Breaking Travis (The West Series Book 5) (18 page)

“I’ll be having a huge garage sale in few weeks. I have no idea what everything is worth or how to go about having a garage sale.” He leaned against the counter and nibbled on his cake.

“I can help.” She smiled and took a bite of her cake.

“Oh my goodness,” he said, looking down at his plate. “This is the best thing I’ve ever had.”

She nodded and her smile fell away. “Had I known it was going to be this good, I would have kept it all to myself.” She smiled and took another bite.

The rest of the day, Travis thought about how he’d reacted when he’d heard Holly would be moving out of the apartment above the garage soon. He’d gotten used to her being there every evening when he got home. Even if he hadn’t seen her, he always looked for the lights and got a warm feeling when he’d see them on.

He’d been doing a lot of thinking since Billy had started hanging around. He could see positive changes in his friend. They had started running together every other day. Travis knew he didn’t need to train as much as he had when he’d been cage fighting, but the workouts helped clear his mind and allowed him to focus more.

He’d finished everything inside and the appraiser had finally come to put a price tag on the place. The “for sale” sign had sat out front of the house for the last few days. He couldn’t believe how much his father’s assets were worth.

Once everything sold, he’d have enough to start all over somewhere else. He would have enough money to attend school wherever he wanted. As he sat down that night to look at schools online, his mind kept coming back to how sad Holly had looked that morning.

He knew he was doing the best thing for her by staying away from her. They’d even created somewhat of a friendship, something he didn’t feel like he had with any of his other exes.

Savannah had steered clear of him. Even though Billy had assured him that she was busy getting ready for the baby and wedding, he doubted he’d heard the last from her.

Alex had smiled and been polite to him every time he’d seen her, but he hadn’t worked up enough nerve to actually talk to her, not after what his mother had done to her and her husband.

He knew he needed to bury the hatchet with her and Grant, but he just couldn’t bring himself to step up yet. One night when he’d been going to Mama’s, he’d seen Alex and her family sitting in the diner laughing, and he’d walked home and eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead. He knew it was chicken of him, but he just wasn’t ready. He had a stop to make first. He needed to make the hour drive up to see his mother before he left town for good.

The next day he woke up and dressed in his finest suit. When he walked outside, instead of getting into his silver Hyundai, he uncovered the Mustang and walked into the garage to retrieve the keys. When he came back out, Holly was standing there in a pretty sun dress.

“Going for a drive?”

He nodded. “Going to church?”

She looked down at her dress. “Yes, they have a luncheon every Sunday that I’ve been avoiding for a while.”

He looked at her. “What do you say you avoid it for another day?”

She looked up at him. “I’d love to.” She smiled as he walked over and opened the passenger side.

“I’ll warn you, I’m heading up to visit my mother.” He saw her step falter. Then she laughed.

“It’s still preferable to listening to a bunch of mothers talk about how perfect their kids are as they run around screaming and getting dirty.”

He smiled and nodded. “You may be singing a different tune on the drive home.”

She smiled. “Can we have the top down? I have a scarf.” She pulled a scarf out of her bag and started to tie her hair up.

He laughed. “Why not.” He flipped the locks on the old top and pushed it down. He had to admit, the car drove like a dream as he pulled out of town. They saw several people driving into town on their way out. Holly waved and smiled at each one she recognized.

“Tell me you’re not going to sell this beauty.” She turned to him.

“I wasn’t going to. Actually, I’d thought of selling my Hyundai and taking this one for myself.”

She smiled. “You should. After all the work you’ve done on it.” She rubbed her hands over the leather interior. “Besides, I’ll bet it runs better than the Hyundai.”

He nodded. “It does so far.”

He really enjoyed the power the old car had, and when he hit the highway, he opened the car up to see how it handled and was happily surprised that it still felt like it was gliding across the pavement when it hit top speed.

“I saw that the sign in front of the house was gone. Did you sell the house?”

He glanced over at her without saying a word.

She frowned. “It’s such a nice place. It deserves a young family with kids and dogs.”

“Dogs?” He looked over at her.

“Sure. I always wanted brothers or sisters and dogs.” She looked over at him. “Didn’t you want pets?”

There had been a time when he’d asked for a puppy for Christmas, but his mother was anti-pets, and he’d stopped asking once she’d explained that animals wrecked the house.

“I guess so. It would have never been allowed and so I stopped asking. What kind of dog?” He looked over at her.

“I always wanted a beagle. They’re so cute when they’re little.” She smiled and he couldn’t stop himself from living in her dream as she continued to talk about it.

When they drove up to the state-run facility less than an hour later, his mood had changed. He’d been so nervous about his visit with his mother, but talking to Holly during the drive had washed away all his nerves and replaced it with an inner peace. He couldn’t explain the change fully.

He parked the car and helped her out. She removed her scarf and shook her hair back into place. It looked perfect. She looked perfect.

“Here.” She reached up and ran her hands through his hair. “You need a haircut.” She smiled as she straightened his hair.

“Yeah.” He frowned, instantly thinking about what his mother would say. She’d always gotten on his case about growing his hair too long. “I suppose I should have…”

“You’ll be fine. You look very handsome.” She took his hand. “If you want, I’ll stay out here?”

