She hesitated; tempted to say she didn’t have one at all. ‘Yes, I think I did bring something with me … for the hotel pool.’
‘Great. Race back and get it, and we’ll have a swim, and afterwards I’ll barbeque some steaks. That is, if you don’t already have plans?’
Alex thought hard for a moment. She hadn’t shaved her legs, and her bathers weren’t the most flattering she’d ever owned. But more to the point, was she ready for … this? She reached up to rub her shoulder, but caught herself, and quickly pulled her hand away. Annie and Travis were both staring at her, waiting for a reply. She hated to disappoint Annie.
‘Sure, okay, that sounds fun.’ She hoped they hadn’t noticed how breathless her voice had sounded. ‘Should I make a salad or something?’
‘You don’t need to bring a thing. Just yourself,’ Travis said.
Twenty-five minutes later Alex was ready. She’d taken a quick shower then donned the one-piece, dark blue and not entirely ghastly bathers, covered them with an oversized tee-shirt and a pair of shorts, put her hair up in a messy bun, and thrown some clothes into a tote bag to change into afterwards. She sighed deeply as she got back into her car.
Alex spotted Annie on the front porch when she pulled up in front of the house. Before she’d even stopped, Annie raced over to the car. Annie grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the pool, telling her how much fun it was going to be because they had floating lounge chairs, but that if she didn’t like those, they also had pool rings.
As they approached the pool, Alex heard splashing. She didn’t see him at first, but then realised Travis was already in the pool, swimming under water. When he materialized at the shallow end of the pool, Alex did a double take. His dark hair was slicked back, and beads of water trickled down his bare chest as he stood up in the waist-high water. He was muscular—far more so than Liam—and olive-skinned. It took all her self-control to pull her eyes away from him when she heard Annie running past her.
‘Dibs on the red chair,’ Annie called as she reached the far side of the pool. She grabbed the chair and dove into the deep end. In no time at all she’d climbed into the chair, her hair slicked back like her father’s as she lounged back, pretending to smoke an imaginary cigarette.
Alex took her time, setting her tote bag down on a deck chair, and kicking her sandals off under the chair. When she pulled her shorts off and threw them on top, a slight shiver ran down her spine. She wasn’t sure if it was from the spring air or the company, but at least it was a good excuse to leave the tee-shirt on.
Committed to do this, she made her way to the pool stairs near where Travis stood. One at a time she eased down into what she discovered was only lukewarm water.
Travis watched her with a lopsided grin on his face, probably wondering why she still had her shirt on.
Once the water reached her waist, she bent her knees sliding down to where the water covered her shoulders. Then she pushed off the bottom and did a breast-stroke across the pool, keeping her head up and her hair dry.
After several laps she’d had enough and made her way back up to the deck chair where she stood ringing the water out of her tee-shirt. Within a few moments, Travis followed, and moved one of the chairs over next to hers.
‘Thanks for coming today. Annie hasn’t really got any friends around here. There’s her cousin but Annie tends to get rather exasperated with her after a while.’
‘I enjoy her company. She’s a clever girl, and not a bad tennis player, I must add.’
Travis beamed with pride, then grabbed a towel and dabbed the water off his face and torso before plopping into the deck chair beside her. Once again, Alex found it hard not to stare.
‘Oh, I’m a horrible host. Can I grab you something cool to drink? We’ve got a ton of light beer left over from the party, not to mention every sort of soft drink you could imagine.’
‘I wouldn’t mind a mineral water, if you’ve got one.’
‘Pretty sure we do. Annie,’ he called out to her, ‘do you want a drink?’
‘Orange soda, please.’
‘I’ll be right back.’
As he made his way back to the house, Alex watched until he disappeared out of view. When she turned back to the pool, she realised Annie was watching her watching him. She ducked her head and covered her face with her hands. In a moment, Annie was next to her, giggling.
‘You like him, don’t you? I can tell by the way you look at him.’
