“Oh, sit down and cool your heels a while,” Brice said, pushing Tess away from the truck and into the other chair. Tess glared at him, but accepted the pop Travis dug out of the cooler and handed her.
Brice sent her a text message earlier in the afternoon saying he was running late and would get them a sandwich to eat on the way home. She didn’t realize he was late because he stopped to get fishing bait. The addlebrained ninny could have taken her home then come back to fish. The last thing she wanted to do was sit here next to Travis and fight her attraction for him. She had things to do, like try to remember how much she enjoyed dating Rick and figure out a way to tell her parents she was planning to move to The Dalles.
“I only brought two chairs,” Travis said, pointing to a nearby log.
“No problem,” Brice said, baiting his hook and tossing the line out in the water. “Did you snag any cookies?”
Travis held up the bag and handed it to Tess.
“Since we’ve got bait on our hands, maybe you could get them out for us?” Travis asked Tess with a mischievous glint in his eye.
“Gladly. Anything to put in your mouth to shut you both up,” Tess said, getting out two cookies and stuffing one in each of their mouths. She nibbled on one as she sat watching the water.
The air had that slightly sweet smell of early summer and she could hear the crickets tuning up for an evening serenade. The breeze blew just enough to lift the strands of her hair that escaped the clip on the back of her head. She used to love coming out here with the boys. They’d fish for a while and if nothing was biting, they’d end up swimming.
There’d be none of that today, for sure. Although she was annoyed at Brice for not keeping her informed of his plans this evening, she was grateful for the quiet reprieve. None of them seemed to feel the need to talk. Instead they munched on cookies and enjoyed the serenity of the warm, summer evening.
The ringing of Brice’s cell phone shattered the silence and he hurried to answer it.
“Geez, I’ll be right there. Sorry about that. Totally slipped my mind,” Brice said, disconnecting the call and pulling in his line. “I forgot I promised a friend I’d help him load something tonight. Got to run. Trav, you’ll take Tess home, won’t you?”
Before Travis could answer or Tess could even get out of her chair, Brice was backing up and driving away in a cloud of dust.
“Well, I guess you’re stuck with me as your taxi service this evening,” Travis said, rolling his head in Tess’ direction with one of the smiles that made her insides churn into a hot, molten mess.
“Fabulous. I’ve gone from having the nitwit drive me to the idiot,” Tess muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” Travis asked with a grin, having heard every word she said.
“Nothing. I was just commenting on what a lucky girl I am,” Tess said with a terse smile.
“Want to fish a while?” Travis asked gesturing toward the pole Brice left behind.
“Not really,” Tess said, untying her shoes and slipping off her socks. Rolling up the legs of her scrubs, she grinned at Travis. “I’m about to disturb your fish.”
Travis made a grand sweep of his hand toward the creek. “Be my guest.”
Tess waded out into the water. It was warm, but much cooler than the sticky heat of the evening and felt good against her feet and calves.
“You know, if you’d take off those scrubs, you could dive right in and go for a swim. Want some help?” Travis commented wryly from his chair on the bank.
“No, I don’t want your help and my clothes will be staying firmly in place, thank you very much,” Tess said, feeling a shiver of apprehension slither up her spine. Goodness only knew what was going through Travis’ head. She wished he wouldn’t tease her like that. It was clear the feelings she had for him were entirely one-sided and she needed to keep it that way. She’d made up her mind to move on and Rick was more than interested in a relationship with her. Darn that Brice for running off and leaving her trapped here with Travis.
Maybe he was ready to go home.
Studying the way he sprawled in the lawn chair, lazing away the evening, it didn’t appear they’d be leaving anytime soon.
She turned her back to him, pulled her pant legs up higher and waded deeper into the creek. Lost in her thoughts, a spray of water against her back caught her completely off guard. Turning, Travis stood just a few feet from her with a wicked grin lifting the corners of his mouth.
“You look like you need cooling off,” he said, slicing his hand through the water and showering her with droplets.
“Is that so?” Tess said, retaliating. Soon they were flinging water at each other like they had when they were kids.
Already soaked, Travis lunged at Tess and took her down into the water. His arms held her to him as he savored the momentary weightlessness of their bodies touching before they hit the bottom of the creek.
Trying to keep from losing all ability to reason, he started tickling her and she put a half-hearted effort into fighting against him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close as they came to their feet.
“Sure you still want to leave those clothes on?” Travis teased, looking at her scrubs as they seemed to get heavier and baggier by the minute.
Tess answered by swatting him on the shoulder and stomping back to the bank where she sat down in a chair and started wringing water out of her clothes as best she could. She took the clip out of her hair and shook it loose. Travis stood in the water transfixed. The sun was making its descent behind her and the light filtering through that mass of curls nearly brought him to his knees.
Finally making his feet function, he trudged back to the chair beside her and started teasing her about past water fights and fun times they shared at the fishing hole. They had so much history together as friends, Travis hoped, at the very least, they could maintain that in the future.
Steering away from topics he knew would only annoy him, like Rick, he asked her about work, her folks, if she’d tried the new restaurant in The Dalles, and how Ben was doing.
