He led her to his rig, the one he had customized, he was especially proud of the alligator seats. "Well," he said, "What do you think?"
"Is there a place to sleep? Doesn't look so big to me." She replied.
"Ah, but things aren't always what they seem. He opened a door and motioned her in. "This is what they call a sleeper cab."
It wasn't very big, but there was room for them on the narrow, but not too narrow, bed. She climbed in and noticed the bed felt comfortable. She turned and looked at him, "So even you have to sleep once in a while?"
"Yes, sleeping is an option, but it's not what I have in mind right now." He took off her jacket and pulled off her tee shirt, amused to find she wasn't wearing a bra.
She looked down at her chest, "Yes, Travis," she wanted to say, "I don't wear bras. I don't have much in the way of tits, but they're nice tits."
They pulled off the rest of their clothes and she was pleased to find out that the little room was more accommodating than she thought it would be. She lay down and put her arms around him, her fingers tracing his muscles with her fingers.
"Someone hangs out in the gym a lot," she teased, "Do you do it to impress the girls?"
"I do it because I like it. Have you always been this thin?" was his reply.
"No, getting sick took a lot out of me, I could barely eat. I'm one of those people who never get sick, so maybe that's why it hit me so hard. It'll take a few months..."
He interrupted her by kissing her, then began to explore her body with his hands and his mouth. He wondered she'd looked like before she'd gotten so thin and what she'd look like with her hair grown out.
She felt awkward at first, then relaxed as he moved his hands over her. She pulled back, at first. when his fingers began to probe her. "Don't," he whispered, "Don't hold yourself back, let me love you." And she began to relax as his skillful hands started to bring her to her first climax.
There was more room for them in the narrow quarters than she'd thought. Were they shaking the truck, it seemed like a possibility?
She'd never made love in a truck before, fact, she'd been relatively inexperienced when she met her husband. She hadn't "saved it for marriage" but there hadn't been many men. Ryan was a good lover, but he paled in comparison to Travis.
Travis was much older than she was and making love to him was much more satisfactory than her couplings with Ryan had been. Ryan wasn't bad but it was obvious that Travis was more experienced. He knew his way around a woman's body, he certainly knew his way around hers.
Travis had fallen asleep when they finished, a trait she had noticed in her husband. The little bed was feeling cramped. It would work find for Travis sleeping alone, but she'd get no sleep if she stayed. She watched him for a moment, making sure that he was asleep, then got her clothes and began to get dressed so she could slip out go to her bunk.
He opened his eyes, "Don't," he said and took hold of her wrist, "Stay here."
"If I stay here I won't get any sleep. This isn't designed for two people, or for two people to sleep comfortably. I want to go to my bunk so I can get a decent night's sleep, and I don't want to do the 'walk of shame' in the morning. At least most of the bunkhouse will be asleep."
"You know your cowboy is probably waiting up for you. Are you ready to deal with him?"
"Yes, I am," she sighed, "What he wants I'm not ready for. I want to live my life, sow a few wild oats, you know? I don't want what he wants. I'm not that far out of a bad marriage, I wish he'd try harder to understand."
"He may," said Travis, "But he wants you and doesn't want to share you. I bet he's got marriage on his mind."
"And I don't. I like him, I think he's sweet, he can be fun but he's rushing me and sometimes I resent it." She leaned closer towards him, "What I like about you is the fact you don't want anything from me, it's what I need. If we never do this again, I'll still be happy."
Travis pushed himself up on one elbow and she could see the muscles in his chest and his abs. "I'm going to wake you early tomorrow morning and we'll go riding. I won't be leaving until sundown. Think you'd like that?"
She leaned over and kissed him, "Sounds good, I'll see you in the morning." She finished pulling on her boots and left.
"Where have you been?" asked Ryan. He was still dressed, had he been waiting up for her?
"What business is it of yours?" she replied, irritated, "This is my life, Ryan, what I do with it is my business."
It was light out, but the curtains were pulled and the light in the bunkhouse was dim. Travis shook her awake, saying, "Get up, I've got two horses saddled. We can eat breakfast when we get back Put on a warm sweater, it's chilly out there."
She got dressed quickly, only splashing water on her face before she brushed her teeth. "Ready," she told him, and they left the bunkhouse as quietly as they could.
There were two horses saddled in the corral. One was a sorrel that Travis liked to ride, but there was a little bay mare that he had saddled for her.
"Like her?" he asked and smiled. She nodded, then untied her and mounted her. "So you feel like a gallop?" he asked, "The horses are fresh and want to run."
She smiled at him, "Let's go," she said.
They ran their horses over the hill until they slowed down, then alternated walking and trotting.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked him.
"There's a little hot spring that John showed me. Have you been in one?" he said, and she shook her head. "It's a little smelly from the sulfur in the water, but it feels good. I've got a long drive, it'll be good for my back, and yours."
