Free Unbridled (Unlikely Lovers) by Cheryl Brooks

hadn’t. Not really. She’d said she wanted him to be happy—and he knew exactly what it would take to make that happen. Christina had nothing to do with it.
    When the last stragglers left, Tracy and Travis stayed behind to help with the cleanup. He’d made up his mind he would leave when Tracy did. That way he wouldn’t be alone with Miranda again. Barring a call to Alan for support, that was the best strategy.
    What he hadn’t counted on was that Tracy would sneak out ahead of him. Travis had finished wiping off the kitchen table when he heard the front door close.
    “That’s it for another year,” Miranda announced as she returned to the kitchen. “I’m beat. I’m sure you are too.” She handed him his coat—obviously ready for the party to be over.
    “I wanted to tell you, I asked Christina out.”
    “And…?”
    “She said yes.”
    “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
    “It’s never hard to ask someone out the first time. It’s the follow -up dates that are tough.”
    She nodded, stifling a yawn. “Yeah. The whole ‘Do I invest more time in this relationship or not?’ thing.”
    “That’s right. I guess I’d better get going. Thanks for the invitation.”
    “Thanks for coming.”
    Travis knew he shouldn’t do it, but when she walked him to the door, it was the most natural thing in the world to turn and give her a hug. He probably squeezed her too hard and held her too long, but she felt so good in his arms, he couldn’t help it. At least he hadn’t done anything really stupid. Like kissing her until her knees buckled. 
     
    Miranda watched him go, waving as he backed his truck out of the driveway. Travis had done exactly what she’d hoped he would do, which meant it was only a matter of time before he and Christina fell in love and set a wedding date. They’d live happily ever after, and Miranda wouldn’t have to wonder when he was ever going to realize how much he meant to her. Everything was falling neatly into place. She should be happy.
    So why was she crying?

 
    Ch apter 8
     
    Christmas came and went, and Miranda saw the New Year in with Lola and Peggy in the ICU, sharing a cup of sparkling grape juice with her only alert patient. After that, she found herself looking bleakly forward to another year without Kris and now, without Travis. He’d taken Christina out a few times and reported that things were going pretty well. At least, that was his side of the story. A bit later, she heard Christina’s version, which was quite different. Travis had promised to keep his mouth shut and quit complaining. Christina had no such qualms. 
    “He’s boring,” she announced when Miranda met her for lunch. “He doesn’t like anything I like, and I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore.”
    “Boring?” Miranda didn’t get bored when all she could do was look at him. Christina was either completely nuts, or all the time she’d spent with the criminal element had skewed her perspective. “He’s never seemed boring to me.”
    Christina gave her shoulders a haughty shrug. “You’ve never dated him. He doesn’t know anything about the law and doesn’t even watch any legal shows on TV. I couldn’t talk to him about anything.”
    “Not even the weather or politics or having babies?” Where did that one come from? Christina had never said anything about wanting children—at least not that Miranda could recall.
    “Oh, sure, I could talk about those kinds of things.” She paused, frowning. “Except the having babies part. He simply doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a lawyer.”
    “Who could possibly know that except another lawyer? I don’t expect anyone to understand what it’s like to be a nurse. No one would believe half of it, anyway. It’s one of those things you have to experience firsthand.”
    “You at least like horses, so you’d have that much in common.” She flipped open her menu and began reading, avoiding Miranda’s gaze entirely. “I