Chapter Twelve
The faded, lemon yellow Thanks for Visiting Hidden Oaks sign loomed a few hundred feet ahead of them—a weatherworn, oversize wooden billboard on the corner of the winding two-lane highway that escorted them out of town.
“Did you miss Hidden Oaks when you lived in San Francisco?” Travis asked as he drove along the curvy, concrete ribbon that cut through the rolling emerald green hills of the county. The blankets, towels, leashes, and collars that she’d collected to help animals in need—from clients and in partnership with the fancy dog store off the town square—were in the bed of his truck.
Briefly, she reflected on his question. Life was different here than in the city. There were benefits to both, but she knew where her heart lay. “I did enjoy all the restaurants, and the bike paths along the Bay are great for walking dogs. But it’s hard for me not to miss this town. I love it here, which probably explains why I came back a lot to visit my parents and my sisters.”
“You’re close with your sisters.” He said it as a fact, and she liked that he knew this about her. She was about to ask if he remembered Stacy quizzing him about his intentions on prom night, but she didn’t have to because he kept speaking. “Remember when Stacy opened the door on prom night, and pretty much grilled me about taking you out? First time I ever met her.”
Cara laughed as she lowered her window to let in some fresh air. “She gave you the third degree and then some.”
“I expected to find your father at the door. But there was the big sister instead, with a stern look on her face. I think we had just started dating a few weeks before and they didn’t really know me.”
“You’d already proven yourself to my father by fixing the car, and winning him over that way. But you had to pass the sister test, too. Good thing Sofie was still in college or she could have made you jump through hoops.”
He slowed the truck as the light ahead turned red. “Stacy was so scary then. She had her hands on her hips, and her face was all serious, and she asked what time I intended to bring you home.”
She leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially. “Guess we tricked them when we answered that question.”
He smiled slyly. “Yes, we did.”
Cara laughed, smacking the windowsill with the memory. She’d told Stacy and her parents that she was sleeping over at a friend’s house, and instead, she and Travis spent the night in a tent on the trails at the end of Miner’s Road.
“Stacy was working in Calistoga at the time. Did you know she came over that night just to decide if she approved of you?” Cara said, as the light changed and they drove on, passing lush acres of vines, rich with row upon row of grapes opening up to the warm sun.
“Did she? Approve of me?”
“She let me go out with you, didn’t she?” Cara said, raising an eyebrow. “She’s a protective big sister. She’s let up a bit now that she has her own kids, but she still looks out for me.”
“And does she still have to approve of your dates?” he said in a teasing tone.
“Of course,” Cara said, with a straight face. “She comes over before every single one.”
Travis glanced away from the road, his eyes dark and intense. “Actually, let’s not talk about dates you’re going on,” he said through gritted teeth, a clear note of jealousy seeping into his tone.
“You sure you don’t want to hear about the checklist she has for me?” Cara said, egging him on. She kind of liked this side of him—the side that didn’t want to hear a word about other men.
“No,” he said sharply.
“Not even a teeny, tiny bit?”
He huffed out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. What’s her checklist?”
She drummed her fingers on the console, as if making a big pronouncement. Then she spoke her own truth. “Clever, kind, good with kids, good with animals, and treats me well,” she said, keeping her eyes on him the whole time as she listed her own traits. Stacy didn’t truly have a checklist. All Stacy wanted was for her little sister to be happy, and Cara knew what her own heart needed to get there—those five things.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, he stole a glance, then brushed a strand of her hair off her shoulders. “That’s what you deserve,” he said softly. The jealousy had vacated, but there was a wistfulness in his tone now, and that new sound possessed a faint echo of disappointment.
She wasn’t so sure she wanted to linger in this strange zone of what they were and what they would never be. She changed gears, as if she were taking a sharp right to a new route. “What about you?”
He furrowed his brow, shooting her a quizzical look. “Do I have a checklist?”
She laughed lightly. “No. I meant—did you miss Hidden Oaks when you were gone? For college,” she said, prompting him. “That was the only time you were away from here, right?”
After their brief summer romance, he’d left for school in Southern California, while she’d gone to college locally.
“I did miss it here. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoyed college immensely, and the chance to get away. But Megan had just started high school when I left, so I tried to come back as often as I could to check in on her,” he said, clicking on the turn signal as they neared the road with the shelter. He cast his gaze briefly to Cara, then back to the road. “And I missed you when I left.”
