Two in the Saddle

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  But if all went well and Luann agreed to move here and live with them, Gwen would have the downstairs suite soundproofed. There was no way she’d spend years sneaking around to make love to Travis.

  Luann looked as pleased as Travis looked displeased. “Thank you for honoring an old lady’s wishes,” she said with a queenly nod of her head.

  From the kitchen doorway came the distinctive sound of someone blowing a raspberry. Gwen turned to find Matty standing there holding Elizabeth. Gwen had been so absorbed in dealing with Luann that she’d completely forgotten Matty and Elizabeth were in the kitchen.

  Elizabeth looked at them, stuck her little tongue out and blew again, spraying spit everywhere.

  “My thoughts, exactly,” Travis muttered.

  Luann brightened. “What a darling baby!” She glanced at Matty. “Are you her mother?”

  “Uh, no,” Gwen cut in. “Luann, this is my friend Matty Lang. Matty, this is Travis’s mother.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Matty said without much inflection.

  Gwen could tell Matty was still ticked about the cathouse remark. Plus she’d probably overheard the whole song and dance about who was sleeping where and had decided she wasn’t a fan of Travis’s mother. But Gwen wasn’t ready to make a negative judgment yet. After all, her own mother wasn’t a very warm and fuzzy person, either. Plus her mother was never around these days.

  And at least Luann liked babies. She was gazing adoringly at Elizabeth, as if she could hardly wait to get her hands on the little munchkin.

  “So,” Luann said, clasping her hands in front of her, “who does this sweet child belong to, may I ask?”

  Gwen decided she’d handled the first bombshell, and Travis could handle this one. She gave him a pointed look.

  He shifted his weight and adjusted the tilt of his Stetson. “Actually, Mom, there’s a good chance this baby’s mine.”

  14

  TRAVIS HAD NEVER THOUGHT much about the concept of heaven and hell before, but now he knew exactly what each was like. Heaven was like the time he’d spent with Gwen after Lizzie had recovered from her cold. But the past four days with his mother in the house had definitely been hell.

  She’d decided that he was some sort of sex fiend who’d impregnated one woman and now was cavorting mindlessly with another one. Except there would be no cavorting on his mother’s watch. Nosiree. She refused to let him out of her sight, and she was constantly finding things for him to do for her, like hauling her to the store for this or that, and driving her around to see the sights. She wouldn’t take the truck herself and do that, oh, no. She wanted Travis.

  And Gwen kept encouraging him to humor his mother. They wanted his mother to like Colorado, Gwen said, so the more he showed her a good time, the more likely she’d agree to move here. Maybe so, but he doubted it, and he was so desperate to make love to Gwen that he was considering luring her out in the backyard some night, chilly and uncomfortable though that would be.

  He wasn’t even sure Gwen would agree to a plan like that. She seemed to think they shouldn’t try to trick his mother, either, and that they should honor their promise to her not to fool around while she was in the house. Gwen seemed to think that if they demonstrated their consideration, his mother would eventually thaw and give them both her blessing. In a pig’s eye.

  The only bright spot was that Luann seemed to have fallen hard for Lizzie. Travis wasn’t surprised his mother loved the baby. Everyone did. Funny, though, how his mother could lecture him for hours about his unforgivable mistake in getting Jessica pregnant and still go all gaga when Matty brought Lizzie around for a visit.

  Gwen had put great store by that, and on the fact that Luann seemed interested in all Gwen’s domestic projects. Today Gwen was giving Luann a weaving lesson and he’d felt in the way, so he’d driven out to help Sebastian repair a section of fence before the cattle arrived the following week.

  It felt good to saddle up and ride out with Sebastian, and if this thing with his mother hadn’t been driving him nuts, he’d be looking forward to the summer. He’d be looking forward to his whole damn life, come to think of it.

  “I can hardly wait until Elizabeth’s old enough to ride,” Sebastian said as they trotted their horses along the fence line of the south pasture.

  “Me, either. Once she can sit up by herself, I thought I’d put her on in front of me and take her for a little walk, just around the corral.” Travis liked that mental picture of Lizzie and him tucked into the saddle, cruising around on a warm summer day, with Gwen looking on, so proud. He sighed. There was only one dang fly in the ointment. His mother.

