He said nothing to that, but I saw his eyes well up.
"You were right back then. We just would have ended up more hurt in the long run."
"I was a coward and a liar. You scared me, Lauren. I fell so hard for you. I thought that it would pass with time, but it didn't."
I sighed. What could I say to that? He messed up. But it was for the best.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Trevor. Your instincts were right."
He looked back at the shop then down at me.
"When did...Daniel," he spat out the name, "catch your eye?"
I smiled at that. "The very first day I met him at the competition. All I saw was him. If he had given me any sort of indication that he wanted to see me on a personal level after the show, you and I would have never gotten together. But he didn't. He was very professional. A few months after the show ended, he came out to the ranch looking for me. We've been together ever since."
Trevor took a deep breath at that and took a step closer to his sedan. I knew that I had severed any hopes he had with me right then. I just hoped that I had been as gentle as I could be as he had done the same for me. Just then, I heard some footsteps behind me. I turned back to face Daniel.
"Are my five minutes up?" I dryly asked.
He grunted. "Yeah. But that's not why I'm here. That painting you just edited? There's a bidding war on it right now. The gallery owner just called a couple of his customers to let them know what you did and they are fighting for it over the phone."
I laughed at that. "Already?"
Daniel nodded at that. He then turned to face Trevor, who did not look very welcoming. Trevor looked at him and nodded. "Good luck to you, Daniel."
Daniel shook his head at that. "I'm a gentleman and a businessman, Trevor," said Daniel as he took a step closer to Trevor. I watched as Trevor swallowed at something in his throat. "But if you ever come looking for my wife again, I will go native on you. Am I understood?"
Trevor took a deep breath and then nodded. "I understand."
Trevor took another breath before looking back at me.
"Goodbye, Lauren. You've never looked better."
"Thank you, Trevor."
With that, he got in his rental car. I waved once more before grabbing Daniel's hand and walking back in the gallery.
"Did you need to be so harsh?" I asked him.
"I didn't shoot him for trying to come and steal my wife from me. Count your lucky stars for that."
I sighed at that. "I will."
Chapter 36
We welcomed our son a couple of months later. He was a good sized boy that took after his father in coloring - with the exception of his eyes that were a bright green like my own. We were both in love with him. Four years later, we were up to three kids - two boys and a girl. Only five months after I'd given birth to my daughter, Daniel was already looking at me with baby-wanting eyes. I turned him down flat. Well, at least for the next couple of years.
We were happy, so incredibly happy. We were doing quite well financially and we'd even built our house out in the country on a few acres. The kids loved it, Daniel loved it and I loved it. Even my dad loved it. He came out every other weekend to spend time with us. But that was not to say that we didn't have our troubles. A while back, Daniel had kept going on trip after trip after trip, trying to promote the business. It was effective, fortunately, but it came at the cost of our family time. We'd had a couple of big fights before he finally agreed to slimming down the operation so that he could stay at home more. My women's shooting school had done quite well too, but with all of the kids, the housekeeping and the painting, I had to back out of it. Fortunately, a couple of the more sensitive gunsmiths at Daniel's shop had been able to keep it going.
I was in my studio back at the house, having just got off the phone with my dad. He was bragging about Tim and Laura's twins and how good they looked in their family pictures. He also bragged about Arnold and Lisa, Arnold’s wife that brought one kid to the marriage plus the baby they'd just added; they'd had their pictures taken too. He'd been haranguing me about getting new family pictures taken being that we had just added baby Amanda to the family. Instead of taking new pictures (which we did twice a year), I decided to paint a big family portrait instead. The canvas was a big one. In the middle of it was me, a sow walking in tall grass without a care in the world. Close behind me was a larger hog, keeping an eye on me as I walked ahead. Behind it were three smaller piglets, working hard to keep up.
Two hours into my painting, I felt two warm hands on my shoulder.
"Please tell me that is not your answer to your dad's request for another family portrait."
"Did he call you too?"
I turned around to face my handsome husband. He smiled and reached for a rag out of my smock and rubbed it on something on my chin.
"He did," he replied without looking in my eyes. "We'll get a photographer to come on out."
I turned back to my painting then.
"But what will I do with this, then? It is supposed to be a family portrait."
"That is a painting of five hogs. I am not a hog. My children are not hogs. And neither are you."
It was so good, though.
"Should we hang it somewhere?"
"Sure - in the gallery next to the other ones that are for sale."
That was that, apparently.
In the end, I got Arnold to take our picture. We'd all gone to Olney one weekend to help my dad rustle up a couple of hogs that got loose on the ranch. Secretly, I thought that my dad might have released them on purpose so that my two oldest boys could get excited about hog hunting.
We had just finished caging the last hog when my two boys came charging up to the cage. Daniel held baby Amanda and brought her to see the hog. Daniel was dusting off some dirt from my shoulder while I wiped some sort of baby food out of his hair.
"Even covered in dirt, you are the prettiest thing I've ever seen," Daniel softly said to me.
