“Oh, definitely. Especially if it’s for baby making purposes. We need as many babies around here as possible.”
Hope blushed but didn’t comment on why. “Thank you! I’ll cover your naptime shift for you.”
“Sounds good to me.” Joy smiled as Faith came into the big house. “We weren’t expecting you today!”
Faith held up a piece of paper. “Hope, we’ve sold all but five of your sets of holiday outfits. I need you to make more! That was a brilliant idea.”
“How about orders for the babies? Have you gotten more?”
“Yes! I got four overnight. I can’t keep up!” Faith smiled at Hope. “I also got a special request from a mother who purchased a baby doll for her daughter last year.”
“What’s that?”
“Her daughter wants a dress to match her dolls. Because it’s a custom order, we could charge double what we usually would.” Faith bit her lip, waiting for Hope’s response.
“Sure. I can do that.” Hope frowned. “I’ll have to look online to find some good matching patterns. How specific were they about what they wanted?”
“The mom wants an everyday dress for them both. She doesn’t want something fancy, because that would be too much work to keep nice.”
Hope smiled. “Good, that won’t take as long to make either. Tell her we’ll do it, and I’ll start looking for patterns. Do you have the little girl’s size?”
“Six.”
“All right. I’m on it.”
Faith hugged Hope and hurried back out the door, obviously going to work on making more baby dolls. It was nice to see her able to work without censure. “We’re never going to be able to keep up with her rapid orders,” Hope told Joy.
Linda walked in then. “Faith got more orders? Those dolls of hers are amazing!”
“Lots more orders.” Hope turned to face her mother-in-law. “Joy is going to work for me tomorrow morning. I’m taking the morning off.”
Linda smiled. “I think that’s a really good idea. You’ve worked non-stop seven days per week since you got here.”
“So have you!”
“Well, that’s different.” Linda shrugged. “I’m used to working all the time.”
“And you had houseguests for much longer than anyone should have houseguests. And you’ve opened your house up to fifteen kids running wild every day.”
“But it’s fun!”
Hope shook her head. “If you really don’t mind, then I’m going to do it.”
“Good for you. I hate seeing you girls work so hard to try to save the ranch.”
“It’s our children’s inheritance.” Hope had believed that when she first arrived, and now she believed it again. Of course, she and Karlan hadn’t exactly talked about their future. What if he was still planning on ending their marriage in eleven months like he’d said?
She shook her head. She wasn’t going to worry about it. That was the whole point of taking the next morning off work. She would be able to talk to Karlan about her worries.
When he came in for lunch, he kissed her sweetly. She stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, “Joy is going to take care of the kids for me in the morning. Tell Cooper you’re taking the morning off, and we’ll have our own private little honeymoon.”
Karlan grinned. “I’ll tell him this afternoon.”
* * *
After she got home that evening, she put a chicken pot pie she’d made over the weekend into the oven. She needed to talk to Karlan before anymore hanky-panky took place. She had to know what her future would hold.
While she waited for him, she picked up the house, making sure it was in perfect order. She was a little embarrassed she hadn’t made the bed before going to work that morning. It was so unlike her to neglect her responsibilities that way.
The potpie was on the table when he opened the door. “That smells good,” he said. “Have I told you lately that you’re a wonderful cook?”
She smiled, shaking her head. “No, but I’m glad you think so.” While they ate, she told him about the outfits that had sold for Faith’s business. Now that Faith had finally come clean about what she was doing, it was easier for Hope to talk about it. She hated keeping secrets from her husband. “You know all those little outfits I made for Faith’s dolls?”
He nodded. “Yeah, you worked on them night and day.”
“I made twenty-two sets of six outfits, and we’ve sold all but five of them. I need to start making more. Isn’t that great?”
“I guess. Are you really making a profit on those?”
“Oh, yeah! It costs us fourteen dollars and fifty cents to make six outfits, and we’re selling them for seventy-five bucks for the set of six. That’s over sixty dollars profit for each set of clothes.”
“And how much time are you putting into a set of six?”
“Less than I thought. It takes me about fifteen minutes to sew each outfit, now that I have it down, and I cut them all out together. I spend around six hours cutting out twenty-two of every outfit. So when all the math is done, I’m making around thirty-five dollars per hour. That’s really good money.”
He nodded. “Very good. That’s going to help our bottom line a lot.”
“I don’t think you have any idea. I’ve started a savings account for our contributions, and we’re going to be able to make a significant difference.” She looked at him. “We haven’t really talked about money, because I didn’t feel like I could approach you with the way things were between us. How much do you think it’s going to cost to pay Travis off?”
Karlan rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, the buildings aren’t part of his inheritance. The big house was left to Mom. Each of our homes were left to us. It’s really just the land that we’ll need to pay him for. And his share of the cattle of course.”
“How much do you think that equates to?”
“His share of the land would be about a hundred grand. Another eighty-grand for his share of the herd. In my head, I’m rounding up to two-hundred fifty thousand. I don’t think he can ask for more than that.”
Hope’s face lit up. “We can do that!”
“We can?”
She nodded. “Definitely. It’ll be tight for six months, but after that, we’re good.”