Alex couldn’t prevent her eyes flying wide open at the direct question. ‘Um, er …’ Gees, kids were so smart these days—she’d have been clueless at Annie’s age.
‘Hey, it’s cool. He’s my dad, and I want him to be happy. You make him happy.’
Alex swallowed hard, unsure how to respond to Annie’s frank question.
‘Shush, here he comes. I won’t say anything, pinkie-swear,’ Annie said as she held up her little finger.
Alex raised her hand and they interlocked pinkies for a few seconds. Annie immediately started to giggle again.
Travis huffed out a breath. ‘What are you two conspiring about? I saw you do a pinkie-swear, Annie, and that’s generally reserved for extra special secrets.’
‘Never you mind, Daddy, just girl talk.’ She giggled again, took the orange soda he offered, and dove back into the pool where she proceeded to climb back into the chair. She popped the top of the can and placed it in the cup-holder, then once again pretended to smoke her imaginary cigarette.
‘Thank you,’ Alex said as she popped the top of her can of sparkling mineral water. She tried to focus on Annie while he settled back into his deck chair, then she turned to him. ‘Is her mother a smoker? I only ask because she keeps pretending like she’s smoking.’
‘Yes, Karen’s terribly addicted. She tries not to smoke around Annie, or at least that’s what she tells me, but I suspect it’s easier said than done.’
‘It’s a horrible habit. My father was a heavy smoker … and drinker. I’m pretty sure that’s part of what drove my mother back to Australia. She didn’t want her three daughters around all that.’
‘You have two sisters?’
‘Yes, Casey and Taylor—they’re twins.’
‘And are they tennis players as well?’
‘No, they’re more creative types. Casey’s a florist, and Taylor’s a baker.’
‘Ah, that’s right. I remember you saying something about a sister who bakes.’
Alex tilted her head, trying to recall, but it really didn’t matter. ‘They’re two years younger than me, so I know how Annie feels about her young cousin. It gets easier, later.’
Travis smiled, and Alex realised he might have felt the same way about Denver when they were kids. Pesky younger siblings were no doubt universal.
‘How often do you get to spend time with Annie?’
‘Officially, I’m entitled to have her every other weekend, but I agreed Karen could take her to Southern California, and keep her for most of the year if I could have her for the summer vacation. I think I told you they pulled her out of school a little early so Cody could get to Washington for this new job of his, but I’m not sure when school will start up at their new place. Guess Karen will let me know at some stage.’
‘And the holidays? Do you get to see her for Christmas, or Easter?’
‘I went down there for Christmas last year and Annie and I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for a couple of nights. We had a blast. Got to the park the moment it opened and stayed until it shut. You should have seen her eyes when they did the Electric Light Parade.’
Alex sighed. ‘That’s something I’ve never done.’
‘What, the Electric Light Parade?’
‘No, Disneyland, full stop. I’ve never been. I’d like to go one day. We have theme parks in Australia, but nothing like Disneyland.’
Travis cocke
d his head and a quizzical expression crossed his face. ‘Seriously? Not even when you lived here as a child?’
‘I was only five when we moved to Australia. And we only came back once to visit my father. He took us skiing to Tahoe but it wasn’t like he was flush with money or anything.’
‘Well then, you’ve gotta go. It’s just as much fun for adults as it is for kids—maybe even more so. There’s also one in Florida now, and it’s even bigger, but I’d rather go back to Los Angeles. Nothing like the original as far as I’m concerned.’
‘I agree. When I go, it’ll be to Los Angeles.’
A deep furrow appeared between Travis’ eyebrows for a moment. When he spoke, his voice had dropped an octave, and it resonated with kindness. ‘Well, if you’re still around at Christmas, maybe you could come with us. I promised Annie I’d take her back again this year—as much as we tried to see everything, there was a lot we missed, and she wasn’t tall enough for a couple of the rides she wanted to go on. I bet she will be this year.’
