Crushing On You: Travis and Gabriella (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book One)

by Christine Kersey

  He chuckled softly. “Yeah. Ten years is a long time.”

  Not really. She’d never forgotten him.

  It was time to leave. No point in stretching out the awkwardness.

  She scooped Sadie into her arms. “Thanks again for seeing her on short notice.”

  “It was my pleasure,” he said with a smile.

  When she looked at his deep-blue eyes and gorgeous smile, her heart did its familiar little flip, and before she could stop herself, she said, “Mine too.” What? It was her pleasure too? That wasn’t what she was supposed to say. He just said that because it was his job.

  Feeling like a complete fool, Gabby turned and fled the room.

  Travis watched Gabriella’s retreating back and wanted to go after her and persuade her to go out with him, but before he could take a step in her direction, Emily appeared.

  She held out a manilla folder. “Your next patient is here.”

  Frustrated that he’d lost his chance, he forced a smile. “Thank you.”

  By the time he finished for the day, he’d come up with a plan—an excuse, really—on how to approach Gabriella. For it to work, he would have to wait until the next evening, but then he would go for it.

  Chapter 9

  “I know you don’t like it,” Gabby said the next evening as she placed the pill giver into Sadie’s mouth while pinning her to the living room floor. “But this will keep your bite from getting infected.” She pressed the plunger, pushing the pill into the back of Sadie’s throat, then held the cat’s mouth closed until she thought Sadie had swallowed the pill.

  Afterwards, she held Sadie on her lap, giving her extra attention and love. Still feeling like the whole thing was her fault, Gabby had bought cat treats and a new toy for Sadie. Now, as Gabby sat on the couch and stroked Sadie’s soft fur, she put aside her guilt and instead thought about her second day of class. The children’s names were firmly affixed in her mind, and in addition, she was beginning to learn each child’s strengths and weaknesses, which gave her more confidence in her ability to teach them.

  She considered the teaching techniques she would use, which led to thoughts of the last school where she’d taught, which led to thoughts of Brandon Monroe, the teacher at her last school whom she’d dated. Older than her by eight years, Brandon had offered to mentor her, but eventually the time they’d spent together had turned more romantic and she’d begun to fall for him. At least she’d believed she’d been falling for him.

  Now, as she pictured his handsome face, Gabby could only remember their last interaction, the day that had made her decide that taking a chance didn’t always pay off, the day that had made her glad for the opportunity to move to Emerald Falls.

  Leaning her head against the couch cushions and absently petting Sadie, memories of that day filled her mind.

  The delicious aroma of the casserole they’d eaten for dinner filled her Sacramento apartment as she and Brandon snuggled on the couch.

  “I could get used to this,” he murmured in her ear.

  Closing her eyes in contentment, she lay her head against his shoulder. They’d been dating for four months, and when she was with him, she felt cared for, respected, valued.

  She was in love with him. She’d never felt like this about anyone before, and she was certain he felt the same way.

  She was going to tell him. She was.

  Having never uttered those words before, fear of rejection clamped her lips shut, but she convinced herself that the time was right to tell him how she felt. Gathering her courage, she bit her lip as she mentally rehearsed saying the words. Then, heart pounding, she pulled away from him and gazed into his eyes.

  He looked at her, a question on his face. “What is it?”

  Swallowing over the fear that tried to close her throat, she tentatively smiled. “I…I love you, Brandon.”

  His eyes widened, but he didn’t reply, and she immediately knew saying those words had been a mistake.

  “Brandon?” Desperate to hear him say the words back to her, she didn’t know what to do. “Say something.”

  He chuckled as if he was being put on the spot. “I, uh, I really care for you, Gabby. I do.”

  He cared for her? That was it?

  Embarrassment swelled within her, making her want to run into the bathroom and hide until he left. But determined to see this through, and despite her deep discomfort, she stayed where she was. “I see.”

  It was too late to take back her declaration of love, but she hoped she could salvage the evening, maybe even get him on the path to loving her.

  He shifted away from her. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?” For not falling in love with her? Embarrassment turned to humiliation.

  “I thought we were on the same page.” His lips twitched into a semblance of a smile.

  Unable to meet his gaze, Gabby asked, “And what page is that?”

  He cleared his throat. “Enjoying each other’s company, friends with benefits, that kind of thing.”

  Startled to hear that his expectations had been so different from hers, her head jerked up and her eyes met his. “Friends with benefits?”

  One side of his mouth turned upward. “Yeah.”

  Why had they never talked about this before? Knowing the chances of their relationship going in the direction she wanted had just sharply diminished, Gabby scrambled to come up with something to say that would convince Brandon that they could have so much more.

  “I thought we had something,” she said instead, despair coming through loud and clear.

  Sliding his arm around her, he drew her against his side. “We do have something, Gabby. We have fun together. Don’t we?”

  She couldn’t argue with that, but she was interested in more than having fun. Evidently, he wasn’t.

  “Look,” he said as he stood. “I’d better get going.”

  Surprised by the abrupt end to their evening, Gabby didn’t say anything as she watched him walk out the door.

