Fire and Rain, Season 2, Episode 5 (Rising Storm) (6 page)

His words upset her deeply, made her doubt her actions and herself.

But they did not stop her, and by the time she was packed and ready for her trip, she’d talked herself out of letting it ruin her weekend.

Her brother just didn’t understand. He’d found love early and been blessed with a family. He didn’t know what it was like to be lonely, to worry that you’d stay lonely for the rest of your life.

Travis called her right before he hit the road, and she followed suit.

They had to take separate cars to the resort. Kristin had balked at this at first, but she couldn’t argue with the logic of it for long. It was the more circumspect thing to do. Of course it was. That didn’t mean she had to like it.

Still, she shook it off during the long drive. Nothing was going to spoil their idyllic weekend. She was wearing her new dress. She’d painstakingly applied her makeup and curled her hair. She looked her best and had two whole days ahead of her of pretending she had Travis all to herself.

Other than the occasional, infrequent moments when her brother’s voice got into her head, admonishing her, lecturing her, judging her, it was a near perfect weekend.

The resort was a lazy, luxurious getaway. The food was amazing and the wine was superb. Their time there was spent somewhat idly, but Kristin couldn’t get enough of being out in public with Travis. Of being able to touch him with other people around, being able to freely stake her claim. She’d never been much for PDA but she did get carried away a time or two, kissing him passionately for anyone around them to see, just because she could.

A few times people even referred to Kristin as his wife or Travis as her husband, and she ate it up, never once correcting them.

They spent time drinking wine and strolling around the gardens hand in hand like they didn’t have a care in the world. They met a friendly couple who were visiting from Austin and hit it off so well that they all shared a table one night for dinner.

“We don’t have many opportunities to do things like this,” the woman, Joan, told Kristin as they dined. “We both work too much. But it’s our twentieth wedding anniversary, so we wanted to do something special.”

“Congratulations!” Kristin exclaimed. “Twenty years! That’s wonderful!”

Joan smiled. “You know how it is. Marriage has its ups and downs, but it’s the best decision I ever made. How about y’all? How long have you been married?”

Travis, who’d been chatting with Joan’s husband, looked uncomfortable with the question and seemed unsure of what to say.

Kristin didn’t miss a beat. “Our ten-year wedding anniversary is coming up next March.”

“Nice!” Joan said. “When in March? That’s my birthday month.”

“March 15th,” Travis said.

“You two got married on the Ides of March?” Joan’s husband seemed to find that very amusing.

Kristin decided that she was better at lying on the fly than Travis was going by how nervous he looked.

“Where did y’all say you were from again?” Joan asked. She was harmless, one of those open, friendly types that never realized that most people were keeping secrets.

“Austin,” Kristin lied.

“Storm,” Travis didn’t.

“We used to live in Austin, now we live in Storm,” Kristin corrected.

“Storm, Texas.” Joan seemed to recognize the name. “Isn’t that the town where that senator is from? What’s his name? The handsome one with all of the sex scandals.”

“Senator Rush,” her husband provided.

Travis grimaced, but the couple didn’t seem to notice.

“Yeah, that’s where he’s from,” Kristin told them. “Our claim to fame.”

They all laughed.

“Well, from what I’ve seen, it seems like an adorable little town,” Joan told her. “We’ll have to exchange numbers, and if we ever drive through, we can all do lunch or something.”

“We’d love that,” Kristin agreed enthusiastically, figuring it could never happen, but what the hell, she was having fun.

That talk at dinner seemed to make Travis a bit paranoid, and they mostly kept to themselves after that.

Kristin didn’t mind. She was having the time of her life. Travis even took her shopping in the small but swanky gift shop and bought her everything that caught her eye.

That was the night she made good use of her new lingerie.

The best part came at the end, though, just before they were about to head home.

They’d just shared a wonderful night and were lingering over a passionate kiss good-bye in the resort’s circular driveway when Travis pulled back and said breathlessly, “I’m going to divorce her, Kristin. For you.”

She couldn’t believe it. He’d finally said the words she’d been longing for. Her heart was pounding hard, her smile radiant as she looked up into his eyes. “You mean it?”

