Travis nodded.His eyes flicked over to Felix and Autumn who were watching the whole thing with obvious interest.“Will be fun.”Whether that statement was true or false would remain to be seen, but he could come up with something to entertain Kit within a few hours.If nothing else, his parents would step in if they saw him floundering.
After studying his face for another minute, Parker smiled and nodded.“Okay.”She turned to Autumn, her expression cautiously optimistic.“That sounds great actually.Thanks for inviting me.”
“Anytime!”Autumn exclaimed.“I’ll text Travis the info and he can forward it to you.”She winked at him and Travis tried not to roll his eyes at her sly way of making sure he was able to get Parker’s phone number.He didn’t need it since they lived about one hundred feet apart, but he appreciated his brother’s girlfriend trying to be a good wingman.
“Okay, I’ll see you later then,” Parker said with a wave.Travis started to follow Felix and Autumn out the door, but Parker grabbed his hand and tugged him back.When the two others were long gone, Parker squeezed his hand and stared up into his eyes.“Is this just you being polite?I mean, are you sure you want to watch my kid?”
Travis laced their fingers together and nodded.“Absolutely.”He brought her hand up to his mouth to kiss the back of it.He wasn’t the most romantic out of all his brothers, but he was probably the one who’d seen the most romance movies since they were what his mother favored.Unless she was sick in bed, Cora Kemp had permanent control of the television and he’d seen enough of her movies to quote them line by line at this point.“Want to do something nice for you.”
Parker’s eyes searched his, for what he wasn’t sure, but apparently she found it because the next thing he knew her soft lips were pressing up against his.The move was a surprise, but a pleasant and welcome one.“Thank you.”She spoke the words after the too brief kiss, but anything else she wanted to say would have to wait because Travis had already put his mouth back on hers.
The whimper that escaped from Parker’s mouth spurred him on.Cupping her face, Travis licked the seam of her lips, tasting sweet apple before he drove his tongue inside.Her hands flew to the front of his shirt where she twisted the fabric, but instead of pushing him away like he feared she might, she pulled him closer.Travis continued to lick his way into her mouth and get as much of her as he could stand as Parker’s other hand slipped into his hair and gripped the strands.The thought of her tugging on his locks while he tasted other parts of her had his cock harder than the trunks of the trees he worked on every day.Getting too worked up for his own good, Travis pulled himself away from her lips to plant kisses along her cheek and neck before he stopped at her ear.
“Thank you for that,” he told her, nuzzling her skin.
The words weren’t nearly enough to encompass how glad he was that she’d kissed him first or that she’d let him kiss her back.It had been so long for Travis that he’d been worried about scaring her off or doing something wrong.From the glazed look in her eyes, Parker enjoyed it as much as he did.
As he stood there, drinking in every detail of her gorgeous face, Parker simply smiled and nodded, accepting his gratitude at face value.“You’re welcome.”She licked her lips again and bit her lower lip.“Was that a one-time thank you, or can I expect that we’ll be swapping gratitude like that again in the future?”
Travis smiled and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a hug.He wanted to hold onto Parker forever, not letting her leave and take all the brightness from his life, but eventually he released her just as he might have to in the future.That was something for future Travis to worry about.The one that was in the here and now just wanted to enjoy what he could get.“Think you can expect a whole lot of that kind of appreciation coming from me.”He laced their fingers together and started out the barn.“If you’re amenable.”
Parker stopped and kissed the hollow of his neck just where his beard ended.“I think you’ll find that when it comes to you, I amveryamenable.”
Travis felt his heart sore at her words even as the rest of him felt like he was freefalling into a love already much stronger than the one he thought he’d feel as a younger man.As they walked back into the orchard, the noise and frenzy that accompanied the tourist’s presence there faded into the background, and all he could see was her.
Chapter Fourteen
Parker
Loud chatter drifted in through the open windows of the apartment.The early September weather was cool enough in the mornings to where they could open the place up and let in some fresh air, but even the crisp breeze pouring over the windowsill wasn’t enough to lessen the fire that seemed to be burning inside Parker.Only a day had passed since her kiss with Travis, but the feel of his lips on hers lingered, the skin tingling each time the memory was bidden to the forefront of her mind.It happened often, and as wary of men as she had been in the past, there was nothing about Travis that threw up her caution signs.
That alone should have been enough to have her treading lightly where he was concerned since Parker didn’t really trust her own judgement most of the time, but when it came to Travis, she couldn’t help herself.The rest of the day yesterday and all night long, she had replayed the kiss over in her mind, letting herself get so caught up that she even imagined what would have happened if they’d taken things a little farther.Parker hadn’t slept with any one since Trent, too tired from work and single parenting to even try.There had also been the fear of repeating past mistakes, getting caught up with someone who wasn’t good for her or Kit.
Travis wasn’t that though.He was quiet, and yes, he seemed to hate people coming onto the farm, but even when he was grumbling about the tourists and how they had no respect for the land, he would still give them his best.The other day she’d caught him helping a little kid reach some of the fruit dangling from the branches before explaining what the type of apple was.He’d been patient and kind, and while he often spoke of his distaste for others, that clearly didn’t extend to everyone.The fact that that included her and Kit brought a smile to Parker’s face, the same one that always showed up when she thought of the man she knew she was falling for.
More laughter drifted in through the window and Parker turned to the noise to see Kit looking out of the open pane longingly.They’d been invited to a whole family breakfast with all of the Kemps, but the thought of eating with all of them had been too intimidating for Parker.After introducing herself and Kit, she’d politely declined the offer and the two of them had retreated to the apartment.The louder the gathering got, however, the sadder her daughter looked.Still not sure if she should join herself, Parker at least relented because her daughter shouldn’t be denied the good company.Their existence had been pretty lonely so far, and while Parker was used to it, even growing to like it a little over the years, she wanted more for Kit.
