Hell Yeah! Box Set With Bonus Cookbook

by Hunter, Sable

  Her feet dangled in the water, as she rode him to heaven and back. “How am I ever going to live without this? You should never have introduced me to sex, Jacob. You’ve created a monster.” Turning her head, she begged for his kiss. Palming his cheek, she caressed the sexy growth of beard that made him look so rakishly handsome.

  In between biting kisses, he answered. “I’ll make it my personal mission in life to keep you sexually satisfied. How’s that?”

  “If only.” With those two simple little words, Jessie took them both to paradise.

  Chapter Seven

  Sleeping in Jacob’s arms was almost as good as having sex with him. Almost. Cuddling down under the soft covers, Jessie let her mind remember every moment of the wonderful time they shared the previous evening. She was storing up every memory that she could. Soon, she would be on her own again and reliving these precious moments would keep her going. Upon their return from the old home place, he had drawn her a bath. She would never forget how he had knelt beside it and tenderly soaped and cleansed her body, even washing her hair. After patting her dry, he had carried her to bed and lulled her to sleep with a soothing back rub. At the end of the massage session, he had kissed her awake and made love to her again. He had urged her up on hands and knees and mounted her from the back, this time nipping her neck when he came - like a stallion with a mare. Jessie had climaxed harder than ever before. Sex with Jacob just kept getting better and better.

  Now lying here in his arms, she knew that she had to get serious, As much as she longed to depend on him for her every need, she couldn’t ask him to give up his dream of the perfect family to take on a wife who was uneducated, poor and illiterate. It just wouldn’t be fair to him. So, Jessie struggled with herself. She was desperate to think of some way to make a living for her child that would be more respectable than cleaning toilets. She wanted her baby to be proud of her, and she didn’t want Jacob to be ashamed of his son’s mother. .

  “What are you worrying about, Puddin’?” Jacob asked, trailing the tips of his fingers up and down her arm.

  “Whether or not I’m going to be a good mother to our son.” There. That was honest enough.

  “Are you kidding? You’re going to be a terrific mom.” He started to say more when shouting and hollering and a general commotion broke through their reverie. “I had better go check that out,” Jacob grabbed his pants and a shirt and made for the other part of the house. Jessie got up also, hoping that nothing was seriously wrong. She didn’t have much to choose from in the way of clothing, so she slipped the yellow sundress back on. Luckily, she had washed it out in the sink and hung it up to dry. Thank the Lord for wrinkle free material!

  When she got to the kitchen there was a popping and thunking sound. Isaac and Nathan were whooping and hollering and Libby was scurrying around with dish towels and big Tupperware bowls. “What’s going on?” she heard Jacob ask.

  Isaac cracked up. “Libby’s homebrew exploded.”

  Oh, no! Jessie thought. She edged in trying to get a better look. Sure enough, the pantry was drenched in plum juice. Plums were bouncing out of the container and dozens were sticking to the ceiling like colorful modern art. “Libby!” she exclaimed. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know.,” she moaned. “I’ve never seen such a mess in my life!” Jessie stepped in and started helping her.

  Noah walked back in with Libby’s recipe. “Did you follow the directions?” he asked. “Exactly?”

  Libby was mopping up the strong smelling juice. “I’m sure we did. Jessie checked the recipe, didn’t you?” She looked at Jessie for confirmation. Jessie’s stomach balled up into a knot.

  Before Jessie could answer, Noah read the recipe out loud - then asked. “Did you pierce each one of the plums like it said to do?”

  “Give me that book,” Libby huffed. She glanced at Jessie, “We must have missed that part,” she sighed.

  Aron walked to the door of the pantry. “Whoooeeeee,” he crowed. “It sure smells good in here! Can I have a taste, Sugar-Britches?” Libby waved the mop at him.

  Jessie felt horrible. “Libby, I’m so sorry.”

  Libby waved it off with a smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “We’ll have this cleaned up in a jiffy. Why don’t you two ladies go sit down,” Jacob took the mop from Libby and quickly started mopping the juice off the floor.