“Yes.”

“When? Are you going to tell her when you get home? Will you move out immediately? You can come stay with me, of course.”

He tugged at his collar, eyes aimed over her head, avoiding direct contact. “I can’t do that. Not right away. I need to be more tactful. I need to proceed carefully…and slowly. Celeste is still in a delicate state.”

Kristin wanted to stomp her foot in frustration but made herself take a deep breath and summon patience. They were
finally
on the same page. She’d console herself with that. Even if it took some time, Travis Salt would be hers and hers alone.

CHAPTER SIX

Dakota Alvarez woke up feeling better than she had in ages. The best she’d felt since her father had left.

She smiled and stretched. He’d come back. Moreover, they’d found out that it had never even been his choice to leave her. That bastard sheriff had
forced
him to, and she just knew her daddy would find a way to get even.

She had faith in him. Daddy would make everyone that had wronged them pay, even if it was a long list.

She was in too good of a mood to focus on the negative. Her daddy was back for good. That was what was important. He was here for Dakota, and her life was starting to feel right again.

Any day now, she’d hear back from Courtney, the owner of Pink. She figured she pretty much already had the job. Any idiot could see that she was perfect for the position. Who better to sell clothes than someone who looked damned good in them?

Dakota got out of bed, noting that it was the earliest she’d done so since she’d been fired from the bank.

This was a new chapter. Daddy was home, and things were finally going to start going her way again.

She showered and dressed.

She could smell bacon cooking, the aroma filling the house. Good. At least her worthless mother was
trying
. Joanne was a screw-up, but even
she
seemed to have gotten the message that she needed to step it up in the wife department. Her mom hadn’t been such a loser while Hector was gone. Maybe she’d put some of that energy into being a decent wife and they’d all be the better for it.

“Where’s Daddy?” Dakota asked her mom as she entered the kitchen. She’d only come out to see him and instead was greeted by her tired-looking mother.

“I’m not sure. He stepped out.”

She studied Joanne with a critical eye. The woman looked awful: no makeup, hair a mess, face swollen, and eyes red.

Just when Dakota had been giving her the benefit of the doubt, thinking her mom was actually trying by make things better, she found her like
this
. “You look awful, Mom,” she said bluntly, annoyed. Her mom always ruined
everything
. “Why don’t you ever try to look decent for Dad? You had no trouble putting yourself together to go to work every day when he was gone. Did you have to let yourself go the instant your husband comes home?”

“I didn’t sleep well,” Joanne mumbled, stirring a large batch of eggs on the stove and not looking at her.

Dakota sneered, more than ready to lay into her again, when her phone rang.

It was Courtney from Pink.

Dakota smiled, mood improved instantly, and strode out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into her bedroom.

She answered with a bright, “Hello.”

“Hello, Dakota,” Courtney’s polite voice responded. “How are you?”

“I’m great,” she said. “Do you have some news for me?”

“I’m afraid so,” Courtney replied. “I just called to let you know that I will not be hiring you at this time.”

“What?” Dakota said sharply into the phone before she could think better of it. But hell, if she wasn’t getting the job, what’d she have to lose anyway? Might as well let the snob on the other end of the line know what she thought. “Why not?

“Thank you for the interest, but I feel at this time that you’re just not the right fit. Have a nice day. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Wait a second! Don’t you hang up on me! What the hell does that mean?
Not the right fit?
”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, but eventually Courtney responded with, “Do you really want to know?”

“I asked, didn’t I?”

“Well, since we’re on the subject, the attitude you’re showing me right now is a part of it. Whether you get a job or not, that’s no way to speak to a potential employer. Very unprofessional.”

“That’s bullshit. You’d already told me that I didn’t have the job.”

“That’s beside the point,” Courtney disagreed coldly. “Though you have proven that I made the right decision, so thank you for that.”

“That’s your whole reason for not hiring me?” she asked, growing more agitated by the second. “A bad attitude?” She’d been counting on that job.

“Well, to be frank, I saw your family’s…altercation in town and I was put off by the way you handled it.”

