Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (32 page)

“Of
course! That’s what he’s there for.”

Kelly
shut his eyes and laughed. “Wait until the church sees who your
husband’ll
be.”

She
grinned. Kelly McCullough was going to be her husband. “So…will you tell me how
to do it?”

“Do
what?”

“Blowjobs.”

He
kissed her lips, growled, and kissed her again—deeper. Then he stepped away.
“That’s information for my wife.” He loped down the porch steps.

“I’m
going to be your wife!”

“I’ll
tell you when you are, love. See you tomorrow.”

She
groaned and blew him a kiss. “I have internet research to do anyway!” she
shouted.

He
stopped midway to the truck. “I’ll start planning the exam.”

And
with that he was gone—her fiancé, Kelly McCullough.

Chapter Eleven

Kelly
climbed up the steps to his house whistling like a cartoon. As he entered the
kitchen, he found Luke sitting with his mother.

Maureen
stood and smiled. “Hello, dear. You’re looking mighty happy. Did you have a
nice day?”

He
hugged his mum and pressed a smacking kiss on her rosy cheek. “Lovely day,
mum.”

She
slapped his cheek and bustled to the fridge. “
Yer
drunk!”

“Sober
as a saint,” he proclaimed, slapping Luke on the back and taking a seat in his
father’s chair. His booted feet propped on the table.

Maureen
pulled out a dish and heaped a large scoop of rice pudding in a bowl. As she
carried it to him, she slapped his feet and the chair collapsed forward. “Don’t
be an animal. Here. Eat. You look pale.”

He
shoveled a large bite in his mouth and moaned happily. His mum sat beside him
and grinned curiously. It had been a while since he’d been in a jovial mood.
“So go on and tell us what has you so cheeky.”

“I’m
in love.”

Both
his mother and brother’s expressions fell. “What?” she rasped.

“Love,
mum. I’m in love.”

Luke
laughed. “The women will rally.”

“To
be sure.” Kelly winked at his brother. “But this prime cut
o’beef
is officially off the market.”

“Who
is she?” Maureen asked, an expression of shock still on her face.

He
leaned in close and whispered. “Oh, she’s a
good
girl.”

“Kelly,
love, what are you doin’ with a good girl? You’ll ruin her for all other men.”

He
scraped the last of his mum’s pudding in his mouth and grinned. “There won’t be
any other men. She’s all mine. I’m not giving her back.”

“What
do ya mean, all yours?” his mum asked, brow creased with worry.

“I
mean,” he said as he stood. “I’ve asked her to marry me.”

“Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph. Kelly, tell me you’re joking.”

He
frowned. “I’m not and she’s said yes.”

“Who
is she?” Luke asked, stark shock written all over his face.

Kelly
grinned. “You’ll never guess.”

“I
haven’t a clue,” his brother said, as speechless as his mum.

Braydon
came into the kitchen and stilled. “
Whhhhat’s
going
on?”

“Kelly’s
getting’ married,” Maureen said without blinking, her voice a breathless rasp.

Braydon
snorted. “And I just shit a flock of butterflies.” He turned and rooted through
the fridge. When he found what he was looking for, his brother faced the rest
of them and stilled. “You’re joking, right?”

“I’ll
be wantin’ to see those butterflies, Bray. My betrothed may be wantin’ to use
them for the ceremony.”

The
back door opened and Sheilagh walked in and staggered to a stop. “Who died?”

Bray
faced her and said, “Kelly’s getting married.”

She
snorted. “Oh, okay!”

“He’s
serious,” Bray said.

Sheilagh
sobered. “What? No he’s not…”

She
scanned their faces.

Kelly
scowled. Was it so hard to believe someone would marry him?

“Holy
shit,” Sheilagh muttered, sliding into a chair. “Who?”

He
pursed his lips and stood. “Well, hell if I tell the lot of you. Not a bloody
one of you seems to think I’m capable of being a groom.” He turned and left the
kitchen.

“Kelly,
love, we’re just a little shocked. That’s all. Come tell us who she is!”

