Me and Mrs Jones

Me and Mrs. Jones A novel of erotic romance by

Marie Rochelle

Published by Phaze Books Also by Marie Rochelle A Taste of Love: Richard Alpha Male Incorporated: Under Your Protection Closer to You: Lee My Deepest Love: Zack All the Fixin’ Caught Caught 2: Anja’s Return Closer to You: Lee My Deepest Love: Zack Crossing the Railroad Desire The Men of CCD: Loving True The Men of CCD: Tempting Turner The Men of CCD: Slow Seduction The Men of CCD: Help Wanted Lucky Charms So Much Better Taken by Storm Roped Into You

This is an explicit and erotic novel intended for the enjoyment of adult readers. Please keep out of the hands of children. Me and Mrs. Jones

www.Phaze.com

Copyright © 2011 by Marie Rochelle ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Edited by Judy Bagshaw Cover Art © 2011 by Niki Browning First Edition November 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1-60659-641-8

Published by: Phaze Books An imprint of Mundania Press LLC 6470A Glenway Ave., #109 Cincinnati, OH 45211 All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Mundania Press LLC, 6470A Glenway Avenue, #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211, [email protected]. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without permission from Mundania Press LLC. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.

Dedication To my favorite couple: Jesse and Angie

Chapter One The loud irritating sound of the alarm clock buzzed for a third time before a slim caramel hand finally found its way from underneath the thick covers and hit the snooze button, ending the suffering. Pushing the covers off her body, Renee Jones stretched her arms above her head trying to chase the remainder of sleep from her limbs. If today had been any other day, she would have made a feeble excuse to stay in bed late; however today was different. Taking into account the gratifying turnout for the show at her art gallery Divine Design last night, she was ready to get a jump start on her day. The first thing on her list was to add all of the names from the business cards she’d collected last night to her mailing and email lists. She was steadily increasing the number of people who wanted to be kept informed about her gallery. She probably wouldn’t send out another major announcement for about three months because it would be in the closest proximity to her next show. If she sent them out too early, it might get lost in the shuffle of her buyers’ everyday lives. However, Renee planned to have a small show in a couple of weeks to debut two of her new artists who couldn’t make it last night. Renee had been more than a little nervous that the community wouldn’t embrace her vision or the art she thought was worthy of her support. She felt that being able to use your hands in that manner was the highest form of creativity. In her mind, there wasn’t anything more rewarding than making a living surrounded by original art, have people walk in and give praise to the artist and then pay you for your dream job. Despite the recession, over fifty percent of the community showed up with their checkbooks in hand and the majority of paintings and sculptures along with several photographs sold in less than three hours. She wasn’t too sure if some of the more modern art work would draw anyone’s attention, but those were snatched up within the first hour of the doors opening. Last night truly had been a dream come true for her because she had dreamt of having her own art gallery for as long as she could remember. If it hadn’t been for her best friends Dana and Cruz, she might not have ever finally taken the leap to make everything happen. In order to accomplish

this, it had taken her a while to carve out her own niche in the art world and claim it as hers. At first, Renee had tried her best to know something about all of the artwork out there including African American painters, and even streets artists who did graffiti but she started failing badly. It finally dawned on her. Divine Design might run better if she picked one certain style of art and became the best expert she could about it. So, in the end Renee decided to go with all the impressionist artists she could find who would allow her to sell their talented work in her gallery. Hardcore collectors appreciated detailed knowledge from educated dealers who knew the era they were selling and could relay such things as the significance of the art, style, and meaning without too much confusion. Renee’s smile slowly slipped from her face as she also remembered what else her two best friends had done for her. They had made her see that she wasn’t going to get her art gallery off the ground if Robert was still in her life with his unwanted complaints whispered in the background. Dana’s and Cruz’s constant advice was finally what opened her eyes to how badly her ex-husband Robert had been treating her. He wanted her to help him with all of his wild and unsuccessful ideas, but he hated the thought of being at her side for anything important. How she ever allowed herself to stay married to him for over ten years she would never know. For the longest time, she thought Robert Jones was the love of her life and he could never do any wrong. Never in her life would she ever think he could be cheating on her with another woman...who turned out to be their real estate agent. Sheila helped them get this house when they ultimately made the decision to move from their fast-paced life in South Carolina to the smaller town of Wicker Valley, Texas. God, what a fool she had been to not realize Robert wasn’t working late all of those nights. She guessed she didn’t want to believe in the cliché of it all, but sadly it ended up being true. Renee never guessed her ex-husband was cheating until he came home from his ‘late night meetings’ smelling like Sheila’s cheap perfume. The second she realized Robert was finding satisfaction in another woman’s arms she waited up late for the lying asshole and confronted him. They had ended up getting into a huge argument. What had gotten her the most was Robert actually had the gall to try to put the blame on her. He accused her of caring more about her worthless art gallery than trying to save their ten year marriage.

After that blistering insult, Robert continued to throw the details of his sickening affair in her face: about how, unlike her, Sheila showed him each and every night how much she needed him in and out of the bedroom. Renee, tell me why would I want to be with you anymore? All you want to do is spend your time in a huge room with walls covered in useless art work? I have a woman now who wants me and I’m not about to give that up for you or anyone else. She lost count of how many times she had heard the words repeated over and over in her mind. Robert’s words were meant to be cruel and they were just that. Once their huge fight was over, Robert packed up some of his clothing and stormed out of the house. Her ex-husband was so skillful at his mind games that he actually had her believing that it was her fault he was cheating on her with Sheila until Dana stepped in and made her see Robert was the one with the problem. It had taken a while for her to finally comprehend. Robert had been growing resentful of her success for a while and was searching for a way to make her feel like she was worthless and the only one responsible one for their marriage ending. So, after months and months of battling it out in court over small things, the judge finally granted her a divorce. But since she had come into the marriage with more money than Robert, she was ordered to pay him alimony until he was able to support himself or got remarried. God, how could she have been such a damn fool? Tossing the covers off her body, Renee sat on the side of her king sized bed and ran her fingers through her hair. Why hadn’t she seen her exhusband’s true identity before they moved here? She had loved her life in South Carolina. All of her family and friends were there plus she had been about to get a promotion at her job at the art museum. Everything was going perfect for her until Robert came home one day and informed her that he had gotten fired for getting into a fight with his boss. What person in their right mind would threaten their boss? Yes. Robert had a bad temper, but she never thought it would get that out of hand. Her ex-husband was lucky enough that he only got escorted out of the building instead of led out in handcuffs. Leaving her home town had been a hard decision on her part, but when Robert was blessed enough to finally land a job out here after searching for over six months she didn’t have the heart to tell him not to accept it because

he was her husband and she wanted to support him through his struggles. God, what a mistake her choice had turned out to be. Within the year, Robert had found his way into Sheila’s bed. If she was honest with herself, Robert’s affairs might have begun earlier than that because she seriously doubted Sheila was the first woman he’d cheated with during their tedious marriage. The only good thing that came from Robert dragging her miles away from South Carolina was her new home. She loved the Spanish design feel. Keeping the house was the only thing she fought for during the divorce since Robert didn’t have anything she wanted. Her lying and cheating husband had already taken so much from her, and Renee wasn’t about to back down from the one thing she wanted the most. Surprisingly, Robert had let their house go without any kind of fight on his part. Enough! Renee wasn’t going to give Robert any more of her life. Thank God! He wasn’t her problem anymore. Sheila wanted him and now she had him. She wouldn’t take Robert back in her life even if someone paid her a million dollars. Getting out of the rumpled bed, Renee was on her way towards the shower when the phone on her nightstand rang. She came back over to it and smiled at the number on the Caller Id. “Good morning, Dana,” she said, getting back into the bed resting her back against the pillows. “Why are you calling me so early in the morning?” “Good morning to you too, girlfriend,” Dana replied. “Did you forget what today was?” The sound of people talking and dishes rattling in the background caught Renee’s attention. Renee knew that it was Friday, but she couldn’t think of anything really special about the day. “I’m sorry. I guess I did forget. What’s going on today? I’m still feeling the high of selling so many paintings at the art show last night.” “I have to admit I was stunned at how fast some of those drawings sold but that isn’t the reason I’m calling you,” Dana replied. “Okay, do you care to fill me in?” Renee was a bit concerned, because Dana only called her before eight o’clock in the morning when she wanted something from her. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re still coming to my speed dating event this afternoon. Remember, you told me last week that you would stop by and check everything out. I really would love for you to come. I know

you can meet someone to get your mind off your jackass ex-husband.” Speed dating....had Dana completely lost her mind? She wasn’t interested in spending two minutes or five minutes with any guy she had no interest in dating. The only relationship she had in her life right now was Divine Design. Didn’t she just get rid of Robert? Why would she want to replace him with another man so soon? “I think I’m going to pass,” Renee replied quickly. “You know that after the hell I went through with Robert that I’m not interested in getting involved with another man. Hell, I’m not sure if I ever want to get into another relationship.” Renee heard Dana’s loud sigh on the other end of the phone. “Come on, Renee. You can’t allow Robert to keep having such power over you. Didn’t he get remarried? If he could marry that slut Sheila, you have the right to have someone new in your life, as well. Your divorce from him has been final for almost a year.” Dana didn’t understand that she wasn’t upset at all Robert had gotten remarried so quickly after their divorce. What pissed her off the most is that her lousy ex-husband had been married for almost three months before she found out. She had been paying him alimony for all of those months when she didn’t have to. Who knew that Robert would be sneaky enough to go down to Las Vegas and get a quickly marriage to his mistress? Well, Robert and all of his drama were totally in her past now. She made herself a promise not to waste another moment of her life thinking about Robert or anything else that wasn’t good for her. “Dana, I’m not going to do this speed dating for you. No way in hell. Now, do you have my tea in yet?” Renee asked, changing the subject. “I came by your café earlier in the week and one of your employees told me it would be in today.” She loved Dana’s black tea. It instantly relaxed her after a long day at work. “Yes, it’s here. I have it in my office,” Dana answered. “Are you going to come by today and get it? I’m going to be here all day because of the speed dating.” Renee didn’t like the idea of making a trip to Dana’s shop while she was having the dating event going on, but she was out of her favorite tea and she knew she would be craving a cup tonight while she was working on her mailing lists. “Okay, I’ll be by there later on to get it,” Renee said finally giving

in against her better judgment. “Just make sure you don’t try to sneak the speed dating on me again because I’ve already told you no and I’m not about to change my mind.” Even without seeing her, Renee knew Dana was doing one of her famous eye rolls. “Fine, I won’t try to help you find a good man. But you are going to have to take a chance one day with someone. You’re too great to be alone.” Renee wasn’t going to get into this conversation again with Dana. She was done with it. Dana was a good friend, but once she got her mind set on something it was hard to get her to change her mind. “Bye, Dana.” “Bye, Renee,” her best friend said and then hung up the phone. Pushing the end button on the phone, Renee placed it back on the nightstand. She got out of bed and headed back towards the shower. She knew Cruz was probably already at the gallery working on something since he was up at the crack of dawn anyway. . Renee had to make sure her assistant Cruz got the Realism butterflies paintings she needed hung on the walls. Last week, when the artist came in and showed them to her, she couldn’t believe how much they swept her away. After seeing them, she knew there was no way she could turn away this upcoming artist. Yes...it would take a special collector to see the same beauty in them as she had, but she knew the right person was out there. In the bathroom, Renee turned on the shower and then went to find her favorite body wash. Hopefully by the time she left the gallery and made her way over to Dana’s café, the speed dating event would be over and then she could just pick her up tea and leave. She had a very sneaky feeling if it wasn’t; Dana would try to find a way to get her involved.

Chapter Two Travis Cole added more sand to his camp fire until it was out completely before he started cleaning up the remains of his breakfast. He couldn’t think of a better way to start his day than out in the wilderness with nature. He should have left the city months ago and come out here because his apartment wasn’t a place that inspired him to paint. Sometimes he thought his creativity was held back by the four walls. There was only so much inspiration he could truly get from being closed inside for most of the day. His apartment was an incredible gift his parents had bought for him showing how much they supported his career. However, his imagination seemed to come to life more when he was living with Mother Nature and getting lost in the beauty and sounds. So, it hadn’t been any surprise to his parents when he informed them that he was taking off for the woods for a couple of weeks to get lost in his work. This part of Wicker Valley wasn’t traveled that much which was the main reason he decided to set up camp in this spot. Tossing the last of his trash into the garbage bag, Travis tied it up and tossed it into the back of his Jeep. He would just dispose of everything when he made his weekly trip into town. Several of his paints were almost gone and he needed to buy two new brushes while he was there. At first, Travis wasn’t too keen on going into town to get art supplies because anytime he did there were a handful of people that considered him the bum who was wasting his time out in the woods instead of getting a nine to five job like regular people. He always felt like they were judging him when they knew absolutely nothing about him. Yet, on the other hand several of the married and single women in Wicker Valley shamelessly flirted with him because in their eyes he was the ‘bad boy’ they were interested in dating just to get attention. He wasn’t really positive about what had he done to make any of the married women think he would consider dating them? He would never be the type of guy to get involved with a married woman. Both of his parents raised him to respect people and cheating with a married woman wasn’t his idea of respect.

His most vivid memory of a married woman trying to seduce him happened about three months ago. She had invited him to her house with the pretense she wanted him to work on a family portrait, but that turned out to be a lie. She had only asked him over to get him away from the prying eyes of the community. He hadn’t been inside the house for two minutes before she had pressed her body against his and was trying to kiss him. Thankfully, he was able to push her away before her husband caught them in a compromising position. After that one occurrence, Travis made damn sure that he scheduled his meetings with female clients at a restaurant or any other public place. Since he’d started his new policy he was able to get rid of the false interests in his work replacing them with only serious offers. The one thing all of the women throwing themselves at him didn’t understand was he wasn’t interested in dating anyone right now. His art career was taking up most of his time and he was quite happy with the direction his life was taking. He didn’t want to ruin it with a relationship if he had anything to do with it. Travis had thought he was truly in love until he got the shock of his life when his last girlfriend dumped him for another girl. For a while he was actually thinking about proposing to Jenni until he walked into her apartment with the key she had given him and found her kissing her best friend. In the back of his mind, he always thought Jenni and Christy were a little too close for comfort; but it NEVER crossed his mind that they were lovers. Numerous times from the corner of his eyes, he had caught Jenni checking out other girls when they were out on dates, but he never put much thought to it. Maybe he had secretly known something was up but he just didn’t want to believe his girlfriend since high school was interested in women and not him. Yeah...Travis had been crushed, but he kept his anger to himself until Jenni packed up what little of her belonging was at his apartment and left with Christy. After that, he spent several days partying and drinking until he woke up with a blinding headache and smelling like he hadn’t bathed in a week. He was a total wreck and even more disgusted that he allowed a cheating woman to send him down that road of destruction. Right at that moment, Travis decided he couldn’t focus his life or time anymore on a woman who didn’t want him. Jenni was through with him and moving on with her life. Sadly, he wasn’t going to be a part of it. The thought of jumping back

into the dating pool hadn’t been the most pressing thought in his mind. What better way to get over his heartbreak than to drown his sorrows in his painting and drawings? During the years Travis had dated Jenni his interest in painting and drawing started, so he made a decision to pursue his talent more and see where it could lead him. So, when he brought up his newest interest to his parents they didn’t question his career choice in the least. Within a week of his breakup his parents found him an apartment smack in the center of town; it was the perfect location for an up and coming artist. Luckily enough his apartment was located a block or two from the new art gallery Divine Design that had opened up a few years earlier in an old department store that was located in the same spot. Several times, he had thought about stopping by and taking a look around to get a feel of what type of art work the gallery had on display. Several other galleries outside of town had approached him about showing some of his earlier pieces, but he wasn’t fond of their lack of knowledge. Travis knew that he wasn’t Picasso or Da Vinci, but he knew the difference between the two art styles. He wasn’t interested in handing over his hard work to a less than reputable dealer. A guy who knew nothing about the art world but could talk a good game might get your work into his gallery; however, after it was there he wouldn’t be able to sell one piece to any clients. No, he had to find the right venue to sell his most prized pieces. The more informed and knowledgeable the art dealer was would be the person who would land some of his art. More experienced art gallery owners knew how to identify who the best artists are and were better at spotting trends that were ahead of the competition. Travis knew having a more recognized gallery owner with a good reputation for respecting their artists drew more writers and critics to art shows. This in the end paid off for everyone by drawing more interest to the work hopefully bringing a bigger crowd to the next show. Well, he might be wishing for the rest of his life for that kind of art gallery because he hadn’t been lucky enough yet to find one gallery owner whose comprehension of art couldn’t fit onto the head of a pin. Until he did, Travis made a promise to himself to keep working on his art and storing it away until the right hands to place it in came along. Travis could spend all day thinking about his art work, but he needed to get to town and pick up his art supplies. In addition, he made a mental note to stop by Dana Clair’s café to see if his Black Tea was in yet. The last time

he was there, Dana told him to give it another week. He never thought he would be the type of guy to love tea, but Jenni introduced him to it and he hadn’t stopped drinking it since. Getting into his jeep, Travis pulled out of the secluded part of the woods hoping that it wouldn’t take more than two hours to get everything he wanted in town, because he didn’t want to waste any more daylight than he had to on this trip. He was dying to get back and finish up the newest painting he was working on.

Chapter Three Walking through the doors of Divine Design Renee instantly got a feel of peacefulness and comfort as she glanced around the place that gave her so much pleasure every time she turned the key in the lock. She loved how huge the gallery was. It was one of the things that her clients would comment about. She’d received several compliments during her showing. The expanse of white walls showcased the variety of paintings, drawings and sketches to perfection. And the few sculptures being displayed on white podiums in the corners drew the eye and added visual variety to the gallery experience. Every painting on the walls meant so much to her. Honestly, she was probably more attached to them then the artists who spent their time painting them for her gallery. It had taken her a while to build the reputation that she had gained in the community. Truthfully, some of the residents did give her a side look when she walked down the sidewalk because they didn’t think owning an art gallery was a true career, but more of a hobby to kill time. Yet, she wasn’t about to allow those people’s opinions to take up space in her head. The issues they had with her were their problem and not hers in the least. Why would she allow any of them to have any kind of power over her after everything she had already experienced in life? She had already experience intellectual and financial set backs to get where she was today. Now, she was already ten steps ahead of where she never thought she would be at this point in her life. The first six months after her gallery had opened were the most painful in her life because she wasn’t sure if the funds she had set aside would be enough to keep her business afloat. Add trying to have a respectable enough exhibition to stay in business for longer than a year was a lot to take in, but she did it and without the help of anyone else. What she hadn’t known back then was she had been on everyone’s radar and she did mean everyone’s. She never knew that impressing the ‘right’ people was so important in the art world. Yeah, she knew drawing in a certain clientele would make or break her grand opening but getting a

dedicated following along with a collector base almost left her in tears at one point. “Renee, what are you doing here? I thought you would be at Dana’s café since the tea you ordered has arrived. Dana called looking for you and I told her you weren’t here.” Spinning around, Renee stared at Cruz Martinez coming in her direction carrying a ladder with his left hand and a painting with his right. Cruz was one of the best employees she had working for her at Divine Design. He was truly the only person besides herself she would allow to deal with the more expensive paintings. “I was on my way there, but I decided to stop by the gallery first. I wanted to see if you had gotten the butterflies paintings hung up yet,” she said, sliding her hands into the pockets of her slacks. “No, they’re still in the back room. I wanted to get these new paintings by Romeo up first. You know how impatient he can get when his work isn’t on display within twenty-four hours after he gives it to us.” Renee nodded her head. Cruz was right. Romeo was an excellent artist with an outstanding eye for colors and details which was the only reason she put up with his craziness. Ninety-five percent of the time it was totally uncalled for. It shouldn’t matter if his paintings didn’t get out in the showroom within a time limit, but to him it did. “I’m sorry you have to deal with him so much lately. I know how demanding he can be,” Renee said. She knew that Cruz was patient, but Romeo’s diva attitude could push even the nicest person over the edge. “Oh, I don’t allow Romeo to get under my skin,” Cruz said placing the ladder against the wall. “You know how I am when it comes to a pretty face. I can overlook anything else. I think that may be one of the reason I’m constantly dating jerks.” Renee didn’t know why Cruz couldn’t find a good relationship because he was gorgeous with his olive complexion, dark sultry eyes and thick black hair showing off his Mexican heritage. He was almost walking perfection. It was just a shame she didn’t have what Cruz was looking for. “Well, at least you’ve been dating,” she sighed, taking her hands out of her pockets. “I can’t remember the last time I was out on a date. I keep pretending that I’m not looking for love or think about going out on a date with a hot guy. But it’s a lie I keep feeding myself to make it through the day so I don’t have to admit how truly lonely I am. How sad is that?” “Sweetie, I’m sorry to hear you’re still single and looking for love. I swear that asshole Robert should be shot for everything he put you through.

At least, he’s gone out of your life for good and is getting what he deserves with that new wife of his.” Robert’s life and problems were no longer any of her concern. She’d learned a long time ago that her ex-husband was the type of man who always wanted the attention on him. It only took him cheating on her mixed with a heated divorce for her to figure his real personality out. God, she had been living with such blinders when it came to Robert and his dominating side. “Cruz, just let it go,” she sighed. “I’ve moved on. I’m stronger now than I have ever been before thanks to you and Dana. I still can’t believe I wasted all of those years listening to his bullshit!” Moving away from the ladder, Cruz came over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders in a comforting matter. “Renee, I think everyone once in their lives have either dated or been married to a guy like Robert. Of course, we never see what a jerk he really is until another person opens our eyes to it.” Renee smiled at Cruz and placed her hands on top of his. “You’re right. I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. I guess I should consider myself lucky that Sheila came along when she did. Now, she’s the one carrying an extra two hundred and fifteen pounds weight around on her back instead of me.” “You are so bad.” Cruz laughed as he stepped back from her. “Are you going to stay here and help me hang up these new paintings?” She shook her head. “No, I need to head on over to Dana’s café. She’s probably wondering what has happened to me.” “Oh, are you going to do the Speed dating?” God...not Cruz too, Renee thought. She didn’t need him and Dana both pushing her towards men she had no curiosity about. She was happy being single and alone at the moment. Now if only she believed her own lies. “I’m going to tell you, Mr. Matchmaker, the same thing I told your buddy Dana. I have absolutely no interest in the matching process of speed dating. Or any other kind of dating system Dana might come up with just to find me a man,” Renee said a little fed up at having the same conversation again with Cruz. “I can decide fairly quickly if a guy piques my interest without sitting down at a table and waiting for a bell or whistle to interrupt us.” Cruz held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone. I just thought it might be something fun for you to do for a couple of hours. You spend so much at this gallery or at the library researching art. You need to get out more.”

Instantly, Renee felt bad for snapping at Cruz. She couldn’t deny what he was telling her. Everything was the truth. She did spend almost ninety percent of her time doing things for the gallery. However, this place was her first love and she would make sure nothing went wrong with making it the success she knew it could be. Divine Design was a business...her business. Her main goal was to welcome people and not to let them ever think this was only a hobby for her. Anytime she spoke with a collector, beginner or seasoned, she had to speak the language of art with them in a way they could understand. A large majority of the people who’d shown up for her showing last night weren’t very educated about art and didn’t have the depth of expertise like she did. So, she tried to keep it simple as much as she could, so no one would get overwhelmed and leave without coming back again. A part of her wanted to show off or flaunt her understanding of the art world lingo, but in the end how would any of that help her? If all of her information went over the potential buyer’s head, they might be impressed at that moment. However, in the end she would scare them away and lose a sale. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat like that.” “Not a problem,” Cruz answered, lowering his hand. “I know you’re just stressed. I don’t take your comment seriously. How about you leave before Dana calls again searching for you? I need to finish getting these painting ups and then meet Trey for lunch.” “How’s your brother doing?” Renee couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen Cruz’s brother at the gallery. “Trey is doing pretty good. He’s been out of town for the past six months. He was in New York auditioning to be a back up dancer for some singer’s video.” “Well, tell him I said hi and to stop by here before he leaves town again.” Spinning around, Renee headed for the door. Her mind was already on if she could find another artist before her next art show in a couple of weeks. “I’ll tell him,” Cruz yelled at Renee right before she went out the door.

Chapter Four The second the doors of Dana’s café closed behind Renee’s back she thought about turning right back around and coming back tomorrow for her tea. The café was filled to capacity with men and women looking for their perfect match. Twenty to twenty-five mahogany tables lined the area and not one of them had an empty seat. Everyone was chatting and smiling at each other like they were old friends getting reacquainted or lonely people just searching for someone...anyone to be close to for a minute or an hour. Just the thought of sitting down at one of those perfectly designed tables and ending up with another man like her ex-husband sent a quick shiver of apprehension through her body. Renee knew the best thing for her to do was find Dana, pay for her tea order and then make her way back home. There was a pile of information on her desk from potential buyers that she had to get entered into her computer. Looking around the café, it took a few minutes but Renee finally spotted Dana near the front desk talking to one of her male employees. Renee maneuvered her way through the tables and was almost at Dana when a young waitress came up to her. “Ma’am, are you here for the Speed dating?” she asked. “I can help you get all of your information filled out and then you can join the next round after this one.” Ma’am... She hated when a young person addressed her ma’am. The term always made her feel so much older than her forty-two years. In her humble opinion, the greeting should be outlawed from everyone’s vocabulary. She didn’t look old enough to be called Ma’am at anytime in her life. Plastering a smile on her face, Renee looked down at the girl’s name tag before addressing her. “No, thank you Becky,” she said in the nicest voice she could muster. “I’m not here for the Speed dating. I need to speak with my friend Dana, but you could get me a cup of black tea and bring it over to me. How about doing that for me instead?” Becky frowned at her for a few minutes like she didn’t want to take

the order. “Fine, I’ll fill your order.” Spinning away from her, the waitress stomped over to the left side of the café where the specialties teas were freshly brewed for customers; her long brown ponytail swinging behind her neck Renee watched Becky for a few more seconds. She had pissed the girl off to no end and she wondered would she actually be the one who filled her order or would she find someone else to pawn it off on I don’t have time for this, she thought to herself Deciding she didn’t want to waste anymore of her energy on the snappy waitress, Renee continued in the direction her best friend. “Hey girl,” Renee called out, instantly getting Dana’s attention. “Where have you been?” Dana asked walking away from the waiter coming up to her. “I called Cruz and he said you left the gallery about twenty minutes ago.” Renee gave her friend a quick hug and then took a step back. “I decided to walk here instead of drive since it was such a nice day outside. You know how much I love spring.” “I know. Have you started working in your yard yet?” “I’m going to do it tomorrow since its Saturday.” Renee said. “That’s why I’m glad you told me my tea order was in. I want to be able to drink a cup after I finish with my landscape in the front yard. I’ll probably do the back in a couple of weeks.” “Yes, your order is in my office,” Dana told her. “I didn’t want any of my employees to accidentally open the box and add it to the other teas. I wouldn’t have been able to order a replacement until next week.” Next week....there was no way she could have gone another week without her tea. Since she wasn’t a big liquor drinker, tea was the only thing she used to relax her after a long day at work. “Thanks again for thinking to place my tea in your office. I really do appreciate it. So, how is the speed dating going?” Renee asked glancing around at the crowd, glad she wasn’t a part of it. Dana’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “You wouldn’t believe how successful today is turning out. Are you sure that you aren’t a little curious about if you could find someone here? You never know.” “Dana,” Renee warned in a low voice. Why wasn’t Dana doing the speed dating herself? Most men would love a chance to date a beautiful and spunky Latino woman like her friend. Dana had everything going for her, but she just couldn’t seem to be able to find the right man. “Okay, I’ll stop bothering you about it,” Dana sighed. “But I do have

another question for you. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.” “What is it?” “Have you thought about moving out of the house you shared with Robert? I’m just concerned it’s filled with so many bad memories. There’s a house up for sale a couple of doors down from mine. I would love to have you living closer in town and being my neighbor would only be an added bonus.” Move out of the house she’d fought so hard to get? Why would she do that? Renee loved living outside of town; it gave her the peace she craved. Dana’s suggestion shocked Renee. Not once since her divorce had she ever thought about moving out of her home. The house was hers...it was never Robert’s. He’d never spent enough time there to make any memories with her. “You’re a wonderful friend to be so concerned about me, but I love living on the outskirts of town. I have all the privacy I could ever want and there are neighbors around me. We just aren’t on the top of each other. “Hey, I noticed Sheriff Arness over there in the corner when I walked in. Is he still trying to get you to go out on a date with him? I think he’s pretty cute.” Everyone in town knew the attractive Sheriff had a thing for her best friend. “Alright, if you’re happy I’ll leave it alone,” Dana answered. “Are you going to answer my question about Sheriff Arness?” Renee asked. She loved teasing Dana about her crush; ‘No, I’m not,” Dana replied, shooting her a ‘leave it alone’ look. “Have you spoken with Robert lately?” The way Dana asked her the question Renee knew something was up with her ex. She could only imagine what was going on with him now. “No, I haven’t. The last time we spoke was about a month ago. I found some of his old things in the attic and placed them on the porch for him to come and get. What’s going on with him now?” “I heard that he and Sheila are having problems. She thinks he’s cheating on her.” Renee’s laughter erupted before she could stop it. “Are you serious?” she asked the second she stopped laughing. “They haven’t been married a year yet.” “I know,” Dana replied with a small smile at the corner of her mouth. “I guess karma has come back around to bite Sheila on her well toned yoga ass.”

