Page 47 of Ice, Ice… Maybe?

Nope!

New helmet – I’ll send you a pic in a bit from practice.

I’ll be waiting.

Becca sighed, putting away her cell phone and taking a moment to glimpse at her new wallpaper on her phone. They had taken a photo together in Yonder at the farm. It was so much fun to be home and exploring a world that felt so familiar, seeing the joy and appreciation written all over Travis’ face. The photo was of the two of them sitting on a haybale near the barn, and Travis turned to kiss her.

In the picture, Becca was holding his wrist, laughing happily, as Travis was smiling and leaning toward her for a kiss. You could see the ardent love and happiness in the photograph. His eyes were so beautiful and so focused on her – and that was part of what she loved about him. How he looked at her like she was the best person he’d ever met in the universe. His face softened, his demeanor changed, and the tough guy turned into butter around her.

And she loved it.

***

The rest of the afternoon at work wasn’t much better.

Becca kept thinking of her time at the farm, thinking of how relaxed and free they both seemed to be as Travis’s words repeated in her mind. Those words kept echoing and each time she had to deal with an upset customer, she was creeping ever closer to that line in the sand. By the time she got home, after sitting in a traffic jam, she was completely done with all of this, and it was only Monday.

Kicking off her shoes, she changed into her pajamas and then padded back to the kitchen to throw something in the microwave. At this point, she didn’t even care what she ate – it was literally a ‘feed your face so your body can function’ moment. Flavor, taste, and preferences went right out the door because everything was tasteless anyhow. She was craving mac and cheese – Travis-style.

And sighed as his words from this weekend echoed in her head once more.

We could escape each weekend and work on things together.

We could build a future together.

It would give us a place to hide while working toward something…

You could work for yourself.

What would that even be like?She could practically see his face as he had spoken to her only two nights ago – and right now, it felt like it had been forever.What would it be like to work for herself and try to make a run of things? Would there be enough traffic in the area to make a bed and breakfast work? Could they market it as a honeymoon retreat in the country? What about Travis’s hockey schedule – and their relationship? There was the money, the financing, and…

Her phone rang, glimpsing at the screen she felt something in her soul sigh in relief as she saw Travis’ name on the display. Sliding her thumb across the screen, she immediately answered.

“Hey… I was just thinking about you.”

“So, what time do we leave?”

“Leave? For what?”

“I was hoping we were running away together,” Travis chuckled softly as she heard a knock at her door, looking up immediately and hesitating.

“Are you…?”

“I am,” he interrupted emotionally, finishing her sentence. “I missed your smile. Can you open the door?”

Becca held her phone in her hand limply as she yanked open the front door to her apartment and met his eyes. He didn’t say a word; he just walked in and hugged her tightly. Closing her eyes, she blindly put her phone down on the nearest thing and wrapped her arms around him, breathing in his scent and needing this sense of security that being close gave her.

“I probably smell like sweat…” he chuckled almost in an apology. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about you today.”

“You are fine – and I understand completely. I missed you too.”

“Is this crazy?”

“If it is, I’m not sure being sane is appealing anymore…”

They held each other as he dropped soft kisses on her hair, her forehead, and her cheek before cupping her face with his hands and dropping the softest kiss imaginable on her lips – and Becca sighed, melting immediately.

“You know,” he began, chuckling softly and smiled at her. “I was only half joking about the running away thing.”

---