But the very first thing…

Carson turned her toward him. He kissed her very softly and murmured, “Ready?” against her lips.

“Very ready.”

“Good. Hang on.” Then he swept her into his arms and carried her inside.

He knew she appreciated his romantic gesture when she nuzzled his throat and sighed. After setting her on her feet, he took her beautiful face in his hands and said, “Welcome home, Mrs. McKay.”

Her tears fell as she fit her mouth to his and she gifted him with a kiss filled with sweet gratitude.

It’d struck him hard then, as it did every so often, that ranching was his livelihood, but this woman was his life, his heart, his home. Loving her had shaped him into the man he’d become.

Carolyn broke free of his hold with a soft laugh. “Sorry. This is all just too much.”

“It’s everything you deserve.” He kissed her again. “Ready to check out your house?”

She smiled. “Kitchen first.”

“Of course.” He enjoyed watching her prowl the enormous space. Opening cupboards and running her hands over the counters with an expression akin to awe.

Finally she looked at him. “It’s so big.”

“That’s what all men love to hear.”

She swatted his biceps. “I can’t believe your dad left us all the dishes and pots and pans.”

“He won’t need ’em. This is the one room he didn’t clean out after Ma died.”

“We won’t need to buy anything besides food to stock this kitchen.” She looked at him curiously. “What else did Jed leave behind?”

“Pretty much everything with the exception of his favorite chair and TV,” Carson admitted. “And to be honest, he’s relieved we’re movin’ in. He said he was tired of rattling around in this big old house like a lone BB in a shell.”

“He apologized to me that the house needs so much cleaning. But I don’t mind. I’ll know every nook and cranny by the time I’m done.”

“Come on.” He kissed her forehead. “Let’s see what you’ve got to work with.”

Carson listened with amusement as Carolyn rattled off the changes she wanted to make. The living room furniture would do for now, but she envisioned something far less formal for a house with three boys. She loved the dining room and swore they’d eat every meal in here and not at the small table in the kitchen. She commented on stripping wallpaper and adding new paint. Every room needed new rugs as well as different curtains. She immediately declared the parlor off the kitchen as her space, muttering to herself about placement of her sewing machine and needing more shelves in the closet.

They finally ascended the stairs, which opened up to the middle of the hallway.

Carolyn stopped.

“What?”

She pointed at the closed doors. “Do we let the boys choose their own rooms?”

He scratched his chin. “I dunno. Do you think they each need their own room? We’ve got the space now, but Cord and Colby have always shared. Maybe they’ll just want to put the bunk beds in one room until they’re used to the place and then they can pick.”

“Good idea. The one good thing about the trailer was Colton was self-contained with his brothers in a small bedroom.”

“Only when he wasn’t tryin’ to convince his big brothers to release him from his cage.” Their third son had started walking and talking early. Cord and Colby dragged him everywhere with them so the kid seemed a lot older than two and a half.

“Don’t remind me.”

Carson placed his hand on Carolyn’s belly. “We’ll need that crib for this baby pretty soon anyway.”

“Not for four months.”

He kissed her temple. “Like I said, soon.”

“Since there are two staircases, maybe we should install locks on the outsides of the boy’s doors.” When Carson raised his eyebrow, she said, “I’m kidding. But I have all these worries I didn’t have before.”

“It’ll be fine. Me’n my brothers survived growin’ up in this house, our boys will too.”

“I know. It’s just…” She smiled. “Don’t mind me. Hormone overload.”

“Let’s check out our bedroom.” He rubbed his lips across the top of her ear. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

The door to the master bedroom was ajar. He moved in behind her, placing his hands over her eyes. “No peeking until I say.”

“Carson McKay, if you—”

“I can put a hand over your mouth too, so zip it.”

She huffed out an exasperated noise.

He steered her into the room and kicked the door shut behind them. Then he dropped his hands. “Now you can look.”

Carolyn gasped and walked toward the brand new king-sized bed. He’d sprung for a new headboard and he watched as her fingers trailed across the curved center, flanked on both sides by tall rounded posts in a rich mahogany. Then she ran her hand across the sheets and looked at him. “You did all this?”

“I picked the mattress and the headboard, but Kimi helped with the sheets. We figured you’d want to buy or make a new coverlet for it, so I’m leavin’ that part to you. I also didn’t buy new furniture ’cause I wasn’t sure what style you’d want.”

“The sheets are perfect.” She smiled. “This bed is huge.”