The Cowboy's Summer Love (6 page)

Stretching, he could feel a hot tightness in his thigh. While it still throbbed and ached, it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it had the night before. His chest and ribs were tender from the bull ramming into him, but other than that, he felt pretty good.

He was just giving himself a mental pep talk to get out of bed when he felt the mattress dip and heard rustling. Opening his eyes, he looked into Cass’ little face just inches from his own. She put her tiny hands on his cheeks and patted them.

“Hi, Uncle Travis! Mama said not to wake you up, but I saw you stretching and stretching, so I decided you were awaked. Uncle Trent said you got hurt. Are you okay? Can I get you a Band-Aid?”

Travis put his arms around the little girl and gave her a hug before kissing her rosy cheek.

“I’m fine, kiddo, but thank you for checking on me. Why don’t you go tell your mom that I’ll be out for breakfast in just a minute?”

“Okay,” Cass said, jumping off the bed and racing out the door.

Travis forced himself to get up and take a shower. The water hitting his thigh made him wince, so he hurried through his morning routine, not bothering to shave. Getting out, he dressed in a T-shirt and pair of shorts, limping down the hall of the big ranch house toward the combination kitchen and dining area.

Trey and Trent were still sitting at the table even though the five ranch hands were already fed and out the door. Cady was sipping a cup of tea and Cass had disappeared.

Since it was a school day, Travis knew Cass would be in her room brushing her teeth and getting ready for school.

As he shuffled toward the table, Cady got up and retrieved a glass of orange juice along with a plate of waffles, sausages and eggs fried just the way he liked them. He gave her an appreciative nod and mouthed “thank you” as she set the glass and plate in front of him.

Bowing his head he offered a quick prayer of thanks for the meal then turned to face his two brothers, making note of their matching scowls.

“Morning,” he said, taking a bite of sausage.

“Morning? That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself is ‘morning?’” Trey asked as the vein in his neck started to throb. “The Morgans have to drag your sorry backside home in the middle of the night and all you can say is ‘morning?’”

Before Travis could answer Cass ran back in the room.

“Let’s get you to school, sweetie-pie,” Cady said, taking Cass’ hand and leading her out the back door.  As much as she wanted to stay and referee the fight that would surely take place in the next few minutes, she decided whatever was going on between the three brothers needed to be settled without anyone else interfering.

Travis continued eating his breakfast while Cass and Cady left. When they were gone, he set down his fork and looked at Trey.

“What do you want me to say? That I did something foolish and got hurt? That I should listen to you? That you, Trey Thompson, are the knower of all things and never do anything you shouldn’t? You’re not my father, Trey. You aren’t quite big enough to fill those boots, so just back off.”

Travis watched his words cut into his brother like knife wounds. Instead of yelling at him, which is what Travis wanted him to do, Trey sat looking at him with pain and regret in his eyes. Finally, Trey scrubbed a hand over his face and let out the breath he was holding.

“I never tried to be a father to you, Travis. No one could take Dad’s place, ever. I tried to be a good brother to you, though, and set a good example. To be your friend. I guess I didn’t try hard enough,” Trey said, looking like he had truly failed his little brother.

Travis sat back, surprised at Trey’s words. The reason he resented Trey when their dad died was because he had set a good example, he had been a good brother and friend to him.

 He wanted Trey and Trent to fall apart as much as he had when their father passed away. Instead, they seemed to gain an inner strength that helped them do what needed to be done and carry on. They left behind their professional dreams, returned to the ranch, and never looked back.

“It isn’t you, Trey. I’m sorry,” Travis said, quietly, filled with remorse for his outburst. Looking down at his half-eaten breakfast he knew he was behaving like a spoiled child, not a grown man. “I don’t know what it is, exactly, and I don’t think I can even explain it right now, but I am sorry. You’ve always been a good brother and a good friend.”

“Trav, let us get you some help. You don’t have to keep trying to get through whatever is bugging you alone,” Trent said, leaning across the table. “We want to understand and help you, but if you keep going down this road you’re traveling, the day will come when it’s too late.”

“I know,” Travis said with a sigh. “I’m not quite ready yet. Can you please give me a little more time?”

“But Trav…” Trent started to say, until he was interrupted by Trey.

“Sure, bro. We can give you all the time you need, but could you please try to let us in a little. We’ve all been worried about you and when you disappear without telling anyone where you’re going or what you’re doing, we worry even more. It helps to at least know where to come collect the broken pieces if it comes to that. I hope you realize you’re going to give my wife worry lines and gray hair way before her time.”

Travis looked up to see a faint smile teasing the corners of Trey’s mouth.

“Thanks,” Travis said, looking at his brothers with gratitude for their understanding and patience with him. “I’ll try to keep you more informed.”

“Good,” Trey said, standing up from the table. “Now, let’s see this bruise you got. Trent said it was a doozy.”

Travis showed his brothers the bruise, already gaining dark mottled color, that looked to be the size of a cantaloupe. Trey whistled and Trent looked at it intently, recognizing the imprint of a hoof in the middle of the discolored skin.

“Was it worth it?” Trent asked.

“I don’t know,” Travis said, rubbing his chest where it felt tender. “But I did place first.”

“Of course you did,” Trey said, giving him a playful slap on the back. “You always did like to win.”

Finishing his breakfast, Trey and Trent sat with Travis and they discussed what needed to be done that day. It was agreed that Travis would stay inside and let his leg rest, so Trey asked him to work on their ranch records and do some of the paperwork he generally took care of in the evenings. Travis didn’t know how well he’d like sitting inside behind a desk all day, but decided to be accommodating since Trey and Trent went easy on him this morning.

