by Marin Thomas
“Again?” She groaned, then giggled, when he tickled her side.
“Tired of me already?” Kisses accompanied his question.
“Never.” Curling her hand around his neck, Sara urged him closer. Travis obliged, happy to allow her to do all the work—and man, did she put in the overtime. A few minutes later, they lay panting, staring at the ceiling.
“I think this makes us officially more than friends now,” he said.
Sara stiffened at Travis’s declaration. She rolled onto her side—their faces inches apart on the pillow. He was so darned handsome. How long had she dreamed of finding a man to spend the rest of her life with? Build a future with. Raise a family with. Everything inside her yearned to take a chance on Travis, but she’d learned the hard way not to trust impassioned speeches and declarations of love.
Travis hasn’t said he loves you. Dare she hope the warm heat in his dark brown eyes signaled his feelings for her were sincere?
“Why the worried frown?” He brushed his fingertip across her cheek.
Sara forced a smile. If she could go back in time to when she’d first seen Travis and Charlie at Beulah’s, she’d never have allowed Travis to slip past her defenses. She’d have kept her guard up around the roughneck. Too late now. She cared for Travis, but feared in the light of day he’d realize his feelings for her had been the result of getting caught up in the moment—the Oilmen’s Ball, her sexy gown. The next time Travis saw her, she’d be Sara the schoolteacher, not Sara the siren.
Throat aching, she drowned in Travis’s dark eyes. She wanted to give him a chance to prove his intentions were honest and true. But that would mean spending more time with him and she couldn’t hold him at bay that long. It wouldn’t take much effort on Travis’s part to coax her heart to fall in love with him.
He kissed her ear, then her cheek, then her chin. “Talk to me, Sara.”
Gathering her courage, she said, “This…probably wasn’t a good idea.” His eyes widened as if she’d slapped him. “I think we should just stay friends.” Friends was not what she wanted, but it was safe.
“I know we haven’t known each other long, but we’re not young teenagers. We’re mature adults who’ve been knocked around by life.” He pressed a finger to her lips, halting her objection. “I admit, it seems too soon for a serious relationship, but you make me happy. I want to be with you.”
She’d known Josh one week when he’d begun his campaign to win her over. Josh had pursued her relentlessly, and when she’d insisted on slowing things down, he’d doubled his efforts and had won her over with false declarations of love and flowers. The jerk had even written her a poem.
“There have been lots of changes in your life lately and—”
“I’m not using you as a crutch, Sara.” His mouth covered hers in a kiss that scattered her thoughts and common sense.
When she regained her cognitive powers, she asked, “What about Dominick?”
“My father has no say in my personal life. If you decide to negotiate a drilling lease with my father, I’ll make sure he treats you and your brothers fairly.”
Travis wouldn’t allow Dominick to take advantage of their relationship, but she hated to be a source of stress between the two men, especially when Travis was trying to fit in with his new family.
More kisses. More caresses. More scattered thoughts.
His brown eyes clung to hers, their warmth hugging her soul. “Promise me that you’ll think about giving us a chance,” he said.
“Promise.” She doubted her mind would contemplate much else for the foreseeable future.
SHOES IN HAND, TRAVIS snuck through the back door at four in the morning. He made it halfway across the dark kitchen before Dominick’s words stopped him cold.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“You scared the hell out of me.” Travis hadn’t noticed his father sitting at the table. He flipped on the light and the old man squinted.
“Where were you?”
Beaming, Travis said. “The last time anyone waited up for me, I was sixteen. I’d just gotten my driver’s license and Mom worried that I’d crashed her car and she wouldn’t have a way to get to work the next morning.” Feeling foolish for carrying his shoes, Travis set them on the floor, then grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Making love to Sara had been an exercise in endurance.
“What’s going on between you and Sara?” his father asked.
“I like Sara. A lot. She makes me happy and Charlie adores her.”
“You didn’t propose to her tonight, did you?”
“No, but—”
“You just met her a few weeks ago.”
“How long did you know my mother before you became serious about her?”
“Never mind about your mother.” Dominick shoved a hand through his hair. “If you’re smart, you’ll stick to business where Sara Sanders is concerned.”
No sense arguing with his father. It would take time for both Dominick and Sara to accept that Travis’s feelings for her were serious. He understood and sympathized with Sara’s reservations—the fact they hadn’t known each other long. And he hadn’t forgotten that Sara had been burned in the past by another man. And there was always the unfinished business between the Bar T and Cartwright Oil hanging over their heads. Even so, Travis was determined to prove his intentions toward Sara were honest and heartfelt.
Lest his father devise a plan to sabotage his efforts, Travis warned, “My relationship with Sara is no one’s business but mine.”
“You’d betray your own flesh and blood?”
“Betray?” Travis shoved his chair away from the table and paced in front of the back door. He’d been the one betrayed by his mother and father. “I don’t know what happened between you and Mom, but I wonder if she took off because you were too controlling.”
