Free A Winter Sabbatical (Books We Love holiday romance) by Cheryl Wright Page A

she’ll
tell me if she wants me to know.” Travis let out a long sigh.
    Shock tactics, that’s what he’d use. “We’re
sleeping together, you know.” There. That ought to do it. “Aw, come on! She
won’t tell me a damned thing. If this Jeremy what’s-his-name has done something
to her, don’t you think I ... You don’t? Damn you,
Kershaw.” This was exasperating, infuriating. If Daniel wouldn’t tell him, how
the hell could he find out?
    “This is all your fault, after all.” Well it was. Daniel had moved overseas and offered Marissa
the house. It was worth a try. “What do you mean it’s not? Of course it is.” He
sighed again, knowing he was grasping at straws. “Apart from Marissa, yeah,
everything’s just dandy.”
    They talked about Daniel’s assignment, his
family, Travis’ family, and finally after there was nothing left to talk about,
Travis replaced the receiver, feeling as though he’d wasted both his time and
Daniel’s.

 
    ***

 
    The knock at the door disturbed him.
    Not that Travis had done much in the way of
work. Marissa had conjured up all kinds of excuses not to see him. The morning after, that was the last time he’d laid eyes on her.
    And that was nearly a week ago.
    The courier stood looking at him. He wasn’t
expecting anything. What could it be? There was only one way to find out, and
that was to open the darned thing.
    Travis signed the confirmation sheet, and
looked the envelope over. No indication of where it was from.
    Becoming impatient with himself, Travis
tore the envelope open, pulling out the pink stationery inside. His heart
skipped a beat. If it were business, it wouldn’t be on pink stationery.
    He put the paper to his face, and his heart
skipped a beat.
    It smelled of Marissa.
    She needed some space it said. Going away for a few days, maybe longer. She apologized for
any inconvenience she’d cause.
    Inconvenience? Dammit, Marissa! Inconvenience?
    He could put a few other names to it. Try
heartbreak for starters, or maybe excruciating pain.
    What
the hell was she playing at? Had she left him?
    No,
that’s not what she’d said. Take a deep breath, and read the letter again.
    Travis sat down, trying not to panic, and
carefully re-read Marissa’s letter. She needed some space. That much he’d gotten before.
    She’d wrangled an
assignment and would be back as soon as she sorted herself out.
    There.
She was coming back – nothing to worry about.
    If he told himself often enough, he might
just believe it.

 
    ***

 
    It had been days, nearly a week, since
Marissa had left and still Travis had heard nothing.
    What could he do? He had no way of tracing
her. He’d just have to sit and wait. But that wasn’t his style.
    Travis couldn’t work. He couldn’t sleep. He
couldn’t live without Marissa. He had to
know she was all right.
    He had to do something. Anything.
    He drove around and around, going nowhere,
achieving nothing.
    It was nearly two a.m. Travis found himself
outside Marissa’s house. How had he gotten there? He certainly hadn’t planned
it.
    He sat in the driveway with the engine
running and the headlights on. Finally he switched them both off. He leaned his
head down on the steering wheel, thinking.
    Where
the hell is she?
    Travis lifted his head. He had the
strangest feeling; the feeling of being watched.
    He looked around. Nothing. No one. The house was in darkness. Of course it was,
he reminded himself, Marissa hadn’t been there for days.
    Travis climbed out of the car and stretched
his legs. He’d been driving for hours, and his legs were stiff and sore.
    He wandered casually around the house. What
he hoped to find, he didn’t know. He felt comforted just being there, God only
knew why – because he sure as hell didn’t!
    Travis heard his own indrawn breath, as a
flock of birds suddenly flew skywards, disturbed by his movement.
    He continued to walk around aimlessly.
Marissa was part of his life now – part of him. All he needed