  Sebastian glanced over at him. “From that frown on your puss I take it you’re thinking about the situation with your mother.”

  “Yep.”

  “Gwen’s gonna get her to come around. Don’t give up yet.”

  Travis shook is head. “I’ve known my mother longer than any of you. There’s no way she’ll move into another woman’s house and play second fiddle for the rest of her life. No way. Gwen’s catering to her now, making her feel like she’s in charge of our lives, but that couldn’t go on if she was really living with us. Nope, in the end she’ll refuse to cooperate. I can feel it coming.”

  “I think you underestimate Gwen. I—” Sebastian paused as his cell phone buzzed.

  Travis jumped. “Every time I hear that damn thing I think it’s a rattler.”

  “I know.” Travis reached back and took the phone out of his saddlebag. “But I can’t leave Matty with no way to contact me. Not with the baby to think of. And Jessica.” He punched a button on the phone. “Hello?”

  Travis kicked his big bay into a canter, to give Sebastian some privacy for his conversation. Probably just lovey-dovey talk between Sebastian and Matty. The two of them couldn’t stand being apart, but they couldn’t take the baby out on every ranch chore. This time Matty had stayed behind.

  But seconds later Sebastian called out to Travis. “How’d you like to spend some quality time with Gwen?”

  Travis pulled the gelding to a skidding stop and turned in the saddle. “You mean quality time?”

  Sebastian winked. “That’s what I’m talking about, cowboy.”

  “But how? My mother—”

  “Matty’s taken pity on you and come up with a plan,” Sebastian said as he drew alongside Travis and reined in his horse. “Are you up for that?”

  Travis laughed. “I am so up for that.”

  “I thought so.” Sebastian put the phone back to his ear. “It’s a go. Yeah. I’m sure he’ll be forever grateful. Love you, too. Bye.” He pushed the disconnect button and put the phone back in his saddlebag.

  “How’s she going to work this?” Travis asked.

  “She’ll call Hawthorne House and beg for Gwen and Luann’s help. She’ll say she needs Gwen to follow her into Hennessy’s Garage because she has to drop off her truck to be worked on, and then she needs to do some yarn shopping and desperately wants Gwen’s advice. She’d take the baby, except that Elizabeth has been fussing lately, probably because a tooth is about to come through. She’ll ask Luann to baby-sit.”

  Travis stared at Sebastian. “But she doesn’t really want Gwen to follow her to the garage or help pick out yarn, right?”

  Sebastian grinned. “I knew you were smarter than you looked.”

  Travis tried not to let his eagerness show, but it was no use. “Hot damn. How long before I should head back to the house?”

  Sebastian clucked to his horse and set off down the fence line. “Matty says give her an hour to set everything in motion. If she runs into any snags, she’ll call us, but she’s seen the way Luann looks at that baby. The woman is dying to have that kid to herself. She’ll probably be so happy about that prospect that she won’t smell a rat.”

  Travis kept his gelding even with Sebastian’s. “Is Matty going to tell Gwen the plan? Because Gwen has been insisting we have to play this straight, you know. She doesn’t want to chance gettin
g my mother riled up.”

  “Yeah, and Matty thinks Gwen might have some moral objection at first, which Matty thinks is silly. So she’s not saying a word until they get to the garage and Luann’s already settled in with the baby at the ranch house. Then Matty’s gonna tell Gwen to hightail it home because there’s a hot cowboy waiting for her. At that point she thinks Gwen will go along with the program.”

  Travis couldn’t stop smiling. “Did I ever tell you that you’re married to a very terrific lady?”

  “Once or twice. Now shake a leg. We need to mend as much fence as we can before you leave. All this romance is playing hell with the ranching business.”

  GWEN THOUGHT it was a little strange that Matty had picked this particular day to get her truck fixed. It had been shifting poorly every since she’d nearly stripped the gears back when she was spaced out on wedding plans, but she’d never indicated that fixing the truck was a top priority, especially considering that she could use Sebastian’s Bronco whenever she needed a vehicle. Still, Gwen wasn’t about to deny a friend a favor, and Luann had been overjoyed at the prospect of baby-sitting for Elizabeth.

