“Okay, kiddo,” Brice said, bending down to pick Cass up in one strong arm while still keeping his hand on Bailey’s waist. He walked her off the dance floor and back to the table where Sierra was visiting with Denni, tipping his head to her before making a grand show of sweeping Cass out on the dance floor.
At the little girl’s pleading he danced the slow dance as well as the fast dance that followed with her before pointing out some little boys who needed a dance partner. She scampered off in their direction and Brice turned to reclaim Bailey only to find the table empty. He saw Denni dancing with Trey, but couldn’t spot Sierra either. He decided the girls must have gone to powder their noses and went over to the refreshment table to get himself something cold to drink. Although the Bradshaw boys had been banned from the reception by their parents, Travis and Tess made sure the table was well guarded to prevent tampering with any of the beverages.
Brice dug around in a galvanized tub filled with ice and pulled out a Dr. Pepper. Opening the bottle he drank half of it before turning around to study the crowd.
Although skeptical of Tess’ vision for the reception, he had to admit her plans came together in such a way the inside of the barn looked like a very fancy reception hall. Everything about the decorations said class, elegance, and romance.
The romance part was especially getting to him this evening.
Looking around, he still didn’t see Bailey anywhere, so he decided to ask his mom for a dance, wondering what inspired all of Bailey’s questions. Hoping she was finally ready to admit her interest in him put a smile on his face he couldn’t wipe off, even if he wanted to.
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Sierra and Bailey watched Brice twirl little Cass across the dance floor. The child’s face was so full of joy, they both laughed at the sight of it. Denni went to find her camera to take a photo and Sierra took the opportunity to grab Bailey’s hand and tug her outside where the noise level was considerably less. Walking across the yard near the house, Sierra asked Bailey about her job and mundane, everyday questions, then talked about school and a boy she’d met that she was sure could be in the running for a future steady boyfriend.
Sitting down on the front porch swing, where it was quiet, Sierra pumped Bailey for information about her relationship with Brice.
“Do you care about him, Bailey? Even a little?” Sierra asked, wishing Bailey would act like a normal woman. Anyone with eyes in their head or a heart in their chest would be head over heels in love with a man like Brice.
“Of course I care about him,” Bailey said, sounding agitated.
Hiding her grin, Sierra knew agitated was good. It meant Bailey was feeling things she didn’t want to feel, thinking thoughts she didn’t want to have. “Not like a brother or a neighbor or a coworker. Like a man, Bailey. Do you like him? Love him? Want to spend forever with him? Do you dream about him holding you? Kissing you?”
“Good grief, Sierra. Did you injure your head on the plane? Are you suffering from a lack of oxygen? What sort of ludicrous question are you asking?” Bailey asked, getting to her feet and pacing the length of the porch.
“There’s not a ludicrous thing about the questions and you know it,” Sierra said, shaking her finger at her sister. “I think you like Brice. Honestly, I think you’re in love with him but you’re too big of a coward to admit it.”
“I’m not a coward!” Bailey said, her voice rising in volume. Realizing they weren’t exactly having a private conversation since anyone walking by could hear them, Bailey dropped her voice. “I’ll tell you the truth if you promise to keep it to yourself.”
“I promise,” Sierra said, holding her right hand in the air. “I won’t speak of it to anyone.”
“Fine,” Bailey said, plopping back down on the swing next to Sierra. “I’ve … I’ve never been in love before, so I’m not sure if what I’m experiencing fits the description. According to your theatrical declarations, you’ve been in love approximately fourteen times since your junior year of high school, so I assume you have some idea of the symptoms.”
“I do,” Sierra said, nodding solemnly, waiting for Bailey to confirm what she already knew. “And what are your symptoms?”
“For one thing, he’s completely riddled my ability to concentrate and focus full of holes. I even miscategorized a fossil last week. Can you believe it? That is the first time it has ever happened. Thankfully, I caught the error when I was filling out the report,” Bailey said, still distraught over her mistake at work. She never made mistakes. Ever.
