Pull it together, Faith. Deep breaths. She shook her head, laughing as carefully as she could. “Moving halfway across the country to commit to marrying someone, sight unseen, is a bit distracting.”
Cooper grinned. “Yeah, I’m surprised Dr. Lachele found anyone foolish…I mean, brave enough to marry the four of us.” He winked.
Faith smiled. Cooper was easy to talk to, she’d give him that much. Heck, she’d give him much more.
“Trust me, marrying you is so much better than the alternative.” Heat infused her face as she realized what she’d said. “I mean…Oh, shucks. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Forget her secrets. If she kept on like this, Cooper wouldn’t want to marry her because she was a total ninny.
Cooper’s heart did another one of the flips it’d been doing since he’d zeroed in on Faith Quinlan as the sister for him. She was sweet as honey without, he suspected, being the least bit aware of it. Now she had turned bright pink at her slip of the tongue. It wasn’t any worse than half the stupid things he’d said since they’d arrived, but somehow her blush and the way she couldn’t quite meet his eyes—heck, the way she shied away from the chaos of the entire family together and the way she measured her words before saying them—made him want to wrap his arms around her and keep her safe from all the problems of the world.
Yep, this whole matchmaker thing was a brilliant idea.
“I’m not offended,” he laughed. “Well, depending on what the alternative was.”
Her answering ironic laugh only made him want to don shining armor and be her defender more.
“Life back home was…restricted,” she explained. The way she let go of his hand to hug herself and rub her arms, in spite of the fact that it wasn’t that cold, told Cooper far more than her words. He was on high alert as she went on with, “My parents are good people, really good people, but Daddy has his own way of seeing things. Part of that way involves women keeping to their place.”
The way she said it set Cooper’s teeth on edge. “Where does he think that place is?”
“In the home, obviously.”
She looked at him with such frankness that the coil of protectiveness in his gut pulled tighter at the same time as it warmed up. She was being honest with him, telling him the way things were, but without saying anything bad about anyone. He admired that far more than he expected.
Faith took a breath, shrugged, and went on with, “All six of us—the quads and our two younger sisters, Honor and Charity—are expected to find good husbands, marry, keep a tidy house, and raise oodles of children.”
He leaned closer to her, watching her face intently as they walked slowly across the yard. In spite of her words, she didn’t seem to hold a lot of resentment for the role her parents set out for her. That was a good sign. No, it was almost as if she didn’t mind the narrow path she’d been given to walk because she already knew how to get around it.
His heart sped up and his skin prickled with excitement. Faith Quinlan was a mystery, all right. One he wanted to solve.
“Being a homemaker is a noble profession.” He let the comment settle, curious to see how she would react.
“Oh, I definitely know that.” Her tone was honest, even if she kept her hands wrapped tightly around her upper arms. “And I look forward to being a wife and…and mother.” She sent him a tremulous smile.
Cooper’s curiosity flared. Yep, there was something she wasn’t saying, all right. And every fiber of his being wanted to find out what it was.
“I’m glad.”
He answered her statement a moment too late. She continued to grin at him, and he couldn’t think of anything better to do than to grin right back. Heck, he hadn’t been this awkward around a girl since freshman year of high school when he tried to ask Penny Britten to the Halloween dance by handing her a bouquet of marshmallows on sticks. He scrambled to find a way to salvage the conversation.
“So anyhow.” Faith beat him to it. “Between Daddy’s rules about what girls could and couldn’t do and the attention we got for being the Quinlan Quads, it kinda felt like we didn’t have many options staying home. Now that we’re here in Wyoming, in spite of how unusual it is to agree to marry someone without knowing them all that well, there’s so much more that I can get done…that we can all do than just sit at home doing crafts.”
She glanced away, her face bright red. The contrast between that soft blush and her calm and serious exterior not only sent Cooper’s heart ricocheting around his ribs, it pumped a fair amount of blood to regions that he shouldn’t be thinking about before questions were popped and promises were made.
“I think it’s nice how you all have crafty hobbies,” he said, thrusting his hands in his pockets. He’d rather go back to holding her hand as they walked, but she didn’t look like she was going to uncross her arms anytime soon, and wrestling with her wasn’t…well, he’d save the wrestling for after they were married. “What is it you do again?” he asked before his thoughts could go where they shouldn’t.
If anything, her blush deepened. She shot him a sideways look, then stared hard at the ground in front of them and said, barely above a whisper, “I make dolls.”
Cooper nodded, his head filled with images of the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls his cousins had played with, not to mention the fancier, Waldorf-style cloth dolls some of the homeschool kids Chris taught owned. “That sounds like the kind of thing that could keep you good and busy.”
“It is.” It might have been his imagination, but he though the caught a glint in Faith’s eyes and a twitch as her mouth turned up in a proud smile. She shook it off, let her arms drop to the side, and rushed on with, “Chastity is a big knitter, and Joy makes the most amazing doll houses and furniture out of plastic canvas. Hope is an incredible seamstress, especially when it comes to doll…” she tripped in the middle of the word, finishing with a half-swallowed, “Clothes.”
Cooper chose to let her strange slip-up slide. He nodded. “Good that you all have something productive to keep you busy. Although after what you just told me, I bet your folks would say it kept you out of trouble.”
He ended with a chuckle, but Faith’s smile grew forced. If her cheeks went a darker shade of red, she’d turn into a beet. For some reason, that fired Cooper’s blood even more. There were few enough women around Culpepper to get his imagination running, but to have a beautiful woman surrounded by mysteries just waiting to be solved walking right there with him? It was more than he ever could have asked for.