“The way
I
handled it? What did I do?”

“I was not impressed with how you in particular behaved, the things you were saying…how you were treating your mother, all things considered.”

Dakota was incensed. “Are you kidding me? What does my family have to do with anything? You’re, what, punishing me for being an Alvarez?”

“As I said, it’s become apparent that you aren’t a good fit for us. Good luck.” The bitch had the nerve to just hang up after that.

Dakota stared at her phone for a few beats, rage welling up inside of her. Through no fault of her own, she’d been snubbed for that job. A job that she’d wanted. That she’d
deserved
. And the more she thought about it, the more there was only one person to blame.

Her worthless mother.

She was back in the kitchen before she even realized she’d started walking.

Her loser mom was taking biscuits out of the oven, her back to the room, but as soon as she turned, Dakota let her have it.

“This is all your fault! I just lost my best shot at a job, and it’s because of
you
!”

Joanne just blinked, looking more surprised than put in her place. “What? I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t get the job at Pink, and it’s because you’ve dragged the Alvarez name through the mud! No one wants anything to do with us. You’ve got everyone convinced that there’s something wrong with Daddy! Something wrong with
me
! Always tripping, always messing up, always a victim! Why do you do it? Do you just love the pity? Any attention you can grab with your stupid, clumsy hands?”

“That’s hardly fair—” her mother began.

“No, it’s not fair!” Dakota screamed. “You ruin everything! You’re perfectly fine for months, and the minute Daddy gets back into town, you have to embarrass the whole family by tripping yourself and making it look like it was his fault. Your stunt cost me a job. Why he puts up with you I’ll never know.”

“That’s enough,” Mallory gritted out.

Dakota shot her a scathing look. She hadn’t even heard her come into the room, but it was typical of her sister to defend their mother. Typical and annoying as hell. “You stay out of it. You’d defend Mom no matter what she did.”

Mallory’s cheeks were flushed with temper. “And you’d defend Dad no matter what he does,” she shot back furiously. “Don’t you see what he is?”

Dakota rolled her eyes. “What is that even supposed to mean? Daddy does his best, and everyone’s still out to get him. Because of
her
.”

“I really can’t believe you’re that blind,” Mallory said in disgust.

“You’re just a drama queen, like Mom,” Dakota shot back.

“Girls! Please, stop,” Joanne tried.

“I’ll stop when you quit poisoning everyone against Daddy,” she stated.

“My baby girl has a point.” A new voice entered the fray.

Dakota’s head whipped around at the entrance of Hector. “You will not believe what she did now, Daddy!”

“Oh, please!” Mallory burst out.

“What did your mother do this time, baby girl?” he asked her.

“She cost me a job. A job I
wanted
! Her theatrics have everyone thinking the Alvarez name is tainted.”

“That’s very unfortunate,” he said in a hard voice.

Hector’s eyes were on Joanne, and there was something about the way he was looking at her that even made Dakota wary.

“Joanne, a word,” he told their mother. He paused. “In our bedroom. Now.”

Joanne wrung her hands. “Your breakfast will get cold. You know how you hate it when your breakfast gets cold.”

“Now!” he growled.

Joanne jumped like he’d struck her and scurried off, Hector dogging every step she took.

“Do you even know what you just did?” Mallory asked her, venom in the words.

Dakota glared at her bratty little sister. She made sure Mallory saw her roll her eyes. “Oh, please.”

There was a brief burst of shouting from their parents’ room, punctuated by a loud boom, like someone had punched the wall.

In spite of herself, Dakota flinched.

“You lost your temper with Mom,” Mallory gritted out, “and now he’s going to, but his temper leaves a
mark
.”

Dakota rolled her eyes again. “I don’t have to listen to this. I’m leaving.” She gave her sister her back and started walking away.

“Sure, take off now before you hear something that might puncture that little bubble of denial you live in. At least he tried to hide what he was doing before, so I get how you could convince yourself it wasn’t happening. But now that we’ve all seen how much better Mom does without him here, he can’t even control himself with us around! What are you going to tell yourself now that he’s out in the open with it?” Mallory spat at her retreating back.