Lois covered her mouth with her hand and felt the tears fill her eyes and then she felt the hand on her shoulder and Valentina giving her a hug.
“That’s awesome, Lois. Congratulations,” Val said and Dora handed Lois a piece of paper.
“This is how much you made, and this is a list of private orders.”
Lois took the sheet of paper and widened her eyes. “Oh, my God, really? Wait, what about you guys? You get a cut for allowing me to sell them here.”
“Not this first round. That was just a trial run. We’ll talk numbers later on with my husbands. In the meantime, I suggest you get going on those private orders and start preparing more cookies to restock this display. You got yourself your own business making cookies.”
Valentina hugged Lois and then the kids joined in, too. She spotted Beck talking to Evan. They were both smiling and Beck gave her the thumbs-up.
“I have to thank Evan, Ford, and Laverty. They helped so much,” she said to Dora and Valentina, who smiled.
“They’re going to have to help you more. That’s a lot of cookies to make plus the orders, too,” Dora said to her.
“Hey, beauty. So, are you shocked?” Evan asked.
She shook her head and tears filled her eyes. He reached up and cupped her cheek.
“I told you that your cookies were delicious.”
“Thank you, Evan, for all your help with everything.”
He stepped closer and pressed his lips gently to hers. She was shocked, but she didn’t pull away.
“It was my pleasure.”
“So what are you going to do now? You have all those cookies to make,” Dora said.
Lois stepped back and pressed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’ll need to figure out something,” she said and thought about the small kitchen and how she would be taking it over to bake all the cookies and how long it would take to get it all done. Then Evan placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, we said we would help you, and you can use our kitchen. I bet you need to buy some supplies and things. We can get the fresh eggs from here and then go get whatever other ingredients you need,” Evan told her and winked.
She looked at his mom, who smiled and nodded her head, and then at Val, who winked and nodded. Kenny grabbed on to her leg. “I help, too, Mommy,” he said and she smiled.
“You sure can, buddy. Want to come with us to go shopping? You can ride in my truck,” Evan told him and he cheered and then reached for Kenny to give him a high five as Evan knelt on the ground.
“Let’s go, little man,” Evan said, standing up. Kenny took his hand and then took Lois’s hand.
“I guess we’re going shopping,” she said and headed out of the store with Evan and Kenny.
* * * *
Ghost walked into the kitchen and was shocked at his reaction. The smell of cookies, the amount of pans with cookies that were cooling, and the additional cookies waiting for their turn in the oven was wild. He instantly remembered when he was a child and his mom would make homemade cookies or bake a cake for a special occasion, or just on some random day to make them something special. It was a time in his life when he was so innocent and unknowing of the cruelties of the world and the danger he would face as a Green Beret.
He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of his chest and watched Lois bend over to pull one tray after the next form the oven. He was surprised that she was wearing shorts, and as she bent, he took in the sight of her perfectly round ass. He was aroused by the sight, by all of it, including the smell of baked cookies and the fact that she was in their kitchen.
“Don’t just stand there. Wash up and help us package these cookies,” Evan said, catching him gawking from the doorway.
“I don’t bag cookies,” he said firmly as Lois turned around after placing the uncooked trays of cookies into the double ovens.
He spotted Kenny looking at him. The kid’s eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at him like he was a monster. It put Ghost on edge.
“We’re good. You don’t need to help,” she said and held his gaze.
He eyed her over and she shyly looked away from him. Lois always turned away from his gaze. He intimidated her that much. He never really cared if he pissed someone off or made them no