“Okay, what else?” Sierra said, caring not at all about the wrongly dated rock or bug or whatever it was Bailey found.
“My palms get all clammy and my stomach feels like there are butterflies flitting around inside whenever I think of him. I can feel his presence near me before he ever says a word, his scent is now firmly entrenched into my senses and I find it hard to process rational thoughts when I look in those brown eyes full of mischief,” Bailey admitted, feeling silly and inexperienced.
“I see,” Sierra said, forcing herself to remain calm and not jump up to do a happy dance. “Anything else? Any other symptoms?”
“His touch feels like fire on my skin. I love to watch him move or just listen to him talk and when he kisses me I feel all tingly and lightheaded. More than all that, though, I worry about him, wonder about him, want him to be happy,” Bailey said, looking over at her sister. “Is that love?”
“That, dear sister, is most definitely love. You do realize some people go their entire life without the opportunity to experience what you’ve found with Brice. You’re not going to throw that away are you?”
“I’m not throwing it away, I’m going to let it go,” Bailey said, lifting her chin and stubbornly setting her jaw. “I can’t do both, Sierra. I can’t love Brice like I want to, like he deserves to be loved, and have my career.”
“Why can’t you have both? There is no rule or law that says it has to be one or the other. All you have to do is decide you want both and make it work,” Sierra said, exasperated with her sister. She had never seen such a dense woman when it came to relationships, men or love.
“It can’t be both. It won’t work,” Bailey said, getting to her feet and wrapping her arms around the porch rail. She pressed her cheek to the warm wood and wished, not for the first time, that she could have everything she wanted, because Brice would be part of that very attractive package. But she couldn’t.
“Why won’t it work, Bailey? I don’t understand,” Sierra said, walking over to Bailey and placing her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Why?”
“Because…” Bailey said, looking heavenward, hoping Sierra kept her promise as she bared her soul to her sister. “We all know I have a very focused and intense personality. It’s just who I am and how I operate. I’m already losing my focus on work, Sierra. I’m becoming lost in Brice. The passion I feel for him, in just this short time, is more than I’ve ever felt about my career. What will it be like in a year or five years from now. I won’t be me anymore. I won’t have a career. I would be completely consumed with Brice. What if I woke up one day, full of resentment for letting go of everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve in my career just to be a cowboy’s wife? I can’t do that to Brice. I love him too much to hurt him like that. I can’t do that to my career. Don’t you see? I have to choose.”
“But Bailey, you don’t have to choose. You really don’t. Talk to Brice. Tell him what you just told me. You can figure this out. If anyone can, it’s you,” Sierra said, hugging Bailey. “You’re the smartest person I know, but how can you be so dumb and blind when it comes to Brice. He loves you Bailey, with his whole heart. If you walk away from him, that is the one thing you’ll regret all your life. Don’t do anything right now. Give it some time. Give it some thought.”
“I don’t know, Sierra,” Bailey said, feeling swayed by her sister’s words, but still uncertain.
“Just let yourself be young and in love and see what happens. You can always
change your mind later. It’s not like you’re engaged or anything. Let yourself experience the wonder of falling in love,” Sierra said, taking Bailey’s hand and leading her back toward the barn. They both failed to notice Brice leaning against the corner of the house.
“Young and in love,” Bailey said, musing over the thought of it. “I’ll give it due consideration.”
“I’m sure you will,” Sierra teased as they walked back in the barn.
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Tired of waiting for Bailey to reappear, Brice went searching for her. Walking through the yard, he thought he heard her voice out front. He was ready to step around the corner of the house when he heard Bailey talking about losing her focus and being consumed with him.
Not intending to eavesdrop, he couldn’t make his feet move away, eager to hear what she had to say. The way she held herself back from him now made perfect sense. She was afraid she’d lose her identity if she let herself become part of a couple. Knowing her tendency to become consumed with whatever was driving her passion, Brice could well imagine how it would frighten her to give herself over to loving him.