“But can you keep it up for six months? All of you? I know the pace is pretty hard.”
She laughed. “If you men can keep it up for six months, we can keep it up for six months. We’re strong women.”
He smiled at that. “I know you are.”
“Knowing we’re helping so much with our crafts, are you still jealous of my sewing machine?”
He stared at her with a blank look. “Your sewing machine? Why would I be jealous of your sewing machine?”
She frowned. “I have no idea. You told me you were though!”
“I did?” Karlan had no idea what she was talking about.
“You said you were jealous of my machine.” Hope said.
His eyes widened. “You thought I meant your sewing machine? No! I meant your vibrator!” Why would any man ever be jealous of a sewing machine?
“My—” She blushed scarlet. “Chastity gave me that for a wedding gift. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I would never use it!” She leaned close to him to whisper conspiratorially. “I think it was made for an elephant. That thing is huge!”
He laughed. “Yeah, it is. Why do you still have it then?”
“I didn’t want to throw it away and have you accidentally see it. I had visions of you taking the trash out, and the bag busting, and that huge thing coming out! I was planning on taking it with me when I go grocery shopping this week and putting it in a dumpster somewhere.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “You mean that’s what you’ve been upset with me about?”
He nodded. “I thought you were refusing to have sex with me and using a vibrator instead. It was more than a little annoying.”
Hope frowned. “I guess I can see that. You should have just asked about it. I p
ut it in a drawer because Chastity gave it to me right before the wedding, and I had no idea what to do with the thing!”
“Your sister is a mess.”
Hope nodded. “She definitely is. She would be mortified if she knew it had caused problems between us, though. She gave it to me in case you were bad in the sack. Her words, not mine.”
“Well, throw the blasted thing away. I promise you, if you ever need a sex toy, I’m here for you!”
Hope blushed. “I will gladly throw it away. I felt like an idiot having it hidden in my drawer all this time anyway.” She reached out and took his hand. “I should have made sure to clarify when you were upset about my machine. I really thought you meant my sewing machine, and I thought you were nuts. And when you told me you wouldn’t stay married to me…”
“I never should have said that. I didn’t mean it, even then. I was tired and angry but saying that was inexcusable. I always knew we’d work it out!”
“I didn’t. I kept envisioning my future alone. I knew I loved you as soon as you said we were splitting. I don’t know what’s wrong with me that it hit me then, but it did!”
“Wait. You love me?” Karlan pulled her from her chair and onto his lap. “You really love me?”
She nodded. “Of course, I do. I knew I loved you when I knew I wanted to make love with you.”
“I love you too, Hope. I hate that we wasted so much time.”
“We got to know each other better. How is that time wasted?”
He kissed her softly. “I guess it’s not, but it feels like it is.”
“I’m glad we talked about this. Now we don’t have to waste time talking tomorrow. We can skip right to the good stuff.”
“We can skip right to the good stuff now…”
She giggled. “You go get a shower, and I’ll have the dishes done by the time you’re done. I’ll meet you in bed!”
“We could shower together…”
“We could…”
“Fine, get the dishes done and meet me in bed. You’ll just sneak out of bed in the middle of the night to get them done anyway!”
Hope grinned at him. “You already know me so well. I’ll race you to see who’s done first!”
He kissed her one last time before heading to the bedroom. “You’d better hurry!”
Of course, I’ll hurry. I have everything I want. A man who loves me and a good life. Moving to Culpepper, Wyoming, was the smartest thing she’d ever done!
Excerpt from Rancher’s Remorse
Interested in Faith’s story? Here’s an excerpt from it. The story will be published in its entirety on March 25th, 2016. Enjoy this sneak peek!
Rancher’s Remorse
By Merry Farmer
Chapter 1
Faith Quinlan sat back in the overstuffed sofa in Linda Culpepper’s house, wedged between her sisters, Hope and Joy, heart quivering with fear. It wasn’t the sudden move from Kentucky to Wyoming that bothered her. It wasn’t even the unusual reason she and her sisters had come. The Culpepper boys were sweet and handsome and well-mannered. They knew how to treat a woman—probably because their fabulous mother, Linda raised them well. Faith was on board with the idea of marrying one of them within the month, as the contract she’d signed dictated. That wasn’t what had her muscles tight with anxiety and her heart thumping away in her throat.
No, what gnawed at Faith and kept her silent as the rest of her sisters chatted happily with Linda and her sons was the fact that Faith had secrets. Not just one, several. Secrets that she hadn’t mentioned to Dr. Lachele during the interview that led to her promise to marry one of the Culpepper brothers. Secrets that not even her parents knew about. Secrets that would probably be deal-breakers if the Culpeppers ever found out about them.
Faith was terrible about secrets. They made her palms sweat and her heart race. She sat there on the sofa, hands clasped in front of her, wishing she could disappear into the plush.
“Faith, are you sure you’re all right?” Linda asked through the volley of conversations buzzing in the living room. “Can I get you some sweet tea?”
