Freight Trained (30 page)

As if just comprehending what he'd said, she shot up into a sitting position, clutching the sheet against her chest.  "Please tell me it's not Lucky." 

Cole chuckled, tugging the sheet out of her grasp so it pooled at her waist.  "Lucky's at home.  I would not leave our dog in a hot car for two hours."

"I miss him.  I almost texted you a couple of times to bring him to me."

"You should have.  It would've given my stubborn ass an excuse to see you sooner."

"Why didn't you bring him with you?"

He gave her a sheepish look.  "Well, if you must know, I was using him as my fail-safe plan."

She laughed, "Fail-safe plan?"

He gave her a smirk.  "If begging you to forgive me didn't work and if the present I have for you in the truck didn't work, I figured I could persuade you to come home with me to see Lucky.  Then once I got you there, I'd lock you up and never let you go."

"Well, now I'm dying to know what my present is."

His eyes fell to her exposed tits, and he gave them a sly smile.  "I'll go get it if you promise to remain exactly as you are."

She raised her arms above her head, arching her back in a cat-like stretch.  "I think I can manage that."

He felt his dick twitch, his smile still firmly in place.  "Cock tease."

Lying back, she spread her legs just enough to give him a tantalizing view.  "Who said anything about teasing?"

"Well, now see, I have a dilemma."  He stressed his drawl, while lazily drawing figure-eights on the inside of her thigh.  "Do I go get your present, which I hope you'll love, or do I stick my cock in your pussy, which I
know
you'll love?"

"Is there a law that says you can't do both?"  Her mischievous smile had his heart skipping a beat, and he called up, to whoever may be listening, a silent "thank you" that she'd forgiven him.

He slowly shook his head.  "None that I can think of."

She sat back up with a little bounce that drew his eyes to her tits again
—
her fucking tits would be the death of him
—
and said, "Present first."

He must have stared too long because her hands appeared, blocking his view.  He looked up with a raised brow.

"Present first," she said, directing a stern-teacher expression his way. 

He hid his smile as he stood, slipping into his jeans, and pulling them over his hips. 

"Chop.  Chop."

That surprised a laugh out of him.  He turned, noticing her happy smile, and he grew serious.  "Wasn't sure I'd ever laugh again.  Thank you, baby."

* * * * *

She watched him walk out the door, this time, fully enjoying the view of his ass, confident he'd be returning.  She felt like pinching herself to make sure the last few hours had been real, and she hadn't been dreaming.  She frowned, having a moment of doubt now that Cole was out of her sight, worried she was setting herself up for another fall.  What was the idiom?  Once bitten, twice shy.  And Cole had taken a big bite from her the last time.  If he did it again, there would be nothing left. 

Then he walked back through the door, and all her doubts were pushed to the side with one look at his smiling face and the happiness she saw glowing in his eyes.  He held a plate covered with aluminum foil, and her mind flashed back, her sitting in her car, a similar plate resting on the passenger seat while she sat debating the wisdom of knocking on Cole's door.

She felt herself frowning again, only this time deep in thought as she wondered what was under the foil.  He sat and without saying a word raised a section of the foil, his fingers disappeared into the newly created hole, scissoring out a...

She looked up with startled eyes.  "Did you make me cookies?"

His eyes moved to the cookie he held only now, he was the one frowning.  "Seemed like a good idea at the time, something you would like but now, thinking about it, I probably should have bought you something instead."

The doubts she'd pushed to the side completely vanished from the sweetness of her rough and tough cowboy, making her cookies.  Her eyes filled with tears, and she had to clear her throat to find her voice.  "No," she said, snatching the cookie from his hand before he could put it back under the foil.  "No, I love it.  It's the perfect present."  And it was, absolutely priceless.

The cookie was heavy in her hand and slightly charred on the bottom.  She took a big bite, her eyes going wide as she chewed.

He gave her a smile.  "Good?"

She chewed slowly, while trying to think quickly.  She had to tell him the truth, if he ate one then he'd know she lied.  She swallowed, giving him a small smile.  "It was..."

His smile grew wider.

She closed her eyes, feeling like the lowest person in the world.  She swallowed again.  "It was..." she opened her eyes and silently pleaded with him to not make her tell.  Sadly, he didn't take the hint.

"It was what?"

"I'm so sorry, but it was... awful."  She cringed as she said it, expecting a look of hurt to cross his face.  He surprised her by tipping his head back in full-out laughter.  Like a dam breaking, she found herself laughing right along with him and elaborated, "It was the worst cookie I've ever eaten," making them laugh all the harder.

After their laughter had subsided, she placed her hand on his thigh.  "You're not upset?"

"No, sweetheart, I'm not upset, and I'm not surprised they were awful.  I didn't know what the fuck I was doing."

"Did you follow a recipe?"

He gave another bark of laughter.  "No."

"I probably don't want to know what ingredients you used."  She gave him a sideways glance.

"Probably not."  He tried to be serious, but she saw his lips twitch.

He leaned over, setting the plate on the coffee table before pushing her shoulders and laying her back against the couch.  He followed her down, hovering over her.  "You still love me, even though I tried to poison you?"

"I'll make you a deal."

"Yeah, what kind of deal?"  He murmured, trailing a row of kisses along her jaw.

"You ever make me the perfect cookie, I'll give you my heart forever."

He picked his head up, staring deeply into her eyes.  "Then I'll never give up until that happens."

"Promise," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"'Til the day I die." 

Chapter Twenty-Four

Epilogue

Cole sat in the shade of the porch, a beer bottle in hand as Abby pulled in the driveway.  A shapely leg emerged out the door then another as she got out of her car.  "Did you have fun?" he asked, as she neared the porch.

