Two in the Saddle

“I think she’s figured out I don’t have horns and a forked tail, after all.”

Sebastian gazed at him. “You do anything to hurt that woman, and Matty’ll be the one with the pitchfork, aiming it straight at your sorry ass.”

Travis blew out a breath. “Why does everybody think I’m out to break women’s hearts?”

“It couldn’t be on account of all the women you’ve left in tears, now could it?”

“Look, I’ve told each and every one of them I’m not in for the long haul. Is it my fault they won’t listen?”

Sebastian took a drink of his beer and glanced up at the moon. “I told Matty I couldn’t get serious, either, because of the baby and thinking I’d have to ask Jessica to marry me. That didn’t stop Matty from getting hurt.” He glanced back at Travis. “You can’t order a woman not to fall in love with you.”

Travis shifted uncomfortably under Sebastian’s scrutiny. “I don’t want Gwen to fall in love with me. I just—”

“Yeah, I know what you just. That dress she’s wearing would make a monk leave his order.”

Travis grinned. “Or revive a corpse at a wake.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Or replace Viagra.”

“I’m only human.”

“I know all about your humanity,” Sebastian said. “You’re a legend in your own time. But go easy on this, okay? Gwen’s a sweet lady and she had a rough few years with that husband of hers.”

“I promise to be careful. We won’t do anything that’s not in our mutual best interests.”

Sebastian nodded. “Good. And one other thing. If Jessica comes back while Matty and I are in Denver, you make her stay at the ranch until we can get home, okay?”

“Damn right I will. Jessica has some explaining to do, to all of us.” And telling them who was Lizzie’s father was the first thing, Travis thought. But he knew in his heart the little girl was his. Looks aside, Lizzie had his temperament. She was smart, easygoing and loved everybody.

“If I’m not convinced Jessica’s in a position to take care of Elizabeth,” Sebastian said, “I’m going to see what I can do about keeping the baby with us. I’ve checked into it, and abandoning your kid puts you on shaky legal ground.”

Travis rubbed the back of his neck. “I still can’t figure why she’d do that. It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing the Jessica we know would even think of. Hell, it was her grit that saved Nat’s life after the avalanche. Something pretty nasty must have scared the daylights out of her, to make her leave her kid like this.”

“Yeah, and I want to find out what.” Sebastian took another swig of his beer. “I’ve decided to hire a private investigator while we’re in Denver.”

“Good. I’ll go halves with you on the fee. This is dragging out way too long.”

“And it damned near made me lose Matty.” Sebastian cocked an ear toward the tent. “And speaking of Matty, we’d better get back in. I think the bouquet and garter-throwing is about to start.”

“Hey, you go ahead. I’d sooner catch a rattlesnake with my bare hands than that garter.”

Sebastian laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know what your problem is, Evans. You’re twenty-eight, for crying out loud. The carefree single life must be getting old by now.”

“Nah. It’s terrific.”

“So’s marriage. Or at least I plan on it being terrific, this time around.”

“For you, maybe. Not for this cowboy.” Travis tipped the bottle back for a deep swallow of beer.

“Well, you gotta come back in and pretend to try for the garter. You’re the best man, which means you should act like you’re part of the proceedings. It’ll look bad if you’re not there.”

“I’ll be in shortly.” Travis lifted his bottle. “And thanks for the beer.”

“It’ll come out of your paycheck. Don’t forget—now that Matty and I are combining our spreads, you’ll be working for me.”

Travis clutched his chest and staggered backward in mock horror. “Don’t tell me I have to start calling you boss?”

“Or Your Royal Highness. Whichever comes easier.”

“How about Your Royal Pain in the Ass?” Travis grinned. “That comes real easy.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “When I throw the garter, I’m aiming for you, hotshot. You need a woman to trim your wick. Now get your butt in there.”

“Shortly.”

“Insubordination already.” Sebastian sighed and went back inside the tent.

Travis figured he’d stall around outside and appear at the tail end of the garter-throwing. He wasn’t overly superstitious, but a guy couldn’t be too careful.

He’d thought about marriage, more than he’d ever admit to Sebastian, and he’d reasoned out that it was too complicated given his present circumstances. A promise was a promise, and he’d made a huge one to his dad before the old man died six years ago. Travis intended to honor that promise and take care of his mother, who depended on him something fierce.

