“Where are you going, Taylor?”
“I have to get my boots. I’m going to show you how this beautiful machine works,” she said, sending him a smile before disappearing.
When she came back out, wearing her riding gear, which she never went anywhere without, even a remote cabin, he was certainly impressed. The woman looked good in just about anything . . . or nothing at all. He happened to like her riding outfit. He’d really enjoy getting her out of it. And he would—soon.
After putting his helmet on, he hopped onto the bike as she glared at him. “I’m driving,” she said firmly.
“Not this time, princess. The first ride is all about pleasure, so you get to hold on and enjoy the view,” he said with a waggle of his brows.
She stamped her foot for a minute before shrugging her shoulders. “Fine. You’ll get bored soon enough.” She climbed onto the back and wrapped her arms around him, her hands resting just above a very much awakening body part.
“Behave,” he said before starting the motor and revving it up. Her laughter sounded against his ear and there was no way he could miss it.
Maybe he should have gotten the full-on face-mask helmet instead of the one that covered only the top of the head. It would have been safer—he wouldn’t have felt her breathing on the side of his neck.
He put the bike into gear and pulled down the driveway, knowing exactly where he was going. He’d been coming up to these woods with Bryson for years, and they’d explored it for miles and miles in every direction.
It didn’t take long before they were flying down an old gravel logging road, with the wind whipping across them and the bushes nothing but a blur as he expertly maneuvered the bike. He was thankful he’d ridden so much with friends.
When he slowed, he could hear Taylor’s musical laughter loud and clear. Even though he’d been to her races, had seen how much she loved riding, he was now experiencing it with her for the first time, and he liked it.
More important, this wasn’t a race, and she was still having an excellent time. That was the entire point of this lesson. To show her that life didn’t have to be a competition. That there could be a lot of laughter and enjoyment in doing activities just for fun, with no winners or losers. The two of them completely lost track of time, and when he finally stopped by a large but rarely frequented lake, they were miles from the cabin.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, but we don’t have anything, and we’re far away from anything like ‘civilization.’ ”
“Ah, but I was a Boy Scout, and I’ve come prepared.” He took the bag from the back of the bike and showed her the food and drink that he’d stashed inside.
As they spent a couple of hours by the lake, Travis was in his comfort zone, out in nature with the woman he loved, good food, and nothing to distract them except the sounds of the forest dwellers.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the two humans to get into a rock-skipping contest. Taylor won, and she insisted on dancing around him in circles to celebrate her victory.
“You are the most competitive person I’ve met in my life, and I was in the military for a lot of years around major egos, so that’s saying something.” Travis laughed and grabbed her around the waist.
“They would all meet their match in me.”
“Yes, indeed they would.”
When they got back onto the bike, this time Travis let Taylor drive, and the joy radiating from her as she navigated the roads was unlike anything he’d seen in her before. Was that good or bad? He wasn’t sure.
Could she be happy if she had to give up racing forever? Was he expecting too much from her? It wasn’t that he wanted to hold her back. But he wanted to save her life. By the time they reached the cabin, his mood had taken a slight dip.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Travis. That was truly the best gift I’ve ever received.” She leaned back against him, unwilling to get off the bike yet.
“I have another gift for you,” he said. He lifted her up and turned her around so she was facing him, and then he captured her mouth.
“Thank you for meeting me here today, Mr. Whitman. I’m really not sure what I want to do right now, but I was speaking to Travis and my mother about a training track and now here I am.”
Taylor was standing with Martin Whitman at a beautiful piece of ground on the outskirts of Sterling and she didn’t want to mislead him in any way. But she also had made a promise to the doctor that she would pursue other options besides racing.
The only thing that had stirred her blood was the possibility of opening up a new track, a place where she could train future generations, especially female riders, on the proper and safe ways of the racing circuit.
“Your mother knows well that I am always eager and excited to see young people bring new life to this beautiful area of the country. When I heard about your idea of a training facility, I knew this land was the perfect place,” Martin said, beaming as he looked at her.
“I don’t know anything about opening a business. I haven’t done much research. It was just an idea.” What frightened Taylor about the idea is that it excited her and made her want to learn more about it.
“All great things start first with an idea, with a spark, and then it takes a lot of desire and hard work. You have the idea and the desire, and I have the land.”
“This is a beautiful property,” she said, looking out at the mountains not far in the distance. Straight in front of her she could practically see the dirt walls forming, the track within its safety circle. She could see bleachers and vendor stands. She imagined kids performing for their families, and hot dogs dripping with mustard.