When Roses Collide

Chapter Six

She wiggled and pushed until she worked her way out of his arms as he reluctantly let her go setting her on her feet. The feeling of loss almost overwhelmed him as did the wonder of why he felt that way. Travis crammed his hands into his pockets to keep himself from grabbing her back.

His reactions to this woman were confusing and shocking as much as it was thrilling. His heart still throbbed painfully in his chest, but in a good way. He felt more alive from one kiss with this little temptress than he had in this entire lifetime of passionate embraces he shared with other women. It was a caffeine overload to his system and he found himself craving more.

Harley walked over to her dogs and knelt down to calm their over protective anxiety. Having her sweet pups surround her in their warmth, helped her to get her blood pressure back under control. As she whispered and cooed to her beloved pets, her mind raced a mile a minute.

Had she really just made out under a tree in her back yard like an overly zealous teenager? In front of another complete stranger no less! Woo-boy! She buried her hot and flushed face into the thick muscled neck of King trying to squelch her embarrassment. What was it about Adonis that made her act so outrageously out of control? Was it pheromones? Chemistry? Or was it the simple fact she longed for male human contact so badly she lost her utter mind? Her biological clock had been ticking so loudly the last couple of years; it rivaled the clanging of Big Ben.

Very few knew the one thing Harley dreamed and longed for most, was a family of her own. She adored children. She was an only child, daddy's little rather rambunctious princess. Watching her friends interact with their siblings had made her feel the void in her own life as she got older, especially since she had never known her mother.

It was one of the reasons she immersed herself into the rodeo circuit. Traveling from town to town for all those years, she'd forged a many close relationships with the other riders. A handful of them still traveled with her and they became a very large, although unusual, family. But nothing could totally fill the void and in the last few years, she finally realized what she wanted was more. She wanted a family in the traditional sense, which included a husband and a passel of kids.

She wanted to put an end to her wandering ways, settle down, find the right man and make a real life for herself. After her father had died and she discovered this piece of property he'd left her, it was as if fate gave her a chance to fulfill her dreams. So, she sold everything in Colorado, erasing the slate completely and moved here to start her life anew.

Sadly, she would have to forge on alone without the man who had always stood beside her. Since her father's passing, she felt more alone than ever, not to mention vulnerable. Harley was never a damsel in distress type. She was full blown tomboy who could not only keep up with the big boys, but was able to look damn good in heels while she did it. So this sense of vulnerability didn't really sit well with her.

Harley sighed. She missed her father. He'd been the one person she could always talk to whenever she got confused or felt like she'd stepped too far into the mud and sunk down past her boots. Even when all these sudden urges to nest started to become more than a passing fancy, she'd been able to talk to him about it.

Of course, no man would ever be good enough for her in her father's eyes, Harley smiled at the thought, but he at least did his best to be understanding. The last time they had spoken about it, he'd put his arm around her shoulders and told her, "Harley my girl, you will know when the right man stumbles across your path, because you won't be able to charge over him and he will stop you right in your tracks. He won't try to rope you or cage you because he will appreciate the free beautiful spirit you are. He will want to always run with you. Not in front, not behind, but right alongside you. You will know when to follow your heart." He tapped her on the nose with the tip of his work roughened finger. "You're a pretty smart cookie, darling. Between what you got going on upstairs and that big ole heart of yours, the poor man doesn't stand a chance."