  So Gwen dutifully followed Matty to Hennessy’s Garage and sat in her purple truck waiting for Matty to come out of the small office attached to the double-bay garage. She rolled the window down and breathed in the flower-scented air. Spring had arrived in Huerfano, and even Hennessy’s had a little window box of daffodils blooming merrily away.

  Eventually Matty came out, but instead of climbing in the truck with Gwen, she walked around to the driver’s side.

  “Is something wrong?” Gwen asked.

  Matty smiled and tucked her thumbs in the pockets of her jeans. “Nope. I just came to tell you that I won’t need your help after all. Jake Hennessy’s going to loan me his Jeep to do my errands, so you’re welcome to go home if you like.”

  Gwen felt a flash of irritation. This was so unlike Matty, roping her into something unnecessary, especially when her life was so complicated already these days. “What about Luann? Shouldn’t I go to the ranch and help her with Elizabeth?”

  Matty gazed at her, that same little smile on her face. “No, I think you should go home and spend some time with Travis.”

  Gwen’s irritation rose to the surface. “Travis isn’t there! As you well know. He’s out riding fence with Sebastian.” Gwen hesitated as Matty continued to give her that knowing look. “Isn’t he?”

  Matty slowly shook her head. “He’s at Hawthorne House, waiting for you.”

  Gwen gasped as she finally understood what was going on. “You set this whole thing up, didn’t you?”

  “Somebody had to beat Luann Evans at her own game, and it sure didn’t look like you had the heart for it. Now you don’t have to follow through, of course. If it bothers your conscience too much, I’ll tell Jake I don’t need the loan of his vehicle, after all. But if you can see your way clear to cooperate, I figure you and Travis have about two hours to kill.”

  Excitement built quickly, and her voice quivered when she spoke. “But when I took Luann out to your place, I saw Travis’s truck parked over by the barn.”

  Matty nodded. “And a little more than two hours from now, it’ll be parked there again. Don’t worry. Luann’s not going to leave that baby to go prowling around the barn checking on whether Travis’s truck is still there.”

  Gwen began to smile. “No, I guess she won’t.”

  “Go on, now. You’re wasting time.”

  Gwen reached for the ignition key, her hand shaking from anticipation. “Matty, I already feel guilty about fooling Travis’s mother like this.”

  “A little guilt adds some spice to the experience, don’t you think?”

  Gwen looked at her friend and laughed. “Guess I’m about to find out.”

  “Have fun.”

  Gwen lifted her hand in farewell and pulled out into the street. She had to force herself to drive the speed limit through the little town as she pictured Travis waiting for her. She’d caught the looks of frustration he’d thrown her way in the past few days. A man like Travis didn’t take well to frustration.

  For that matter, Gwen hadn’t weathered the dry spell very well, either. She’d slept poorly and had increasingly erotic dreams whenever she did manage to fall asleep. But thanks to Matty’s devious plans, she would feel Travis’s arms around her again, experience the sweet urgency of his mouth, the driving force of his… Gwen slammed on her brakes. She’d nearly missed a stop sign.

  She concentrated on the road after that, but when she turned down her street and saw Travis’s black truck in front of Hawthorne House, her hands began to shake. She’d never been such a basket case over a man, and the intensity of her emotions frightened her a little. If Luann refused to consider moving to Colorado… Gwen shoved the thought aside. Luann would agree to move. She had to. Gwen couldn’t imagine life without Travis.

  She parked behind Travis’s truck and hurried up the walk. The minute she started up the steps, the front door opened. He’d been watching for her.

  He stood back from the door, holding it open for her. He’d never looked sexier. His voice rumbled low in his chest. “Get in here, woman.”

  Heart pounding, she crossed the porch and stepped through the door.

  He grabbed her, kicking the door shut with his foot as he pushed her up against the wall. She’d never in her wildest dreams imagined being flattened against this flower-sprigged wallpaper and kissed until she couldn’t breathe. When Travis began taking off her slacks, she figured out that more than kissing would happen in this hallway, barely inside her front door.

