Page 3 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

“No, but …”

He came a step closer and held his arms out. “Then what do you say – want me to carry you? It’ll be quicker, and easier …” He winked. “And more enjoyable – for me, anyway.”

She pressed her lips together in an attempt to hide her smile. He made no secret of the fact that he found her attractive, and she couldn’t deny that it did wonders for her ego. She’d say that it warmed her heart, but her heart had been in the deep freezer for so long that she doubted even Travis would be able to thaw it.

Callie misunderstood her silence and said, “You might as well, Mama. These porch steps aren’t going to be easy.”

Travis raised his eyebrows when she looked up at him. “Just say the word, darlin’.”

“Okay.”

He stepped forward and scooped her up as though she weighed nothing. She wasn’t heavy, but the cast added to the weight – and made things more difficult. Travis made it look aseasy as if he were lifting a small child. She closed her eyes at the feeling of his arms around her, between that and the way he held her against his broad, muscular chest, this was the closest she’d been to a male body in years – decades!

His eyes twinkled as they looked down into hers. “You comfortable?”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She felt far too comfortable with him, and she shouldn’t admit that to herself, let alone to him.

~ ~ ~

Travis slid her onto the passenger seat of his truck and felt the loss of her in his arms the second he stood back. He wasn’t used to having a woman affect him the way Retta did, but he liked it. He liked it a whole lot. He liked everything about her – he had from the very first time he saw her.

The first time he laid eyes on her was on the tiny screen of Callie’s phone when the two of them were talking on a video call. He’d thought that Retta must be Callie’s sister – not her mom. She was beautiful. She had shoulder-length blonde hair, and a warm smile. She was skittish – he didn’t know if that was only around him – but he wasn’t going to let it stand in his way. She lived in Georgia, but he’d managed to engineer a few visits with her over the last year. He’d kept trying to figure out how he might get to spend some time with her, and now she was here.

The timing couldn’t be better – she’d come to stay with Callie just when he’d finally decided that it was time to come home. He’d moved away when he joined the Navy as a youngster, and he hadn’t had a home here in the valley since then. He didn’t like to think of himself as getting old – he wasn’t. But he hadn’t livedin the valley for more than thirty years – and when you put it like that, it made him sound old.

He grinned when he realized that he was still leaning over Retta, and she was giving him a puzzled smile.

“You comfortable?” he asked. “We can sit you in the back with your feet up if that’d be better.”

“No! I’m good right here. This is the first time I’ve felt like I’m doing something normal since I arrived. Don’t take it away from me.”

He chuckled. “Alright then, darlin.” He stepped back and turned to Callie, who was hovering.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

Retta laughed. “I am. I’m not so sure about you, though. Areyougoing to be okay? You don’t need to fret about me, but I know you will.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “I can’t help it.”

“I knew this day would come, but I thought I’d be a lot older before it did.”

“What do you mean?”

Retta chuckled. “The roles are finally reversed. Instead of me worrying about you, you’re worrying about me.”

“I …”

Travis put his hand on Callie’s shoulder. “I know it won’t do any good for me to tell you to stop worrying, but I promise you she’s safe with me.”

“I know. Sorry.” Callie gave them a rueful smile. “I’ll just leave you to it, but … But nothing. I’ll shut up and let you go.” She laughed. “You kids have fun now, you hear?”

Travis chuckled. “We will.”

Callie had disappeared back inside the house by the time he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“You okay?” he asked Retta.

“I will be – just as soon as you get me out of here.”

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