Heart of Texas Volume 3: Nell's Cowboy. Debbie Macomber

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      “Please.” Nell gestured toward a chair, and Travis sat down.

      “Congratulations again,” he said.

      “Thank you.” She was dying to tell someone about her conversation with Adam Braunfels, but held her tongue. Nothing was definite, and she didn’t want to say anything until the details were settled.

      “From what I understand, I owe you a debt of thanks,” Nell said. “The kids told me this was the best rodeo of their lives, and all because of you.”

      “I was just about to thank you for sharing them with me. They’re terrific kids, Nell.”

      “I think so, too.”

      She pushed aside the rest of her dinner and reached for her coffee. After being on her feet all day, she was grateful to be sitting. “Ruth drove them home,” she said unnecessarily. She’d stayed to clean up the kitchen area and talk to Adam, but was so relaxed now she wasn’t sure she’d find the energy to move.

      “I heard someone say Willie Nelson was coming for the dance later,” Travis mentioned.

      “Don’t believe it.” Nell hated to be the one to disillusion him. “This is Willie Nelson country. We love him, and we send him an invitation to a picnic in his honor every single year.”

      “He’s never come?”

      “No, but then, we don’t really expect he will. He’s got bigger and better places to perform. We understand that and love him, anyway.” Whether or not Willie showed, the people of Promise would continue to enjoy his music. Willie Nelson represented everything they loved about country music.

      “Tired?” Travis asked.

      “A little.” An understatement if there ever was one.

      “Too tired to dance?”

      It took a moment to understand the question. Travis Grant was asking her to dance with him. She stared at him, unsure how to respond. It was kind of him, offering to be her partner. With anyone else she would have found an immediate excuse to decline. Not with Travis. For one crazy moment she actually considered it.

      “Thank you, but no,” she finally said.

      If she’d disappointed him, Travis didn’t let on.

      Nell checked her watch, thinking it was time—past time really—to head home. The band, a popular local group, was playing in the background. The stage wasn’t in sight, but well within listening range.

      “They sound good,” Travis said.

      They did. Much better than Nell remembered, but then, it’d been more than three years since she’d stayed for the evening festivities.

      All at once a crazed cheer rose from the audience and the announcer’s voice came over the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to introduce the good people of Promise, Texas, to Willie Nelson.”

      Nell’s gaze flew to Travis. “This has got to be a joke,” she said.

      But even before the words were out, the opening strains of “Whiskey River” echoed across the grounds.

      Her fatigue gone, Nell leaped to her feet and hurried toward the dance area. So did everyone else within shouting distance. Travis was right behind her.

      Nell and Travis never did get to see him. The crowd grew so thick they couldn’t do more than listen. Willie sang three numbers to wild applause, then suggested everyone dance. The music flowed, smooth and easy. People around her paired off, even though they weren’t anywhere near the dance floor.

      Travis smiled down at her. “Shall we?” he asked, stretching out one hand.

      Nell couldn’t stop looking at him long enough to decline. It wasn’t that Travis was a handsome man. His face was too angular, his features too rugged to be considered pleasing.

      He took her lack of response as answer enough and slipped his arm around her waist. His hold was loose and gentle. A lifetime ago Nell had loved to dance. Jake had possessed two left feet, but he’d made an effort for her sake.

      Travis danced as if he knew exactly what he was doing—and as if he enjoyed it. What surprised her was how well they moved together, how gracefully.

      “Don’t look so shocked,” he said with a laugh. “Big men aren’t all klutzes.”

      “The same applies to big women.”

      “You’re not big,” he countered. “In fact, I’d say you’re just about perfect.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, and his fingertips lingered a moment longer than necessary.

      Nell didn’t know what madness possessed her, but she closed her eyes and allowed herself to indulge in a fantasy. She didn’t pretend that the man holding her was her dead husband. That would have been too painful. Instead, she fantasized that she was a different kind of woman, willowy and lithe, petite and beautiful. Like the young Audrey Hepburn of Sabrina, a movie Nell had loved all her life.

      It was the night for such dreams.

      The dance ended almost as soon as it had begun. Too soon. Nevertheless, she didn’t dare to continue. Didn’t dare to indulge in any more fantasies.

      “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ve never enjoyed a dance more.”

      “Me, neither,” Travis said, his voice low and sounding vaguely unlike him.

      Of one accord they turned and walked across the grounds, toward the parking area.

      “Nell.” He stopped her in the shadow of the grandstand.

      “Yes?”

      “Don’t be angry.”

      “Angry? Whatever for?”

      “For this,” he whispered. He turned her around to face him, then lowered his mouth to hers.

      Four

      His kiss left Nell feeling lightheaded, as if she’d been out in the sun too long. His lips lingered on hers, his arms firm about her waist. He would have kissed her a second time, she sensed, if she hadn’t moved her head just then. She needed a moment to compose herself, to gain perspective and deal with what had happened—what she’d allowed to happen. At any point she could have stopped him...and hadn’t.

      “I...wish you hadn’t done that.” Her voice trembled, shaky with shock and wonder. What astounded her as much as his kiss was how much she’d enjoyed it.

      “Are you looking for an apology?”

      His voice was close to her ear and she realized that he still held her.

      “I could give you one if you wanted,” he went on, “but it wouldn’t be sincere.”

      She smiled at his words and eased away from him. There was definitely something in СКАЧАТЬ