Dominick stared in shock, but Travis felt no sympathy. He was tired of his father’s uncompromising attitude. “Maybe my mother played a role in the breakup of your marriage, but if you bullied her the way you’re bullying me, the way you’ve bullied Sara and her brothers, then me and my mother were better off without you.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Travis wished to call them back. Dominick’s wide-eyed stare hit Travis square in the gut. He was no better than his father, tossing around threats. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, son.”
“Then tell me—why did Mom leave you?”
Dominick stared into space as seconds ticked off the wall clock. “Charlotte had an affair.”
The air rushed from Travis’s lungs, leaving him winded and dizzy. He’d always believed his mother had chosen to raise him alone to protect him from a father who hadn’t wanted him. To learn he’d been denied a family because of his mother’s own selfish agenda was like a hot poker in the eye. Travis struggled to accept that the loving mother he’d known all his life had been at fault for the demise of his parent’s marriage and breakup of the family. How could he forgive her for purposefully keeping him from his father and siblings?
For the first time since arriving at the Lazy River, Travis felt sorry for his father. “Are you sure?”
“She told me she was in love with another man and no longer wanted to be married to me.”
That must have been a deadly blow to a man as prideful as Dominick. To learn his mother—not his father—had betrayed their marriage vows bewildered Travis. The hurt little boy in him asked, “You two couldn’t have worked out your problems?”
“Your mother never gave me the chance. She packed her bags and left.”
Not only had Dominick’s wife walked out on him for another man, she’d also left her children behind. Travis wondered if his mother had tried to redeem herself through the years by helping Travis raise Charlie.
“After your mother took off, Jake Sanders showed up drunk on the doorstep one evening.”
Sara’s father?
Dominick cle
nched his hands into fists—a testament to the anger his father still harbored over the past. “Sanders confessed that he’d been sleeping with Charlotte right under my nose.”
Travis collapsed on a chair and stared into space. His mother and Sara’s father…?
“Charlotte and Sanders had intended to run off together, but their plans developed a kink when Mary Sanders discovered she was pregnant with Sara.”
Jake hadn’t had the heart to leave a pregnant wife, but Travis’s mother hadn’t been bothered by the idea of leaving behind two young children. “All those years my mother was waiting for Jake Sanders to come for her.” Travis found the story incredulous and sad.
“After six months passed, I hired a detective to locate Charlotte—as much as I despised her for cheating on me, I needed to know that she was okay. And Sam and Matt kept asking when their mother was coming home.” Dominick’s voice wavered. Even grumpy old men weren’t immune to heartbreak.
“The private eye located Charlotte in Houston, where she was working as a secretary for a car dealership. That’s when I learned she was pregnant.”
“You thought the baby belonged to Sanders.”
“Damn straight I did. My lawyer hand delivered the divorce papers the next week. I think when Charlotte realized Jake had no intention of leaving Mary for her, she purposefully kept you a secret from me. She knew that if I learned you were my son, I’d sue for custody and she’d be left alone.” Dominick tapped his finger against the tabletop. “I want to make it perfectly clear…I would have taken you away from Charlotte if I’d known you were mine. You should have been raised a Cartwright from the beginning.”
“Are Sara and her brothers aware of the affair?” Travis asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Have you told Matt and Sam?”
A lengthy silence filled the kitchen. “Matt knows his mother had an affair, but not with who. Neither of us has told Sam. She’d just get upset over and over again when the subject came up, because she’d have forgotten she’d been told before.”
Matt hadn’t mentioned their mother’s affair. Maybe he’d assumed Travis already knew.
“I understand why you had a grudge against Jake all these years, but he’s dead now. You can’t hold Sara and her brothers responsible for their father’s actions.”
“I don’t hold them responsible.”
“Then why is it so important for you to have their ranch? Don’t you have enough oil in all your other wells? When is enough money enough? A hundred million? Two hundred million? A billion?”
“It’s never been about the money.”
“Then what is it about?”
“I lost a wife and I lost all those years with you because Sanders couldn’t keep his pants zipped. He owes me.”
Travis had more questions for his father, but Dominick shoved his chair back and stood. “I’ll phone Sara with an official bid tomorrow morning.” He grabbed his car keys from the counter and walked out the back door.
Emotionally drained, Travis watched the taillights of his father’s old Chevy Apache pickup disappear. He thought of his mother’s selfishness—sacrificing what was best for her family in hopes of winning her heart’s desire. He thought about Jake Sanders—he’d forsaken his marriage vows and torn apart another man’s family. And Dominick was no better than his wife and neighbor—unable to let go of the past, he sought revenge against a dead man’s children.
Now that Travis had reconnected with his father and siblings, he wanted a lasting relationship with his new family, but if Dominick couldn’t accept that Travis had feelings for Sara, then he wouldn’t be a part of Travis’s and Charlie’s lives.
“Coffee?”
Startled, Travis jumped inside his skin. He hadn’t heard Juanita enter the room. “Sure.” After his talk with Dominick, Travis was wide-awake anyway.
“Don’t be hard on your father,” she said.
“You heard our conversation?”
“I’m an old woman. I sleep in snatches.” She pointed to the laundry room. “When I don’t sleep, I work.”
