Not His Type (5 page)

“You’ve got your
pain pills?” he asked.  She nodded.  “You need to take a couple if you haven’t
already.  Your leg’s hurting, isn’t it?”

“It’s…not too
bad.”

“Humor me.  When
we get to my house, take some pain pills.  I’ll fix something to eat.”  He
smiled.  “You can hang out with Boo, who’s been missing you.”

“Yeah, he’s a big
baby, isn’t he?”

It was the first
unreserved smile Travis had seen from Brooke Valentine, and he nearly tripped
over his own feet.  The smile transformed her face.  One moment, it was drawn,
worried and unhappy; the next, her face lit up, her eyes twinkling merrily. 
Travis noticed for the first time, how full and lush her lips were, with their
corners curved upward.

“You should
smile more often,” Travis said.  He regretted his words instantly as her smile
faded slightly.  “I just meant you have a nice smile.”

Brooke didn’t
reply.  Travis slowed his steps, matching his pace to Brooke’s measured limp. 
Inside his house, he led her to his bedroom.  At the door, she pulled back,
frowning a little.

“Blow dryer,” he
explained, nodding toward the bathroom.  “You need to dry your hair.”  In the
bathroom, Travis pulled a blow dryer from beneath a cabinet and plugged it in. 
“When you’re done, I’ll be in the kitchen and – whoa!”

Brooke suddenly
slammed up against Travis Cooper’s hard chest.  He steadied her as she laughed
at Boo, who was trying to jump on Brooke and lick her face.  Travis put a
protective arm out as Brooke ordered the huge dog to sit.  Boo obediently sat
at her feet, wiggling all over in his excitement at seeing his mistress. 
Brooke leaned over him, stroking him, kissing him and laughing.

“Oh, so you
do
sit, you big beast!” Travis said from beside Brooke.  She glanced up at him
curiously.  “The past two days have been like living with an untrained
elephant.”

“He didn’t –“

“Oh, no, not
that!” Travis laughed.  “He went outside every time I took him.  No, I just
can’t get him to do anything like sitting or staying.”

“Oh,” Brooke
said, relieved to know her dog hadn’t made any unmentionable messes in her
neighbor’s new house.  She shook a scolding finger at Boo, saying, “You’ve been
a brat, have you?”

As if on cue,
the dog lifted one enormous paw and laid it across his eyes as if he were
embarrassed.  Travis could only stare when the big dog turned and faced away,
pressing his nose into the corner where the bathroom cabinet met the wall. 
After a moment, Boo looked back over his shoulder at Brooke and Travis.

“He wants to
know if you forgive him,” Brooke said, one brow arched.

“That dog is too
smart for his own good,” Travis laughed.  “Or maybe he’s just smarter than I
am!”  He looked sternly at Boo.  “You’re forgiven, but now that I know how well
trained you are, I expect your best behavior!”  He winked at Brooke.  “As I was
saying before your dog tried to knock us into next week, I’ll be in the
kitchen.  Come on in there when you’re done.”

Travis walked
out of the bathroom.  Boo sat patiently at Brooke’s feet as she blew her hair
dry; it only took a few minutes, as it had only been a little damp when Travis
woke her.  She looked at her reflection, grimacing slightly.  She was pale,
with dark circles under her eyes.  Ah, well, she told herself, it wasn’t like
she was anywhere near being in the same league as Travis Cooper when it came to
looks.  Brooke stuck her tongue out at her face in the mirror, then limped from
the bathroom, listening for sounds to guide her to the kitchen.

Brooke paused,
listening.  She heard a voice other than Travis’ coming from down the hall. 
She cocked her head, listening for Travis.

“No, she’s just
staying here tonight,” he said.  “There’s a problem with the electricity at her
house, and it’s too cold for her to stay over there.”

“Well, that’s
creative, even for you, Coop!” the other voice said laughingly.  “What’d you
do, turn the power off at the main breaker?”

“It’s not like
that, Will,” Travis replied shortly.  “In case you’ve forgotten, she was hurt
because of me, indirectly.  I’m just helping her out, making sure she’s okay,
that’s all.”

“Sure,” the
first voice drawled.  “I’ll believe that when I see it!”