“Dana, we shouldn’t laugh at her.” Renee wanted to feel smug, but she only felt sorry for Sheila because she learned too late that Robert didn’t love anyone but the reflection he saw in the mirror every morning. “Can’t I at least tell her I told you so the next time she comes in here?” “Well—” She wanted to do the same thing, but it wouldn’t make her any better than the woman who married her ex-husband and then it would seem like she wanted Robert back which was the furthest thing from the truth. “No, be the lady I know you are and don’t say a word to her.” “Renee, you are way too nice for your own good,” Dana complained. “I know—” The sound of loud music coming from in front of Dana’s café caught Renee’s attention making her stop talking in mid-sentence to see who was making such a racket. A dark blue Jeep stopped in front of the café and a second later the music was turned off; but, Renee’s attention was no longer focused on the noise but the male driver behind the wheel. Without a doubt in her mind, the guy had to be the most gorgeous man she had been graced to lay her eyes upon. Renee’s mouth watered as she watched the young guy get out of the jeep slamming the door behind him like he didn’t have a care in the world. Slowly, she allowed her eyes to wander over the male perfection as he grabbed the trash bag from the back of his jeep tossing it into the trashcan on the sidewalk. Half the time when she spotted a man wearing a pair of overalls, the first thought that came into her mind was a country hick or someone who was working out on the land like a farmer or something. However, none of those thoughts entered her mind as the sexy young guy came towards Dana’s café. Her interest was piqued even more when it dawned on her that he wasn’t going to walk past the building, but actually come inside. Was this what she was missing by working long hours at her shop or being at home researching art on the computer? Shit! She needed to get out more. Now, if he was going to participate in the speed dating then she might have to change her mind and do it just to get to know his name. “Who is that?” she asked Dana the second the hunk walked into the café. It didn’t go unnoticed by Renee how several women young and old turned to look at him too. Who wouldn’t when someone was made like him? Dana glanced at her before looking back at the guy who seemed like

he was coming in their direction. Unconsciously, Renee ran her hands over her hair and down the front of her clothes wondering if she looked all right. What a minute! Why did she care what this guy thought about her? He was years younger than her and probably not even interested in learning her name. So, it might be for the best if she calmed herself down before he got closer to them and she embarrassed herself by drooling over him in public. “If you can wait a few more seconds I’ll introduce you,” Dana said a spilt second before the guy stopped right in front of them. “Good morning, Dana. How are you doing today?” he asked and then glanced in her direction. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.” Renee was stunned by how blue the guy’s eyes were. They almost looked too perfect to be real, but she didn’t see him putting colored contacts in every morning. He seemed too rugged and all natural for something so dumb. “It’s not a problem,” Dana said. “This is my best friend Renee Jones. Renee, I would like you to meet Travis Cole.” “Nice to meet you,” Renee said as she extended her hand. “You too,” Travis answered as his warm, calloused fingers wrapped around her softer ones and Renee was taken by the strength in them. Her biggest weakness was a good-looking man with strong hands and Travis had both in abundance. God! She had to get herself under control and soon. She slowly removed her hands from Travis’, but not before she noticed how he brushed his thumb over the top. From the corner of her eyes, Renee saw the slight frown that quickly passed across Dana’s face at Travis’ lingering touch. “What brings you here today?” Dana asked, making Renee tear her gaze away from Travis back over to her friend. “I came by in hopes that my tea finally came in today. I wanted some to drink while I was working on my newest painting. You know how much I love the specialty flavors you have here.” “You’re a painter?” Renee inquired, jumping in before Dana could answer Travis. The excitement she felt as her blood pumped through her veins almost took her over. “Yes, Travis is very talented,” Dana answered, cutting in. “You should see some of his work. I’ve been thinking about hiring him to do some drawings and paintings for the café.” “Do you know where Divine Design is?” Renee was already thinking

about finding a way to get Travis to show her some samples of his work. If he really was as gifted as Dana was saying then she had to have him in her next show. Travis’ handsome face lit up with sudden interest. “Yes. I know where it’s located. I‘ve wanted to take several of my painting in there, but I’m not quite sure if what I do is what the owner wants to see. So, I just keep putting it off.” “Travis, I think today is both of our lucky days,” Renee said with a smile. “I’m the owner of Divine Design. I would love to see what you have to offer anytime you want to show it to me.” Renee flushed when she realized how suggestive her statement sounded. “I mean our paintings. I’m always interested in new and upcoming talented.” Travis grinned and Renee was sure he understood the source of her embarrassment. “I like to think I’m talented...in the up and coming department.” Renee’s cheeks felt hotter. Goodness but it was getting warm in the café. Just the mere thought of being in Travis’ company again without so many people around as making Renee’s pulse race. She hadn’t felt this kind of attraction for a man in such a long time. Not even Robert had gotten her going this fast from their first meeting. Did it have something to do with Travis being so much younger than her? Renee had already found Travis very appealing before she found out he was an artist, but now he was even sexier to her. Hopefully, he wouldn’t make her wait too long before he took her up on her offer. “Are you sure that you have enough time to see Travis’ work?” Dana said. “I mean, you‘re already so swamped with getting ready for your next show at it is. I know Cruz was just telling me how you‘re already burning the candle at both ends.” Travis momentarily took his eyes away from her and glanced at Dana who smiled at him. What in the world was Dana trying to pull? Renee wondered. Her friend knew that she never passed up the opportunity to find a fresh new face in the art world. Usually Dana was so supportive and helpful to her when it came down to hunting down her talent. So, why was she pushing so hard to keep Travis away from her? “I don’t want to put you out,” Travis said finally looking back in her direction. “I can wait until your next show is over before I come by your

gallery.” “Dana is just like a mother hen when it comes to me. She constantly thinks I work too much, but I’m not. Like I said, I’m very interested in seeing what you have to show me.” Travis grinned and again Renee realized how her words could be misinterpreted. “I guess I should go and check on that tea for the two of you,” Dana snapped with a hint of anger in her voice. “I can see that I’m not needed around here anymore.” Turning on her heel, Dana stomped off in the direction of her office finally leaving Renee alone with Travis. Renee knew that she should leave and see what was going on with Dana, but there was something about Travis that was keeping her right in front of him. “I think I should’ve come by at another time,” Travis said as he watched Dana storm away from them. “Dana seems very upset with me for some reason. Usually she’s so friendly when I come in.” “No, I just think the speed dating thing is getting to her today. She wants it to be such a success.” “I wondered what was going on when I came inside,” Travis said. “I know the café is usually pretty full but it did seem more crowded than normal.” “You’re right. Dana does have a successful business. I hate to admit I think I might have upset her too. She wanted me to join in and I backed out on her. Speed dating just isn’t something I want to do at my age.” “What do you mean at your age?” Travis frowned. “You’re a beautiful woman. I can’t believe you would need to do something like speed dating to find a man.” Hearing the compliment made Renee feel good. “I’m single.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d referred to herself as ‘single’. It sounded very strange coming out of her mouth. “I’ve been divorced for a while now.” Renee didn’t want to get on the subject of her ex-husband. Anytime Robert found a way into the conversation it was a constant thorn in her side. He wasn’t going to ruin her day...not after she’d just met Travis. “Well, I have to say that whoever let you go was a very crazy man.” An easy smile played at the corners of Travis’ mouth. Renee found it impossible not to return his disarming smile. “Your girlfriend is a very lucky woman to have such a sweet and charming boyfriend.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Travis answered. “I spend so much time on my career that my past girlfriends have gotten fed up and broken up with me. At first, they think dating an artist would be something cool and exciting to do until they realize all the work that goes into my passion and then they’re out the door.” Should she be this happy that Travis is single? Did she have enough nerve to ask him out on a date? What were his views about going out with an older woman? Sure, he had given her a compliment, but it could have only been a flattering remark and nothing else. Sometimes she did have a bad habit of reading more into a situation than was there. Could this be one of those times? Or should she consider it as nothing ventured, nothing gained?

Chapter Five “I can’t believe a girl wouldn’t find watching you painting very sexy,” Renee flirted back. She wouldn’t mind spending a couple of hours alone with Travis and drooling as he got covered in paint from head to toe. Being around an artist in his element was one of the sexiest things a woman could be invited to do; just the thought of it was very appealing to her. However, she was getting way ahead of herself. Travis hadn’t even volunteered to even bring any of his work to her gallery and she was already dreaming about seeing his hard, toned body smeared with the primary colors. Shit! Maybe Dana was right and she should have done the speed dating thing. At least, she wouldn’t be standing here daydreaming over someone so much younger than her. Travis might not be into the May/December kind of relationship. “Maybe that’s my problem,” Travis said, stepping a little closer to her. “Maybe I should be looking for a woman instead of a girl. It just seems like girls my age don’t appreciate my talent as much as I want them to.” A lock of Travis’ dark brown hair fell across his forehead giving him an even sexier boy look and Renee resisted the urge to brush it back in place with her fingers. Renee couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Was Travis actually flirting with her? Did he feel the underlying currents just like her? Or was she just reading way too much into his comment? Temptation was a bad thing, but she was about to give into it any second now consequences be damned! Wait a minute.... She was the mature one and she needed to keep her wits about her. Travis, no matter how cute his left dimple might be at this very second, couldn’t become a distraction to her. She had too much going on right now to fantasize about this hunky younger man. She’d better get this conversation back on Travis’ art or she might end up saying something that might make him not come to her art gallery. If his talent lived up to Dana’s praise then she wanted him in her next show in a few weeks. Taking one step at a time would work out better for her.

“Travis, let me give you my card and you can make an appointment to come by the gallery. I can show you around and then you can decide if you want to show some of your paintings or drawings at my next opening.” Digging inside her purse, Renee found a business card and handed it to Travis. Taking it from her, Travis slid it into the pocket of his overalls. “Can I call you any time of the day?” “Yes,” Renee answered, trying to keep her surprising attraction to Travis at bay. She wasn’t one of those types of women to get excited if a younger guy tossed a few faltering comments in her direction. No, she was mature and refined. She had a good head on her shoulders now especially after her horrible divorce from her husband. She didn’t see herself jumping into bed with this cutie in front of her. “What if I wanted to call you for something that doesn’t involve my art work?” The question was tossed out at her so fast that Renee was speechless at first. Damn! The younger generation worked faster than the men in her age group. Did Travis just ask her out on a date? “Why don’t you make the call and see what happens?” Renee said as she tried to walk past Travis, but he stepped in front of her blocking her path. “I know I’ll be calling you to discuss more than my talent,” he whispered, softly and then moved out of her way so she could get by. An electrifying shudder reverberated through her as Travis’ eyes held hers a second longer than they should have. Somehow, Renee managed to walk away from him without tripping over her own two feet or looking back over her shoulder. She felt a warm flow rushing through her as she tried not to race back to Dana’s office. Travis was gorgeous and he seemed very interested in getting to know her better. Now, all she had to do was make sure he wasn’t trying to get closer to her because of the gallery. Dana would be the perfect person to talk to this about. Her best friend always had the best advice. She had never pictured herself with a younger guy. Hell, she’d been putting all of her time and energy into the gallery for so long that she hadn’t looked twice at the opposite sex, but first she had to find out what Dana’s problem had been with her earlier. ****

Travis watched as Renee walked away from him towards the office at very back of the room. He couldn’t help but admire the way the jeans hugged Renee’s tight ass and long, toned legs. She was so beautiful. He had noticed her talking to Dana the second he walked through the café’s doors. He’d tried to be cool as he made her way over to them, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Renee was hotter and sexier than Halle Berry. Unlike most of his friends who loved dating girls younger than them, he secretly always had a fascination for older women. Yet he liked being the one who came on to them and not the other way around. Her interest in him wrapped around his body the second he came within touching distance of her. Yet, he could sense she was trying to hide it from him which made him even more drawn to her. Renee’s skin reminded him of the pieces of caramel candy his grandmother kept in a bowl in her living room. He had a horrible sweet tooth and she made him want to take a bite out of her. The artist in him noticed how Renee’s facial features were delicately carved; her mouth was full and inviting. The corners of her mouth turned upwards more than they turned down like she had a ready smile waiting for everyone who came in contact with her. Thick, dark hair hung in long graceful curls over her shoulders and a small tendril was against her silky skin softening up the already perfect features of her beautiful face. But what had captivated him the most was an inner strength that did not lesson her femininity at all. Travis hadn’t meant to come on so strong after Renee handed him her card, but he got the feeling she wasn’t going to make a move. So, hell yeah he jumped the gun and did it himself before one of the men in the speed dating competition beat him to it. Renee was a very interesting and appealing woman that he wanted to know more about. “Excuse,” a feminine voice said behind him. Turning around, Travis found a waitress behind him holding a cup of delicious smelling tea. “Yes, how can I help you?” “Where did the lady go you were just talking to? I have her tea now. I got held up with several customers and wasn’t able to finish her order until now,” the waitress told him. “Renee is going to talk to Dana and then I believe she might leave. I’m not positive.” “Great! I wish she’d cancelled her order instead of just leaving. This tea is too expensive just to pour down the drain.” The waitress spun away from

Travis and stomped off before he got a chance to tell her he would take the tea off her hands. Renee was a tea drinker just like him. The more he found out about her the more he wanted to learn. Travis thought his interest in getting back into the dating pool had completely died when his ex-girlfriend dumped him. Yet, after his chance meeting with Renee today; he was beginning to rethink his idea of becoming a hermit. He wondered why Dana had never mentioned Renee to him before now. Three times a week, he usually made an appearance to pick up his tea order along with his painting supplies at the art shop across the street. Making the last minute decision to come inside to check on his order had been a good idea because otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten introduced to Renee. Travis couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he thought about her. She made his entire body heat up with awareness. Now, all he had to do was get past whatever was holding her back. As hard as she was trying, Renee wasn’t good at hiding her fascination about him which didn’t upset him at all. He liked that she was attracted to him. Travis glanced down at his watch noticing he was already thirty minutes late getting back to his painting. He still needed to make a trip to the art supply store and then visit his parents before heading back out to the campsite. He took one last look at the closed office door in hopes of seeing Renee again, but he seriously doubted she was going to make another appearance. Reaching into his pocket, Travis pulled out the tan business card twirling it around his paint covered fingers. This little piece of advertisement was going to get him a step closer to learning more about Renee Jones. Travis replaced the card and then made his way towards the exit sign. His mind was already on the painting he wanted to show Renee. He wanted to impress her with his talent and hopefully get to know her a lot better during the process. He didn’t even care that he had left without getting his tea. Travis knew he had more important things to take care of and the tea could wait until the next time he came back into town.

Chapter Six “Dana, what in the hell was your problem out there?” Renee asked the second she walked into her friend’s office closing the door behind her. “I’ve never seen you like that before. Why were you such a bitch?” Dana tossed the bag of tea back down on the desk as she turned around and looked at her friend with a blank expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I wasn’t acting like a bitch when you were throwing yourself at Travis. Can I help it if I got embarrassed by your behavior? I decided to leave before it got any worse.” Renee couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did Dana actually have a problem because she was having a nice conversation with Travis? Was there something going on between the two of them that she didn’t know about? Travis didn’t act like he was interested in her friend. If there was, then she wouldn’t think about trying to get to know Travis better. She would keep things strictly professional between them. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would backstab her friend for a man. “Why were you upset by my behavior? Is there something going on with you and Travis?” Renee asked as she walked closer to her friend. “You should have told me when I asked about him.” “No, there isn’t anything going on with me and Travis. I just found it so funny how you haven’t been interested in any guy Cruz or I wanted to set you up with. However, when Travis walked through the door you practically had drool running down the side of your mouth. I mean he’s been coming in here for a few weeks now and he never stared at me the way he did you today.” Renee was astonished when things started to become clearer to her. Dana was jealous! Her best friend wanted Travis which was surprising since Dana had always been attracted to older men. They always in return seemed to love her friend’s exotic looks. Half the time when they were around each other more men asked out Dana than her and it never bothered her. It was an awakening experience that left her reeling for a few seconds as she thought about how to deal with this situation.

“Dana, I wasn’t aware of your attraction to Travis. Now that I do know, I promise that I won’t allow our fascination with to each other to go any further. He’s supposed to show me some of his art work soon and I’ll make it clear to him that I don’t date my clients.” “What! Are you crazy? Don’t you dare do something so stupid,” Dana said, resting her hip against the side of her desk. “I saw how Travis’ eyes lit up while he was talking to you. You would be a fool not to accept a date from him if he asked you out. Just ignore my jealousy. I guess I wasn’t used to a man not paying attention to me first. “You haven’t been out on a date since the divorce. If you really get a chance take it, you never know what it might lead to. Travis is a very goodlooking guy. I know for certain that half the women in town have been offering to pose nude for him.” Renee’s eyebrow went up in shock. “Are you serious? Who in their right mind would offer to do something like that?” “Were you paying any attention to how sexy Travis was when you were talking to him? I think you were since you were outrageously flirting with him right in front of me,” Dana teased her. She wondered if Dana was baiting her. “How could I not see how good Travis looked? I might be older than him, but I’m not dead yet. I wonder how old he is anyway.” “He’s twenty-nine.” Wordlessly, Renee stared at Dana from across the room as Travis’ age started to sink into her head. “God, I’m forty-two years old. I can’t possibility be thinking about getting into any kind of relationship with him. He’s a kid.” “Come on. You know Travis sure in the hell doesn’t look like a kid. He’s a man and we both know it. So what if he’s younger than you. There are a lot of women out there in May-December romances. Now, I’m telling you if Travis asks you out on a date you better not turn him down or I might have to tell Cruz on you. We both know how he can be when he gets pissed at us.” Laughing, Renee went up to Dana and gave her a hug. “Okay, if Travis does ask me out on a date I’ll think about accepting it; however, I’m not going to worry about something that might not even happen.” Dana leaned back from her and then grinned. “Oh, I know Travis is going to ask you out.” “How are you so sure?” “One thing I know for sure and that’s the look of a man interested

in a woman. When it comes to ‘the look’ it’s the same with every man, regardless of age.” “Are you sure about that?” Renee asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Sometimes she had a hard time believing the nonsense Dana came up with. “I’m one hundred percent positive. So, are you done arguing with me? If not, I’ll have to think twice about giving your tea order to you.” Instantly, Renee sobered up. She wouldn’t be able to make it the rest of the day without her order. Most people were addicted to coffee, but she was the total opposite. Tea was her drug of choice and Dana knew it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you. Now, can I have my order?” “I thought you would see it my way.” Reaching behind her back, Dana grabbed the bag of tea off the desk. “How about we go to lunch? I’m starving and I can leave my manager in charge of the rest of the speed dating. I know Jacob and he won’t care at all. Anyways, I want you to tell me how everything turned out at your show last night.” Renee took the tea from Dana. “You have a deal. I wanted to discuss a few other things with you anyway. I have a couple of ideas I want to run past you about the café and my art gallery. I’m hoping we can blend the two of them together somehow.” “Great, I can’t wait to hear your ideas. Let me grab my purse out of my desk and we can be on our way.” Moving back, Renee gave Dana enough space to get off the desk. While her friend was going to get her purse, she let her mind travel back to her conversation with Travis. He did hint to her that he might be interested in going out on a date with her. There was no denying it at all. Renee was totally attracted to Travis. She also got the impression that Travis wasn’t against the thought of dating an older woman, but could she actually say yes if he called her up for a date?

Chapter Seven Standing out near the lake with the sun shining down on the water giving it a natural sparkle, Travis tried to keep his mind on the painting he was working on but he couldn’t keep his thoughts off Renee. How could she not be controlling his thoughts? She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes on...and he did mean woman. His past relationships involved girls his age or a little bit younger. However, in the short period of time he had spoken to Renee, he had found her mature and so much more interesting than any of them. Everything about Renee screamed to the artist in him to find a way to paint her. Her essence would just flow off the canvas if he was talented enough to capture the pure beauty of her soul. Travis had a hard time remembering when he’d been this interested in getting a woman to pose for him. A few of his girlfriends in the past had done it for him and after the relationship was over, he had given them the drawing or painting because they asked for it. But, if he was lucky enough to paint Renee, he would keep her in his collection. He wouldn’t be able to part with it. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way to get Renee to agree to his idea. She came across like she was a little apprehensive of him. He didn’t know what caused it, but he had to find a way to fix the problem. Nothing he wanted to do would be able to happen if Renee couldn’t handle being around him for a long period of time. He did get a sense of satisfaction knowing Renee was drawn to him. The interest in her eyes didn’t go over his head because he felt the same thing during their short conversation. Back at the café, Travis had to fight his overwhelming need to be closer to Renee. He had wanted to touch her so bad but quickly decided that moment wasn’t the right time to make his move on her. Scaring her off wasn’t his plan at all and an unwanted touch might have sent her racing for the nearest exit sign. No...Renee needed to learn more about him first. Just from their short time together he got the feeling she was the type of woman who wanted a

man to move slowly and not jump in without a plan. Placing his paint brush down on the table next to him, Travis reached into his overall pockets and pulled out the business card Renee had given to him. Renee’s invitation to bring some of his artwork to her gallery was the perfect opening that he needed. While they were discussing his talent, he would also use it as a way to find out more about her. Usually he was very confident about his ability to get a date with the opposite sex, but for some reason he was nervous about just asking Renee out of a date. Was it the age thing? Would she consider him too immature to go out on a date with? The incident with his ex-girlfriend had put a little doubt in his ability to figure out the opposite sex. He couldn’t believe he was almost thirty years old and he was nervous about asking Renee out on a date. What in the hell was wrong with him? Question after question raced through Travis’ head as he placed the card back into his pocket and he picked his paint brush back up. Looking back out at the water, he raised his brush to the canvas and worked on trying to capture the beauty of the waterfall and how the sun skipped off the water. Painting was the only thing that cleared his mind enough helping him to see his problems from both sides. He never liked going into anything from painting, drawing or even a commitment without seeing all of the sides first. As Travis brushed his paint brush over a small section of his art work he wondered if Renee would think she would be ‘robbing the cradle’ if he asked her out on a date? He wasn’t concerned with their age differences, but she might have a problem. He knew it was strange for him to be thinking about all of these things about a woman he only talked with for twenty minutes, but Renee had captured his attention. Finding out more about her was very important to him. So, he had to go over every possibility in his head why she might turn down a date with him. **** “How did things go at the café?” Cruz asked Renee the second she walked into the art gallery. “Nothing exciting happened at all. Why do you ask?” Renee asked as she placed her bags on the table near the display case. She had stopped by one of the boutiques she loved before coming back to work. She knew everything would be taken care of with Cruz around. He

was her right hand when she wasn’t at the shop. “Are you really going to act like you didn’t flirt with some young handsome man while you were there?” he teased. “I wondered what was taking you so long to get back here. Now, spill it. Tell me about Travis.” Renee should have known the second she left Dana that she would be on the phone with Cruz. The two of them were like a match making team. When one wasn’t on her case about getting a man, the other stepped in to assist. She never got a break from hearing how much she needed to get back out there on the dating scene. She just wasn’t sure if Travis was the right guy to be with. “I’m assuming that you’ve seen Travis,” Renee said. “Who in this town hasn’t?” Cruz inquired, coming up to her. “He’s the hottest thing walking around on two legs. Let me tell you, I was very disappointed when I found out he was straight as an arrow.” Renee’s laughter rang out in the gallery. “Cruz, you are just too much. I don’t see how your boyfriend isn’t constantly keeping an eye on you.” “He’s knows I’m faithful, but you aren’t going to change the conversation.” Cruz took a seat at the small table she’d set up in the corner and waved her over. “Have a seat and tell me what you talked about with tall, dark and delicious.” Making her way over to Cruz, Renee pulled out a seat and then sat down. “There isn’t that much to tell really. Travis is an artist. We talked about his work and he’s going to bring some of his paintings over to show me. If I’m interested, I might add some to my next showing.” “Do you really think I’m going to believe that shortened version of the story?” Cruz asked. “Dana told me how you couldn’t take you eyes off Travis and vice versa. You know that I won’t let either one of us get back to work until you tell me the truth.” Relaxing in the chair, Cruz crossed one leg over the other and waited. A devilish look came into his hazel eyes as he arched one black eyebrow at her. The expression was one she knew all too much. Her buddy was settling in for a battle...and it was one she always lost. “Fine, I’ll tell you.” She sighed. “I might have been a little taken back by how gorgeous Travis was when he walked through the café’s door, but what woman wouldn’t be?” “Go on. I know there’s more that you aren’t telling me.” Shit! Sometimes Renee hated how nosy her friends could be. What if she wanted to keep this to herself? Dana was bad enough, but then when Cruz was added into the mix, it grew ten times worst.

“There isn’t anything else.” She wasn’t about to tell Cruz how Travis hinted about asking her out on a date. She did have to keep something to herself. “I know you’re lying to me, but I’ll leave it alone. I need to move the new painting to the front wall before I leave,” Cruz said as he got up from his seat. “All I have to say is there isn’t anything wrong with your interest in Travis. Just let it happen naturally.” Renee thought about what Cruz told her as he headed to the back room to get the painting that arrived last night during the gallery opening. She loved that her friends wanted her to get back out on the dating scene, but she didn’t think her first date should be with a guy so much younger than her. Why was she even allowing this to take up such space in her head? She could be worrying about nothing. Travis might have been only flirting with her because he wanted her to put his work in her gallery. After the way Robert had treated her, she had to make sure not to get led astray by a few compliments and a handsome face. Her resolve was so much stronger now and she was going to keep it like that. Renee loved the new woman she had turned into and nothing or no one was going to send her back to her old ways.

Chapter Eight

A week later, Travis stood outside the doors of Divine Design with several of his paintings. Since his meeting with Renee at Dana’s café, he had been painting like a mad man only taking breaks to eat and sleep in hopes he could get at least three more paintings done to bring to the gallery. For some odd reason impressing Renee with his work was very important to him. He wanted her to see his excitement for art within each and every brush stroke on the canvas. During their conversation, he saw in her eyes the love she had for the most creative expression that a person could be gifted with. The look made him wonder what other things Renee could be just as passionate about in her life. “Travis, what are you doing here?” Spinning around, Travis looked at Renee coming towards him in a cute black dress carrying a container of coffee from the shop at the corner. Renee came up to him staring at the canvas he had placed against the building. “Did we have a meeting and I forgot about it? I know it’s been a while since we talked at Dana’s café and I’ve been swamped trying to get this show together.” “No, I just thought I would stop by. Didn’t you say at the café that you wanted to see some of my work?” Travis asked wondering now, from Renee’s reaction, if he’d made a mistake showing up unannounced. “Wonderful.” She smiled. “I’ve been thinking about you. I was kicking myself the other day for not getting your number. I was hoping you would bring something by for me to look at. I have several empty spaces on my walls that I’m looking to fill.” Travis loved how Renee’s smile brought her entire face alive. At first, he thought he might have imagined his fascination for the stunning woman in front of him. However, now Travis saw he was even more drawn to her. He only had to think of way to ask her out on a date. “I hope I have something here that will make you want to hang them in the gallery. I don’t show my work to a lot of people,” Travis said, picking up the paintings. “Let me get the door unlocked and you can show me what you have.” Renee brushed past him and the tempting scent of her perfume tickled his nose. He watched in silence as she unlocked the door and waved him inside. “Go on in,” she said, pointing inside the gallery. Travis went past Renee and stopped in his tracks when he got inside. He had no clue that Divine Design looked this professional and well thought out on the inside. Why hadn’t he found a way in here sooner than this?

“Your gallery is incredible. How long have you owned it?” Travis asked. “Close to five years now,” Renee answered, walking around him. “I started working on it during my divorce. This place kept me sane during a very difficult time in my life.” Going over to a table near the wall, Renee placed her coffee container to the side and waved him over. “Bring your paintings over here and let me take a look at them. The lighting is better over here.” A wave of apprehension swept through Travis’ entire body. This would be his first time showing his work to a trained gallery owner. Over the years, he had gotten compliments about his work from friends and family. Yet, Renee had an expert eye and she wasn’t going to stroke his ego. If his work wasn’t excellent or good enough to hang on her gallery walls then she would tell him. “I brought you mostly nature paintings today. For the past few weeks, I’ve been camping out and the beauty of the scenery is breathtaking. The way the sun hits the water every morning is captivating. I couldn’t wait until I got up every morning to capture the exact moment I wanted.” “Nature paintings are one of my top five favorites,” Renee admitted. “When I had my gallery opening earlier in the week they were the first thing that sold out in thirty minutes. I only have one artist who does them and several of my clients have requested more. Hopefully, you’ve painted what I’m searching for.” Oh, I have what you need, Travis thought as he stared at Renee’s hot body, but he was positive he wasn’t thinking about the same thing as her. “Renee, I think I might what have you looking for,” Travis answered, moving across the room towards her. He saw how her eyes traveled over his body and he was flattered by the interest he noticed in them. His implication of what Renee’s opinion was going to be about his work sent waves of excitement through him. As he got closer the air around them seemed to be electrified. Renee’s love for art was a definite turn-on. Stopping next to Renee, he placed the paintings down on the table. “I don’t like looking at the artist’s work while he’s standing next to me,” Renee said, glancing at him. “It’s just a thing I have. Why don’t you walk around? I’ll call you back over when I’m done.” Travis would let Renee have her space this time, but he wasn’t going to do it again. She wasn’t requesting space because she wanted to study at his work. He wasn’t so much younger than her that he didn’t see what she was trying to do.

His eyes traveled over her face and searched her eyes then it all of a sudden dawned on him. Renee was nervous of him. So, he would do as she requested. He hadn’t come here today to scare Renee away before he even got a chance to get to know her. Baby steps...he had to take baby steps. Renee was coming off a bad divorce. He really needed to move slowly with her, if he was going to get anywhere. Renee might not understand that he wanted more than a business relationship with her, but before he left here today he would find a way to show her. “Okay, I’ll look around and you just can call me when you’re ready to talk about my work,” Travis said then walked away. **** Renee watched as Travis sauntered away from her with a confident swagger that only a guy still in his twenties possessed. She wanted to look away but her eyes were captivated by how the white shirt hugged his body. When Travis was standing shoulder to shoulder with her, she found his nearness disturbing and yet exciting at the same time. She tried her best to focus her attention on the paintings Travis had brought to her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was one goodlooking young man. Why couldn’t he just be about ten years older? She wouldn’t have a problem dating a thirty-seven year old man, but twentynine was just too young for her. Seeing Travis outside her gallery this morning had been a complete and pleasant surprise. He had been a permanent fixture in her mind since their first meeting. As much as she’d tried to forget about him and keep her concentration on finding new artists for her gallery, it was hard to do since every night her dreams were filled with hot images of Travis in her bed. Slowly, she dragged her eyes away from the way the blue jeans were cupping Travis tight, firm ass and gave her concentration back to the paintings laid out in front of her. At first glance, Renee saw that Travis was very talented with a paint brush. Travis’ bold choice in paint colors took his images to the next level along with his keen eye for excellent details in each stroke made on the canvas. He showed his love for Impressionism and any true gallery owner worth a grain of salt could see it without being told. His outdoor scenes with their vivid waterfalls, trees and wildflowers almost looked like the paint had a shimmering gloss to it. Everything about

Travis’ work was very beautiful and captivating without him trying too hard to make it look like it. Without a doubt, Renee wanted Travis’ masterpieces on her walls. She already had a brilliant way to promote them. Now, all that had to be figured out was what kind of deal could be worked out between the two of them. “Travis, I’m ready to discuss your work,” Renee said, drawing his attention away from a Realism painting on the wall done by a local young woman. “Alright,” he answered. Coming back over to her Travis stood next to her towering over her five feet seven inches with his six feet four. “What did you think?” “I would like to show your work in my gallery in a couple of weeks. I was hoping that we could work something out. My cut is fifteen percent and the artist gets the rest. If that doesn’t work for you we might be able to work the numbers a little. I want to help you get your talent out to the public.” “Renee, I think what you’re offering is great.” Travis smiled. “However, I won’t be able to accept unless you take me up on this offer.” “What else do you want? What do I have to agree to so you’ll let me display your work in my gallery?” Mixed feelings surged through her at what Travis could want. “Have dinner with me tonight,” Travis answered, shocking her. Renee couldn’t believe her ears. Sure, she knew Travis had teased her back at Dana’s café about asking her out on a date, but he had actually done it. Her mind whirled at his comment. She tried to get her emotions in order but she wasn’t having any luck. It was hard to be coherent when Travis was this close to her. She was unnerved by the sudden change in conversation. Since her divorce, she was more of a self-confident woman...a woman who knew what she wanted and didn’t have a problem going after it. However, she wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for Travis. “Hmmm...I’m not sure about us going out on a date. I like to keep things very professional with my artists.” Wrapping his hands around her wrist, Travis pulled her close enough to him so she could feel his body heart but not too close that they were touching each other. “Renee, I’m not those other artists. I am me and I want to go out on a date with you. Are you really that nervous about going out with me?” “No, I’m not nervous about going out with you,” Renee answered a little too quickly.

“I wish I could believe you, but I don’t.” Travis tugged her against his body. “I know you’re trying to fight it, but you feel this electricity between us too. Why try to smother it when we could fan the flames and make it even hotter?” Being near Travis like this Renee could feel the sexual magnetism that made him so self-confident and appealing. She saw how he was looking over her seductively trying to draw her into agreeing to a date with him. Every time his stunning blue eyes met hers, her heart turned over and her pulse raced like a young girl out on a date with her first crush. Could she really do this? In all of the years of her marriage to Robert, he never once had made her feel so alive and wanted. There was an air of efficiency about Travis that fascinated her and made her want to know more. The idea of being able to kiss his full lips sent her body and mind soaring like a kite in the sky on a warm summer day. She did want this date as much or even more than Travis. So, why was she agonizing over it? Some of her apprehension evaporated leaving only curiosity about what her date with Travis would bring to the table. “Alright, I’ll go out with you,” Renee finally agreed. “Where do you want me to meet you?” “You aren’t going to meet me again,” Travis said clearly shocked by her suggestion. “I’m going to pick you up for our date. Just give me your address and I’ll be there by seven o’clock. I’m going to make this a night you’ll never forget.” A night she will never forget? Renee didn’t think Travis had the means to do that for her, but she wasn’t going to say anything to bring him down. She knew he was a struggling artist, so anything he could provide for her she would take great enjoyment in. Hell, if she’d allowed Robert to give her countless lazy assed dinners while they were married, she would be able to handle anything Travis tossed her away. He was too damn cute for her to get mad at over a less than expensive dinner. “Let me write down my address for you.” Renee tried to move out of Travis’ arms, but he wouldn’t let her go. “Not so fast,” he whispered. “I think we should have a kiss to close the deal, don’t you?” “A kiss....right now?” Renee didn’t know if she should stay or run. Travis wanted to kiss her. God, would she be able to handle it? Just the thought of his firm mouth on hers was already sending her body into overdrive.

“Sure. I don’t think a kiss—” The rest of the sentence was cut off when Travis captured her mouth with his. She felt his tongue tracing the side of her mouth coaxing her to relax and let him in. The taste of tea and mint mesmerized her senses as Renee slowly opened her lips and Travis’ thick tongue slipped its way inside. His hand wrapped around her waist hugged her against him like he thought she might try to sneak away, but that was the furthest thought from her mind. She was too caught up in how her nipples were rock hard against the front of her dress. Renee felt the passion igniting in her body as Travis’ hand left her waist and inched its way down her back until he was cupping her ass in his palms. He held her against his throbbing erection making her get familiar with the size. Wrapping her hands around his wide shoulders, she held tight urging him to give her more and more. She couldn’t recall the last time her mind and body had been this consumed with a man. Their tongues danced in the ancient art of foreplay giving little hints of what was to come later if they got the chance to be with each other. Renee could smell the scent of Travis’ cologne as he grabbed her by the thighs lifting her up, so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He made love to her with his mouth while a pool of moisture soaked her already damp panties. She moaned in the back of her throat when Travis’ hand eased underneath her short black dress and cupped her ass. “Baby, you feel so fucking good,” he whispered against the side of her mouth. “Renee, I want you so badly.” The sound of Travis’ voice pushed Renee back from the web of desire she was caught up on. Slowly, her eyes connected and she saw the wanting in the dark blue depths, but she couldn’t act on it here. What if Cruz had come in today or what if it had been a customer. Either one of them could have found them wrapped up in each other’s arms like this. “Please put me down,” Renee whispered, removing her arms from around Travis’ neck. Instead of doing as she asked, Travis slid his hand through her hair and rained kisses down the side of her neck. “Don’t try to back away from what happened here. I wanted this as much as you did.” He moved back and held her eyes with his again. “Do you believe me?” Renee thought about it for a few minutes before she nodded her head. “Yes, I believe you.” She knew there was no way Travis could have just faked what occurred between them. He was truly attracted to her.