Faith opened her mouth to say she was fine, but her dry throat couldn’t manage anything more than a raspy squeak. She swallowed, cleared her throat, then said, “Yes, ma’am. Sweet tea would be lovely.”
Linda stood, smiling. She headed into the kitchen, returning less than thirty seconds later with a tall glass of tea. Faith gulped it down. Her throat and taste buds thanked her, but her heart still twisted in her chest. The twisting grew worse when she realized she was being watched.
Across the living room, Cooper Culpepper sat with his back straight in one of the room’s recliners. His thick, brown hair was cut short, and a day’s growth of beard covered his strong jaw. He had kind eyes—eyes that watched her even though she wasn’t taking part in the flurry of conversation.
“So you have six horses?” Joy asked at Faith’s side.
“Eight,” Cooper corrected her, though his eyes stayed focused on Faith. “We occasionally board horses for folks who need it too.”
“And once or twice we’ve hosted a rescue horse,” Chris, the youngest Culpepper, added.
“Not that you’d know much about that,” Kolby said, then elbowed Chris in the ribs.
Chris frowned. In the chair next to him, Chastity bit her lip. Being the youngest, Chastity had set her sights on Chris right from the start. She liked things to line up in order, just like the rows of her knitting. By those rules, Hope, who was the oldest by three minutes, would end up with Karlan, and Cooper, the second youngest, would be Faith’s.
Cooper Culpepper. He was a hunk and a half. A total dream.
He would kick her to the curb so fast if he knew the kinds of secrets she was keeping.
“Do you want to take a walk out to the stables?” Cooper’s question was meant exclusively for Faith, in spite of the fact that Joy had been the one to ask him about the horses.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Joy answered, nudging Faith. “You two head down to the stables. Meanwhile, Kolby, I’d love to see your house.”
“And I’d love to show it to you.” Kolby stood with a grin as wide as the Wyoming sky and stepped over to the sofa to give Joy a hand up.
The rest of the boys stood as well. All of them were tall with broad shoulders and larger-than-life personalities, and in an instant it felt as though Linda’s cozy living room was too small and tight. Or maybe that was just the weight of Faith’s guilt pressing down on her. As Hope got up on her other side, Faith took another long drink of her tea to hide her hesitation.
She couldn’t really go through with this, could she? Wasn’t it, like, false advertising or something to agree to the deal that Dr. Lachele had presented them when she knew full well she couldn’t live up to her end of the bargain? The Culpepper boys needed one of their wives to be pregnant within a year in order for them to inherit the ranch. Dr. Lachele had been specific about those expectations. Faith had said in writing that she was willing to have a baby right away.
Well, that much wasn’t a lie. She was more than willing. The problem was that she wasn’t able.
“If you’re finished with that, I can take it.” Cooper’s deep, serious voice snapped her out of her miserable thoughts. Faith glanced up slowly, as if he was the principal and she’d been sent to his office as punishment for being naughty. Heck, looking up at his broad chest, kissable lips, and beautiful, dark eyes, she wanted to do something naughty. Much good though it would do her.
“I can take it.” Linda swooped in and took Faith’s glass with a wink. “You two go for a walk.” With a happy sigh she added, “It does my heart good to see my boys with such sweet, honest girls.”
She could have kicked Faith in the gut and it wouldn’t have hurt so much. But it would do no good to keep dwelling on it when there was so much more at stake than her own happiness. Part of the Culpepper will stated that all four of the boys needed to be married within a month. Her sisters were overjoyed to finall
y get away from Kentucky and their reputation as the Quinlan Quads, and to start independent lives. She was a vital piece in that puzzle, in everyone’s happiness.
Forcing a smile, Faith took Cooper’s offered hand—it was a big, warm hand that encompassed hers, as if he would shelter and protect her forever—and stood.
“Thanks. Sorry if I’m a little out of it. I think it must be jetlag.” It was a lame excuse, but Cooper didn’t seem to mind.
“I hate traveling myself.” He kept Faith’s hand in his as he escorted her through the living room and out to the back porch. “I have to go for business now and then—to farm shows and the like. I’d just as soon stay home and keep the ranch running. Especially with this nonsense Travis is throwing at us.”
Faith knew only the bare minimum about the Culpepper cousin, Travis, who was twisting the brothers’ arms to get them to buy out his portion of the ranch, so she settled for saying, “That’s very responsible of you.” Her smile softened to something genuine. She liked a man who took his responsibilities seriously. Men like that were steady, dependable.
At the far end of the back porch, Chris and Chastity broke into twin giggles over something or another. Faith’s shoulders loosened a little more. Knowing Chastity, they were probably snickering over some off-color joke. Chastity was the wild one of their bunch—totally boy crazy—but somehow she’d managed to stay out of trouble. Faith admired the easy way her sister approached life.
“You seem a little distracted,” Cooper observed as they stepped down from the porch and headed across the tidy back lawn toward the stable. “I mean, beyond just jetlag.”
Did he know? Had he figured something out just by looking at her? No, you couldn’t tell what someone’s reproductive capabilities were just by looking at them. But maybe he could sense the other things, guess her other secret? Was her shirt too expensive? Did he know how much she’d paid for her boots?
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