Trainer's Treat (Culpepper Cowboys Book 7) Read online

  His eyes moved up and down her slender body, and he smiled. He couldn’t believe this beautiful woman had married him. He pushed her slowly down until she was lying on her back on the bed, his eyes watching her face the whole time. He kept expecting her to get up and run away from him, but he wasn’t certain why.

  Patience watched him as he stood and pushed his dress slacks and underwear down and off his body, her eyes drifting away before he was fully nude. It was one thing to know he was about to touch her with that part of him, but another entirely to look at it. As much as her mother had tried to dispel the lies told by their church, she still had a hard time with things that should have come naturally.

  “You sure got quiet,” he said softly as he lay down beside her on the bed. “Don’t be nervous.”

  She sighed. “I’m not quite clear on how to keep from being nervous. I’m trying.”

  Ryan pressed his lips to hers once more, thinking if he could distract her with his kisses, she’d have a lot less to worry about.

  She stroked his entire back and now down to his bottom, which she’d admired more than once in his tight jeans.

  He groaned when he felt her hands moving over his body. He’d given her permission to touch him that way, but he hadn’t really expected her to do it. He pressed his lips to hers, his own hands going to her breasts to toy with her nipples, trying to bring her to the same level of need he’d been at since their wedding kiss.

  His hand drifted down further to where she had her thighs clenched together. He stroked one hand up and down her leg until it relaxed before moving his hand into the opening she’d made, flicking one finger against the button of need he found there.

  As soon as his hand moved between her thighs, Patience gripped his shoulders tightly, knowing they were close to making love. Why she was so nervous when she knew every woman in the history of the world had done this with the man she married, Patience didn’t know, but she was. No one had ever done this with her after all.

  Ryan kept his mouth pressed tightly to hers as his hand stroked her. When she started to thrash under him, he knew it was time, and she was ready for him, so he covered her body with his.

  She felt him pressing against her, and her eyes grew wide, then closed tightly in anticipation of the pain. To her surprise the pain was slight, and once he was inside her, there was simply a feeling of fullness as he remained still atop her.

  He lifted his head to watch her face for a reaction, and she looked back up at him, slightly breathless. “That feels—weird.”

  He laughed softly. “I hope you only say that this one time. I don’t want it to always feel weird.”

  Her lips quirked at one corner. “I doubt I’ll say it again, but you never know.”

  Ryan dropped his forehead down so it was touching hers. “Are you ready for me to move?”

  She swallowed hard before nodding. “Please.”

  “Please? I think I like that!” He moved a bit, loving how good the motion felt. “It’s kind of you to sweetly ask me that way.”

  She wrinkled her nose and wrapped her arms around him as he continued to move inside her. It wasn’t long before she felt as if something broke within her, and she fell back against the pillows, feeling like she would never have any energy again.

  Ryan quickly finished, collapsing beside her on the bed, and gathering her against him. His hand stroked her back, smoothing her hair down. He sighed contentedly. He’d found the perfect mother for his little girl, and a giving wife to boot.

  *****

  When it was time to wake up the next morning, Patience wanted to snuggle under the covers for another week. She was tired and more than a little sore.

  Ryan smiled at her, kissing her forehead. “I have to shower.”

  She stifled a yawn behind her hand. “You probably want breakfast too, don’t you?”

  He grinned at the way she tried to build herself a cocoon out of the covers, covering every inch of her body, leaving only her face out in the open. “Only if it won’t kill you to get up and make me something.”

  She groaned, rolling to her back. “I think I’ll survive.” She watched as he disappeared into the master bathroom before she jumped out of bed, dug clothes out of her suitcase, and went into Corinne’s bathroom down the hall.

  As she walked she rubbed her eyes, not nearly ready to start her day. Normally she didn’t mind getting up early, but today, she wanted nothing more than to sleep forever.