“Good,” Travis answered and then slid her back down his body until her feet hit the floor. Taking a few steps back, Renee fixed her dress hoping that everything was back in place. She couldn’t have anyone coming in and finding her disheveled in her own place of business. There sure would be questions. “You look beautiful. You don’t have to fix a thing.” Travis reached out and tugged a strand of her hair behind her ear. “How about you give me your address so I can leave and get our first date set up?” Touching Travis’ hand, she removed it away from her face and then walked the short distance over to her desk. Renee quickly scribbled her information down on a note pad. She spun back around and found Travis standing right behind her. “Here you go,” she said, handing him the slip of paper. “Thank you, Renee. Remember to be ready by seven o’clock.” Travis reached out to touch her again, but dropped his hand before it made contact. He gave her a smile and then turned around and headed for the door. Renee stood still watching Travis until he went out the door of the gallery and got inside his truck then drove off. Then it suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks what she had done. She agreed to go out on a date with her hunky new client. Was she out of her mind? Or was she about to have the time of her life?

Chapter Nine “I can’t believe you’re going out with Travis on a date,” Dana said sitting on the end of Renee’s bed watching as she got ready for her first date in over a year. “Do you think I should have told him no when he called me at work? I mean I haven’t been out with a man in so long and never with a younger guy.” Renee turned away from the mirror and looked at her best friend waiting for an answer. Half the time she would jump into anything with her eyes wide open and not care what people thought, but this was different. She really wanted this date with Travis. He had grabbed her attention like no other man had in a while. She was craving to find out more about him and his life; however, taking the steps to get there were a little intimidating. Renee knew how to relate to a man her own age. They could share a common bond by sharing and discussing events from their past. But there were very few things that she and Travis could have a conversation about that didn’t involve a huge generation gap. “Stop doing what you’re doing,” Dana scolded as she got up from the bed. “I can already see your mind working overtime and I don’t want you doing that at all. Travis asked you out on a date because he finds you extremely attractive.” “Just go with it and let things grow and develop. I promise you that he’ll do everything tonight to make sure he gets second date from you. Remember, I told you that I know the look and Travis had the look.” Why did Dana have to be right? Renee thought to herself. Dana always seemed to know what was going on with her before she even uttered a word. Sometimes it felt like Dana knew her better than she knew herself. She guessed that was one of the reasons she had become such instant friends with her. “Fine,” she sighed “I won’t over think my date tonight. I’ll just have fun and try to forget about everything else.” Renee turned towards the mirror but spun back around when a thought crossed her mind. “Are you okay with this? I mean you did have a little bit of interest in Travis. Does it bother you that I’m going out on a date with him?”

“No, not at all,” Dana assured her. “Travis has known me a little longer than he has you. If he wanted to go out on a date with me then he would have asked me a long time ago. Forget about me. Have fun tonight. I need to leave anyway. I’m going over to Cruz’s house tonight. I’m having dinner with him and his brother. You know we’re going to have too much fun.” Coming up to her, Dana gave her a quick hug. “Don’t allow this chance to slip through your fingers. Travis is a good guy. At least give him a chance to prove it to you. Every man isn’t Robert, so why keep giving your lousy ex-husband control over you? It’s your time to have fun and shine.” Stepping back from Dana, she smiled at her very opinionated friend. Dana was right. She was already thinking about how not to enjoy her date with Travis instead of allowing things just to happen. “Alright Mother, I won’t scare Travis away with me bringing memories of Robert and his horrible treatment of me. He’s out of my life and that is where he’ll stay.” Renee was confident enough to know that she wouldn’t go back on her word. “Excellent, Just remember as soon as you get home give me a call because I want to hear every single detail and I do mean every single detail.” Dana touched her on the shoulder. “You don’t have to walk me to the door, I know the way.” Walking past her, Dana headed out of the bedroom and a few minutes later Renee heard the door close downstairs. Facing the floor length mirror again, Renee rechecked her appearance one last time trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach. She ran her hands over the olive one shoulder dress that tied at the waist and stopped right below her knees. She had purchased this dress six months ago when she was in New York trying to get an artist’s work in her gallery. Unfortunately, she’d been too late and the painter turned down her offer. He informed her that he had already signed with a local gallery in New York blocks away from his condo. So, she decided an impromptu shopping trip might take away some of the sting of losing a client. Just as she was about to give up all hopes of finding the ‘perfect dress’, this stunning creation in the back of the shop caught her eye. The dress wasn’t overly seductive but it wasn’t matronly either, it held just enough sexiness to be eye-catching and appealing to a man of any age. When Dana was here, Renee had tried her best not to show how excited she was about her date with Travis, but she was thrilled to death. She guessed that she had done a good job, because Dana didn’t offer her any more advice

about how to act. Honestly, she wasn’t in the mood for anymore guidance about how she should behave tonight. Yes, it had been a little while since she went out on a date. But she still knew the mechanics of what went on when a woman went out with a man. Travis might be younger but he was still a man. Her date with Travis tonight was her chance to cut loose and just have a good time. Nothing was going to hold her back. Everything was running smoothly at the gallery. With the addition of Travis’ paintings she now had enough for another small show for a selected clientele who were only involved in adding to their already huge collections of paintings. Right at this moment, Renee didn’t think her life could get any better than it already was. Moving closer to the mirror, she turned around and looked at the dress from the back making sure one final time that everything was in place. Liking what she saw, Renee slowly faced forward again and allowed all of the unnecessary built up energy to leave her body. This was her night! Once she walked out of that front door with Travis, she wasn’t going to allow anything to influence her mind with bad vibes. Ever since her divorce from her lying, cheating ex-husband Robert, she had always sought out perfection from the way she ran her gallery down to the clothes she wore. For some little reason, Renee believed that if she worked hard enough and did her best somehow the perfect man would fall in her lap or Robert might see his mistake and come back to her. However, she quickly came to her senses realizing that she didn’t want Robert back. She was too much woman for him. The next man she got into a relationship with had to walk side by side with her and not want her to be a step behind him. She knew there was no such thing as a perfect man. Renee only dreamed the man who was the perfect fit for her was out there searching for her. She wasn’t dependent on a man, but she did love how it felt to be in a relationship. Renee learned rather suddenly after her divorce how she loved the simplest things in life. She didn’t have to show off to impress anyone. If a person liked her then fine and it they didn’t then she was okay with that too. All that mattered was how she felt about herself each and every night when she laid her head down on the pillow. Could Travis be the man she had been looking for all along? Renee wondered about this as she left her bedroom making her way down the hallway into the kitchen. She wasn’t quite ready to let her mind go there yet.

Reaching into the kitchen cabinet, she pulled out a glass and filled it with water from the sink. After taking a long satisfyingly drink, she rested her back against the sink and thought about what would happen once her first date with Travis was over. Would this date with Travis lead to many more? Intelligent and interesting men were the ones who attracted her mind the most and Travis definitely had abundance of both coursing through his well-built body. She knew Travis would be able to carry on an intelligent conversation with her during dinner. Renee paused for a minute with the glass halfway to her mouth. Wait a minute. What if she was wrong about him? What if Travis was all talk and no action? Would he drop the ball on her when she least expected it? No...Travis might be worse than that. He could be the kind of guy that when he was out in a crowded restaurant would be a show-off or worse, brag about himself so much that it came across as overly self-important. All kinds of thoughts raced through Renee’s mind as she took another sip of water before she finally shut her mind down. She was doing it again. This thing she promised herself not to do when it came to her date with Travis. She was envisioning the worst before the date even happened. During her conversations with Travis, he never once came off as any of those things. So, why would he take a drastic change on their date tonight? Usually she spent so much time giving things around her so much attention that she missed the forest for the trees; however, tonight none of that was going to happen. Renee promised herself to take things slowly with Travis. .No thinking about tomorrow or the day after that. “I can do this,” Renee said to herself as she set the glass inside the sink. Taking a deep breath, she shoved her doubt and nervousness to the back of her mind because there was no place for it tonight. Squaring her shoulders, Renee walked out of the kitchen and headed for the living room just as the door bell rang letting her know Travis was right in time. She stopped in her tracks as her heart sped up in her chest so fast that she felt like she had just come from running a marathon. “Okay, this is it,” Renee whispered to herself as she smoothed her hands over the dress and then slowly made her way to the front door. Without giving herself a chance to find a way to back out, she wrapped her hand around the cool metal doorknob and opened the door.

Chapter Ten Instead of ringing the doorbell when he first arrived at Renee’s house, Travis decided to stand on her front step for a minute or two so he could get his racing thoughts pulled together. He didn’t want to say anything dumb to make Renee regret agreeing to this date. However, his entire well thought out speech disappeared from his mind the instant he laid eyes on Renee’s killer figure in the body hugging dress. She looked like a flawless gift waiting to be opened by him. Travis never thought Renee could ever look more beautiful than when he first laid eyes on her at the café, but she truly looked stunning in front of him right now. He almost wanted them to stay at her house, so no other man would get a chance to look at her. “You look breathtaking,” Travis said as his eyes wandered over Renee’s body in the olive colored dress. He had always been a fan of the color green, but he was even a bigger fan of it now. “Thank you.” Renee opened the door wider. “Why don’t you come in?” “Thanks.” Travis moved past Renee and went into the house. He waited until she closed the door before he handed her his present. “These are for you. I wasn’t quite sure which ones to get, so I finally decided on these.” “Yellow roses are my favorite,” Renee said, taking the flowers from him. She took a whiff smiling at him over the top. “Please have a seat and let me put these in some water. Then we can go.” Walking past him, Renee went into the kitchen but instead of sitting down like Renee asked he followed behind her. He wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to see her toned ass in the dress. Standing halfway inside the kitchen, Travis watched as Renee found a vase in the cabinet and took care of the flowers. He loved how her beautiful face lit up with a huge smile when her eyes landed on them. He knew right then he had made the right choice. “You have a beautiful home. I love the Spanish decor. How long have you lived here?” Travis asked as Renee placed the yellow roses down on a table in the breakfast nook by the back door. “I lived here with my ex-husband. I got it in the divorce since it was

the only thing I wanted from Robert,” Renee said, glancing back over her shoulder at him. Travis hated hearing about Renee’s ex-husband. After their kiss at the gallery, he wanted to know more about her so he asked around a little and found out a lot about her ex-husband and his treatment of her. What man in his right mind would have an affair on a woman as sexy as Renee? Tonight, Travis wanted to work hard to show Renee that all men weren’t as unworthily as her ex-husband. He wondered how she was going to like his surprise for their first date. Several ideas for the spot had crossed his mind and then he’d finally decided on this location. A bad first date location was what could make or break getting a second date and Travis knew he was going to want a second date with Renee. Easing across the room, he closed the space between him and Renee until he was within touching distance of her. He was trying to keep his distance but he had to touch her or he wouldn’t be able to make it through the date. “You have something right here,” Travis said, touching the corner of Renee’s mouth with his index finger. “What is it?” Renee’s soft hand reached out to brush it away, but he grabbed her finger before she could make contact. “My lips,” he whispered then kissed her. Renee wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued to kiss her. Slipping his tongue between her full lips, Travis sucked Renee’s tongue back in his mouth loving how she readily followed his every move like she had been starving for another kiss from him. Her reaction made him feel ten feet tall; it showed him that the bundle of sexiness in his arms craved him just as much as he desired her. The memory of their kiss from this morning lingered in his head so much that he couldn’t even paint anything when he had gotten back to his campsite. All he could think about was getting back to Renee, in hopes they might end up like this again. Travis wanted Renee with a fever that shocked him, but he didn’t want to move too fast and scare her away before whatever was going on between them got started. Gently, he eased his mouth away from hers and rained a series of kisses at the side of her mouth and along her neck. “Renee, as much as I would love to continue this,” he whispered against her silky vanilla scented skin, “we need to go or we’ll be late for our date.” Travis eased back from her soft body staring down into her upturned face.

The look of desire in her eyes pleased him. The tip of Renee’s tongue peeked out from between her teeth and she ran it across her lips. The innocent movement made Travis’ cock jump and swell. The idea of staying here and making out with Renee some more crossed his mind, but he really wanted to surprise her with their first date. He would have time again later before the night was over for him to have another taste of her. “Are you ready to go?” Travis asked, touching the side of Renee’s face with his fingertips. “Yes, I just need to get my stuff out of the living room on the way out,” Renee answered, taking a step back from him. “Let’s go beautiful,” Travis said, grabbing Renee by the hand. “Your night of surprises is waiting for you.”

Chapter Eleven “How did you do all of this?” The shock was loud and clear in her soft voice. Renee stood frozen in the park as her eyes stared at the twinkling lights hung on the low branches of the trees. The entire patio was set up for a romantic meal for two. Music played softly in the background while a chef was busy at the side preparing their food. She took her time taking in everything. “I did a painting for the man who’s the groundskeeper and he opened it to me for tonight,” Travis asked as he came up to her. “I wanted to do something special for our first date. I didn’t think you’d have ever eaten a romantic dinner by a pond, so I tried my best to make it happen.” Spinning around, Renee smiled up at Travis. No one had ever done something so unique and touching for her ever. Not even her ex-husband Robert had thought about doing something like this for her. Travis was right. This would be a night that would stay in her mind for the rest of her life. “Travis, this is stunning. I will remember this forever,” she said, glancing around the area again. Pulling her to him, Travis ran his hand down the side of her neck. “I want to do a lot of amazing things with you Renee. I don’t know why I’m so drawn to you, but I’m not going to fight it. I’ll let it happen and see where we end up. Are you willing to take the same plunge as me, or am I in this alone?” The suggestion intrigued her making Renee wonder when the last time was that she’d truly taken pleasure in being in the company of a man. She had sensed there was something special about Travis from the very beginning, but was she ready to explore it to the fullest? Travis looked as if he was battling himself not to ask her the question again; however, what surprised Renee the most was her own driving need to agree to what he wanted. For the past months, she had been so swamped with work that she never thought there would be any time for romance in her busy schedule.

The thought barely crossed her mind before another followed. Could she handle work and trying to date Travis? An even more terrifying realization washed over Renee. She wasn’t scared to give it a shot. If it didn’t work out, so what, but she wasn’t about to lose this chance. Sometimes things only came by once in lifetime and this was going to be her chance. “I’m willing to take the plunge with you,” Renee answered. “Just don’t move too fast. I really want us to get to know each other.” A faint light twinkled in Travis’ eyes as he grinned at her. “I’ll try my best to take it slow with some things, but kissing isn’t one of them. I love how your mouth tastes. I want to sample it as much as possible.” Lowering his head, Travis kissed her again to prove his point. The soft kiss consumed Renee making her wrap her arms around Travis’ wide shoulders. She didn’t think about anything else but getting lost in the kiss and how it felt to have Travis’ arms around her. A voice interrupted them. “Excuse me, sir.” “I think someone wants our attention,” Travis whispered, staring down at her. “I do too.” Renee smiled. Turning her around in his arms, Travis hugged her to his body as he looked at the waiter. She was guessing their food might be ready. “Yes, Antonio,” Travis said. Chef Antonio smiled at her then addressed Travis. “Your meal is ready and already placed on the table as you requested. The dessert is in the container on the table and the wine is chilling in ice by the side of the table. If you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll be leaving.” “I’ll be right back,” Travis whispered in her ear before moving away.” Standing back, Renee watched Travis as he walked away with Antonio to take care of whatever was left for their date. She took a whiff of the air loving the smell of freshly cooked food that filled it. She was such a sucker for a well-prepared meal. She had skills in the kitchen, but sometimes it did feel good to have someone else cooking for you. Moving over to the railing surrounding the patio, Renee glanced down to the water below. She loved being outside with the sounds of the world around her. She couldn’t have planned a better first date with Travis if she planned it herself. Tonight was turning out pretty good and she hadn’t even sat down to dinner yet. What else did the night have prepared for her? Could it possibly get any better than this? “What are you doing way over here away from me?” Travis asked as he

came to stand next to her. Renee turned so she was facing Travis. “I was only thinking.” “Want to share what it was about?” His eyes were gentle and understanding as he watched her. Smiling, Renee placed her hand in the middle of Travis’ chest. She was done allowing her doubts to spoil this beautiful night. “It wasn’t anything important. How about we head over to that delicious smelling food?” “Only on one condition,” Travis told her. “What condition would that be Mr. Cole?” “You’ll dance with me.” Renee didn’t have a problem with that at all. In fact, she really liked anytime she got a chance to be in Travis’ strong arms. She had never felt more secure or sexy than when she was against him. Which completely surprised her since Travis was so new in her life. Were endorphins taking so much that she couldn’t control her reactions? “How can I turn down such a wonderful suggestion?”

Chapter Twelve Wiping her mouth, Renee placed the napkin down on her empty plate. She couldn’t eat another bite. “Travis, you have to tell me where you found Chef Antonio because his Tarragon Chicken was out of this world. I loved it.” Travis he poured them some more wine and grinned at her. “I’ll pass on your compliment. We went to college together. I was there for art and as you call tell, Antonio was there for food. He’s about to go overseas in a few months to finish studying in Paris. He did this dinner tonight as a favor for me. Antonio was there for me through a rough patch I was having back then.” Renee noticed the far away look that came into Travis’ eyes as he placed the wine bottle back into the bucket. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, reaching across the table to touch his hand. He blinked a couple of times before his full attention got focused back on her. “No, I don’t right now but maybe later. I’d rather learn more about you,” Travis answered. “Like what?” Renee reached for her wine glass and took a sip then placed it back. “Have you always lived here? I know that you have an ex-husband, but do you have any children? How did you get involved in the art world?” Question after question was rattled off so fast that Renee didn’t think she would have enough time to answer them all. She couldn’t let this night turn out to be totally about her. Not when she wanted to know so much more about Travis. “Okay...I’ll answer these questions if you answer some of mine after I’m finished.” “Deal,” Travis agreed without even thinking about it. Renee got more comfortable in her chair trying to decide how she wanted to tell Travis about herself. Most of her adult life unfortunately involved being in a loveless and stressful marriage to Robert. She truly didn’t find happiness until the final divorce papers were signed. “I was married to Robert for almost ten years. I can’t say it was the

best marriage in the world, so to get my mind off of it I started going to art galleries back in my home town. Slowly, I began to realize the passion I had for the industry and got more involved which guided to me deciding to start my own gallery. “Robert hated it which added more tension to our already crumbling marriage. He detested not being the center of attention, so he got a transfer out here for his job in hopes I would give up my dream for his. When I didn’t do this, he started cheating on me and I divorced him. Which was the best decision of my life; honestly, I despised that I didn’t do it sooner,” Renee admitted. “I wish I could say I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you and your husband, but I can’t. Because if they had I wouldn’t be here with you right now,” Travis said. The more time she spent around Travis the more Renee liked what she saw and heard. He was very honest and direct, two qualities she found very attractive in a man. “I kept up my end of the bargain. Are you ready for yours?” she asked. “Ask away and I’ll answer each and every question to the best of my ability, but at least allow me one pass. I’m not saying I won’t answer it in the future just not tonight.” Renee couldn’t argue with Travis’ request. He had a right not to tell her everything about him on the first date, besides everything up to now had been pretty damn good. Which meant she really had nothing to complain about at all and she wasn’t going to look for anything either. “Why did you decide to become an artist? What is one thing you haven’t painted yet? Have you ever had your heart broken by a girlfriend? Is your family supportive of your career choice?” Renee stopped with her questions deciding she had given Travis enough to answer for one night. Leaning back in his chair, Travis folded one leg over the other like he was trying to get more comfortable. “Ever since I was around two years old I’ve loved to paint and draw, it’s just a part of me like my hair and eyes. Yet, I never envisioned myself doing anything else ever in my life. I think when I’m old and gray I’ll die with a paintbrush in my hand.” “Sounds like you’ve always know what you’ve wanted to do with your life,” Renee said. “Yes and my parents have always been supportive of anything I wanted to do. They even bought me an apartment with a huge studio inside so I could display my work. It was a graduation present for me. However I think I spend more time camping out in the woods than I do there.”

Renee wondered why Travis spent so much time in the woods instead of his home. Did he get more clarity out in the wilderness? “Is there a reason you like being out in nature when you paint?” “Yes, it relaxes me. I can hear myself think when I camp out underneath the stars. I love my apartment but sometimes the four walls close in on me and I can’t take it. All of my creative juices leave my head and sometimes I don’t ever get the idea back which pisses me off.” “Travis, you’ve been very open with me, but you didn’t answer one of my questions,” Renee said, wondering if Travis was going to avoid the subject again. Or was he going to give her an answer. She truly wanted to know if his heart had been broken before. “I know what question you wanted answered,” he said. “I haven’t talked about my last relationship with too many people. Let’s just say I was in love with someone, but she didn’t feel the same way about me. I thought I had everything and then I found out I wasn’t what she was looking for.” Immediately, Renee experienced more of a connection with Travis. She knew how it felt to want someone and then realize in the end they weren’t ever actually into you. “I’m sorry she broke your heart, but things will get better,” Renee told Travis. She wanted him to see life could go on after a bad relationship. “I never thought it could, but after tonight I’m beginning to believe things might.” Standing up, Travis held out his hand as the sounds of the water and the trees blowing lightly in the wind surrounded them. “Would you like to dance with me?” he asked. “Yes, I would.” Placing her hand in his, Renee allowed Travis to pull her up from her seat and into his waiting arms. While the music played around them drawing them into their own private world, and as Travis pulled her against him, Renee allowed herself to finally relax. The way his body swayed to the love song made Renee wonder if Travis was this good at everything he put his mind towards. Her dinner tonight with Travis was one of the best she ever had in her life. He knew how to make it romantic without going over the top. He asked just the right amount of questions without being too nosy. Not once did Renee think about the age difference between them. He proved that being romantic and mature didn’t necessarily come with age, but with the man. As Travis turned her around the pretend dance floor and then back into his arms, Renee wondered when their next date would be. She wasn’t worried there wouldn’t be another one. She was just thinking about how in the world Travis could top himself after this.

Chapter Thirteen “Travis, I really did have a wonderful time tonight. You made it very special for me. I never thought my first date after my divorce would be so perfect.” Renee placed the cup of coffee down on the table in front of the couch and then took a seat next to Travis. At the last minute, she’d decided to invite Travis in for coffee so they could finish off the dessert left over from their dinner. She loved carrot cake and Chef Antonio’s was the best she’d ever tasted next to her mother’s recipe. “I’m very pleased you did. I wanted to make this night all about you.” Travis placed his arm on the back of the couch and slid closer to her. “All while I was driving us back to your house I couldn’t get the thought of kissing you out of my mind. You have the most perfect lips.” Renee’s face warmed at the compliment. “Thank you.” She knew what was going to happen the second Travis began to lower his head and she secretly wondered what had taken him so long to kiss her again. Kissing him was fast becoming an addiction to her and Renee wasn’t worried about it in the least. He nibbled at the side of her mouth drawing a low moan from somewhere deep inside of her body. Slowly, Travis pulled away leaving her wanting more and then he licked at the seam of her swollen lips asking for entrance inside. Without even giving it thought, Renee opened her lips giving Travis what both of them craved. His tongue played with hers then he ran the tip along the tops of her teeth before seeking out her warm willing tongue again. “Oh my God,” Renee mumbled against Travis’ firm lips. Travis pulled away from her and smiled down at her. “Renee, you taste so appetizing. I could make out with you for the rest of the night, but I don’t want to move too fast for you. Do you want me to leave?” Leave! Was Travis out of his mind? She wanted him to kiss her some more. “No, you can stay for a little longer. I liked what we were doing,” she

answered honestly. “Me too, baby,” Travis said before he picked her up and straddled her legs over his hard thighs. The feel of his hard, long, thick cock between her thighs had Renee squirming around until Travis grabbed her by the waist. “Sweetheart, if you don’t stop we’ll go much further than I had planned for us on our first date.” Instantly, Renee stopped moving and locked eyes with Travis. “Sorry, you just feel so hard and good.” His deep chuckle echoed in her living room sending tiny shivers over her skin. “Sweetheart, you feel unbelievable too.” Travis ran his hands down the sides of her arms. “I could touch you for the rest of the night and never get tired.” Titling her head to the side, Travis ran his tongue over her neck drawing the tender skin between his teeth. Not enough to hurt....but just enough to feel enjoyable. He released her neck and then inched his way back down towards her mouth until he was kissing her again. Slow, wet kisses were delivered until Renee was leaning against Travis making him support all of her weight. Grabbing her by the hips, Travis held her against him as he rubbed his warm cock against her soaked underwear. “Renee, I want you so much. This morning, I woke up with a hard-on the size of Texas after dreaming about you my arms like this, but I can’t let this happen.” He groaned against her swollen lips then eased her away from him. “Not on our first date. We have to stop.” Renee wanted to argue with Travis, but she knew he was right. No matter how much her body wanted him to continue loving her, her mind knew that he was making the right decision. It was way too soon in their relationship for them to be making love. She knew it was going to happen, but not tonight. “You’re right,” she finally agreed. “I know I am, but it doesn’t mean I like it.” Picking her up by the waist, Travis placed her back on the couch next to him. The big bulge in the front of his tan slacks didn’t go unnoticed by her. She wondered what it looked like. Did Travis have more staying power than Robert? Or would he be in and out in a matter of seconds? “You have nothing to worry about Renee. I can promise you that I’ll be able to please you well into the morning,” Travis said, shocking her that she had spoken the words out loud and not in her head. “Oh God, I can’t believe I said that out loud.” “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I like that you were

wondering about me. It’s a turn-on.” Travis gave her another quick kiss on the mouth and then got up from the couch. “I better go or I won’t be able to leave you looking so damn tempting in that dress. You knew better than to wear something so enticing on a first date, but I’m sure in the hell glad you did for me.” Renee reluctantly got up from the couch and followed Travis to the front door. She took a quick deep breath hoping to get herself back under control. Travis had her body in overdrive from a few kisses and wandering touches. He knew how to use his hands for more than painting. “Are you sure you can’t stay any longer?” she asked. “We don’t have to kiss or anything. We can cuddle on the couch and just watch television.” Renee had such a good time tonight that she wasn’t ready for the date to end. Spinning away from the door Travis gently pulled her into his arms. “Sweetheart, I would love to stay longer with you, but if I go back over to that couch with you I can promise you that we will be doing more than cuddling. I really need to go.” Placing her hands in the center of Travis’ hard chest, Renee stared up into his eyes. Wasn’t she supposed to be the more level headed one since she was older? However, Travis was right. He couldn’t stay any longer. It was time for him to leave. At least, she would have her dreams to keep her company tonight since there wouldn’t be another warm body in her bed. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Just call me when you can. I’ll be at work for most of the day,” she told Travis. “You better get ready to see me tomorrow. I’ll be at the gallery around twelve to treat you to lunch. I wanted to take you to that new sandwich shop down from Dana’s Café called Big Boys.” Renee was beyond excited. She seldom left the gallery for lunch. Usually Cruz would go and grab them something to eat while they worked at the gallery. Having lunch with Travis might turn out to be a better experience than dinner was tonight. She would just have to wait and find out. “You have a deal.” She smiled. “I haven’t eaten lunch away from my work desk for months. A change of scenery might be nice and get my juices flowing.” Travis touched her on the arm and brought her body back to his. “I know several different and very pleasing ways to get your juices going if you invite me to stay again.” His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. The caress of his lips on her mouth sent a heady sensation shooting through her body. He moved his mouth over hers, devouring its softness.

Wrapping her arms around Travis’ neck she eased him closer and was surprised by the urgency in her kiss. Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes. “Renee, I have to stop. I need to leave before this goes any further. I do want us to have something to do after our date tomorrow night.” Travis gently removed her arms from around his neck and then took a step away. Closing her eyes, Renee blew out a huge breath then ran her fingers through her hair. She slowly opened them and found Travis staring at her. “You’re right. We shouldn’t have started something up again that we aren’t able to finish.” “It’s okay, baby. We’ll be together sooner than later,” Travis promised. Opening her front door, he went out and then glanced back over his shoulder. “Our date tonight was amazing. I’m really glad that you said yes.” “I am too,” Renee admitted as she joined Travis at the door. “Can’t wait to see what else you have planned for me.” “I can’t give away all of my secrets but I think it’s pretty good. You’ll just have to wait and see.” Spinning around, Travis walked off her porch and Renee followed behind him. Renee relaxed in the doorway of her front door watching as Travis walked down her pathway, got inside his Jeep then drove off. She didn’t think she would have liked riding in a Jeep, but it wasn’t that bad. If she could get used to riding in a Jeep with Travis what else could she tolerate for Travis? Time would only tell, but she was more than ready to find out.

Chapter Fourteen “You know that we aren’t going away anytime soon until you tell us how your date went with that super hunky Travis,” Cruz said as he followed Renee around the gallery with Dana hot at their heels. “There isn’t anything to tell,” Renee answered as she added the name plates to Travis’ paintings. Cruz had stayed late last night and gotten them organized with the other paintings and drawings for the show. Interested clients were already peeking their heads in when the word got around she had three paintings by Travis Cole in her gallery. He was the hottest upcoming artist in town and anyone who got their hands on one of his pieces would have a collection piece to brag about to their friends. “Don’t you lie to us,” Dana said, coming up to her. “I called you several times last night and didn’t get an answer. You always call me before you go to bed, but you seemed to have forgotten all about it last night. Care to share why?” Renee stopped in her tracks. Twirling around, she found her two best friends standing there with these huge grins on their faces. She wouldn’t be able to get anything done if she didn’t give the two of them something and then send the two busybodies on their way. “My date with Travis was fantastic. He found a way to get the park closed down for the night and he decorated it with lights, music and even hired a chef to cook our meal. Everything was perfect. I wasn’t expecting any of it at all.” “Damn girl. You got a good man there. I never remember that asshole Robert doing anything so romantic for you,” Cruz said. “I think he was probably too busy doing Sheila in any empty place they could find. “Now, you know that I’m so jealous. Travis is not only drop dead gorgeous, but a gentleman too. When have you come across a man like that? Never.I mean, I thought men like him didn’t exist anymore.” Smiling, Renee couldn’t help but get lost in what happened with her and Travis when they got back to her house. She was so glad he turned out to be more of the level-headed one in the end. Maybe he wasn’t as immature or young as she first thought.

“Yes, Travis turned out to be a total surprise. We’re going to lunch today and then we’re going to discuss his art some more.” “Why bother even going into any details about his art. You know that you would rather be young again and make out with him on the couch in your living room. I’m pretty sure a guy as hot as Travis would want you to give him more than a good night kiss on the cheek,” Dana told her. “I know about these things.” “Care to tell me how you know about these things?” Renee asked looking back and forth between Dana and Cruz. “I was just thinking how you needed to loosen up just a bit. Travis is a spontaneous young man. You need to let him take you anywhere he might want to go. Live in the moment. Be a little more like me,” Cruz encouraged. “No thank you, Cruz.” Renee laughed. “If I was more like you I would be dancing around in my underwear at a moment’s notice. I can’t handle stuff like that. I never had a spontaneous bone in my body.” “Why are you bringing that up? I told you that incident only happened once and it was at a New Year’s party. At least I was at my own house and not out at a club. Anyways, we are here to help you out. You should listen to all of our advice. The more you learn about Travis the better it will help cement your relationship with him in the end.” “Thank you, Dr. Phil.” Renee sighed as she turned away from Cruz and Dana to proceed back to her desk. “I agree with Cruz,” Dana chimed in at the last minute. “You need to try some different things in your life. You’re too set in your boring and dull ways. Get out there and live a little. Nothing is going to happen with Travis until you give a hundred percent” “I’m moving just at the right pace.” Renee continued on to her desk and took a seat. “You don’t know what that is because you were married half your life. All we’re saying is don’t allow your fears to scare you away from Travis,” Dana said as she walked up to her desk. “I need to head back to the café, but think about what Cruz and I told you.” “Listen to Dana. She only wants the best for you just like me.” Cruz came around the desk touching her on the shoulder. “I’m leaving for the rest of the day unless you need me to stay here. My boyfriend is back in town and he wants us to spend the day picking out new furniture for the apartment.” “Cruz, go ahead and leave. I can handle the gallery by myself and take Dana with you. I won’t get the rest of my work done with her here hovering

over me.” “Did you forget that I was on my way out?” Dana asked as Cruz grabbed her by the arm. “I don’t need Cruz’s help getting out of here.” “Dana, why don’t you stop talking,” Cruz butted in. “I want to talk to you about something.” Renee watched as Dana totally changed her focus from her and Travis over to Cruz. Sitting back in her chair, she watched as Dana got engrossed in whatever Cruz was telling her. So much so, that her friend didn’t even tell her goodbye before going out the door behind Cruz; however, she was okay with it. Renee would rather Dana and Cruz both be gone instead of here at the gallery giving her dating advice. After the way things ended between her and Travis last night, she knew what she was doing when it came to dating the opposite sex. If Travis didn’t have any complaints then she wasn’t gong to be worried about at thing.