She sat up higher and jerked her head to stare at him. That had been the last thing she’d expected him to say. They’d both tried so hard then to be cool about their inevitable end. They’d aimed to be smart and sophisticated and to go into their brief summer romance with eyes wide open, knowing it would end of its own accord. Neither had ever voiced the possibility of missing each other. They’d been so purposefully tough, even though they were only eighteen.
“You did?” she asked cautiously, in a tentative breath.
“Of course. I was crazy about you. You know that,” he said, speaking as if his feelings then were a matter of public record. Yes, he had said as much to her that summer, and those words—crazy for you—set off sparklers in her heart at the time. Now, more than a decade later, they were no less potent, and they sent a thrill through her bloodstream.
Then, as quickly as the conversation had taken this unexpected turn, it swerved back. “So that answers your question if I missed Hidden Oaks. I guess you can’t keep me out of this town. I’m just a small town boy,” he said, singing the last few lines to the tune of the Journey song with similar opening lyrics—Just a small town girl.
Cara rustled in her purse, and in seconds, she’d called up “Don’t Stop Believing” on her phone. She hit play. “Sing it with me.”
“You’re crazy,” he said, shaking his head as he laughed.
“C’mon. You’re a good car singer. Do it.”
“Nah. I can’t sing and drive.”
She squeezed his thigh. “Yes. You can. C’mon, Travis. Sing,” she said, bumping her shoulder against his as the melody built.
She didn’t know why it was so important that he did, but she didn’t plan to let up ’til he was singing his heart out with her.
…
He was only giving her a hard time for the sake of giving her a hard time. He didn’t mind singing along at all. It certainly wasn’t something he did with the guys, but Cara had her sexy, flirty, sweet way of bringing out these other sides of him. As she turned up the volume on her phone, blasting the song, he belted it out for the final few miles until they pulled into the lot at the shelter.
When the song finished, she stabbed the end button on the playlist with a flourish. “There you go. We rocked it.”
“We sure know how to have a good time.”
She flashed him the prettiest smile he’d ever seen. “We do. We are making the most of our brief fling, aren’t we?”
“We are,” he said as he opened the door. He wasn’t surprised he was having so much fun with her. The time he’d spent with her years ago contained some of his happiest memories, and their prior summer romance was the closest he’d ever come to truly falling for a woman.
Good thing they’d had an end in sight then, and good thing they did now, too. Nobody got hurt that way.
They both knew the score.
They headed into the animal shelter to hand over the blankets and towels for the animals, and to give the manager the final paperwork for his dog.
“I’m glad to hear everything is going great with Henry,” the shelter manager said, waving good-bye as they walked out.
As Travis opened the door to his truck for her, Cara glanced at her watch, reminding him she had a class to teach.
“What time is your agility session?” he asked.
“I’ve got an hour. It should probably take about twenty minutes to get there though, so I have a little extra time.”
An idea landed in his head as he walked around to his side and got in. “Remember yesterday when you mentioned our nearly disastrous bowling date? The alley is on the way back. We could stop in for a quick game.”
She crinkled her nose. “I don’t know if there’s enough time for a game.”
“Okay, so how about we play whoever gets the most points in thirty minutes? That should give you time to get to your class.”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, her blue eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief as he turned the key in the ignition. “What if I win? Are you going to wash my car like you did Smith’s?” she asked, and he laughed at the reminder.
“You want me to? If that’s what you want I’ll gladly do it.”
She narrowed her eyes, and pursed her lips, feigning intense concentration. “Let’s make the bet for something else. If I win the most points, you are going to bake some of your sister’s amazing chocolate chip cookies for me for tomorrow night.”
“Fair enough,” he said with a nod. “And if I win?”
“Well, what do you want?” she asked, leaning in closer to him, invitingly.
That was the easiest thing in the world to answer. He ran his hand along her thigh. “For you to not wear underwear when I show up at your door tomorrow night.”
She held out a hand to shake. “It’s on.”
He took her hand, tugged her in close, and dropped a kiss on her gorgeous mouth. He’d intended for it to be a quick kiss, so they could be on their way. But the taste of her lips was too delicious. He kissed her deeply, their mouths crashing together, their tongues tangling, the heat between them rising. He could have kissed her for so much longer, could have pulled into a parking spot around the back of the shelter and gone for more. But he wanted to have his way with her completely, no clock ticking, no deadlines, nothing but her.
He especially wanted to win their bowling bet.
Badly.
But a half hour later, as he drove her to her agility class, she tap-danced her fingers across his jeans. “I cannot wait for those cookies.”