  After she’d washed and brushed her teeth, she wandered down to the kitchen and started breakfast, making pancakes and bacon, because she could easily find ingredients for them. She started a list of things she’d need to pick up at the grocery store while she cooked.

  When Ryan got to the bottom of the stairs, he inhaled the scent of freshly cooked bacon and almost dropped to his knees to kiss the floor at his new wife’s feet. He’d missed having a co-parent for his daughter. He’d missed having someone to share his bed, but more importantly, he’d missed someone to cook for him. And if he was honest, Brandi had never been much of a cook anyway.

  Why food was the most important thing, and yesterday it hadn’t been, but as he’d smelled the food she was cooking, it had become foremost in his mind. “That smells delicious.”

  Patience smiled at him as she flipped the pancakes. “Breakfast’ll be ready in a minute or two.”

  He walked into the kitchen and caught her chin in his hand, kissing her passionately. “Thank you for feeding me.”

  “I’m going to be going to the grocery store today. Tell me if there’s anything in particular you want to be fed, because there’s not much food around here.”

  He smiled. “I’m sure I’ll be happy with anything you make.”

  She pushed at his chest, needing him out of her space so she could concentrate on cooking. “Go and sit. I’ll bring your plate to you.”

  He moved to a barstool at the counter, sitting down and watching her. “When did you start learning to cook?”

  Patience shook her head. “I don’t remember that far back. I know I’ve told you a little about how we were raised. Our father firmly believed that the only thing a woman should be able to do in life is take care of a family, so from the time I could walk, I was expected to learn about housework and cooking.”

  “Seriously?”

  She nodded. “And I don’t disagree completely. I’ll have Corinne helping in the kitchen. I won’t expect her to make full meals by herself unless she wants to, but I think everyone should be able to cook.”

  “But you won’t force her?”

  “Not now, I won’t. If she gets to be fifteen and still can’t cook a simple meal, it’ll be time to force it and make her learn.” Patience looked at him with a grin. “Do you think she’ll be finished wearing tutus everywhere by the time she’s fifteen?”

  He laughed. “I hope so. She loves to dance, though, and it makes her happy.” His face grew serious. “I feel like she’s lost out on so much with her mother dying young.”

  “I understand that. I’m glad we were able to find a way for her to go to ballet camp this summer. It’s obviously very important to her.”

  “Even before Brandi died, Katie talked a lot about how much potential Corinne had with her dancing. She’s always been a natural.” He frowned at the plate she put in front of him. “I knew Brandi felt it was important for her, so I kept encouraging her.”

  Patience took her plate around and sat on the barstool next to his. “I’ll do the same. I don’t plan to change anything around here, except maybe the cleanliness.”

  He made a face. “I usually do laundry on Sundays, but with everything that happened yesterday…”

  “You didn’t get around to it. That’s fine. I have Mondays off, and I’ll get the laundry caught up and as much of the housework as I can.” She looked around her, seeing so many things that needed to happen. “I probably won’t have the house where we want it for a while. On the days I work, I work from five to six.”

&
nbsp; He cringed. “Those are long hours. At least you get two days per week off.”

  She nodded. “I do. And I’ll make sure that I have dinner in the crock pot before I leave for work every morning.”

  “You don’t have to take care of every meal, you know.”

  “I don’t? Aren’t you the man who burns mac and cheese?”

  “I thought you were going to forget about that!”

  “I don’t remember saying that. What would I have to hold over you?” She grinned at him as she took a bite of her pancakes.

  He sighed. “Do you want to come out and meet the horses this morning? I wish I could take today off to be with you.”

  She shook her head. “Soon. It doesn’t make sense for me to waste any time on the one whole day I have to clean and do laundry. I’ll get as much done as I can, and then I’ll get Corinne to camp, do the grocery shopping, and then come back and cook and do the laundry. I’ve got a busy day planned.”

  “I wish you didn’t have to waste your day off doing so much for me.”