Alex wasn’t entirely sure she’d heard correctly. Had he invited her to go away with him and Annie? To spend time with them at Christmas? She didn’t quite know how to answer. Travis started fiddling with his drink can and looked across toward Annie who was splashing about in the pool.
‘Or not. How stupid of me. You have family of your own you’d want to spend time with at Christmas. Forget I mentioned it. I think I got a bit carried away, seeing as how you and Annie seem to be getting along so well. She means the world to me, and I’d do anything to make her happy.’
Shame washed over Alex as she struggled for words. ‘My slow response wasn’t because I didn’t appreciate being included. I think I was … it was unexpected, that’s all. And it’s kind of a long way off, isn’t it? I mean Christmas … I seriously don’t know where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing … but it was really nice of you to include me.’
Travis set his can down and turned to her with eyes that held so much intensity it took enormous effort to continue looking at him. He blinked slowly, appearing to be weighing his response.
But then Annie came over and pushed his legs out of the way so she could sit on the end of his chair. ‘Did I hear you say something about Disneyland? You haven’t forgotten we’re going at Christmas, have you?’
A weak smile wiped the seriousness off his face as Travis leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his daughter. ‘Of course I haven’t. I was just telling Alex about our trip last year, and how much fun it was. Can you believe she’s never been to Disneyland?’
Annie’s eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open like a fish gasping for air. ‘Never? How come?’
‘Hey, I live something like ten thousand kilometres away. It’s not like Disneyland is a couple hour’s drive down the road for me. Give me a break, eh?’
Alex reached over and rubbed the top of Annie’s head, making Annie giggle. She squirmed free from her father and ran back over to dive into the pool.
‘So, who’s hungry? Shall I go light the barbeque?’ Travis called out loud enough for Annie to hear.
‘I am,’ yelled Annie from the pool.
His tone was light with the change of subject to food. Had he so quickly dismissed the awkward moment they’d just had?
He stood, and for a moment before he headed over to the house his eyes followed Annie’s every move. There was love in his eyes, pure, and unadulterated.
Alex bent down and fiddled with her sandals, then collected her things as she waited for Annie to join her. She could get used to this family if she let herself, but was that what she wanted? She hadn’t even decided if she wanted to stay in California, and here she was entertaining the idea of spending considerable time with them.
She looked up in time to see Travis heading to the back door, still wearing nothing but his bathers, and the thought of his arms around her, like they’d been on the dance floor, sent shivers down her spine. As she turned back to Annie, Annie lifted an eyebrow and shrugged her little shoulders. Alex would definitely have to be more careful about when and how she looked at Travis in Annie’s presence.
Chapter 19
What had he been thinking, asking if Alex wanted to go to Disneyland with them? For one thing, Christmas was his special time with Annie. And for another thing, he barely knew Alex. And for a third thing, she was a Mason and there was still the stupid feud.
He’d been trying to let go of the whole feud thing, but she wasn’t helping. After all, she’d still done nothing, and said nothing, about their offer. He couldn’t allow himself to lose sight of that. Not yet, anyway—not until he had the full measure of this woman’s integrity. She was attractive, and there was more chemistry between them than he’d felt in a long time—he’d give her that. And Annie seemed taken with her. But that didn’t mean he should drop all his defences and make a fool of himself.
After he’d showered and dressed he went around and lit the barbeque. Then he grabbed some steaks out of the fridge and pulled the husks off some corn—ready for the barbeque.
By the time he’d finished, he’d regained a bit of control. He’d been an idiot out there by the pool, and he wasn’t going to let his defences down again in a hurry. Alex was good company for Annie, and her agreeing to hang out with Annie at the rodeo was more than he would ever have asked, but he had to scale things back afterwards. Lessons, yes. Barbeques and afternoons by the pool, maybe not so much.
