Jessica's Cowboy Daddy - Melinda Barron Page 0,55

boot with an A and an intertwined S on it.

“This one,” he’d written, and drawn an arrow toward the boot. Yes, he was right. This one was the best, but it was not on its side, and getting it to stand up, using dowels, would cut down on the amount of cake there was to serve.

Jessica picked up her pen and started to draw again. She could make the boot lying on its side. It would be easier to make and would serve more.

As she drew she thought about the first book he’d given her. It was very close to full. She wrote in the morning, at breaktime, and after dinner. It had drawings of the Spellman house, although she knew that soon they would have to start calling it the Coleman house. It would be home to the two of them.

The playroom was almost done, and to her it was perfect. The only door into the room from the house came from the bedroom. There were pegs on one wall to hang BDSM equipment, and closets on another to hang costumes. Two of them were already full with the Cinderella and Jasmine clothing.

Jessica smiled as she sketched the boot, thinking about the first book Hawk had given her. It held her innermost feelings, and it also contained things her Little had drawn, Hawk + Jessica. Mrs. Hawk Coleman. Mrs. Hawkins Coleman. Jessica Coleman. She looked at her empty ring finger and wished there was something there to show that she and Hawk would soon be married.

How long after the wedding would be sufficient time for her to wear an engagement ring? Not that she had one yet. She didn’t want something splashy like Grant had given her. She wanted a simple diamond that would match a simple band. To her that was the perfect way for them to show their love for each other.

“I had to see you as soon as I got to town, had to know the woman who captured my son’s heart.”

Jessica looked up to see a beautiful woman of about sixty standing near the counter. She was a female version of her sons, tall, with dark hair, and blue eyes. They all had blue eyes.

“Mrs. Coleman?” Jessica whispered.

“Please dear, call me Sissy. My friends do.”

“Okay.” She hardly looked like a woman who had given birth to six strapping sons, three of them triplets. Jessica put down her pencil. “I’m not Aurora. I’m not the bride.”

Sissy laughed. “I’ve already met her. I had to see the woman who captured Hawk’s heart. I never thought he would settle down, and yet here you are, ready to become his bride.”

“How did you know…” Jessica checked the room. The retirees had left a while ago, and the girls were in the back, baking. “We haven’t told anyone.”

“I could hear it in Hawk’s voice when he told me about you. Hawk would never have bought a house unless he planned to settle down. I knew he was in love the minute he talked about the house, and the changes you were making to it.”

Jessica’s hands shook. “You weren’t supposed to be here for a few days.”

“I told Todd to get us here asap.” She sat down on a stool at the counter. “We stopped at the ranch, met Aurora, had lunch, and took one of the ranch trucks. Todd is on his way to the Spellman house to surprise Hawk.”

Yeah, he would be surprised, Jessica thought.

“You want some coffee? A cookie? A cupcake?”

“I’ll have one of Hawk’s favorite cookies,” Sissy said.

Jessica smiled. As far as tests went it was one of the easiest ones she’d ever taken. Jessica poured Sissy a cup of coffee, then placed two dark chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips and nuts on a plate. When she set it in front of Sissy she said, “I’d never made these until I met Hawk. He said it was a test of our relationship, if I could make his favorite cookie.”

“He loves you,” Sissy said.

“And I love him.” Jessica topped off her own coffee. “He’s taught me how to love myself, and to open myself up and love others. I couldn’t live without him.”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Sissy said. “Two of my sons finding the loves of their lives in such quick succession. It’s more than I could hope for. Of course there are four more.”

Jessica laughed. “I have a feeling it’s spreading among them.” She thought of Leslie and Reed. Would they be the next?