Roughneck Cowboy (11 page)

As soon as Travis and Sara stepped outside the theater, the valet attendant brought the truck around to the front. Travis helped Sara into the cab, then sped off. He'd driven three blocks when Sara exhaled loudly. Worried his father had ruined his chances of prolonging their evening together, he asked, “What's wrong?”

“Nothing. I loved every minute of tonight.”

“So you enjoy being accosted by old men and receiving evil-eyed glares from their prudish wives?”

Smiling, she closed her eyes. “Tonight was just about perfect.”

Tonight wasn't over. He stopped at a red light, leaned across the seat and kissed Sara.

“Mmm…” Her throaty sound encouraged him and he nibbled a path down her neck.

A horn honked behind them. “Light's green,” she whispered.

Travis hit the gas too hard and the truck lurched forward. “Sorry.” He grasped her hand and pressed her fingers against his thigh. He left downtown Tulsa behind and merged onto the highway. Even though she'd dressed like a siren for the ball, Travis guessed Sara was anything
but
experienced with men. He was glad and worried at the same time.

Sara fidgeted in her seat.

“What's wrong?” Travis asked.

“Nothing, it's just that…I'm not sure what you're expecting from me once we reach my house.”

Sara was thinking along the same lines he'd been thinking all night—sex.

Her fingers dug into his thigh muscle. “You're going over the speed limit.” The speedometer needle edged toward eighty.

He eased up on the accelerator. All this thinking about sex distracted him. He and Julie had never discussed having sex the first time they'd slept together—it had just happened.

Sara's not Julie.

Even though Travis's attraction to Sara was more than physical, they hadn't known each other long. “No matter what happens or doesn't happen between us to
night—” he kissed her fingertips “—I want you to know that I'm crazy about you.”

“Crazy?”

“You're fun to be with. You're smart. Loyal. Nice.” He grinned. “Sexy.”

“It's the dress.”

“No. It's you.” Travis gripped the steering wheel tighter. “You have no idea how badly I want to pull over and take that dress off you.”

Sara's breath rushed from her mouth. “As interesting as roadside sex sounds, I'd hate to ruin Viola's gown.”

“Who's Viola?”

“Beulah's mother.”

He eyed Sara's cleavage. “Beulah's mother must be a hell of a knockout if she still wears dresses like that.”

“Beulah's mother passed away years ago, but in her glory days she was a madam.”

“You don't say?”

“Those lecherous men you accused me of teasing tonight…”

“What about them?” he asked.

“They recognized the dress.”

“Brought back fond memories for the geezers, eh?” Travis chuckled.

Sara worried her lower lip. “Maybe it's not such a good idea to…”

“Sleep together,” he said.

“Until your father and I resolve our differences.”

“Our relationship has nothing to do with my father,” Travis insisted. And he meant it. Yes, Travis wanted to win his father's approval by helping to negotiate a business deal between him and Sara, but if that didn't pan out, Travis still intended to continue seeing Sara.

“Dominick brought up the past tonight, but as usual he neglected to say what my father did that was so unforgivable.”

“Was your dad one of the few men in Oklahoma who refused to sell out to Dominick?”

“I don't think that's it. You should have seen the expression in your father's eyes. It was hurt, not anger.” She shifted toward Travis. “I'm beginning to suspect Dominick's obsession with owning the Bar T has nothing at all to do with oil.”

“Don't allow my father to get inside your head.” Travis took the exit ramp off the interstate. They were ten minutes from Tulapoint, and damned if he wasn't going to give it his best shot to reclaim the romantic mood.

“Our being together might adversely affect Charlie. She's still adjusting to the loss of her grandmother, a new home, a new family and school. She doesn't need any additional strife in her life.”

“Charlie's doing great—because of you. Any time I spend with you is a positive thing.” He didn't want to scare Sara off by telling her about earlier this evening when Charlie had declared that she was ready for a new mother.

“I worry Charlie will get her hopes up that something will come of us seeing each other,” Sara said.

“My daughter's a tough little girl.”

“What if our relationship affects how your father treats Charlie? She adores Dominick and talks about him all the time at school. I don't want to come between the two of them.”

“That won't happen, promise.” Travis got the feeling Sara was using Dominick and Charlie as excuses
and wished he understood the real reason she hesitated taking their relationship to the next level.

He slowed the truck when they reached the town limits. A block later, he parked in front of Sara's Victorian. At one in the morning, the streetlamp cast an eerie glow across the sidewalk.

“Ask me to stay,” he said.

