“It’s late, so I suppose I won’t complain if you sleep on the couch for tonight,” she said as she stood up and began to walk around him.
As she passed in front of him, he suddenly snaked his arm out and grabbed her, nearly making her tumble into his lap. His eyes snapped open and he was surprisingly alert as he looked at her, his expression intense.
“Don’t for one minute think I’m a pushover, Taylor, just because I managed to show more restraint than most men would when a pretty teenager threw herself at them. We’re both all grown up now, and I tend to go after what I want.”
After a short pause, Taylor yanked her arm away and stepped back. “Is that a threat, Travis?” With the way her heart was racing she didn’t feel threatened. No, if she had to be honest, she would admit she was . . . excited.
“I hate to be trite, baby, but it’s a promise,” he said, leaning back and looking relaxed again.
She hated being called baby. But there was nothing she could say, especially with her throat closed off and her heart hammering. Turning away, she rushed into the bedroom and firmly shut the door.
As she lay down on the bed, she knew sleep wasn’t going to be her friend that night.
“Rise and shine, princess.”
“Go away!”
“You’re wasting the day. The sun is up, and the fish are biting.”
Taylor turned over and glared at Travis. He was standing before her, looking perfect in his painted-on jeans and . . . “What in the world are you wearing?”
“What?” He looked down at himself and then back at her and shrugged.
“That vest is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Now, Taylor, that’s just plain rude. This is my fishing vest. Each pocket and strap serves a purpose,” he said, tugging on the ugly beige thing snugly attached to his wide shoulders.
“I wouldn’t be caught dead in that.”
“How would you know that? If you were dead, we could put you in whatever we wanted to,” he countered.
“Ugh. You are insufferable. How long have you been awake? I didn’t even hear you.”
“That’s because you were all snug in the bedroom while I was pushed out to the small couch. It’s my turn for the bedroom tonight. Of course, I don’t mind if you want to share with me,” he said with a wink.
“Get out!” Taylor threw her pillow at his face, which he easily dodged before letting loose with a laugh and sauntering out of her room.
Flopping back onto her bed, minus her pillow, Taylor lay there for a while trying to decide what she was going to do next. If she knew one thing about Travis, it was that he was stubborn, more stubborn than her, and that was saying a lot.
Finally, she got up, used the bathroom, and decided she was through hiding in the bedroom. She’d come to this cabin for rest and relaxation and she was going to get it one way or the other. When she did finally come out to the living room, she refused to speak to the lout. She was finished arguing.
Travis simply flipped her a smile, walked into the kitchen, and proceeded to make a large breakfast of ham and eggs. The smells made her stomach growl, but she didn’t want to accept his pity food.
“You can eat if you want, but I’m not going to beg,” he said, scooping up his own plate and sitting down at the small table.
Taylor sat there a few more moments, and then decided she wasn’t punishing anyone but herself by not eating, so with as much grace as she could manage, she stood, made her own plate, and then walked to the couch, refusing to join him at the table.
The chuckle she heard coming from him set her teeth to grinding, but she still refused to speak, not acknowledging the fact that she was acting like a pouty child instead of an adult.
If he was going to stay in the cabin, she sure as heck wasn’t going to have any kind of conversation with him. She either stayed in the cabin with him, or she went back home to her parents’ house where she would be smothered. That seemed the worse of the two evils.
When Travis disappeared and she heard the shower start, her stomach clenched. Knowing she could walk in there, join him in the shower, and have him more than happy with that was playing with her already messed-up head.
That was the last thing she wanted to do. Sure, she still had feelings for this man who was her first love, but he’d rejected her, and she wouldn’t go crawling back to him. When the shower shut off, she squirmed on the couch.
Now that she was actually at the cabin, and where she thought she wanted to be, she was bored. That thought brought a slight smile to her pouty mouth. Her mother would always tell all of them that there was no such thing as boredom, only boring people.
She could pull out a book and read, but she was used to being active all the time, and at the moment she just felt . . . lost. This simpering, pathetic woman wasn’t her. She was normally happy, a go-getter. When would she find herself again?
“I’m going for a walk. You’re free to join me,” Travis said as he came out of the bathroom.
She didn’t bother replying. She was too tempted to say yes. With a shrug, he went out through the front door, and for the next two minutes, Taylor sat on the couch fuming. And bored. She was so bored.
When a scratching sounded somewhere in the kitchen, she jumped up and threw on her shoes. She didn’t want to hang out with the man, but suddenly sitting there all alone on the couch seemed even worse than walking by his side. Normally, she’d have investigated the noise, made sure some critter wasn’t going to ransack the place. Not today, though. Running to catch up, Taylor didn’t take long to find Travis.