons with her grandkids.”

  Her heart beat a bit faster at his words. She would be totally alone with a man she’d just met hours before. If her parents could see her, they’d shoot her, but they were in Kentucky, and she was in Wyoming. They certainly couldn’t reach that far.

  “Will it bother you to be alone with me?” he asked. “I didn’t think it was different than being in the woods together, but if it bothers you, just tell me, and I’ll go in and change and take you back.”

  Grace shook her head. “It would bother my parents a lot, but it doesn’t bother me.”

  “Good.” He smiled at her for a moment, stopping walking. “I really want you to see my place.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess I want our relationship to be able to move quickly.”

  She frowned. “How quickly? I’m okay with kissing before marriage, but not more than that.”

  “I gathered that. I won’t press for anything more before marriage. I promise.”

  “I appreciate that.” He walked to the front door and opened it wide, letting her precede him into the house. “I didn’t know you were going to already be at the ranch today. I hope you didn’t think I came over to force a meeting before you were ready.”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. I’m glad we met as soon as I got to town. I’m very glad to meet you.”

  “And kiss me?”

  “Even gladder to do that.” She frowned for a moment. “Is gladder a word?”

  “I’m not sure. I like it, though, so even if it’s not, we’ll pretend it is!” He leaned down to kiss her softly. “I’m going to run upstairs to my room to change into jeans, and then I’ll show you around. I need to get out of this suit.”

  She nodded, shrugging his coat off. She wanted to keep his smell on her for a little longer, but she didn’t want to be so obvious about it. “Thanks for the loan.”

  “No problem.” He looked at her. “Are you cold? I could get you something warmer to wear.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

  When she didn’t explain why she’d kept the jacket, he shrugged and took the stairs two at a time to go change.

  3

  Grace watched Marcus go, before wandering over to the couch and sitting down. She’d get her fix while she waited for him, immediately pulling up Twitter on her phone and looking at the Lazy Love hashtag to see what everyone had been saying about the show. She never used Twitter except for looking at what the stars had posted and what the fans were predicting.

  She giggled as she read one of the writers saying that he was going to explode the ranch house with everyone in it and send in a giant radioactive piece of bacon to kill off all the characters who lived there. The writers were always trying to mess with the fans’ heads, but she didn’t believe one word of their nonsense.

  She saw some of the other fans going crazy with all kinds of crazy emoticons and just kept giggling. And then she saw a link to a short video she’d watched once before, but she had to watch again. She clicked on it and watched Valerie and Jesse Savoy excitedly admit that she was expecting their first child.

  She had been impressed to hear that Valerie was taking his name. When she’d tweeted her to ask about it, the response had been special. I know I’ll never divorce, so taking his name seems like the right thing to do. Besides, I love him, and I want his name. #lazylove

  One of her favorite things about the show was how available the stars and writers were. It warmed her heart. She was just going back to Twitter from the announcement when she heard Marcus coming down the stairs. She looked up at him, her eyes bright with tears.

  He hurried to her, taking her hand in his. “Are you okay? Bad news from someone?”

  She shook her head. “No, I was just rewatching a video where the stars from my favorite show announced they’re expecting their first child.”

  “So you’ve seen it before, and it still makes you cry?”

  She nodded. “It does. I know I’m a dork, but that’s how I roll. All right?”

  “Sure. Whatever makes you happy!” He liked the fact that she seemed so tenderhearted. “Want to see the house?”

  She nodded. “I’d like that.”

  “I grew up here,” he explained as he took her through the downstairs first. “My parents decided to take a job in Florida, because Mom does better in a warmer climate, so they left me the house and the ranch. I was done with law school when they decided to leave, so I hired a foreman to run things around here. I love this place, and want to leave it to my children, but I’m not terribly interested in the day to day running of the place.”

  She nodded, looking at everything. “You want kids?”

  He shrugged. “Eventually. I probably don’t want them next week. I want to have a year or two alone with my wife before any little knee biters come along.” His eyes met hers. “You?”

  “The same. I want the bakery up and running before I need to start thinking about morning sickness and diapers.”

  He continued leading her through the ho
use. “Ethel lives in a room off the kitchen. I told her to pick any room she wanted, but she said that was the one she belonged in. At least she has a private bathroom.” He’d have given her the master bedroom if she’d asked.