Her smile sent a jolt through his body. “Stay,” she whispered.

“You won't be sorry.” He leaned across the seat and kissed her—slow and easy. She threaded her fingers through his hair, convincing him with her mouth that she wanted him—at least for tonight.

“Mmm.” He drew his thumb across her lower lip. “Where does a schoolteacher learn to kiss like that?”

“She doesn't. You bring out the wild side in me.”

“If it's wild you want, it's wild you'll get, sweetheart.” He hurried to the other side of the truck and helped her out. They climbed the porch steps, stopping three times to kiss before entering the house. Travis backed Sara toward the stairs, but she put on the brakes.

I must be crazy.
Sara stared at her and Travis's reflection in the hall mirror. Viola's dress made her feel beautiful and desirable—but would she feel that way once the dress came off? Or would Travis see the country girl everyone in town saw.

Her gaze collided with Travis's in the mirror and the heat in his eyes reassured her.

He slid a finger beneath her dress strap and moved it aside, then kissed her shoulder. She shivered at the feel of his lips on her skin, dreaming of all the places his mouth would explore before the evening ended.

“What are you afraid of?” he asked.

“Nothing.”
Everything.
She pressed herself against him. Women like her didn't go to bed with men like Travis. He was out of her league—at least, in the bedroom. Her sexual experience was limited—how on earth would she satisfy him? She didn't even know where to begin.

He brushed aside a strand of hair clinging to her cheek. “Fess up, Sara Sanders, because when I get you upstairs, there's not going to be any room in that bed for doubts.” Travis backed her across the foyer one step at a time, stopping every other second to kiss her.

At the top of the stairs, she trailed her fingertip across his lower lip.
Just once, take what you want and to heck with the consequences. If this is all you and Travis ever have, then grab it and run.

Sara was a grown woman—mature enough to handle a one-night stand or two or three before Travis came to his senses and figured out she wasn't his type.

Before she lost her courage, she grasped his hand and led him into her bedroom.

T
ravis lay on his side, spooning Sara in her queen-size bed. Twice hadn't been enough—he wanted her again. He cupped her warm breast and buried his face in her sweet-smelling hair. Making love to Sara had been incredible. More than he'd imagined. More than he'd dared dream. They'd connected—not just their bodies, but their souls. And hearts.

His caresses stirred Sara awake. Eyes closed, she stretched on her back, one side of her mouth curving into a lazy smile. The light from the full moon spilled across the bed, casting a warm glow over her face. His loving had left her lips swollen, hair mussed and eyeliner smudged. She looked wanton and witchy—not the least bit like a teacher.

Discovering their compatibility in the bedroom forced Travis to acknowledge that friendship with Sara was out of the question. No one was more surprised than him that his goal of getting to know Sara in order to win points with his father would turn into something bigger than he could have imagined. Sara rocked his world with her gentle touches, passionate kisses and whispered words of encouragement. Shy and hesitant,
then bold and sassy, she'd tied his heartstrings into one giant knot.

“I know you're awake.” He nibbled her ear.

“Again?” She groaned, then giggled, when he tickled her side.

“Tired of me already?” Kisses accompanied his question.

“Never.” Curling her hand around his neck, Sara urged him closer. Travis obliged, happy to allow her to do all the work—and man, did she put in the overtime. A few minutes later, they lay panting, staring at the ceiling.

“I think this makes us officially
more
than friends now,” he said.

Sara stiffened at Travis's declaration. She rolled onto her side—their faces inches apart on the pillow. He was so darned handsome. How long had she dreamed of finding a man to spend the rest of her life with? Build a future with. Raise a family with. Everything inside her yearned to take a chance on Travis, but she'd learned the hard way not to trust impassioned speeches and declarations of love.

Travis hasn't said he loves you
. Dare she hope the warm heat in his dark brown eyes signaled his feelings for her were sincere?

“Why the worried frown?” He brushed his fingertip across her cheek.

Sara forced a smile. If she could go back in time to when she'd first seen Travis and Charlie at Beulah's, she'd never have allowed Travis to slip past her defenses. She'd have kept her guard up around the roughneck.
Too late now
. She cared for Travis, but feared in the light of day he'd realize his feelings for her had been the result
of getting caught up in the moment—the Oilmen's Ball, her sexy gown. The next time Travis saw her, she'd be Sara the schoolteacher, not Sara the siren.

Throat aching, she drowned in Travis's dark eyes. She wanted to give him a chance to prove his intentions were honest and true. But that would mean spending more time with him and she couldn't hold him at bay that long. It wouldn't take much effort on Travis's part to coax her heart to fall in love with him.

