Tess watched him fork up another bite and wave it under her nose before he ate it.
“You’re a cruel man, Tee,” Tess said, staring at the bit of chocolate clinging to Travis’ lip. Her gaze locked on his lips didn’t go unnoticed by him as he licked it away. He grinned then forked up another bite of cake. At the last second, he turned the fork and gave it to her.
“You’re right. That is delicious,” Tess said, wondering how Cady got her cakes so light and moist.
Travis, feeling drawn to Tess in ways that defied common sense, decided to keep things light instead of giving into his desire to kiss her until they both lost the ability to think or reason.
“Did you get any good photos of the birthday girl?”
“Sorry, I almost forgot,” Tess said, digging a digital camera from the pocket of her dress and holding it out to Travis. Scooting beside him, they scrolled through the pictures laughing at Cass’ funny faces.
For Travis it was almost as good as being there. He didn’t plan on missing out on any more major family events, even if his two brothers had to carry him there.
Chapter Eighteen
Love is being stupid together.
Paul Valery
Trent brought over Lindsay’s exercise bike and soon Travis was pedaling his way to recovery. The day he got out of bed and was able to walk using the crutches, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief at not being dependent on Trey and Trent for every little thing.
Just the ability to get himself into the bathroom and tub without assistance made him feel like he was once again a whole man.
Travis also found healing for his troubled spirit. He reacquainted himself with the power of prayer and allowed himself to admit his need for help.
A lengthy visit with their pastor resulted in him connecting with a counselor in Portland specializing in post-traumatic stress disorders. Meeting via Skype since he couldn’t leave the house, Travis looked forward to the twice-weekly sessions.
Opening up and talking about his memories also seemed to have a healing effect. Travis noticed he only experienced one nightmare since he realized he had to get off the road he was on and find a new direction.
Each day he could feel himself growing stronger and changing into the person he wanted to be. He attributed part of that to Tess and her loving presence in his life. She teased, bullied, encouraged, supported and loved him in a way that reached places in his heart and soul he hadn’t known existed.
The first morning he was able to hobble his way to the breakfast table, he turned the corner of the hallway into the dining area and was greeted with a huge round of applause from his family and the hired hands. Tess beamed such a warm smile at him, he nearly stumbled as he took the last cautious steps to his chair.
She moved back to the Running M Ranch and stopped twice a day on her way to or from work. On days when she was doing home appointments, she sometimes ran by if she was out in the area.
Most days, Travis felt like he barely saw her. He didn’t count the time she was giving him therapy as time together, since it was spent with her in a driven maniac mode that made him want to call her Attila the Hun and beg for mercy.
She pushed him to the edge of his abilities, but never went over. Because of that, he was gaining strength, rebuilding his muscles, and healing much faster than anyone expected.
The only time they really spent together as a couple was on the weekends. Due to the fact he couldn’t go anywhere, she spent both Saturdays and Sundays at the Triple T.
Although she was there to see Travis, it seemed to him she often got sucked into his family’s activities and busy lives. One day she ended up going out riding for most of the day with the hands and Trey. The Sunday afternoon he wanted to sit and watch movies, she instead assisted Lindsay and Cady in making bows for the end of the chair rows for the fast approaching wedding.
Tess helped Cady with the cooking, played with Cass, teased the hands, and fit into the household so perfectly, it seemed like she had always been there. Travis wanted to make sure she would always be a part of it, but until he could sweep her into his arms and carry her somewhere they could be alone, he was keeping his thoughts to himself.
Coming out of the office where he spent a couple of hours doing paperwork on a Saturday afternoon, Travis found all three girls sitting on the couch crying as they watched the end of a movie.
Terrified by the display of female emotion not to mention the flood of tears, Travis looked around in desperation, hoping Trey and Trent would suddenly materialize and offer some support. He felt a little like an abandoned wingman left on a suicide mission.