Discovering where the road block was on the journey to his happily ever after with Bailey, Brice had to start working on his game plan to go over, under or around it. Failure to get to the other side was not an option.
Waiting a minute to return to the barn, Brice grinned when he heard the band launch into the song Honey Bee. The dance floor cleared and Travis led Tess out for their last dance. Watching his sister and best friend through the barn door, Brice didn’t know how Travis could dance at all with the way he was kissing Tess and holding her close.
Amid cheers and whistles, the newlyweds finished the dance then Tess’ bridesmaids whisked her back to the house to change while Travis traded his tux for jeans, boots and a cotton shirt in the bunkhouse.
Ben drove Tess’ car, adorned with streamers on the bumper and a big “just married” sign taped in the back window, up near the front of the house.
Travis stood at the bottom of the porch steps, flanked by their many guests, waiting for Tess to come out and toss her bouquet. Cady, Lindsay and Bailey finally made their way out of the house laughing, followed by Jenny and finally Tess. Michele ran up the steps to hug Tess one more time then Tess stepped forward and held her hand out to Travis.
Kissing her palm, he walked up the porch steps and joined her while her bridesmaids walked down to stand in the crowd. Brice tucked Bailey against his side while they waited.
Travis looked around and gave Brice a nod of his head, shooting the garter straight at him. Brice laughed as he caught it and everyone cheered.
Not even bothering to turn around and toss her bouquet, Tess leaned off the porch and dropped it into Bailey’s arms, laughing at the shocked look in her face.
“You never know,” Tess said to Bailey with a wink before turning back to her new husband.
The two of them ran down the porch steps to her car amid hundreds of bubbles being blown by the crowd from the wedding favors passed out earlier. Travis held Tess’ door, gave her a kiss, then hurried back to the driver’s side.
“Thanks everyone!” he called before shutting the door and waving to the wedding guests.
In the two hours it took them to drive to Portland, Travis voiced his opinion on cancelling the plans to go to Las Vegas and stopping at the first hotel they could find.
Tess assured him he needed to keep driving.
Travis was convinced the trip was going to last half of forever, especially since Tess looked so alluring in one of her signature bombshell dresses in a rich shade of purple. Her dark hair was still piled on her head and her eyes seemed to glow a rich brown, lit by an inner flame. One Travis hoped to spark into a full-fledged fire in just a few hours.
With a quick flight to Las Vegas, Tess stood looking around the lobby of a swanky hotel in wonder, especially when she found out Travis reserved a honeymoon suite for them.
“Tee, you didn’t need to go to so much bother,” Tess said, squeezing his firm bicep in her hand, gazing at him with love and warmth. It was hard for her to believe the handsome daredevil cowboy was finally hers.
“It’s no trouble, honeybee. I want our honeymoon to be extra special, so don’t you worry about a thing. Just enjoy.”
“But, Trav,” Tess started to say but was cut off when Travis kissed her right there in the lobby. She tried to gather her composure as she and Travis followed the bellman to their room and waited while he opened the door and set their luggage inside. Travis gave him a tip, scooped Tess into his arms and carried her into the room that would be theirs for the next five days.
The suite was nearly as big as the entire first floor of their new home and Tess looked around in awe, trailing her fingers over a marble table top before Travis slowly set her down. She took in the bouquet of flowers filling the room with a tropical fragrance, a bottle nestled in a chiller with two glasses waiting nearby on a low table, and a basket filled with fruit, cheeses, bread and chocolates.
“You are so beautiful, Tessa. Perfectly gorgeous,” Travis said, leaning against the back of the couch, watching her. “Every inch of you looked stunning and lovely at the wedding.”
“Thank you,” she said, blushing a little under his intense perusal that started at the top of her head and ended at the toes of her high heeled shoes. “I can’t wait to see the photos, since you looked quite handsome and dashing yourself.”
“Thanks,” Travis said, pushing away from the couch. “Are you hungry?” he asked, taking off his watch, emptying his pockets and kicking off his boots.