He kissed her ear, then her cheek, then her chin. “Talk to me, Sara.”

Gathering her courage, she said, “This…probably wasn't a good idea.” His eyes widened as if she'd slapped him. “I think we should just stay friends.” Friends was not what she wanted, but it was safe.

“I know we haven't known each other long, but we're not young teenagers. We're mature adults who've been knocked around by life.” He pressed a finger to her lips, halting her objection. “I admit, it seems too soon for a serious relationship, but you make me happy. I want to be with you.”

She'd known Josh one week when he'd begun his campaign to win her over. Josh had pursued her relentlessly, and when she'd insisted on slowing things down, he'd doubled his efforts and had won her over with false declarations of love and flowers. The jerk had even written her a poem.

“There have been lots of changes in your life lately and—”

“I'm not using you as a crutch, Sara.” His mouth covered hers in a kiss that scattered her thoughts and common sense.

When she regained her cognitive powers, she asked, “What about Dominick?”

“My father has no say in my personal life. If you decide to negotiate a drilling lease with my father, I'll make sure he treats you and your brothers fairly.”

Travis wouldn't allow Dominick to take advantage of their relationship, but she hated to be a source of stress between the two men, especially when Travis was trying to fit in with his new family.

More kisses. More caresses. More scattered thoughts.

His brown eyes clung to hers, their warmth hugging her soul. “Promise me that you'll think about giving us a chance,” he said.

“Promise.” She doubted her mind would contemplate much else for the foreseeable future.

 

S
HOES IN HAND
, T
RAVIS
snuck through the back door at four in the morning. He made it halfway across the dark kitchen before Dominick's words stopped him cold.

“I've been waiting for you.”

“You scared the hell out of me.” Travis hadn't noticed his father sitting at the table. He flipped on the light and the old man squinted.

“Where were you?”

Beaming, Travis said. “The last time anyone waited up for me, I was sixteen. I'd just gotten my driver's license and Mom worried that I'd crashed her car and she wouldn't have a way to get to work the next morning.” Feeling foolish for carrying his shoes, Travis set them on the floor, then grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Making love to Sara had been an exercise in endurance.

“What's going on between you and Sara?” his father asked.

“I like Sara. A lot. She makes me happy and Charlie adores her.”

“You didn't propose to her tonight, did you?”

“No, but—”

“You just met her a few weeks ago.”

“How long did you know my mother before you became serious about her?”

“Never mind about your mother.” Dominick shoved a hand through his hair. “If you're smart, you'll stick to business where Sara Sanders is concerned.”

No sense arguing with his father. It would take time for both Dominick and Sara to accept that Travis's feelings for her were serious. He understood and sympathized with Sara's reservations—the fact they hadn't known each other long. And he hadn't forgotten that Sara had been burned in the past by another man. And there was always the unfinished business between the Bar T and Cartwright Oil hanging over their heads. Even so, Travis was determined to prove his intentions toward Sara were honest and heartfelt.

Lest his father devise a plan to sabotage his efforts, Travis warned, “My relationship with Sara is no one's business but mine.”

“You'd betray your own flesh and blood?”

“Betray?” Travis shoved his chair away from the table and paced in front of the back door. He'd been the one betrayed by his mother and father. “I don't know what happened between you and Mom, but I wonder if she took off because you were too controlling.”

Dominick stared in shock, but Travis felt no sympathy. He was tired of his father's uncompromising
attitude. “Maybe my mother played a role in the breakup of your marriage, but if you bullied her the way you're bullying me, the way you've bullied Sara and her brothers, then me and my mother were better off without you.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Travis wished to call them back. Dominick's wide-eyed stare hit Travis square in the gut. He was no better than his father, tossing around threats. “Sorry. I shouldn't have said that.”

“You don't know what you're talking about, son.”

“Then tell me—why did Mom leave you?”

Dominick stared into space as seconds ticked off the wall clock. “Charlotte had an affair.”

The air rushed from Travis's lungs, leaving him winded and dizzy. He'd always believed his mother had chosen to raise him alone to protect him from a father who hadn't wanted him. To learn he'd been denied a family because of his mother's own selfish agenda was like a hot poker in the eye. Travis struggled to accept that the loving mother he'd known all his life had been at fault for the demise of his parent's marriage and breakup of the family. How could he forgive her for purposefully keeping him from his father and siblings?

For the first time since arriving at the Lazy River, Travis felt sorry for his father. “Are you sure?”

