He was right on her heels.
She hurried from the barn and across the yard. She didn't stop until she was through the door and in the kitchen. She had been outside in the heat for well over an hour and stopped at the sink for a glass of water.
The door clicked shut, and she knew he was in the kitchen, watching her. She looked out of the window over the sink and drank the water.
Finally he spoke. "I'm starving. I want food."
Selena thought he sounded like a caveman. I want this. I want that. Do this. Don't do that. She expected to be clobbered over the head with a club at any moment.
Her face broke into a smile at the thought.
"What the hell is so funny?" Tension radiated from his voice.
"Nothing." She moved to the microwave oven and set the timer for two minutes and pressed the button to heat up the leftovers for his lunch.
Travis watched her delicate little back. She purposely didn't turn to face him. He wanted to see her eyes. He decided to turn her attention.
"Do you like the skunks?"
That was all it took. She swirled around and her face lit up. " Si, Travis. Y-yes. They are wonderful."
Happiness exploded from her. Her eyes flashed and twin dimples popped out on her cheeks. Travis wanted to reach out and touch her so bad he could taste it. He was fairly salivating; he wanted it so badly.
"I picked them up because of you, you know." The minute the words left his mouth, he was appalled he had said them.
Her eyes widened. "R-really? For me?" Her words were a breathless whisper.
He decided to go with it. Hell, it was the truth. "Sure. I don't need any damn skunks.
I thought you might enjoy watching them. I heard about this old farmer years ago, up in the Panhandle, who raised a couple of baby skunks. I knew that the mama cat would probably accept them. She was nursing her babies, anyway. So I picked the damn things up."
He came to a sudden halt when the timer on the microwave started beeping.
A soft, extremely feminine look crossed her features. "Thank you, Travis. It m-means a lot th-that you think of me for this." In her confusion, her words got tangled up. She watched him for several beats of her heart, then quickly turned to the microwave.
His chair scraped back, and she put the leftovers in front of him. She turned to the refrigerator to pour him a large glass of iced tea, and he asked, "Who told you about them?"
She put the drink in front of him and stood beside his chair. "Juan. He took me to the old barn."
Travis swallowed a large bite and took a drink of tea. "Yeah, well, he stole my thunder. I wanted to show them to you."
He sounded like a little boy who hadn't gotten what he wanted. Pleasure speared through Selena, and she leaned over and gently kissed his cheek, then moved away to the door leading to the living room. "Thank you, Travis." Her heart was in her eyes as she turned and left the room.
****
The next day, Travis never came in for lunch. Selena left the house to go check on the kittens and skunks and saw Gus on her way back. She asked him if he knew where Travis was, and the gruff cowboy told her that he was at the south farm, working on an irrigation leak. It was almost three o'clock and Selena was concerned that he hadn't eaten. She said as much, and Gus offered to drive her there with his lunch.
Selena agreed and ran to the house to pack up the sandwiches and a water bottle.
She met Gus around the front and jumped up into the old farm truck. The drive wasn't as quick as she anticipated. They seemed to travel over miles of dirt roads and terraces. It was almost June, and the ranch was an explosion of color. The dirt was red, newly tilled, a multitude of wildflowers grew all over the pastures, and the leaves on the trees scattered about were a bright, deep green. The horizon was dotted with black, moving figures that Gus pointed out as the Black Angus herd.
Everything looked vibrant and alive.
Selena soaked in the beauty around her.
Finally, the truck pulled up and Selena saw a horse grazing and Travis nearby, bent over, his naked back glistening in the sun. He looked up when he saw the truck pull up. A scowl crossed his face when Gus and Selena got out of the truck.
They walked over to him. Travis ignored Selena and turned to Gus. "What's up?