Breaking Travis (The West Series Book 5) (8 page)

“No, just leave her alone. She’s just renting the apartment.” He moved to shut the door again.

“Well, that’s not what she told me when I was up there earlier.”

He stopped and yanked open the door again. “You’re lying.”

“Oh?” She raised her eyebrows again. “She told me all about it. I thought you were staying at your place, but found out when she came out of the shower. Now I know. I’m not stupid you know.” She yelled the last part.

“Go home.” He slammed the door in her face and heard her kick the locked door and scream. Then he heard her Jeep peel out of the driveway. He listened for a while, making sure she was gone, and then he walked to the back of the house and looked towards the apartment.

Holly’s light was still on, making him wonder if she’d heard everything that had just gone on. For some reason, he didn’t want Savannah and her craziness to touch Holly.

T
he next morning Holly stood in her store and smiled. The bar top had arrived. The thing weighed a ton, and she stood back and watched as the men lowered it in place with two forklifts.

They drilled and screwed large bolts into place until it was secure. Then Holly rushed over and tested it for herself. It was solid. She smiled over at Roger.

“Perfect.”

“It does look good.” He stood back and smiled at her. “I didn’t think the look would work, but now I can see what you had in mind.”

She nodded. “I’m still trying to convince Aaron to make my bar stools.” She looked out of the side of her eyes towards Roger.

He ran his hand over his two-day old beard. “Maybe I can give him some time off so he can focus on the stools.”

“Oh!” She rushed over and hugged him.

“But it will have to be after we’re done here. When we start working on the theater,” he warned her.

“I’ll take it.” She smiled and then leaned up and placed a kiss on his rough face.

“Am I interrupting?” Travis said from the doorway.

She looked over and smiled at him. She wasn’t going to let him or what they had done last night ruin her good mood. Her bar top was in, and she was going to get her unique bar stools. Nothing was going to dampen her mood. Not even Travis and the possibility of him being back with Savannah. Or the possibility of them being a family very soon.

“I have my bar top.” She waved her hand towards the bar and smiled even more when she looked over and saw how beautiful it was.

“Looks good.” He walked over and inspected it, testing his weight on the edge to make sure it didn’t move. “Solid work.” He nodded towards Roger, who nodded back then quickly disappeared. The men were now pounding away upstairs, putting in her closet and kitchen area.

“It’s really coming together.” She stood behind the bar and imagined serving customers. In her mind she envisioned the wall coverings, the lighting, even some of the local artwork she planned on hanging up.

“Listen.” He stepped closer to her. “I wanted to apologize for last night.”

Her heart dropped in her chest and she tried everything she could to not let the disappointment show on her face. “You don’t need to apologize.” She turned to go, but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“I do. Savannah’s behavior was unacceptable.”

She couldn’t stop her eyebrows from rising in question.

“You did hear the yelling, right?”

She shook her head no.

“Oh.” He sighed and closed his eyes.

“Yelling?” She stepped closer. “Did you two fight?”

A burst of laughter escaped him. “Let’s go outside.” He took her hand in his and walked with her to the small patio area. She sat down on the bench and watched him pace.

“She actually broke into my place and lay on my parents’ bed. I guess she expected to pick up where we left off years ago.” He shook his head and turned towards her. “The fact that she was dishonoring my grandmother’s quilt was disturbing enough, but then I noticed that she is pregnant.” He laughed again. “She actually tried to pawn it off as mine.” He shook his head.

“Isn’t it?” she broke in and instantly wished she hadn’t. He looked down at her and something crossed his eyes. Was it sadness or was he just tired? “I’m sorry, it’s just that she said…”

“I know what she said.” He turned away from her and kicked a stone by his foot. “I’m sure she said a lot of things. None of them were true.” He turned back towards her. “Believe me, I wouldn’t have done what we did…” He ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. “If there was a chance that the kid was mine.”

She nodded and stood up. “I believe you.”

He looked at her like she’d just slapped him. “You do?”

She nodded. “Sure. Savannah lies.” She waved her hand. “No one in town believes a word she says.”

He looked surprised and blinked a few times. “I can remember a time when the same could be said about me.”

She nodded. “When your mother was on her rampage.”

He frowned at her. “Some people still blame me.”

“Why? Why would they? You had nothing to do with it.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I cheated on Alex, my fiancée at the time.”

“Lots of people cheat. That doesn’t give their parents permission to go off half-cocked. Nor does it make it your fault.”

He blinked a few times like he was thinking about it, then he nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

She chuckled. “Of course, I’m right.”

“Why did you ask to go to Vegas with me?”

Now it was her turn to be surprised. “I told you, I’ve never been to Vegas.”

“Is that all?” He stepped closer.

She nodded, feeling his heat jump across the small space towards her.

“No other reason?” He stopped less than a foot from her.

She shook her head no, unable to speak.

“What would you say if I told you that the only reason I didn’t want you to come was that I was embarrassed.”

“Why?” She frowned again, finding her voice.

He shook his head and closed his eyes. “The life I chose. What I do.”

“Cage fighting? I’ve watched it on TV. It looks pretty intense.”

“It is.” He frowned. “Even more so since it’s all underground.”

“You mean illegal?” He nodded. “But it’s not banned in the States.”

“It’s regulated. This one’s not.”

“It can’t be too different.” She held her breath when he reached out and brushed her hair away from her face.