He
took the steps, not stopping until he slammed his bedroom door. Screw them all.

* * * *

Sheilagh
stared at her brothers. “This is a joke, right? I mean… he’s a hoe. Who would
marry him?”

Her
mum tsked. “Love, don’t call your brother a hoe. Say whore. It sounds nicer.”

She
rolled her eyes and Braydon said, “He seemed pretty serious.”

Luke
frowned. “He isn’t even dating anyone.”

“Who?”
Their father asked, stepping into the kitchen.

Maureen
stood. “I thought you were in bed.”

“Someone
slammed a door and woke me up. What’s going on?”

He
settled into his chair and Maureen dished out a second serving of dessert.
“Have some more pudding, love.”

Her
dad made a contented face as he took a bite of her mum’s rice pudding. Sheilagh
couldn’t hold back. “
Kellysgettingmarried
!”
she rushed out.

Her
father sputtered and her mum handed him a glass of milk.

“
What?”

She
grinned. “He just told us, but he won’t say to who.”

Frank
McCullough scowled and his dark brows slowly lifted, his blue eyes going wide.
He stood. “I need to have a word with my son.”

“Do
you know who it is?” they all yelled, but her dad was already gone.

“Has
everyone gone bloody mad?” Bray snapped. “This is Kelly we’re talking about.”

Sheilagh
still didn’t believe it. “Mum, you have to do something.”

Maureen
turned slowly, her eyes wide. “What would you have me do, love? He’s a grown man.
I cannot tell him how to behave. Kelly’s always had a mind to do what he wants
when he wants.”

“And
who he wants,” Bray mumbled.

Sheilagh
glanced at Luke who was being oddly silent in the face of such shocking news.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Luke
shrugged. “What’s there to say? He’s obviously in love—”

Bray
snorted.
“Love?”
He scoffed. “In terms of affection Kelly can’t tell his
arse from his elbow. What does he know of love?”

“I
presume he knows as much as you, Braydon, love,” Maureen cut in. “Just because
we all expected Kelly to be our rogue forever, doesn’t mean that’s the only way
it could be. God’s gone and surprised us, is all.” She smiled. “A great,
wonderful surprise.”

“You
don’t know who the lass is yet, mum,” Luke reminded.

Her
mother’s face fell a little. “Oh, well, Kelly’s quite knowledgeable of the
selection out there. I’m sure he picked a good one. He did say she was a good
girl.”

Sheilagh
frowned in disbelief. She’d heard enough. “What good girl in their right mind
would agree to marry a slut like Kelly? He can’t even date a woman for a week
without getting bored and lookin’ elsewhere. This girl’s a moron.”

“Don’t
be a devil, Shei,” Luke hissed. “She could be a perfectly nice girl. You don’t
know everything that happens behind closed doors no matter how much—”

“Oh
my God.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “I know who it is.”

“Who?”
Bray and her mum asked at once.

Shaking
her head, she slowly stood. “I can’t believe it. He’s really going to marry
her.”

It
all made sense. The one girl Kelly couldn’t have was the one he wanted most,
enough to marry. Did she sleep with him? It was common knowledge Ashlynn had a
crush on Kelly since they were all kids. There was no way she’d tell him no,
virgin or not.

Then
she frowned. A sick, twisting sort of envy took hold of her stomach. Sheilagh
wanted nothing more than to run upstairs and shower off the memory of
her
evening.
She glared at Luke. Where was Tristan? “I have to go.”

“Sheilagh!”
Bray snapped. “Tell us what you know.”

Shaking
her head, she looked at the lot of them. It was all wrong. Bray should have
been married first. He was the good son. But Colin had stolen his Sammy. And
then there was Luke. Luke who seemed all man to the rest of them, an athletic
God with zero tolerance for softness or shortcomings, yet he was hiding the
greatest secret of all…her Tristan. And now Kelly?

No.

It
wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair she let herself get groped by some guy she barely
knew who would never call—not that she wanted him to—and Kelly was getting
married
.
Where was the sense? There was supposed to be some universal code in play where
the good got theirs and the wicked waited.