She managed okay during the summer months, when she could walk to the little country store down the road from their place. In the winter, though, when the snow was up to her armpits, she needed Travis there to shovel the walkways and drive her where she had to go.

No one in this valley knew anything about his life in Utah, and that’s the way he liked it. If folks around here thought he was a devil-may-care playboy, that was fine with him. But the truth was that keeping his mother healthy and happy took all of his resources. He couldn’t imagine having enough energy left for a wife.

GWEN HADN’T PLANNED to take part in the bouquet tossing, but Matty had informed her it was obligatory. So she moved to the back of the crowd of women, figuring Matty wouldn’t heave the thing that far.

As the women stood there laughing and joking, Matty turned her back and sent the flowers sailing…right over everybody’s head. Gwen was forced to leap up and snag it or the beautiful bouquet would have landed on the floor. For a split second she considered letting that happen, but that would have created an awkward moment. With skills learned on the volleyball court as a kid, she pulled down the prize.

Everybody in the room cheered, and Gwen stood there holding the bouquet and feeling like a doofus. She was immensely grateful when the attention returned to Matty for the garter removal ceremony.

Amid a chorus of wolf whistles, Matty propped one foot on a chair and pulled back her skirt.

Sebastian quickly and efficiently divested her of the garter. Twirling it neatly around one finger, he turned toward the circle of men. “Show’s over, gents. And let that be the last whistle I hear any of you aim in my wife’s direction. Comprende?”

“Killjoy!” called out one of the cowboys.

“No, husband,” Sebastian replied with a dangerous-looking smile. “Now, where the hell’s Evans?”

Gwen glanced around and realized that Travis hadn’t come back in with Sebastian. She’d seen the two men head outside. Embarrassingly enough, she’d been aware of every move Travis had made that night. None of them had been in her direction.

“Evans?” one of the men said with a laugh. “You’ll never get that ol’ boy within twenty feet of a wedding garter. Toss that thing my way, Daniels. I could use another dance with the Maid of Honor.”

“Not if I get to that lace thingamajig first,” said the cowboy next to him.

“You’ll have to get past me,” said a third man.

Gratifying as it was to have men squabbling over the right to dance with her, Gwen couldn’t work up a smidgen of enthusiasm for any of them. And damn, but she wished she could. They were nice guys, steady guys.

Apparently she hadn’t meditated enough on the dangers of being attracted to a rogue. The only man in the vicinity who held her interest was the last man she should spend time with. Fortunately he was still outside and wasn’t in the running for the garter.

“I guess we’ll have to do this without Evans,” Sebastian said. “And watch those elbows. I’d like to think we’re all gentlemen here,” he added with a grin.

“I’d like to think so, too, but I don’t,” said the first cowboy. “And that garter’s mine.”

“May the best man win.” Sebastian aimed the garter into the air like a slingshot.

“Somebody called?” Travis stepped into the tent.

“Now that’s cutting it close,” Sebastian muttered as he let the garter fly.

Gwen knew Travis had amazing reflexes. He could rope and tie a calf faster than anybody in the valley, and he wasn’t shy about saying so. But the lightning moves he demonstrated as he snatched the garter out of the air left the women gasping and the men swearing.

“What’d you do that for?” complained Jason Litchfield, a lanky cowhand who’d been hitting on Gwen all night. “Everybody knows you’re not lookin’ to get tied down, and catching that thing means you’ll be the next one hitched.”

Travis shrugged and tucked the garter in his pocket as he started toward Gwen. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’ve been wanting to dance with the maid of honor all night, and you boys have been keeping her so busy, I haven’t been able to get close.”

Gwen stood frozen in place, her heart beating like a rabbit’s. There would be no baby between them this time.

Just before Travis reached her, Sebastian came over and clapped him on the back. “Congratulations on catching that garter. It would do my heart good to see you finally settle down with the right woman.”

Travis glanced at him. “It’ll take more than a garter to get me to the altar, buddy.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will.” Sebastian winked at Gwen. “But it’s a start. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find the previous owner of that garter and take her for a turn around the floor.”

