Page 15 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

Which was why he’d tried so freakin’ hard to keep his hands off her. His mouth off hers.

Until he didn’t.

And now…

Well, now he’d had just enough of a taste of her to know it wouldn’t be enough.

Instead of going back to his camper right away, Travis decided to run the perimeter of the fence line. Just to be sure there had been no actual breaches. Not that he expected to find any. But he could use the release the exercise would provide. He pushed himself hard, trying to run off the frustration of the night before. Or more specifically, the confusion.

She made him want things he’d never wanted before. Things he’d never even considered. And that scared the hell out of him.

By the time he was done running the fence line, he was sweating hard, his muscles aching with the satisfaction of a good workout, and his frustration had faded a little from the exertion. Living out of his camper had some advantages, but one of the distinct disadvantages was his outdoor bathroom setup, including the shower he’d rigged up in the trees. He could have stayed and showered in Stephanie’s cabin—she wouldn’t have minded—but the idea of being naked while in such close proximity to her sounded like torture. He was only human, after all, and there was only so much he could take. There was no way he’d be able to pretend to bejust friendswith her if he continued to put himself in such positions. He needed to keep his distance. For both of their sakes.

He’d just finished rinsing the shampoo from his hair, when the clouds broke open and the rain started to come down. The heavy drops were like bullets on his bare skin. Travis hurried through the rest of the shower, and headed for shelter quickly.

From the protection of his camper, he peered out the curtains. So much for working on his own project. Not with this kind of rain coming down. And a quick look at the forecast told him it would be like this for a few more days. No help for it.

His phone vibrated with a text message from Stephanie.

You left Tink behind.

Travis inhaled slowly before responding.

I thought you could use her more than me.He smiled a little at the thought of the pup as a guard dog.I can swing by and grab her later. Just headed into town.

He hadn’t intended to head into town, but the idea of sitting alone in his tiny camper, with only his thoughts of Steph to keep him company, or more likely, drive him crazy, wasn’t appealing. Town felt like a good option.

I checked the fence line. All good,Travis added.How are you feeling about it all this morning?

The bubbles that showed she was typing appeared and disappeared. Travis waited. Finally the text came through.

Pretty dumb actually.

He didn’t know how to take that. Was she feeling dumb about calling him in a panic? About setting the alarm to the highest sensitivity setting? Or about what happened—or more specifically, whathadn’thappened—between them? He waited for her to elaborate, but when a follow-up text didn’t come, he responded.

Don’t. There was nothing dumb about last night.

He tucked his phone into his back pocket and pulled a rain slicker off the hook by the door before popping his cowboy hat on his head and sprinting for his truck. The only thing worse than being alone with nothing but his thoughts of Steph was being alone and texting with her.

Damn.This woman had him all twisted up in a big way.

And the worst part was, he had no idea how to untangle himself from it. Or if he even wanted to.

Stephanie woke to the sound of heavy, fat raindrops on the roof of her cabin. The moment she opened her eyes, even without going out to the main room, she knew he was gone.

She closed them again and took a deep breath.

“I’m such an idiot.” Her voice sounded small in the empty room.

But she wasn’t alone, as a moment later, a wet tongue licking at her face made Steph open her eyes and grab at the puppy who’d climbed up to her face to say good morning. She vaguely remembered Tink jumping up on her bed last night before she fell asleep. She’d been too tired to protest the visitor in her bed. Besides, after turning Travis down—again—the company of a warm, furry, puppy body seemed better than no body at all.

Steph scratched the pup behind the ears and laughed until she stopped licking her face. “What are you still doing here?” For a moment, Stephanie considered that maybe she’d been wrong and Travis was still there. She slipped from the bed and padded out to the main room, but she’d been right. He was gone.

With a sigh, she returned to the warmth of her bed and snuggled in with Tinker Bell. “You really are a sweet thing, aren’t you?”

The pup wagged her tail in agreement.

Steph reached for her cell phone, hoping for what? A message from Travis?Maybe.

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