  Over the next several weeks, as the school year drew to a close, Brandon began to distance himself from her, and she knew why. He wasn’t interested in anything serious, and her statement of love had scared him away.

  Now, as Gabby sat in her aunt’s cottage—her cottage—she thought about Brandon. It had never been love. Rather, it had been admiration—the admiration one has for a mentor one looks up to. That, plus the good times they’d spent together and the way he’d made her feel. She’d mistaken those feelings for love.

  No. She had never been in love before. And the way things were going, she never would.

  Flooded with despair, she held Sadie closer, but the cat squirmed to get away. Feeling rejected, she let her go.

  Five minutes later a knock sounded at the door. Glancing towards the living room window, Gabby saw that it was still light out.

  Who could that be? She hadn’t had any visitors since she’d moved in.

  She twisted the knob and pulled the door open.

  “Hello, Gabriella.”

  “Travis. Hi.” Gabby’s pulse fluttered with a mix of surprise and delight.

  Chapter 10

  Seeing Gabriella standing in front of him—as beautiful as he remembered—Travis stared at her a moment.

  She smiled, which seemed to make her face glow. “What brings you here?”

  I had to see you again. “I wanted to check on Sadie.”

  She frowned. “Oh.”

  “I also wanted to see you.” Did he really want to admit that? Wouldn’t that give her expectations that he couldn’t fulfill?

  Her eyes met his as her smile returned. “Oh.” Then she opened the door wider. “Please come in.”

  Following her inside, he glanced at the cozy space. “So, this was your aunt’s house?”

  She gestured to the couch, where he sat, while she took the chair nearby. “Yes. She lived here most of her life.”

  “What about you? How long are you planning on staying in Emerald Falls?” W
hy was he asking that? What did it matter? He wasn’t going to be sticking around.

  “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t have any plans to go anywhere else.” She tucked her legs beneath her. “What about you?”

  He should tell her—set the expectations right up front. “I’m going to be interning at the clinic for another ten months, but after that…” He let his words trail off.

  “After that you’re leaving?”

  Finding he didn’t want to commit one way or the other, Travis lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I’m not sure yet.” Yes he was. That had been the plan all along. Why was he hedging?

  Sadie leapt onto his lap, then began head-butting his hand. He laughed as he stroked her back. “I guess she doesn’t mind that I poked and prodded her yesterday.” Then he examined her wound. “It’s looking better.” He lifted his eyes to discover Gabriella watching him.

  The feel of her gaze on him sent a rush of warmth through him, warmth that he hadn’t felt in a long time, warmth that he’d pushed aside in the past because he’d been hyper-focused on reaching his goals. But now he didn’t want to push those feelings aside. Instead, he wanted to explore them.

  Studying him, wondering why he’d really come to see her, Gabby tried to resist the attraction she’d always felt towards him—the attraction that was even more powerful now.

  “Have you had any trouble giving Sadie her pills?” Travis asked, his gaze steady on her.

  Glad to think about something besides how much she liked him—although the way he was looking at her made it hard to think of anything else—Gabby shook her head. “No. I’ve been using the pill giver.”

  Sadie purred as Travis continued scratching her. “Good.”

  Sadie sure seems to like him, but I wouldn’t mind being the one in his arms.

  The thought took her by surprise, making her face heat. Trying to cover her reaction, she quickly added, “I’m glad the bite’s getting better.”

  Travis smiled, which made her heart do its familiar little flip. “You’re taking good care of her, Gabriella.”

  The way he said her name made her pulse race. Would she ever manage to be around him without reacting so strongly? Then again, since he wouldn’t be around for long, it didn’t matter.

  Disappointed to think that this second chance to get to know him would be thwarted, she silently accepted that that was simply the way it had to be—the same way she’d accepted ten years ago that her shyness would keep her from getting to know him back then.

  She had to focus on making Emerald Falls her home, focus on teaching the sweet children in her class, focus on learning how to live without love.

  The last thought brought an immense feeling of sadness. Why was she so willing to believe that love wouldn’t happen for her? But she knew why. Because it was better to accept that than to be disappointed by reality.

  Sadie jumped off of Travis’s lap and began brushing against Gabby’s legs. She lifted her onto her lap and scratched under her chin.

  “How’s school going?” Travis asked.

  Why are you here? She wanted to ask. Are you looking for a friend with benefits, just like Brandon had been? Because I’m not willing to be that friend.

  Hoping that her assumptions about him were wrong, she said instead, “So far so good.” She paused a beat. “Emily’s grandson Sam is in my class.”

  Travis chuckled. “He’s a fun kid. She’s brought him with her into the clinic before.”

  Pleased to hear that Travis seemed to like children, Gabby immediately scolded herself for thinking in those terms. What did it matter whether or not he liked children? There was no future with him.

  “So, Gabriella Peters,” he said with a smile. “What do you like to do besides teach school and hang out with Sadie?”

  Confused why he was asking—did he want to get to know her? Why, when he had no plans to stay in Emerald Falls?—Gabby was also flattered that he’d come over to see her and now seemed genuinely interested in her.

