If only it were that simple.
“Marriage is a big deal, Levi,” Miranda cautioned. “Sometimes it doesn’t work out even when you’re sure it’s what you both want.”
He heaved a reluctant sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I can wait.”
Although devil’s advocate wasn’t her favorite role, there was another possibility Miranda felt needed to be explored. “What if Tabitha decides she doesn’t want to marry you?”
His expression as he gazed at Tabitha was filled with such longing, Miranda’s heart ached for him. “But I love you, Tabitha. More than anything!”
“I love you too, Levi,” Tabitha said with a gentle smile. “But I still have to think about it for a while.”
He nodded, then glanced at Miranda. “Can Tabitha have dinner with us?”
Tabitha shook her head. “I have to work tonight, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said with apparent regret. “You have to go now, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Yes, but I’ll see you on Sunday. Okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”
To Miranda’s surprise, he gave Tabitha a hug. He even had tears in his eyes. Miranda had never known him to be quite so demonstrative with his affections. This girl must have inspired him in ways no one else ever had.
Motivation. It was the one thing that could make Levi focus on reaching a goal. In that moment, she realized that while Tabitha’s desire to marry him might waver, Levi’s determination never would.
* * * *
Every time he turned onto Miranda’s driveway, Travis felt like he was coming home. The mere thought of seeing her again made his skin tingle. Levi would be staying for the weekend, which meant that he couldn’t spend the night himself—at least, he didn’t think he could. He would take care of the horses and stay for dinner, but that was about it. Although he was well aware that he had no claim on Miranda, no clear-cut commitment, he was so ready to make a permanent arrangement.
Since the fiasco of his first marriage, Travis had never been tempted to remarry. Now, he wanted it so badly he could hardly sleep at night for thinking about how to ask her, how to persuade her.
He knew she would have doubts. The age difference bugged her, and then there was the baby issue. Smiling, he recalled a conversation he’d once had with Alan.
“Women always think their men should father children to pass on their good qualities,” Alan said. “The fact that it’s a non-issue for many of the men in question never occurs to them.”
Travis’s response had been that it was a good thing that women were watching out for the betterment of the species or the human race might still be living in caves. Alan hadn’t argued the point—although with as much sex as Alan craved, it was a wonder he hadn’t left scads of kids in his wake. So far, he hadn’t, nor had he caught any nasty diseases. He was a firm believer in safe sex—and so was Travis, otherwise he might have had children with Janie. If nothing else, he’d had sense enough to delay fatherhood until he was at least old enough to vote.
If only he’d shown similar wisdom with regard to becoming a husband. Thinking back to the time of his divorce, Travis still wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong. He’d been told it wasn’t his fault—Janie herself had said so—but he must’ve done something to make her start sleeping with his best friend.
Maybe I need to choose my friends more carefully.
Oddly enough, Alan had never stolen a girlfriend from him. Apparently, there was some honor among cousins, even when one of them happened to be a self-proclaimed sex maniac. Then again, perhaps it was simply another of Alan’s many quirks.
The horses were waiting at the gate when Travis parked the truck. They looked hungry, but he figured he ought to make sure Miranda hadn’t fed them before he headed up to the barn.
Sticking his head in the door, he spotted her standing in front of the stove. He had no idea what she was cooking, but it smelled heavenly. The realization that this was what it would be like to come home to her every night hit him like a sledgehammer, momentarily robbing him of breath.
“Hey babe, have you fed the ponies yet?” To his surprise, his voice sounded perfectly normal. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have sounded quite so ordinary if she’d turned and smiled at him before he’d asked that question.
“No,” she replied. “Tabitha wanted to see them, so they each got a few pats on the nose, but no food. I bet they’re pissed.”
“Tabitha was here?”
“Yeah. I’m guessing she wanted a private conversation with me more than she wanted to meet the horses. Needless to say, it was an interesting discussion.”
“I’ll bet it was.” He hesitated, not sure if the details were any of his business.
“I’ll tell you all about it when you come back from the barn.” She nodded toward the living room. “Levi is in there watching TV. Hopefully, he won’t hear us.”
“That bad, huh?”
“I wouldn’t say that, exactly. I wanted to be sure she understood the whole picture. I was a little blunt, but she took it well.”
“Do you think she really loves him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Levi sure seems smitten with her. I’ve never seen him act like that.”
Travis knew the feeling. “Hold that thought while I run up to the barn real quick. Dinner smells great.”
She chuckled. “Hope you like chicken nuggets.”
“I love chicken nuggets.” Hell, he’d love anything she fixed for him, just because she was the one doing the cooking.
Boy, am I head over heels or what?
With a shrug, she added, “At least they’re the homemade variety. Levi always wants the same things when he comes home. Chicken nuggets on Friday and Pizza Hut pizza on Saturday. His first time driving solo was to get pizza. So now I don’t have to cook or drive into town on Saturday nights. I wonder if he’ll still come home when he—” Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as she broke off with a sob.
Crossing the room in a few quick strides, Travis took her in his arms, holding her close to his chest. If there was one thing Travis had learned—and he’d probably heard it from Alan—it was to simply hold a woman and let her cry. She leaned into him, her whole body shaking while he stroked her back.
