Free Texas Heat (Stubborn Texas Siblings Book 2) by Faith Loveright Page B

this. I can’t lose
you… I need you in my life, and I don’t mean just as my
mechanic.”
    “Just… let’s get through this visit. After we get back to
Texas, we’ll test the waters with my brothers… see if we
can make things work when we’re not playing the part of a
couple of newlyweds. You need to see what my life is
really like before you can start making such huge decisions
for the rest of your life. I’m not a girly girl or a city girl,
Travis. The dresses and skirts I brought with me are the
only ones I own and the only reason I even had them was
because my mom bought them for me for church … other
than the little black dress and it only stepped out on the
town on the rare occasion that I had a date. I’m a blue jeans
and t-shirt kind of girl. Either that or overalls. Is that really
the sort of woman you want for a wife?”
    “I know exactly who you are Laurie. You forget… we met
because my car broke down. I’ve seen you in action.
You’re amazing. I work with animals for a living. That’s
not exactly a sexy job either. When I look at you, it isn’t
your job I see. I see the red hot lover I love holding in my
arms in the dead of night.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at her,
looking into her eyes. “We would be amazing together,
Laurie. I could see to the animals and you could make sure
the farm equipment and the vehicles are in good working
order. I fail to see the down side in this situation.”
    “Are you going to back off and give me the
time I asked
for?” she asked, dragging her hands down his chest to wrap
around his waist so she was hugging him.
    “I don’t like it, but yes. If that’s what you really need from
me, I’ll wait until we get you back home to mention it
again.”
    A crash sounded from inside the house and Travis cursed,
running towards the front door shouting for his mother,
praying she would answer. He’d been so busy falling for
Laurie, there for a while; he’d managed to forget what had
originally brought him back home in the first place.
    His mother was lying in the middle of the kitchen floor, flat
on her back. She was as white as a ghost and her eyes were
closed. The way she was sprawled out on the floor
indicated that the fall had been a nasty one. He ran over to
her side and carefully lifted her head from the floor,
cradling it in his lap. “Ma? Talk to me…” he begged
tearfully.
    Laurie dug into her pocket and pulled her cell phone out,
dialing 9-1-1. Her hand was shaking as she gave them the
few details she had and then hung up, going over and
settling her hand reassuringly on Travis’s shoulder. “The
ambulance is on the way.”
“I’m not ready to lose her yet,” he told her huskily. “She
practically begged me to reassure her that there was a
chance for her to become a grandmother before she died…
Now that there’s actually a chance that it could happen, I
need more time to give her what she wants so badly.”
    “You’re kind of rushing things a bit, aren’t you?” Laurie
asked, leaning down and pressing a soft reassuring kiss to
the top of his head. “We’re just getting things off the
ground in this relationship… Isn’t a bit early to be talking
about having kids together?”
    “Not when it seems to be the only thing my mom wants
before this inoperable tumor in her head takes her life, no. I
don’t think its rushing things at all,” he argued, taking her
hand in his own and clinging to it.
“She’s a strong woman, Travis. She’ll pull through this
somehow. You’ll see.”
“If it was just the cancer, I might be able to hold on to
hope… but a brain tumor is a whole different scenario.”
    The pain in his voice was almost more than Laurie could
bear and tears flooded her eyes as she clung to Travis,
wishing there was more that she could do for him. “This is
why you wanted to come home with a wife in tow, isn’t
it?” she asked, suddenly understanding the desperation
she’d heard in his voice when