The patter of feet told him Annie was on her way in, with Alex right behind her. She smiled as she walked past him, and disappeared into the house. Five minutes later Alex re-emerged, wearing a sweater that brought out the green in her eyes. Why on earth did she have to be so darn good looking?
‘Can I help with anything?’ she asked as she came up beside him.
She stopped only a matter of inches away. She smelled like something from the garden—roses perhaps. Or jasmine. Or both.
‘You can make a salad if you like. Everything’s in the fridge, bottom drawer.’
While she busied herself making the salad, Travis grabbed plates and silverware, and set the table out on the back deck. He took his time, fiddling with placemats, grabbing napkins, finding four matching glasses. He didn’t trust himself to stand next to her again—not while she looked and smelled so good.
Annie saved the day when she appeared carrying a deck of cards and saying she wanted to show Alex some card tricks. She stood patiently while Alex finished making the salad, and then dragged her off to the dining room table, leaving Travis alone with his thoughts.
With her no longer in his proximity, Travis started to breathe easier. And then Denver walked out to join him.
‘Is that Alex in there with Annie? Is she staying for dinner?’
‘Yes, and yes.’ His voice was cool. Normal. Back in control.
‘Well, I must look and smell nasty. Better grab a shower and change into something a bit more presentable.’
Travis looked him up and down. Denver’s jeans were filthy, especially on his calves where they’d rubbed up against his horse’s sweaty sides. At least his shirt didn’t look too bad.
He quirked a brow as he answered. ‘Don’t bother—it’ll take too long. Just don’t sit right next to Alex and she might not notice the smell.’
Denver smoothed out his shirt and tucked it into his jeans a bit better. ‘Seriously? You think this is okay?’
‘You’ve never worried about it when it’s me and Annie.’
‘Yeah, but Alex is a guest.’
‘She’s Annie’s tennis coach, not your next conquest. Chill.’
Denver cocked his head, and that meant trouble. ‘No, but is she yours? That’s the real question here, isn’t it?’
He took a deep breath, willing himself to ignore his brother’s teasing. ‘We’re having steak and salad, and there’s a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer that I can put in the oven
.’
‘Garlic bread? You sure you want that?’ Denver grinned, lifting an eyebrow.
‘Go wash your face and hands. And then make yourself useful by grabbing some cold drinks to put in the ice bucket,’ Travis said.
As Denver headed toward the bathroom to wash up, Travis could hear him laughing. It was obvious maintaining control throughout dinner would be a challenge.
~~*~~
Alex covered her mouth when she started to yawn. She was having a lovely evening and was a bit cross with herself as she turned to her host to apologise. ‘I’m sorry to be yawning, guess it’s been a long day. It’s certainly no reflection on the company, or the lovely dinner. Thank you so much for inviting me.’
‘It’s been our pleasure,’ Travis said, setting his napkin onto his plate. ‘It’s good of you to give Annie some lessons. Denver and I never really took to tennis the way our mother hoped we might—we were too focused on the horses.’
‘I did wonder why you have a tennis court. I mean, it seems a bit odd … on a cattle ranch?’ She looked over at Denver but it was Travis who answered.
‘Our mother grew up in Santa Barbara, having both a pool and a tennis court. It was something she insisted on when they built this house. She wanted her children to have a choice of activities—not just riding horses.’
‘Oh, so she didn’t want her boys growing up to be cowboys, I take it?’ Alex had a vague memory of a song she’d heard with those lyrics.
‘That was part of it. Like most parents, she wanted the best for us. She was really disappointed when I got married before I finished my degree. Then she was even more disappointed when Karen and I started following the rodeos, and I dropped out of college altogether.’
Annie, who’d gone in to watch some television, reappeared and when Alex turned to look at her she caught the tail-end of her yawn. Annie rubbed her eyes and then flashed a big smile.
Travis reached over and pulled Annie onto his lap. ‘Don’t think I didn’t see you yawning, Annie. It’s time for you to hit the hay.’
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