“Well, the first step of seeing this come to light was to see the property, and you did that, so what comes next?” he asked.
“I’ve done research, but then if I decide to race again I’m wasting everyone’s time.”
“You don’t have to make a decision for another week, Taylor. Why don’t you at least look at your options, see what it would take to legitimately get this thing up and running?”
She sat silently for several moments before turning a brilliant smile his way. “You’re right, Travis,” she said, then stood up and started pacing. “It doesn’t lock me in to doing it if I just do a little more research. As much as I love this cabin, maybe it’s time we move back into town.”
Travis felt his gut clench. If they left the cabin, they would no longer be staying together. Yes, her parents might have guessed that he and Taylor had been more than just cabin mates, and yes, she was definitely an adult, but that wasn’t the same as allowing their daughter to come home and sleep with a man right beneath their roof.
“We could do all the planning right from here,” he said hopefully.
“No. I have to meet with Martin again, and then there are some contacts in Billings I need to talk to. I may even have my brother fly me down to California. I have some great contacts there.”
The enthusiasm sparkling in her eyes made his shoulders relax. Sure, they wouldn’t be in their cabin anymore, but she was really psyched about the racing track. If she got completely involved with it, it meant that she’d stay, and that they’d actually have a real shot at a future together. He knew his next words might frighten her, but he just couldn’t hold himself back.
Sauntering toward her, he slipped his arms around her waist from behind and felt the utmost gratification when she instantly leaned back. She brought her hands up and rested them on his, rubbing along his knuckles.
“You do realize how much I care about you, right, Taylor?” Travis couldn’t believe how nervous saying such simple words made him.
Her breath hitched before she twisted around so she could look up at him. “I know that I care about you, too,” she said, a surprisingly shy smile on her lips. His heart pounded at her words.
When the music playing softly over the radio switched to “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice, Travis found himself slowly spinning Taylor around the small living room as he sang the words to her.
Maybe he couldn’t tell her how he felt with his own words, but he hoped the romantic country song conveyed his message. After the music ended, she pulled back and looked at him, her eyes shining, her lips tilted in the barest of smiles.
Maybe the two of them had a lot more to learn about each other, but right now everything felt as if it was perfectly falling into place. All the rest could be learned through the years as they lived their lives, began a family, and grew old together.
Travis would not lose Taylor, not now that he had no doubt he was in love with her, for better or for worse.
Leaving their cottage had been bittersweet, but Travis had shut the door behind them, loaded Taylor’s last bag into her trunk, and then kissed her long and hard. As she slid into the front seat, Travis had closed the car door and felt such a finality in this simple act that it pained him inside.
He’d followed her all the way back into Sterling, then parked next to her at her parents’ house. He wouldn’t be staying, of course. Yes, her parents would have been happy for him to stay, as long as he was in the basement—about as far from Taylor as possible in their large ranch house.
And that would have been pure torture. So he found himself bunking at Bryson’s house, in the spare apartment above the garage. Taylor had been so busy over the past week that he’d barely seen her, and when they’d managed to spend a few hours together, they hadn’t done much talking.
No matter how much he told himself he wasn’t going to act on his hormones, the moment she rushed into his arms, he forgot about everything else but ripping off her clothes.
Not this time. She was on her way over, and they were going to have a serious discussion, because Travis didn’t think he could go on much longer wondering what was going to happen next. He was the type of man who needed a map laid out of all his plans, needed to know what was ahead.
He’d always been that way, much to the distress of his more carefree parents. They’d been horrified when he’d joined the military, but they’d always accepted him for who he was and had quickly come to terms with his choices in life.
If he could only get Taylor to feel the same way. He was in love with her, and if he could persuade her to sit down with him for five minutes without the two of them falling victim to demon lust, he’d get her to see they shouldn’t ever part.
He had no doubt she loved him, too. He just didn’t know if she loved him enough to abandon her dreams of another championship. It was terrible that he wanted—no, needed—her to do that, but he couldn’t be with her if he was always wondering whether she’d come home again.
How could they live that way? What if they had children, and then she left him too soon? Yes, he thought too far into the future, but now that he had Taylor in his life, the thought of ever letting her go, especially letting her go forever, was incomprehensible.
When he heard her car pulling up to the side of the house, his heart raced. She was there. He looked around the room and was well satisfied with his efforts. The table was set, candles were burning, and wine was chilling.
“Travis?”
She entered the front door, and the lack of light had her confused for a moment, but then he stepped from the shadows and her beautiful lips turned up in a grin. “What is this?”