When his brothers didn’t wondrously appear, he fought down the urge to get himself as far from the sobbing females as possible. Instead, he slowly walked on his crutches into the great room and sat down on a chair as the girls sniffed and wiped their cheeks.
“If the movie was that bad, why did you watch it to the end?” he asked, trying to keep a serious expression on his face.
As one, they turned watery eyes his direction, glaring at him. It appeared that none of them were able or willing to respond to his question.
“I don’t know about you, but something that got me that upset, I’d throw away. Want me to put it in the charity box?” he asked, starting to get up to push the eject button on the DVD player.
“No!” they yelled in unison.
“Don’t touch it,” Cady said darkly, grabbing the movie and putting it back in its case before handing it to Lindsay. Swiping at the remnants of her tears, she looked at Travis. “As you well know, we’re crying because it was so good.”
“Are you sure?” Travis said, still teasing the girls. “It looks to me like you’re all worked up, mad, upset, and maybe even feeling a little violent. Now if I watch a movie and it’s really good, I’m probably going to be smiling and in a good mood when it’s over. Not looking like the lynch mob at a hanging.”
“Oh! You men are just so, so…” Cady stomped off followed by Lindsay. Tess stayed behind and shook her head at him.
Travis waited until the other two were out of earshot, before hobbling over to sit next to Tess on the couch.
“I thought they’d never leave,” he said, sliding his arm around Tess and pulling her close against him. “Now, tell ol’ Travis what’s got you all weepy.”
“Oh, Trav, it was just the saddest thing,” Tess said, her sobs muffled against his shoulder. “She was in a coma and woke up and couldn’t remember her husband or anything about the life they had together. He was so patient and kind to her and she basically stomped all over his heart. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and walked away. Then she started realizing, bit by bit, that maybe she was supposed to be with him after all. It was just so…”
“Sad,” Travis said, stretching out on his side on the couch and pulling Tess down next to him. He rubbed her back and let her cry. The storm finally passed and Travis felt her relax against him, softening at his touch. Kissing her temple, she looked up at him with her heart in her eyes.
“What would you do if I woke up and couldn’t remember you?” Tess asked, as her cheek rested against his chest, his heartbeat thumping comfortingly beneath her ear.
“Honeybee, I’d move heaven and earth to make you fall in love with me again and again and again. I’d charm you, tease you, woo you, and love you until you couldn’t keep from loving me right back. Besides, you forget you’re under the enchanted Thompson spell. You can’t mess with magic.”
Tess let out choppy laugh and snuggled closer against Travis. “I’m so glad.”
“What about you,” Travis asked, taking Tess’ chin in his hand and staring into big brown eyes that softened at his gaze. “What would you do if I woke up and didn’t know who you were?”
“I would probably have to learn how to live my life with a broken heart because you wouldn’t give me the time of day, let alone spend enough time with me to fall in love,” Tess whispered.
“Why would you say that? I’d
open my eyes and wonder what I did to deserve a dark-haired angel by my side,” Travis said, kissing tear-swollen eyelids followed by the tip of her nose.
Tess grinned. “Are you sure you’d think I was an angel?”
“Definitely, albeit a sassy one,” Travis teased. Suddenly his interest was piqued by the topic. “Seriously, though, what would you do?”
“If you woke up and didn’t know who I was, I’d take your hand between mine, and hold it just like this,” Tess said, grasping his hand in hers and holding it close to her chest. “I’d tell you I’ve loved you since I was a little girl and that you and I have always been friends. I’d explain how you make me feel happy and more alive than I’ve ever felt with anyone else. I’d say how much I would miss the little parenthesis that form around the corners of your mouth when you are genuinely smiling, the smattering of freckles across the back of your shoulders, and the way your eyes turn the shade of a perfect summer sky when you’re teasing me. I’d let you know how much I would miss every single thing about you. I’d make it perfectly clear that I couldn’t exist without your warmth and strength and love. Then I’d ask you for the opportunity to begin to know me again, starting with a first date.”