Chapter Fifteen Grabbing the sheets of paper out of the printer, Renee’s eyes scanned over it making sure that none of her regular clients were left off. Having a successful gallery meant refining a dedicated following and collector base, buyers who were really interested in buying the pieces she had up for sale. She had gotten a pretty good base so far, but it could always be bigger and better. The longer she stayed in business the better her gallery would eventually become. It took a while for her to realize that this was her business and not a social gathering for her friends to visit for food and conversation. Some people might come in and look around pretending that they loved who you were and what you were doing. But, in reality only wanted to come inside for drinks and weren’t thinking about buying a thing ever. Not even if they had enough money in the bank to buy the entire building if they had the chance. Renee wasn’t going to allow herself to turn into one of those galleries who never got past the clique stage, who only wanted to showcase their own work along with some of their friends. If she did that nonsense then everything inevitably would have her closing down her dream. No, she was going to do everything in her power to keep her gallery up and running. Over the years, Renee learned very quickly that she had to care about what her clients wanted. If she was honest with herself, it did take a while before she was about to convince the art world she knew what she was doing. Her gallery was the most important thing in her life; it was a business that she had to oversee like it was her newborn baby. Something that was worth her time and energy every single day she came through the door. She couldn’t ever consider it a place to have limited participation for a select few privileged customers. Only having the ‘rich’ people making a visit wasn’t helping her in the end. Somehow over time, Renee finally figured out how to spot the non-buyers from the buyers. Individuals who may love the art scene with everything in them, can talk about the paintings like a pro, but aren’t ever

going to pay her with a check or credit card. Her main goal during any of her shows was to keep it simple and not put anyone off by talking too much. She wanted the artist’s work to showcase itself and then add her opinion in here and there. Nobody was ever going to be interested in buying any of her clients’ works if they didn’t have a clue about what was going on with it. The easier she made it for them, the more referrals she would get which would in the end lead to a broader audience. “Are you so lost in thought that you didn’t hear me come in?” a male voice asked causing Renee to practically jump out of her seat. Placing her hand over her pounding heart, Renee glanced across the table and found Travis standing there wearing a pair of jeans with a little hole in the knee, gray t-shirt and work boots. He looked hotter than any guy had the right to. “God, Travis you scared the hell out of me. No, I didn’t hear you come in. I was too busy working on the upcoming show for your paintings. Is it lunch time already?” she asked, placing the printout down on the desk. “Actually, I’m about five minutes late. I had to stop by the paint store for new brushes,” he asked. Coming around the desk, Travis dragged her out of her seat into his arms. “Do you know how much I’ve missed you? I thought about you all last night while I was alone in my sleeping bag staring up at the stars.” “You’re still camping out in the woods?” Renee asked. “Yes, I’ll be out there for at least a couple more days. I get my best work done when I’m one with nature. You should join me there one night. I swear you’ll love it.” “Camping....me? I’ve never been fond of sleeping out underneath the stars. I did it with one of my boyfriends during college and it wasn’t my thing.” “Baby, he didn’t know how to make it enjoyable for you like I can,” Travis bragged. “How about it? Do you think you want to spend some time with me out in the great outdoors?” Renee had never thought of herself as a wilderness woman, so it would be something that she would have to think about. Travis might like being out in the dirt because he was an outdoors man, but she liked being inside in a bed not outside on the ground. “Give me some time to think about it. I’m not telling you no, but I’m not saying yes either.” That was all she could give to Travis for the moment. Her stomach was growling and she was beyond ready to eat.

“I’ll take what I can get,” Travis said. He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth and then stepped back. “How about we go to lunch? I’m dying for a submarine sandwich with extra pickles from Big Boys.” “I’m not quite sure what I want. I guess I’ll look at a menu when I get there.” Renee knew she wanted something that would tie her over until supper, so she wanted more than her usual salad she had for lunch. “Big Boys has anything and everything a person can want. Wait until you see their choices.” Travis linked their fingers together and walked with her towards the door. “Have I told you how good you look in that dress? It almost makes me want to stay here and start up what we put a hold on last night.” Excitement raced through Renee’s body at Travis’ suggestion, but they both knew it couldn’t happen in the middle of the day inside of her gallery. There were way too many open windows and people going up and down the sidewalks. Getting any kind of privacy here would be near impossible. “You know that we can’t do that,” Renee pointed out as she followed Travis outside. He stood to the side while she locked up. “I know, but a guy can hope can’t he?” he whispered by the side of her neck as his fingers brushed underneath her breasts through her dress. Swallowing down a moan, Renee took a quick step away from Travis and glanced around to make sure no one was looking at them. “You need to stop. What if someone had seen you?” “So what?” Travis asked taking her hand again. “I don’t have a problem with people seeing me touch you. I think you’re beautiful, intelligent and sexy as hell. I would be crazy not to want to touch you.” Renee felt a warm glow flow through her at Travis’ compliment. A part of her reveled in his open admiration of her and her looks. It made her feel special and wanted. She wasn’t used to that happening since Robert stopped months into their marriage. It was then she should have divorced him instead of trying to stay married to please everyone else but herself. “Are you ready to have some of the best food in town?” Travis asked, smiling down at her. “You better believe that I am. I can’t wait to see what they have to offer.”

Chapter Sixteen “Travis, thank you so much for lunch. It was delicious.” Reaching across the table, she placed her hands on top of his, running her finger down the back. “I can’t believe I actually finished a double cheeseburger with a basket of onions rings. I’m going to have to run an extra two miles just to burn it off my thighs and butt.” “I’ve a better idea at working all of those calories off your smoking body, if you’re interested,” Travis whispered as his eyes dropped down to her mouth then rose back up to her eyes. “Why do you keep giving me all of these ideas we aren’t going to be able to act out? I need to get back to work and I’m pretty sure that you do too. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” “Feel free to ask me anything you want.” Turning her hand over, Travis linked their fingers together and then ran the pad of his thumb over the side. Each time she was around Travis, the pull was stronger. The very air around her seemed electrified as his gaze raked boldly over her body. It was too easy to get lost in the way he looked at her. “Can you tell me what is going on between us? I mean, it just seems like from the moment we met there was this undeniable—” Renee was so taken back by what was going on that she didn’t even know how to describe it herself. “Baby, I know what you mean. I don’t know what words to put to it either, but I do know that I can’t stop feeling the need to be around you. I get the sense you’re worried about the age difference, but it isn’t a problem for me at all. I only want you to give us a chance to see where things will go.” “Yes, this is only our second date; however, I want more and more. I haven’t dated much in the past couple of years, but I want to date you”. “How about it?” Travis asked, studying her closely. “Do you think you can give me a chance? We can take things as slow or fast as you want it.” The question hammered at her. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had enough confidence as Travis when it came to developing this into something deeper. Just the short period of time she had been around Travis, Renee had begun to recognize her own

needs. The harder she tried to ignore the truth the more it persisted. She was in total agreement with Travis about giving this a chance between them. It was an awakening experience that left her reeling, but she was willingly to go through with it to the end. Renee knew there was something special about Travis from the very beginning and it was going to be her time to enjoy what he might bring into her life. “Travis, I think I can give us a chance,” she finally answered with a huge smile. “Thank you, sweetheart. I promise to prove to you that age is only a number.” Leaning across the table, Travis gave her a kiss. “How about you take the rest of the day off from work and come by to the camp with me?” God, she would love to do it, but she still had phone calls to make about the showing. The calls couldn’t be put off any longer. “I wish I could. I really do, but I need to get in touch with some people. Can I get a rain check?” A quick look of disappointment passed over Travis’ face before he was able to conceal it. “Okay, I understand. We can meet up later tonight. Let me go and see what is taking so long with our check.” Travis quickly got up from the table making his way back towards the front of the restaurant before Renee could stop him. Renee spun around in her seat watching as Travis walked past a man sitting at a round table away from them. She noticed how he looked at Travis and then back at her with a frown on his face. Just great, she thought. Renee wasn’t in the mood for anyone else’s opinions today. She turned her head away from the man hoping he would stop staring in her direction. She didn’t have time to worry about him. Renee had a bigger problem on her hands. How did she make Travis understand that she did want to spend time with him outside the gallery? Why did she tell Travis she’d rather make phone calls than spend the day with him? Could she have been any more of an idiot if she tried? Work could wait. The show wasn’t for another couple of weeks. She still had plenty of time to get things in order for what she needed to get done, and what she couldn’t do Cruz would be more than happy to help her with. So, when Travis came back she would tell him that she changed her mind about spending the day with him. “Hello, beautiful,” an unfamiliar male voice said interrupting her thoughts.

Looking to her left, Renee sighed under her breath as she locked eyes with a tall, light-skinned black man who had taken an interest in her and Travis. What made him think he could come over her and bother her? What was he up to? Renee sensed the guy wasn’t going to leave until she talked to him. Anyways, Travis wasn’t that far away, he would be back soon. She wasn’t going to let this guy make her more nervous than she already was. “Do I know you?” she asked, looking up at the stranger. The guy shook his head then grinned at her. “No, you don’t, but I’m hoping you might want to. I’m Allan Scott. I’ve been watching you for a while with that young guy. I was hoping he would leave soon so I could come over here and introduce myself.” Was this guy serious? Did he really see her on a date with Travis, but still decided to approach her after Travis walked away from their table? Could he be any more of a jerk if he tried? “I’m sorry, but I’m on a date,” Renee answered, politely “You shouldn’t have come over here.” “How could I not come over here?” Allan questioned. “I see a beautiful black woman sitting all alone. I had to make my move before someone snatched you up. Would you like to have a coffee sometimes? I would love to get to know you better.” “Did you not hear me?” Renee asked. “I told you I was on a date?” “Come on, are you serious?” Allan laughed as he glanced back towards where Travis was and then back at her. “You can’t really believe someone as young as him is interested in you,” Allan said. “He only wants one thing from a woman your age and when he gets it he’ll leave you for a girl closer to his own age. Why go through all of that? You can dump him now and have a lot more fun with me.” Embarrassed, Renee glanced around to make sure none of the other customers heard Allan’s rude comments. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Her day had started out so good and now it was going downhill because of this jerk. “Yes, I am on a date with him and I think you should leave before Travis gets back,” she suggested, trying to keep herself calm. “I’m positive I can take that kid any day of the week,” Allan bragged, glaring down at her. “Because I’m an adult and he’s a young punk. I know who I am when it comes to him unless you’re trying to be a cougar to his cub.” Renee swallowed hard, trying not to reveal her anger to the asshole

standing in front of her. She was so furious she could barely speak. This guy had a lot of nerve to come to her and give his opinion about something he had no clue about. “Listen, I don’t know why you thought you had the right to tell me anything, but I think you should leave. Maybe someone else might want to be bothered with you, but I don’t.” Allan’s light brown eyes narrowed at her. “I think you’re a fool to even be out in public with someone so much younger than you. Every time someone looks in your direction just remember they’re laughing at you thinking someone like your date is truly interested in an old woman like you. Have a great day,” he spat then stormed out leaving Renee staring after him in utter shock. Renee was astonished by the fact a total stranger had enough nerve to hit on her when he saw she was with another man. Yet, when she turned down his advances he turned on her like he had a spilt personality. What was wrong with people today? Did he truly think that his tirade would mess with her mind so she would doubt what she had going on with Travis? He wasn’t anyone to her at all and his unwanted opinion didn’t have any effect of what she was going to do with Travis. Something clicked in her mind when Allan was snapping at her a few minutes ago; she wasn’t interested in what other people thought about her relationship with Travis. Renee wasn’t about to allow Allan or any other closed-minded person to get involved in her business. She was beginning to recognize her own needs and the undeniable truth was Travis brought a passion back to her life that had been missing for a while now. Sitting outside on the restaurant patio, Renee wondered how she was going to keep things going in the direction they were with Travis. She liked the spur-of-the-moment attitude Travis possessed. It was something she wouldn’t ever get tired of anytime soon. All day long the only thing she’d thought about was the ecstasy she felt being held against Travis’ strong body while they danced the night away in the park. Travis wasn’t aware of the burning imprint he left on her long after their date was over. Hours after he was gone, she still felt the warm heat of his kisses and hands on her body. Travis knew how to get her body to the burning point without putting a lot of effort into it. “What has you in such deep thought?” Travis’ voice whispered against the side of her neck. Coming around her, he retook his seat. “Sorry it took

so long. I got sidetrack by a customer who wanted to know if I would be interested in doing a family portrait for them.” As Renee gazed at the handsome man across from her, she realized how lucky she was to have Travis in her life. He wasn’t trying to be anything he wasn’t with her and she liked that the most about him. As happy as Renee felt at this very moment, though, Allan’s words suddenly came rushing back to her. He’s only using you until someone younger comes along. You can’t believe he really wants an older woman like you? This was only their second date. However, Renee felt like she was having a date with someone she had been dating for months or even years. Travis put her at ease and she knew it would only get better between them. “I was just thinking about you,” she answered, honestly. “Care to share your thoughts with me?” Travis smiled at her, leaning across the table. “I would love to know what is going on in that beautiful head of yours.” All of Renee’s doubts left her mind when Travis smiled at her like she was the only woman in the world. He wasn’t using her until someone better came along. He was interested in what was simmering beneath the surface with them. Allan wanted to put reservations in her head and she wouldn’t give him that power over her. If she had enough strength to get rid of her lying, cheating husband, Renee wouldn’t allow a total stranger to gain any hold over her. “How about you walk me back to the gallery and I can fill you in.” “I would love to.” Getting up from his seat, Travis came close, looking down at her intensely as he held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go beautiful. After I take you back to work, I need to finish up some extra paintings. So, I might not be able to have dinner with you tonight. Is that okay with you?” Pulling her out of her seat, Travis walked with her back through the restaurant and then out the front door. Once they were outside, he held her hand as they went back in the direction of her gallery. “I understand that you need to finish up your work. How about we decide to do something tomorrow?” Renee was already thinking about what she could surprise Travis with since he had already taken her out to eat twice. This would be the perfect time to amaze him with a little gift of her own. “Spending the day with you tomorrow sounds wonderful,” Travis answered as he glanced down at her. “It will give me something to look forward to while I’m out in the woods by myself.”

“Don’t you get lonely way out there all alone? Do you wish that you had another person out there with you?” Renee asked as they stopped in front of her place of business. “Most of the time it doesn’t bother me during the day because I stay so busy painting the scenery or working on a new idea, but at night when I’m alone in my tent I do miss having someone there next to me,” he admitted. “I wish that I could talk you into coming out there with me. I know you’d love it so much. Do you know how stunning you would look out there in the beauty of nature?”

Chapter Seventeen What are you so scared of? A little voice asked inside of her head. Haven’t you been waiting to break out of your shell for such a long time? Spending the night in the woods with Travis would absolutely be the best way to break out of the same old tired routine she had placed herself in over the past couple of months. She would get to see and experience what gave him his inspiration. Most artists didn’t reveal their muse to everyone, so she should feel very blessed that Travis was willing to do that with her. “After giving it some more thought, I think it would be wonderful to go with you,” Renee said hoping this wouldn’t be a mistake on her part. “I still need to work on a couple of things here and leave some instructions for my assistant Cruz. In addition, I need to get a change of clothes from home. I can’t put the same clothes back on from the day before.” His face spilt into a wide grin. “Baby, I promise you that you will love it. I can’t wait until tonight when you’re wrapped in my arms looking up at the stars,” Travis said. He rested his hands on her shoulders, causing her body to tingle from the light contact. Why must Travis’ every movement remind her of his animal magnetism? She was having a hard enough time not kissing him as it was outside in front of her shop. But she decided not to do it since she didn’t want everyone in her personal business. “Travis, I know you’ll make it perfect for me. I have no doubt about it,” Renee answered, running her finger down the front of his shirt. God, she had to get away from him before she lost control. “I better go. How about you meet me at my house and I can follow you to your camp from there?” Renee suggested. “I’d rather drive my own car just in case. I never know when it comes to the gallery.” Pulling her to his hard chest, Travis ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “Renee, I don’t care if you drive your own car. All I care about is tonight when I turn over and you are there next to me.” Travis’ soft spoken words wrapped Renee up in a cocoon of euphoria. To other people it might seem like they were moving too fast, but it was just at the right pace for her. She wasn’t over thinking anything going on

between them. All she was doing was living in the moment which was a huge change from her usual well thought out life. Moving Travis’ hand away from her lips, Renee took a step away from him. It would be for the best if she put some distance between the two of them. He might have forgotten they were on a public sidewalk in plain view of everyone, but she hadn’t. “Stop trying to tempt me into doing something bad,” she scolded, lightly. “Now, let me get my work taken care of and I’ll meet you at my house around three o’clock.” “I’ll back off for now, but once you get out there at my camp you’ll be in my territory and I’m not going to let you go until I’m good and ready.” He looked at her and the double meaning of his gaze was very obvious. “Enjoy the rest of your day at work. I’ll see you later on at your house.” Travis winked at her and then turned around heading back in the direction his jeep was parked at the side of the street. Standing back Renee noticed how every woman stopped and did a double look at Travis’ tight ass in his jeans as he sauntered past them, but not once did he ever take a second glance at them. Yes, ladies look all you want, but Travis is going to be with me, Renee thought as she turned away. Unlocking the gallery door, she went inside closing the door after her. She had to get her mind off of Travis for the next couple of hours, but it seemed easier than it honestly was. He had taken root in her head and she wasn’t about to let anyone or anything take Travis away from her. Their initial taste of intimacy had pleased her and she wasn’t ready to let go until she got the entire meal. Travis stimulated her mind along with her imagination in a way that kept her interested in him longer than any other man had since her divorce. He had a way of sparking her inquisitive side by allowing her glimpses into parts of himself that he kept from others. He didn’t brag a lot about how he found inspirations that drew him to paint amazing pictures, but how it just seemed to call to him from somewhere deep inside. She couldn’t help but be more curious when Travis did things like that to her. Walking around the room, Renee placed her purse down on one of the showroom tables and then made her way over to one of Travis’ paintings that Cruz already had hung up. Standing back, she took her time looking at it wondering what Travis had been thinking when he decided to paint this specific waterfall.

This particular showing of his talent was a lot more intimate and fascinating that his other two works of art. The way the water glistened on the canvas called to a collector to stop and take notice like the hypnotic water had a secret only it could tell you...and you wanted to be that one person it told. With this upcoming show, Travis’ name would become more recognized in the community with the bigger art buyers. He would get to learn who the significant players were and then the right person would start calling on him to do more work for them. Renee sensed that Travis might be a little uncomfortable socializing with a lot of unfamiliar people, but he didn’t have to talk and sell his work a lot. Most buyers just wanted a chance to mingle with the artists for a few minutes to get a sense of who they are. She really wanted everything to go well for Travis. He was bringing so much into her life and she only wanted to do something for him. This was the only thing she could think of. The more people saw him at the opening, the easier it would get for him. The bell ringing above the door as someone entered the gallery dragged Renee’s attention away from Travis’ painting. “How can I help you?” she asked, turning around with a friendly smile on her face, but it slipped instantly when she saw who was standing inside of her gallery. “What in the hell are you doing here?” “Hello, Renee,” her ex-husband Robert said. “You look good.” “I don’t care how you think I look,” she snapped. “What are you doing here at my gallery? We haven’t spoken since the divorce and I want to keep it that a way.” “I need to talk to you. I was going to talk you when you were outside, but you were with that young guy,” Robert said walking towards her which made Renee take a step back. “I guess the rumors I heard are true. You’re dating someone younger than you.” The heavy dose of sarcasm in Robert’s voice didn’t go unnoticed by Renee. “Why do you care what I’m doing? You’re married to Shelia now and by the way the alimony payments will stop. Shit! Did you think I wouldn’t find out about your quickie marriage? We live in a small town. You can’t keep secrets because word travels fast.” “That’s why I’m here. I want to tell you something about my marriage to Sheila. If you’d just give me a few minutes,” Robert said. “Get out of my building.” Renee was so pissed that she was almost shaking from it. How dare Robert show up here and ask her for anything

after the way he had treated her? “This place really looks amazing. I guess you got everything you wanted after our divorce.” She knew what Robert was doing and she wasn’t about to fall for his game. Anytime during their marriage when he realized she was annoyed by him Robert would try coaxing her into a better mood with false compliments, but now that ridiculous tactic no longer worked on her. “Robert, you need to leave. I don’t want you here. If you need to talk about anything involving your life, than do it with your wife. Remember I’m your ex-wife now and I’m no longer interested in anything going on with you.” Storming around Robert, Renee made her way to the front door and flung it open. “Leave now and I’m not telling you again.” Robert’s hazel eyes narrowed and his back became ramrod straight as he slowly made his way towards her across the room. The atmosphere in the room changed so suddenly that it made her shiver. Her ex-husband didn’t like to be ignored in any sort of matter. When he wanted your attention he expected to get it no matter what you were doing. Instead of breaking eye contact like she would have done in the past, Renee held Robert’s gaze until he was standing right in front of her. His eyes searched her face like he was trying to read her thoughts, but he wasn’t going to see any kind of expression because she was done with him. He was her past and that was where his worthless ass would stay. “I’ll let this go for now, but Renee you will talk to me. We have some things to work out but I know whatever you have going on with that young boy isn’t serious. The two of us have a history together and I have earned the right for you to at least hear me out,” Robert said as he walked past her out the door. Smug bastard, Renee thought as she slammed her gallery door closed. Her ex-husband was out of his mind if he thought for one moment she was going to give him the time of day. He was in her past for a reason and that was where he was going to stay. There would have been a time that seeing Robert would have sent her into a tailspin, but not anymore. She was even stronger now than when she’d filed for her divorce. If Robert was having any kind of problems or second thoughts it was too damn late for him to be showing up now with them. Nothing he could have told her would have erased the horrible way he lied; cheated and mistreated her during their marriage. Robert was still

a boy only in a man’s body. She felt truly sorry for him because he would always be searching for something and never would realize when it was right in front of his face. Shaking her head, Renee strolled away from the door allowing her mind to drift back to Travis and the wonderful lunch they’d shared. Dana was right. She shouldn’t be nervous about dating Travis. He was a good man and as long as he was treating her with the respect she deserved, then everything would be right in her book. Renee couldn’t deny that in the short time since Travis had entered her life everything had heightened around her. She loved getting up in the morning, but she got just a little more enjoyment out of it because of Travis. He definitely had a zest for life and a sense of adventure her ex-husband never thought about exercising in all of the years they were married to each other. Renee knew she wasn’t ever going to be bored while she was spending time with Travis. Today was her first time going to the small intimate restaurant Travis had taken her to because she wasn’t big on going out of her routine. Honestly, the change of pace had been very nice and eye-opening to her. Another thing about Travis that she was getting increasingly fond of was his directness about his intentions towards her. He’d made it known the first time that they met he was totally interested in getting to know her better. At first, all of his bluntness had made her want to turn and run in the opposite direction, but now she couldn’t imagine Travis not being around her. She was going to go with it and see where it might lead the two of them. If Travis’ instincts toward relationships were on the same level as his painting intuitions then she was in for a very good time. Travis was trying to seduce her with little things and they both knew it. He challenged her by showing her a different side of a man, the caring side that wanted to know what was going in her heart and mind. He made her feel sexy no matter what she was wearing. He somehow excluded this undeniable sex appeal that fascinated her and any other women within ten feet of his body; however, Travis never looked in their direction. His eyes always were trained on her making sure she was alright during both of their dates. One thing was for sure, Renee didn’t doubt that she would never be in a rut when Travis was around. He was going to keep her on her toes and the thought excited her to no end.

**** Walking around his huge apartment studio, Travis perused the paintings hung on his wall as he tried to pick out which one he wanted to give Renee as a present. He knew it was only their third date, but he wanted to give her something to remember it by. She was already making his day by agreeing to spend the night with him camping. Renee wasn’t aware how exhilarated he was by the ‘chase’ of getting her to even go out with him more. When he’d first mentioned taking her out on a date, he’d seen the doubt in her eyes but he wasn’t the type of man to allow that to stop him. She was slowly opening up to him yet he was going for something bigger than that with Renee. Everything about Renee was so different from other women who were constantly flirting with him even after he had told them he wasn’t interested. She had this confidence about her that seemed to pour from every single pore of her beautiful body. How could a man not take notice and be drawn to something so sexy? The other night when he was at her house and they started making out on her couch, it took everything he had in him to stop. Renee wasn’t aware of how long it had been since he’d made love to a woman. He didn’t want to scare her off by coming on too strong from his intense need to be with her. Even the scent of Renee’s perfume today made his cock instantly hard and she wasn’t even aware of his arousal. For a spilt second, Travis thought about locking the gallery’s door and taking Renee right there in the middle of the floor. However, he wasn’t sure if Renee would be so eager to make love the way he wanted. She was so sophisticated and cultured. What if getting naked at a moment’s notice and having sex anyway and anywhere wasn’t something she would ever consider doing with him? Sex was a huge part of any healthy relationship and he wanted a very healthy connection with Renee. He would have to be out of his mind not to want to see her naked as much as he could. Making love to Renee was extremely important to him, but it wasn’t the item at the top of his list. Out of everything that was going between him and Renee, he hoped she understood that he wanted her for her and nothing else. He wasn’t dating her to get his paintings in her gallery or get more contacts in the art world. Hell, the idea of being with an older woman wasn’t even the reason why he asked her out in the first place. Travis wanted Renee only because she was Renee: a beautiful and

intelligent woman who caught his attention from the second he laid eyes on her. As long as Renee wasn’t confusing the reason the two of them were dating each other then everything would continue to be perfect between them. Nothing was going wrong yet and he didn’t see anything bad happening in the upcoming future. Travis seriously doubted that Renee even knew how much she had started inspiring his art. She was challenging him to be more passionate about what direction he wanted his dream to go. Renee respected his talent more than anyone who wasn’t a part of his family. He admired her opinion which made him desire to impress her even more. When he was around Renee she made him feel like a man, the man who could protect her no matter what might come their way. Renee was his now. He was falling for her and he wasn’t going to let her insecurities about their age or anyone else’ negative comments stop them from being together. All he had to do was show Renee how much they could have and prove they were the perfect couple. Travis continued to look at the paintings on the wall until one near the front door caught his attention. This painting was one of the first ones he had created when he was in college and finally made the decision to major in art instead of business. Out of all of his work, this one was him on a canvas. He almost considered it a self-portrait. The painting was of a man standing at a fork in the road wondering what path he should take. If he went left would his life change for the better or could the right side be the direction he had been searching for all of his life? Taking the painting off the wall, he stared at it a few more minutes as all of the memories from that day came rushing back to him. His art professor had asked numerous times to keep it so he could hang it in the classroom for other students to learn from and admire, but he turned him down because he wasn’t ready to give it away but now he was—to Renee. As confident as he acted about his work, the need to have Renee love this particular painting ate at him. Travis needed her to see the inner meaning of his brush strokes. Her faith in his abilities would only push him to do more like this one since he considered these kinds of creations his true calling. Placing the painting under his arm, Travis grabbed his car keys off the table and headed out of the door. He didn’t want to be late picking Renee up from her house. It got dark pretty early in the woods and he had so many things to show her once they out there and settled in for the night.

Chapter Eighteen “Travis, your gift was amazing,” Renee said as he worked on getting their campsite up for the night. “The painting of the crossroads in your life touched me. I noticed instantly that you were the man standing at the fork in the road. I just feel bad I don’t have anything for you.” Travis finished up working on the tent and then joined Renee in front of the canvas as she looked at the newest thing he was working on. Usually, he liked keeping his half-finished designs to himself, but when he saw Renee’s face light up at the possibility of seeing one of his works in progress, he didn’t have the heart to tell her no. “Baby, you have given me my gift by coming out here with me. I love seeing you in a part of my world. I honestly thought you might turn me down at the last minute, but you didn’t.” “I wanted to see this part of your world. You invited me and I have to admit I was a little nervous because I’m not really into sleeping outdoors, but I’m not the type of woman to back down from a challenge.” “God, do you know how sexy you look right now with the waterfall behind you,” Travis growled as he grabbed Renee’s tight ass holding her against his growing erection. “I want you so badly that I’m aching from it.” “Don’t you want to show me something else? Isn’t that the reason you brought me out here?” “It was only one of the reasons, but I’m not going to be able to concentrate on anything else until I get to make love to you,” Travis admitted. Please, let her want to make love, Travis thought to himself. He was dying here and Renee had no clue when she walked out of her house in the short denim skirt and form fitting white shirt that he’d almost carried her back into the house and taken her right then and there on her living room floor. Shit! He hadn’t been this horny in years. His dick was aching and Renee was the only woman who had the power to make it stop. Grabbing Renee by her upper arms, Travis pulled her close to him until her nipples were poking into his chest. He had been thinking about having her out here with him like this ever since the first day he saw her.

The instant attraction he felt towards her pleased and shocked him all at the same time. He wasn’t expecting to see anyone when he went to pick up his tea, but there Renee was standing next to Dana looking a vision of perfection only for him. He wanted to make this special for her since it would be their first time making love. Renee’s satisfaction was at the top of the list for him. He didn’t want to do anything to scare her away or have her regret anything that happened between them. In such a short period of time, she was growing to mean so much to him. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Travis asked, staring down into Renee’s light brown eyes. “I can wait longer if you want me to. I want this to be all about you.” Smiling, Renee shook her head. “No, I want this as much as you do. This feels so right between us and making love will only make it better.” Cupping her face in his hands, Travis lowered his mouth until it was only inches from the woman he was falling in love with. “Baby, I feel the same way about you too,” he confessed before he kissed her. Without breaking the kiss, Travis lowered Renee down to the sleeping bags on the grass and covered her softer body with his. Just the sweet taste of her mouth was driving him crazy. He was dying to rip the skirt and shirt from Renee’s body and bury his cock deep inside of her. Idea after idea raced through his mind about different ways he could have Renee for the rest of the day and well into the night, but he had to take things slow. This wasn’t a race to the finish line...he wasn’t a two minute man. Travis wanted to show Renee how much he could draw pleasure from her luscious body. He had so much to prove to her...and the main thing was that he was the man she could depend on no matter what was going on in her life. His tongue traced the soft fullness of her lips asking for entrance and Renee swiftly answered by opening her mouth. He didn’t waste a second before he slipped his tongue between her full plump lips running the tip across the top of her teeth. Moaning, Renee grabbed the back of his shirt holding him closer to her, shooting his cock from a semi-erection to a full blown hard-on. As he stoked Renee’s passion, his own grew stronger knowing that he was the man doing this to her and for her. Renee slid her hands up his back wrapping them around his neck as his tongue left her mouth and swept against the side of her neck, tasting the moisture that had gathered there. He explored her body more by spreading

her thighs and settling between them more comfortably. Moisture from her panties soaked through his jeans and made him even crazier with the need to be wrapped in her heat. Travis had never been this wild with the need to make love to a woman before. Renee was pushing buttons that he never knew he had in him. Hungry for more than he was getting, Travis slid his hand up Renee’s body, over the curve of her womanly hip and cupped one of her perfect breasts in the palm of his hand. The soft weight felt wonderful. Sliding his other hand between their bodies, he slipped it underneath her skirt and into her damp underwear. Little by little Travis eased his finger into Renee’s body until her body clamped down on his finger. “Oh God...” Renee whimpered. “That feels so good.” “Do you want more, sweetheart?” he whispered against her neck. “Yes,” she answered without hesitation. Travis smiled, and then he started moving his finger in and out of Renee’s wetness until he got a good rhythm going. She got wetter and wetter until her juices covered his hand. Taking a deep breath, he breathed in her irreplaceable scent loving how it blended in with the beauty of nature surrounding them. Not one his hot fantasies at night lived up to the reality of what was going on right here in this moment. “Please....Travis,” Renee begged as her head moved around on the sleeping bag beneath them. He had thought about taking Renee into his tent, but he wanted to watch her come the first time in the exact spot he worked on his paintings. Watching her lose control would be a memory that he would never forget. “What do you want, baby?” Travis added another finger and began working them harder and faster. “I need...” Renee’s eyes were closed and her lips, still swollen from his kisses moments ago, were slightly parted. Her hips began moving against his finger like she was trying to find the relief he wasn’t giving her fast enough. Watching Renee like this had to be one of the sexiest sights Travis had ever seen, but he needed more from her. His need to prove they belonged together was what was driving him, so he worked his thick middle finger in with the two already there and Renee’s eyes snapped open. “What are you doing?” she asked as her hips squirmed around on the extra snugness. “Trying to make you feel good...relax, sweetheart,” Travis encouraged,

softly. “I’m not going to hurt you. Don’t you want to feel good?” Renee nodded slowly before she closed her eyes and resumed moving her hips. Travis watched as a play of emotions crossed Renee’s beautiful face and it drove him to the next level. Moving two of his fingers, he began to rub them in slow circles over her clit, just applying a tiny bit of pressure. Renee’s mouth opened but nothing came out as she tossed her head back allowing him to have total control over her body. Using his free hand, Travis pushed Renee’s shirt up over her full breasts and then quickly undid the front clasp of her black lacy bra. Lowering his head, he took her right nipple into his mouth sucking hard as his finger continued to circle her clit faster and faster. After a few second he built up a steady rhythm between the sucking of his mouth and the movements of his hand between Renee’s warm, silky brown thighs. Her hips were thrusting against his hand with reckless abandon now, like she didn’t have a care in the world. All she desired from him was getting satisfaction. “Yes...oh my God...yes,” Renee hollered as her nails dug into the sleeping bag beneath them. “Renee....that’s it baby. Let go. It’s just us out here. No one else can see or hear us. Let me hear how good I’m making you feel,” Travis whispered against her breasts. “Shout it out as loud as you want to.” “Travis,” she moaned. “Come on...scream for me, baby. I need to hear you,” he demanded. “Hmmm...yes...Travis....yes,” Renee hollered as she suddenly came all over his fingers and hand as her orgasm took over. Her cries echoed through the air and Travis looked on as a purely masculine smile covered his face. Never in his life had he seen a more beautiful sight in his life. Renee was his now! He wasn’t ever going to let her get away from him. No matter how hard she might fight what was happening between them, he wouldn’t let her run. Not now. Tonight, without a doubt was going to be a night that neither one of them was ever going to forget. “Renee, look at me,” Travis demanded in a low deep voice. “What?’ she asked, opening her eyes still filled with lingering desire from her orgasm. He slowly inserted his finger inside his mouth licking her juices off and repeating the act until all three of his fingers were clean. “You taste so fucking good. After this one taste, I won’t be able to get enough of you,

Renee. I want more and more.”