Tess’s eyes widened as she watched him, feeling both excited and frightened. He appeared to be a man settling in for the evening, which seemed odd since it was only half past six.
“If I say yes, are you going to put your boots back on and take me out to eat?” Tess asked, finding a little sassiness in between her bouts of fear.
“No, I’m not, honeybee. We’ll order room service, you can eat everything in that basket, but I don’t plan on leaving this room for a good long while,” Travis said, unsnapping his cuffs and pulling the tail of his shirt out of a pair of Wranglers that fit him like a smooth glove.
Tess took a moment to drink in the sight of him. With sandy hair in the short military cut he favored, blue eyes the color of a summer sky, strong jaw, devil-may-care smile, and his tall, fit physique, Travis was handsome enough to set any red-blooded girl’s heart to pounding. Hers was beating so fast, Tess could feel the frenzied thumping in her chest.
Closing the distance between them, Travis wrapped his arms around his bride and kissed her neck. “If you’re hungry, I’ll order something.”
“I’m fine,” Tess whispered as a shiver raced up her spine at Travis’ moist, hot kiss on the pulse pounding wildly in her neck.
“You’re sure?” Travis asked, kissing his way along her jaw to her chin.
“I’m sure,” Tess said, raising her hands to rest on Travis’ strong arms, needing to steady herself as her limbs went languid. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes, ma’am. I am,” Travis said, pulling the pins from Tess’ hair, one at a time, before burying his hands in the mass of her dark curls, shaking them down over his arms. He breathed in her scent, got lost in her sweet softness, and knew the time had come for his long held dreams to become reality.
Bending down so his lips were against her ear, she trembled from both his words and the deep timbre of his voice. “I’ve never been so hungry for anything in my life as I am for you, Tessa. I’ve been starving for you for more years than I want to think about and finally you’re mine. All mine.”
“Travis,” she whispered, raising her lips to meet his in a passionate kiss. Without breaking the seal of their lips, Travis maneuvered her into the bedroom where he slowly slid down the zipper of her dress, pushed it off her arms and watched it fall to the floor.
Holding her hand as she stepped out of it and kicked off her heels, Travis knew he’d never seen a
nything as lovely as his curvaceous bride in her lacy lingerie. As he ran his hands up her arms, across her shoulders and down her sides, Tess felt heat flood through her.
Watching his blue eyes turn to liquid heat, Tess unsnapped Travis’ shirt in one fluid movement and tugged it off his powerful shoulders. She bent down and kissed the shrapnel scar on his side and was working her way up to his lips when she heard Travis groan and felt a frission of anticipation pass over him as he moved beneath her hands.
“Oh, honeybee,” Travis said in a husky voice, wrapping her in his arms and carrying her to the big, soft bed.
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“Where did you tell Trav they should stay?” Brice asked, trying to remember what hotel Bailey recommended to Travis for the honeymoon.
“The Venetian,” Bailey said. Just because she didn’t have any romantic prospects when she was in Vegas didn’t mean she didn’t hear what others said. “From my understanding, some of their suites are quite spectacular and they have any number of interesting activities.”
“I’m guessing there’s only one activity Trav is going to find of any interest,” Brice said, wiggling his eyebrows at Bailey while giving her an absolutely wicked grin. “Suppose they’ve arrived?”
Bailey ignored his comment and turned to glance at her watch then remembered she wasn’t wearing one. Judging by the way the night was nearly upon them, she’d have to guess that Travis and Tess had long ago landed and found their way to their room.
After the newlyweds left, the guests continued on with the party for a couple of hours before they began leaving.
A few lingering family members and close friends helped restore order to the chaos, picking up trash, putting away food, folding chairs and loading them into a trailer along with the tables, and helping take down the lights and decorations. By the time dusk fell, it would have been difficult to tell a wedding reception had taken place at the ranch earlier in the day.
Exhausted, but not quite ready to call it a night, Brice and Bailey sat on the edge of the barn loft watching darkness settle over the ranch.
The Cowboy's Autumn Fall Page 19