  “Here, Isaac. Pick some plums.” Aron handed him a bowl and pointed to the plums that were overhead.

  Libby led Jessie into the kitchen. “What’s wrong, Jessie? I can tell you’re about to cry.”

  Jessie leaned on the bar and hung her head. “I can’t read,” she whispered brokenly. “I have dyslexia.”

  “Oh, you poor thing,” Libby hugged her close.

  “Don’t tell Jacob, please,” Jessie begged.

  “You don’t have a thing in the world to be ashamed of, “Libby took Jessie by the shoulders. “Dyslexia is something this family understands.” At Jessie’s questioning look, Libby explained. “Nathan is dyslexic.” She pulled Jessie to the family room and sat her down at the computer. “Look at all of these programs that we’ve got that will help you with your reading.”

  Jessie wiped the tears from her eyes and studied what Libby was showing her. “I had no idea that these programs even existed.”

  “You can use them any time you’d like. And, I’d be glad to help.” Libby handed her a tissue.

  “I still don’t want Jacob to know, not yet anyway.”

  “You need to tell him, Jessie. He’ll understand, completely.” Libby assured her. Jessie knew that Libby was right, but that didn’t make it any easier.

  ******

  Noah sat on his horse and waited for Aron to catch up. He still didn’t know what to do. Jacob seemed so happy. Who was he to interfere in their relationship?

  “Who put a burr under your saddle?” Aron could tell that Noah was not a happy man.

  “There’s nothing wrong with me,” Noah mumbled as they started down the trail toward the hay meadow. “I just don’t trust Jessie Montgomery, that’s all.”

  Aron cut his eyes over at his brother. “Jessie’s not Sabrina, Noah.”

  “I realize that.”

  “Besides, I told Roscoe to stay on the case. He’s looking into the whole mess. If there’s anything to be found, he’ll uncover it.”

  “Does Jacob know that you asked Roscoe to investigate her.”

  “Yes, I don’t keep stuff from any of you boys. But, I didn’t phrase it like that, either. I didn’t ask Roscoe to investigate Jessie, I asked him to investigate the McCays and the circumstances surrounding it. Roscoe will look into Jessie’s background because he’s good at what he does.” They rode on for a few minutes, till Aron slowed down his mount. “Hell, look at them buzzards, Noah.”

  “Something’s dead over the rise,” They urged their mounts forward. “Damn! Look at that!”

  “What could have done this?” They both got down off their horses to look at the pitiful sight before them. A cow and calf had been butchered, brutally slain, and partially skinned. Aron examined the bodies.

  “Do you think it was coyotes?” Noah looked around for tracks.

  “Lord, I don’t know. It’s a hell of a mess, that’s for sure.” Aron pulled his cell phone from his belt. “I’m gonna call the bunk house and get some men over here to bury this. We don’t need to attract predators this close to the house. You call Kane and alert him that we’ve got some nut roaming around.”

  Noah patted his pockets. “Damn! I never got my phone from Nathan,” he led the horses over to a bush and tied them.

  Aron made both calls. “Kane said to wait till he got here before we put these poor things under the ground. He wants to check everything out.”

  “Why would someone do something li
ke this?” Noah asked.

  “I have no idea.”

  Nathan got on the school bus and took Noah’s cell phone out of his backpack. He had conveniently forgotten to give it back. Twice today, he had almost got into trouble over it. Settling into the corner of the seat, he pulled it out to check the text messages. Noah got the best messages. They were from girls, and they were about sex.

  He scrolled back through the last few.

  This one was from Ginger Paulson: Hey Studmuffin: (Nathan giggled) I enjoyed myself last night. You really know how to make a girl happy. Are all the McCoy’s hung like a bull, or are you just special? If you’re up for it, I’m ready for round two. Call me.

  Nathan thought he knew what being hung like a bull meant, but he didn’t think a girl would be talking about something like that.