  Desire flooded through her, drenching her completely. She fumbled with his belt, unfastening it as he wrenched her zipper down and shoved his hand inside her panties. Without hesitation he pushed his fingers inside her, as if he expected to find her exactly as she was, hot and wet. She gripped the waistband of his jeans and whimpered with pleasure.

  He lifted his mouth a fraction from hers, and he was panting. “Finish your job. Condom’s in my left shirt pocket.” He pressed the heel of his hand against her damp curls.

  “Oh, my. Travis.”

  “I thought you’d never get here.” His mouth came down on hers again as he stroked her with one hand and used the other to shove down her slacks and panties. She arched against the movement of his fingers, but she managed to unzip his jeans. Jeans and belt hit the hardwood floor with a clunk as she pulled down his briefs, freeing his erection.

  “Hurry,” he mumbled against her lips. “Please, hurry.”

  He was making her so crazy she couldn’t remember which was his left shirt pocket and she groped around in the wrong one for the condom. When he growled low in his throat, she switched pockets and found the condom. It seemed to take forever, but at last she had it on.

  He drew back slightly, and his breath was hot on her mouth. “Brace…your hands on my…shoulders,” he said, gasping.

  She gripped his shoulders. He cupped her bottom and lifted her up against the wall. Her slacks and panties slipped down her legs to the floor just before he thrust into her with a soft cry of triumph.

  His fullness inside her brought tears of happiness to her eyes. She had missed him so much. She wrapped her legs around his hips in welcome.

  She held on, her back flat against the wall as he gripped her bottom and surged into her with enough force to shake the wall. A picture hanging on the parlor side clattered to the floor. Travis didn’t even pause.

  Nor did she want him to. The pressure built to an exquisite pitch, and then, with one swift upward thrust, he set her free. Laughing with joy, tears streaming down her face, she came apart. With a guttural sound of satisfaction, he followed her, his body shuddering against hers as he held her tight against the wall and leaned his forehead against hers.

  Gradually his breathing slowed, but he still held her firmly, still stayed deep inside her as he lifted his head to look into her eyes. “I love you,” he said quietly.

&nb
sp; Fresh tears filled her eyes. “You’ve never said.”

  “Ah, but you had to know.”

  She nodded. “I knew. But I still needed to hear it.”

  “Sorry it took so long.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I wouldn’t mind hearing it from you, either.”

  “Oh, Travis, of course I love you.” She’d told him so many times in her imagination that it came as a shock that she’d never said the words out loud.

  His gaze heated. “That sure sounds good, especially considering the week we’re having.” He kissed her tenderly, then drew back with a sigh. “I don’t think my mother will agree to move here.”

  She didn’t want this moment to be spoiled by gloom and doom. “Don’t give up yet.”

  “Okay, but even if she doesn’t, I will.” He looked into her eyes. “I will, Gwen. I want you to marry me.”

  Her throat tightened as she realized the sacrifice he was willing to make, the guilt he was willing to endure, for her. “Of course I want that, too, but I can’t ask you to go back on your promise,” she said softly.

  “You didn’t ask. I’m telling you what I’m prepared to do.”

  “But—”

  He silenced her with a kiss, a kiss that soon became sensual and suggestive. His lips slid down to her throat. “Let’s not talk about it now,” he murmured against her skin. “We have some catching up to do.”

  Her pulse quickened. “I thought…we just did.”

  His tongue dipped into the hollow of her throat and he chuckled. “Oh, sweetheart, that was only to take the edge off. Now we can get down to some serious loving.”

  Although she’d felt thoroughly loved a moment ago, Gwen felt the passion rise in her again. “Which room would you like to try next?”

  He eased her to her feet. “I had the parlor in mind. That fainting couch has possibilities. Oh, and Gwen?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m moving back to your bedroom tonight.”

  GWEN TRIED to talk him out of moving into her bedroom. She thought they had a better chance of winning Luann over if they went along with her wishes and didn’t openly sleep together during this trial visit. But making love to her after four days of celibacy seemed to have flipped a switch in Travis. He was no longer interested in compromise.