My heart clenched over his sweet and tender words. Darnit, I thought to myself. With sweet talk like that, he was going to talk me into a fourth kid. Instead of saying that, I leaned into him and gave him a soft and tender kiss.
"Hey! Look!"
We all looked towards the direction of Arnold's voice. He was crouched on the ground with a camera in his hands. I barely had time the time to smile when he took the picture. He emailed me the picture later on that week. I was sitting in our office when I looked at it over my e-mail. I couldn't help the tears that rushed into my eyes at the sight of it. The sun was setting behind us, leaving the sky with beautiful oranges, pinks, and yellows. My blond hair was blowing in the air a bit which was contrasted beautifully by Daniel's black hair. The boys were laughing as they sat on the cage containing the hog while the baby smiled off at something in the distance as she hung onto Daniel. Daniel was standing so very close to me and was still looking down at me when the picture was taken.
It was prettier than a painting. It was more precious than gold. It was my family - my happily-ever-after dream come true.
Just then, I heard dogs barking, the baby crying from the other room and Daniel hollering at the boys about toys in the dishwasher. It made me happy. Leaving my paintings and picture aside, I ran out of my office in search of them - the real-life subjects of my happiness.
###
Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at Nice Shootin' Tex eBook: Cyndia Rios-Myers?
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Cyndia Rios-Myers
About Cyndia Rios-Myers
Cyndia Rios-Myers is an American writer based out of San Diego, California, whose past experiences include six years in the Navy (full of lovely sea-sickness), many adventures working in customer service, and being happily dragged across the country while her husband finishes his own career in the military.
When not writing essays, women’s fiction/suspense novels, or paranormal novellas, Cyndia can be foun
d reading, cooking, hiking, homeschooling her son, watching HGTV, or unapologetically wasting time on Pinterest and other social media outlets.
Other Titles by Cyndia Rios-Myers
The Song of the Sleeping Grass
The End of Thunder and Lightning: Alanna’s Fall
Rescued by the Wolf: Book One of the Wolves
Gifted by the Wolf: Book Two of the Wolves
Mated by the Wolf: Book Three of the Wolves
Condemned by the Wolf - Book Four of the Wolves
Defended by the Wolf - Book Five of the Wolves
Unveiled by the Wolf -Book Six of the Wolves
Razed by the Wolf - Book Seven of the Wolves
The Wolves - Books One thru Five
Joppa Park
Summation of Love
Connect With Cyndia Rios-Myers
Blog: Cyndia Rios-Myers
On Facebook: Cyndia Rios-Myers - Author Page | Facebook
On Twitter: @criosmyers
You can also subscribe to her newsletter by sending her an email to [email protected]
Chapter 1 Preview of Summation of Love
The scientist was sitting on a task chair inside of the Winnebago that she called home when the new e-mail message chimed in on her laptop. She set down the logbooks she was reviewing while she took the time to read the message addressed to Laura Reynolds, M.S. Growing more excited as she read on, she beamed brightly at her laptop. After reading the message in its entirety, Laura stood up and jumped up and down like an excited teenager being asked to a prom. She stopped jumping up and down as soon as she saw her reflection on the microwave door in her little kitchen. Reminding herself that she was a professional, Laura composed herself. Making herself neat again, she pulled down the fabric down on her green tank top and smoothed it over the waistband of her khaki shorts. She then pulled her hand over her dark brown ponytail and sat back down. Still, she couldn’t stop smiling as she read and re-read the message on her laptop.
The other scientist had to give himself a couple of minutes to calm himself before entering the camper. Through a window, he’d seen his colleague excitedly jump up and down as he sat outside reading a journal and enjoying the sunshine. Bracing himself, he stepped inside the camper. He was about to rain on her parade, he knew. Still, he took the time to check her out first. The first thing he glanced at was Laura’s long, tan and fit legs. Through the slats of the chair she sat on, he appreciated the short shorts that did nothing to hide her gently rounded rear. Her tank top also revealed long arms and a generous bosom followed by a trim waist. At first glance, no one would know that her athletic but sexy exterior housed a brilliant mind.
As a Doctor of Biology, Dr. Samuel Turner had his pick of brilliant graduate students with well-researched thesis, but in the end he’d chosen the graduate with the most outdoor experience coupled with the cleverest mind. Plus the fact that she had listed her address on her resume as the license plate to her Winnebago definitely set her apart. Taking the time to revisit the past well over a year ago, he recalled when he’d met up with Laura Reynolds for her interview in San Diego, California, which was where he called home.
Sam had been sitting at the bar by the harbor downtown and was drinking a beer as he watched a game when he noticed a beautiful woman in a smart black business suit walk into the restaurant. Giving her his full attention, he saw that she wore a peach blouse under her jacket and that she had long, dark hair that hung straight down her back. Her eyes were brown too, he noticed, as she appeared to scan the room, perhaps searching for someone. In that moment, he calculated how long it had been since he’d last had sex. It had been three months, two weeks and four days. He then wondered what the probability was that she would give him her number. He probably had a seventy percent chance of that, as he was an attractive guy. He then wondered what the chances were that she’d go to bed with him in a week’s time. There was probably only a forty percent chance of that. He was all for waiting, but a week was all the time he had before going back on the road to hit up a national park for research. Losing hope, he wondered what the chances were that a woman that looked like her might stick around for a scientist who was always on the road. Probably only one in ten. Taking a sip of his beer, he gave up on the fantasy. Romantic relationships never worked out when what you were truly passionate for was your work, he figured.