“Hey,” another
voice said quietly from behind Brooke.

Brooke spun to
face the man behind her.  He smiled at her, softening his hard face.  He was
tall and slim, with the long, lean muscles that come from hard work, rather
than just working out.  He looked very intimidating, all hard muscles and
frowns, until he gave her that small smile.  Then he spoke again, and his voice
completely belied his appearance.

“You lookin’ for
Travis?” he asked.  Brooke nodded.  “You must be Brooke.  I’m Nick.  Nick
Rodgers.  Come on, kitchen’s this way.”

Nick led the way
to the kitchen where Travis stood at the stove.  Another muscular man sat at
the table; he looked up when Brooke entered.  His eyes moved up and down her
body once, then he glanced at Travis, one brow arched; his expression seemed to
be saying something to Travis, and Brooke didn’t think it was very
complimentary to her.  Travis pulled out a chair at the table.

“Have a seat,
Brooke,” he said.  “I see you’ve met Nick.  And this character is Will Barnes. 
Will, this is my neighbor, Brooke Valentine.  Will is the guy who drove us to
the hospital when you were hurt.”

“Brooke
Valentine,” Will repeated.  He gave her a sly grin.  “Valentine.  Sounds like a
great stripper name!”

Travis choked on
a swallow of root beer, coughing and sputtering, his face turning red.  Nick
pounded him on the back until Travis held up a hand.  His blue eyes darted to
Brooke’s face, noting the blush on her cheeks.  Quickly, he opened the
refrigerator and pulled out a soda for Nick.

“Here, Nick,”
Travis rasped.  He glanced briefly at Brooke again.  “Brooke, can I get you a
drink?”

“Just water,
please,” she said.

“You sure?” he
asked, his voice almost back to normal.  “I’ve got plenty of sodas.”  He jerked
his head toward Nick and Will.  “I keep ‘em in stock for the guys who work for
me.”

“Water’s fine,”
Brooke repeated.  “Really.”

Travis set a
bottle of water in front of Brooke before turning back to the stove.  Brooke
watched him for a minute.

“Can I help with
anything?” she asked.

“Uhhh….”  Travis
pretended to think hard, then pulled a face.  “No.  You’re a guest.”  He
snapped his fingers and pointed at her.  “Did you take any pain pills?”

“Not yet, no.”

“Nick, watch
this for a minute,” Travis said, pointing at the pot on the stove.  He left the
kitchen, then returned a minute later; he shook two medicine bottles. 
“Antibiotics, too.  When did you last take them?”

“I haven’t taken
any of those yet,” she answered.  “We just picked them up on the way home,
remember.”

Travis rolled his
eyes as he shook a capsule out of one plastic bottle, and two tablets out of
the other.  He looked at the directions on the side of the bottle of
antibiotics and frowned.

“Says you’re
supposed to take this with food,” he observed.  He glanced up at her.  “How
about a glass of milk for now?  Chili will be ready soon.”

“Travis, I wish
you’d stop this!” Brooke said suddenly.  She appeared uncomfortable.  “I can
take care of myself!  I’ve been doing it for a long time!”

“And I wish
you’d stop fighting me every step of the way!” Travis growled back at her.  “Is
it so hard for you to let someone help you?”

“Might as well
give in, girl,” Nick said.  He smiled at Brooke again, his warm brown eyes
teasing.  “Our cap’n here is a care-taker.”  At Brooke’s questioning look, he
chuckled.  “Strays, lost souls, injured soldiers, whatever; Travis has to fix
it.”

“I’m no stray,”
Brooke muttered, rising awkwardly; her leg stiffened up every time she sat
still for more than a few minutes.

“Brooke, sit,”
Travis ordered.  She glared at him.  His next words were less harsh.  “I mean,
please stay.  I know you can take care of yourself.  But I’d really like it if
you’d let me help you out a little.”

“And I didn’t
mean you were a stray,” Nick added.  “I just meant Travis is a little bit of a
control freak and he likes to make things right.  I’m sorry if I offended you,
Brooke.”

Brooke nodded
briefly, indicating she’d stay.  Travis tipped the pills in his hand into her
palm and placed a glass of milk in front of her.  He gave her a tight-lipped
smile and Brooke felt bad for her behavior.  It had been a long and difficult
day, and she’d taken it out on Travis, who’d been nothing but kind to her.

