Part 6 (2/2)
She looked to see Dora holding one of the ugly hospital gowns that opened in the front. She'd rather not, but if it got her answers sooner, she'd do what she had to.
”I'll wait until you're changed,” Travis said as he leaned down and gave her a brief kiss, then exited the room with Dora. After changing, she climbed up onto the table, then waited for Travis and the doctor to come in.
A few minutes later, there was a knock followed by the door opening. ”Taylor, h.e.l.lo, dear. You are looking so much healthier. It seems you've been getting some sun,” Doc said.
Taylor felt her cheeks flush. Yeah, she'd been getting sun, and she had no tan lines. Hopefully a full-body exam wasn't planned, or she'd be mortified.
”Thanks, Doc. I feel like my old self again,” she said, infusing her voice with enthusiasm.
”Wonderful, wonderful.” He continued looking at her chart for a few moments. Then he had her lie back on the table and he examined her ribs. ”You've healed quite nicely, darling. Is there any tenderness when I push here?”
”No. It hasn't hurt for a while,” she said, relieved.
”From the last MRI, it appears your head injury is as healed as it can get,” he began, and hope surged in Taylor's heart until he spoke again. ”I'm going to be blunt, Taylor. I don't think you should race anymore. Sure, on the surface, your injuries are healing nicely, but the reality is that you had a very close call this last time. I've been reviewing all your medical files, and your body has been put through more than anyone your age-or any age-ever should be. If you don't quit, you're going to have a fatal injury soon, because you're already weakened. Even minor concussions are no joke, and yours wasn't minor.”
He paused, and Taylor looked at him with fear. If he didn't sign her release, she couldn't enter the circuit again. Sure, she could go from doctor to doctor, but none of them would sign the release without reviewing the files. It could take months, or even years, and the longer she was away, the less chance she'd ever return.
”I'm telling you this as a friend and a doctor, Taylor. I really think you should stop, but as your doctor, I have to also accept that your current injuries have healed. I will sign your release to return to the racing circuit in thirty more days, but I would take the next month to really think about if this is worth it any longer.”
”Thank you!” Taylor shouted. She jumped up from the table and threw her arms around the doctor. She heard nothing after he told her he was signing the release. She wasn't trapped anymore. She could return to what she loved.
”Taylor, let me say this again-I'm not signing it for thirty days. You have to promise me you'll seriously consider other options during that time,” he said sternly.
Taylor didn't make a promise she didn't intend to keep, so a little of her joy evaporated, but only a small bit. ”I promise to look at other options,” she said, and she would. That didn't mean she would seriously pursue any of them.
”That's all I can ask for, then,” he said as he finally returned her hug and then left the room. Travis followed him without saying a word.
Taylor changed quickly and met Travis in the waiting room. She was so elated by the news that she was practically bouncing as they made their way through town, picking up more supplies and then stopping for lunch.
She didn't notice Travis's black mood.
Travis pulled up to the bike shop and went inside. His mood hadn't improved in the last few days, because Taylor was already talking about the races she could enter.
She hoped they'd be able to see each other-she couldn't imagine going for months at a time without seeing him-but she was so bubbly, so elated at the prospect of getting out there and risking her life, that Travis didn't know what to say.
He didn't want to interfere with her dreams, with the goals she'd set for herself, but the doctor had told her to consider other options. He'd told her, dammit, that it wasn't a good idea to race. She'd promised to do what he suggested, but she hadn't. Her only thoughts were on racing.
So here was Travis in Billings, about to buy his first dirt bike. Yes, he'd ridden off-road vehicles before, but he'd traveled so much that he'd never had the desire to own one. Now, however, he wanted to show Taylor that she could still ride, still find pleasure in riding, without risking her life.
It didn't take him long to pick out the bike he wanted, and soon he was driving back toward Sterling and beyond, back to their little cabin in the woods, to their paradise. He'd found what he wanted in Taylor, and he wasn't going to let her go without a fight.