Travis returned to the table and sat.
“Your father loved your mother very much,” Juanita said. “But Charlotte did not love him the same way.”
That didn’t excuse his mother’s actions. “Do you know where Dominick went just now?”
“To the cabin.”
“What cabin?” Dominick had given Travis a tour of the ranch the day after Thanksgiving, but they’d never come across a cabin.
“The cabin where your mother and Jake Sanders met in secret.” Juanita carried two mugs of coffee to the table and joined Travis.
Travis couldn’t imagine the hurt and anger his father must have felt at his wife’s betrayal.
“Charlotte taught your father a valuable lesson.”
“What’s that?”
“Money and power will never win over true love.”
“I’m grateful to you for telling me this, Juanita.”
“Your father’s a good man.”
His father had been wronged by his wife and neighbor, but until Dominick let go of the past, there would be no happiness for the Cartwrights and the Sanderses.
“’MORNING, COLE.” Sara entered the tack room in the barn early Monday morning.
Her brother perused her up and down. “A buddy of mine spotted a truck pulling away from your house at three-thirty in the morning yesterday.”
Sara’s face flushed and she cursed her embarrassment. She was a grown woman who had a right to her privacy—not that anyone in and around Tulapoint knew the definition of the word privacy. By now, the locals were buzzing with the news of Travis’s late-night visit. “Did you send your friend to spy on me?”
“Hardly. Kenny’s been dating the widow who lives down the block from you.” Cole grinned. “He must have been sneaking out of her house the same time Travis was sneaking out of yours.”
Sara swatted her brother’s shoulder. “I didn’t know Kenny was seeing Susie Cummings.” Sara minded her own business, which meant she was the last one to find out the latest gossip.
“How was the Oilmen’s Ball?”
“Lots of stuffed shirts and fancy food.” She smiled at the memory of her dance partners. “Mostly old people.”
“So, did you and Travis…” Cole waggled his eyebrows.
Her brother appeared insistent on sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. “Mind your own business.”
He grabbed a can of linseed oil from a shelf, unscrewed the cap, soaked a rag and went to work polishing a saddle. “You’ve got that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“The look that says you did it.”
She played dumb. “Did what?”
“The down’n’dirty with Cartwright.”
She and Travis had made love, but she wasn’t about to argue terminology with her brother. “I didn’t drive all the way out here to discuss my sex life.”
“So the schoolteacher got herself a little nookie, eh?”
“Knock it off. There’s something serious I need to discuss with you.”
His face sobered. “I’m listening.”
There was no easy way to broach the subject, so she got right to the point. “What would you think if Travis and I began dating seriously?”
Her brother set aside the rag. “How seriously?”
“Very.”
“Ah, you have serious feelings for Travis.”
“Yes.” She rubbed at an imaginary spot on her pants. “I’m scared and I don’t want to get hurt again.” What she felt for Travis didn’t compare to what she’d felt for Josh.
“What makes you believe Travis will hurt you?”
Be honest. Cole had been the one to wipe her tears after Josh had trampled her heart. “I don’t know what Travis sees in me. He could do a lot better than plain-looking me.”
Several seconds passed before Cole spoke. “You have a lot to interest a man, Sara. Don’t sell yourself short. You have a
college degree. A steady job. You’re independent and you own a home. And you’ve never shied away from hard work.”
“Sounds like you’re describing a man, not a woman.” She shoved a hand through her hair. “Travis doesn’t need a woman with a steady job. Or an education. Or one willing to work hard.”
“What are you getting at?” Cole asked.
“Travis could get any woman he wanted. Why me?” Cole opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand. “And don’t tell me I’m attractive—I hate that word. People use that word to describe someone who…who…looks like me. Plain.”
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, sis. If Travis likes what he sees, who are you to argue with him?”
She worried that Travis might view her in a different light once the excitement of a new relationship wore off. Tears welled in her eyes and Cole pulled her close for a hug. “I know Josh hurt you real bad. But don’t let what he did ruin the rest of your life. You’re older. Wiser. Trust your heart. Don’t let Josh’s betrayal keep you from finding happiness with another man.”
“Thanks.” Sara squeezed her brother’s ribs.
“What about Travis’s daughter? How will she react when she learns her teacher likes her father?”
“Charlie and I get along great. I don’t think she’ll mind in the least if Travis and I date.”
“Does Dominick know Travis has feelings for you?”
“I doubt he’ll approve, but Travis doesn’t seem worried.” She sniffed. “You never answered my question—how do you feel about me dating a Cartwright?”
“If Travis makes you happy, then see him all you want.”
“Travis promised he’d make Dominick treat us fairly if we decide to do business with him.”
“Are you considering a drilling lease with Cartwright Oil?”
If she and Travis were determined to give their relationship their all, then she had to mend fences with her neighbor. “Dominick phoned this morning with an offer.”
“And…?”
“Ten thousand dollars per acre. He wants access to two hundred acres.”
Cole whistled low. “That’s two million a year in revenue.”
And five times the amount of other bids. “We’re running out of options,” she said.