“She told me she was in love with another man and no longer wanted to be married to me.”

That must have been a deadly blow to a man as prideful as Dominick. To learn his mother—not his father—had betrayed their marriage vows bewildered Travis. The hurt little boy in him asked, “You two couldn't have worked out your problems?”

“Your mother never gave me the chance. She packed her bags and left.”

Not only had Dominick's wife walked out on him for another man, she'd also left her children behind. Travis wondered if his mother had tried to redeem herself through the years by helping Travis raise Charlie.

“After your mother took off, Jake Sanders showed up drunk on the doorstep one evening.”

Sara's father?

Dominick clenched his hands into fists—a testament to the anger his father still harbored over the past. “Sanders confessed that he'd been sleeping with Charlotte right under my nose.”

Travis collapsed on a chair and stared into space. His mother and Sara's father…?

“Charlotte and Sanders had intended to run off together, but their plans developed a kink when Mary Sanders discovered she was pregnant with Sara.”

Jake hadn't had the heart to leave a pregnant wife, but Travis's mother hadn't been bothered by the idea of leaving behind two young children. “All those years my mother was waiting for Jake Sanders to come for her.” Travis found the story incredulous and sad.

“After six months passed, I hired a detective to locate Charlotte—as much as I despised her for cheating on me, I needed to know that she was okay. And Sam and Matt kept asking when their mother was coming home.” Dominick's voice wavered. Even grumpy old men weren't immune to heartbreak.

“The private eye located Charlotte in Houston, where she was working as a secretary for a car dealership. That's when I learned she was pregnant.”

“You thought the baby belonged to Sanders.”

“Damn straight I did. My lawyer hand delivered the divorce papers the next week. I think when Charlotte realized Jake had no intention of leaving Mary for her, she purposefully kept you a secret from me. She knew that if I learned you were my son, I'd sue for custody and she'd be left alone.” Dominick tapped his finger against the tabletop. “I want to make it perfectly clear…I would have taken you away from Charlotte if I'd known you were mine. You should have been raised a Cartwright from the beginning.”

“Are Sara and her brothers aware of the affair?” Travis asked.

“I don't know.”

“Have you told Matt and Sam?”

A lengthy silence filled the kitchen. “Matt knows his mother had an affair, but not with who. Neither of us has told Sam. She'd just get upset over and over again when the subject came up, because she'd have forgotten she'd been told before.”

Matt hadn't mentioned their mother's affair. Maybe he'd assumed Travis already knew.

“I understand why you had a grudge against Jake all these years, but he's dead now. You can't hold Sara and her brothers responsible for their father's actions.”

“I don't hold them responsible.”

“Then why is it so important for you to have their ranch? Don't you have enough oil in all your other wells? When is enough money enough? A hundred million? Two hundred million? A billion?”

“It's never been about the money.”

“Then what is it about?”

“I lost a wife and I lost all those years with you
because Sanders couldn't keep his pants zipped. He owes me.”

Travis had more questions for his father, but Dominick shoved his chair back and stood. “I'll phone Sara with an official bid tomorrow morning.” He grabbed his car keys from the counter and walked out the back door.

Emotionally drained, Travis watched the taillights of his father's old Chevy Apache pickup disappear. He thought of his mother's selfishness—sacrificing what was best for her family in hopes of winning her heart's desire. He thought about Jake Sanders—he'd forsaken his marriage vows and torn apart another man's family. And Dominick was no better than his wife and neighbor—unable to let go of the past, he sought revenge against a dead man's children.

Now that Travis had reconnected with his father and siblings, he wanted a lasting relationship with his new family, but if Dominick couldn't accept that Travis had feelings for Sara, then he wouldn't be a part of Travis's and Charlie's lives.

“Coffee?”

Startled, Travis jumped inside his skin. He hadn't heard Juanita enter the room. “Sure.” After his talk with Dominick, Travis was wide-awake anyway.

“Don't be hard on your father,” she said.

“You heard our conversation?”

“I'm an old woman. I sleep in snatches.” She pointed to the laundry room. “When I don't sleep, I work.”

Travis returned to the table and sat.

“Your father loved your mother very much,” Juanita said. “But Charlotte did not love him the same way.”

That didn't excuse his mother's actions. “Do you know where Dominick went just now?”

“To the cabin.”

“What cabin?” Dominick had given Travis a tour of the ranch the day after Thanksgiving, but they'd never come across a cabin.

“The cabin where your mother and Jake Sanders met in secret.” Juanita carried two mugs of coffee to the table and joined Travis.