Chapter Nineteen “Wow, that was amazing,” Renee whispered, smiling at him as she rose up on her elbows. “Who knew making love in the woods could be so much fun, but there is one little problem.” Problem...what kind of problem? Travis frowned. He was sure he had done everything perfectly. “What kind of problem was there?” he couldn’t help but ask. “You weren’t there with me.” Renee’s eyes glanced down at the erection pressed against the front of his jeans. “I can see how hard you are. Don’t you want to relieve some of that ache you’re experiencing?” “Baby, this was for you. I’ll be okay,” Travis lied. He was hurting like hell, but his main focus had been to please Renee and in his opinion he’d accomplished his mission. “No, I don’t think so.” Sitting up, Renee pushed him backwards until he landed on the sleeping bag. “Let me help you out of these clothes. I think it’s about time I find out what you look like underneath, don’t you.” “Renee—” “Shhh...let me do this,” she whispered as her smooth hands slipped underneath his shirt and tugged it over his head tossing it away from them. “Amazing...I knew your body would be like this...all hard and perfect like it should be.” Her fingers roamed over his chest until they stopped at his right nipple. Lowering her head, Renee’s pink tongue darted out and gave it a quick lick. “God, baby that feels so good,” Travis moaned as he ran his fingers through Renee’s hair holding her head against his chest. He felt her smile against his skin as she gave him another lick. Moving back from him, Renee grinned up at him. “I think today is only going to get better.” “I have to agree with you there, sweetheart,” he agreed before flipping Renee back over so she was lying back on the ground. Getting up off the sleeping bags, Travis quickly removed the rest of his clothing until he was standing completely naked with the late afternoon light shining down on his hard body. He stood perfectly still as a pair of soft

brown eyes wandered over his body taking in everything until they stopped at his erection. His cock grew even thicker and harder under Renee’s appraisal. “You’re so beautiful,” she praised, softly. “No, baby, you’re the beautiful one here and I know beauty. I wouldn’t be an artist if I didn’t.” Dropping down to his knees next to Renee, Travis eased his hand underneath her short skirt and, with one fast rip, made quick work of her skimpy black underwear. Bringing the fabric to his nose, he took a whiff. “I think I’m going to keep these as something to remember our first time by.” Travis dropped the material next to his leg and then stripped Renee out of the rest of her clothes until she was as naked as him. Reaching for his pants, he pulled out a condom, tore it open and then rolled it over his throbbing cock with an ease he was pretending to have. He was about to lose his mind just from the thought of being buried deep inside of Renee. “Are you sure there’s going to be a next time?” Renee teased as he covered her body. “Oh, baby. Making love to you only once won’t be enough for me.” Travis eased between Renee’s warm inviting thighs. He carefully pushed his way inside of her hoping that her recent orgasm would make it an easy fit for him. His cock was just a bit above eight inches and thick. It wasn’t his intentions at all to hurt Renee, but having her screaming in pleasure. He had never felt anyone so wet and perfect as Renee. If he doubted it before, he knew now she was the woman meant for him. She was so snug. She moaned as he continued to work his erection inside of her. He only had about an inch to go and then he would be buried to the hilt. “Are you okay, Baby?” Travis asked, gazing down into Renee’s face. “Can you handle the rest of me?” “I’m not used to being with someone so thick,” Renee confessed as her fingers ran up and down his back. Renee’s confession made him feel a sense of pride. If he had anything to do about it, she wasn’t going to be with any other man after him either. Inch by inch, he fed Renee the remainder of his cock until he was fully buried in her delicious wet heat. He moaned loudly in pure satisfaction, still in shock he was finally inside the most perfect woman ever. “Oh God...Travis...this feels so good!” She moaned, tossing her head back against the sleeping bag.

“You like having me inside of you, sweetheart?” Travis slipped his cock out and then thrust back in making her whimper from pleasure. “Tell me.” “YES! Don’t stop...please don’t stop.” So, Travis grabbed Renee by the hips spreading her legs even further apart as he thrust back into her even harder and faster than the first time. Leaning down, he gently bit the side of her neck before making his way over to her hard nipples. Drawing one hard nub into his mouth, Travis sucked hard until Renee’s lower back arched off the sleeping bag. “More,” she cried. “More, what,” he asked letting go of her swollen nipple with a loud pop. “Give me more...it’s been so long.” “Tell me...what you want more of Renee or I might have to stop altogether.” Travis wasn’t about to stop doing anything at all, but he had to get a response out of Renee. He wanted her into this a much as him or even more. She was his woman and it was his duty to please her like no other man ever had or ever would. “You...this...everything,” Renee panted. Travis started driving into her as far as he could reach until it felt like he was hitting her womb with the tip of his condom covered cock. She groaned when he grabbed one of her legs and wrapped it around his waist pushing inside at an even steeper angle. He smoothly moved Renee’s body when her head again came off the edge of the sleeping bag. Caught up in the action of finally making love to Renee, he grabbed her wrists with his free hand and held them high above her head causing her perky, firm breasts to slam together. Burying his mouth back against her sweaty neck, he whispered against her skin. “Do you like this Renee? Is it hot enough for you? Do you want to come again for me, baby?” Renee’s mouth opened but not one word came out. Travis eased his cock out of her until only the tip was left. “Answer me.” Sweat covered both of their bodies as birds chirped above their heads in the trees and the sound of the waterfall echoed around them, but Travis didn’t notice any of it. All he craved at the moment was hearing the words from Renee’s lips. He was holding back and it was killing him to no end, but he liked having Renee under his control like this. She was so close and just a tiny step from

going over the edge. He only needed a few more well placed thrusts and her orgasm would burst free. “Give me more...” the words were spoken low, but he heard this very clearly. Travis pushed his cock completely back into Renee rocking her with several hard corkscrew thrusts until her orgasm ripped from her trembling body. “YES!” Renee’s pleasure screams filled the air causing the birds around them to flee from the trees they were hiding in. He could feel her entire body shaking under his and it was more than Travis could take. He allowed himself to let go. Travis came with such a force that he was positive the condom wouldn’t be able to hold up under the force of his release. For a split second, he wished it was Renee’s body taking his orgasm instead of the condom wrapped around his cock. He thrust inside her a couple of more times trying to keep the sensation going as long as possible, but Travis knew it had to end. “Are you okay?” Travis asked, as he rested his body on Renee’s trying to savor the last seconds of their release. “Did I hurt you? Was I too rough? I can get caught up sometimes.” “Travis, I’m fine,” Renee answered with a smile. “No, I’m better than fine. You were amazing. I have never had it that good before. Don’t be worried if you hurt me because you didn’t.” Grinning, Travis finally separated his body from Renee’s and pulled her on top of his chest. “I’m glad to hear you tell me that because I think I might be ready to give it another go.” “You can’t be serious,” Renee said as she scrambled off his chest. “Renee, I’m more than serious,” Travis answered as he got up off the sleeping bag. He removed the condom off this cock and disposed of it before grabbing another one out of his jeans. She dropped her eyes to his growing erection and then quickly shot back up to his. “If you liked making love on a sleeping bag, how about you find out how much better it is to make love inside a tent. I can promise you a totally different experience.” Holding out his hand, he waited for Renee to take it. Renee placed her hands in his and gasped when he picked her up into his arms. “Travis, put me down. I can walk.” She laughed, wrapping her arms

around his neck. “I know you can, but I want to carry my woman,” Travis said as he carried Renee in the direction of his tent already thinking about the way he wanted to show her how much he wanted her in his life forever. **** Both Travis and Renee were so wrapped up in being in each other’s arms that neither one of them felt the black angry eyes shooting daggers at them through the trees or heard the branches break underneath the heel of the boot as the intruder stormed away, blending in with the vegetation surrounding them.

Chapter Twenty Snuggling closer to the warm body curved against hers inside the tent, Renee tried to ignore the sounds of Wham’s Careless Whisper as it invaded her tranquility, knowing it was her assistant calling her. Why was Cruz bothering her? Cruz knew that she was taking a couple of days away from the gallery to spend them with Travis while she tried to become one with nature. So far she was doing a pretty damn good job. “Are you going to answer that?” Travis’ warm breath whispered against the back of her neck as his large hand cupped her breast. “It doesn’t seem like the person is going to stop calling until you do.” “It’s just Cruz,” she answered, scooting her body back against Travis’ erection. “I doubt it’s anything important. He probably just wants to see how things are going with us. He’s a little nosy sometimes. I love him to death, but I’m not in the mood to get out of your arms. It feels too good here.” The incessant ringing stopped. “Baby, do you really think Cruz would call you just to find out how your camping trip with me is going?” Travis asked. “I thought you told me he was very professional when it came to his job.” Spinning around in Travis’ arms, Renee stared at him as it suddenly dawned on her that Travis was right. Cruz wouldn’t be calling her out here unless it was something important. She should have known that instead of him. What was wrong with her? “You’re right. He wouldn’t call me.” Panic set in as Renee reached for her cell phone and punched in Cruz’s cell number. “Cruz, what’s the problem?” Renee asked as soon as he answered the phone. “Renee, you have to get back to the gallery right now,” Cruz hollered at her. The sounds of sirens in the background caught her attention. She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn’t right. What was going on? “Cruz, tell me what’s happening.” Sitting up, Renee searched around

for her clothes Travis had brought into the tent earlier. “Sweetie, the gallery is on fire. I went to pick up some supplies and when I came back there were smoke and flames coming from the back of the building. I called the police and fire department before I was able to rush inside. I was able to save some of the paintings, but I wasn’t able to get everything off the walls.” Shock flew through her. Renee stared wordlessly at Travis, her heart pounding. Her baby was on fire and she wasn’t there helping save her clients’ work. God! She had to get out of here and back there. It was her responsibility not Cruz’s to make sure everyone’s work survived the flames. They trusted her with their most prized possessions and she was failing them. “Cruz, I’m coming as soon as I can get there. Don’t go anywhere. Make sure they save the gallery. Whatever you do don’t allow them to stop working on putting out the flames.” “I’ll do what I can, sweetie. Just get here. I called Dana and she’s on her way.” Renee shut the phone and started getting dressed as quickly as possible. She was up and out of the tent before Travis could stop her. She was halfway to her car when a strong hand wrapped around her arm and spun her back around. She saw the concern etched across Travis’ handsome face. He was worried about her building, but she didn’t have the time to stand here and talk to him. Cruz needed her back in town as swiftly as possible. “Renee...Wait a minute. You aren’t in any shape to drive. Let me finish getting dressed and I’ll drive you back into town.” Travis, wearing only a pair of jeans, stared down at her. She shook off his touch. “No, you have to stay here and get the camp packed away. I’m calm enough to drive myself there. I need the time alone. Just meet me there. I’ll need you after I see how much destruction there is. I can’t believe this.” “Are you sure?” he asked, cupping her face in the palm of his calloused hand. “I can leave everything here and go with you. None of this matters to me. I want to be there for you. You need me.” “Travis, Cruz and Dana will be there with me. I don’t want you to leave the campgrounds looking like this. I want you to stay here and get this taken care of.” Lowering his head, he gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll be at the gallery before you know it,” he whispered against her mouth before moving away.

“I know you will.” Renee hurried the rest of the way to her car, got in and drove off leaving Travis staring after her. Renee sped down the dirt path back towards the main road so she could head back to town. She couldn’t get her conversation with Cruz out of her mind. Someone had set her gallery on fire. Who would want to do something like that to her? She got along with everyone in Wicker Valley and never had a problem with anyone that she could remember. Was it a buyer from her last showing that wasn’t happy with their painting after they got it home? Could it be that guy from the restaurant the other day? He had seemed very pissed off when she told him to get out of her face. But he was a stranger. Would he really have taken her comment to heart like that? Anger rippled along her spine as Renee pulled out onto the highway back towards town. She was pissed as hell that someone decided to mess with her life’s dream. When the police found out who it was, she was going to press charges to the fullest extent. The lowlife wasn’t going to get away with doing this to her!

Chapter Twenty-One The lights from the fire trucks and police cars lit Renee’s way through the crowded street towards her gallery. She could still see a little bit of smoke as she parked her car at the side of the curb and jumped out. Her tears choked her as she pushed through the crowd lining the sidewalk and fought her way to get towards the front. She ignored the police officer at the other side of the street telling her to stay back. She wasn’t about to do that. He was out of his mind. This place was hers, something she had fought so hard to get and she wasn’t about to let it burn down without trying to help in some way. No matter how small it might be. “Renee, stop! You have to let the firefighters do their job,” Cruz yelled before his arms wrapped around her waist holding her back. “Let me go!” Renee yelled, struggling against Cruz’s tight hold. All of his six feet had a death grip on her, but it wasn’t going to keep her from her paintings. “I have to get in there and save everything. I can’t let it burn.” “Honey, calm down,” Cruz whispered against the back of her head. “I got what I could out, but you can’t risk your life to save the rest. It’s crazy to even think that you can.” She gulped hard, hot tears spilling down her cheeks as she watched the fire slowly start to die out from all of the water hitting the building. She couldn’t wrap her mind around this fire. It came out of nowhere. Why now when everything was going so well for her professionally and personally? Renee tore herself away with a choking cry and fell down to her knees on the pavement wet from the water trying to save what was left of her business. Brushing the tears away from her eyes, she rocked back and forth on the ground as she tried to comprehend all of the action going on around her. On the drive here, she couldn’t think about anything else but finding the son of a bitch who had done this to her, but now after seeing the damage all she could do was cry. “Renee, why don’t you get up and come with me?” The sound of Dana’s voice broke through her misery. Glancing to her left, she saw her friend kneeling down next to her with tears glistening in her own dark eyes.

“I’m going to stay right here until the last of the flames are out. I’m not going to move one step until then, so please leave me alone.” How could Cruz or Dana think she would want to leave when her business was burning down around her? “Honey, you have to move back and give the firefighters room to work. They can’t do it with you so close. I’m not asking you to leave, but just to move back behind the tape. That’s all Cruz and I want you to do. You aren’t going to be able to do anything for the gallery if you’re in the hospital,” Dana pleaded touching her on the arm. “Please come with me.” Dana was telling her the truth. She wouldn’t be able to do anything to repair her gallery if she was injured. She had to keep herself out of harm’s way if she was going to find a way to rebuild the shop. “Okay,” she sighed, allowing Dana to help her up from the ground. “I’ll go back behind the tape, but I’m not moving any more.” “I wouldn’t ask you to,” Dana told her as they walked back behind the yellow tape the police had put up to keep people at bay. “I know how much the gallery means to you.” The strong smell of smoke filled the air as firefighters sprayed more water on the roof and through the front window of her gallery extinguishing the last of the burning flames. Water turned everything from a burning inferno into a wet destroyed mess right before eyes. “My place is ruined,” Renee whispered as tears filled her eyes again. All of the time and energy she’d put into picking out all of the breathtaking paintings disappeared just steps from her and there was nothing she could do to save them. “Renee, you can come back from this,” Cruz said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We haven’t been on the inside yet. The damage might not be as bad as we think it is. You need to have faith about this. You made your dream an outstanding success once and you can do it again.” Resting her head against Cruz’s shoulder, Renee wanted to believe what he was telling her but this was just too much for her to handle at the moment. She had to process everything. How could she have gone from making love with a gorgeous guy out in the serenity of the woods to rushing back to town because her place of business was on fire? How did something like that happen to her? “Renee, what’s going on here?” Travis’s voice came from behind her. “Who is this man?” Spinning around, Renee moved away from Cruz and raced up to Travis. “Travis. Oh God! I’m so glad you’re here! Dana and Cruz have been trying

to comfort me, but I can’t see past all of the damage.” “I’ll be right back,” Dana said then hurried away leaving her alone with Cruz and Travis. Travis looked at her then back over at her assistant. “Oh, you’re Cruz. I’m Travis Cole. Sorry we have to meet this away. Renee talks about you so much. You’re like her right hand when it comes to the gallery.” “Renee has mentioned you before too,” Cruz said as he reached his hand out for a quick handshake. “Thanks for coming to be with her. She’s going to need all of the support she can get.” “How did this even happen?” Travis asked as he pulled her closer to his side. “We were just here this afternoon. I can’t believe it caught on fire. Have the cops talked to you about this?” “I haven’t talked to anyone,” Renee answered. “I think everyone is more concerned with putting the fire out for the moment. I don’t care if it takes all night. I am going to talk to someone about this and I will find out how this fire got started.” “Renee, we both know who has a mean streak bad enough to do this,” Cruz said, glancing back at the ruined gallery over his shoulder and then at her. “You know that you have to think about him first. Has he been around lately?” “He caught me the other day when I was opening up the gallery. He tried to convince me that he needed to see you, but I told him to get lost and not come back here. I didn’t think our conversation was even worthy enough to tell you about. You know how much it upsets you when someone brings up his name.” No! Renee wouldn’t and couldn’t believe that her ex-husband would be vindictive enough to burn down her building. Robert was a bastard with a mean streak but he wasn’t a psycho in her opinion. “Cruz, he doesn’t hate me enough to burn down my gallery. Yes, I talked to him today at the gallery, but I made it very clear we had nothing to say to each other. He was pissed off, but he left.” “Who is he referring to?” Travis asked, cutting into the conversation. “Who would want to burn down your gallery?” “We are talking about her worthless ex-husband Robert Jones,” Cruz answered when Renee didn’t. “He’s meaner than a rattlesnake and his bite is twenty times worst. You don’t want to get on this guy’s bad side. If you don’t let him get his way, he’ll find a way to get back at you.” “May I have some time alone with Renee?” Travis asked Cruz like she wasn’t even standing there right next to him. “I want to talk to her in

private.” “Go right ahead. I need to find Dana. I don’t know where she wandered off to, so take your time. Maybe you can talk some sense into Renee. She doesn’t seem to want to listen to either me or Dana.” Cruz shot her a look before he walked around them into the thinning crowd behind them. Placing his hand on her shoulder, Travis spun her around to face him. “Why didn’t you tell me about Robert coming to see you? I thought we were building something here. I know it’s still in the beginning stages but I thought you would trust me enough to tell me you saw him today.” “Robert’s visit to my gallery today wasn’t anything important to me. I used to allow him to take up so much of my mind when we were married to each other. He had a way about him that made me want to be the best wife I could for him, because I never thought I was good enough for him. “He always had a complaint about something each and every day. My ex-husband isn’t a happy man and when he sees that you are he tries to steal it away from you. Did you know Robert tried to tell me about my relationship with you? Which I know is totally none of his business, but he doesn’t care about that in the least.” “Did he put his hands on you?” Travis demanded. “Just let me know and I’ll make him regret it.” A new and unexpected warmth surged through her at the ferocious way Travis wanted to protect her, but if Robert had laid a hand on her, one of her friends or Travis would be bailing her out of her jail right now. He wasn’t crazy enough to ever think about doing something like that. Robert liked using his words to cut deep. “No, Robert never placed a hand on me. He knew better than that like I told you. He would rather toss out a nasty comment towards me. That’s why I can’t believe he would set fire to my gallery. It just doesn’t fit his makeup at all.” “Did cheating on you fit into something you thought your ex-husband might do?” Travis asked his voice heavy with sarcasm. “People change Renee and now your ex could be capable of doing something like this.” Moving around Travis, Renee watched as the firefighters finished the last of their cleanup. She thought about what Travis was telling her. Was Robert so irate at her this morning after their conversation that he would be malicious enough to actually come back here and do this? Was she still seeing the man she’d married all those years ago instead of the man he was now? Robert was out of her life and there was no way in hell that she wanted him back. He couldn’t and wouldn’t give her what she

deserved now. She wasn’t that innocent girl who’d married Robert after her parent’s death. She was stronger now. Truthfully, she had come a long way since those days and no longer needed to be praised by a man to feel like she was worth something. Hours of hard work and building her dream from the bottom up had taught her a lot of things about herself and neither Robert nor anyone else was going to push her back over the cliff. Renee was annoyed at the little bit of loyalty she had left towards Robert because of the years they was married to each other; but, if she was honest with herself about the fire and thought about it clearly. Robert could have set it out of spite. He never liked her achieving her biggest dream of running her own gallery. He used to laugh at her like she would never be able to carry the heavy weight of doing something so unique and important and she showed him how wrong he was. Robert hated her gallery as much as he hated her house... God, her house. Would Robert burn down her house too? Sheer black fear swept through Renee as the words settled into her mind. The thought of her being here while her house could be burning down to the ground sent her into action as the fire trucks started to drive away from her gallery. Racing back over to Travis, she dug her car keys out of her jeans’ pocket. She had to get him to check her house. “Travis,” she yelled, running up to him. “Renee, what is it?” Concern etched his handsome face as he stared down at her. “What’s wrong?” Renee shoved her house keys into his hands. “Robert hated our house more the he hated this gallery. If he set fire to this—” “He wouldn’t think twice about going out to your house and doing the same thing,” Travis finished for her. “I’ll go out there and check on it. Don’t worry, baby. I’m sure everything is okay, but if it isn’t you’ll get through this with me. I’m not going anywhere.” Giving her a quick kiss, Travis raced away from her towards his Jeep. She couldn’t control the trembling within her as a cold knot formed in her stomach. With a pang, Renee realized that if her house was gone then she had nothing left at all. No home...no business....nothing. “Renee, why did Travis rush away from here like there was something chasing him?” Dana asked as she walked up with Cruz. “I was over there talking to Sheriff Arness about whom we thought could have set the fire

when we saw him.” Thinking the worst before she knew what was going on at her house wasn’t going to help her at all. She never had been the kind of woman to give up or think the worst about things and she wasn’t going to start now. “Travis is going to check my house to make sure it’s okay. Both of you know that Robert hated that I got the house in the divorce. Oh, he pretended like it didn’t bother him at all, but it angered him to no end. So, if he really did set my gallery on fire then what would stop him from doing my house the same way?” “Shit! I didn’t even think about that,” Cruz said. “I should have gone out there right after you arrived here. Do you want me to follow Travis there?” Renee shook her head. “No, I need you here with me because I can’t walk into the gallery alone. I honestly need both of you with me when I do this. Is it okay for me to go in yet?” Looking around, she noticed that the crowd had left and the only cars still there belonged to Sheriff Arness and the fire marshal who both still were talking at the side of the street a couple of feet away from her building. “No, you can’t go in yet. I think you might have to wait until tomorrow,” Dana told her, placing her hand on the upper part of her arm. “I know the fire marshal wants to talk to you, so you might ask him to find out the best time to come back here.” “Here he comes now,” Cruz said, getting their attention. “From the deep frown on his face, I don’t think what he’s going to tell you will be good news at all.” Her nerves tensed immediately about what the man was going to tell her. She could have the gallery redone or was it a total loss and need to be torn down and rebuilt. Neither choice was something she wanted to hear, but the latter would be harder for her to deal with.

Chapter Twenty-Two “Mrs. Jones, may I speak with you for a moment?” The fire marshal stopped in front of her. “I’m James Richardson. There are a few things I want to tell you about the fire and then I need you to answer a couple of questions for me.” “Okay, I can do that,” Renee answered. She watched as Dana and Cruz walked away from her and went back over to Sheriff Arness who was standing by his patrol car across the street. “I just finished my preliminary investigation and without a doubt the fire was deliberately set. We’re going to do a few more tests to see where the origin of the fire was since it started so fast. Do you have any clue who might want to do something like this to you?” Numb from shock, Renee felt her knees give out and she would have fallen if the fire marshal hadn’t grabbed her arm. “Are you okay, Mrs. Jones?” he asked, staring down at her. “Yes, I’m fine,” Renee answered as she got herself back under control. The fire marshal let go of her arm and took a step back. “I can’t believe someone would do this to me. It’s so unbelievable.” “Are you telling me that you don’t know who might have done this to you? The way the fire was set. I can tell you it was made so the building would burn fast.” Could Dana and Cruz actually be right? Robert did hate her and she pissed him off by throwing him out of the gallery this afternoon. The look he gave her as he stormed out was a warning and she didn’t pay any attention to it at all. God! How could she have been so stupid! Robert did this to her and she wasn’t going to keep quiet about it. He was going to pay for this. “My ex-husband came by to see me today at the gallery. He wanted to talk to me, but I told him to get out and he wasn’t pleased with how I treated him at all,” Renee said. “What is your ex-husband’s name?” Fire Marshall Richardson asked. “Robert Jones.” “Do you think he’s still angry about the divorce? Could he be getting

back at you about that?” “I don’t know why. Robert got remarried pretty fast after I divorced him, but he’s always suffered from control issues. However, I never thought he would go this far and burn down my business.” Renee watched as Fire Marshall Richardson wrote down a few things on the long sheet of paper in his hand. She knew that she didn’t have proof that her ex-husband was behind this but he was her best choice. Robert never wanted her to succeed with anything and now that she had finally done it he would get a lot of pleasure out of destroying it. Yet, there was something Robert never knew about her. She wasn’t a quitter. It might take her a while to rebuild her gallery back to its full glory, but she would do it because she wasn’t about to allow him to get the better of her. “How bad is the damage?” Renee already knew the fire had been destructive, but as much as it hurt her to find out she needed to know where she should start first for the rebuild. Fire Marshal Richardson snapped his pen closed and shoved it into the front pocket of his shirt. “Mrs. Jones, you have a lot of work ahead of you. A portion of the roof will have to be replaced. Also the metal trusses that are along the sides of the building were ruined from the heat and some of the structural designs along the building were also destroyed.” “Please just give me an estimate of the cost,” she said as a sickening feeling started to settle in the pit of her stomach. “I would estimate the cost between 100,000 to 200,000 dollars because the fire completely destroyed the back of the building. Maybe you might have to pay half that price if you could find someone here in town that might be willing to work with you.” After hearing the outrageous repair estimates, Renee suddenly felt illequipped to undertake such a task. How in the hell could she take half her savings and put it back into the gallery? She loved her job; however, just thinking about spending that sort of money didn’t sit well with her. “Mrs. Jones, are you going to be okay?” Fire Marshal Richardson asked her for a second time. “Do you need to have a seat on the curb and process everything? I know it’s a lot to hear in such a short period.” He hesitated. She looked at him with an effort as she shoved all of the negative thoughts out of her head. She was going to get through this and with flying colors. If it really turned out that her cheating and lying ex-husband was the one who had done this she would show him in no certain terms that he couldn’t beat her.

“I’m fine. Thank you so much for your concern. I’m just ready to get home. It’s been a long night.” Renee wasn’t even going to think the worst about her house since Travis hadn’t called her. Everything might be okay there. “Okay, I understand,” he answered, touching her on the shoulder. “I’ll contact the police with the last of my findings and they’ll give you all of the information for your insurance purposes. You do have fire insurance?” “Yes, I got it when I bought the building, but I’m not sure how much of it they will pay. I’ll check into it tomorrow.” “I’m assuming the company should at least pay half or all of it. Either way, it will be a help towards you rebuilding the gallery. I was here with my wife the last time you had a show and the art work in there was amazing. I’m crossing my fingers for you that you can get it back to the way it was.” “I will get it back and I’ll make sure it’s better than before.” Renee said right before the fire marshal turned and walked away from her. Turning around, her eyes stared at the damage to her gallery and the more she saw it the angrier she became until it felt like her blood was pounding through her veins. How dare someone do this to her? She was so furious that she felt like breaking something. Her thoughts were racing so dangerously that she had to fight down the urge to find Robert and demand he tell her the truth about the fire, but she would leave it alone for now and let the authorities do their job. She had to get out of here and get home to Travis. He was still probably there waiting for her. It was a good thing that she carried an extra car key in her purse or she would have to ask for a ride home. Spinning around on her heel, Renee headed over to Dana and Cruz who were still talking to Sheriff Arness. On the way over there, she noticed how the tall, handsome sandy haired man couldn’t take his eyes off of Dana. She knew Dana had mentioned during the speed dating event at her café that the sheriff was interested in her. She wondered why Dana wasn’t willing to give him a chance. He seemed like the perfect guy for her. She made a mental note to talk to Dana about Sheriff Arness some more, but not tonight. “Hello, Sheriff,” Renee said, stopping next to Dana. “Hello Mrs. Jones,” Sheriff Arness answered. “I’m sorry about your gallery. I can promise you that the fire marshal and I are going to do everything in our power to catch who did this. Dana and Cruz both mentioned they thought it might be your ex-husband. I can promise if it does turn out to be him, he will get locked away for it.”

“Thank you,” she answered. “I just want the right person caught and locked up. I only came over here to tell everyone that I was leaving. I want to get home and take a long hot shower before crawling into bed.” “Do you need a ride home?” Cruz asked. “No, I have my car,” Renee said. “Okay. You get some rest and I’ll talk you tomorrow more about the fire,” Sheriff Arness chimed in. “Try to get some rest. Don’t let this get you down. I know you should be able to rebuild.” “I won’t and thanks again.” Renee touched Dana on the shoulder before walking away. She could feel their eyes drilling a hole into her back as she headed for her car. Without even being a mind reader, she knew all of three of them were wondering if she was going to break down again before she got home and the answer was no. All of her tears were gone now. The main focus of her energy was going to be placed towards checking the damage to her gallery tomorrow and finding out how soon she could start working on hiring a crew to rebuild it for her.

Chapter Twenty-Three Sitting outside in her driveway, Renee stared at her house lit by lights placed along the edges of the yard. She was thrilled that it was still there and not burnt to the ground. The moment she’d laid eyes on this place she had fallen in love with the spacious looking Mediterranean style house. She loved the elements of Renaissance, Gothic and Moorish architecture that made it special. Her Spanish home was more inviting than exotic in her opinion with its asymmetrical two stories high design and the low-pitched tile roofs, stuccoed exteriors, window arches and bold door, as well as the arcaded walkways and patios. Inside she had fabulous entryways with the rugged front door which was flanked by spiral columns or ornately carved stonework. Further into the house, a beautiful sprawling Spanish style floor was illuminated by eight double hung windows with interior shutters. Some of them featured breathtaking stained glass windows adorned with decorative wood and iron grilles. In her backyard, she’d installed fountains inside the courtyard a few yards from her recessed balconies and porches that she loved sitting on when she just wanted to relax after a long day at work with the warm breezes brushing over her arms. The fire at the gallery tonight had ripped her heart out of her chest, but if her house had been taken away from her too she wouldn’t have been able to handle all of that in one night. Thank God, she still had a bed to sleep in tonight. Renee wasn’t even sure if she would be able to close her eyes tonight, but she was thrilled that her beloved home was still intact. Slumping over the steering wheel, she rested her forehead against it as all of the stress from the night started to take over her tired limbs and the scent from the fire filled her car from her clothing. Every fiber in her body had warned her Robert might try something and he did. His temper when crossed could be almost uncontrollable. He had set fire to her gallery and probably laughed while he was doing it. Raising her head, Renee brushed her hair away from her face and

snatched her purse off the passenger seat. She couldn’t stay outside in the car any longer. She needed to get inside and see if Travis was still there. He was so great with her back at the fire and she wanted to tell him how much his support had meant to her. Getting out of the car, Renee closed the car door behind her and made her way up the steps towards her warm inviting home. Sheriff Arness and Fire Marshall Richardson might not have the proof they needed yet, but they would get it. Robert loved bragging about anything he did and if he truly did damage her shop then she would make sure he never got another chance to hurt her.

Chapter Twenty Four Walking into the house, Renee was greeted by the wonderful smell of good cooking coming from her kitchen. For a second or two, she stopped in her tracks stunned by the surprise. Travis was cooking for her. Tossing her keys and purse down on the living room table, she made her way towards the direction the wonderful scent was coming from. This was something that she had to see for herself. None of the men in her past ever cooked for her and Travis doing it now after everything that happened to her tonight only cemented him a little deeper into her heart, allowing her to lower her wall even more for Travis. He impressed her by doing something new and out of the box. Stopping in the doorway, Renee rested her shoulder against the doorframe staring at Travis as he tasted something from a pot before he added a few more seasonings and gave it another stir. His sleeves were rolled up past his elbows displaying the muscles of his well-defined arms and his jeans hugged his ass to perfection. She almost wished that he wasn’t cooking so she could thank him in a different way for his undying support tonight. “Are you going to stand there and stare at me all night?” Travis asked, glancing over his shoulder at her. “How did you even know I was home?” Renee questioned coming up to stand next to him. “I can always feel when you’re around me,” he answered. “It’s the connection that we have with each other.” Lifting the spoon out of the pot, Travis blew on it before placing it against her lips. “Taste this and tell me what you think.” Renee eyed the spoon. “What is it?” “Just give it a taste. I can promise you that it’s good.” “All right.” Opening her mouth, Renee tasted the sauce and moaned as soon as it touched her tongue. She could barely stop her eyes from rolling to the back of her head from sheer pleasure. She had always been a foodie and Travis’s sauce just might send her over the edge. “Oh my God!” she purred. “That is so good.”