What Sam hadn’t calculated was the probability that the beautiful woman in the business suit before him might be the person he was there to interview. When she turned her eyes on him and gave him a nervous smile, he almost choked on his beer. Thankfully, he’d successfully cleared his throat by the time she approached him.
“Doctor Turner?” She asked in a light voice as she lifted her small eyebrows.
No way was she Laura Reynolds. Maybe she was an old student of his. With a small smile he replied. “I am.”
“It is nice to meet you. I’m Laura Reynolds.”
Hello trouble, he thought to himself. She apologized for being crazy early and looking at his watch he determined that she was early – 20 minutes early. A waiter walked them to a table where they quickly sat down. She then explained that the reason why she’d arrived so early was because she had no idea that she would find parking for her camper so easily. He understood that, as parking on Harbor Drive by the waterfront was pretty difficult to get.
“So you brought your Winnebago.” He said with a smile.
She blushed and nodded, admitting that it was her primary means of transportation. Sensing that she was nervous, he tried to warm her up with small talk.
“I love that your resume lists your address as a Winnebago, but where is home? Where do you…park for long periods of time?”
She’d nodded and had taken a sip of some of her lemon water before replying.
“Arizona - Phoenix to be precise. My dad is a retiree who lives there. I try to get out there to see him a few times a year.”
She had smiled for a second while talking about her dad, but then it disappeared as she went back to staring at her glass of water. It then occurred to Sam that maybe Laura Reynolds was socially inept – just like so many other scientists. That compounded with the fact that she was probably nervous at being interviewed made the possibility of the interview getting very uncomfortable for both of them quite likely. Feeling a surge of inspiration, he leaned over the table.
“Laura?”
“Yes, Doctor?” She replied as she swallowed.
“Please don’t call me Doctor. Call me Sam.”
That made her blush all over again. It made him wonder, how far south that blush extended. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he forced himself back to the present.
“Okay…Sam.” She inquisitively replied.
“Laura, I hate doing interviews. They are uncomfortable and awkward. What do you say you show me your Winnebago slash home office? That way I can fairly evaluate how you conduct business.”
That appeared to surprise her, so she sat back. He watched as she bit the corner of her lip as she seemed to mull over his offer. She then released her lip to beam a beautiful smile at him before nodding. He felt his insides warm at the sight of that. Careful Sam, he warned himself.
“I think that sounds…great.”
He smiled at her and motioned for her to stand up. Leaving a ten-dollar bill on the table, they then left the restaurant at Seaport Village, a cute waterfront area filled with shops and restaurants. As they walked down Harbor Drive to where her Winnebago was parked, they discussed the marine life of San Diego along with other assorted animal life. Mainly, Sam did the talking while Laura asked questions - smart ones. She then asked Sam about his latest project. He told her that it was research for a TV show that was going to air on basic cable.
“That sounds exciting,” she said with another smile.
Sam shrugged. “It’s typical late-night cable fare. Looking for Bigfoot,” he said sounding exhausted over it already.
“Sure, chances of confirming the exist
ence of Sasquatch are nil, but there is other stuff that can be researched at the same time, new research methods to try out or to create. Plus the paycheck part of it sounds promising too.”
Sam smiled and nodded in agreement. “You are right, Laura. It does provide other opportunities.”
They then walked up to Laura’s Winnebago. It was huge and Sam said as much. Laura laughed.
“I know. It is a 36-foot gas-guzzler. But its home. And paid for, too.”
Sam laughed. “That’s more than I can say for my car. Heck – that’s more than I can say for a mortgage – I don’t even own a home.”
Laura seemed to withdraw again for a moment, but then pulled a key out of her jacket pocket.
“Can I invite you in, Doctor Turner?” She asked with a smile.
The doctor stared at her for a moment before answering her. Did she have any idea how she looked? How she sounded? She was still smiling so he assumed that she did not. Wow, thought Sam. Laura was a smart, sexy, beautiful and socially inept scientist. She just might be fun to work with.
“Sure.” He said in reply.
The interview went very well from that point on. Laura showed Sam her cluttered dining table, the clean but small kitchen, a small bunk next to the dining table, the bathroom and the bedroom in the back. After the tour, they sat down at the table while they extensively and excitedly discussed the journals covering the surface around their elbows. They then discussed Sam’s schedule. After a minute of quiet, the doctor asked her a question.
“If I don’t give you this job, what will you do?”
She bit her lip again, which made him stare at her mouth. It was well very well shaped and was colored with some sort of cosmetic that looked very natural on her. She also wore a bit of eyeliner and a little bit of blush, but that was it. She looked good.
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