  He led her into the kitchen and she smiled at all the cool gadgets. “This would be fun to cook in.”

  “Do you like to cook?”

  She laughed. “I prefer to bake, but I’m a good cook. We may end up adding catering to the business before all is said and done. Who knows?”

  He nodded, leading her to the stairs. “My office and bedroom are upstairs. There are three spare rooms as well.”

  “This place is huge.”

  “Before the economic downturn here in Wyoming, we had a lot of ranch hands. There are fewer now, but it still takes a lot of men to run a ranch. My mom thought she’d have at least a dozen kids, but her health has never been good. She only had me.”

  “That’s sad. I think if women want lots of kids, they should be able to have them.”

  “If only life really worked that way.” Marcus led her into his office, showing her around. “I do work from home a couple of days a week. I run my own practice so no one really cares.”

  “That reminds me. What’s the difference between a lawyer and a jellyfish?”

  He shook his head at her. “If these keep going, I’m going to start kissing you just to shut you up.”

  “One’s a spineless, poisonous blob. The other is a form of sea life.”

  He shook his head. “You deserve a penalty for that one.”

  “What kind of penalty?” She didn’t really care what he said, of course. She loved her lawyer jokes, and dating a lawyer, as it appeared she was doing, was going to make them so much more fun.

  “I’m not sure. I’ll think it through.”

  “Well, when you decide let me know, and I’ll let you know if I accept the penalty.”

  He sighed. “You’re a sassy little thing, aren’t you?”

  “At least I’m not hiding my true nature. You’re being forewarned!”

  “It’s a good thing you’re so pretty. I might have to make you walk home otherwise.”

  She shrugged. “You could. It wouldn’t hurt me a bit.”

  “You’re supposed to shriek and act like it would kill you if I forced you to walk home.”

  “I am?” She sighed dramatically. “I’ll never get the hang of all this man-woman stuff. Maybe you should give me up as a lost cause.”

  “Why don’t you think you’ll ever get the hang of it?”

  “Because I refuse to be someone I’m not. Men don’t seem to like honesty, just subterfuge.”

  He laughed. “I like you. You know that?”

  “Good, because you’re kind of growing on me.”

  He sighed. “Let’s get you home. It’ll be dark soon, and I don’t need Linda Culpepper coming to find you.”

  “She just met me this morning. She wouldn’t come looking for me. My sisters might, but she wouldn’t.”

  He shook his head. “You just met her this morning, but I’ve known her my whole life. She would come find you. I promise.” Linda took care of those she considered her own. Grace would be one of hers.

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  He led her through the house and down to his garage, which was off the kitchen. “Let me find you a helmet.”

  While he was looking, she watched him, smiling to herself. He was a good man. She could be happy with him. “Can I make a request before you take me back to Linda’s house?”

  “Sure. Whatever you want.” He found the helmet and held it up, carrying it over to her.

  “Will you kiss me again? I want to make sure I didn’t imagine how it felt.”

  He raised an eyebrow, a grin turning up one corner of his lips. “How did it feel?”

  “Like magic fairy dust was sprinkled all over my body, starting from my lips and traveling all the way to my toes. I think I like kissing.”

  He stared at her in disbelief. She really did have no experience with men, or she wouldn’t have admitted that and given him so much power over her. “Magic fairy dust, huh?”

  She nodded. “Think you can make it happen again?”

  “I’m sure I can.” He caught her about her waist and pulled her to him, holding her against his body.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her lips to his. As soon as his lips touched hers again, the magic began. She’d never felt anything quite like it. She parted her lips for his, and she felt his tongue stroke the inside of her upper lip.

  She moaned softly. “I wonder if it’d be like this if I kissed someone else.”

  He frowned at her. “I’d rather you didn’t run around trying to find out.”

  She grinned. “I can’t really see myself doing that. I like kissing you. I think you bring the magic. I don’t think a random man off the street could do it.”

  “You just keep thinking that, and we’ll be just fine!” He grabbed his helmet and put it on, while she strapped hers on. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

  “All of our baking supplies were shipped, and Linda said they’ve been putting them into the bakery. So we’ll probably spend tomorrow setting it up.”

