“What would that be, ma’am?” He replied innocently.
“Do we have to bring the cows along this time?”
Carey threw back his head and laughed before feathering her lips with kisses, spectators be damned. Without breaking their kiss, he bent slightly until his arms were around her waist, then lifted her to his height and walked with her out of the kitchen, through the living room, and out the front door to stand under the stars in front of the house. Amy left her arms wrapped around Carey’s neck as he gently set her feet on the ground, their kiss deepening as her hands wound their way into his hair. He pressed her body against his, holding her so close she could feel his heartbeat against her skin.
He finally broke the kiss and lifted her chin gently with his fingertips, looking into her eyes. “What if your vacation didn’t end?” He asked nervously. “What if you loved ranch life so much that you stayed?”
“Out here?” She asked, surprised. “A city slicker like me? Please, Texas wouldn’t know what to do with a Detroit cop running around all over the place. And what would I do all day without the excitement of the city to keep me busy?”
“Well, we do find ourselves in need of a sheriff lately, and you are the one who first made the connection between the sheriff and Mack, and the drugs. I bet you’re just the kind of cop we need.” He kissed her deeply again, then said, “And I think you’re just the kind of woman I need.”
Chapter Sixteen
Miranda stepped down off the front steps of the porch and came over to where Casey leaned against the split rail fence that ran the perimeter of the yard. She ran her hands up his back then wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head on the firmness of his shoulder blades. “Are you glad to be home, cowboy?” She asked, letting her fingertips slip between the buttons on his shirt and trace a path over the ridges of his chest.
Casey put his hands on top of hers and turned around, leaning back against the fence and pulling her to him. “I am definitely glad to be home,” he promised her, leaning in for a quick kiss. “I have to say, you’re a trooper. Not many brides are quite so willing to drop everything on their honeymoons and take off for a cattle drive.”
“Are you kidding? If all those selfish brides knew how exciting it is to be surrounded by good-looking, muscular cowboys all day long, there would be a riot at the airport with brides ripping up their tickets to the Caribbean to head out west instead!”
Casey raised one eyebrow at her. “Good looking cowboys? Plural? As in, more than one cowboy was good looking?”
“Well, for starters, there’s two of you, but you knew that already!” Miranda nodded, acknowledging that he and Carey were still often mixed up for the other one. “But, don’t worry, there’s only one cowboy who can get my attention, Mr. Carson.”
“Well, Mrs. Carson, it’s still nice to hear you say it! I mean, do I need to be careful with you around my brother because we’re both so handsome? He’s invited us to have dinner with him tonight, and I’d hate for all this gorgeousness times two to be more than you can handle.”
“Well, that would be a real problem,” Miranda admitted playfully. “If your brother’s date didn’t carry a gun. Trust me, I won’t be looking at either of you when she’s in the room, just to be on the safe side!” Casey laughed before giving Miranda a lasting kiss that left her nearly breathless. “How long’s the ride to the hunting lodge?” She asked, wondering whether they’d take the horses or the truck to have dinner with Carey and Amy, where they were staying on her ranch getaway.
“Only a couple of hours if we take the truck, longer if we take the horses, obviously,” he answered, smiling as Miranda clearly tried to process living on property that took hours to cross. “I thought we’d pack some overnight things and camp out tonight. What do you think?”
“You haven’t had enough of living ‘cattle drive’ style, have you?” She teased, already plotting how to get him to at least throw a real mattress in the bed of the truck. “I’ve had plenty of sleeping on the ground to last me at least a month or two.”
“Fine, we’ll compromise. You sleep in the truck, I’ll take the ground,” he offered with a quick kiss, knowing she would never go for it. Miranda was shaking her head before he’d even finished.
“Not a chance, Mr. Carson. You’re stuck with me from here on out. The justice of the peace said so!” She beamed proudly as she said those words. Casey leaned closer to give her one of his wonderfully ravaging kisses, the kind she could never imagine growing tired of, but first whispered against her lips.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He held out his hand to her and they walked inside to gather their things, then headed to the truck. Soon enough, they were bouncing along the same piece of land where Casey first took Miranda to propose to her.
“Do you think this old farm of yours is magical enough to be lucky twice?” She asked Casey, leaning her head on his shoulder as he drove.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“I mean, I didn’t fall in love with the ranch, but I fell in love with you because of the man this ranch helped you become. Do you think it can work its magic on Amy’s heart in the same way?”
“I can’t say for sure,” Carey answered. “You know she’s a tough sell. I think she really cares about my brother, but even you can see what a culture shock this has to be. You left a good-sized city to move out here, but she’d be leaving behind her city and her sense of purpose.”
Miranda nodded thoughtfully. As much as everyone had tried to welcome Amy and make her feel like she belonged over these past three weeks, there was still something about her that seemed hesitant. On the surface, she seemed to enjoy being a part of the ranch, and it was obviously to anyone with even halfway decent eyesight that she and Carey were falling in love. But there was something else, some force field at work inside her that kept Amy from really being a part of it all.
“Well, Carey did say he had some ‘big news’ for us but he wouldn’t tell me anything else,” Casey explained. “Maybe their big news is that Amy’s going to stay for good and make an honest woman out of my little brother!”
Miranda sat up suddenly, excited over Casey’s announcement. “Really? Big news? You sure he said, ‘Big news'? How did he sound when he said it, did he sound like it was important, or did he sound surprised?”
Casey laughed, watching the eager expression on his new wife’s face. “Whoa! Slow down there! You’re gonna hurt yourself with all that guessing! He just said it in a regular way, nothing fancy. I’m sorry, I didn’t know his facial expression was going to be on your exam!” Miranda laughed along, then returned to her position beside Casey, her arm wrapped through his, her head on his shoulder.
When they arrived at Carey and Amy’s temporary vacation site, the hunting lodge Carson Hill Ranch rented out each season, they were thrilled to see the couple arm in arm on the front steps, waiting outside once they heard the roar of the oversized truck approaching. Carey and Amy waved them in, both of them smiling broadly.
“Welcome, guys!” Carey called out as he and Amy met them beside the vehicle. “What can I carry?” He followed Casey around to the bed of the truck, retrieving bundles of dinner things and supplies.
Miranda and Amy, meanwhile, linked arms and went into the house, but they were only a few steps away when Miranda had to speak up. “So, I heard you have some big news,” she began, before squealing and grabbing Amy’s left hand, holding it up to inspect its digits for an engagement ring. Amy looked shocked, then mildly amused at Miranda’s implication.
“Now don’t you start, either!” Amy began, laughing and hugging her new best friend close. “I’ve been hearing all the hints