Travis caught up all the paperwork, took a nap and iced his leg until he thought he might have frostbite. Cady brought him several treats throughout the day and pampered him as much as he’d let her. He could see why Trey had fallen fast and hard for the dark-haired beauty.

As she started dinner preparations, Travis sat at the counter cutting up vegetables for a green salad while she made manicotti.

From what he knew, Cady was engaged to a jerk that ran off with his secretary a week before the wedding. They worked at the same law office in Seattle, so Cady packed her bags and came to Grass Valley to live with her Aunt Vivian, owner of the local café, until she decided what to do with her life. With some training as a chef, Viv thought Cady would be a great fit at the diner until she discovered the one skill Cady lacked was waitressing.

When she accidentally dumped a glass of ice water on Trey, it was love at first sight. Trey hired Cady to be the housekeeper and cook at the Triple T. Four months later they were married and adopted Cass.

Travis, for one, was glad his brother had sense enough to marry the sweet woman. She was big-hearted, soft-spoken and the best cook he’d ever had the pleasure of knowing. When he first returned home from the service, Cady had gone out of her way to make him treats he missed. The first night he was back, he accidentally crawled into her bed, giving her quite a scare. Instead of getting mad, she got up and made him a snack. He knew right then Trey had found a keeper.

“So, Cady, Trent said you and Trey are going to join us for the whitewater rafting trip. Are you excited?” Travis asked, slicing tomatoes.

“Excited as in scared, frightened, and hoping I don’t die?” Cady asked with a teasing smile. “Then yes.”

Travis laughed. “I meant excited as in looking forward to it and planning to have fun.”

“Oh, then not so much,” Cady said, rolling bread dough into sticks.

“You know we won’t let anything happen to you, so why the worry?” Travis stopped his slicing and looked at her.

“I know. Those rapids just look huge and dangerous, though.”

“The part of the river we’ll be on, they even let kids raft down. I personally promise we’ll get you safely to the end,” Travis said, holding up one hand to make a solemn vow.

“Okay, I’m holding you to it,” Cady grinned as she started whipping a bowl full of heavy cream. “I know Trent and Lindsay are going and Ben and Brice. Did you talk Tess into going?”

Travis felt a little heat climb up his neck at the mention of Tess.

“Brice and I tried. She seems reluctant to go.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Cady said, shooting Travis a sassy grin. “Especially when it means she’d be squashed between you and her two brothers the entire trip.”

“We wouldn’t squash her,” Travis said, suddenly very intent on chopping olives for the salad.

Cady finished whipping the cream, then leaned across the counter, putting a hand on his arm. “I think you have a thing for Tess, don’t you?”

Travis didn’t say anything for a moment, just studied his sister-in-law’s face, looking into her kind hazel eyes.

“Maybe,” Travis finally agreed. “But please keep that to yourself. Tess has always looked at me like one more brother and I don’t think that is ever going to change. No matter how much I want it to.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Cady said with a laugh. “You Thompson men are all so thick!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Travis asked, not quite sure what Cady was telling him.

“Ask your brother,” she said, returning to dinner preparations.

“Which one?”

“Either. They both suffer from the same malady.”

Travis and Cady kept up a friendly banter until dinner was ready. He rang the triangle letting everyone know it was time for dinner while Cady finished setting the table.

The ranch hands came in along with Trent, Trey and Cass, who was jabbering about getting to go for a ride with Trey to check on the cows. They were just sitting down to eat when a knock sounded at the back door and Brice and Tess stuck their heads in the kitchen.

“Hey, come on in,” Trey called to them as they walked in the room. “Want to join us for dinner?”

“No, we didn’t mean to intrude,” Tess said, looking uncomfortable. “We just wanted to see how Travis was doing?”

“Great,” Travis said, standing up to greet them both. Trent got up and gathered two more plates while Cady poured two more glasses of iced tea.  “You’re here so you might as well join us for dinner.”

“You won’t get any argument from me,” Brice said, washing up at the sink and sliding into a seat next to Cass.

Tess washed her hands then took the seat Travis held out for her next to his own chair. She nodded her head in thanks as she sat down.

Trent asked the blessing on the meal. Between bites of the delicious food, they discussed the weather, the end of school picnic and when the next cutting of hay would be ready to put down.

“Where’s Lindsay?” Trey asked, noticing for the first time that the pretty blond-headed school teacher was absent from the table. She usually ate dinner with them, especially since Trent proposed a few weeks ago.

“She had a lot of stuff to get ready for the picnic tomorrow and wanted to finish it tonight. I told her I’d bring her a plate later,” Trent said.

Trey nodded and turned the conversation to the construction project Brice was working on. Eventually, one of the hands asked Tess about her job.

“I’ve never been to a physical therapist, Miss Tess. What do you do?” asked Henry, the oldest of the Triple T hands. He had been on the ranch for as long as any of the Thompson boys could remember.

“I help people with their ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability through individualized treatment plans,” Tess explained.

“In other words, she likes to make people suffer,” Brice said with a wicked grin.

Tess shot him a glare across the table and shook her head.

“Do you do all your work at the hospital?” Tommy, the youngest of the five ranch hands asked.

“No. The position I have in The Dalles is somewhat unique. Some days I may do acute care, which is hospital care, other days I may do some outpatient rehabilitation at the physical therapy office and then I also do home care for those who aren’t able to travel for outpatient care,” Tess said, warming to the topic. “Normally, a therapist would focus on just one area. When I worked in Portland, all my work was in outpatient care. I enjoy the combination in my job here. It keeps things from getting boring.”

“So you really make house calls?” Danny, the best looking of the hired men and a known womanizer asked, looking over Tess. He generally preferred petite girls, but anyone pretty was generally fair game to him. His intent perusal of Tess didn’t go unnoticed.