He shook his head. “No, I’d rather not go it alone.”

She nodded. “I always got along with your mother. Your folks were my godparents, you know.”

“So you said.” He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand.

They checked in at the main desk where the nurse informed him which room his mother was in. When they walked up the stairs, he couldn’t control the shaking he felt. She must have picked up on it because her hand tightened around his.

He knocked on the door and his mother opened it. She looked a lot thinner. She must have lost fifty pounds. Her hair had turned from a warm blonde to a dark gray. There were new lines under her eyes and she wore no makeup.

“Travis?” Her eyes lit up. “Is that you?” She reached out and grabbed him. “Oh, my baby has come back to me.” She pulled him into a hug and memories flooded his mind. His arms went around the woman whose only sin, other than trying to commit murder, had been trying to give her son everything he’d ever desired.

H
olly stood back in the hallway and watched Travis engulf his mother in his arms. She saw his mother’s eyes light up when she saw her standing behind him.

“Holly Bridles? Oh, this is a treat. Come on in you two.” She walked over and hugged her quickly then motioned for them to walk into her small room. There was a single bed against one wall, a small kitchen area, and a large flat-screen television on the wall, which had been put on mute.

“How are they treating you here, Mom?” Travis asked as he walked in, looking around.

“Oh, you know how it is.” She looked at him and smiled. “They think I’m crazy.” She smiled at Holly who smiled back. “They won’t let me have knives or glass or other sharp objects.” She held up a cup with tea in it. “Plastic.” She shook her head. “Your father would have a fit if he knew I was forced to eat off of something more suitable for picnics.” She sat down and glanced towards the television again. “But other than that, I’m having a blast. I get to play Bingo every Tuesday night. Cards are two times a week and we have arts and crafts on Fridays. There’s even a movie night.” She said all this while keeping her eyes on the television set.

“Mom,” Travis said and waited until his mother turned her eyes back to him. “I don’t know if someone has told you.” He reached across the table and looked at their joined hands. Holly stood inside the doorway, not wanting to make a move. “Dad died a few months ago.”

His mother glanced at him. “Oh, they told me alright. Lies.” She shook her head. “Can you believe it? We’ll have a good laugh about it when I get out of here.”

“Mother—” he started again, but she started talking about something else. The conversation kept turning weirder and less than a half an hour later, she asked them to leave so she could watch her show.

“I never miss Jeopardy,” she said, patting Holly’s hand. “Roy always gets the answers right, but since he’s back home I’ll have to guess them all myself.” She smiled and hugged Travis’ mother. “Now, you tell your mother ‘hi’ for me. Katie was one of my best friends, you know.”

Holly nodded. She’d known that her mother and Travis’ mom had been friends for a while. That’s how they had ended up being her godparents.

“Mom,” Travis said, taking her attention. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine. Anything I need, all I have to do is ask.” She patted her son’s arm while her eyes darted to the set. “Now, you tell your father to come up here and visit me. I haven’t seen him for a while.”

He nodded and she watched some of the color leave his face.

When they walked outside, the heat of the day hit them full force.

“Would you mind if we went for a drive?” he asked, sitting behind the wheel.

“I’d love to.” She tied the scarf around her hair again and tucked the long strands behind her glasses so they wouldn’t fly in her face.

“We can grab some food first, if you want.”

She nodded. “There’s a small place just there.” She pointed across the street to a small family diner.

It wasn’t as cozy as Mama’s, but the food was tolerable. They ate in silence, and she couldn’t help but notice that his mood had changed.

They left the diner and drove down the winding back roads that would eventually lead them to Fairplay. She enjoyed the cool breeze on her face and the silence in the air as the tall pines flew by them.

When he pulled off a side road, she didn’t complain, knowing it led up to a point where you could overlook a large river and field just outside of town. As the car climbed the back roads. She rested her head against the headrest.

He pulled the car to a stop a few feet from the overlook and turned off the engine.

“She’s the same,” he said, still looking at the view. “I had thought…” He swallowed. “I thought she would have changed, become more crazy somehow.”

Holly looked over at him and tried not to show her feelings.

“Other than thinking Dad is still alive…I guess I always knew there was something off about her growing up. I’ve just been in denial.” He shook his head and glanced over at her.

“She loves you.” She smiled. “I wasn’t that close with her. I know that most everyone in town still thinks of her fondly.”

He laughed and shook his head. “You know, I’ve heard that Alex and her sisters have visited her.”

Holly smiled. “I would have been surprised if they hadn’t. I’ve been there myself.”

“You?” He turned and looked at her. “You’ve been there before today?”

She nodded. “My mother came up to visit shortly after she was moved there. We bought her the bed and television. They used to be best friends.”

He nodded and brushed the scarf off her head. “You’ve messed up your hair.” He used his fingers to tame it. She knew it was a helpless case, but didn’t care since she was enjoying the cool breeze and the crisp night air. “I love the feel of it.” He was looking at her hair as his fingers brushed it away from her face. She closed her eyes, wishing that he would never stop.