Cowboy Take Me Away(271)

            And because cooking had been such a big part of what’d defined her, they’d kept her loss of skills to themselves. Carson told anyone who asked that after fifty years of kitchen duty she’d officially hung up her oven mitts and retired.

            He curled his hand around her face. “Liesl is not lookin’ for the truth, sugar. She’s lookin’ for validation from her Gran-gran because she respects the hell out of you. So tell her whatever she did surpassed the original recipe and you don’t remember it ever tastin’ that good.”

            “You always know just what to say, silver-tongued devil that you are,” she murmured.

            “How much longer do we have to stay?”

            “Another hour or so. They’re doing the whole cake-cutting thing and first dance thing, which is weird because we didn’t have either of those things at our wedding. I doubt they’re expecting us to stick around after that.”

            “Good. I have plans for us.” He brushed an openmouthed kiss at the base of her neck. “Nekkid plans that include you, me, our hot tub and a bottle of bubbly.”

            She laughed. “You really believe that hot tub is the fountain of youth, don’t you?”

            “Yep. Makes me feel twenty years younger.”

            “Lord, crazy man, I love you. You really will be chasing me around when you’re a hundred and five, won’t you?”

            Carson smiled. “Count on it.”

            Check out Lorelei James’s Author’s Notes and FAQs for behind-the-scenes information on the Rough Riders series as well as details on when other characters from this world will get their stories. Explore the McKay-West family trees, a timeline for the series and more at www.loreleijames.com.