  “I like to read,” she said. “I also like to take long walks.” Smooth, Gabby. You sound like you’re filling out an application on a dating site. Trying to recover, she quickly added, “When I was a teenager I liked to climb trees.” Oh, yeah. That’s even better. I’m sure he’ll find you irresistible now.

  Desperate to turn the conversation away from herself and her lame attempts at having a conversation with the hottest man she knew—a man who obviously kept her from thinking straight—she asked, “What do you like to do in your free time?”

  “Oh, no,” he said with a laugh. “I want to hear more about this tree climbing you did.”

  His apparent interest—despite the laughter, he did seem to actually want to know—made Gabby somehow proud of her tree climbing skills. True, it had been many years since she’d done it, but she had been really good at it back in the day.

  “What do you want to know?” she asked with a grin.

  His head tilted as his eyebrows rose. “I noticed a tree out front. Did you ever climb that tree when you stayed with your aunt?”

  Memories of the times she’d climbed into the highest branches of that particular tree rushed through her mind. “Yes, as a matter of fact I did climb that tree once or twice.”

  “How did your aunt feel about that?”

  Gabby pictured Aunt Mary, then she laughed. “She always said she wished she could climb up there with me.”

  Travis nodded. “Sounds like she was a lot of fun.”

  “She was.”

  If she was here, Gabby could talk to her about Travis and how she felt, and she was sure Aunt Mary would have good advice.

  “Can you still climb it?” One side of Travis’s mouth turned up in a barely suppressed grin.

  Could she? And if she could, would Travis be impressed? Or would she end up making a fool out of herself?

  Then she again considered the fact that he wouldn’t be sticking around Emerald Falls.

  Why not try it? What did it matter what he thought anyway?

  Though it did matter to her—after all, this was Travis Haywood—she decided to do it.

  “Yes,” she said after a moment. “I think I can.”

  His smile grew. “Great. Show me.”

  Chapter 11

  Travis followed Gabriella out the door of the cottage and into the front yard where the huge tree created puddles of shade.

  What was he doing? Why had he suggested this? What would it accomplish?

  His thoughts were interrupted by Gabriella turning to him with a wide smile. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”

  Suddenly worried that she would fall and get hurt, he stepped between her and the tree. “You don’t have to do this.”

  She laughed and smiled at him—a smile that did interesting things to his heart. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you, Travis?”

  With her standing so near, he was caught off-guard by the impulse to draw her into his arms. “No,” he said with a chuckle. “I just don’t want you to break your neck.”

  Her gaze slid up the thick tree trunk behind him and into the high reaches of the branches, and after studying the tree for several moments, she looked at him, and with a twinkle in her eyes, she stepped around him.

  Regretting his suggestion, he found the idea of her climbing the tree nerve-wracking. “If you get stuck,” he said, “do you want me to call the fire department? I can tell them it’s Sadie who’s stuck in the tree.”

  Gabby laughed. Now that she’d decided to do this, nothing was going to stop her. When she’d first arrived at her aunt’s cottage two weeks earlier, she’d itched to climb the tree but she’d held herself back. Who would’ve thought she would end up doing it after all? And in front of Travis Haywood, no less? That idea would have been preposterous, yet here she was, about to climb this tree while Travis Haywood made jokes about her getting stuck.

  What if it wasn’t a joke? What if she did get stuck? The whole town would hear about it and she would be a laughing-stock. Not to m
ention that Travis would be a witness to the whole thing. Was she sure she wanted to do this?

  “Come on, Gabriella,” Travis said, his deep voice dragging her attention away from the challenge before her. “Forget I suggested it and let’s go get some ice cream or something.”

  His fear gave her more courage.

  He had no idea what she was capable of. How could he when he had never bothered to approach her all those years ago? Why should she feel bad that she was too shy back then? Why couldn’t he have come to her? She was worth it, darn it.

  This realization made her uncharacteristically brazen.

  “Tell you what,” she said as she turned to face him, her back to the tree. “If I’m able to climb thirty feet up and then come back down on my own, you’ll buy me dinner tomorrow night.”

  Whoa, Gabby. Look at you go! Amethyst would be so proud.

  The blood seemed to drain from Travis’s face. “Thirty feet?”

  Gabby had climbed higher than that many times. True, she had been fifteen years old and she hadn’t climbed a tree in many years, but she could do it. Confident the skill would come back to her—like riding a bike—she nodded. “That’s barely halfway to the top.”

  “How about I take you to dinner regardless? You don’t have to climb the tree first.”

  The fear in his eyes only hardened her resolve. Maybe it was because she knew how impressed he would be when she succeeded, or maybe she just needed to prove to herself that she could still do it. Whatever the reason, she had to try—though she did like his offer to take her to dinner even if she didn’t climb the tree.

  Would he have suggested it if his fear hadn’t pushed him to?

  Ignoring his offer, she smiled, then she kicked off her sandals.

  Travis wanted to grab Gabriella and hold her back. He’d treated plenty of wounded animals and he didn’t want to see this woman who had haunted his thoughts for the last two weeks among the wounded. Still, he held back. He barely knew her and it wasn’t his place to tell her what to do.