  She shrugged. “I was raised to believe that it’s a woman’s job to keep her family happy, and if she’s stubborn enough to insist on working outside her home, she still shouldn’t inconvenience her man and expect him to do anything around the house.”

  “Did both of your parents believe that hogwash? I thought you said your mother was better.”

  “Oh, Mom was much better. I need to call her today as well, come to think of it. She did believe that a woman should make her husband happy, though, and for her husband, that meant doing all the cooking and all the cleaning.”

  Ryan shook his head. “What about her husband keeping her happy?”

  Patience laughed. “Oh, that was never discussed. You see, men have all the choices in the world, because they’re the primary breadwinners. If they’re not happy at home, they have every right to leave and find someone who will keep them happy.”

  “Are you kidding me? That wasn’t really preached, was it?”

  She shrugged. “Not in so many words, but yeah. That’s what we were raised to believe.”

  “I want you to know that I don’t feel that way. When we both made vows, we were both required to stick to them forever. Not just you and not just me.”

  She nodded. “Oh, I agree wholeheartedly.”

  He finished off the last couple of bites of his pancakes, grabbing her and kissing her softly. “Have a good day.”

  She smiled. “I’ll have lunch ready for you around eleven, before I go to get Corinne.”

  “Lunch?” His eyes lit up. “I don’t have to take a cold sandwich, a bag of chips, and a Twinkie?”

  She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Please don’t. I can do better than that.”

  After he was gone, she quickly gave the kitchen and dining room a thorough cleaning, loading the dishwasher, and scrubbing the floors. While waiting for the floors to dry, she went into the living room and called her mother.

  When the FaceTime call was answered, she saw her mother smiling back at her. “I saw the wedding pictures, Patience. You looked so beautiful!”

  “Thank you!”

  “Tell me all about him. And who was the beautiful little girl in the ballerina outfit?”

  “His name is Ryan Bassett, he’s a horse trainer, and the little girl is his daughter, Corinne. They came into the bakery last week, and Corinne wanted to go to ballet camp, but he couldn’t get her there. Her mother died of breast cancer a couple of years ago.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry they’ve been through that, but I’m so glad you’re there for both of them. So did you fall in love with her first or him?”

  Patience laughed, thrilled to talk to someone who knew her so well. “Her, actually. I agreed to go out with him, because she wanted it so badly.”

  “But you love him too now, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do. He’s a pretty wonderful man.”

  Her mother sighed happily. “And you married him yesterday?”

  Patience nodded. “I did.”

  “I’m glad your sister stood up with you. That dress she was wearing was so cute!”

  “Grace loaned it to her.” Patience sighed. “Are you going to tell Dad right away?”

  Her mother shook her head. “Nope. He’ll insist on driving out there and dragging Felicity back by her hair. I’d rather not tell him anything. He is starting to wonder when you’re coming back, though.”

  “What have you told him?” Patience worried about their mother being the one to take the blame for their escape.

  “Not much. I just say you’ve decided to stay on a bit longer whenever he asks.”

  “And he’s taking that for an answer?”

  “He has no reason to suspect anything. I’ve deleted the pictures off my phone, so he won’t be able to find them.”

  Patience frowned. “Felicity still has them. We’ll get them printed when you’re ready to have paper copies.”

  “Not yet.” Her mother smiled at her. “I’m very happy for you, Patience. I can see how happy you are. He must be a good man.”

  “He is. I knew it the moment I saw him with his little girl.”

  “I wish I could have been there, but I do know this was for the best. Is Felicity seeing anyone?”

  Patience shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m sure she will be. There’s something about Culpepper that’s making us Quinlan girls get married.”

  Her mother laughed at that. “I’m glad. You deserve to be happy.”

  They talked for a few more minutes before finally hanging up, and Patience got back to work. She felt so much better after talking to her mother. Now she just had to do all she could to earn Ryan’s love.

