The Cowboy's Summer Love (5 page)

Tess leaned around Travis to shoot her brother a glare that would have seared most men into cinders. Brice looked at her with a devilish grin. “Can’t fight the truth, Tessie.”

Giving him another hard glare, she returned her attention to the arena. There were just a couple of events before the bull riding would begin and the arena lights kicked on.

Travis grabbed the cup from her hand and took another long drink before handing it back to her. “Guess I better go, it’s almost show time.”

As he turned to leave, Tess grasped his hand in hers, ignoring the electricity dancing up her arm. “Please be careful, Travis. We’ll be cheering for you.”

“Thanks, Tessa. I’ll be watching for you to wave at me,” he said with a heart-stopping grin before running down the bleacher steps and disappearing behind the chutes.

Although it was late May, the evening air still held a chill making Tess wish she had a sweater or jacket. She was cool enough when Travis was sitting beside her with his arm around her. When he stood to leave, the cold seeped into her and nearly made her teeth chatter. Wrapping her arms around herself, she didn’t know how she was going to manage to stay warm long enough to watch the bull riding.

Brice looked over and noticed her discomfort. Sliding close, he put his arm around her and pulled her against his side.

“You might not like cozying up to your little brother as much as you do Travis, but I bet I can at least help you stay warm,” Brice teased.

“Thanks, BB,” Tess said, using her childhood nickname for him. “I appreciate it. If I’d known we’d be out after dark, I would have brought along a sweater.”

“Sorry. I promise next time I plan to kidnap you, I’ll give you plenty of advance warning,” Brice said with a laugh.

“Good. I promise the next time you kidnap me, to only complain half as long and enjoy it twice as much,” Tess said smiling. “I really have enjoyed this evening. Thank you for bringing me.”

“Anytime, Tess,” Brice said. “Unless of course I find a hot date, then you are on your own for filling up your social calendar.”

“I guess I don’t have a thing to worry about,” Tess said with a playful smile. “You do realize as close as we’re sitting any girl that might have been interested in you will assume you’ve already got a date?”

Brice sat up and looked around to see if anyone was watching them. “I think the coast is clear. Besides, you’ll just make them jealous in that bright pink outfit of yours. Not everyone could carry it off, you know.”

“Right,” Tess said, thinking again what a spectacle she had to make in the scrubs.

The announcer got the crowd excited as the bull riding began. Travis was next to the last to ride and true to his word he looked Tess’ direction when he came out of the shoot. She waved at him with a warm smile as she and Brice cheered him on. He rode for the full eight seconds but when he dismounted, the bull turned and knocked him flat on his back, then got in a good kick to his leg before the clowns drew him away.

Tess screamed his name as she and Brice plowed out of the bleachers toward the arena.

Travis’ blood began pumping as he sat on the bull waiting for the chute to open. He could feel the bull shift beneath him and kept up a steady conversation with the animal under his breath, letting him know he planned to ride him for the full time. He didn’t care if he won or lost the event, but he wanted to master the challenge of staying on. That was part of what gave him a rush.

When the gate swung open, he shot his gaze up to the stands where he knew Tess and Brice were sitting. The smile she gave him flew straight to his heart. Travis felt like he could do anything and focused on riding the bull, shifting his attention away from the girl he loved to the animal he would conquer. As the buzzer rang, he knew he’d made it, loosened his grip, and slid off the side of the bull. Thinking he was in the clear, he turned to look at Tess and the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back with his right thigh feeling like it had been through a meat grinder.

With the breath knocked out of him, all he could do was lie in the arena dust and wait for air to find its way back into his lungs. Before that happened, he sensed Tess next to him, could smell her wonderful citrusy scent, felt her hand soft and gentle on his cheek.

“Trav, can you hear me? Travis? Where’s it hurt? Can you move?” Tess asked, her voice heavy with fear and concern.

Brice knelt next to her, holding Travis’ hat that had flown off his head when the bull knocked him down.

Now that he could breathe, Travis took a moment to assess the damage. He had feeling in his hands and he could wiggle his toes in his boots, although his right leg was killing him. His chest was a little tender where the bull hit him, but nothing felt broken. Opening his eyes, he looked into Tess’s face and watched tears fill her eyes and run down her cheeks.

“I told you to be careful,” she whispered. “Can’t you ever listen to me?”

“Nope,” he said, forcing a smile through the pain searing up from his leg. Afraid to look down and see if bone was sticking out, he made himself glance. His jeans weren’t even torn and a hand to his thigh confirmed that no blood was pouring from a gaping wound.

By this time, the medics arrived and asked Travis a few questions. Deciding to see if he could walk, they helped him to his feet and the crowd clapped and cheered. Leaning his weight on Brice and another guy, they helped him shuffle out of the arena to the medical tent. Tess followed along behind, carrying Travis’ hat.

“Let’s take a look at that leg,” the medic said, motioning Travis to sit on a table. “Take off your chinks, pull down your jeans and let’s see what you’ve got.”

Travis took a look at Tess and glanced back at the medic, shaking his head.  Brice watched Travis and turned Tess around. As she stood staring out into the darkness, she was surprised that Travis would be that modest around her and appreciated the fact. After the number of patients she’d seen in their skivvies, Tess didn’t think a whole lot about it, but realized seeing Travis without his pants would be something else entirely.

“Looks to me like you’re gonna have a bruise the size of a small watermelon, but I don’t think anything is broken. You might want to do a little therapy on that leg to keep it from tightening up on you. Put some ice on it to keep the swelling down. You should be fine in no time,” the medic said, noticing for the first time that Tess was wearing scrubs.

“Are you a nurse, ma’am?” the medic asked Tess.

