“No need.”Travis slipped his hands under Kit’s knees and back and held her up.She was as light as a sack of potatoes, but when he looked at Parker, she seemed mighty impressed by his ability to carry the little girl.
Her mouth was slightly agape as her eyes lit up.“I haven’t been able to pick her up for more than ten seconds for over a year.”She nodded toward the back door and they started the short walk to their apartment.“I guess I need to start lifting barrels of apples to build up my strength.”
The cool night air hit Travis in the face.“If you want,” he said, making his way down the porch.“Kind of like you the way you are now though.”
Parker smiled shyly as they walked the rest of the way in a loaded silence.They had attraction, chemistry, and connection, but how to go about making all of that official and permanent without possibly scaring her off remained a mystery.After the hell she’d been through in her life, the last thing he wanted to do was push her into something she might not want.As he followed her into the barn and up the stairs to the apartment, he wondered if he should just ask her what she wanted from him.
Before he did that, Travis needed to figure out if there was a place for her at the farm should things not work out between them.It was something he hoped wouldn’t happen, but first and foremost, he felt the need to give her a safe place to land if she decided she didn’t want him.He needed to make that job for her a reality, and soon.Taking care of her and Kit came first, even before his own rapidly deepening feelings.
Travis lay Kit out on her bed, stepping back so her mom could take off her shoes and tuck her in.When Parker leaned down and kissed the little girl on the forehead, he had to turn away, afraid that if he took in more scenes of the gentleness between the two of them, he wouldn’t let them leave no matter what they wanted.When she was done, Parker turned off the light and closed the door to the room, following Travis as he made his way to leave for the night.It was so tempting to try and stay longer, but he had a job to create and Parker had a daughter to look after.
As they stood in the open doorway of the apartment, Parker leaned back against the wall and smiled up at him graciously.“Thank you for looking after Kit.It was nice to be able to go and enjoy myself knowing that she was being well taken care of.”Her trust in Travis and his ability to keep her daughter safe made him feel about ten feet tall, and when she licked her lips, another part of him swelled, but not with pride.“Should I show you how grateful I am?”
Travis felt his chest rumble at her words.“Words are enough,” he assured her.But he also wanted to make sure she knew just how badly he wanted more than that.“Won’t say no to something else though.”
With a sly smile on her face, Parker reached up to grip the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.The moment their lips touched was just as electric as it always was, but underneath the current of want was a penetrating feeling or rightness as well as a need to make whatever existed between them permanent.Her silky tongue snuck its way into his mouth and Travis’s mind blinked offline for a moment as all he could do was enjoy the sweet flavor on her lips.His hands dove into her luscious curls and he tilted her head to get a deeper taste.He wanted more, so much more of this woman that he thought he might go a little bit crazy from it.Pressing her against the wall, Travis dug the hard front of his jeans into her belly, reveling in the gasps and moans that fell from her beautiful lips.
They’d not had many chances to fool around again like they had in his room, and he was starting to feel the pain of it acutely.Aching to drive himself into Parker but knowing he couldn’t, not with her daughter fifteen feet away and them in the middle of the family room, Travis broke the kiss, panting heavily as he rested his forehead against hers.
“Thank you,” he said, breathless.
Parker inhaled shakily, a light moan coming out on the exhale.“I gotta say, I’ve always been big on expressing gratitude, but it was never as much fun as it has been with you.”
Travis chuckled and pressed one final kiss to her lips before he backed toward the stairs.“What are you doing next weekend?”He wanted to take her out on a date, needed to if he was being honest.Treating this woman to everything she’d been missing out on just became his life’s goal.
Parker smiled.“I was going to take Kit to the Harvest Festival.Your mom told me that Mrs.Nelson’s contest winning three cherry pie is not to be missed.”She leaned against the door jamb and crossed her arms, her hair disheveled and her kiss-swollen lips making her look even more beautiful than she already did.“Are you going?”
Travis rubbed the back of his neck.“Not normally my thing.”He had many reasons to stay away, but then again, he’d never had a good enough reason to go before now.
Parker nodded, her eyes disappointed yet understanding.“Makes sense.”She started to close the door and stopped halfway.“It’s a shame though.I heard there would be dancing and well, I was kind of hoping you’d save me one.”Travis stared at her, memorizing the way she looked while he considered just how much torture he would be willing to endure for her.“Goodnight, Travis.”
“Night,” he said.
Travis was still a little breathless from their kissing and from her kind of asking her to go to the festival with them.The Harvest Festival was the biggest one Applewood threw during the year and the one Travis always made sure he never attended.The light, noise, and crowd were things he avoided at all costs, but as he considered the possibility of getting to hold Parker in his arms as they danced, Travis decided that that particular cost would be well worth paying.
Chapter Eighteen