As their clothes dried, they talked and laughed just like they had hundreds of times over the years. Tess realized how much she had missed talking to Travis the last several years. Although she and Brice were close, she had always been able to talk to Travis, at least when he wasn’t making her mad or driving her crazy.
Jumping to his feet, Travis grabbed Tess’ hand and tugged her into his arms. Pulling back, she glared at him.
“What are you doing?” Tess could feel his heart pounding against her own. No one ever seemed as alive, made her feel as alive, as Travis.
“Dance with me, Tess,” Travis said, a pleading look in his warm blue eyes. “Please?”
Listening to the music, she recognized Blake Shelton’s Honey Bee playing.
She nodded and let Travis draw her closer as they swayed to the music. Travis twirled her around and lowered her into a dip, pretending he was going to drop her before hauling her up with a teasing laugh.
Breathless, she looped her arms around his neck while he ran his hands up and down her back, setting ribbons of heat aflame every place his fingers touched her.
“You know something?” Travis’ lips were dangerously close to her ear, dangerously close to making her forget all the reasons she needed to keep her distance from him.
“What’s that?” Tess asked, barely able to speak through the emotion clogging her throat and addling her thoughts.
“You’ve always been my honeybee,” Travis rumbled before placing a warm kiss on her neck.
“Travis, I…” Tess felt a tremor roll up from her toes that ended at the top of her head. “We better…you should…”
Travis put a finger on her lips. “Shh, baby, don’t talk. Just feel.”
That was the problem. If the fire blazing to life in her middle and rapidly spreading outward was any indication, she was feeling entirely too much. In her wildest dreams about Travis, Tess never imagined being he
ld in his arms, the object of his desire, would be so intense and wonderful.
Sinking his hands into her hair, Travis groaned and edged closer. Tess felt her knees go weak when he started trailing slow, enticing kisses along her jaw.
“Tessa,” Travis whispered her name before his lips settled softly, gently on hers. It was the most tender, wonderful kiss Tess had ever experienced.
Travis teased her lips, kissing her with growing intensity. When she opened her mouth to protest, he plunged right ahead and in that moment, Tess was forever lost. She melted into Travis’ arms, melted against his strength, melted her resistance, and knew she’d never be the same.
Unable to think of anything but how altogether right it felt to be pressed against Travis she gave herself to the kiss, returning what he was offering.
Travis finally found his home. Held tightly against Tess, there was no pain, no past, and no unrelenting tension. There was only the beautiful woman clinging to his chest, so soft and warm, who made him feel whole and complete.
When she jerked back, he fought to keep control of his emotions.
“Travis, I … I can’t do this,” Tess said, turning away from him and burying her face in her hands.
“Honey, it’s okay. I just wanted to kiss you,” Travis said, misunderstanding her reaction. He didn’t intend to get quite so carried away, but kissing was as far as he was willing to let things go. Pulling her back against his chest, he ran his hands up and down her arms slowly.
“You can’t kiss me. I can’t kiss you. I can’t want…” Tess said, crying openly.
“You can’t want what?” Travis asked, turning her around and trying to move her hands so he could look in her face.
“Just let me go, Travis,” she sobbed, tugging away from him. “Take me home, please.”
Travis wrapped her in his arms and let her cry. “Tessa, tell me what’s wrong. I thought you were enjoying our kisses. Did I hurt you?”
“No, not yet, but you will.” Tess whispered against his chest. “I can’t do this with you, Travis. I can’t. I want you. I’ve always wanted you, all of you, but that’s the one thing you can’t give me. Don’t you understand? I can’t let myself fall in love with you.”
If Tess had dumped ice water on Travis it couldn’t have shocked him more than her words. Letting his arms fall to his sides, he took a step back and without saying a word, packed up the fishing gear and helped her into the pickup.
They drove in silence to the Running M Ranch where Travis got out and held her door.
“Tessa, I’m sorry, I…” Travis tried to apologize, tried to make things right between them, but it was too late to go back to just friends, not that they had been that for a good long while. He could see the fear and hurt on Tess’ face when he opened the pickup door for her.
“Travis, I…” Tess looked in his eyes, filled with anguish and regret. Taking his face in both her hands, she captured his lips with hers. She kissed him with all the longing, the wanting, she’d had for him since she was old enough to know Travis was the only boy she was ever going to love. Releasing him, she jumped from the truck and ran into the house, slamming the door behind her.
The next day Tess moved to The Dalles.
Chapter Nine
Love is not a matter of what happens in life.
It's a matter of what's happening in your heart.
Ken Keyes
Travis was feeling the need to release some of his tension. Lindsay suggested he use her weight equipment and he took her up on the offer. Slamming his fists into the punching bag made him feel marginally better, at least for an hour or two. When he was in the service, the guys used to joke about how he would beat out his tension while they’d go find a willing female companion or drink themselves into oblivion.
The only girl Travis wanted then, and still, was Tess. As for the drinking, getting drunk once was more than enough for him. He hadn’t touched a drop of liquor since and regretted that he’d ever let the guys talk him into it the first time. His mother would have boxed his ears royally if she’d known.
