Page 95 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

t with finding Luella,” Callum said.

“Hey,” Marlowe said. “Let’s turn this into a celebration for Callum and Hazel—and Evie, too.”

“Hear, hear.” Ainsley lifted her glass.

Callum turned to Hazel and slipped his arm around her waist. “Hear, hear, for sure.”

* * *

The siblings began talking of other things, leaving Callum and Hazel with a moment to themselves.

“Let me show you my wing,” Callum said. “You can tell me what you think.”

He took her to the third level. It took some time to get there, the home was so large. Then he arrived at a door and opened it. She stepped inside an expansive seating area with a high ceiling, a fireplace and a balcony. There was a bar, as well, and a dining table and kitchenette. That she didn’t like. He showed her the master suite. It was magnificent, with a huge bathroom. No room for Evie.

“It doesn’t seem suitable for a family,” she said.

“I thought the same. I didn’t expect you to want to live here. We can build a house here on the ranch or somewhere else.”

She would probably like his family but living so close to them seemed too much for her. She preferred to have her privacy. They could come see his family as often as he liked.

“I’m not sure I want to wait that long to move into a house,” she said.

“All right.” He smiled. “We’ll look somewhere in town.” He kissed her and, as always, their chemistry heated. With a bed so close, taking this further was tempting, but with his siblings and her daughter downstairs, they should be getting back.

Hazel drew away and just looked at Callum, into his loving and incredible blue eyes. She had to be one of the luckiest women in the world.

* * *

Hazel and Callum opted for staying at the Dales Inn until they could find a house. They were headed there now, with Callum driving. But then she noticed he wasn’t heading in the direction of town.

“Where are we going?”

“I have a surprise for you,” he said with a wily grin.

“Callum Colton, what are you up to?”

“Yeah. Whatcha up to?” Evie asked from the back seat.

“You’ll see. If I tell you it will ruin the surprise.” He drove into a rural area outside Mustang Valley city limits, into an affluent neighborhood with large homes but not mansions. The houses were all stone with big windows and each measured about five thousand square feet.

She had a pretty good idea what his surprise was going to be. She turned to him.

“If you don’t like it, we can look for another one,” Callum said, having read her glance.

What was there not to like?

He pulled to a stop in front of a beautiful gray stone house with white trim. There was a veranda next to the front portico and a turret on the other side.

“My family already owns this house,” Callum said. “It’s technically a Colton family property but my mom, as my dad’s representative, said she could transfer the title to us once we’re married.”

“It’s beautiful.” She helped Evie out of the truck and walked toward the front entrance. Inside, a two-story foyer soared above a spiral staircase going to the second level. The formal living room to the left had a fireplace and was open to the dining room, where double doors led to the veranda. A groin-vaulted ceiling over a short hallway opened to the living room and kitchen area.

The kitchen.

It was obviously professional grade, but without an overwhelming amount of stainless steel, with white walls and recessed lighting. The perimeter cabinets were white and the countertops soft green granite. The kitchen island drew her like a magnet. It had a green hood with a pan holder where several pots and pans already hung. There was a five-burner stove set in dark brown and tan granite that had a counter-mounted pot filler, which allowed a cook to fill big pots with water. The stainless steel refrigerator was twice the size of the one in her apartment. There were two ovens and a microwave was mounted into a cabinet. It was a dream kitchen.

“It was designed for hired cooks to entertain guests who stay here,” Callum said.

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