“What’s wrong with Mom?”
Travis glanced up to see Levi standing in the doorway. “I think she’s afraid if you get married, you won’t come and stay with her anymore.”
Miranda took a deep breath and stood up straight, wiping her eyes. “I’m okay, Levi. No need for you to worry.”
Given her aversion to showing any weakness, her abrupt mood change wasn’t too surprising. Travis had no doubt that she’d often kept a stiff upper lip when she’d really wanted, even needed, to break down and cry. After all she’d been through—the death of her husband, raising a special needs child—he wondered how on earth she’d done it alone.
One day at a time.
“Mom, I’ll still come to see you if I marry Tabitha. And you have Travis now. He’ll take care of you.”
Miranda froze, again pressing her hand to her mouth. In an instant, she regained control, assuming the same calm demeanor she’d displayed when Levi had first spoken. Swallowing hard, she lowered her hand and nodded. “Everything will work out. We’ll be okay.” Turning back toward the stove, she picked up a fork and turned over the chunks of chicken in the skillet.
Travis touched her shoulder. “Anything I can do?”
She shook her head. “Just the horses. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes.”
Food was the last thing on his mind at that point, but she’d already broken down once. Deeming it best not to make matters worse by encouraging her to talk if she wasn’t ready, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Be right back.”
Her eyes still focused on her task, she nodded, her lips pressed tightly together.
He smiled at Levi. “Want to give me a hand with the horses?”
“Um, sure. Let me get
my boots on first.”
Although Levi frowned and muttered as they walked to the barn, Travis kept quiet, waiting until the boy spoke directly to him. He was in the tackroom filling the feed buckets when Levi finally broke the silence.
“Was Mom really crying?”
“Yes, she was.”
Levi shook his head slowly. “She never cries—well, hardly ever.”
“I think she cries more than you realize. She just makes sure you don’t catch her at it.”
Frowning, Levi picked up a feed bucket. “This is for Kira?”
“Yeah, and that one is Arwen’s.”
Levi carried the two buckets out to the horses, returning just as Travis dumped a scoop of grain into the last pail.
“How come she doesn’t let me see her cry?” Levi asked.
“Maybe she doesn’t want you to worry.”
“Well, I do worry.” Levi scowled. “She takes care of me and the horses and all those sick people at the hospital. One of them hit her once and gave her a black eye.”
“I bet she cried then.”
“No. She said it just made her mad.”
“I can see where it would.”
Levi stood there for a moment, chewing pensively at his lower lip. Taking a deep breath, he leveled a stern glare at Travis. “You’re not going to hit her, are you?”
Travis felt his jaw drop. “Why would you think that?”
“Guys hit Aunt Tracy all the time.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand that.”
“Neither do I,” Travis said. “And, no, I’m not going to hit your mother. Ever.”
“Good. I’m not going to hit Tabitha. Even if she won’t marry me.” With that, he snatched up the remaining feed buckets and stomped out of the tackroom.
Travis stared after Miranda’s son with increasing admiration. Every time he talked to the kid, his respect for him doubled—along with his appreciation of Miranda’s parenting skills.
His gut told him that Tabitha would be very fortunate to have Levi as a husband.
Now, if only he could be as lucky when it came to having Miranda as a wife.
* * * *
“Oh, Mom, these are so, so, so delic-i-ous!” Levi exclaimed as he dug into a plateful of chicken nuggets. “You are such a good cook! Mm, mm, mm!”
Travis did his best not to smile, but lost it when Miranda giggled hard enough to trigger a coughing fit. He was considering the Heimlich maneuver when she finally recovered.
“Thanks, Levi,” she said between giggles. “I’m glad you like them.”
Levi’s own laugh was a wonderful, deep-throated chuckle. He held up a hand. “Okay, okay. You may stop laughing now.”
“I’m trying.” Miranda gasped, clutching her side as she succumbed to another peal of helpless laughter.
Sure as hell beats watching her cry.
Levi grinned at his mother before turning his attention to Travis. “I need you to teach me how to kiss a girl.”
Travis had already swallowed the sip of tea he’d just taken or he would’ve spewed it all over the table. “You want me to what?”
“Teach me how to kiss a girl,” Levi said with a trace of asperity. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you. I just couldn’t believe you asked me that.”
“Why not? You’ve kissed girls before, haven’t you?”
“Well, yeah…”
“Then show me how.”
Since Miranda looked like she was about to rupture something in her effort to control her mirth, Travis thought it best to postpone the kissing lessons. “Maybe we should finish dinner first.”
“Okay. After dinner then.” Levi resumed his attack on the chicken nuggets without further comment.
Meeting Miranda’s eyes across the table, Travis suspected she wouldn’t be able to stop laughing long enough for a decent kiss, particularly with her son watching. “Then again, maybe I should tell you how to do it, instead of showing you.”
Levi looked up expectantly. “Okay. How do you do it?”
Now that he’d put himself on the spot, Travis had absolutely no idea how to explain the actual procedure. “That’s a pretty tough question, Levi. Kissing is one of those things you do without thinking.”
