Page 16 of Joy Ride
He agrees, and somehow, we manage to get all the remaining ornaments on the tree, but any happiness seeped out of the room the second the power came back on and no amount of sex is going to change it.
We stand back and admire our work.
“Beautiful,” he comments beside me, and I nod, turning to find him staring at me—not the tree.
I swear I’m going to crumble. What the heck is wrong with me? The last time I cried is when I broke my back. Jolene West doesn’t cry. Everyone and their uncle knows that.
“It sure is pretty festive in here,” I mumble, the only damn thing I can come up with. “The tree is so twinkly even without any lights on it.” I dig deep for some kind of positivity. “When was the last time you had a tree? Be honest. You must’ve had at least one.”
“I haven’t had a tree since my wife left me. And when she was here, she insisted on buying new ornaments every year.”
“Oh hell. That’s awful. I’m sorry I asked.”
“Don’t be. We divorced five years ago. The funny thing is, she said she wanted to be with a cowboy and insisted we stay in West Palomino. I tell ya, she was set on living a small-town life, but it turned out, it wasn’t for her.”
“Where did she end up?”
He sighs, shaking his head. “She’s in New York now, so it all turned out for the best. I wasn’t happy. She wasn’t happy.” He runs a finger delicately along my jawline, following the curve, as though my face is the most fascinating sight he’s ever seen. “And now here you are.”
I swallow thickly, blinking back tears. “I’ll never forget you, Travis.” I reach up and press my lips against his with a hopeless kiss. The sun will be setting soon, so I’m down to my last few minutes with him. “Do you have anywhere to go for Christmas? Or are you going to spend it alone?” My heart is dissolving.
“Don’t worry about me. Remember the cookies?”
“Right,” I say with a relieved smile. “You’re going to your friend’s house who has kids.”
“It’s another world over there,” he laughs.
By the time I get back into the bedroom, I have a full charge and text Chase that I’m on my way, so I better get moving. I bundle up in the clothes I wore when I was freezing my ass off last night when I broke in. They’re dry now, but it feels like it’s been a year since my tire blew out.
When I enter the living room, Travis is there waiting.
“It’s still light out,” I say softly, “It isn’t snowing so I guess now is as good a time as any.”
“If you don’t have to run out now, stay. I mean, there’s no rush,” he offers, “I could even drive you there.”
Wouldn’t that be something? I dread the thought. Chase is less than an hour away, but hell, my cousin can be ornery. He’d be so pissed if I brought a stranger over. What if they know each other, and there’s some sort of feud going on? I can’t tell you the number of times Chase has mentioned how he’s in an all-out war with some of his neighbors. “That’s sweet of you to offer, but I should probably change my tire and take off.”
“Well, you sure as hell aren’t changing any tires while I’m around.”
“You don’t think I can do it on my own?”
“I didn’t say that, Goldilocks,” he replies with a tight smile. “I have no doubts about you.”
I smile softly, taking in the sound of his voice calling me by my new nickname. “I guess you’ll always think of me as Goldilocks, huh?”
“Well, someone was sure sleeping in my bed,” he cracks, as he opens the apartment door for me. We walk down the hall side by side and take the stairs into the bar where we had drinks last night. Was it only twenty-four hours ago when my life turned upside down?
He grabs his coat off the hook, shrugs into it, and zips it all the way up.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask. “I really don’t need any help.”
“Positive.”
“I’m used to doing things for myself. I mean, you’ve already done so much for me.” It feels amazing to have someone to help and take care of me for a change. He was the gentlest, the sexiest, and kindest man I could’ve picked to take my virginity. Travis reaches for the door knob and I blurt. “I wish I still had my cherry.”
“Say what?” He spins back to me.
“If I were a virgin, we could do that all over again.”
