Page 44 of Ham

“I can’t wait. I never thought I’d want children, but then, well, all of that mess happened, and it made me realize how very much I wanted them. Ham will be a wonderful father, don’t you think?”

“He will be the best father in the world,” smiled Martha. “It’s my one true regret. That I didn’t live in a time when a man would have accepted me for the successful, strong woman I was. I would have liked a dozen. Maybe more.”

“A dozen is a lot,” smiled Sadie. “I admire Matthew and Irene, but I’m not sure I want to repeat their feat.” Martha smiled at the young woman, nodding her understanding. She drifted toward Nathan, taking his hand and disappearing into the night.

Sadie couldn’t help but wonder how it worked with the ghosts. Were they actually able to have intercourse? Was it just an emotion that they remembered, or was it an actual feeling of touching and orgasms? She shook her head as Ham sat across from her, setting a plate of cookies between them.

“Ham, I’m going to get fat eating that. I have a wedding dress I need to get into,” she smiled.

“You will never be too fat for me to love,” he smiled. “I mean it, Sadie. Thin, fat, thick, skinny, tall, short. It won’t matter. I love you.”

“Ham,” she sniffed. “Who knew a Scotsman could be so romantic?”

“Aye, lassie,” he winked. Sadie laughed, shaking her head. “Okay now, this is the true test of our relationship. See, this cookie here is chocolate chip. Just your ordinary garden-variety chocolate chip. Don’t tell Sara I said that. Now, I love me a chocolate chip cookie, but then you have all these others.”

“Go on,” she grinned.

“Okay, hear me out. This is a Snickerdoodle. Not sure why it’s called that. It doesn’t taste like the candy bar at all. Fooled me the first time,” he frowned. “I like it, but it ain’t my favorite. Oatmeal raisin? Too healthy. This one is called a Cowboy Cookie. It has oatmeal, chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut. Man, it is the boss!”

“Wait, what about this one?” she laughed, picking up the cookie. Ham took it from her, shaking his head.

“No. No, that one is for me. You can’t have that one.”

“Ham,” she laughed. “What is that one?”

“This one is a love cookie,” he grinned. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. My mom used to call them love cookies. Molasses Ginger Love. Man, now those evoke the feelings of the holidays, and they are special with a capital ‘S.’ Rolled in sugar and baked until they’re soft and chewy. Mmm, mmm, mmm.”

“Aren’t you going to share?” she asked with a sexy head tilt.

“Well, now, I’m not so sure. What do I get in return?” Sadie stood from her side of the table and took a seat next to Ham. She set her hand between his thighs, feeling him tense as she did.

“I think,” she whispered in a throaty, sexy whisper, “that we could continue what we started last night.”

“Is that all?” he said, staring at her with a frown.

“Ham!” she laughed, playfully slapping his arm. “Okay, what is it you want?”

“I want to be married to you for the rest of our lives. I want ten children running around here. Five boys and five girls. I don’t care who they look like as long it’s either you or me,” he smirked. “I want to lie next to you out at the mansion for the rest of our days and nights. That’s what I want, Sadie Jordan. For that, you can have half my cookie.”

“That’s a pretty steep bargain, Hamish Angus McDonald. You’re lucky I love you so much. I think I can agree to that. I mean, where am I going to find a man willing to tolerate my temper tantrums?” He split the cookie in half, handing her piece to her. When she bit into it, she moaned an erotic sexy sound, and Ham nearly came in his jeans.

“That is the best cookie I’ve ever had,” she moaned. Ham nodded, tasting the ginger and molasses melting in his mouth.

“I see you’ve tried my famous love cookies,” said Mama Irene.

“That’s what my mom called them,” said Ham. “She always said it was because I loved them.”

“Well, I called ‘em that too,” said Irene. “But my reason was different. I made those cookies right before every single one of my children were conceived. They’re Matthew’s favorites.” She snatched two more cookies from the plate and walked toward Matthew. He grinned at his little wife, kissing her as he wrapped her coat around and left with the others to head to Belle Île.

“What do you think she meant by all that?” asked Ham with a serious expression.

“I think she just guaranteed that you and I will be getting pregnant.”

Ham followed the little old woman, watching as she and Matthew ate their cookies, holding hands all the way to the docks. He looked back at Sadie, smiling.

“I can handle that, baby. I can definitely handle that.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

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