“Levi’s always asking hard questions,” Miranda said. “Like the meaning of abstract words that are almost impossible to define—concepts and ideas, rather than concrete terms.”
Travis laughed. “You mean like ‘abstract’?”
“Yeah. Try explaining that one.”
“I can’t,” he said. “It’s too abstract.”
“See what I mean?”
“What are you two talking about?” Levi demanded. “I just want to know how to kiss Tabitha.”
“Okay, Levi,” Travis said. “It’s like this. You put your arms around her, lean in real close, and gaze deeply into her eyes. If she doesn’t back away, you get closer and closer until your lips touch. Then you close your eyes, open your mouth just a little, and start kissing her. If she really likes you, you can try sliding your tongue into her mouth, but don’t do that right away.”
A snicker from Miranda reminded him that he’d followed up at least two kisses—one she remembered and another one she didn’t—by putting his penis in her mouth. Levi obviously needed to take things more slowly.
Levi grimaced. “I don’t think I want to put my tongue in her mouth. That’s kinda gross.”
“Like I said, it’s something you work up to. You might ask her how she likes it and do it that way.”
“Good idea! I’ll ask her.” He paused for a moment. “If I kiss her the right way, will that make her want to marry me?”
“Maybe not.” Travis winked at Miranda. “But it’s a good start.”
Chapter 29
Travis followed up his instructions on how to kiss a girl with a suggestion that only added to Miranda’s worries.
“You need to take Tabitha out on a date.”
“Good idea,” Levi agreed. “I could take her out to dinner.”
“Where do you think she’d like to go?” Travis asked.
Miranda picked up Levi’s empty plate. “Bet I can guess where he’d like to go.”
Travis shrugged. “Pizza Hut?”
“Nope. We only get pizza as a carryout.” She glanced at her son. “Chinese, right?”
“Of course!” Levi replied. “I love dumplings, fried shrimp, and crab Rangoons.”
“Does Tabitha like Chinese food?” Travis asked.
Levi frowned. “I’m not sure…”
“You know, Levi,” Travis began. “If you’re going to impress a lady, you have to take her where she wants to go, not just the places you like.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
“I’ll ask her,” Levi said. “But there’s lots of places I’m not very good at driving to.”
“He hasn’t had much experience driving into Pemberton,” Miranda explained. “The store where he works is on the outskirts of town.”
Travis nodded. “Tell you what, Levi. You ask Tabitha where she’d like to go, and I’ll help you practice getting there.”
Travis obviously meant well, but the thought of the two of them in a car together scared Miranda more than she cared to admit.
What if I lose both of them in an accident?
Letting Levi learn to drive had been difficult enough, and she still worried about him—especially when he had to go someplace he’d never been before. Fighting back a wave of anxiety, she began loading the dishwasher, trying to convince herself that her irrational fears were just that. Irrational.
Levi got up from the table. “I’ll go call her right now.”
Feeling numb all over, Miranda watched him head off to his room. Picking up the skillet, she set it in the sink and turned on the water. She hadn’t realized how long she’d been standing there, staring out the window until she glanced down and saw that the skillet was already overflowing.
Travis
came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “You’re awfully quiet. Is something wrong?”
“No, I just—well, yeah.” She blew out a pent-up breath and shut off the faucet. “I never have gotten used to the idea of him driving in town. He knows his way around better than most people, but it still makes me nervous.”
“I figured that, which is why I offered to coach him.”
She didn’t know whether to thank him or not. “It’s been so hard to let go. It seems like only yesterday I was wondering if he’d ever graduate high school. The whole driving, job, and apartment thing happened almost overnight. Now, all of a sudden, he’s talking about dating and getting married. I’m not ready for that.”
“But that’s what you wanted for him, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” She tossed the scrubber into the skillet and squirted it with detergent. “Guess I should’ve been more careful about what I wished for.”
“No. You wished for exactly the right things. Levi’s a great guy, and Tabitha will be very lucky to have him.”
She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “If only I knew more about her! I’ve only met her the one time, and she wasn’t here very long.”
“Maybe we could go out on a double date sometime.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” For a moment, Miranda wished she could see into the future—then she realized that if she’d known Kris would’ve died so young, she might not have married him, and Levi wouldn’t exist.
Scary thought. “Although, come to think of it, we haven’t actually been on a date ourselves.”
Travis chuckled. “We did kinda skip that part.” Turning her around, he lifted her face to his with a knuckle under her chin. “So, how ’bout it, Miranda? Would you like to have dinner with me sometime? Chinese? Or maybe Italian?”
“Oh, God, no. I’m so sick of potstickers and pizza, I could scream.”
“Mexican?”
“Perfect.” Since Levi had never developed a taste for Mexican cuisine, Miranda didn’t get it very often. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
Travis obviously wanted more than a mere peck. Draping her arms over his shoulders, he pulled her into his embrace, the evidence of his growing desire pressed firmly against her stomach. Her anxiety evaporated, only to be replaced with the heat of passion as he captured her lips in a deep, bone-melting kiss. The instant he slid his hands down to cup her bottom, she realized they had an audience.
Unbridled (Unlikely Lovers) Page 25