"I did.  Lola tried to persuade me to go blonde, again but obviously, I gave her my standard answer, no."

He gave her hair a critical appraisal, happy it looked the same as usual just trimmed up.  He grunted.  "Tell that old busy-body to mind her own business."

Her throaty laugh filled the air, and he drank it in.  "That is her business, silly."

He grabbed her hand, hauling her onto his lap.  "Silly, huh," he said, tickling her under the ribs, so he could hear more of her laughter.

"Did the kids call while I was gone?"

"They did.  Said, they loved the movie, and Sissy informed me they were going to eat dinner then play a mean game of Monopoly, which she planned on winning.  Her words."  And Cole planned to eat dinner then play with his wife.  It was rare the kids were gone for an entire weekend, but Sissy's anniversary gift to them every year was a kid-free weekend.

"So you ready to start our anniversary weekend, Mrs. Garrison?"  He stood, setting her on her feet, his arm wrapped around her waist.

"I am."  She fluttered her eyelashes up at him, and he kissed her on the nose.

He led her to their bedroom, his eyes catching, like they always did, on the framed picture of a freight train Abby had given him on their first anniversary.  He'd hung it on the wall above their bed while feelings of fright, hope, peace, but most importantly love surged through him with each bang of the hammer.  Most wouldn't understand the significance of the picture, but they did, and it made him smile every time he looked at it.

He turned to her, his Abby, more beautiful now than the first time he'd laid eyes on her all those years ago at the Chuck Wagon Cafe.  He saw her skeptically eyeing the plate of cookies on their nightstand and couldn't suppress his small smile.  He could read his little mouse very well.

She walked over, picked a cookie off the plate, and brought it to her nose.  "You make these?"

He tucked his hands, palms out, into the back pockets of his jeans.  His stance was casual, but inside he was stiff as a board, anxiously waiting for her to take a bite.  He had a lot riding on this cookie.  A ten-year promise, waiting to be fulfilled.

"I did."  He smirked, and she eyed him suspiciously.  His little mouse
knew
him so well.

"You know, it's cheating if you got someone else to make these."

She said that every year.  She inspected the bottom of the cookie, and he heard her make a little humph sound.  He smiled, knowing it was a perfect golden brown.

She caught his smile.  "Just because it looks perfect, doesn't mean it tastes perfect."

He shrugged.  "We'll see."

They'd danced this dance for the last ten years, Abby always finding some kind of flaw
—
a little too much salt, not enough salt, too many chocolate chips per cookie dough ratio, not enough, and the list went on
—
but this year he'd had a secret weapon.  Oh, he knew it was a game she played, holding out on giving him her heart forever when they both knew he already had it.  She liked to pretend she had something to hang over his head, but that ended today.  Today she would have to concede,
she
was
his,
forever
.

The cookie passed her lips, and she took a bite, chewing slowly, seeming to analyze every nuance of the damn thing.  He knew she was looking for something to complain about, but she wouldn't find it.  "It's fucking perfect, admit it."  He crossed his arms over his chest, daring her to argue.

She gave him a sideways look, a sly smirk played on her lips that slowly turned into a beautiful smile.  "Well, Mr. Garrison, it seems you've finally succeeded in capturing my heart forever."  She closed the distance between them and placed her arms around his neck, entangling her fingers in his hair.  "Whatever are you going to do with it?" 

His dick swelled at the seductive purr in her voice.  He uncrossed his arms, grabbing her ass and pulled her close so he could grind into her.  His lips brushed over hers, once... twice... while he slowly walked them backward until the back of her knees hit the edge of the mattress.  Then with a sweep of his foot behind her feet, he knocked her off balance, toppling them onto the bed.

"Well,
Mrs.
Garrison," he stroked down the back of her thighs, hiking up her legs, planting her feet flat on the bed.  The skirt of her sundress settled at her waist, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of her pink, lace panties.  "First," he trailed a line of butterfly kisses down the inside of her thigh, starting at her knee and ending at the edge of her panties.  "I'm going to cherish it."  He played along the lacy edge, his tongue swirling patterns on her sensitive skin. 

Her hips bucked, and the scent of her pussy called to him.  He was suddenly ravenous, and he knew just what he wanted to eat, and it wasn't his damn cookies.  "Next," he ran his tongue up and down the seam of her lips, the flimsy material of her panties not much of a barrier, giving him a tease of her delicious taste.  "I'm going to worship it."  He heard her moan, and he smiled.

Grabbing the waist of her panties, he slid them down her legs, keeping them cuffed at her ankles.  He pushed her knees down against the bed, her feet coming together to make a diamond, leaving her completely exposed to his view.  He looked up.  Her eyes were hooded, cheeks flushed, lips glistening and slightly parted.  So fucking beautiful.  "And last," he slipped his tongue into her silken folds.  Already wet and slick, it glided up and down smoothly.  He stopped at her clit, flicking and circling it before taking it between his teeth and sucking the tiny nub deeply into his mouth.  He found her opening with his finger, curling it, finding the perfect spot to rub.  She started squirming, making the little mewing sounds in the back of her throat she always made right before she came.  He knew her body well, she was close, and he knew exactly what would tip her over the edge.  Stretching his arm up, he took hold of her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and pinched.  Hard.  She came with a shout, his name falling from her lips.

He skimmed his lips up her languid body, over her belly, the valley between her tits until he hovered, his face mere inches from hers.  "I'm going to hold on to it and never let it go."

* * * * *

Abby played with the happy trail that led to her happy place, the hairs feeling soft against the pads of her fingers.  Cole captured her wrist, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing her palm.  She tipped her head back, smirking.  She knew it was a ticklish spot.  He leaned his head down, kissing her on the forehead.