  Glancing at the clock, she knew she’d need to start lunch in a few minutes if she wanted him to have something decent to eat. She could make certain there were always enough leftovers for lunch after today. But today, she’d have to make something fresh.

  She hurriedly finished up the basic cleaning on the downstairs before making his lunch. She left it in the microwave with a note on the counter, telling him to heat it for one minute if he didn’t make it in to eat it before eleven-thirty.

  Then she hurried out of the house with his truck keys in hand. She hadn’t thought to talk to him about not having a vehicle, and Corinne needed to get to ballet camp. She’d have to make other arrangements for the rest of the week, because she couldn’t keep taking his truck.

  When she got to Linda’s house, Corinne was waiting for her with her backpack in hand. Felicity was hovering behind the girl, her hand on her shoulder. As soon as Corinne saw Patience, she flew at her, throwing her arms around her. “Mama! You’re here!”

  Patience laughed, stroking her hair, which had been carefully put into a bun with braids wrapped around it. “Of course I’m here! Were you good for Auntie Felicity?”

  Felicity nodded, a questioning look on her face. Patience could see her sister wanted to make sure she was all right. She nodded at her with a smile.

  “I was really good. We stayed up late and we talked and talked. I can’t wait to have another sleepover with her,” Corinne said, taking her hand and walking outside with her.

  Patience laughed, knowing she was excited. “I’m going to go to the grocery store after I drop you off at ballet camp. Is there anything special you want me to fix?”

  “Oh, I love chicken and dumplings. Do you know how to make those?”

  Patience smiled. “Of course, I do. And even if I didn’t, I know how to read a cook book, so I can make just about anything.”

  “Will you make chicken and dumplings for supper then?”

  “Yes, I will. I’d be happy to.” Patience pulled out onto the highway in front of the Culpepper Ranch, and headed toward Culpepper.

  “It’s going to be nice to have a mama again,” Corinne said with a sigh. “Do you think it would hurt my mama in heaven’s feelings if I love you too?”

  Patience felt tears prick her eyes at the question. “Yo
u know I really don’t think it will hurt her feelings at all. She’s going to want you to be loved, and that’ll be the most important thing to her.” She brushed one of the tears away as she drove. She only wished it was as easy to get the little girl’s father to love her.

  “I’m glad, because I already love you. I was really worried about hurting my other mama’s feelings, though.”

  “Don’t be. Think about it this way. If you had a little girl that you loved with everything inside of you, and you knew you were going to die, wouldn’t you want there to be someone else who would come along and love that little girl just as much as you do? So she wouldn’t be alone with just a daddy who could only do vacuum cleaner ponytails?”

  Corinne giggled. “I wouldn’t want her to have to put up with that!”

  “Well, then your mama wouldn’t either, now would she?”

  When they got to ballet camp, and Patience walked in with Corinne, Katie came hurrying over. “Are the rumors true?”

  Patience blushed, knowing what was coming. “What rumors?” she asked.

  “Everyone is saying you and Ryan Bassett got married last night, and there was a certain little girl who was a butterfly ballerina flower girl.” Katie’s hand went to rest on Corinne’s shoulder.

  “It’s true! I was the flower girl!” Corinne danced into the studio, joining the other girls.

  Katie smiled at Patience. “Brandi was a close friend of mine, and I can say, she’d be happy with you being Corinne’s new mother. It would make her very happy.”

  “Thank you.” Patience was thrilled to hear Katie’s words. She felt like she wasn’t quite good enough, but she was happy someone thought she was.

  Chapter Eight

  By the time Patience finished putting the groceries up, it was already almost two in the afternoon. She started a whole chicken boiling that she would later pull apart for the chicken and dumplings Corinne wanted, and then she started on the laundry.

  She stripped everything off both beds, because she wanted the blankets and quilts washed as well. She had a huge task in front of her, and though she knew she may not finish before her new family was home, she could work on it throughout the evening. Just so it was all finished before she went to work the following morning.