He faced the nurse. “Thanks.” Looking at his wife, he said, “Come back to me. I’m right here. Where I’ve always been, where I’ll always be. I love you. Please. Come back to me.’”
Carson walked backward to the door, keeping his gaze on her for as long as possible…
No! Don’t go. Stay and talk to me. I know where I am when you’re here.
Carolyn didn’t always make it to the listening place. Sometimes she’d hear the rumble of his voice, but by the time she surfaced from the murky depths of her mind, silence greeted her. Distraught, she’d find herself sinking back into the darkness, but sometimes, she fought it.
Like now. She wanted that memory. She deserved it.
And then the moment was right there and she jumped into it with both feet…
Witnessing the pride and terror on her oldest son’s face after he emerged from the nursery with a bundle wrapped in blue nearly sent Carolyn into a fit of giggles. Then when he’d handed that squirmy baby boy to his father first, and the look of understanding and acceptance they’d exchanged in that moment had her bawling as much as baby Kyler.
They’d gone home and touched base with their families after being at the hospital most of the day. Aunt Keely was fit to be tied that she couldn’t see her nephew since she was spending spring break in Denver with her Uncle Thomas and cousin Sebastian.
Carson had broken out the good bottle of Irish, and she and Carson toasted the new generation in the McKay family.
After she’d drained a third shot—normally she limited herself to one—Carson picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. “What’s goin’ through that pretty head of yours, sugar?”
“A lot of stuff.”
“Good stuff? Or bad stuff?”
“Some of both, to be honest.”
“Such as?”
“Such as I worry that Marla will continue to be the same aloof, uninvolved woman we’ve seen. Babies are work and any kind of work has always been an issue for her.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“Cord will be an excellent father; how can he not be with you as an example—” Carson kissed her hand again, “—but he does have major ranch responsibilities. He can’t be Kyler’s primary caretaker. And then I feel guilty for assuming that Marla won’t be a good mother. I’ve tried really hard not to be a meddling mother-in-law.”
Carson sighed. “As much as I’ve been lookin’ forward to havin’ a grandbaby, I’ve wondered how I’d approach this with Cord if it becomes an issue.”
She threaded her fingers through his. She’d always loved his hands, and now they were very much a middle-aged man’s hands. Tough as leather, the skin wrinkled and covered in age spots. She caught him clenching and releasing his fists more frequently. Although he never complained, she knew his joints were stiff in the morning after another day spent in the elements. Sometimes she thought he wore his age on his hands rather than on his face.
Oh to be so lucky.
“Caro?”
She looked up at him. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“Just wondering where this melancholy is comin’ from.”
“Honestly? Thrilled as I am for our son, and as happy as I am to have a baby around to spoil, it makes me feel old. Good heavens, Carson McKay, I’m a grandma! How did that happen? It doesn’t seem that long ago we were young parents. Now when I look in the mirror I see—”
“The most beautiful, amazing woman in the world? Because that’s what I see whenever I look at you.”
“You looking to get laid, silver-tongued cowboy?”
He grinned. “Always. But I meant what I said. I still find you sexy as hell. I still wanna throw you over my shoulder and race up to the bedroom and f**k you until I hear them whimpering moans you make when you come. Course, I’ll be movin’ a little slower as I’m hauling you up the stairs since I ain’t the strapping young buck I used to be.”
Carolyn gasped. “No, really? You’ll start doddering around since you’re a grandpa?”
“I’ll show you doddering, woman.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. Then he bent down and braced his shoulder into her belly before he lifted her. She hung over his shoulder like a sack of grain. He slapped her butt—hard—and made a beeline toward the stairs.
“Put me down! You’ll throw your back out.”
“And if I do I’ll tell everyone who asks that it was from a sex-related injury.”
“Carson!”
He laughed. And slapped her other butt cheek.
Then they were in their bedroom, staring at each other, breathing hard. That sense of anticipation heightening the air around them.
Carson lowered his head, placing one, hot, openmouthed kiss on the side of her neck in the spot guaranteed to turn her legs into jelly. His breath teased her skin, when he murmured, “So, sexy grandma, you wanna get it on with a dirty old man?”
“Always.”
He clamped his hand on her behind as he brought their mouths together. His kiss was a drug that sparked her need. His kiss was a reminder that he could ignite that passion in both of them with barely a touch.
The man was a master at removing her clothes. One second she was kissing him and the next she was naked.
She undressed him slowly. Touching. Tasting. Burying her nose in his chest hair, hair that was now a mix of black and silver. The familiar scent of musk and man instantly readied her body for his. Her hands smoothed and stroked the strong muscles in his arms and shoulders. She let her fingers wander down the center of his torso. His waist was thicker these days, but she still loved the full weight of his formidable body on hers. She circled his c**k at the root and dragged her fist up and down the shaft while she kissed his collarbones. His throat. That stubborn jaw.