The Cowboy's Summer Love (35 page)

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.

“It’s my turn to ask you a question,” Travis said, studying Tess until she felt like squirming on the seat. “What’s your favorite song?”

“This summer, it’s been
Honey Bee,
” Tess said, giving Travis a playful look. “See, this boy I know made me dance with him at one of our old hangouts while it was playing and he started calling me honeybee. Now, every time I hear the song I think of him and the way he looked at that moment, the way I felt in his arms, the way we seemed to fit together so perfectly.”

Travis offered her a heat-filled look that nearly made her run off the road.

“He wasn’t a half-bad kisser,” Tess said, needling him as she whipped the truck back in her own lane.

“Half-bad?” Travis asked, giving her a narrowed glare. He thought he should definitely rank much higher than half-bad on the kissing scale.

“He could be legendary, but I think he needs more practice kissing. To help out a friend, I’d be willing to assist him in perfecting his skills. It will probably take a lot of time and effort on my part, but I’d make the sacrifice for him,” Tess said, maintaining a stoic expression.

“You are just a giver, aren’t you?” Travis said, hiding a smile. If Tess kept this up, he’d make her pull over before they reached the freeway so he could start getting in some of the practice she mentioned.