  The second one was from Heather McGee: Nathan, I’m ready for some lovin’, baby. How about you bring some Chinese over tonight? We’ll eat and then you can have some dessert. Me.” That one made Nathan blush.

  The third one wasn’t nearly as interesting. It was from Harper Summers. Nathan, I really would like to see you. It’s time that we talked about what happened. If you think that you can forgive me, please let me know. I’ve missed you. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll understand.

  Glancing out the window, Nathan saw that the bus was nearing his stop. Chunking the phone back in the pack, he promised himself he would give it back to Nathan soon.

  Kane made a few notes on a pad and then stuffed it into his back pocket. “We won’t be able to get any prints off of this ground, it’s too grassy.” He walked around, looking for any clue they might have missed.

  “Are you sure it wasn’t a cougar?” Jacob asked. “I’ve heard that there’s been one spotted nearby. It took out two of David’s calves about a week ago.”

  “How far away is David’s place?” Zane asked. He had been with his brother when the call came through.

  “About twelve miles as the crow flies,” Aron pointed westward. “But, that’s nothing for a cougar. They’ve been known to make a sixty mile circuit, hunting game for their young’uns.”

  Tracy Phillips got to her feet. Noah cut his eyes away; he knew he’d been staring. But, the lady coroner was one good-looking woman. “This wasn’t a cougar.” She sounded fairly certain.

  “How can you be sure?” Jacob asked.

  “Two things,” she pushed a strand of auburn hair out of her green eyes. “First, nothing’s been eaten. And second, the weapon that killed these animals wasn’t sharp teeth - it was a sharp scalpel.”

  ******

  Keith McCay was in a frenzy. Blood-lust ran thick and heavy in his veins. Ripping up those stupid animals had only whetted his appetite. For years, he had subjugated himself to that bitch of a wife. Now, that he had a few kills under his belt, he was hungry for more.

  He was going to give Jessie Montgomery a choice. If she chose wrong - she’d be sorry.

  *****

  Jacob was anxious to get home. After he had helped his men bury the mama cow and her calf, he had taken a couple of hours to go shopping. His first stop had been to purchase a couple of baby books. He wanted to know as much as possible about what Jessie’s body was going through and how he could help. When he had placed the books on the floorboard of the back seat, he had found the sack of baby wear that he bought at the western store. Just the thought of what he and Jessie had done in the truck on the way home made him hard.

  Knowing that Jessie was going to need clothes for the dance, he had gone crazy and went to Sarah Jane’s boutique and bought ten different outfits for his Angel-Baby. And before he left the town square, he had stopped at the florist and bought a dozen peach colored roses. The color reminded him of her nipples. With a groan, he shifted on the seat as his dick swelled in his jeans. Sex with Jessie was mind numbing. Even now, his dick was aching just thinking about what waited on him at home. He had such plans for them! It would only be right to court her for a while, before asking her to commit to him. But knowing they had a tiny little boy to think about, made him want to throw caution to the wind and whisk her off to Vegas. He couldn’t wait to be married to Jessie Montgomery.

  Oh, yeah – he knew there were still things he didn’t know about her, but he planned on having a blast finding out all her little secrets. One thing he had found out was a little bit about Keith McCay. He and Aron had received their first report from Roscoe and Keith McCay could very well be a problem.

  The morning went quickly. Jessie enjoyed helping Libby in the kitchen. Most of the things they made were simple and Libby told her what to do. The only close call she had was when Libby forgot and asked her how much of a particular spice went into a batch of cookies. Jessie stared at the recipe book and all of the letters and numbers seemed to bounce around on the paper. Lord! How she hated her disability. This time she didn’t try to make something up. “Libby, I’m sorry. I can’t make it out.”

  “Jessie! I forgot, I’m sorry. You’re so well spoken, and you’ve got a huge vocabulary – it’s hard to remember that you have dyslexia.” Libby was so sincerely apologetic that Jessie just laughed.

  “That’s okay, after our plum fiasco, I don’t want to take any chances.”