“No,” she said, continuing to keep her back to Travis. “Physical therapist.”

“Oh, that’s great. You want to take a look at this and see what you think?”

Tess took a deep breath and turned to find Travis sitting on the table with a very red face, his pants down to his knees and his hands holding the tails of his shirt as far down in front of him as they would go. Forcing herself to stay in professional mode, she surveyed his thigh which was red, hot and swollen. Touching it gently, she worked her fingers around the area. She could make out the distinctive imprint of a hoof and thought Travis was quite fortunate to not have anything broken. The muscles in his leg had probably helped protect the bone. The medic was correct in that ice and rest would be the best thing for the injury. Travis might feel the muscle knot up and get tight so some stretching exercises would help with that. He was going to have one impressive bruise when it reached full color.

She felt her professionalism fly right out the tent as she admired the muscles in his thighs and the firmness of his skin. Travis was one fine specimen of the male species. Glancing up at him, she saw the misery in his eyes along with something else she couldn’t quite define.

“I believe your diagnosis is quite accurate. He will probably need to do a little stretching to keep from getting muscle cramps, but he should heal up just fine. Do you have anything you can give him for the pain, though, to get him home? It’s a good two-hour drive from here and I don’t even have any ibuprofen on me.”

A couple of pain pills were produced along with a cup of water which Travis took reluctantly. Brice went to gather up Travis’ gear while Tess took his pickup keys and found his truck, driving it close to the medic tent. Brice returned with the gear and a bag full of ice.

Travis had his jeans back on by the time Tess and Brice came to help him to the pickup. Expecting to drive himself home, Brice helped him slide in the passenger side and handed him the ice.

“Thought you’d like to know, you won the bull-riding event,” Brice said, helping Travis wrap the ice in an old T-shirt he found on the backseat.

“That’s awesome,” Travis said through clenched teeth. The painkillers hadn’t quite kicked into full effect yet and his thigh was throbbing. “Good to know this wasn’t in vain, then.”

Travis heard Tess release an exasperated sigh as she climbed behind the steering wheel.

“You’re such an idiot,” she said, starting the truck and buckling her seat belt.

“What are you doing?” Travis asked, trying to swallow down the pain.

“Driving you home, what does it look like?” Tess said, waving at Brice as he closed Travis’ door and walked back to his pickup.

“Oh,” Travis said, leaning his head against the seat and fighting a wave of nausea. It was going to be a very long ride back to the Triple T.

Tess watched Travis turned from pale white to green. Sweat broke out on his upper lip and his skin looked clammy while he locked the muscles in his jaw. She knew injuries often caused nausea and quickly took the bag of ice from Travis, pulling a few pieces out and ordering him to suck on them. Unfastening her seat belt, she leaned across the seat, repositioning the ice before snagging her purse and running back toward the arena.

Tess soon returned with two big cups, one of Dr. Pepper to keep her awake and the other with Sprite to help settle Travis’ stomach.

Heading out on the road toward home, Tess tried to keep Travis’ mind off his throbbing leg and told him stories about some of the funny things that happened to her when she was in college and living in Portland. At one point she thought he’d fallen asleep but when she stopped talking, he reached out a hand and squeezed hers.

“Keep talking, please. It helps,” he said quietly. Tess turned to look at him, seeing him not as daredevil Travis, not as a cowboy or a race car driver or even an annoying pest from her past. She simply saw him as a friend who needed her very much right at that moment in time.

“Sure, Trav, no problem,” Tess said, placing her hand on his arm.

Travis thought he would die of embarrassment when the medic told him to drop his pants in front of Tess. When she actually turned around and examined his leg, he simultaneously wished he could crawl in a hole and that the moment would never end. The feel of her fingers on his thigh was something he’d never forget. Smooth and soft, each touch seared his already hot skin. If he hadn’t been in such excruciating pain, goodness only knows what he might have done.

When he almost threw up, he knew he’d never live that down, but thankfully she came to the rescue with the ice and pop, helping him keep what little was left of his dignity intact.

Although she didn’t complain, Travis felt guilty about the fact it was close to midnight and Tess was driving him home instead of being in her own bed asleep. She worked hard all day and needed her rest.

Not quite ready to face the demons that were driving him to the brink of disaster, Travis knew he needed to deal with them instead of choosing to keep them at bay by doing things that were risky and dangerous. Now he was dragging his friends into the fracas and that didn’t set well with him.

If he hadn’t turned his back on the bull to look at Tess, he probably would have walked out of the arena without incident. As it was, it was his fault for not keeping focused on the bull and letting his thoughts go to the pretty girl beaming at him from the bleachers.

Travis sighed and closed his eyes. He had to keep better control.

Pulling up at the back door of the Triple T just a few minutes past midnight, Brice was right behind Tess. Between the two of them, they helped Travis up the steps and in the back door. By the time they were in the kitchen, Trent was awake with the lights on.

Shaking his head, he and Brice helped Travis to his room. Brice soon returned and Tess left Travis’ keys on the counter. Quietly shutting the door behind them, Tess knew she and Brice would stop to check in on their friend tomorrow. Hopefully, he’d still be alive after his two brothers finished verbally working him over.

Chapter Three

Love is shown in your deeds, not in your words.

Fr. Jerome Cummings

Travis needed to get out of bed and face the music. Although Trent said very little when Tess and Brice helped drag him in last night, he knew both his brothers would let him have it this morning.

Trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible, he instead kept his eyes closed and remembered the scent of Tess as she leaned near him, the way her fingers gently kneaded his leg, how right it felt to have his arm around her shoulders. Lying there in bed, he wished for the millionth time that Tess would see him as a man who loved her instead of another brother.