Travis gazed at Gwen. Then he swept out an arm and bowed. “May I have this dance?”

“I guess so.” She put her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Just the casual interlacing of their fingers quickened her breath. “You worked hard enough for it.”

“Piece of cake. Hand-eye coordination has always been easy for me.”

“And you’re so modest about it, too.”

He chuckled and swung her into his arms.

She rested the hand holding the bridal bouquet on his shoulder, and with every swirl of the waltz step, the fragrance of roses and lavender drifted around them, toying with her senses. She’d expected an aggressively sexual man like Travis to pull her in close and get all the body contact he could manage. Instead he kept several inches between them, guiding her with a firm hand at her waist while cupping her right hand gently, yet expertly, in his.

But once again, he held her captive with his gaze. And Travis could do more with his eyes than any man she’d ever met. She’d danced with many partners tonight, and all of them had pulled her in tight, blatantly announcing their sexual interest with their bodies. Not one of them had made her sizzle.

She was sizzling now. The spot where Travis pressed the small of her back became an erogenous zone, sending arousing signals to every part of her body. His eyes seduced her, inviting her to imagine making love with him. His rhythmic skill on the dance floor hinted at his legendary skill in the bedroom.

She’d heard the whispered rumors about Travis, and her imagination filled in the rest. She guessed that he was the kind of lover women dreamed of in their deepest, most erotic moments. The kind even she had dreamed of, but never planned to have.

Because he was dangerous. He could break her heart so that it would never heal. And yet…he could make her secret fantasies come true, teach her things about her own sensuality that no other man could. But he would not stay. He would never stay.

The silence between them became heavy with unspoken desire. She struggled to break the spell. “I’m amazed you went for the garter,” she said. “I guess you’re not superstitious.”

“I am sort of superstitious.” His grip at her waist tightened a fraction. “But this looked like the only way I was going to get another dance with you. I decided it might be worth tempting fate.”

She swallowed. “And is it?”

“Oh, I think it will be.” His glance swept her face, slid down her throat, settled for a second longer than was polite on her breasts. Then he returned his gaze to her eyes. Hunger flickered there as he drew her a bare inch closer, so that the bodice of her dress brushed the front of his tux shirt, catching lightly on the pearl studs with each movement.

The contact was faint, subtle. Yet her nipples tightened and her breathing grew labored.

“Is that bed and breakfast of yours full?” he murmured.

“Why?” She had to keep her head. “Are you angling for personal service?”

“Nope.” He drew her in a little bit more, causing her sensitive breasts to be crushed gently against the hard wall of his chest. “Just wondered how business was.”

She could feel his heartbeat, rapid like hers. She should push away from him, but couldn’t make herself do it. For the first time in months, maybe years, she felt alive again. “Business is a little slow right now.” She cleared the hoarseness from her throat. “The skiers are gone, and the summer season doesn’t usually get going until after Memorial Day.”

“Hmm.” Neatly, without fanfare, he broke eye contact, snugged her up close and laid his cheek against hers. “So what do you do with yourself all day?”

She closed her eyes against the wash of passion that left her shaking. “I weave,” she whispered. With each movement they made, she felt the nudge of his erection. Her body moistened, pulsed, yearned.

His lips touched her ear. “I like the blanket you made Lizzie. It’s so soft.”

“Mmm.” Oh, she ached as she’d never ached in her life.

His voice was like velvet. “Say yes, Gwen. Say yes and let me love you.”

Her heart thundered in her chest. She didn’t hear the music stop.

But Travis obviously had, because he slowly released her and drew back to look deeply into her eyes. Heat burned in his gaze, and his hands at her waist quivered with urgency. “Please say yes,” he whispered. “I need you.”

She couldn’t speak. His obvious desire called out to her, teasing her with the promise of fantasies fulfilled, begging her to forget everything else and be swept away by shared passion. Calling upon the last scrap of sanity left in her fevered brain, she shook her head.

4

TRAVIS DIDN’T TAKE Gwen’s rejection personally. And because he was an expert at reading women, he didn’t even believe it. Other guys might get themselves into trouble with no-means-yes situations and either miss an opportunity or, worse yet, force the issue and get slapped.