“Thank you.” Travis laid the spoon on the black tray next to the stove. “My grandmother was a fantastic cook and she taught me how to cook whenever my parents had to work late. She was the most amazing person in the world. I almost didn’t think you had everything here I needed to fix it, but you’re so organized that I found everything pretty easy in the kitchen and pantry.” Crossing his arms, Travis moved away from the stove and stared down at her. “How did everything go after I left you at the gallery?” “I don’t want to talk about the gallery anymore,” Renee answered, moving away from Travis. She had come home to get away from her problems not bring them up again. “Renee, you have to talk about it. You loved the gallery and all of the paintings in there. Now it’s gone. Are you telling me that you don’t have anything to say about what Robert might have done at all?” “No, I don’t!” Moving away from the counter, Renee tried to storm past Travis. However, his hand shot out and wrapped around her arm preventing her from moving one step. “Yes, you do and I’m not going to let you leave this room until you get it all off your chest. I know you’re close to Dana and Cruz, but I bet you didn’t even tell either one of them how you truly felt about what happened tonight.” Loosening his grip on her arm, Travis tugged her back until the side of her arm was against his chest. The warmth from his body eased into hers. “Renee, I’m here for you, Talk to me.” “Travis, I can’t. You just wouldn’t understand.” “Are you saying that because I’m younger than you, you think I can’t stand next to you while you deal with this? I thought we were building something here, but if you aren’t willing to work on this with me than why am I wasting my time?” Letting go of her arm, Travis turned off the food on the stove and stormed toward the kitchen doorway. “The food should be done. I hope you enjoy the meal I cooked for you. When you’re ready to open up to me give me a call.” Watching as Travis was about to leave her alone when she needed him the most, Renee swallowed with difficulty and found her voice. “Travis, wait!” Stopping in his tracks, he paused in the entrance way to the kitchen but didn’t look back at her. “What is it, Renee?” Renee noticed how the unwelcome tension stretched even tighter

between them and she hated the feeling it gave her. Outside, she had been so ready to come inside the house and tell Travis how his support tonight pulled her through everything, but she ended up ruining it by backing away from him. Well, she wasn’t going to allow what happened tonight to tarnish what Travis was starting to mean to her. “I want to talk you. You’re right. There are some things that I need to tell you.” Walking up to him, Renee placed her hand on Travis’s forearm and the muscles tensed beneath her fingers. “Will you stay and listen to me?” Turning his head, Travis’ blue eyes held her brown ones. He studied her face feature by feature and she watched the play of emotions cross his face. “Renee, if you aren’t going to open up to me I’m going to leave. I can’t keep trying to move forward alone. I want to get closer to you. We’ve made love and that should have bonded us, but instead you’re acting like it pushed us further away from each other.” Moving away from Travis’ side, Renee stood in front of him. She didn’t want him to leave. Something good was happening between her and Travis and she wanted things only to get better. “I’m going to open up to you. I’d planned on doing it tonight while we were camping, but the fire happened and everything rushed downhill from there. Let’s eat and I promise that I’ll let you know what is going on with me. Just understand that I’m still trying to process everything that has gone on tonight. I’ve been through a lot.” Lowering his head, Travis gave her a quick kiss. “Of course, I’ll stay here with you. I actually don’t think I would have been able to leave you tonight anyway. I would have been too worried about Robert coming here. Now, let’s get something to eat and we can talk on the couch after we’re finished.” Standing up on her tiptoes, Renee wrapped her arms around Travis’ neck. “I can’t wait to dig into the delicious meal you have fixed for us.” Placing his hands on her waist, Travis tugged her against his body. “If you’re a good girl, I might still give you the surprise I have for dessert. Do you think that you can be a good girl?” Oh, she loved surprises! Renee could only imagine what Travis had in store for her. Well, the sooner they got finished with their dinner the quicker she would find out. “I can be more than a good girl, if you give me the chance,” Renee flirted back before kissing Travis on his full lips and then walking away. “Hey, where are you going?” Travis called after her.

“I’m starving and I’m ready to eat. Aren’t you hungry?” “Yeah, I’m hungry...but it isn’t for food.” Travis ran his hand across her butt as he followed behind her before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him. “God, you feel so good in my arms. I could be like this for the rest of the night.” “Weren’t you just pissed off at me only a few moments ago?” The sudden change in Travis’ attitude surprised her. “Yes, I was but I don’t believe in staying mad over small things.” Resting his chin on the top of her head, Travis ran his hands across her stomach. “You agreed to open up to me more and I believe that you are.” Spinning around in his arms, Renee placed her hands in the middle of Travis’ chest as she looked up at him. “I want you to know that once I make a promise I keep it. Now, why don’t you let me taste that scrumptious meal you fixed for us? Afterwards I can tell you what you want to know.” “You’ll tell me everything I want to know, even things about your marriage?” The question was asked in a manner that Renee could tell Travis wanted to know everything he could about her past. How could she not open up to him after he had broken through the thick wall surrounding her heart since the divorce? She wanted to walk into this relationship with her heart wide open. “Yes, like I said earlier I will tell you everything.”

Chapter Twenty-Five Placing her drink down on the table next to the padded lounge chair, Renee folded her legs underneath her as Travis got comfortable on the matching seat next to hers on the patio. She’d suggested they come outside to talk instead of staying inside. Travis wanted to know everything about her, so she felt more comfortable out here. It seemed to relax all of her fears and centered her. This was the best place for her to be. “You want to know about my life before I came here. I only think it’s fair that you finish telling me about the girlfriend who got away in your life. I asked you before and you blew me off. I want you to give me all the details tonight. Can you agree to do it?” Leaning forward, Travis placed his elbow on his knees and linked his fingers together drawing her attention to the opening of his shirt and the chest hair on display there. All other thoughts left her mind, but how good it had felt when Travis made love to her earlier. God, her night had started off at such a high level and now here she was about to tell Travis about her past. How does stuff like that happen and especially to her? “I can go first if you don’t believe I’ll tell you about my ex-girlfriend. I don’t want any secrets between us,” Travis said as his eyes held hers while he patiently waited for her answer. “No, I can tell you about my past first,” Renee said. “I know that you’ll keep your word to me.” Water rushing out of the foundation a few feet from her and Travis in the backyard gave Renee the soothing peace she needed to figure out where she should begin telling Travis about her life. So much had occurred in her life since she’d first met and married Robert. It seemed like a lifetime ago since they were together. “I first met Robert when he was shopping at the grocery store. I had seen him off and on but I never really gave him much attention because when I first saw him, I wasn’t that into him because he came across as very cocky to me. He acted like every woman within twenty yards of the place should want him and I hated that quality about him. “He even asked me out a couple of times and I turned him down flat

without even a second thought about it. Robert just wasn’t my type of man and I was done even being bothered by him, but something happened to change my mind about him.” “What happened?” Travis asked, cutting in. “My parents died...no they got murdered,” Renee admitted. Travis sat up straighter on the lounge chair and touched her hand. “What do you mean they got murdered?” “My parents were very trusting people. I mean, I don’t think they ever thought a person had a bad bone in their body at all. Well, they lived on the outskirts our town in a house they had saved up their retirement money to build and one night when they came home from a date night they surprised a burglar when he was going through the safe on the wall in the den and he shot them dead on the spot. One bullet through each of their heads. They never had a chance to even make a break for it. However, the police officers and coroner both told me they died instantly and felt no pain. “My parent’s homicide got a lot of publicity from the media after the police caught the burglar. Robert found out where I lived because he sent me a card and some flowers. He told me that he had worked in the same office as my father a year before he retired and was truly sorry to hear about their deaths. He wrote in his note that if I ever needed someone to talk to at all to give him a call.” “So you called him?” Renee moved her hand away from Travis’ “No, I didn’t call him. Actually, a couple of days after I got the card and flowers, I saw Robert at the grocery store. We struck up a conversation with each other and this time when he asked me out on a date I didn’t say no.” “Robert knew who you were all along when he first saw you at the grocery store, didn’t he?” Grabbing her glass off the table, Renee took a sip of her drink and placed it back down on the table before answering. “Yes, he admitted to me on our fourth or fifth date that he did know who I was because he had seen me visiting my dad at his job.” “What made you marry Robert?” Back then if anyone had asked Renee that same question she would have told them hands down it was because of love, but now she knew it was out of need. Robert filled a void left in her by her parents’ murder. He wasn’t anything special or even romantic. All the times they had gone out he showed hints of being a control freak, but she was still too much in her own personal grief process to notice

until she was too deep in the marriage to get out. “I thought he could give me the love I wanted, but now I see how wrong I was and I wasn’t getting any younger. I didn’t want to die old and alone. Robert was there and we got along well enough with each other, so why not say yes to his proposal.” “Were all of the years of your marriage bad? Were there ever any good times?” Good times with Robert? Was there such a thing? She had been so blind by her misplaced love for him that she thought she was having a good time, but they had truly been living separate lives until the divorce. “No, Robert loved getting his way too much and when he didn’t those were worst times in our long marriage. He never knew how to take the blame for when he did anything wrong. Robert constantly thought it was the other person’s fault. Do you know that he even hit his boss and got fired? Luckily, his boss was kind enough not to press charges and fired Robert instead.” “Is that why you moved to Wicker Valley?” Travis asked her. “Robert found a job here, so I packed up everything and came here with him. I knew our marriage was over before then, but I wanted to give it one last try because my parents had been married for over forty years. It hurt me to think my marriage was falling apart.” Placing his hand on top of hers again, Travis gave it a light squeeze. “Renee, you’re a beautiful woman and you did the right thing by tossing Robert’s ass out of your life. He didn’t deserve you at all. You’re talented, gorgeous and any man’s dream. I’m glad you aren’t married anymore.” “Care to tell me why?” “I wouldn’t have gotten a chance to make love to you earlier and it’s something that I want to repeat if we ever get a chance.” “We can’t do that until you tell me about this girl who broke your heart,” Renee said. A shadow passed over Travis’ face as he let go of her hand and moved back away from her. “I don’t talk about her much, not even to my parents. I’ve gotten over it, but it still hurts to remember it.” “Travis, what was her name? Did she die or something?” “No, Jenni isn’t dead...she just decided she would rather be with a woman instead of me.”

Chapter Twenty Six “How did you find out your ex-girlfriend was cheating on you?” Renee finally asked when her momentary shock wore off and she could speak again. “I walked in on her kissing her roommate and she told me then that things were over between us. I don’t care if Jenni figured out that she was gay. I’m upset that she couldn’t have told me before I caught her in the act. She broke my trust and my trust isn’t something that I give away freely to anyone.” “Travis, I’m so sorry,” Renee said, placing her hand on his knee. “I know how it is when you find out the person you’re with is cheating on you. The pain you feel is gut wrenching. At least for me it was and I wasn’t even in love with Robert anymore.” Travis shrugged to hide his frustration. “For the longest time, I thought what happened with Jenni was my fault. I spent so much time working on my art that I thought maybe I had pushed her into the arms of another person. It took me months to realize that Jenni’s decision to leave me had nothing to do with me, but it was all about her.” “When the person you love cheats on you it hurts all the same. Whether it was with a man or woman doesn’t matter. Cheating is cheating and I can’t stand it. I won’t be with another man who I think will even think about getting into bed with another woman.” Grabbing Renee by the hand, Travis pulled her to him lying back on the chair positioning her in front of him. He linked their fingers together over her stomach and loved how perfectly Renee’s body molded against his. He watched as the night lights Renee had installed around her backyard came on as soon as nighttime came. “I’ll never think about being with another woman. You are so perfect for me. I want to be with you as much as I can. I still have so much to learn about you and you about me. Tonight proved how much we are meant to be together.” “I know that you haven’t talked much about the fire since you came home,” he said placing a kiss on the top of her head. “How are you doing?

What’s going on in that head of yours? Stop keeping so much in and tell me.” “Honestly, I think a part of me is still in disbelief I won’t have a place to go to tomorrow. I hate to think about going there in the morning and seeing all of the devastation in the daylight. My baby almost burnt to the ground and I couldn’t do anything to save it. Nothing at all! I was totally useless and I despise that empty feeling more than you know.” “Do you really think Robert had something to do with it?” Travis asked as his fingers massaged her stomach through her shirt. “Yes,” Renee answered without missing a beat. “He’s mean enough to do it just out of malice because I wouldn’t talk to him, but he isn’t going to win. I’m going to rebuild my gallery. The fire marshal told me it might cost between 100,000 to 200,000 dollars.” Travis let out a low whistle. He’d only seen part of the damage because the fire was still burning when he left. But he never thought it would be anywhere near that extent. “That’s a lot of money. Are you sure you’ll be able to afford to rebuild?” Moving her body a little, Renee glanced over her shoulder at him with a determined look on her face. “I have never been a quitter. I told you I was going to rebuild my gallery and that is what I’m going to do.” “Baby, in the short period of time I’ve known you I can tell that you aren’t a quitter and I think that is one of the qualities I admire the most about you. I know how much you loved your gallery. I saw the utter heartbreak on your face as you watched it burn and here you are taking it so calmly. You are one impressive woman.” “The one thing my parents taught me was never give up in the face of adversity. Always stick with something no matter how hard it might be because in the end the fight was worth it. Whether you win or lose I loved that piece of advice and it has always stayed with me over the years.” Turning Renee around the rest of the way to face him, Travis ran his fingers through her hair and stared down into her eyes. Something about Renee made him feel at such peace. He had been drawn to women in the past after his break up with Jenni but none of them made him want to spend his every waking moment with them like Renee. She was beginning to mean so much to him and he didn’t want to let her go. He liked the idea of being by her side for as long as she needed and wanted him there. Most people talked to him like he was a kid since he was only twenty-nine and, in their eyes, hadn’t lived long enough to know anything, but Renee didn’t treat him like she had to teach him anything. She

treated him like he was her equal. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Renee asked, running her index finger down the front of his shirt. “You just got so quiet all of the sudden. Were you thinking about Jenni again? Have I brought up some bad memories for you?” Grabbing Renee’s finger, he kissed the tip and then placed it back against his chest. “No, I wasn’t thinking about Jenni. She’s happy now with someone else and I’m glad for her. I wouldn’t want to be in a committed relationship with someone who was only pretending to be in love with me. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of us.” “Do you think Jenni was ever in love with you?” Travis pondered. “I think she loved me because we were friends first and she was the one who pushed me towards my art, but no, she was never ‘in love’ with me. I’m glad things happened the way they did or I wouldn’t be falling for you right now. That’s what I was thinking about.” “Oh, you’re falling for me,” Renee laughed. “Is that even possible in the short period of time we’ve known each other? I thought we were still getting to know each other, Mr. Cole.” “Haven’t you ever heard of two people looking into each other’s eyes and knowing at that exact moment they are meant to be with each other for the rest of their lives?” Travis asked as his hand ran up and down the length of Renee’s back. “Yes, I’ve heard of people connecting only after a couple of dates,” Renee answered. “Who hasn’t?” “Don’t you think it’s happening to us? Honestly, have you ever felt this connected to another man after such a short period of time? Let me answer that for you,” Travis said, cutting off Renee before she could speak. “I know you haven’t because if you had you wouldn’t be here with me right now. Instead you would be somewhere with him. Am I right?” Arching an eyebrow, Renee stared at him. “Okay, if you know me so well how about you tell me what I’m thinking at this exact moment.” “Sweetheart, you’re thinking the same thing I am which is why don’t I shut up and kiss you,” he breathed as he lowered his head capturing her lips with his. One of his hands slid down to her waist holding Renee against his body, so she could feel what she was doing to him as his cock grew even thicker and longer above her belly button. Meanwhile his other hand grasped the back of her head and his tongue invaded her mouth dying to get to the delicious taste waiting on the inside for only him.

With a soft moan, Renee wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him even closer to her body. The thin fabric of her shirt offered no protection from her hard nipples poking through and into his chest. Drawing her fuller lower bottom lip between his teeth, Travis sucked on it causing his hunger to rise swift and hard inside his body. He moved his hand further down Renee’s body over her hip then he grabbed her leg and pulled it over his waist, rocking his cock against her damp underwear. He was hurting so badly and he needed some relief. Just the thought of being buried deep inside of Renee again almost made him come inside his underwear, but he couldn’t let it happen, not out here in her back yard. “God, I love your mouth,” Travis groaned against Renee’s swollen lips. “I love the taste of you, but we have to stop.” He rested his forehead against hers and stared down into her beautiful dark eyes. “What? Why? I was so ready to go further,” Renee complained. “I love that you’re ready to go the rest of the way with me out here in your backyard, but I want to take you in a nice comfortable bed, but first I want to get you alone in the tub.” Leaning away from him, Renee’s eyes widened from either surprise or shock. “You want to take a bath with me?” “Yes, I do,” he whispered. “Do you want to know how it feels to have my hands all wet and slippery as they slide all over your body? I’m an artist and the one thing I’m really good at is using my hands. I bet I can make you feel better than you ever have before.” Travis could feel Renee’s heart thudding against his own. The closeness of her body made him aware of how good she made him feel and he was glad to be right here with her. He brushed his thumbs over her bare arms loving how silky smooth Renee’s skin was underneath his touch. A brief shiver rippled through her as she gasped from the light contact and he knew that he was a step nearer to winning her over to his suggestion. “Come on, you know that you want to say yes,” he whispered into her hair. “Why deny us both this pleasure?” “Do you know how hard you’re making this for me to say no?” Leaning back in his arms, Renee stared at him. “I don’t—.” Travis placed his finger against Renee’s lips. “Shhh...let me do this for you. You’ve been through a lot tonight and you need me. I want to prove that I’m here for you. Just relax and go with it.” “Yes...my answer is yes.” Cupping her face in his hands, Travis ran the tip of his tongue along the edge of her full lips loving how the taste of her got better and better with

each lick. He was falling so hard and so fast for Renee and she wasn’t even aware of it which was a scary feeling on his part. He couldn’t move too fast. Renee was fresh off a divorce and probably wasn’t looking for anything serious. The only way he knew how to get closer to her heart was by romancing her body first and then once he won that over the only part left would be her mind. Travis wasn’t going to settle for a small part of Renee...no, he wanted all of her and that is what he was going to get too.

Chapter Twenty-Seven Standing inside the bathroom covered in nothing but her short pink satin robe, Renee’s eyes wandered around the room noticing how Travis had taken time to light the variety of the candles she had placed there drowning them in romantic candlelight. “I didn’t think you would ever get in here,” Travis said from his position already inside of her claw foot bathtub. “The water is perfect and you’re about to miss out on it. What took you so long?” “I had to get rid of the clothes I was wearing,” Renee said, coming closer to the edge of the bathtub. “I couldn’t stand the smell of the smoke any longer. I tossed them in a bag and then threw them in the trash. I don’t want to ever again see the clothes I wore while watching my gallery burn. They’ll bring up too many bad memories.” “How about you take off that sexy little robe and join me in the tub? Let me see if I can try to give you some better memories of tonight.” Taking his hand off the side of the tub, Travis held it out to her. “Come on in. The water is incredible.” Smiling at Travis, Renee took off the robe allowing it to fall to the floor before taking Travis’ hand. “You have an awesome big promise to live up to,” she teased as Travis helped her into the bathtub settling her back against his warm, hard chest. “Always remember that I’m a man of my word,” he whispered into the back of her neck before he grabbed a washcloth. The warm water glided over her naked body causing all of the tension and stress to release from her limbs. Travis ran the soapy washcloth over her breasts and the suds glided down over on her stomach pooling into the water below them. Never in her life had she thought taking a bath with another person could be so romantic and sexy until now. At first, when Travis brought up the idea of taking a bath together she thought it might be a little strange to be inside her favorite domain with him. But after experiencing the way it felt having his wet naked chest brushing against her back, Renee was upset that she hadn’t thought of the idea herself.

“Aren’t you glad that you finally agreed to this?” Travis whispered against her ear as he dropped the washcloth between her thighs and massaged her breasts, his long fingers playing with her nipples. “Yes,” she moaned, softly. “You’re beginning to know me so well.” “Sweetheart, I’m hoping to get to know you better and better if you allow me to.” Slowly, one of Travis’ hands left her breasts, eased its way over her stomach and ended between her thighs while his erection poked against the lower part of her back. Working his thick finger into her body, he started stroking it in and out of her at a slow agonizing pace until she started moving her hips to the same rhythm as his movements, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. “Travis,” Renee moaned as she grabbed his wrist. “What it is, baby?” he whispered against the side of her neck as his tongue ran over her damp skin. “Aren’t you enjoying yourself?” “I want more. Why are you playing with me like this?” “Why rush anything? We have all night to do everything that we want with each other. I like taking my time with you.” Reaching down, Travis moved her hand off his wrist and then added another finger stretching her even more. “Ohhh,” she whimpered, tossing her head back against his chest. “Take it. Relax and let me take care of this beautiful body of yours.” He began thrusting in and out of her harder this time until the water inside of the tub splashed over the sides onto the floor. “That’s it baby. Let yourself go.” Travis’ other hand tugged as her swollen nipples. Taking his thumb, he spread her even wider rubbing soft, slow circles over her clit, applying just the right amount of pressure until Renee felt like she was about to lose her mind. She didn’t know how much longer she would be able to hold on if Travis kept touching her like that. Her hips began to thrust wildly as Travis somehow found a way to slip another finger into the already snug fit he had inside of her wetness. The feel of Travis’ teeth as they nibbled at the side of her neck was almost her undoing as the thrust of his fingers got harder and faster. “Yes...Oh God...yes,” Renee hollered as her orgasm started to ripple through her body and then suddenly Travis removed his fingers from her body. Spinning her around, he spread her legs on either side of his hard thighs and entered her with one powerful thrust. “TRAVIS!” Renee hollered her hands gripping the sides of the bathtub as Travis held her hips and pushed even deeper inside of her, her cries of

pleasure filling the room. “Oh god....baby, you feel so good.” Travis panted as his grip tightened on her waist. “I don’t think I want to ever stop. This just feels too right between us. I’m never going to give you up.” “More!” she cried as another orgasm took over her body. “I’ll give you more.” Lifting her up by the waist, Travis brought her back down on his cock until it felt like all eight and a half inches of him was touching her womb and it felt amazing. Keeping one hand on her waist, Travis’ other hand removed the clip she placed in her hair to keep it from getting wet in the tub. She heard when it hit the floor somewhere behind them. “Anytime we make love I want your hair down,” Travis said as his fingers slid through the strands. “I love how it looks down on your shoulders.” Renee could only nod as she felt herself coming back down from her high. As soon as Travis realized she had gotten her pleasure he thrust against her several more times and then screamed, coming and coming inside of her until she was completely filled with nothing but him. After he was drained, Travis held her against his body running his hands up and down her wet back. “Are you okay?” He asked nuzzling the side of her neck. “I’m wonderful. I’ve never felt better in my life,” Renee answered as she raised her head from Travis’ chest and looked him in the eye. “You always know how to make everything better after I’m with you. I love the calming affect you have on me.” “Renee, I feel the same way about you too. I’m so glad you’ve come into my life,” Travis said, giving her a quick kiss. “How about we get out of the water and take a quick shower? I think we both might need one. After we’re done, I think we should crawl into bed and try to get some sleep. You’re going to have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.” “I know.” Renee sighed as she moved away from the comfort of Travis’ chest. “I have to look at my gallery and see where I start about rebuilding it and then I have to make a trip to Sheriff Arness’ office.” Moving her off his chest, Travis got out of the tub and then grabbed her hand helping her out. “Don’t worry about anything. Robert won’t get away with what he did to you. I’m here now and I’m going to protect you with everything I have in me.” Renee was touched Travis wanted to be there for her, but she was able to stand on her own two feet. She wouldn’t allow herself to fall back into another situation like she had in the past with her ex-husband. She built her

gallery once and she was going to do it again. “Travis, I’m glad you want to help me but I can handle this by myself.” “Okay, I’ll take a step back and let you do it. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to be overly controlling,” Travis said, watching her. “How about we forget about this and take the shower?” Standing on her tiptoes, Renee wrapped her arms around Travis’ neck. “I like the way you think. I don’t want to ruin the rest of our night talking about the fire. I’ll just deal with whatever comes up tomorrow.” “Who am I to deny my woman what she wants?” Travis asked as he picked her up and carried her towards the shower in the corner of the room.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Early the next morning, Renee stood outside her gallery staring at the yellow police tape that was secured across where her front door used to be. She had left Travis sleeping because she wanted to see the damage in the daylight by herself. She was touched by how much he wanted to be her support system, but this wasn’t something Travis could understand with the passion that she did. Every inch of this place was grown and developed by her. It had taken her months to finally talk some of the local artists into giving her some of their work to show. Now, she had broken their trust by not protecting their work. Cruz had saved some of the paintings and art work, but she was too upset to find out which ones last night. Blinking back the tears in her eyes, Renee made her way over to the tape and took a deep breath before slipping underneath it. The smell of burnt wood, damp walls and soaked materials assaulted her senses. A hot tear rolled down her cheek as Renee picked her way through all of the debris covering the floor. She made her way over to her work desk and ran her hand across the top. A thick layer of grime covered her fingertips from the soot left over from the fire. Renee vividly recalled all the hours and late nights she’d spent here day after day working towards making her gallery an even bigger success than it already was. More tears welled in her eyes as it suddenly hit Renee she wouldn’t be able to ever take a seat here again. Taking her hand off her desk, Renee wiped her fingers on her jeans. Leaving the table, she made her way over to the destroyed paintings that were barely hanging on the scorched walls. Some of them were completely ruined and a few pieces of the art work were burnt on one side and dangling by a thread. None of these beautiful works of art was salvageable at all. Using the back of her hand, she brushed the tears away from her eyes. None of this should have happened to her. Everything had been so good in her life over the last couple of days and out of the blue this happens. “Why did this happen to me?” Renee mumbled. “That is what I’m going to try to find out for you, Mrs. Jones,” a male

voice said from behind her. Spinning around, Renee found Sheriff Arness standing a few feet behind her. “Hello, Sheriff. What are you doing here?” “I should be asking you the same thing. This is a crime scene and you’re trespassing,” Sheriff Arness told her as he walked through all of the rubble and stood next to her. “This building still might not be safe enough for you to be in. You really need to leave. Why don’t you come with me? We can talk at Dana’s café about the fire and your ex-husband.” “Did you find Robert? What did he have to say?” Renee questioned. “I’ll tell you as soon as we leave,” Sheriff Arness answered. He grabbed her by the elbow and led her back towards the front door making sure she didn’t step on any fallen burnt wood. Once they were back outside Sheriff Arness let go of her elbow and then folded his arms across his wide chest and stared down at her. “Mrs. Jones, you have to stay out of your gallery until we know for sure if the structure is sound enough of you to be on the inside. Now, I know you want to take a look around but give me at least a few more days to look at everything.” “Have you talked to my ex-husband about the fire yet?” Renee knew Robert was behind this. “Yes, I talked to him a few minutes ago and he said he was at home all last night. His wife even backed up his story.” “He’s a liar!” Renee shouted and then lowered her voice when Sheriff Arness gave her a hard look. “This fire is just the thing Robert would do to get back at me. I know him way better than you or anyone else in this town. I’ll prove that he did this.” “Mrs. Jones, you can’t go around shouting accusations without any proof of any wrongdoing. I’ll find out if your ex-husband is behind this, but until then please try your best to stay out of it.” “Robert wouldn’t let you find out anything because his wife will keep lying for him.” Renee couldn’t believe this. Sheriff Arness was going to let him get away. “Renee, you need to stay calm. How about we still go to Dana’s café and I can talk to you more about the case? Maybe you might remember something today that you overlooked last night.” Sitting down and talking at Dana’s café wasn’t going to help a damn thing. She needed to go for a drive to clear her head. She hadn’t been expecting to hear this when she got up this morning. The time alone would do her some good and give her the space she needed to think about things because talking with Sheriff Arness wasn’t going to improve her mood any.

“No, thank you. I think I’m just going to take a long drive so I can think about what you just told me. Have a good day, Sheriff.” Spinning around on her heel, Renee stormed towards her car and felt a pair of eyes drilling a hole into her back and she didn’t care. The further she got away from Sheriff Arness for the moment the better off the both of them would be. **** “Have either one of you seen Renee this morning?” Travis asked as he stood next to the table where Dana and Cruz where sitting inside her café. “I woke up this morning and she was gone. I went by the gallery and she wasn’t there so I’m worried about her. She tried telling me she wasn’t upset about the fire, but I know better than to believe her.” “No, I haven’t seen her,” Dana said, looking at him. “Neither have I,” Cruz added. “I was going to head over to the gallery myself, but I stopped by here first to talk to Dana. We were talking about if we could talk Renee into having a small showing here at the café with the paintings I saved from the fire.” Pulling out a chair, Travis took a seat at the table. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, but I’m not sure if Renee will go for it or not. Last night, I brought up helping her find a way to rebuild the gallery and she wasn’t very pleased with my suggestion at all. I believe she thought I was trying to control her like Robert used to but I wasn’t doing that.” Cruz nodded at him. “Renee can be very strong-willed when she gets her mind set on something especially when it concerns the gallery, but she has to understand all we want to do is help her. This is a good idea that will help her and the artists’ paintings I saved.” “Do you think I should be the one who brings it up to her?” Dana asked. “She might listen more to me than either one of you.” “No, let me do it,” Travis said. “I want to donate some more of my paintings for the show and maybe if I get her involved in which ones it should be she would be more receptive about the idea. What do the two of you think?” Dana and Cruz both looked at each other then glanced back at him. “You might be right. Renee is a huge fan of your work. She would spend a lot of time at the gallery looking at the paintings you already had given her. So, I do think you might be the right person.” “Dana and I can work on the guest list,” Cruz continued. “I have an

updated copy on my computer at home that we can work from. I’ll only call the collectors I know who’ll be willing to make the drive here for this surprise show.” “I can work with my staff and move some tables and chairs around, so this place will look more like a gallery showing than a café,” Dana said, speaking up. “How soon do you want to have all of this done?” “I think it will all depend on Renee’s decision.” A little part of Travis was worried that Renee might shoot down this plan too, but it was worth a shot bringing it up to her. “Like I told you, she wasn’t too fond of my helping her last night. If we can take the money we get from this showing and put it towards the gallery we might be able to change her mind.” “I believe she will agree to this more than your earlier suggestion. Our plan now seems more like she’s a part of it instead of her taking a helping hand from us. All you have to do now is find her,” Cruz pointed out. “Do you have any idea at all where she could be? Travis shook his head. “I can’t think of any place. I’m getting concerned that she might try to confront Robert about the fire. She believes he is a hundred percent behind it.” “I can’t say that I disagree with her,” Dana stated. “Robert is jealous Renee is doing so well without him and I heard some people talking about how his new marriage isn’t going too well. His wife isn’t too happy now that she married him.” “Listen, I don’t give a damn about Robert. I hope that I never lay eyes on that son of a bitch because I won’t be able to hold back. However, right now my main concern is Renee. Can’t either one of you think of any place she might have gone to clear her head?” “Hey, I know a place she might have gone,” Cruz retorted. “She doesn’t go there all that often, but she does go when things get too stressful at work.” “God...tell me so I can go and find her!” Travis listened as Cruz gave him the directions and then jumped up out of his seat and raced for the door. **** Walking around a couple with a baby stroller inside the art museum, Renee stopped in front of the painting that had caught her eye from across the room. She loved this particular postimpressionism art work by Paul Gauguin. The colors and shadows reminded her of Travis’ abilities as an artist. He used a lot of still lifes and landscapes in his paintings. After talking with Sheriff Arness she had hopped in her car and was

halfway to Robert’s house before she stopped herself and turned back around. Confronting him wouldn’t have done her any good and probably gotten her in more trouble than it would have her lying ex-husband anyway. So, she decided to come to the place that gave her such a clear head anytime she needed to think about anything. She’d found this museum just by chance one day when she drove outside of Wicker Valley to pick up some extra display cases for a show she had a year ago. Once she walked inside this exquisite structure it felt like she was at her second home outside of the gallery. The museum showed paintings from Vincent Van Gogh to Leonardo Da Vinci. Some of the showings in here were so valuable that she was stunned they were even out on display to the public like this and not in a collector’s private collection. Renee’s attention was so captivated by the display of art in front of her that she didn’t pay any attention when a person came and stood next to her. She was totally lost in the moment of admiring something she loved with every fiber of her being, “Renee, I have been looking all over for you. Do you know how worried you had me?” a male voice cut through her thoughts. Surprised by the sound of Travis’ voice, Renee turned her head to her left and found him standing right next to her. “Travis, what are you doing here?” she asked completely stunned by his presence. “How did you know where to find me anyway?” “I’ve spent the past two hours looking for you. I was astonished when I woke up this morning and found you weren’t in bed next to me. Cruz told me where you might be when I talked to him at Dana’s café. Why didn’t you wake me up?” The hurt was clear in his voice. “I knew you would want to go with me when I saw the loss to the gallery in daylight, but I had to see it by myself. While I was there I ran into Sheriff Arness and he told me Robert had an alibi for the fire which I don’t believe at all.” “Who was his alibi?” Travis questioned. “Shelia, his wife and she would lie for him in a heartbeat. She’s still in love with him despite the marriage being on the rocks. She believes in her wedding vows. She hasn’t seen the light yet about him.” “Please tell me that you didn’t go and confront him?” Glancing away from Travis, Renee gave her attention back to the painting. Why did he even ask her that question when he probably already knew the answer? Hearing her tell him would only make Travis more upset