They reached the edge of the stable. It was quieter than usual, what with Karlan and Kolby busy getting to know the Quinlan sisters. Angus MacFarlane was probably around somewhere. His old friend was the best ranch hand the Culpepper family had ever hired, even if his Scottish brogue was unintelligible half the time. The horses were in good hands as long as Angus was working. Although if the Scot was on the ranch, it was probably best to keep Faith away from the man’s rugged, red-headed good looks.
Cooper paused and turned to face Faith several yards away from the stable entrance. He rubbed a hand across his jaw, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t exactly romantic, but there was no time like the present.
“So, I guess it’s a little pointless to beat around the bush when we all know why we’re here.” Cooper winced. He’d been smoother back when he tried to ask Penny out.
Faith crossed her arms again, alternately glancing up at him and lowering her long, dark lashes. “Um, yeah.”
Cooper cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m not saying this very well, but what I want to say, what I want to ask is if you’ll marry me, Faith Quinlan.”
A shy smile spread across her delicate features, and she peeked up at him through those lashes. It was as sharp as Cupid’s arrow hitting him square in the sternum. Heaven help him, even though this was supposed to be an quick way to fulfill the terms of Granddaddy’s will, the zing that shot from his heart to, well, other places, was a mighty good sign.
“I like you,�
�� he continued. “I liked you from the moment I saw you. You’re smart, I can tell. And you’re modest too. That is, you aren’t all giggly, like Chastity, or sure of yourself, like Joy. Not that being sure of yourself is a bad thing.” He held up his hands in defense, kicking himself for saying the wrong thing yet again.
“I know what you’re trying to say.” Faith laughed. “At least I think I do.”
She lowered her head, and the afternoon sunlight hit her in such a way that it painted a halo around her head. Cooper’s heart lurched yet again.
“All I’m trying to say is that I think we would be good together. Will you marry me?”
Best case scenario would have been a quick yes. Instead, Faith’s expression pinched a little. She pursed her lips, turning all business, and met his eyes with a no-nonsense stare.
“Could I move my kiln into your house?”
Cooper blinked, not sure he’d heard her right. “Your what?”
“My kiln.” She let her arms drop to her sides, standing straighter. “For firing porcelain.”
Lucky for Cooper, his mind connected the dots before he looked like a total fool. Porcelain. She must have a side-hobby of making teacups or something. Dr. Lachele had said the Quinlan family prized crafts. “Oh. Yeah. Of course.” He paused, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “How big is it?”
“Pretty big.” She winced slightly, uncertain. “It requires a fair amount of electricity, too. How old is the wiring in your house?”
“Not old at all.” Ideas began to pop through his mind. “In fact, I have a workshop out in back of the house. I built it back when I thought I’d need the extra space for home improvement projects, but the ranch has kept me from getting too elaborate there. It would be a good space for a kiln.”
“And a workroom?” Faith’s whole face lit up.
There was no way he was going to say no to that. “Sure. Why not.” He beamed, thanking God that he could make her happy. If he could do one thing right, then he stood a fair chance of doing other things right.
“That would be perfect.” Faith sighed, running a hand through her hair. “You have no idea how perfect. If the workshop is big enough, I could fit all of my supplies in there, maybe even a computer.”
“Why not?” He grinned, tilting his head to the side. “So if you have a kiln, I guess that means you’re a sculptor too?”
Her body went rigid, and the flush poured back over her face. “Yeah,” she answered slowly. “I sculpt. It’s…it’s part of the doll-making.”
Cooper chewed on the corner of his lip and tried to envision the cloth dolls he’d seen combined with sculpture. Did she make vases or things to display the dolls in? Or maybe teacups, like he first thought? He shook his head, sure he was missing the obvious. But then, growing up with three brothers, he had about as much experience with dolls on the ranch as he did with surfboards.
“As long as I can have my kiln and a workspace for my supplies,” Faith cut into his thoughts, her smile returning, “then yes. Cooper Culpepper, I would be happy to marry you.”
Relief splashed through him, and tension that Cooper didn’t know he was carrying dripped off his shoulders. He relaxed, taking a step closer to her. “All right, then, Miss Faith.” He took her hands and raised them to kiss the back of each one. “I promise that I’ll be as good a husband to you as anyone has ever been.”
“That’s so sweet.” Her voice was little more than a whisper, and her eyes went glassy, as if she might be moved to tears. But it was the hint of panic that wrapped around her like a too-tight blanket that tugged at Cooper’s heart.
“I know it’s all a little strange and rushed, but we’ll be happy together, I promise,” he assured her.
“I’m sure we will,” she said. “It’s not that.” She shot a sidelong glance back to the house, fifty yards away.
“We can take certain things slow if you want, or we could jump right in. Either way, I promise to make your life as my wife the best that it can possibly be. And when they come, I’ll do everything it takes to be the greatest dad to our kids that anyone has ever seen.”
Her smile dropped entirely. For one heart-stopping moment, she looked downright gloomy.
A split-second later, that doom and gloom vanished, and she smiled as bright as the sun. “I promise I’ll be the best wife that you could ever wish for,” she said. “I mean it.”
“I know you do.”
Cooper leaned toward her, bringing his head down as though he would kiss her. Faith tilted her head up, but at the last second, Cooper thought better of it and pulled back.
He laughed. “Since this is all so sudden, how about we wait until we’re pronounced man and wife to have our first kiss?”
Her smile warmed. “That sounds lovely.”
“Good.” He let out a breath, relieved to have scored another point on the doing things right scale. “Well, I guess that’s it, then. Let’s go tell Mom and your sisters.”
Faith smiled and nodded. He looped her arm into his and started back to the house. Hiring a matchmaker was the best idea ever.
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Kirsten Osbourne
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Wyoming Wedding (Culpepper Cowboys Book 1) Page 12