Unbridled (Unlikely Lovers) (29 page)

“Good. I’m not going to hit Tabitha. Even if she
won’t
marry me.” With that, he snatched up the remaining feed buckets and stomped out of the tackroom.

Travis stared after Miranda’s son with
increasing admiration. Every time he talked to the kid, his respect for him doubled—along with his appreciation of Miranda’s parenting skills.

His gut told him that
Tabitha would be very fortunate to have Levi as a husband.

Now, if only
he
could be as lucky when it came to having Miranda as a wife.

* * * *

“Oh, Mom, these are so, so,
so
delic-i-ous!” Levi exclaimed as he dug into a plateful of chicken nuggets. “You are
such
a good cook! Mm, mm,
mm
!”

Travis did his best not to
smile, but lost it when Miranda giggled hard enough to trigger a coughing fit. He was considering the Heimlich maneuver when she finally recovered.

“Thanks, Levi,” she said between giggles. “I’m glad you like them.”

Levi’s own laugh was a wonderful, deep-throated chuckle. He held up a hand. “Okay, okay. You may stop laughing now.”

“I’m trying.
” Miranda gasped, clutching her side as she succumbed to another peal of helpless laughter.

Sure
as hell beats watching her cry.

Levi grinned at his mother before turning his attention to Travis. “I need you to teach me how to kiss a girl.”

Travis had already swallowed the sip of tea he’d just taken or he would’ve spewed it all over the table. “You want me to
what
?”

“Teach me how to kiss a girl,” Levi said with a
trace of asperity. “Didn’t you
hear
me?”

“Yeah, I heard you. I just
couldn’t believe you asked me that.”

“Why not? You’ve kissed girls before, haven’t you?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Then show me how.”

Since Miranda looked like she was about to rupture something in her effort to control her mirth, Travis thought it best to postpone the kissing lessons. “Maybe we should finish dinner first.”

“Okay. After dinner then.” Levi
resumed his attack on the chicken nuggets without further comment.

Meeting
Miranda’s eyes across the table, Travis suspected she wouldn’t be able to stop laughing long enough for a decent kiss, particularly with her son watching. “Then again, maybe I should
tell
you how to do it, instead of showing you.”

Levi looked up expectantly. “Okay. How do you do it?”

Now that he’d put himself on the spot, Travis had absolutely no idea how to explain the actual procedure. “That’s a pretty tough question, Levi. Kissing is one of those things you do without thinking.”

“
Levi’s always asking hard questions,” Miranda said. “Like the meaning of abstract words that are almost impossible to define—concepts and ideas, rather than concrete terms.”

Travis laughed. “
You mean like ‘abstract’?”

“Yeah.
Try explaining that one.”

“I can’t,” he said. “It’s too abstract.”

“See what I mean?”

“What are you two talking about?”
Levi demanded. “I just want to know how to kiss Tabitha.”

“
Okay, Levi,” Travis said. “It’s like this. You put your arms around her, lean in real close, and gaze deeply into her eyes. If she doesn’t back away, you get closer and closer until your lips touch. Then you close your eyes, open your mouth just a little, and start kissing her. If she
really
likes you, you can try sliding your tongue into her mouth, but don’t do that right away.”

A snicker from Miranda reminded him that he’d followed up at least two kisses—one she remembered and another one she didn’t—by putting his penis in her mouth.
Levi obviously needed to take things more slowly.

Levi grimaced.
“I don’t think I want to put my tongue in her mouth. That’s kinda gross.”

“
Like I said, it’s something you work up to. You might ask her how she likes it and do it that way.”

“Good idea
! I’ll ask her.” He paused for a moment. “If I kiss her the right way, will that make her want to marry me?”

“
Maybe not.” Travis winked at Miranda. “But it’s a good start.”

Chapter 29

Travis followed up his instructions on how to kiss a girl with a suggestion that only added to Miranda’s worries.

“
You need to take Tabitha out on a date.”

“Good idea,” Levi
agreed. “I could take her out to dinner.”

“
Where do you think she’d like to go?” Travis asked.

Miranda
picked up Levi’s empty plate. “Bet I can guess where
he’d
like to go.”

Travis shrugged.
“Pizza Hut?”

“Nope.
We only get pizza as a carryout.” She glanced at her son. “Chinese, right?”

“Of course
!” Levi replied. “I
love
dumplings, fried shrimp, and crab Rangoons.”

“Does Tabitha like Chinese food?”
Travis asked.

Levi frowned. “I’m not sure…
”

“
You know, Levi,” Travis began. “If you’re going to impress a lady, you have to take her where
she
wants to go, not just the places
you
like.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“I’ll ask
her,” Levi said. “But there’s lots of places I’m not very good at driving to.”