than he already was and that wouldn’t do either one of them any good. “Renee, please look at me.” Touching her on the elbow, Travis slowly turned her back towards him until his eyes connected with hers. “When are you going to understand that you don’t have to prove how strong you are to me? I already know you’re tough and self-reliant. But can you let me be there for you a little? It will make me feel like I’m a part of your life more.” If she had expected Travis to take a backseat to her, she had underestimated him. She knew there was something special about him from the very beginning but she had been trying to deny what was right in front of her eyes. “I know you’re here for me, but it’s just hard for me to admit it. I like being in control now maybe because I never thought I had it much in my marriage. Or rather I lost a lot of individualism the second I said I do. I can’t determine which one it really is.” Her admission was dredged from a place she thought was long gone and buried. It was an awakening experience when she finally admitted the truth out loud and to herself. “When are you going to understand that I’m not your ex-husband?” Travis demanded. “In the short period of time we’ve been together I never once thought about controlling anything that you do. All I have done is be there for you. “I wanted to lend you a helping hand with rebuilding the gallery and you tossed my idea right back in my face. Why? Because you couldn’t or wouldn’t accept help from anyone or you just like carrying all of your problems on your shoulders.” The harder Renee tried to ignore the reality the more it persisted. Travis was telling her the truth. The more he was trying to step up and prove himself to her the harder she was trying to find different ways to push him away from her. “Travis, I’m sorry,” Renee said. “I shouldn’t have been placing you into the same category as Robert. You are nothing like him and never will be. I would love for you to help me with the rebuild of my business.” He grinned back at her with no trace of his former animosity. It was almost like nothing had happened at all. “Wonderful. I’m so glad to hear you say that because Dana, Cruz and I have an idea for you about getting extra money for the gallery reopening.” “What kind of idea?” Linking their fingers together, Travis turned their bodies in the direction

of the Realism art display at the other side of the room. “How about I tell you while we check out these paintings? Since we’re here why don’t we make a day of it and put everything else behind us for the rest of the afternoon. We can worry about those things later. Nothing is going to change in the next couple of hours.” As Renee walked side by side with Travis through the museum, she couldn’t help but admire how easily he flowed with anything that came his way. There was nothing predictable about him in her book. Sometimes it seemed like her and Travis was switching the roles of who was the teacher and who was the student. She should be instructing him about life and the way things worked, but lately he had been doing that for her and doing a damn good job of it. From the first conversation with Travis everything about him stimulated her mind and kept her wanting to come back for more and more. He definitely sparked her inquisitive side because he showed her there was more to him than painting amazing pictures. He didn’t show her everything about him at once, but slowly let things unfold about himself to draw her interest giving her a lot to think about when he wasn’t around. She couldn’t help but anticipate and kind of wonder where their relationship was going next. Travis truly kept her wanting more. “You’ve been awful quiet. What’s going on in that head of yours?” Travis asked, glancing down at her as they stopped in front of a landscape portrait. “I was thinking about how much I’m enjoying just relaxing today with you. I’m glad that you found me,” Renee admitted. “Baby, I’m having a great time with you too. How about after we leave here you come back to my house? I would love for you to spend the night.” “Oh, so you’re done sleeping in the woods with the moon and stars,” Renee teased. “Yeah, I don’t need that as inspiration anymore when I have you.” Going to Travis’ place instead of hers tonight would be something new and different. She was very interested in seeing how Travis lived. Without a doubt, it would probably be something fun and exciting to experience. “Why not?” Renee answered. “Let’s go for it.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine Las Vegas, Nevada Sitting at the bar inside the casino, Robert Jones turned the gold and diamond wedding rings over and over in the palm of his hands as the bartender poured him another drink. When Sheriff Arness had pulled up in front of his house early this morning, he was sure the Andy Griffith wannabe was coming to arrest him because of Renee’s stolen jewelry. Instead Sheriff Arness had questioned him about the fire that practically burned Renee’s beloved gallery down to the ground. Of course, he had lied telling Sheriff Arness that he was at home all night with his wife and of course Sheila had backed up his lie. She didn’t want anyone knowing her dirty little secrets either about how she passed out drunk on the couch every night after work. An hour after the sheriff drove away from his house he booked a flight from the tiny Wicker Valley airport to Las Vegas taking Renee’s parents’ rings that he’d stolen from her house after he set the fire. He was still surprised his ex-wife hadn’t changed the locks after their divorce, but why would she when she was under the impression that he’d given her back all of the house keys. God, she was still so easy to read about certain things. He would bet that she still didn’t even know the rings were missing. A part of him had wanted to stay longer and complete the rest of his plan, but he left out of fear of being caught in the act. It didn’t matter anyway because he was going back there to finish what he started. Just thinking about how the gasoline and his cigarette caused all of that destruction to Renee’s beloved work place brought a smile to Robert’s face. He wouldn’t have done it to Renee if she hadn’t tossed him out of there the other day. What was wrong with her anyway thinking she was too good to even spare a few minutes to speak with him? Didn’t she know her new young lover wasn’t interested in her but only what she and her once amazing gallery could have done for him? Travis

Cole was a young punk and not good enough to be with Renee. He was going to teach both of them a lesson. However, the first thing he was going to do was pawn these expensive rings while he was in Las Vegas and get some money to gamble with tonight. He could stay here all night long because his stupid wife wasn’t going to miss him as long as she had those two bottles of red wine at the house waiting for her. He was able to do anything he wanted and still have her on his side. Since Renee had stopped paying his alimony and he’d lost his job two months ago for insubordination he was flat broke and Sheila wasn’t letting him anywhere near her money. So, what in the hell was he supposed to do for cash but find it any way that he could? It wasn’t like he didn’t use to be a part of Renee’s family. These rings were just as much his as they were hers and unlike her, he was going to put them to good use. Picking up the drink, Robert tossed it back in one swallow then slammed the shot glass back down onto the bar and got up from his seat. He had to get to the pawn shop he noticed a couple of blocks over before it closed. Robert was hoping the store owner would give him some good gambling money for these babies. One thing was for sure, Renee’s dead parents sure had some good taste when it came to jewelry. Hell, if he won enough money at the tables he might be nice enough to go and get them back out of pawn.

Chapter Thirty “Good morning Dana. Have you seen Renee?” Sheriff Arness asked as he took off his hat and joined her at the café. Pushing the calculator to the side along with the stack of sales receipts Dana Clair gave the sheriff her attention. “I went by her place, but no one answered the door.” “No, I haven’t. I really haven’t talked to her much since the fire. She’s probably with Travis. He’s trying to convince her to have her gallery showing here at the café.” “I found her yesterday walking around inside of the gallery and the devastated look on her face tore at my heart strings. I know how much she loved that business and it was one of the hot spots for the residents and especially for tourists when they came into town. I’m hoping she’ll be able to rebuild after everything is over.” “I do too,” Dana agreed watching as Sheriff Arness tossed his cream colored Stetson on the seat next to him then ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. “I think she needs the gallery as her lifeline. She’s dating Travis, but she’ll need more than a relationship in her life to keep her going.” “What about you?’ Sheriff Arness asked. “What about me?” Dana asked taken back by the sudden change in conversation. “If Renee needs more than a relationship in her life to keep her going, don’t you think you’re the opposite? When are you going to see that you need more than working long hours at this café? Aren’t you interested in dating?” “I haven’t really thought about it,” she said, clearly surprised that Sheriff Arness had asked her such a personal question. “Dana, you know that I’m interested in going out on a date with you. You drew my attention the first moment I laid eyes on you,” Sheriff Arness admitted as he slid his chair closer to hers. She stared wordlessly as Sheriff Arness placed his hand on her arm. “Why do you keep turning down all of my dinner invitations? Do you have something against dating a white man?” As their eyes met, she felt a shock run through her. Dana had never felt

this kind of attraction towards the sheriff before. Could it be because he was being more aggressive than usual? She usually thought of him as soft spoken and pretty laid back, but maybe she should be looking at him in a different way. “No, I don’t have a problem dating a white man,” Dana answered. “So, why do you find ways to laugh off my dinner invitations? Am I not attractive enough for you?” Renee was too startled by Sheriff Arness’ question to respond at first. No. Sheriff Arness wasn’t unattractive in any way, shape or form. Being a former football player had kept his body in top shape; she always noticed how his uniform stretched across his powerful well-muscled body. His shirt, the top two buttons undone, revealed a muscular chest covered with crisp brown hair and the rich outlines of his shoulders strained against the tan colored fabric. There was an inherent strength about his face with his compelling gray eyes, the set of his square chin suggesting a stubborn streak and full sensual lips secretly making her wonder what it would be like to kiss him. “No, you’re a very attractive man,” Dana finally answered. “Well, that’s a weight off my shoulders.” Sheriff Arness smiled as his hand slid behind her neck pulling her closer to him. “I would hate to think the woman I’m about to kiss thought I was ugly.” “Wait you can’t—” Her words were cut off as the Sheriff caught her mouth in a kiss. Her calm was shattered with the hunger of his kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips sending shivers of desire racing through her entire body. Sliding closer to him, Dana gave herself over to the passion of the kiss blocking everything else out of her mind. Raising his mouth from hers, Sheriff Arness gazed into her eyes. “Do you think I changed your mind about going out on a date with me?” Dana still felt the heady sensation of his mouth on hers despite the kiss only lasting a few minutes. She was shocked by her own eager response to the touch of his lips on hers. What was she supposed to do now? “Sheriff—” “Matt,” he quickly cut in stopping the rest of her sentence. “I want you to call me by my first name. Enough with the Sheriff Arness.” “Matt, I would love to go out on a date with you,” Dana said shocking herself and clearly Sheriff Arness from the way he leaned away from her. “You aren’t telling me this and will cancel at the last minute on me, are you?”

A newly awakened sense of adventure filled her at the thought of going out on a date with Matt. She was certain now that she hadn’t been giving Matt enough credit. He was an outstanding Sheriff and good guy. Why wouldn’t he make a good date for dinner?” “How about we catch a movie and then get some dinner tonight?” Matt suggested. “I get off early tonight. There’s a new movie I’ve wanted to see and then we can go to dinner afterwards.” “Dinner and a movie sounds wonderful to me,” Dana agreed with a soft smile. “I’ll leave work early and leave my manager in charge of closing up.” “I’ll be at your house around six o’clock to pick you up.” Grabbing his hat off the seat, Matt placed it on his head then got up from his seat. “I’ll be ready,” Dana answered before Matt shocked her by bending down and giving her another kiss. “I can’t wait.” He breathed against her lips before standing back up to his full height. He gave her one final look before turning away. Matt eased away from her and went towards the front door letting it close behind him. After Sheriff Arness was gone, Dana sat there still feeling the affect his kisses had on her body wondering why in the hell she had waited until now to accept a date with him. She must have been out of her mind!

Chapter Thirty-One Walking around Travis’ huge loft apartment, Renee admired all of his work displayed proudly on the walls. She sipped on coffee while he was in the kitchen working on cleaning up the dishes from their late breakfast. “Are you sure that you don’t want me to help you?” she yelled back towards the kitchen. Travis dark head peeked around the corner and he grinned at her. “No, I just want you to keep looking sexy in my shirt while I finish the last of these dishes up. I told you earlier I got this.” “Travis, you know that I can’t stay like this all day. I need to shower and head back to my gallery. Sheriff Arness has probably been looking for me. Besides, I need to go over the details for the show at Dana’s Café. “I still don’t know how I let you talk me into having that in two weeks. God, there isn’t enough time to get everything together. My clients won’t be able to get here that fast. I usually give them at least a month’s notice.” “Sweetheart, Sheriff Arness isn’t going to lose his mind if he talks to you later on this afternoon. Also, Dana and Cruz will help you get everything together within the two week period. Have more faith in them. Anyways, this is the first time you’ve stayed all night at my place and I want to get a little more pleasure from the sight of you here,” Travis told her before he went back inside the kitchen. Renee wanted to disagree with Travis, but she couldn’t. It had felt wonderful waking up wrapped up in his strong arms this morning without a worry in the world for a few seconds. Going back over to the black couch in the corner of the room, she took a seat tucking her legs underneath her body. For the past week or two Renee hadn’t been feeling that well; however, right now she felt a lot better. Actually, just yesterday she’d made a trip to the drug store and stopped in front of the pregnancy tests. She stared at the box a few minutes before walking away. There was no way she could be pregnant, not at her age. She was so glad she hadn’t brought up her crazy idea to Travis. Renee smiled as Travis sang along to some song coming from the radio. He’d worked so hard yesterday keeping different things going on

throughout the day to keep her mind off her problems. After they left the museum he’d taken her to play mini golf and she had never acted so silly in her life. Travis let her talk about anything she wanted whenever they were together. She appreciated she had a companion who listened to her and was such a good sounding board for all she had to express. The more time she spent in his company their age difference was starting to fade away. Another thing she was beginning to appreciate about Travis was he never tried to tame her personality. She loved roaming around to find out about new sights and adventures, something that could be used as future ideas at her gallery once it was back to its glory. It might help that Travis shared similar interests as her. For her, variety was the spice of life. Honestly, she didn’t know what to expect from Travis next and she loved how he constantly kept her on her toes. “Renee, can I talk to you about something?” Glancing to the side, she noticed Travis coming towards her with a very serious expression on his handsome face. “I was going to bring it up over breakfast, but decided then wasn’t the time. So, I waited until after I finished clearing up the kitchen. I hope you’ll be willing to do it with me.” “Sure, what is it?” she scooted over on the couch so he could sit down next to her. “I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me at my parents’ house tomorrow night.” Renee barely sat the coffee cup down on the table before it almost fell out of her hands. Travis wanted her to have dinner with his parents. Were they even at that stage in their relationship yet? She was extremely nervous at what Travis parents might have to say about their twenty-nine year old son dating a forty-two year old woman. “You want me to have dinner with your parents?” “Yes. I can’t wait for them to meet you. They’ve been so worried about me not getting back out and finding someone to date. I know they’ll be thrilled you’re in my life now.” She wasn’t so sure about that. She wished that she had the confidence about this meeting that Travis did. “Have you told your parents about me?” she asked. “Not yet. I didn’t want to tell them you were coming until I got your answer first,” Travis admitted. “So, will you come? I know they’ll love you. How could they not? You’re so perfect.” Yeah, she was perfect in the eyes of a twenty-nine year old man, but his

parents might see her in a totally different light and Travis was too caught up in the newness of everything to see the forest for the trees when it might come to his family’s reaction. “Are you sure this is a good idea to spring me on your parents like this?” Renee asked, trying to think of a nice way to turn down his offer. “I’m not springing anything on them at all,” he replied as if the answer was obvious. “I want to bring the woman I’m dating over for a family dinner. Why are you trying to back out of going?” “Travis, you have to understand that your mother and father might not be too happy with us being together,” Renee pointed out. “A lot of people here aren’t even pleased with us dating, so how do you think your parents will react?” His brow pulled together in an affronted frown as he moved away from her. “Are you trying to tell me my parents won’t like the fact you’re black?” he demanded. Shaking her head, Renee reached out to touch Travis on his leg but he jumped off the couch putting some distance between them. “No...that isn’t what I meant at all. I think they’ll have a problem with our age difference. What mother wants her twenty-nine year old son dating a woman her age?” “How can you judge them before you even meet them? My parents are open minded people and raised me to be the same way. Do you really think I would have pursued being with you the way I have if I thought my mother or father wouldn’t like you? “Besides what if you are right and they don’t like that I’m dating you then that is their problem and not ours. I love my parents dearly but they don’t run my love life. I take their advice on some things but not everything. I’m almost a thirty year old man and I can date who I want. I thought I had picked the right woman, but now I see I might have been wrong about you.” Hurt slammed into the middle of her chest at Travis’ harsh words. He sounded like he was thinking about ending things between them. Had she just made a huge mistake by not trusting him? “Travis, listen to me.” “No, Renee you listen to me this time. I knew what I wanted from our time together each and every second I was around you. Don’t you think if I ever thought I wouldn’t be able to cherish you and give you all the support you craved that I would have stayed? I have never been the type to rush head-on into anything in my life. “I never thought you would be judgmental when it came to knowing more about my family. Didn’t I accept Dana and Cruz as your friends

without any problems at all? I hope if either one of them ever told you to stop dating me for our age difference that you would have told them no, but now I’m seeing you might not have done it.” Jumping up from the couch, Renee hurried towards Travis but he took a retreating step back from her. “Please give me a chance to explain more.” “I think we should take a couple of days apart from each other. I need time to think about what happened here today. Here I was trying to introduce my parents to the woman I’m falling in love with and she would rather find a way not to even have a two hour dinner with them.” Renee blinked back the sudden tears in her eyes as she watched Travis turn away from her and head for the door leading out to his patio. She had really messed things up without even knowing it. “I’m going outside. Could you please be gone by the time I come back inside?” Travis asked as he opened the door and then went out closing it softly behind him. Standing alone in the middle of Travis’ living room, Renee wondered what in the hell she had just done. She might have lost the most romantic, exciting and exceptionally fun man she ever had the pleasure to be with in a long time. **** “Have you talked to Travis since your huge fight last week over his parents?” Cruz asked as he glanced up from the client list he was working on. “I know he wouldn’t miss this show. He was the one who finally got you to agree to having it at Dana’s café.” “No, I haven’t heard a word from him. I’ve gone by his apartment several times and even where he paints in the woods. There was no sign of him at either place.” Renee sighed. “I think he’s found a good way to avoid me.” “Stop being so negative,” Dana said walking into the room. “Travis is crazy about you. He’ll be here next Friday. He’s probably just sorting through some stuff.” “How can you be giving anyone dating advice and it took you forever to see how much Sheriff Arness wanted to sample your special tea?” Cruz teased and then ducked when Dana threw a sugar packet at him. “Shut up Cruz,” Dana laughed then sat down across from Renee. “No, seriously, how are things going with you and Sheriff Arness?” Renee asked wanting to get her mind off her own problems.

The smile that spread across Dana’s face lit up the whole room. “We’re doing wonderful. Our first date was perfect and everything has only been going uphill since. I’m really happy with Matt.” “I’m glad for you. I would love to have the two of you over for dinner after the show.” “Oh, I think Matt will love having dinner at your house. He’s been working so much lately that I haven’t been able to fix him many homecooked meals. Let me talk to him and I’ll get back to you.” “Hey, did you forget about me?” Cruz asked. “If I’m not mistaken weren’t you just at Renee’s last night having dinner with her?” Dana winked at her. “Did you forget how to turn on a stove or something?” “What man is going to turn down a meal cooked by a beautiful woman? Anyways, I was there when the fire marshal came by with his final report about the fire. I didn’t think Renee needed to be by herself after she found out about the arson.” “Now, all I need is the proof Robert was the one who set the fire, “Renee said. “He’s walking around town with this smug look on his face. I saw him yesterday out with Shelia acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. God, I never hated someone as much as I hate him. How in the world did I stay with him for so long? “I thought I was in love but now I know what true love is after being with Travis. I really need to find him and talk things out with him. He thinks I was being judgmental about meeting his parents, but I wasn’t. I was only thinking about what they would think and might say when I showed up.” “Why would you even care?” Dana asked. “You’re the one dating Travis, not his parents. If they can’t see what an incredible person you are then there is something wrong with them. Who cares about the age difference? As long as Travis is happy with you that’s the only thing that should matter to them.” “Where were you when I needed to hear this stuff seven days ago?” Renee asked. “Probably on the back of Matt’s motorcycle as he took me to his cabin in the woods,” Dana replied. “Can the two of you take a break from relationship talk for a minute and help me finalize this client list for next week? We can only invite one more person and I’m having a hard time deciding between Victor Mature and Gregory Mitchell. Both are men who love buying pricey art. Which one should get the invitation?” Cruz asked.

“Invite both of them,” Renee said. “They love having bidding wars against each other. The last time I only invited one of them, I got an email from the one I didn’t invite. I’m pretty sure one extra body won’t hurt the café all that much.” “Are you sure about this? The last time those two art lovers were in a room together the insults were flying all night,” Cruz pointed out to her. “I’ll never forget how the rest of the guests stopped and stared at them.” Gathering up the rest of the information for the show off the table, Renee shoved it into her bag. “Yes, I think everything will be fine and if they act up again we can always get Dana to have Sheriff Arness throw them out,” she teased, getting up from the table. “I need to get going. I called a contractor about the gallery. He should be there in about ten minutes. I don’t want to be late.” “Is that today?” Cruz asked. “I thought Mr. Ellis was coming tomorrow. Do you need me to go with you?” “No, I can handle this by myself. Stay here with Dana and get those final two invitations in the mail and then decide how to rework the room for next week. After I’m done with the contractor I’m going to head home.” “Are you sure you’re okay?” Dana questioned. “You just don’t seem like yourself lately.” Her friend’s concern touched her but there wasn’t any need for it. She was doing just fine. She wasn’t going to allow her fight with Travis to hinder everything else going on in her life. “I’ve been more tired than usual but I think it’s from the stress of rushing to get everything done. I promise you that I’m doing okay. Please don’t worry about me.” “Well, if you say so. But I’m going to stop by later before my date with Matt. I wouldn’t be able to have any fun if I’m worried about you all night.” Renee thought about telling Dana not to come over, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good because once her best friend got her mind set on something there was no changing it. She might as well get ready for her visit. “Come on by. I’ll be home. I need to figure out how I’m going to display the paintings Cruz saved from the fire. I don’t have anything else to do with my time for the next several days.” “Stop thinking like that. How do you know Travis isn’t going to call you in the next couple of days? Don’t give up on him. You know how men are. Sometimes they just need time alone to think things through before they come back.” “Dana, you are so positive. But right now, I need to stay focused on

what we’re doing. I can’t be thinking about Travis, it will only throw me off track.” Renee gave Cruz a smile and then touched Dana on the shoulder before she left the café. Pausing by the side of her car, Renee took a few minutes to pay attention to everything going on around her. Most of the time, she was in such a hurry to get back to the gallery she never stopped to notice anything. Now, she had more free time on her hands than she knew what to do with. How did she manage to lose her business and Travis within a week of each other? Was her need not to fall in love again pushing true love away from her. Whatever happened she wished for another chance to fix things with Travis. The gallery could be rebuilt and new paintings could be hung on the walls, but would she really be able to find someone like Travis again in her lifetime? Sighing, Renee unlocked her car door, got inside her car and pulled out of the café’s parking lot but before she headed home there was something she needed to do. **** Back at her house, Renee held the white pharmacy bag against her chest as she inched her way upstairs to her bathroom. She had wanted to do this with Travis, but tonight hadn’t turned out as she had planned. He was gone from her life, so it was up to her to find out if what didn’t seem possible might actually be the real thing. She slowly pushed open her bathroom door and then closed it behind her. Sitting down on the toilet seat, Renee’s hands trembled as she opened the bag and pull out the box. She could barely hold the container in her hands because they were shaking so badly. As much as she tried to deny the truth and think it was something else, Renee had to come to grips with the truth and if the test turned out to be positive then she would deal with it. One thing was for sure, with or without Travis’ help, if the test showed she was actually pregnant with her first and probably only child there was no way in hell she wouldn’t keep it.

Chapter Thirty-Two Friday night. Renee’s gallery showing Why am I standing outside on the sidewalk instead of going inside and just apologizing to her for acting like an immature jerk? Travis thought about that question several times as he watched Renee through the café window work the crowd. . Tonight was her show to raise money to help rebuild her gallery and instead of being inside positioned proudly at her side as her boyfriend he was staring at her through the window like some loser who didn’t know how to admit that he had done something wrong. Why did he blow up at her like that when she was at his apartment? He should have been mature enough to see her point of view instead of getting all pissed off and telling her to leave. The moment the door closed behind her he realized the mistake he’d made. He fought down the urge to run after her and beg her to stay because his pride had set in. Allowing Renee to walk out his front door turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life. Several times, Travis picked up the phone to call Renee but he ended up hanging up after only a couple of rings. He didn’t know what to tell her. How could he apologize for not listening to her fears? For a while he’d searched for a woman who was genuinely real and true to herself. Renee constantly showed him all the sides of her personality and he loved how she was a combination of sexiness and intelligence. She never told him what he wanted to hear just to soothe his ego. She stood up to him on several occasions and showed him an inner power he wasn’t aware Renee even possessed. Could he actually have gotten upset by the tiny notion that what Renee said might have some truth to it? His parents might not have been as understanding as he imagined? He had worked so hard to win Renee over and the mere thought of his parents not liking her didn’t sit well with him. The thrill of romancing and pursuing Renee everyday kept him going after the chase. Little by little she started opening up to him more which gave him hope

at winning her heart over. The idea and act of finally having Renee seeing him as the man in her life was a temptation he couldn’t put to the side. When he finally had her looking at him the way he’d dreamed of was very intoxicating to him and he wanted to share the love he felt for Renee with his parents. However, he ended up pushing Renee away and all that he’d worked so hard for was gone. How could Renee ever think about forgiving him? He’d promised her that he wouldn’t hurt her like her ex-husband had, but he ended up hurting her ten times worse. Renee deserved to be put on a pedestal and have him do whatever it took to make her happy. Seeing the tears in her eyes at his apartment had cut him deeply, but not enough for him to man up and apologize for being a complete and utter asshole. Over the past week while he’d been away from Renee, Travis had learned one thing. He was heads over heels in love with Renee Jones. She’d made him a better man for the short period of time she was inside his life and now that she was gone, he was empty and alone. This couldn’t go on any longer. Renee belonged with him and he was tired of standing outside watching her through a window. Travis came to a decision. He was going inside Dana’s café and begging Renee to take him back. Hell, if he had to start over from the beginning getting to know her again then he would do it. However, he wasn’t willing to believe there wasn’t anything between them anymore. Moving away from the window, Travis opened the door and walked inside blending in with the crowd, but he wasn’t interested in the conversation about art going on around him. He only had his sights set on only one objective...a beautiful woman named Renee Jones.

Chapter Thirty-Three Placing the empty champagne glass back on the waiter’s silver tray, Renee excused herself from the small crowd of collectors who were eyeing one of Travis’ paintings that Cruz had luckily rescued from the fire. She couldn’t stay there a minute longer or she might burst into tears. Renee had thought she might be able to handle talking about his art work, but it was more difficult than she thought. She needed to get away for a few minutes to clear her head and get comfortable since she was more tired than usual. The best place would be Dana’s office. Looking around the room, Renee spotted her friend over near the side of the room with Matt’s arm around her waist. She felt nothing but happiness for her girlfriend. Dana had been waiting for so long to find a good guy and Sheriff Arness was that guy. They truly made the perfect couple. Taking one last look at them, Renee turned down the hallway that led to Dana’s office. Pushing open the door, she went inside closing the door behind her. Renee kicked off her shoes and sighed when the thick carpet eased between her exhausted toes. The silence of the office was already relaxing a lot of the tension from her body. Tonight was turning out to be a huge accomplishment for her. All of her regular clientele showed up even with the short notice and were buying paintings left to right. Renee knew she should be on cloud nine but she couldn’t shake the loneliness she felt from the absence of Travis. He should be here celebrating with her, but he wasn’t. For the first hour of the showing, Dana and Cruz tried staying at her side and keeping her entertained until she pushed them into mingling with everyone else. Her two best friends meant well; however, she was way too old for a babysitter. Yes, Travis had broken up with her but she wasn’t about to let it break her. Sure, she was still saddened by the fact he hadn’t even stayed and talked things out with her, but all of that was in the past now. Travis had made his decision not to listen to her. Now, it was time for her to deal with it and move on with her life. The sound of the office door opening and closing behind invading her

much needed privacy caught her attention. Damn, Renee thought. Why couldn’t she just get a few moments to herself? Of course someone wouldn’t be able to wait a second before following her back here to Dana’s private office. “Do you mind giving me a minute or two and then I’ll be back out there?” Renee asked with her back to the person invading her solitude. “I can’t give you a minute. I already made a huge mistake by being away from you for an entire week.” TRAVIS! Spinning around, she found Travis standing with his back against the door blocking her only means of escape. His dark blue suit molded every line of his muscular body to perfection. “What are you doing here?” She blurted out, scarcely aware of how her own voice sounded. “I thought you’d shoved me out of your life. Why did you even bother showing up for this?” Travis couldn’t just come back into her life like nothing happened between them. “Do you think you can forgive me?” There was a faint tremor in his voice as though some emotion had touched him. “I know I made a huge mistake with what happened between us and I want a second chance with you. I shouldn’t have overreacted when you were nervous about meeting my parents. You had every right to be apprehensive.” “Travis...I’m not sure if we—” When Travis spoke again, his voice was tender and soft. “Sweetheart, I know I was wrong and I’m so sorry for being an asshole to you that day in my apartment, but I’ve missed the hell out of you. You were all I thought about while I was gone.” Easing away from the door, Travis made his way towards her until he was standing mere inches from her body. Moving away from Travis crossed Renee’s mind, but she couldn’t find the strength to put any distance between them. Why did he have to smell so good? What was he wearing that had her thinking about ripping his clothes from his body? “I went by your house several times and you weren’t there. I even drove out to your campsite, but you were nowhere to be found,” Renee said. “How can I believe you were so lost without me if you stayed in hiding for seven days?” “Sweetheart, I was too disappointed with myself to come back here before now. I came off like an immature jerk. I didn’t think there was a chance you might take me back until I realized how lonely I was without you and couldn’t stay away any longer. Don’t tell me I’ve ruined everything

with my stupidity,” Travis stared at her in waiting silence. For a long moment, she looked at him wondering what she could tell him. Renee studied Travis’ face unhurriedly, feature by feature. “Right now, I don’t know what to think, Travis. I never thought you would get so irate with me about not wanting to have a surprise dinner with your parents.” The tensing of his jaw betrayed his deep frustrations over the situation they were in. “I know and that is the same thing I told them last week when I was there for a visit,” he confessed. Renee’s eyes widened with astonishment. Travis traveled to his parent’s house and talked about her? She was extremely curious to find out what their reaction had been. “What did they say about me?” “If you’re willing to come out of the office you can find out for yourself,” Travis said. “They came here for the gallery showing. They didn’t want to miss the first gallery premiere of my paintings and my mother was dying to meet the woman I was in love with.” “Your parents are out there waiting to see me?” Shock wasn’t the word Renee would use to describe how she felt. “Why did you do this? I have enough going on tonight without you showing up out of the blue and with your parents in tow. I haven’t even decided if I’ve forgiven you for tossing me out of your apartment.” Sliding his arm behind her waist, Travis pulled her to his body. “Please forgive me, Renee. I know now what I have with you. It’s better than anything I’ve experienced in my entire life. Baby, give me another chance.” She eased her hands between their bodies and placed them on his chest trying to keep a little bit of space between them. “Why should I? What do you have to offer me that I can’t find with someone else who’ll understand me?” Travis’ mouth dipped into a deep frown. “First, I won’t allow there to be anyone else in your life. You are mine and have been from the moment we first made love,” he pointed out. “Secondly, I can offer you fun, excitement, caring and understanding but most of all I can offer you my undying love because I do love you Renee.” The tenderness in his expression amazed her. She looked at him with surprise, remembering how Travis had wanted her gone from his life so fast after their first argument. How did she know this was for real? She couldn’t jump back into his arms because of a few sweet sounding words. She had made that misjudgment with Robert and she wasn’t going

down that same road again. “How can I believe what you’re telling me?” Renee demanded. “You were so adamant about me leaving you alone after our disagreement and now here you are. How can you expect me to just go back to the way things were?” Renee heard Travis’ quick intake of breath and she regretted her jibe at him but it had to be put out there. “I’m not saying that we forget about how I blew off the handle over nothing. I know I was wrong and I’m man enough to admit it. All I want is for another opportunity with you. “My parents have come all this way to meet you,” Travis said, rubbing his hands up and down her bare arms. “You were all I talked about when I was visiting them last week and I got them wondering about you. Please, do this for me...for us.” Again, Travis stunned her by being so unpredictable. He was constantly doing and saying things that she didn’t think he would. She was amazed at the thrill it gave her knowing Travis brought her up to his parents. If they were going to move on as a couple, she sooner or later would have to come into contact with Travis’ family. She couldn’t think of a better place to do it than in a room full of people. “Okay, I’m ready to meet your parents. I can’t stay hidden in here all night long or Dana might come searching for me,” Renee said as she tried to move out of Travis’ arms, but he tightened his grip. “Wait a minute. Can I at least get a welcome back kiss from you? Haven’t you missed kissing me at all?” “I’m not sure if you qualify for a kiss or not,” Renee teased, smiling up at Travis. “Well, I think I do qualify.” His mouth covered hers hungrily sending her stomach into a wild whirl. Her calm was shattered by the passion of the kiss. Moaning softly, Renee wrapped her arms around Travis’ wide shoulders kissing him back with a hunger that belied her outward calm. How could she deny herself this moment with Travis? He knew how to make her body sing like no other man had in the past. “Baby, I should get you back out there before someone comes looking for you.” Travis breathed against her swollen lips. “I would love to stay in here too and catch up on all of the time we’ve missed, but we can’t.” Sighing softly, Travis grabbed her upper arms and moved her away from his body. “Damn, I’ve missed kissing you,” Renee admitted still feeling the

warmth of Travis lips on hers. “God, don’t tell me that or I won’t be able to head back out there and talk to my parents.” Moving over to Dana’s desk, Travis ran his fingers through his hair and pulled his suit jacket over his erection. “Are you going to be alright? Will you be able to go out there and represent your beautiful art with me at your side?” Renee asked as she tried to get her own racing hormones back under control. Travis stared at her from across the room. She didn’t miss how his eyes were brimming with tenderness and passion. “With you at my side, I can do anything.” Coming across the room, he closed the distance between them giving her another quick kiss on the mouth. “Let’s go beautiful. We got this. Let’s show the entire room what an outstanding couple we are.” “Are you sure that you’re ready to be tackled by collectors who are falling in love with your talent?” Renee teased. “Once they get you into a conversation, you might not move for over an hour.” “I’ll be able to handle anything if I know you’re thinking about forgiving me. Are you?” Renee wasn’t quite sure if she was completely over what Travis had said to her, but tonight wasn’t the night she would allow it to be the foremost thought in her head. She had paintings to sell and parents to meet. “How about we get through tonight and we can talk about it after the show is over?” she suggested. “I’ll take what I can get for now, but I’m not giving up on having you back in my life one hundred percent and nothing less,” Travis admitted to her as he escorted her back towards the door.