“If you come with me, I wouldn’t want you to go to the fight.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

He shook his head. “Because. Promise me that you wouldn’t ask to go.”

She looked up into his dark eyes and saw sadness there. “I promise.”

When he smiled, she felt her breath knocked from her chest. It was the first time she’d seen his lips curl up into a genuine smile. His dark eyes lightened. He looked handsome when he was brooding, but when he was happy, he looked damn sexy.

“We leave Monday morning.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I have a meeting with Roger in an hour. We’re supposed to go to the theater and go over some things. But I’d like to have dinner with you later.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’d like that. I can cook something.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Your place then?”

When she nodded again, he leaned down and this time the kiss was slow and sent warm sparks shooting out through her toes.

She spent the next half an hour cleaning every inch of her bar top. When she looked down at her watch, she realized she was going to be late for her lunch with Melissa and had to jog across the street to meet her friend.

“I’m sorry.” She hugged her friend and then sat down. “I got sidetracked admiring my bar top and lost track of time.”

“Oh, it came?” Missy asked, looking over her menu.

“Yes, they just installed it an hour ago.” She sighed and rested her chin on her hands. “It looks wonderful.”

“I can’t wait to see it. Maybe I can stop by after work.”

She shook her head. “Can’t. I have a date.”

Missy’s eyebrows shot up. “Date? You have a date? With who?”

She leaned forward and whispered, “Travis Nolan.”

“What?” Missy’s voice rose over the noise in the diner, causing a few people to glance in their direction.

Holly smiled and nodded. “I have so much to tell you.” She leaned forward and started at the beginning.

By the time their plates were empty, Melissa was smiling. “It sure sounds like he’s changed. I always knew he’d grow up sooner or later. Or,” she frowned, “he would end up dead, shot by the husband of the woman he’d just had an affair with.”

Holly nodded. “I know.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I can’t even see that person in him anymore.”

Melissa sighed. “People can change. Look at Reece. Before he came back to town, he was traveling with the rodeo and”—she leaned forward and whispered—“sleeping with anyone and everyone he could.”

Holly shook her head. “I can’t imagine Reece doing anything like that.”

“I know.” Missy sighed. “He’s all mine now.”

“You’re lucky, both of you.”

“Can you believe only four more months and we’ll be married?” She frowned a little. “We had hoped that Ryan would be there. You know, Reece’s twin brother? Reece hasn’t seen him since shortly before their father had died. He has no idea where he is. We’ve hired an old friend of my dad’s to see if he could locate him, but so far we haven’t heard anything back.”

“I’m sure you’ll find him in time.” Holly reached across the table and held her friend’s hand.

“So,” Missy said, shaking her head. “Tell me all about Savannah. How far along do you think she is?”

“I was hoping you’d know. Hasn’t she been coming into the clinic for checkups?”

Missy shook her head and frowned. “Maybe she’s going into Tyler and seeing a doctor there?”

“I hope. Travis said she was still smoking.”

“What?” Missy almost stood up. “How stupid can you get?”

“I know.”

“Someone has to stop her.”

Holly almost laughed. “I tried that once, remember? I almost ended up in jail.”

Missy sat quietly for a moment. “I wonder if her parents know.”

“I doubt it.” Then something came to mind. “Oh my God! I broke her nose.”

Missy looked at her. “I know. I was there.

“No, I mean, I broke her nose and she was pregnant at the time.”

“Oh.” Missy frowned. “A broken nose wouldn’t have hurt the baby.”

“Still.” She knew her friend was just trying to reassure her, but it didn’t negate the fact that she’d hit a pregnant woman.

“Holly,” Melissa said reaching across the table and taking her hand, “you didn’t know. You didn’t hurt the baby more than one puff of a cigarette is doing to it.”

“You’re right. She has to be stopped. What’s your plan?”

“How about an intervention?”

Holly shook her head. “She wouldn’t listen to us. She hates us.”

“Right.” Missy tapped her finger to her chin and smiled. “I’ve got it. Sheriff Miller.”

“What’s the sheriff got to do with it?”

“He’s friends with her parents. If he lets it slip that he saw her smoking, and they know about her pregnancy…”

She smiled. “I like where you’re going with this, but we have to make sure they know she’s pregnant.”

“Who’s pregnant?” Alex stood next to their table, a sleeping little girl in her arms. Her daughter’s hair was as pale as hers and even though she had the blue eyes of her daddy, the girl was a spitting image of her mama.

“There’s my niece.” Missy stood and reached for the sleepy girl. Alex gladly handed over the two-year-old.

“She’s gotten so big. I almost forget how heavy she is until I hand her over,” Alex said, sitting down and sighing. “Now, tell me who’s pregnant.”

“Savannah Douglas.”

Alex laughed. “Everyone knows that. All you have to do is look at her to know it.”

“Everyone?” Missy asked, brushing a blonde strand of hair from her niece’s hair.

“Sure, I knew it the night you punched her in the face.” She nodded to Holly. “I guess since you two haven’t been pregnant before, you wouldn’t have picked up on the signs.” She smiled. “Like, you probably don’t know that I’m three months along now.”

“What?” Missy almost woke the sleeping Laura in her arms. “You’re pregnant now?” she whispered.

Alex smiled and nodded. “A little over three months.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Missy asked.

“We wanted to wait until we knew the sex.” She picked up a menu and looked down at it.

“Alex, if you don’t tell me the sex right now, I’m going to…”