“He hasn’t had
much experience driving into Pemberton,” Miranda explained. “The store where he works is on the outskirts of town.”

Travis nodded.
“Tell you what, Levi. You ask Tabitha where she’d like to go, and I’ll help you practice getting there.”

Travis obviously
meant well, but the thought of the two of them in a car together scared Miranda more than she cared to admit.

What if I lose both of them in an accident?

Letting Levi learn to drive had been difficult enough, and she still worried about him—especially when he had to go someplace he’d never been before. Fighting back a wave of anxiety, she began loading the dishwasher, trying to convince herself that her irrational fears were just that.
Irrational.

Levi
got up from the table. “I’ll go call her right now.”

Feeling numb all over,
Miranda watched him head off to his room. Picking up the skillet, she set it in the sink and turned on the water. She hadn’t realized how long she’d been standing there, staring out the window until she glanced down and saw that the skillet was already overflowing.

T
ravis came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “You’re awfully quiet. Is something wrong?”

“No, I just—well,
yeah.” She blew out a pent-up breath and shut off the faucet. “I never
have
gotten used to the idea of him driving in town. He knows his way around better than most people, but it still makes me nervous.”

“I figured that, which is
why I offered to coach him.”

She didn’t know whether to thank him or not.
“It’s been so hard to let go. It seems like only yesterday I was wondering if he’d ever graduate high school. The whole driving, job, and apartment thing happened almost overnight. Now, all of a sudden, he’s talking about dating and getting married. I’m not ready for that.”

“But
that’s what you wanted for him, isn’t it?”

“Yeah
.” She tossed the scrubber into the skillet and squirted it with detergent. “Guess I should’ve been more careful about what I wished for.”

“No.
You wished for exactly the right things. Levi’s a great guy, and Tabitha will be very lucky to have him.”

She closed her eyes
, shaking her head. “If only I knew more about her! I’ve only met her the one time, and she wasn’t here very long.”

“
Maybe we could go out on a double date sometime.”

“
That’s not a bad idea.” For a moment, Miranda wished she could see into the future—then she realized that if she’d known Kris would’ve died so young, she might not have married him, and Levi wouldn’t exist.

Scary thought.
“Although, come to think of it, we haven’t actually been on a date ourselves.”

Travis chuckled. “We did kinda skip that part.” Turning her around, he lifted her face to his with a knuckle under her chin. “So, how ’bout it, Miranda? Would you like to have dinner with me sometime? Chinese?
Or maybe Italian?”

“
Oh, God, no. I’m so sick of potstickers and pizza, I could scream.”

“Mexican?”

“Perfect.” Since Levi had never developed a taste for Mexican cuisine, Miranda didn’t get it very often. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Travis
obviously wanted more than a mere peck. Draping her arms over his shoulders, he pulled her into his embrace, the evidence of his growing desire pressed firmly against her stomach. Her anxiety evaporated, only to be replaced with the heat of passion as he captured her lips in a deep, bone-melting kiss. The instant he slid his hands down to cup her bottom, she realized they had an audience.

“Tabitha said yes,” Levi announced. “We’
re going on a date on Sunday night.”

“
That’s great,” Travis said, moving his hands to a more discreet position.

Miranda leaned into him,
her entire body shaking with silent giggles.

“And guess what?
She likes Chinese food too.” Levi arched an eyebrow. “Um, Travis…does Mom always laugh like that when you kiss her?”

“Sometimes, but usually not.”

“Are you sure you’re doing it right? I don’t think kisses are supposed to make girls laugh.”

Miranda
had almost regained control of her mirth when she made the mistake of glancing up at Travis, whose attempt to keep a straight face was enough to set her off again.

“I’m sure,” Travis replied.

“Yeah,
right
.”

Levi’s smirk was her undoing. Clutching her side, Miranda doubled over with helpless laugher. 

“Bet Tabitha doesn’t laugh when I kiss her.”

“I hope she doesn’
t,” Travis said. “You be sure and let us know how it goes.”

“I will
. I’m going to watch TV now. You two keep practicing.”

* * * *

Travis took Levi out for a drive on Saturday morning, and after several round trips to the Chinese restaurant, he was able to report that Levi should have no problems going solo.

“He’s already a good driver. Just needed a little practice.”

“Tabitha will be with him too. I can’t help wondering how the date will go. He’s not very talkative whenever we go out. He pretty much wolfs down a plateful of potstickers and fried shrimp, and he’s ready to go home.”

Travis grinned. “Yeah, well, you’re his mother, not his girlfriend.”

“True.”

“So, what are you up to
this afternoon?”

“I’m going to try to
get the lawn mower started and roll the yard. The grass is already getting green. It won’t be long before it needs cutting.”

“Sure you’re up to that?”