Chapter Thirty-Four “Renee, I’m so glad I got to meet you,” Mrs. Cole told her as they stood at the entrance to Dana’s café. “Travis was right. You are perfect for him. I don’t recall the last time I saw him this happy with someone. The next time he comes for a visit make sure to come with him.” “Okay, I will,” she replied. Everyone else at the gallery show had left thirty minutes ago and Travis’ parents were the last to leave. Meeting them had gone a lot better than Renee imagined it would. Neither one of them treated her like the older woman who was trying to corrupt their innocent son. Truthfully, both of them were very nice and welcoming. She saw now that she had no reason to be nervous. “Okay, mom, it’s time for you and dad to leave because if you don’t you’ll miss your flight back to Ohio,” Travis said, walking up with his father. “Honey, I know but I was just telling Renee how much I enjoyed meeting her,” Mrs. Cole said, smiling at her son. “I feel the same way. I hope to see both of you again.” Taking a step back, Renee gave Travis some privacy while he told his parents goodbye and promised to call them in a couple of days. “What did you think? Were they as bad as you thought they would be?” Travis asked coming up to her after his parents had left. “No, they were very nice. Your mother even invited me to come for a visit with you next time. I guess I was wrong about them having a problem with our age difference.” Wrapping her up in his arms, Travis kissed her on the mouth before pulling her against his chest. “Yes, I told you they wouldn’t care about that as long as I was in love with you.” Leaning back in his arms, Renee stared up into Travis’ eyes and saw the truth there. “You are really in love with me, aren’t you?” “You better believe it. I love you more than anything else in this world. How about we head back to your house so I can make up for missed time? Do we need to tell Dana and Matt we’re leaving? I think I saw them heading for the back office about ten minutes ago.”

Renee seriously doubted Dana wanted to be interrupted for a goodbye from them. “No, I think they’re good. Anyways, Matt is a sheriff. If any kind of problem comes up he’s here to protect her. Let’s head on out of here. Cruz will come back tomorrow to pick up the few paintings that didn’t sell tonight. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Travis complained as he stepped away from her. “I would have ushered my parents out with everyone else and we could already be at your house by now.” “Sweetheart, patience is a virtue. We still have the rest of the night to make up for lost time,” Renee told Travis patting him in the middle of his chest. “Remember those words for later when you’re begging me to stop teasing you,” Travis warned her as he walked around her and went for the door. **** Travis pulled up in front of Renee’s house, turned off his jeep and turned around in his seat, so he could face Renee. Words couldn’t describe how ecstatic he was that she was giving him a second chance. He wasn’t going to be dumb enough to ruin it this time. While he’d been gone something became very clear to him. Renee was the woman he was going to marry. His parents already knew his plans and after meeting Renee tonight they gave him their blessings. “I think tonight turned out really well, don’t you.” Sliding his arm behind Renee’s seat he played with the ends of her hair she’d left loose around the back of her neck. “Yes, I do too. A couple of people even added a little extra to their checks to help with the rebuild of the gallery. Everyone was so supportive of me tonight. I loved it.” “How could they not be supportive? Your gallery was impressive and Wicker Valley needs it to be up and running again,” Travis said. “Let me tell me what else I—” He instantly stopped talking when a faint light going on and then off upstairs in Renee’s house caught his attention. Did he just see a light upstairs in her bedroom? An uneasy feeling clawed at his stomach. Were his eyes playing tricks on him or was there really someone inside of Renee’s house? Moving back from Renee, he leaned around her to get a better look but he didn’t see the light again. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling

something wasn’t quite right. There was someone in Renee’s house, he was sure of it. “Stay here,” Travis told Renee as he moved back from her and reached for the driver’s side door of his Jeep. “I need to check on something inside of your house.” “Travis, what’s wrong?” Renee’s head swung back in the direction of her house and then she looked at him. “What did you see?” “It might be nothing, but I’m not going to chance it. Stay here while I check it out.” Opening the door, Travis got out and closed it as Renee yelled his name. Staying in the shadows of the house, he quickly made his way towards the front door. Once he got on the porch, Travis tried the front door and it swung open without a problem. Shit! Someone was inside his woman’s house and the rage he felt took over his body immediately. What if he hadn’t talked Renee into letting him drive her home? Worse was he could have still been at his parent’s house instead of coming back home tonight. Renee could have been here right now all by herself without him to protect her. There was no telling who Renee might have accidentally interrupted in her own home. Easing into the house, he closed the door behind him as quietly as possible. With his back pressed against the wall closest to the front door, Travis listened for any sounds of movements and after a few minutes the faint sounds of footsteps came from upstairs. If he wasn’t mistaken, they were coming from somewhere near Renee’s bathroom. Travis’ eyes darted around the room for any kind of a weapon and he finally spotted a small flower vase on a stand by the front door. Picking it up, he made his way over to the spiral staircase and tiptoed up the steps as quietly as possible. He couldn’t give away his position too soon because the intruder could have a more deadly weapon with him than a glass vase. This couldn’t be the time or place he felt any kind of fear because he was protecting Renee. Pressing his back against the wall, Travis tried to blend into the darkness of the hallway as best as he could while listening for more noise. A few minutes later he heard the sound of glass breaking and items being destroyed in Renee’s bathroom not ten feet in front of him. Inching his way along the wall, Travis paused against the side of the door. He could still hear the person in there tearing the place up. Travis knew he might be making an idiotic move by charging into the bathroom, but he couldn’t allow the burglar to damage Renee’s bathroom more than he already had. He just prayed he wasn’t placing his own life into

his hands with this plan. Taking a deep breath, he rushed into the room and the overpowering scent of urine burnt his nose. What the fuck! Why did Renee’s bathroom stink of piss? “Stop right there!” Travis screamed inside the darkened room. “The police are on their way.” Something heavy came crashing down on the back of his head knocking him to the floor; however before he passed out someone kicked him in the side. “Stay out of my damn business.” Everything else around him went black after the final word was tossed at him. **** “Travis, can you hear me? Baby, open your eyes. Look at me.” The sound of Renee’s voice dragged Travis back from the cloud of darkness swimming around in his head. Groaning, he slowly opened his eyes and found her leaning over him, his head resting in her lap. “What happened? Where am I?” he croaked out as the bright lights hurt his eyes. “You’re still inside my bathroom. The ambulance is on its way. I called the police the second you rushed into the house. Sheriff Arness is downstairs with some more officers. He wanted me to leave you here, but I couldn’t. I had to stay with you until help came.” “Someone hit me,” Travis whispered as the memory slowly started coming back to him. “Yes, it was Robert. I saw him darting out of the house about ten minutes after you went in. I was hiding in the car, so he didn’t see me. Sheriff Arness has someone looking for him now. He tore up my bedroom and completely destroyed my bathroom.” “Why did he care about the bathroom?” Travis moaned as he tried to touch the back of his head, but Renee brushed his fingers away. “Robert knew how much time I spent redecorating in here. I was involved with every aspect down to the paint on the walls. He always complained about how much time I spent in this room away from him. I told you he hated anything I considered special to me. But don’t worry about him anymore; we need to focus on you. When I rushed in here and saw your lifeless body on the floor with blood pouring from your head I thought my entire world was over and then I noticed you were breathing.” Raising his hand, Travis brushed his fingers over Renee’s smooth cheek.

“It’s going to take more than your ex-husband to get rid of me. I didn’t come back to you to get killed in a bathroom filled with the smell of urine.” Laughing, Renee grabbed his hand and held it between hers. “No, I don’t think that’s the way you want to go out either. Can you imagine what the obituary in the newspaper would say?” “Yeah, I can see it now. Up and coming artist Travis Cole dies on lover’s urine covered bathroom floor,” he laughed then grabbed the side of his head. “I might have even made the six o’clock news.” “Stop joking around,” Renee said, taking his hand back. “I was really concerned about you. Especially when I just realized how much I love you.” Travis stopped laughing and his blue eyes darkened with emotion. “Do you know that’s the first time you’ve told me that?” he asked. Enthralled by what she saw, Renee couldn’t help but stare back at Travis as he studied her intently for a moment. His eyes told her everything that he felt and she wanted to know. Travis loved her as much as she loved him. What they had was something good and worth fighting for no matter who might have a problem with it. “Yes, I know,” she admitted. “I was going to tell you tonight before all of this happened.” Renee wanted to tell Travis so much more but the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway stopped her. Looking up, she watched as the paramedics raced into the room followed by Sheriff Arness. “How long has he been awake?” The young male paramedic knelt down next to her. “About twenty minutes,” Renee answered. “Ma’am, we need you to move so we can get him ready to transport to the hospital,” the female paramedic told her. “I don’t want to leave Travis,” Renee said. “Renee, come on let the paramedics do their jobs,” Sheriff Arness said as he took her by the arm and helped her up from the floor. “We can follow them to the hospital in my car. Anyways, I need to talk to you about what happened tonight. The sooner we finish with the questions the faster you will be at the hospital with Travis.” Moving to the side with Sheriff Arness, Renee watched as the paramedics loaded Travis on the stretcher, secured him into place and then rolled him out of the room but not before he waved good-bye to her. “I have to get out of this room. The odor is getting to me,” Renee complained as she left the bathroom and went outside in the hallway.” Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she spun around to face Sheriff Arness.

“What kind of questions do I have to answer? I didn’t see that much. All I really saw was Robert running out the front door and around the side of the house. I still don’t know how he even got inside of here.” Renee watched as Sheriff Arness wrote her statement down on a little black pad in his hand. “Do you know why Robert would do this to your house? Does he have any mental problems?” “Robert is as sane as the both of us, Sheriff Arness. He’s just a mean son of a bitch. He goes off the deep end when things don’t go his way. I still can’t believe I never saw this side of his personality sooner. I know he suffers from a God complex.” “Have you looked around to see if he took anything of value out of the house? I can’t believe he just came here to destroy your bedroom and bathroom. He must have wanted something and did all of this destruction to cover it up,” Sheriff Arness pointed out. “I haven’t had a chance to look around to see if he took anything,” Renee answered. “I really don’t have anything of value but my parent’s wedding rings.” A disturbing thought hit her mind. “No. He wouldn’t do that.” Spinning around, Renee raced back towards her bedroom and into her second walk-in closet. She froze in her tracks when she spotted her mother’s small Swan jewelry case tossed onto the floor. There was no need to even wonder if the rings were inside or around on the floor. Robert had taken them. “Robert stole my parent’s rings,” she whispered. “Sheriff Arness, you have to get them back. They were the only thing I wanted after they got murdered and Robert knew how much they meant to me. He did all of this to punish me.” “I’ll get them back for you. I promise,” Sheriff Arness swore as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Renee knew Sheriff Arness was making her a promise that he wasn’t going to be able to keep. Right this second, Robert was probably already selling the rings and getting what money he could from her family heirlooms. Out of everything Robert had done to her over the past several weeks, her ex-husband knew this act of betrayal would cut her deepest.

Chapter Thirty-Five Three weeks later Construction workers walked around Renee as she stood in the middle of her gallery watching as new walls went up to replace the ones destroyed by the fire. She never thought she would get to this point of work on her gallery. After Travis’ attack by her ex-husband, she had spent more of her time at his bedside waiting until the hospital gave him his release papers. Luckily, he hadn’t gotten a concussion from the blow to the head, but the doctors decided to keep him a couple to days just to make sure everything else was okay from the vicious kick to his side. His parents’ even flew back in for a couple of days to make sure everything was going okay. She invited them to stay at her house for the two days, but they declined saying they wanted to enjoy the luxury of having room service. The doctor released Travis from the hospital the day after his parent left and despite his protest that he was well enough to go back to his own apartment, she had dragged him home with her. The first couple of days had taken some getting use to having a man in the home. However, after a couple of weeks she and Travis had gotten into a perfect routine with each other. Honestly, she didn’t want him to move back into his apartment. She loved having him around all of the time. It was like Travis was what she had been missing from her life and home all along, but now all she needed to do was talk him into moving in permanently with her. “Mrs. Jones, you really should leave. I don’t want you getting hurt while we’re working,” the construction foreman told her as he walked towards her. “I can give you a call after all of the interior is up.” “Can I just have a few more minutes?” Renee asked. “I’m still in shock all of this is happening. I thought I would be saving up for at least another six months before I could rebuild this place.” “Victor Mature and I have been friends for years, so when he brought

the idea of doing this for you at his expense I couldn’t tell him no. You must have made an impact on him because Victor doesn’t do stuff out of the kindness of his heart a lot.” “I think he’s just ready for it to be done, so he can invest in more of my boyfriend’s paintings. He’s a big fan of Travis’.” “Okay, you can stay here for another minute and then you’ll have to leave,” Mr. Hudson told her and then walked away. “Thanks,” Renee yelled after him. She honestly wouldn’t be able to stay much longer because she was meeting Travis for lunch at a new little restaurant around the corner. Since he’d got back on his feet, he’d been going nonstop. Something was up with him, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. He was keeping a secret from her because every time she would walk into a room he would get off the telephone in a hurry. “Excuse me, Mrs. Jones.” Turning around, Renee found one of the construction workers standing behind her. She had seen him working here off and on all week. She just couldn’t remember his name. “Yes, how can I help you?” she asked. “There’s a gentleman outside and he wants to talk to you about some paintings for your next showing. He asked me to come and get you. I wasn’t sure if you were still here or not.” Renee could barely contain her excitement. “Thank you. I’ll go and see what he wants right now.” She walked around the construction worker. She was running short on some artwork. Her basement at home was partially filled with new paintings and sculptures, but she could always use more. Walking outside, Renee glanced around but she didn’t see anyone there. Shit! Had she taken too long to get out here? She hated to think that she might have lost a potential new client. She’d gotten out here as fast as she could. Just as she was about to turn around and go inside the gallery something hard was pressed into the middle of her back. “Don’t scream or I’ll shoot you,” Robert whispered against the back of her head. “I want you to walk slowly to the car in front of you. Get in and slide over to the driver’s side.” “Robert, what in the hell is wrong with you? Where have you been? Sheriff Arness has been looking all over for you after your attack against Travis. Just let me go and we can talk about this.” “No,” he snapped pressing the gun deeper into her spine. “Now, it’s

best that you do as I tell you. You wouldn’t want me to do anything you might regret later.” Arguing with Robert wasn’t going to help the situation at all. “We’re going on a little trip. So, get your ass in the car.” Glancing around, Renee tried to find a way to get someone’s attention, but everyone was too lost in their own personal space to even realize that she was in danger. She would have to find a way out all by herself. “Can’t you tell me where we’re going?” she asked, walking slowly towards the car parked at the curb. “Why don’t you stop asking me so many questions?” Robert snapped as she opened the door. “Don’t try anything funny either because I don’t have a problem shooting you. It’s best that you remember my warning because if you don’t you won’t get to revisit the place where you and lover boy had so much fun.” “Okay, I won’t.” Getting into the car, Renee slid across the passenger side until she was behind the wheel. Robert got into the car right behind her and slammed the door shut. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed how filthy Robert looked. His body smelled like he hadn’t taken a bath in days. He couldn’t have been hiding out at home because there was no way Robert would have stayed looking like this. “Start the car and drive. I’ll give you the rest of the directions when we’re out on the highway. Get going.” Robert shoved the gun into her side until she started the vehicle and pulled away. All Renee could think about was how in the hell was Travis or anyone else going to be able to find her. She didn’t even have a clue where Robert was taking her. He must have been planning this for a while for everything to go so smoothly. As long as she kept her wits about her she might be able to get out of this situation unharmed. **** “Excuse me, have you seen Renee?” Travis asked the first construction worker who walked past him inside the gallery. He had waited at the restaurant for an extra thirty minutes for Renee when it dawned on him that she wasn’t showing up. Renee wasn’t the type just to not show up for something even when she was going to be five minutes late. She always called him to let him know she was going to be held up. He wasn’t getting a good feeling about this at

all, but he could just be overreacting about it. “The last time I saw her she was outside talking to some guy. He told me he wanted to see her about some painting. I noticed that they got into a car and drove off.” Panic started to set in even more for Travis. Renee just wouldn’t go off with anyone especially when the two of them already had plans. He didn’t want to think the worst, but that was the way his mind was headed. “Do you remember what the guy looked like?” Travis already had a bad feeling that he knew who Renee was with but he had to be sure before he got a hold of Sheriff Arness. Robert might not be the one who had taken her, but the possibility was still there since he was still on the run. “Is there something wrong?” the construction worker asked him. “Did I do something wrong by telling Mrs. Jones the guy wanted to see her?” “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Travis didn’t have time for this guy to try to edit his story. He needed the truth if he was going to be able to find Renee. “He was a black man, around six feet tall with salt and pepper hair. I think he might have a mustache, but I’m not too sure,” the guy answered. “Can I go now? I need to finish this other room.” “Just one more question. Did you hear any of their conversation at all? I mean the smallest detail would be a great help to me. I really need to find Renee. It’s very important that I get to talk to her.” “Are you sure that I’m not in any kind of trouble?” Taking off his hard hat, the man ran his hand across his damp hair. “The dude paid me a hundred dollars to come in here and get Mrs. Jones.” Travis swallowed down a curse. While this idiot was questioning him to death, Robert could be taking Renee anywhere in the world. He already had a head start on him and Travis didn’t want it to get any bigger. “I’ve already told you once that you aren’t in any trouble,” Travis snapped and then calmed down when the guy took a step back from him. “All I want to know is did you hear anything....anything at all.” “I went outside to get a quick break. I don’t think the guy knew I was behind him because he was kind of snapping at Mrs. Jones about taking her to a place she had been with her lover boy. The only thing I thought was odd about the situation was how close he was standing against her back.” Instantly, Travis knew where Robert had taken Renee. “Thank you for remembering what you heard.” Spinning around, he rushed out of the door and jumped into his Jeep. He had to get to Renee before Robert did something to her.

After he was halfway to his campsite is when he would bother making a phone call to Sheriff Arness. He didn’t want them to get there before he did. Robert might freak out if he saw the police coming.

Chapter Thirty-Six “Robert, we can talk about this. You don’t have to do this,” Renee said as Robert shoved her down to the ground where Travis used to have his campsite a few weeks back. “Why are you acting like this? What is wrong with you?” “How can you ask me what’s wrong?” Robert snapped as he bent down and got into her face. “You are the problem. My life is falling apart and yours is getting better and better. From the moment we met you constantly thought you were better than me and I got tired of it.” Scooting back on the ground, Renee put some extra distance between her and Robert. “Is that why you burned my gallery and stole my parent’s rings?” “Oh, I set the fire to your precious gallery because I got fed up with seeing it every time I drove down the street. All I heard about every time I walked into any place in town was how perfect your gallery was. It got on my nerves, so I got rid of it. “Now, I took your parents rings because I needed the money I got off of them. Did you know I lost my job two months after I married Sheila and that drunken bitch didn’t believe in sharing her wealth, so I broke into your house and took them. I used to be a part of the family so I thought I had every right to do it.” Renee jumped up off the ground but fell back down when Robert pointed the gun at her. “You had no right to them. They were my parents, not yours,” she shouted at him. “God, your parents were murdered but it doesn’t make them better than me,” Robert snapped. “I told you that I needed money and I got it the best way I knew how. I bet you would be surprised to know that a pawn shop owner in Las Vegas gave me three thousand dollars for both rings. I almost shit my pants when he started counting out the money.” She swallowed hard, trying to fight back tears. “I hate you.” “Well, I hate you too. I think I always had a little hate for you in the first place. You always found a way to look down your nose at me. I struggled hard to keep in the life you were accustomed to and it still wasn’t good

enough for you.” “Robert, you did absolutely nothing for me. I took care of myself while you jumped from job to job because of your uncontrollable temper. I think during our first two years of marriage you had at least five jobs. Who does that?” “My bosses didn’t know how to stay out of my business. They expected me to jump anytime they wanted something done. I’m not that kind of man. I have a right to tell them to go to hell when the urge hits me. Are you going to tell me that they had a right to embarrass me?” He gave her a narrowed glinting stare. “You probably thought they were right and I was wrong, don’t you?” She watched him warily as he sat down on a stump a few feet from her. “No, I don’t think they should have treated you badly at all.” “Renee, you were always a horrible liar.” Robert laughed as he waved the gun at her. “I know you agree with them and that’s alright. You never were on my side from the beginning anyway. Is that why you started dating Travis? Were you not woman enough to handle a grown man?” Something disturbing replaced the hard look on Robert’s face, making her even more nervous of him. Renee wasn’t quite sure how to answer the question because her ex-husband was so unpredictable. She wasn’t about to do anything to set him off again. He had already gone after Travis once which meant he didn’t have a problem doing it again. “Travis isn’t what is between us. He has nothing to do with this,” she finally said. “Your young lover has a lot to do with this,” Robert snapped, harshly. “I know if he wasn’t in the picture you would have taken me back. We can be good together again if you just got rid of him. I can do it for you if you want me to.” Sheer black fright swept through her entire body at the mere thought of Robert going after Travis again. She had to get Robert’s erratic thoughts off Travis and back on her instead. Travis had survived the blow to his head, but she wasn’t sure if Robert attacked Travis a second time he would leave him alive. “Why are we talking about Travis and he isn’t even here with us?” Renee asked. “I thought you brought me out here so we could be alone and talk about us.” Robert eyed her. “Are you playing a game with me?” he asked, waving the gun at her. “I hope that you know I’m not unbalanced at all. I’m very sane.”

“If you’re so sane then why did you drag my girlfriend out to the spot we made love for the first time.” Travis’ voice interrupted as he walked through a clearing in the woods next to them. “Travis, what are you doing here?” Renee started to get up off the ground but Travis waved her back down. Her eyes darted back over to Robert and noticed how he hadn’t taken his gaze off Travis for one second. “I wondered how long it would be before lover boy here showed up to rescue you,” Robert taunted. “Renee sure has you on a short rope. Maybe that’s the reason she likes you so much. She can control you way better than she could me.” “Renee and I are in love with each other. We work together because we treat each other with respect. I would never think about trying to control her,” Travis said as he slowly moved in her direction. “Take another step and you won’t have to worry about respecting her ever again.” Robert raised the gun and pointed it in her direction. “Okay, I’ll stop but why are you using that gun. I thought you were so much of a man. Does a man really need a weapon against a woman and a boy younger than him?” Travis taunted, his deep voice heavy with sarcasm. “You little smart ass punk,” Robert snapped as he rose up from the tree stump then placed the weapon down on it. “I don’t need anything against you. It’s about time I show Renee what she’s missing by not being with a man.” “Travis, don’t push him,” Renee shouted, scared over what was about to happen. Her eyes shot over to Robert and then back at the gun as he inched his way towards Travis. All she had to do was get to the gun. As she was about to get off the ground and grab the gun, Robert spun back around and snatched it up. “Nice try you too, but I’m not dumb enough to fall for that stupid trick. Did either one of you really think I would be dumb enough to fall for it?” Raising the gun, Robert took his attention off of her and refocused it back on Travis. “So, how are you going to feel after I kill Renee? I know the world will be a better place once she’s out of it. I think it’s past time that snobby bitch got what was coming to her.” Suddenly, Robert spun away from Travis and pointed the gun back at her. Instead of being caught with fear, Renee slowly got to her feet and stared directly at her ex-husband. She was fed up with his mind games. If he was going to shoot her then he would do it while looking her directly in the eye. “Robert, I’m not scared of you anymore. You’ve already taken enough

from me and I’m tired of it,” Renee said calmly. “You think you have all of this power over me but you don’t.” “See, there you go being the bitch I know you are,” Robert snarled. “I should have never wasted my time on you. I had plenty of women chasing after me and I was dumb enough to settle for you.” Shaking her head, Renee laughed at her ex-husband’s delusions. “Robert, no one wanted you. You really should get out of your own head. God, even Shelia started drinking after she realized what a mistake she’d made by marrying you. You’re a loser and always will be one.” “Renee, shut up!” Travis shouted. “Let me handle this. Robert’s problem is with me and not you. He’s jealous I’m more of a man than he is.” “You really shouldn’t listen to him. My problems are mainly with you and I’m about to end them right now.” “No!” Travis yelled as he rushed Robert knocking him to the dirt covered ground causing the gun to fly out of his hand. Throwing a punch, Travis hit Robert in the jaw and the two men fought on the ground trying to see who would get to the gun first. “Grab the gun,” Travis yelled at her. Renee rushed into action and raced for the gun, but before she could get to it Robert punched Travis in the side and then shoved him off his body and got it before her. Grabbing it, he stood up with it aimed directly at her chest. Just as Robert was about to pull the trigger Renee felt something whisk past her body and saw it strike Robert directly in the center of his chest. The gun dropped from his hand and his body fell to the ground with a loud thump. “Renee, my God,” Travis shouted as he scooped her up into his arms. “I thought I was going to lay there and watch you die.” “What happened?” Renee asked as she moved her face away from Travis’ chest and glanced down at Robert’s lifeless body. “Who shot him?” “I did,” a voice said from behind them. Turning around, Renee spotted Sheriff Arness as he lowered his smoking gun and walked towards them. “I wasn’t sure if I would ever get a shot, but I finally did. Are the two of you okay? I would have been here sooner, but Travis’ directions to this place were horrible. He was yelling them to me over the phone as he raced here to save you.” “I’m fine,” Renee answered. “All I want to do is get out of here. This is the last time I want to lay eyes on Robert Jones. He’s finally out of my life for good.” “I need to get statements from the both of you,” Sheriff Arness told

them, “but I think it will be alright for you to go home Renee. I’ll check in with you later on tonight. I want to go over the crime scene here with the other officers.” “Thank you,” Renee answered. “Let’s go, sweetheart,” Travis said as he placed his hand in the middle of her back and led her away from Robert’s dead body. “You’ve been here long enough.” Renee allowed Travis to take her away from the spot she’d considered her special place with him, but now was forever tarnished by her exhusband’s need to get back at her because of his jealousy and hatred of her success. **** Placing the blanket over Renee’s sleeping body on the couch, Travis hurried to the door hoping to get there before the person on the other side woke her up. “Wait a minute. I’m coming.” Swinging open the front door, he was surprised to find Sheriff Arness on the other side. They hadn’t been gone from the crime scene that long. Why was he here? “Renee’s asleep. She isn’t up to getting interviewed by you tonight,” Travis said as he stepped outside closing the front door behind him. “I’m not here to ask Renee any questions,” Sheriff Arness told him. “I thought she might be worn out after what happened today. I have something for her.” Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a plastic bag and handed it to Travis. “I think these are the rings Renee was upset Robert had stolen from her. They were found on his body. I wanted to give them back to her.” “She’s going to be so happy to get these back. They were the only thing she had left from her parents.” “I know, that’s why I brought them to her. Tell Renee I’ll be talking to her later. Have a good night.” Sheriff Arness tipped his hat before stepping off the porch and heading back to his police car.” Travis waited until he had driven away before going back into the house. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed Renee was no longer on the couch. Where was she? He hadn’t been outside that long with Sheriff Arness. “Renee, where are you?” he yelled as he placed the bag with the rings down on the end table by the couch.

“I’m in the bathroom.” Hurrying down the hallway, Travis found Renee sitting on the toilet holding something plastic in her hand. “What are you looking at?” “I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “I’d forgotten I’d even taken this test before I lay down after coming home. I was just so worn down.” “Sweetheart, you have only been asleep for about five minutes. What kind of test did you take? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He was getting concerned. Maybe he should have taken Renee to the hospital instead of taking her home. Turning her head, Renee held the plastic stick out to him. “I’m pregnant.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven Six months later “Can I please have everyone’s attention for a moment?” Travis asked, dragging the room full of people’s attention from the vibrant and unique paintings covering the walls to him on the main stage at Renee’s gallery reopening launch party. “I would like to say a few words here tonight, but I need my beautiful girlfriend to come on stage with me.” “Do you know what he’s going to say?” Dana whispered to Renee as she glanced up at Travis on the stage in front of them. “No, he’s been acting very secretive all night.” Placing her glass of sparkling cider down on the table, Renee placed her hand on her swollen stomach as she made her way towards the stage. “Should I help you the rest of the way?” Cruz teased her as she walked past him and she punched her friend in the shoulder. “Stop teasing my girlfriend,” Travis said as he glanced at Cruz and her. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Cruz shouted back as Renee made her way up the steps to stand next to Travis. “Hi, baby,” he whispered and then kissed her. “Enough of that you two,” someone in the crowd teased. “That is how Renee got pregnant in the first place.” Leaning away from her, Travis winked at her then faced the crowded room of people. “I know tonight is supposed to be about the reopening of Phoenix, Renee’s new gallery, but I want it to be about something more.” Looking back at her, Travis took her hand in his. “Renee, I don’t think you know how much I love and adore you, sweetheart. I never thought I would be able to find the kind of love I feel with you. Every time I see you my love for you grows. You are everything to me. I can’t imagine my future without you at my side with our child and you as my wife.” Soft gasps sounded in the room as he let go of her hand and got down on one knee. Reaching into his pocket, Travis pulled out a small black box. Flipping it open, he held it up to her and a stunning diamond ring shone back at her.

Renee blinked back the sudden tears that filled her eyes. She couldn’t believe this was happening. “Sweetheart, I love you more than words can say. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” “YES!” she answered. “I’ll marry you.” Travis quickly put the ring on her finger and got back to his feet before pulling her into his arms. “I promise to make you the happiest woman in the world,” Travis swore before he kissed her to a room full of screams and cheers.

Epilogue “See, this is what you are going to be doing when you get older. I’m going to teach you everything about art and painting. I can’t wait until you’re old enough to hold your first paint brush.” Moving away from the doorway, Renee walked over to her husband and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I was wondering where you’d gone with him. I woke up to check on the babies and only found one asleep in the crib.” “Jackson was awake when I went in there to check on our sons, so I brought him downstairs with me while I worked on my newest painting. I didn’t want him to wake up Joshua.” Travis handed her their eight-monthold son. “Well, you know Jackson does get his night owl personality from you,” Renee teased placing her squirming son on her hip. “He just seems to know when his daddy is awake. Joshua can sleep through anything in the world. They’re like night and day.” “I know. Jackson is me and Joshua is you. I think we have the perfect babies,” Travis said. “I still can’t believe the reason I was so tired for all of those months was because I was pregnant. I never thought I would be having kids so late in my life. I love being a mother and a wife.” Placing his paint brush down on his easel, Travis turned around and faced her. “I’m just glad we’re a family. I still hate the fact you went through so much before you finally came into my life.” “Sweetheart, the past is the past. We’re a family now and that’s the only thing that matters. We have two beautiful children who are going to be keeping us busy for a very long time. I’m just glad you wanted to spend your life with me.” “How could I not want to be with the woman I fell in love with the moment she smiled at me. I was just worried about if I could ever get you to see me as a man and not someone younger than you.” “I guess I finally saw things your way or we wouldn’t have two beautiful babies,” Renee laughed.

“Mrs. Cole, I think you are right,” Travis laughed pulling his wife into his arms. The End

Epilogue The Queen of Tease: If you want to read interracial romance stories that leaves you panting for more and turning the pages faster than you can read them. Marie is for you. After reading her first “dirty” book as a teenager, Marie knew she had to become a writer. She started writing a few years ago because she wanted to reach for her dream. She writes her characters so her fans will believe in the Happily Ever After. She loves collecting bear figurines and reading a HOT book when she gets the chance. Find out more about Marie here: Official Site: http://marierochelle.weebly.com/ Official Blog: http://shopdiva28.blogspot.com/ Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marie_rochelle/ Yahoo discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ MarieRochelle2/?yguid=289462859