Travis had never missed an opportunity, and he’d never been slapped. He’d been told by some of his drinking buddies that he should give a clinic on how to understand a lady, no matter what words came out of her pretty mouth.

The secret could be summed up in two words—body language. When he’d propositioned Gwen, and he’d done a damn fine job of it, too, she’d shaken her head no. But he’d be a fool to accept that.

At the same time she was shaking her head, her skin was flushed and hot, her pupils were dilated, her mouth was parted and her breathing was uneven. She was leaning so far toward him that she was in danger of toppling over. Or into his arms. Gwen might think she was saying no with that shake of her head, but the rest of her was screaming yes.

But now was not the time to touch her. Now was not the time to challenge her decision, either.

“Okay,” he murmured. “I’ll respect that.”

Her eyes widened. “You will?” Disappointment was written all over her face.

He bit his tongue to keep from laughing. “Of course. What sort of a jerk do you think I am? I gave it my best shot and you’re still not interested. I’m not about to make a fool out of myself.”

She straightened and moved back a pace. “Uh, that’s good. Because you would have if you’d kept insisting.” She rubbed a hand over the soft green material stretched across her rib cage, as if calming butterflies in her stomach. “It’s good we got that settled.”

He nodded, taking note of the pulse beating rapidly at the base of her throat. “Right. I like to know where I stand.”

Longing shone in her eyes, but she glanced away. “Well, now you do.” She gave him one more quick look. “I’d better check with Matty and see if she needs anything.”

“You do that.”

“Travis!” a woman called from across the room. “The next dance is mine!”

Travis turned, recognizing Donna’s voice. “Absolutely!” he called out in reply. When he turned back, Gwen was gone.

ABOUT AN HOUR later Gwen lined up with the rest of the guests to pelt Matty and Sebastian with birdseed while the newlyweds made their way over to the ranch house. She headed up a line on one side of the tent entrance and Travis stood across from her in the other line.

Resisting Travis had been for the best, Gwen told herself. She just wished he hadn’t given up so quickly. And he definitely seemed to have given up. He’d spent the past hour dancing and flirting with his many admirers, not that she’d noticed, or anything. Ha. Her jaw ached from gritting her teeth.

She watched him joking with Donna, who seemed to have the inside track at the moment. Gwen had to admit that Travis’s pursuit this evening had been one of the more exciting episodes in her life.

Maybe the most exciting episode, now that she thought about it. She didn’t exactly lead a thrill-packed life. The word dull came to mind. But she hadn’t been able to figure out how to have both stability and excitement, so she’d chosen stability.

Travis had offered her a chance for a little excitement, and chicken that she was, she’d refused him. Deep down, she was afraid she wasn’t wild enough for Travis. He’d probably tire of her quickly, and then he’d be the one to call it quits. Like Derek. How embarrassing.

If she could simply enjoy his attentions and then cut off the relationship before he did, she might have considered his offer. But she’d hung on to Derek way too long, and she could easily make the same mistake with Travis. Besides, Travis was no longer extending his offer, so debating the issue in her head was stupid and unproductive.

“Here they come!” yelled Travis. “Man your birdseed!”

Gwen poured the contents of her little packet into her hand. Matty and Sebastian, carrying a blanket-covered Elizabeth, emerged from the tent into the light of the full moon. As they hurried through the gauntlet amid cheers and shouts, Gwen tossed the birdseed into the air and silently wished them all the babies they wanted.

And she would play the role of Auntie Gwen. She would weave blankets for each one, she thought, and offer to baby-sit, and bake them cinnamon rolls. Maybe it was better to spoil someone else’s children instead of having the constant hassle of having your own. Maybe. But she didn’t really think so.

Once Matty, Sebastian and the baby were inside the ranch house, the guests began their round of goodbyes. Following Matty’s instructions, Gwen gave away the centerpieces and any extra favors. As she moved through the departing crowd, she noticed that several women besides Donna hung around Travis, as if hoping he might pick one to take home with him. Not wanting to know whether he did or not, she went back into the tent to help the caterers pack up and make sure nobody had left any belongings behind.