No, she wasn't ready for him to drop to one knee and propose to her, but he was. He'd let this girl go once. He'd told himself it was because of his sense of honor, but really, it was more because the two of them just hadn't been mature enough to build a real relations.h.i.+p, one that would last.
Now they were, and Travis knew what he wanted. He knew that Taylor wanted the same thing. But she was so set on one path in life she wasn't opening her eyes wide enough to see there were other ways, ways that led to better places.
He parked the truck next to the cabin and took the bike out, rolling it in front of the steps and attaching the large red bow he'd grabbed on impulse. He felt a little silly about the whole gesture, but then again, go big or go home, as his lieutenant had always told him and the other men.
So he was going as big as he possibly could. His heart thudding, Travis walked to the door and opened it slowly. He'd gotten up at the crack of dawn and he hoped she was still in bed. The bike could wait.
They'd been making love daily and nightly and still he couldn't get enough of this woman. Yes, he loved spending time with her away from the bedroom, on the ground in the forest, or the kitchen table, for that matter-he wasn't a complete s.e.x fiend, though d.a.m.n near close to it. But he also couldn't image that a time would come when he didn't desire her, when he didn't get excited at the thought of hauling her into his arms.
”Travis, where'd you go?”
She was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee and nibbling on a bagel.
”I had an errand to run.” He came up to her, then bent down and took her lips in an almost desperate kiss.
”Well,” she said breathlessly as a smile brightened her already radiant face. ”If that's the greeting I'll get whenever you return, you can leave more often.”
”I don't have to leave to find an excuse to kiss you, Taylor.” He pulled her up from her chair and kissed her again, showing her how hungry he was for her, how hungry he always was for her.
When they both came up for air, her cheeks were bright pink, and he was ready to carry her into the bedroom, but he was aiming for long-term gain, so he somehow managed to let her go and walked over to the coffeepot.
”I can't believe I fought against making love with you. I feel insatiable,” she said as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
She was wearing him down. ”I have a surprise for you,” he told her as he turned and placed his hands on her hips.
”Ooh, I like surprises,” she said, immediately backing up and looking around the room.
”It's outside,” he told her, thinking maybe he should have waited to show her the bike. The sway of her rounded behind had him regretting that he hadn't just pounced and had his wicked way with her.
She made a beeline for the front door and swung it open, then stopped in her tracks as her hands came up and covered her mouth. With her eyes wide, she slowly turned around and stared at him in shock.
”You bought me a bike?” There was wonder in her tone.
He set down his full cup of coffee and approached her. ”I wanted to show you how fun recreational riding can be.”
”I don't understand, Travis.” She turned back around, walked onto the porch and immediately down the stairs, and began running her hands over the smooth chrome.
”The doctor wanted you to consider other choices for your life. You've been so excited to race again you haven't kept your promise to him. I got the bike to take you out for a fun day through the trails in these woods, to show you that you can find just as much pleasure in recreational riding as in compet.i.tive.”
He wouldn't lie to her, or try to do this underhandedly. He wanted her to know exactly why he'd bought the bike, and exactly what he wanted her to be thinking about. She turned suspicious eyes on him, but at least they weren't angry.
”You aren't going to change my mind, Travis.”
”Didn't you promise the doctor that you would at least give other possibilities a try?”
They stared at each other for several long moments before her shoulders slumped just a bit. It didn't last long, though, and she turned toward the bike.
”Fine. We'll go on a pleasure ride, but I a.s.sure you it won't make my blood pulse in excitement like being in a compet.i.tion and fighting for the t.i.tle.” With that, she began moving back inside.
”Where are you going, Taylor?”
”I have to get my boots. I'm going to show you how this beautiful machine works,” she said, sending him a smile before disappearing.
When she came back out, wearing her riding gear, which she never went anywhere without, even a remote cabin, he was certainly impressed. The woman looked good in just about anything . . . or nothing at all. He happened to like her riding outfit. He'd really enjoy getting her out of it. And he would-soon.
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