  Libby spooned out dough on another baking sheet. By the time they were through, they would have twelve dozen double fudge chocolate chip cookies. “I can’t read very well, but I’ve checked out hundreds of audio books from the library. That’s helped.”

  “I’m sure it has. Tell me about yourself, Jessie. I have a good feeling that we’re going to be best friends as well as sisters-in-law.” Libby placed a pan of cookies in the oven.

  Jessie almost dropped the bowl she was washing. “Jacob and I aren’t going to get married!” Just the thought sent waves of longing through her body.

  Libby put her hands on her hip and looked at the other girl. “I know Jacob, Jessie. I’ve known Jacob since we were in Junior High. He spent countless hours working on fundraisers so that I would have medicine and to keep my family from being pulled under by medical debt. There is no better man than Jacob McCoy. He would never, ever turn his back on a child, especially if it’s his own.”

  Jessie almost crumpled under Libby’s gaze. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she agonized.

  Shocked, Libby took Jessie by the arm and forced her into a chair. “What are you talking about? Don’t you want to marry Jacob? You love him, it’s as plain as day - I can see it on your face every time you look at him.”

  “I do love him.” Jessie whispered. And she did. That might make her a fool, but it was just the way it was. Like a river flows to the sea, some things were just meant to be. “Libby, this is going to sound like the most selfish thing in the world - but I was thinking about what we discussed the other day. And it may be wrong, but I want to be loved for me - not because I’m pregnant with somebody’s baby.” Remembering that Libby was pregnant also, Jessie covered her mouth in dismay - wishing she could take her words back.

  “It’s okay, Jessie. You didn’t hurt my feelings.” Libby took both of Jessie’s hands in her own. “Aron loves me. There’s not a doubt in my mind about that. We’re not married yet, but that’s only because I didn’t want to elope. We’ve already set the date. It’s over a month away, but Aron would marry me tomorrow if he could. The baby is icing on the cake.”

  “But, our circumstances are completely different. Jacob didn’t have a choice about this baby. I show up on his doorsteps and tell him about a lab error that may have made him a father. No normal man would want to be forced into fatherhood, but Jacob’s heart is as big as Texas. I am so afraid that he feels sorry for me and will just marry me out of some misplaced sense of obligation.” Suddenly, it was all too much. Jessie felt overwhelmed. Laying her head on the table, she gave into her tears.

  Jacob walked in at the door and heard
her. What was wrong? Laying packages on the couch in front of the fireplace, he hurried to the kitchen, roses in hand. Meeting Libby’s eyes, he gave her a questioning look. Libby mouthed, ‘She needs you,’ and left them alone.

  Leaning into her, he pushed he hair aside and kissed her neck. “What in the world do you have to be sad about, Baby? If you’d just tell me what’s wrong, I’ll make it right - I promise.”

  Absolute adoration bubbled up inside Jessie. Twisting in her chair, she allowed Jacob to embrace her. “Hormones,” she whispered tearfully.

  Jacob kissed her tears away. “Are you sure, Angel? You can tell me anything. If somebody made you mad, I’ll take ’em out to the woodshed for you.”

  “No, everybody’s been very good to me,” she said on a choked little sob.

  “As they should be, you’re so sweet I wanna sop you up with a biscuit.” He let his lips slide over her neck, thoughts of making love to her paramount in his mind. “I brought you a surprise.” When she opened her eyes, he presented her with the roses.

  Jessie held out her hands in wonder. “For me?” she looked at him, sure she had misunderstood.

  “Now, who else would they be for? You’re my best girl, Baby.”

  His voice was so warm and loving, Jessie almost started crying again. She took the roses and hugged them to her, careful not to bruise any of the delicate petals. “I never thought that I would be given roses,” she said in a hushed tone.

  Jacob was, once more, amazed that this beautiful woman seemed so untouched by male attention. Were all the men that had ever met her fools? “Let me find you a vase and we’ll put them in some water. Where do you want to take them, to our room, or do you want to leave them on the dining table?”