The springs were next to a little creek. Individual places to soak had been separated off by boulders, allowing some cold water to cool what flowed from the springs.
They hobbled their horses, then removed their clothes and sank into the hot water of the springs. "Oh, this feels good," she told him, "I've never been in a hot spring before."
"It's nice, isn't it?" said Travis, "I wish I had one of these on my ranch." There wasn't room for her to soak with him so he had to content himself with putting his arm around her shoulders. The sun was rising higher, but the sky still had a golden color, it would be hard to leave.
"Travis, have you ever heard of 'the train station'?" she broke the silence they had been sitting in, startling him a little.
"No, I can't say that I have, where did you hear about this?" He sat up, wondering what she was talking about.
"Well, I told you I was pretty sick, remember? I must have been hallucinating because I remember seeing my brother next to my bed talking to me. I was pretty out of it, you know. Anyway, he said someone had been trying to steal the Dutton's cattle and he got killed when they caught him and they took his body to the train station. I'd like to ask someone what that is but I'm afraid to."
"You must have been delirious," Travis told her, "I don't know anything about it, but I don't advise you to tell anyone what you told me. I know you want to find your brother, but you leave this alone, you hear me? You could have imagined it, especially since you're worried about him. What you heard was most likely your imagination and the fever. Promise me you'll leave this alone. I don't know what goes on at John Dutton's ranch, but I don't think I'm meant to know, and neither are you."
"You're probably right," she said in a small voice, "It's just that losing him and not knowing what happened has been really hard."
"You can give it time," he said, "Look at me, Amy, sometimes if you leave something alone the solution comes to you. If you're really serious about finding your brother, talk to the sheriff. You don't have to tell John, or Rip, or Ryan, you do it for yourself. You've been here for a few months, that's all, you haven't learned the ways of the place. Will you do this for me?"
She nodded, and he kissed her. "Come on, let's dry off and head to the bunkhouse. Gator probably has breakfast ready by now. I don't know about you, but I could sure use some coffee."
They rode back in silence, but the silence was comfortable and familiar. She liked Travis, he was a good lover, a little rough and uninhibited. She felt at ease with him, he asked nothing from her but what she was willing to give. He was a lot older than her, and that felt a little strange, but Travis was a lot of fun. She was actually looking forward to seeing him again.
They rode back to the corral and got off their horses. They removed their saddles, and she was going to follow him, but he stopped and said, "How did you like riding Sweet Pea?"
"I like her, she's really easy going, makes it easy for me." She looked at him, puzzled at the smile he gave her.
"She's your horse, then, you need a horse of your own. Do you have a trailer?" he asked and she shook her head.
"Well, you should talk to Rip, I'll ask him to help get you set up. Now, go put her in a stall and then we'll go to breakfast. You can keep the tack, too," he added as an afterthought.
"Travis, you can't do this, you can't give me this horse, she must be expensive?" She didn't know what to say, he was just giving her a horse he could sell for several thousand dollars.
"Of course I can, she's my horse. I can sell her, or I can give her away if I want and I'm giving her to you. You need a horse of your own and the two of you seem to suit each other. If you decide you want to use her for a brood mare pick a good ranch stud and she'll give you a nice baby that you can sell, or keep if you want." He smiled, clearly considering the argument over.
Gator had set up a spread inside the bunkhouse. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, all washed down with his coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. They took off their jackets and sat down at the table, suddenly aware of how hungry they were.
"Say, Travis," said Kolby, "When are you going to be coming back?"
"Well, it's show, and rodeo season and I've got some nice horses I'd like to sell. I like doing the reining and cutting shows, and it usually means at least a few sales for me. I grew up doing this, you could say it's in my blood."
At that moment Rip, dressed in his usual black, came in the door. "Who's that mare someone put in the stalls? I don't recognize her. Travis is she one of yours?"
"No, she belongs to Amy now. Do you want me to move her to a different stall?" Travis asked, an innocent expression on his face.
"She's okay where she is for now. Amy, Travis gave you a nice horse, you make sure you take care of her."
"Shut your mouths, boys, you look funny with your jaws hanging open," she wanted to tell the guys, "And wipe those smirks off your face," she wanted to say to Laramie and Teeter. She might as well have hung a sign around her neck that said, "I fucked Travis Wheatley". Ryan looked at her and got up and left the table. Part of her wanted to follow him, to explain, but another part wanted to say, "fuck you". Yes, she'd slept with Travis, but it had nothing to do with him giving her the horse. Travis did things for his own reasons, and she had nothing to do with it.
She didn't know him, she didn't know if he had a generous nature or if the mare had been a bribe. People did things for their own reasons, Travis was just like anyone else, except that he had more money. She was grateful for the night they'd spent together, grateful for the hot springs, and grateful that he'd given her Sweet Pea, no matter what his motive might be.