“You thirsty?” Lindsay asked, poking her head in the door as Travis punched the bag again and again. Stopping, he accepted the bottle of water she held out to him.
Sweat ran in streams down his back and chest, but he still felt the need to do something physical. He was going to have to find some way of blowing off some major steam soon or he would explode.
Since he’d kissed Tess the other night, he’d felt even more tense and tormented. He should have known better, should have resisted the temptation, but she felt so right and good in his arms. Their time spent in each other’s arms, their shared kisses, had been one of the most wonderful things he’d ever experienced. He knew she felt it, too.
Instead of exploring what could happen between them, she ran away. Kissed him with more passion than he’d ever dreamed possible and then disappeared.
“Trent says you’re a whiz with computer graphics. I was wondering if you’d mind helping me design our wedding invitations. I can’t find anything I like in the wedding catalogs and we really want to make ours more personal,” Lindsay said, leaning against the door, watching Travis gulp down the water.
“Sure,” Travis said, swiping his forehead against his shoulder to try and keep the sweat out of his eyes. “Just let me know when you want to work on it and I’ll help you.”
“Thanks, Travis. I really appreciate it. Would you have time one evening this week?” Lindsay asked, looking at him hopefully.
“How about tomorrow? You could stick around after dinner and we’ll figure out what you want,” Travis said, taking off the gloves he wore to protect his hands from the bag.
“Perfect,” Lindsay said, stepping over and patting him on the arm.
Travis studied his future sister-in-law. Lindsay was a stark contrast to Cady. Small boned and of medium height, Cady had wavy dark hair and hazel eyes. Lindsay, on the other hand, was just an inch shorter than Travis with an athletic build, straight blond hair and pale blue eyes. They were both very pretty in different ways and Travis could see they shared a lot of the same characteristics like being kind, smart, funny, gracious, loyal and loving, to name a few. His two brothers were more blessed than they knew.
“Tomorrow it is, then. If you have some ideas you like, bring them along and I’ll see what we can put together.”
“Where did you learn to do graphics?” Lindsay asked as she walked Travis out to his pickup.
“I liked to mess around with it in high school. One of my buddies was really good at it and showed me a few tricks. I also got some training in the service. What I used the training for is a long way from creating wedding invitations but the basic skill set is the same,” Travis said with a laugh. He didn’t think Lindsay would appreciate his ability to whip out a detailed tactical plan for her wedding and put that on the back of the invitation.
“I haven’t seen Brice or Tess around lately. Everything okay with them?” Lindsay asked, not knowing that was a sore subject with Travis.
“Yeah. Brice has been really busy on a construction job and Tess, well, she moved to The Dalles,” Travis said, rubbing his hand on his neck.
“Oh, when did that happen?”
“A couple of days ago,” Travis said, jumping in his truck and starting it up. “Thanks for letting me use your bag. See you tomorrow.”
Lindsay watched Travis drive away, wondering what exactly she said that brought a dark scowl to his handsome face. She hesitated to ask Trent because any mention of Travis seemed to set him on edge.
She and Cady both wished the Thompson brothers would discuss whatever was bugging them and all get back to normal. Instead, the three of them could hardly be in the same room together without little sputters of anger going off and tension radiating around them.
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“Denni, I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here while I figure out what I want to do,” Tess said as they sat down to the dinner she made.
When Tess packed her bags and told her parents she needed to be in town for few weeks, she had no idea where she was going to stay. After work that evening, she happened to think of Denni and called to see if she could come over. Denni insisted she come for dinner and then, when she found out Tess needed a place to stay for a while, offered her the guest room. They both were enjoying the arrangement.
“You’re most welcome, sugarplum. You know you’ve always been like a daughter to me and I appreciate getting reacquainted,” Denni said, taking a bite of the casserole Tess made. “Besides, it’s nice to have someone share cooking and cleaning duties with me.”
“I’m more than happy to cook or clean. I could stay in a hotel, but it’s much more fun being here with you,” Tess said, thinking about how much she loved spending time with Denni. She’d always been like a second mother to her and Tess was grateful for the opportunity to get to know her as a friend. “You haven’t mentioned I’m here to anyone have you?”
“Just Cady,” Denni said with a smile. “I barely get to talk to those boys of mine and when I do, they usually want to know if I’m fine, if Nana’s fine, and that’s about it.”
Tess smiled, imagining the brief conversations. It would be similar to the ones Brice and Ben had with her mother.
“Oh, Brice is insisting I have dinner with him tomorrow at that new restaurant. Do you want to join us?” Tess said, looking forward to going out to eat.
“No, you go ahead. Brice must miss your time together when you were commuting. I think it’s nice he wants you to eat with him,” Denni said.
“I suppose,” Tess said, wondering if Brice had seen Travis and how he was doing. She could ask Denni, but decided some things were better left alone. It was a bit ironic of all the places she’d run away to hide from Travis, it would end up being at his mother’s home.
The Cowboy's Summer Love Page 10