The Cowboy's Summer Love (42 page)

Whatever he was up to, she had no doubt it would be exciting and unexpected. That was just the way things rolled with Travis.

“Hang tight to me and no peeking,” Travis said, placing her arms around his middle and patting her hands where they met at his waist. Starting the four-wheeler, he drove into the dusk with his brothers and hers watching them go.

Tess felt the four-wheeler go down a small hill and then head up an incline. They went downhill again then leveled out. The temperature took a little dip as Travis brought the four-wheeler to a stop and turned off the ignition.

“You’re not peeking are you?” he asked, helping her off the four-wheeler. She couldn’t see a thing and felt like her feet were encased in concrete shoes as she shuffled along, trying not to trip.

“I can’t see a blooming thing, and you know it,” Tess said, annoyed by the blindfold and her inability to see. She took a few more shuffling steps when she felt Travis put an arm around her back and one beneath her knees as he picked her up in his arms and carried her. “You’re going to hurt yourself, Travis. I insist you put me down!”

“Pipe down, honeybee, and enjoy the ride,” Travis said, his breath stirring a curl by her ear.

Tess was enjoying the ride entirely too much. With his muscled arms holding her close to his strong, broad chest and his spicy scent engulfing her senses, she couldn’t help but appreciate the opportunity to be right where she was.

She felt him turn sideways and her feet brushed against something solid. He stopped then and set her down gently, holding her arm until she was steady on her feet.

“Just another minute,” he said, stepping away from her. She heard sounds she couldn’t identify, but by the slight warming in temperature and lack of a breeze, she could tell they were standing inside something. Sniffing the only thing she could smell was Travis’ enticing scent.

She felt his warmth at her back and his fingers untying the knot in the blindfold. When he removed the cover over her eyes, she opened them surprised to find they were in the boys’ old fort.

White candles blazed on every surface, flooding the room in a beautiful, golden light. A white linen cloth covered the old table while a huge vase of white and pink roses sat in the middle. A fancy box, china plates, and a chiller with a bottle nestled inside along with two crystal flute glasses occupied the rest of the table.

“You can’t leave without a little dessert, can you?” Travis asked, walking Tess to the table and pulling out one of the old rickety chairs. Tess swallowed a laugh, hoping the chair didn’t collapse beneath her.

“That depends on what’s for dessert?” Tess said, giving Travis her best flirty grin. It winged its way straight to his heart and made him fumble as he sat down in the chair beside her. Removing his hat, he set it on a corner of the table and took her hand in his.

“Tessa, you are so beautiful,” he said, pressing a hot kiss to her palm. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

“I think I’m getting the idea,” Tess said looking around the room. She had so many wonderful memories of being in this room with their brothers, but especially with Travis. When they weren’t tormenting each other, they truly enjoyed spending time together. It was a fact as children and Tess realized the same was still true today. Although the tormenting had morphed into something that more closely resembled flirting during the summer.

How and when Travis managed to turn the fort into a very romantic little place for dessert was beyond her. She’d been with him all evening and he’d barely left her side. He certainly didn’t have enough time to come out here and set the whole thing up.

“You must have an inside connection with the magic fairies.”

“Something like that,” Travis said, his warm blue eyes burning intently into her huge brown orbs. Taking a deep breath, he let it out with a grin. “Want some dessert? It’s chocolate.”

“You know just the right thing to say,” Tess said, watching as Travis lifted the lid on the box to reveal a chocolate torte covered in thick ganache. A profusion of white and dark chocolate curls adorned the top, like a burst of edible ribbons.

Travis carefully lifted out a piece and set it on a plate, passing it to Tess. Taking one for himself, he opened the chilled bottle and poured them each a glass of the bubbling drink.

“To what do I owe this celebration?” Tess asked, accepting the glass from Travis. He was acting odd, almost hesitant. She couldn’t figure out what he was planning that would make him nervous.

Knowing him as well as she did, she knew his calm façade was hiding a bout of nerves that made the muscle in his jaw twitch and his fingers tug at his right ear. He’d had that move for as long as she could remember and the familiarity of it made her smile.

“You,” Travis said, tipping his glass to hers. “To you, Tess.”

“Tee, is everything okay?  You don’t seem quite yourself,” Tess asked as she set down her glass and picked up her fork.

Admiring the fancy dessert, she was afraid to take a bite and disturb how pretty it looked on her plate. Turning the dish slightly, a bright glimmer caught her eye. Using her fork, she fished out a beautiful diamond ring from inside a chocolate curl.

Eyes shooting to Travis with a questioning look, he nodded his head and, unable to get down on one knee, instead took her hands in his.

“Tessadora Tatiana Morgan, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. I loved you when we were kids running wild. I loved you when we were gangly teens trying to find our way. I loved you all those years we were apart when I was in the service. I’ve always, always loved you. This summer, I fell in love with you, and my heart finally found its home. It’s right here,” Travis said, his eyes bright as he placed his hand over Tess’ heart.

Tess smiled at him through the tears in her eyes.

“You’re the first girl I ever kissed and I want more than anything for you to be the last. Will you please, please marry me, Tessa?”

Taking a moment to let Travis’ words sink in, she placed a hand on his cheek and watched a flicker of doubt flit across his handsome face.