Chapter
6

Will Barnes
watched the exchange between his boss and the woman who sat at the kitchen
table.  He gave a mental shake of his head, wondering what was going on with
the two of them.  Brooke Valentine was nothing like the women Travis Cooper
usually dated.  Not that women like Brooke didn’t throw themselves at Coop,
right along with all the gorgeous, sexy babes.  But Travis usually ended up at
the end of the day – or evening or party or whatever – with the hottest chick
in sight.  Brooke Valentine, on the other hand was…well, she wouldn’t be homely
if she were fixed up a little, but she was no beauty queen.  That didn’t even
address the extra weight she carried, although Will had to admit, she had great
boobs under that shapeless tee shirt that was about three sizes too big.

Will puzzled
over Brooke’s attitude.  A woman like her should be drooling by now, having
Travis Cooper’s undivided attention.  Instead, she snapped and growled and
seemed offended by his actions.  So why did it seem like Travis was bending
over backward to be nice to this woman?

At the same time
Will was puzzling things out, Nick Rodgers was idly stirring the pot of chili
on Travis’ stove.  People often looked at Nick, listened to his country drawl
and immediately labeled him; they assumed he was a “dumb hick”.  But Nick’s
quiet didn’t come from a low IQ; it came from a penchant for listening,
including hearing what
wasn’t
said sometimes.

Now, he listened
and observed Travis with Brooke Valentine.  Brooke was certainly a bristly
little thing!  Nick was convinced that fierce independent streak was forged by
a life that had been less than idyllic.  He’d seen Brooke coming and going when
he’d stopped by to talk with Travis during the construction of the house; he’d
noticed a marked difference in her appearance between leaving her house and
returning.  When she left in the mornings, Brooke fairly bounced out her front
door, nearly vibrating with energy and enthusiasm, a small smile on her lips;
but Nick had seen her return in the afternoons, looking tired and considerably
less enthusiastic.  Usually, she was back out the door within minutes, wearing
one uniform or the other, obviously on her way to work at a second job.

Nick hoped
whatever was going on between Travis and Brooke wouldn’t end up with her
getting hurt.  He respected Travis Cooper and loved him like a brother, but Nick
just had a feeling it would be all too easy for a girl like Brooke to be hurt
by a man like Travis.

Will leaned back
in his chair and watched Brooke for a moment.  Then he asked, “So how much of
the surrounding land do you own?”

“Not much,” she
answered.  “It was ten acres.  I sold nine and a half to Travis.  That was the
last of it.”

“There was
more?” Will asked.

“My grandfather
owned about a hundred acres.”

“He sell it?”

Brooke looked
closely at Will for a moment.  The man was certainly persistent; she had to
give him that.  Travis and Nick were at the stove, discussing the merits of
various hot peppers in chili; neither of them were listening to the
conversation between Will and Brooke.

“No,” Brooke
finally answered.  The pain pills were making her sleepy.  “No, he left it to
me and I sold it.”

“Too much
trouble, huh?”  Brooke didn’t answer.  “Wow, nearly a hundred acres and it
looks like it went to a developer, huh?  Must’ve made you a pretty penny, huh?”

“Will,” Nick
said suddenly.  “Stop interrogating the girl.”

Brooke shifted
grateful eyes to Nick.  He smiled and nodded.  Brooke thought it might be nice
to close her eyes for just a moment.  She rested her chin in the palm of one
hand and closed her eyes.

“Brooke.”

Brooke was
dreaming.  She didn’t know where she was, but it was a warm, safe place; it was
a good place.  She wasn’t in a hurry to get to work or school.  She wasn’t
trying to figure out how to juggle bills and keep the creditors happy.  She was
just warm, and safe and comfortable, enjoying the touch of a hand gently
smoothing her hair.

“Brooke.”

A deep voice
repeated her name, pulling her out of the warmth.  Slowly, Brooke’s eyes
opened.  She blinked at the handsome face before her, and her eyes widened. 
Travis Cooper knelt near her, his eyes concerned.

“You okay?” he
asked.