“Tessa,” Travis rumbled deep in his throat, deeply touched by what she shared. “I’d fall in love with you right then and there. I’d be dazzled by your beauty, reeled in by your soft voice and loving words, but your heart, my sweet honeybee, would be singing right to mine. Even if my head forgot I loved you, my heart would always remember.”
“What would you do?” Tess asked, kissing Travis on his jaw, his chin, his neck.
“I’d ask you to go on a date with me. I’d say ‘Tessa, please do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner this evening. I’d like to get to know the woman I’ve always loved.”
“I would most definitely say yes,” Tess said, looking dreamy-eyed and entirely too enticing for Travis’ rapidly declining self-control.
“Then you’ll go out with me on a real date?” Travis asked, with a hopeful glance at Tess. “I realize we’ve never technically been on one.”
Tess sat up and beamed him a smile that said he asked just the right question.
“I’d love to go on a real date with you. What time, where and when?”
“How about tonight?” Travis asked, liking the idea of going out with Tess. “You run home and change and come pick me up when you’re ready. We can go to The Dalles for a nice dinner, if you don’t mind being seen with a man on crutches.”
“Of course I don’t mind, but are you sure you’re up to the car ride and then being out in a restaurant?” Tess asked, wanting the answer to be yes, but concerned about Travis’ endurance.
“I’d love to see something besides the walls inside this house and the yard outside. You might have to dump me at the door of the restaurant, but the car ride should be fine, don’t you think? You said yourself I’m making great progress.”
“Okay, we’ll give it a try, but if you get tired on the ride going, tell me and we’ll turn around and come right back,” Tess said, scooting off the couch and shoving her feet into her sandals as she hurried around the end of the couch toward the kitchen. “Give me an hour or so to get ready and I’ll be back.”
“Well, you can at least kiss me goodbye,” Travis said, feigning a wounded look as he sat up.
Tess bent over the back of the couch and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Travis’ neck, giving him a cheeky grin.
“You are so lucky I’m injured or I’d flip you over this couch and teach you a thing or two about appropriate goodbye kisses,” Travis growled, grabbing her hand and kissing her palm. “I’ll be ready and waiting when you get back.”
“I’ll hurry,” Tess said, practically running out the door and into Cady and Lindsay who were standing at the back door chatting.
“I’ve got a date!” Tess said running out to her car and leaving while the other two laughed and waved.
In record time, Tess took a shower, did her hair, dressed, put on makeup, gave herself a spray of her favorite perfume and was back out the door.
Pulling up at the Triple T, she went to the front door and rang the doorbell. She knew they’d all play along.
Cady answered the door with a bright smile and invited her inside. “You must be Tess,” Cady said, giving her a hug and a wink. “Travis said he had a date tonight and none of us believed him. After all, who’d want to go out with that hooligan?”
“I may have had a lapse in my better judgment, but I heard he is fun and quite charming when he wants to be,” Tess said as they walked into the great room.
Travis was sitting on the couch visiting with Trey while Cass played with a set of fairy dolls she got for her birthday. She had them riding around in one of the Thompson boys’ old farm tractor toys.
“You look like a beautiful princess,” Cass said, running over to Tess when she saw her, giving her a boisterous hug around her waist.
“Thank you, Cass. I’m glad you think so,” Tess said, bending down to kiss the little girl on her forehead.
Trey whistled and made her blush. “Trav, I think our little Tess is all grown up. What do you think?”
What Travis thought was that they might need a chaperone to come along because spending the evening alone with Tess was going to push him to the limits of his ability to behave like a gentleman.
The bright blue dress she wore reminded Travis of the bombshell swimsuit she’d worn the day they went rafting.