“Yes,” she finally whispered, burying her face into his neck. “Yes, Travis. A thousand times, yes.”

Travis let out the breath he was holding, sat back in his chair and pulled Tess onto his lap. Looking into the sweet, beautiful face that he loved, he smiled broadly. “I thought for a minute you were going to turn me down.”

“Never, Tee. I’ve dreamed of this moment for years and years,” Tess said, as Travis slipped the ring on her finger. Holding out her hand, she admired the simple yet gorgeous setting in a white-gold band.

Noting some chocolate on the ring, Travis stuck her finger in his mouth and licked it away. The sensation that action produced made Tess decide there might need to be a third wedding in the Thompson family sooner rather than later.

When their lips connected, Tess lost herself in the intensity of the kiss. She knew without a doubt a lifetime with Travis would be one filled with excitement and love. She couldn’t wait to get started on their forever.

“You’ll really marry me?” Travis asked, wanting to make sure he didn’t imagine her response. He reveled in the feel of her pressed closely to him, her softness melting into his strength. 

“Yes, you idiot, I’ll marry you,” Tess said on a laugh. She looked forward to the next sixty years of calling him an idiot and loving him with every fiber of her being. “The sooner, the better.”

Travis’ head jerked up at that announcement and he gave her a wicked grin.

“From what Trey and Cady say, you can pull together a wedding in a week if you want to.”

“I think I might just want to,” Tess said, as Travis’ lips captured hers in a kiss that sent delicious shivers racing up and down her spine.

Just when she thought the heat between them would consume them both and set the fort aflame, Travis’ cell phone rang.

Grinning, he dug it out of his pocket. Tess listened in amusement to the one-sided conversation. “Hey. Of course she said yes. Did you have any doubt? Yep. We’ll be back soon.”

Disconnecting, Tess gave him a curious look, wondering which brother called.

“Trent,” he said, answering her unasked question. “I think it would be a shame to waste this dessert Cady spent all afternoon making.”

Sitting in the glow of both the candlelight and their love, they fed each other bites of the chocolate, made plans for a wedding and plans for their future. 

Travis promised her they’d come back the next day to get her flowers and clean up, right after they drove over to the Drexel house to see how much work it would take to make it inhabitable for a couple of newlyweds.

Blowing out the candles, they shut the door and stood outside, watching the moon rise over the hills. Turning back to the fort, Travis grabbed Tess’ hand and tugged her to stand just outside the door. He moved her feet around, positioning her this way and that, before finally looking satisfied.

“What are you doing?” Tess said, giggling as Travis made her shift over an inch, then positioned her arms and tipped her head.

“Recreating the first time I kissed you,” Travis said, standing in front of her with love burning bright in his eyes. “Do you remember?”

“Of course I remember,” Tess whispered, her face soft and washed with love in the moonlight. “You boys were initiating me into the fort and insisted on a ceremony. Ben poked straggly weeds in my hair and Brice was holding my hand. Then you handed me a bouquet of bedraggled flowers and kissed me. I liked it so much, I socked you a good one and ran all the way back to the house.”

“Well, I’ll kiss you again, right here, just like I did when I was six, if you promise not to sucker punch me.”

“I promise not to punch you if you promise not to wipe my kiss off on your sleeve like you did then. It hurt my feelings,” Tess said, grinning at Travis, enjoying the moment immensely. “I know for a fact you were convinced I gave you girl cooties.

“You did,” Travis said, slapping his hand to his chest. “You infected me so thoroughly with your cooties, I’ve been plagued by them ever since.”

Moving slowly, deliberately, Travis leaned toward Tess and dropped a quick, chaste kiss to her waiting lips.

He started to step back, but Tess put her arms around his neck and pulled him forward until her lips were a breath away from his. “That might have been how you kissed me then, but this is how I want to kiss you now and forever.”

Tess kissed the brackets his smile made around his mouth, trailed her lips along his jaw, and nibbled on his ear.

Just when he wasn’t sure he could continue to stand as his legs grew weak beneath him, she pressed so close he could feel her pounding heart keep time to his own.

Burying one hand in the hair at the back of her head, while the other drew her flush to him, Travis kissed her with all the warmth, happiness and desire flooding his heart.

Life with Tess was going to be an amazing adventure filled with sass, passion, love, and an incurable case of girl cooties.

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Cowboy Nachos

2-3 lb. beef brisket, cooked and sliced thinly

1 bag of waffle fries

2 cans of chili (thick preferred)

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 bottle of barbecue sauce

2 small cans of sliced olives

Start by cooking the brisket in the slow cooker for eight hours with a can of chicken broth and some salt and seasoning. If you have a good barbecue joint in your town, you could also pick up brisket already cooked, sliced, and ready to consume if you are in a hurry to put this together.

About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve, pop the fries in a single layer in the oven and bake until golden brown, following package directions.

Ten minutes before the fries will be done, remove the meat from the slow cooker and let rest for about five to seven minutes. Cut into thin slices.

Cook chili according to can directions.

You can let people put on their own toppings or you can make a huge platter – your choice. Layer fries, chili, sour cream, brisket, barbecue sauce, cheese and olives.

Hearty, flavorful, and so good!

Serves eight.