Free Attached (Coronado Series Book 3) by Lea Hart Page A

repairs on a car that has over 200,000 miles on it. You would be throwing away your money. I can try to make enough repairs to get you home, but that’s all I can do.”
    “I understand. I knew this day was coming. I just wanted to make one last road trip together.”
    Mort patted her arm in understanding. “I can give you $1500.00 for the car, and I’ll use it for parts.”
    “That’s very generous of you.” She heard a loud voice shout her name and turned to watch Travis run toward her. “What are you doing here?”
    He grabbed her roughly and crushed her against his chest. Taking a moment to collect himself, he closed his eyes and breathed her in. He smelled freesia again and felt his heart slow down as her arms wrapped around him. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”
    “I did, but you never returned. I figured you just changed your mind.”
    He looked down into her face and kissed her fiercely, because he wanted to mark her somehow. He needed her to be bound to him, and he didn’t understand why. “I had a phone call from my mom, and I had to take it. I’m sorry it took so long.” Her eyes were wet, and she looked like she’d been crying. “I promise it will never happen again.” He ran his finger down her face and gently rubbed his thumb across her mouth. “My word is something that you can always count on….I promise you.”
    “Travis, I don’t care about that. I’m upset because my car died. We’ve been together since college, and it’s the longest relationship I’ve ever had.”
    “I’m sorry, baby. What do you want to do?”
    “I guess I’ll leave it here. Mort is going to give me some money because he can use it for parts. I knew I was taking a risk bringing her on this last road trip, but I thought we would make it.”
    “You can come with me. We’ll go on our road trip together, and then I’ll take you home at the end of the summer.”
    “That’s crazy. We’ve only known each other for two days, and there’s no way we would make it together on a road trip.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I know because you’re not an easy going man. There’s no way you’re going to want to do the same stuff I want to do. We would both end up miserable.”
    “I’m happy to find out that you’re going to be the pessimist in this relationship. It looks like I get to be Susie Sunshine and sprinkle my happy fairy dust all over us.” He stood at his full height with his arms crossed over his enormous chest and looked exactly like who he was.
    Cary started laughing so hard that she started to snort. Travis shook his head at her disapprovingly and waited for to finish. “Was the fairy dust too much? I could’ve left that part out…right?”
    She wiped her eyes. “I’m looking at a man who is over six feet tall with more muscles than any one person should have. You’re one of the most feared spec ops warriors on the planet. You’re a scary hard-ass guy, and you’re talking about being Susie Sunshine. That’s pretty darn funny.”
    He shrugged and gave her a bored look. “I tell it like I see it.”
    She pulled herself together and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I needed that. I think you’re right–you do have magic fairy dust.” She watched him smirk, as if not having fairy dust or whatever else he needed at his fingertips was ever going to be possible. She handed him her phone. “Can you take some pictures of me next to my car? I want to commemorate its passing.”
    He took her phone, and they walked over to her car. She stood in front of it as Travis took several photos. She put her arms across the hood and laid her face on the metal. “Thank you for being such a good car. May you rest in peace.”
    Travis watched her say good-bye to her car and realized that if she cared this much about a car, he probably had a chance with her. He decided he was going to figure out a way for her to start caring about him, too.

CHAPTER SIX

    After Cary settled with Mort and cleaned out her car, she