The fitted waist and square neckline were perfect for her voluptuous figure and the skirt skimmed her curves in such a way that Travis thought his eyes might actually pop out of his head if he stared too long. Her finger-tempting hair was bouncing in shiny curls around her shoulders and down her back while sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks completed the beautiful picture. She had on the black heels that had made him drool once before and combined with the alluring scent of her perfume, Travis had all he could do to keep from checking his chin for slobbers as she smiled at him.
Looking at him through her crazy-long eyelashes like he was responsible for hanging the moon and stars, Travis wanted more than anything for the evening to be as special for her as it already was for him.
“I think you left him speechless,” Cady said with a laugh. “That dress is amazing, Tess.”
“Thanks, Cady,” Tess said as she studied Travis in his creased Wranglers and blue striped cotton shirt. He looked like the personification of a red-blooded, virile, way-too-handsome cowboy.
From the top of his thick sandy-colored hair to the toes of his polished brown boots, he was one fine looking male specimen. His cheeks were freshly shaved and his scent - a lethal combination of Travis, his minty gum, and aftershave - made her knees feel wobbly while her pulse raced.
Stepping forward, she stuck out her hand toward Travis as he leaned on his crutches.
“Hi, I’m Tess Morgan. You must be Travis,” she said, with a warm glint in her eye.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Morgan. Cady’s right, that dress is amazing. You’re even more beautiful than I imagined you’d be,” Travis said, finding his voice as he frantically tugged his thoughts back together.
“You’re being weird,” Cass said, leaning against Tess. “You already know Uncle Travis.”
“I do?” Tess asked with a silly grin, making Cass giggle.
“Come on, Cass, let’s get dinner started. You can help me make biscuits,” Cady said, with a motherly smile as she herded the busy little red-head toward the kitchen.
“Shall we go?” Tess asked, motioning toward the door and following Travis as he progressed toward the front entry. Trey went along with them and held the door open while they walked outside.
Tess was driving Brice’s pickup, thinking it would be easier for Travis to navigate than her car. It was easy for him to back up to the seat and slide right in. Trey put his crutches behind the front seat of the extended cab then gave Travis a knowing look.
“Are you positive we
don’t need to send Cass along to keep an eye on you and make sure you behave?”
“How much trouble can I get into, bro? I have to use two crutches to move and going more than thirty feet completely wears me out,” Travis said, trying to look innocent. Too much alike, Travis knew Trey had a pretty good idea of the kinds of trouble he could get in if he wasn’t a gentleman or a Christian.
“Just mind your manners,” Trey said, giving Travis a wink as he shut his door. He was thrilled to see Travis and Tess go out on a date, happy they had finally admitted their love for one another.
A part of him felt like he needed to protect Tess since she was like a little sister to him, especially knowing his brother as well as he did.
Tess climbed behind the wheel and waved at Trey with a smile. “I’ll have him home by curfew, boss.”
Trey laughed and waved. “Have a great time.”
Once they started down the drive, Travis took Tess’ hand in his and kissed her palm. “You really do look beautiful, Tess.”
“Why, thank you Mr. Thompson. You look pretty good yourself,” Tess said, pulling her hand away and smiling at Travis as an impish gleam lit her eyes. “Since I just met you and this is our first date, I don’t know if I should let you hold and kiss my hand. I don’t even know your favorite color. I think that is a prerequisite for hand-holding.”
Travis looked at her and grinned.
“Right at this moment, my favorite color is bright blue. This afternoon it was pink and yesterday it was a shade of yellow that looked like whipped butter.”
Tess realized he was talking about the colors she wore and offered him a very pleased smile.
“That’s interesting. I’ve never met anyone who changed their favorite color on a daily basis. What will it be a week from today?”
“Navy blue,” Travis said without missing a beat. Next Saturday was Trent and Lindsay’s wedding and he paid enough attention to know Tess was wearing a navy blue dress to the ceremony.
She lifted an eyebrow his direction and looked somewhat impressed that he knew what she was wearing. Cady was convinced none of the Thompson men paid the least bit of attention to their discussion of wedding attire.
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