Finally the caterers removed all the coffee urns and bagged up all the table linens. At the last moment Gwen snatched up Matty’s bridal bouquet so it wouldn’t accidentally be tossed in one of the large plastic garbage bags by mistake.

As she listened to the catering truck pull away, she gazed around the silent, empty tent and sighed. Nothing more to do except throw the switch on the small white lights and go home. The party, as they said, was over.

“You look tired.”

Gwen whirled to find Travis walking toward her. A night of partying had left him looking appealingly disheveled, and the glow from the tiny white lights overhead added a roguish sparkle to his gaze. But he’d said he’d respect her wishes, so he wasn’t here to try and seduce her.

Her heart began to pound anyway. “I thought everyone had left by now.”

“Everyone but me. I thought I’d better stay and find out if there’s anything more to do.”

“That’s nice of you, but I think we’re fine.” She should get the hell out of here while the getting was good. “All that’s left is turning out the lights.” She stroked the rose petals of the bouquet, needing something to do with her hands. “The rental company will come out tomorrow to pick up the tables and chairs and the tent.”

He nodded and glanced around at the bare tables. “It looked pretty.”

“It really did.” Being alone with him was starting to have an effect, making her tremble. She clutched the bouquet more tightly. “Listen, I probably should go—”

“Yeah, me, too. So that’s it? You’re sure there’s nothing else?”

She didn’t know how he’d managed to get so close to her, but before she realized it, he was near enough that she could see the gold flecks in his warm brown eyes. And if that wasn’t a seductive look he was giving her, she’d never seen one before.

Her pulse raced. “Nothing else. It went like clockwork.”

“Yeah, it did. But I have a nagging feeling we forgot something.” His beautiful mouth curved in a soft smile.

That mouth. That talented mouth. She wanted to know what his kiss would be like. And he saw through her. She was sure of it. He knew that right this minute, she was imagining the way his lips would taste.

“You know that feeling?” he said. “That you’ve missed some detail?”

She struggled to take a breath. “I don’t have that feeling.”

“I do,” he murmured. His gaze drifted to the bouquet she held like a shield between them. He stroked a rosebud, loosening the pink petals with deft fingers. Then he plucked one free and lifted it to her mouth, slowly brushing it over her bottom lip.

She grew dizzy. “Go away, Travis,” she whispered.

“Can’t, Gwen.” The rose petal fluttered to the ground as he cupped her jaw, holding her steady as he lowered his head. “I just remembered what I forgot.”

She could still escape, she thought wildly as his breath drifted warm and sweet across her mouth. She could still pull back and run away, still save herself if she just….

Too late. Ahhh…way too late. Way too good. The mouth of an angel…the tongue of a devil. Oh, yes.

Later she might regret this moment, but no woman could think of regret when a man was kissing her like this. He was delicious, tasting of wine and wedding cake and the wild, heady flavor of desire. And he knew what he was doing. Oh boy, did he know. Everyone had a special talent, and it seemed she’d just discovered his. She wrapped greedy arms around him and pulled him close, body to heated body, while his mouth worked magic on hers.

His kiss became a messenger, sending urgent signals to her breasts, her inner thighs, her throbbing womb. She grew taut, moist, ready. Resistance was a dim memory eclipsed by the glowing prospect of surrender.

He lifted his lips a fraction from hers. “Come home with me.”

Yes. She gasped for air so that she could give him an answer, the only possible answer now that he’d kissed her so thoroughly and left her body thrumming with need.

“Hey, is anybody still here?”

Travis released her immediately and they both turned as Sebastian walked into the tent.

Gwen’s cheeks warmed. She put more distance between her and Travis and clutched the bouquet in both hands to disguise how she was shaking.

Sebastian took one look at them and backed up a couple of steps. “Whoops. Sorry. We saw the lights were still on and Matty asked me to come out and check on the situation. Sorry.”

Travis cleared his throat. “We’ll, uh, make sure the lights are out when we leave.”

“I knew that,” Sebastian said, backing up into the shadows outside the tent.

“Didn’t suppose you’d be taking time to glance out the window on your wedding night,” Travis said.

His comment blew like a cool breeze through Gwen’s fevered brain. Matty and Sebastian were enjoying a wedding night, but all Travis had offered was an affair. That just wasn’t good enough.