“Yeah, I did some work on the rose beds yesterday, and I tried
to start the trimmer. I changed the spark plug, which usually gets it going again, but no such luck. Anyway, I feel almost normal, until Levi makes me laugh my head off. I thought I was going to rupture something last night.”

“Me, too.”

She was a little surprised that Travis didn’t fuss at her for trying to start the trimmer, but all he did was offer to take a look at it.

After lunch, Miranda sent Levi out to scour the yard for fallen branches while
Travis laid the trimmer out on the table on the deck, dismantling it completely. She changed the oil and replaced the spark plug on the lawn tractor, only to discover that the battery was dead. After hooking it up to the battery charger, she went to check on Travis’s progress.

“Any luck
finding the problem?”

“A good cleaning and a f
ew adjustments should get it running again. It’s pretty clogged up.”

She rolled her eyes.
“I’m not surprised. I can do routine stuff, but I’m no mechanic. If I took it apart like that, I’d never get it back together.”

“
Sure you would. It’s not rocket science. All it takes is a little time.” He glanced up at her and winked. “Which is something you don’t have.”

“
No shit. That’s why I’m having such a hard time sitting still. There’s so much that needs doing.”

He dug a huge wad of oily debris
out of the trimmer. “Ever feel like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?”

“Constantly.
It’s even worse with Levi gone. He was a lot of help.” She heaved a sigh. “Wish I could stay off work another
two weeks. I might even get caught up.”

“
You know if there’s anything you need me to do, all you have to do is ask.”

Placing h
er hands on his shoulders, she leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Seems like half the time, I don’t even have to ask. Thanks for all your help.”

She was beginning to wonder how she’d ever managed without him
. It would be so easy to give up and let him do more. Unfortunately, she had an idea that if she ever started backing off on her chores, she’d lose the necessary strength and energy and never get it back. Case in point, she’d never been unable to get that trimmer started. Ever. Her only consolation was that Travis hadn’t been able to get it started, either.

“
When do you have to go back to work?” he asked.

“
Next Sunday night. Hopefully it’ll be peaceful. Lola and Dana have both promised to do any heavy lifting for me, and Lola is dying for me to come back. Sheila’s driving her nuts. I don’t work again until the following Friday, which is St. Patrick’s Day—unfortunately.”

Travis snickered.
“What’s the matter? Are you that fond of green beer?”

“
No, but a lot of other people are—too fond. We always get at least one drunk. It’s never fun.”

“
I don’t suppose it is,” he said. “How about if I come over Saturday morning and feed the ponies for you? Then you can tell me all about it.”

Quite often, Miranda had been
so exhausted that the mere thought of doing the barn chores made her want to lay down and cry. She didn’t, of course. She’d always put on her boots and done the work with the promise of her bed dangling before her like a carrot. Coming home and going straight to bed would seem like a vacation. There’d been no one there to listen to her vent since Levi moved out, and he hadn’t always understood what she was talking about anyway. Travis was bound to be a much more effective sounding board. “You’re gonna have me so
spoiled.”

“I’d spoil you a helluva lot more if you’d let me.
”

“Ah, yes, but as soon as I did, I’d get complacent and you’d disappear.”
Her flippant rejoinder stopped her cold.

I can’t believe I s
aid that.

Travis
looked up at her in surprise. “What are you talking about? I’m not going to disappear.”

“
That’s what Kris always said. But he did, and with my luck—”

“That’s
what this is all about? You’re afraid I’ll get killed?”

She shrugged. “
Hey, I’ve already lost one man.”

“Which means
your odds of losing another one are astronomical. I’m not going anywhere, Miranda. You can get that through your head right now.”

His words were like an echo of
what Lola had said when Miranda talked to her on the phone the day of her accident. She’d been so sure that Travis was sincere, but what did she know? What did
he
know, for that matter? What did anyone know? Her knees suddenly weak, she sat down heavily on the chair opposite him. “It could happen, Travis. You aren’t immortal.”

“
Neither are you. Anyone can have a fatal accident, but Kris was a Marine. His chances of dying were a lot greater than yours or mine to start with. Besides, you can’t live your life worrying about everything that might happen.”

“You’ve let your divorce keep you from marrying again. There’s no difference, really.”

“I never remarried because I never fell in love. Please, don’t let your fears come between you and a second shot at happiness—or mine, for that matter. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.” Taking her hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “I can make your life a whole lot easier too, and yet you still resist.”

“
But I’m such a–a
jinx
. I loved Kris, and he died. I had his child, but he wasn’t normal. I wouldn’t trade Levi for anyone, but Kris never really came to terms with his autism. In a way, I think he was relieved when I couldn’t get pregnant again. Like he didn’t want to take the risk.”