Feeling
utterly terrible about her life and self-pity for the things no one else knew
about her, she turned, and scowled at Luke. “Well, I guess love is a wondrous
thing after all. No matter who you are…eventually someone is bound to see you
as the best thing in the world. Funny. I have no clue what that feels like.”

“Sheilagh.”
Luke gave her a regretful look. What did he know? He was in love with the same
man she loved. Difference was, Tristan loved Luke back.

“Excuse
me.” Blinking back tears, she left the kitchen and went to her room. She should
be happy for Kelly, but right now her self-pity was making a mockery of her
good sense and she couldn’t seem to stop it. Jealousy was a hideous thing.

* * * *

There
was a knock at his bedroom door and Kelly frowned. “Go away.”

“Kelly,
it’s your father. Open the door.”

He
sighed and unlocked the door. “I assume you heard.” His father entered the room
and shut the door. Kelly collapsed on the bed. “Go ahead. Tell me how no one in
their right mind would marry me.”

His
father sat on the edge of his bed. “That’s not what I came to say.”

Kelly
lifted his arm from his face and peeked at his father. His expression was
serious, so Kelly sat up. “Then why are you here?”

“Is
it Ashlynn Fisher?”

He
hadn’t expected his father to suspect Ashlynn. “Yes.”

His
dad shut his eyes and whispered, “Is she pregnant, Kelly?”

“What?
No!”

His
father sighed in relief. “Why do you want to marry this lass?”

“Because
I…love her. And she’ll have me.”

“Are
you sure it isn’t just some scheme to get what no other man’s had?”

Kelly
scowled. “If you recall, I didn’t place a bet in that stupid pool. I care about
her.”

Frank
nodded. “It’s a good thing you hadn’t placed a bet. I imagine if word got out,
your fiancée wouldn’t look too kindly on that. Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve
already approached her father. I’m sure.”

Frank’s
dark brows lifted. He nodded and slowly smiled. “I never thought I’d see the
day. A lot of women will be disappointed.”

“Those
days are over.”

His
father’s steel blue gaze settled on him. In a serious voice, he said, “They
better be. Marriage is a sacrament before God.”

“I
know.”

His
father’s meaty paw clamped down on his shoulder. “Bring her by the house. I
want to meet her.” He stood and as he opened the door, he turned and said,
“You’ll be a good husband, Kelly. I know you will.”

Tightness
formed in his chest. Such a tangible reaction to his father’s words had him
rubbing away the ache in his heart. That must be the weight of pride. Making
his father proud was something he always hoped to do. Kelly nodded and gave his
dad a tight smile. “Thanks.”

As
the door closed he replayed his father’s words, but worried they might not be
enough to guide him. His parents had an extraordinary relationship. They teased
and cursed at one another, but never did they speak a word without love
implied. They were, quite honestly, a dysfunctional bunch. But there was no
mistaking the love they all shared, love that had come from their parents and
bloomed like an uncontrollable weed over the years, choking out all other
nonsense.

He
wanted that sort of love with Ashlynn. He wanted her to look at him the way his
mum looked at his father. But deep down he worried that might not be as simple
as his mum and dad made it seem.

Did
Ashlynn love him? His thoughts turned over definitions of love, expressions,
and tender acts. No matter which way he turned his situation he couldn’t come
up with a finite answer. Ashlynn was so different from the rest. There was no
reference point.

He’d
fallen asleep worrying over things there was no sense in worrying over. His
greatest fear was that this was all a dream. Although his situation was nothing
he’d remotely planned, now that it was here he desperately wanted to see it
through.

The
following morning, Kelly awoke to a quiet house. Being that he kept night hours
running the pub, he was used to sleeping past the hours the rest of the family
typically rose.

He
stumbled out of the shower and slipped on his favorite Scooby Doo pants and
went to find coffee.

His
mother was waiting for him at the kitchen table, two cups of steaming coffee in
front of her. “I thought I heard you stumbling around. Will you sit and talk
with me?”