  “Will you and your twin and both cousins all work there?”

  Grace laughed. “Honor wouldn’t do it if we paid her. She wanted to come, but only so she could try to work on the ranch with the men. Do you think they’ll let her?”

  He made a face. “I don’t know. The Culpeppers tend to be pretty traditional. They might surprise me, though.”

  “Honor would never be happy being cooped up inside all day. She loves being outdoors. When we were little, we’d have a picnic under this tree in our backyard. All four of our older sisters and I would be sitting there quietly, doing whatever craft we’d brought along, and Honor would be dangling from the highest branch at the top of the tree.”

  He smiled at the idea. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Grace laughed. “We’re actually fraternal twins, but we look so alike, and act so differently, that we confuse everyone.”

  “Okay.” He’d just go with that. He threw a leg over the motorcycle and waited for her to climb on behind him before starting it. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and he realized then that he was going to make her his wife. Feeling her arms around him was like coming in from a week in the snow and being surrounded by warmth while sipping on hot chocolate.

  Grace rested her cheek against his shoulder, giggling as he took off out of his driveway. She liked his motorcycle. More than she probably should.

  When he stopped the cycle in front of Linda’s house and got off, she was disappointed their time together was over. “When will I see you again?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Well, you said you were working all day tomorrow.”

  “I have to eat.” She knew her mother would be appalled at the way she was angling for an invitation, but she didn’t care. She wanted to see him again soon.

  “You do.” He tapped her nose with his finger. “Why don’t I come get you around six, and you can have dinner with me at my place? And maybe you can introduce me to that show of yours tomorrow evening.”

  She grinned at his words. Not only would she have time with Marcus, but she could introduce him to Jo and Dylan. “What do you throw a drowning lawyer?” she asked, needing to end the special day with one of her favorite jokes.

  He sighed. “This is really going to keep happening, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, yeah!” She waited and when he didn’t answer, she said, “His partners!”

  He groaned, leaning down to kiss her softly. “Tomorrow evening. Wear something comfortable.”

  She nodded, stroking his cheek with her hand. “I think I’m going to keep you.”

  “Oh, you are, are you?”

  Grace smiled, turning to hurry into the house. Of course she was going to keep him. He was the nicest lawyer she’d ever met.

  Linda was in
the kitchen when she got back. “You took longer than I expected. I was starting to get worried!”

  “Oh, I’m fine, Mrs. Culpepper. Marcus took me for a walk over to his house, and then he brought me back on his motorcycle.” Grace smiled dreamily as she thought about sitting on the back of the cycle with her arms wrapped tightly around Marcus’s waist. “It was fun!”

  “Call me Linda, or even Wiggie. That’s what the grandkids will call me.” She turned back to the pizza she was pulling from the oven. “Did Marcus think to feed you?”

  Grace shook her head. “No, but we’re having dinner together tomorrow night. He’s picking me up around six.”

  “I’m glad you two are getting along so well. Maybe you’ll end up settling down here in Culpepper too.” Linda cut the frozen pizza she’d just removed with a pair of scissors like it was a normal thing to do. “Do you want some?”

  “Do you always cut pizza with scissors? I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”

  Linda shrugged. “I think it’s a lot easier than a pizza cutter.”

  “All right. Yeah, pizza sounds good. Do you want me to set the table?”

  Linda gestured to some paper plates on the counter. “What do you want to drink?”

  “Oh, iced tea?” Grace had no idea what Linda kept around yet. She’d spent very little time in the home since her arrival.

  “Sweet or unsweet?”

  “Unsweet, thanks.”

  She took the plates from Linda after she’d piled the pizza on them and carried them to the table. “Where are the others?”

  “Honor went to have dinner with Hope and Karlan. Felicity and Patience are eating with Faith and Cooper.”

  “I see. Did it bother you being abandoned the day we arrived?”

  Linda shook her head. “Of course not. I don’t feel abandoned at all. I was invited to go eat with Honor, but I wanted to wait here for you. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

  “I’m sorry I worried you. I really was having a good time, and it never occurred to me you’d be worried.”

  Linda shrugged. “I’m a worrier. If there’s ever a storm, I’ll be calling to make sure you’re all right.”