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She added a smile to that, and he let out the breath he’d been holding. Everything had been so perfect for the past eleven months. He sometimes felt like he was waiting for bad news to hit, but things only seemed to get better with each day.
“We have it recorded, remember?” he asked.
“Oh, that’s right.”
She looked over at the TV. They’d watchedChristmas on the Ranchexactly one time. The first time it aired, a large group of friends and family had gathered at Snowy Canyon Ranch for a viewing party. Afterward, Audrie had revealed that while she took pride in seeing the work she’d done on Jessica’s hair, watching that particular actress on screen still bugged her. Especially after she’d broken Peter and Tracie up, only to dump Peter soon after.
Luckily, Tracie and Peter had reconciled and now were dating. He had no idea where Jessica was now or if she planned to try to break them up again. At least it wasn’t his problem anymore.
What he did know, though, was that Jessica’s big feature film hadn’t panned out. He’d heard that Jessica was shopping around for another Christmas movie to film. It wouldn’t be in Corbin, though, thankfully.
“So…” Audrie said that one word and hesitated.
After a short silence, she moved into the room. He noticed her feet were bare as she padded across the wood floors. She stopped at the end of the couch, still not taking a seat. There was something about her demeanor that bugged him. But it didn’t seem to be bad news. It just seemed like she had something big to say.
“You know how we never got that honeymoon?” she asked.
They’d gotten married in June on the ranch, which had become an extremely popular wedding venue since the movies aired. But they were in the middle of construction on their house, which was on property he’d bought on the other side of town from Snowy Canyon Ranch. They’d decided to put their honeymoon off until things were more settled.
“Yeah,” he said. “Did you have an idea?”
That would make sense. He hoped it was somewhere quiet. He could use a little downtime.
He decided to make a guess. “I’m thinking a cabin on the lake, but you might be more of a beach person.”
Face scrunched into a frown, Audrie tilted her head. “We’re going somewhere?” she asked.
“For our honeymoon. We haven’t really discussed it. I feel bad that you got cheated out of that experience. But now the house is pretty much done, aside from a couple of tweaks like the nursery.”
They had a room she kept calling the nursery, even though it was just an empty bedroom. Every time she called it that, he smiled. The thought of having a baby in this house warmed him more than he’d ever imagined possible.
“You might have to finish that soon,” she said.
Now he was the one confused. “Finish what?”
“The nursery. At least get the baseboards down. I can do the rest, but I don’t think I’ll be able to paint, especially after the first trimester.”
“Trimester?” He gave her a teasing smile. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” It was meant to be a joke, but when her grin broadened into a full smile, he turned dead serious. “Are you telling me…?”
She nodded as her eyes filled with tears. But that smile was still firmly in place. He pushed himself to his feet, tossing the remote onto the couch cushion next to him, then lifted her up in a big hug, almost twirling her around. At the last minute, he stopped himself, though, setting her down again.
“How far along are you? Are you okay? Do you need… Have you seen the doctor?”
“I’ve seen the doctor,” she said. “I wanted to make sure before I told you, so I went this morning between clients.”
This was what he’d lived his entire life to experience.Thiswas what it was all about. His own family on their own ranch, working hard to build a life. He couldn’t think of anything that would make him happier.
But there was just one more thing missing.
“We definitely have to take our honeymoon,” he said. “When the baby comes, there won’t be time for things like that.”
“Where do you want to go?” she asked.
He stepped back and thought a second. The tough part was there was nowhere he wanted to be but here. He’d finally found his place after working for his brother most of the winter. They’d made enough money off the Christmas movies that he was able to buy this place and put down roots.
He was already building the kind of farm that got grocers’ attention. Apparently, there was a shortage of ranches providing grass-fed beef with sustainable practices, and grocery stores all over the region were looking for it. He could expand farther than Corbin, of course, but he’d already gotten commitments from a couple of stores in nearby towns.
“I’d be happy in a sleeping bag in the middle of the woods if you were there with me,” he said.
