Whispers of Moonlight (37 page)

Her anger didn't last. She remembered his question from the night before. It had been a long time. What had she expected him to do? She had certainly gone and made a life for herself with little or no thought of her husband. Her
husband.
Somehow it was hard to take in. She had lived so long doing as she pleased, that the idea of having a husband was now a little hard to comprehend.

"Did you change your mind?"

Travis' voice so startled Rebecca that she spun in surprise, her hand going to her chest. She stared at him, and he repeated the question.

"Changed my mind about what?"

"About moving in here. I can take my things back down the hall."

Rebecca shook her head and turned away from him. "I was just looking around."

Travis studied her profile. It was so hard to guess what she might be thinking. Her face was often a mask of cold composure.

"Did you hurt your eyes, Rebecca?"

She finally turned to him, her brows drawn in puzzlement.

"I mean, you didn't wear glasses before, did you?"

Rebecca's fingers went to the frame. Most of the time she forgot she had them on. Now she felt a fool.

"I just feel more comfortable with them on," she told him stiffly.

"Good," Travis told her sincerely. "I have a friend who fell and lost her sight a few years ago. I'm just thankful you didn't hurt yourself."

Rebecca wanted to run. She wanted to dash from the room and run as far and as fast as she could from this kind man.
Don't you understand, Travis,
I don't want you. I don't want your care, and I don't want your kindness.
Rebecca's mind screamed these words, but nothing showed on her face.

"I think I'll check on the boys," she murmured softly, not wanting to be near him any longer.

"Lavena is fixing some breakfast. Come down when you're ready."

Rebecca nodded but didn't answer, and Travis felt he had no choice but to leave her alone.

"Are they coming to eat?"

"I think so," Travis told Lavena while accepting the coffee she offered him. He took a
seat at the kitchen table. "Rebecca was going to check on the boys
_;
so I expect they'll be down in a while."

"How old are they?"

Travis shot her a look. "If you're asking if they're mine, Lavena, you're out of line."

"I wasn't asking any such thing!" she snapped at him in honesty, but still Travis ignored the question.

"Their birthday was Tuesday."

"Tuesday? When you were still traveling?"

"Yes. We didn't have a chance to do anything."

"I'll make a cake."

"I would appreciate that."

They both fell silent, but the silence didn't last. Rebecca and the boys could be heard coming through the house just five minutes later.

Travis walked to the barn and thought about how well breakfast had gone. The boys had been very
wide-eyed and silent as they took everything in, and Travis had enjoyed watching their response. Rebecca was quiet, but that was to be expected.

Normally when he returned from a trip, he was out the door early to meet with Lucky and check on the stock and barn, but this morning he took his time, eating slowly even though he knew it was way past time to get to work.

"I'll be in the barn for a time if you need me," he said to Rebecca, but she had only glanced at him and nodded.

Now Travis had turned and was headed back to the house. He wasn't leaving to ride the range for at least an hour. Why couldn't the boys come with him to the barn? He went back through the kitchen door and entered just in time to hear Garrett yelling in outrage.

"But I
want
to go out there. Why can't I?"

"Me too," Wyatt fussed beside him.

"Not now," Rebecca replied reasonably, but Travis watched Garret's face turn into a thundercloud.

"No, no, no,"
he screamed at his mother, punctuating each shout with a slap at her legs or whatever he could reach.

"We want to! We want to!" Wyatt howled in the background as his brother got further out of control. Garrett kicked at and hit his mother, landing blows now and then, but she only spoke calmly and tried to fend him off.

"Stop that, Garrett." Travis had seen enough. He'd come up behind the little boy and taken his arm, but Garrett lashed out blindly.

"Let me go! I'm going to the barn. Let me go!"

Travis' free hand connected very hard with the seat of Garrett's jeans. The little boy was so stunned that he froze. He stared up at the big man, too shocked to cry or move.

"Do not hit your mother," Travis told him calmly, but his deep voice held an unmistakable note of authority.

As soon as Travis loosened his hold, Garrett dove for his mother, clinging to her leg as if he'd been beaten. Wyatt, who had only watched, now clung to her other leg, both looking with fear at their father.

"I came back in to take you to the barn," Travis spoke to his sons, "but I can see you're not ready."

"We'll be good, we'll be good." Wyatt let go of Rebecca and begged Travis.

Travis shook his head. "I can't have you two throwing tantrums and scaring the horses."

"We won't." This came from Garrett, who had also abandoned his mother's leg.

"Some other time," Travis said and turned to leave. The kitchen was long and narrow, and Travis was already back to the door when Rebecca's furious voice stopped him.

"You had no right."

Travis turned to find she had followed right behind him. He was amazed at the anger he saw in her eyes.

"No right?" Travis questioned her in quiet incredulity.

"No. They're not accustomed to spankings. You scared them. Garrett didn't mean any harm. He was just having a tantrum."

Travis bent until his face was closer, his eyes holding hers. "Don't ask me to stand by while my son attacks my wife, Rebecca, because I won't do it."

There was something in the possessive way he referred to her as his wife that warmed Rebecca, but she pushed the warmth down.

"We didn't ask to be brought here, Travis." She said the first thing that came to mind. "If you don't like the way I do things, maybe the boys and
I should return to Pine Grove."

Travis stood to his full height and looked at her. She hadn't even been there 24 hours, and already he was hearing this.

"Is this what I can expect every time we disagree, Rebecca?"

Feeling stung by the rebuke, her chin went further into the air.

"You clearly need help with those boys," he went on calmly. "I hope your pride won't stand in the way of getting it."

It was true, but Rebecca didn't let her shoulders slump until after he'd gone out the door.

He was doing it again. Rebecca had been fighting it all day, telling herself that Travis was out of line and that she was angry with him, but there he was, back from his day outside, cleaned up for supper, and treating her like a queen.

"Are you warm enough, Rebecca?" he asked as he held her chair at the dining room table and pushed it in.

"Yes, thank you," she managed, but all she could feel was his hand on her shoulder.

"Here, Garrett." Travis took a seat and began to accommodate his wife immediately after he prayed, something else that was new to her. "Please pass these rolls to your mother."

The whole meal continued this way. Rebecca ate her supper but didn't taste it. She had had a speech all planned. She had been ready to tell him that it would never work for them to live together. She had steeled herself for a huge scene, but he'd not come home angry. She had been upset all day, but Travis walked in as if nothing had happened. And the boys were no better. They ran for their father, the man who had scared them just that morning, and nearly climbed all over him in order to ask about seeing the barn and horses, and how many cows he'd roped and branded that day.

Travis hunkered down to their level as if he had all the time in the world, and Rebecca felt so betrayed that she could have wept. It hadn't helped when he'd scooped them up and taken them to his bedroom to talk to him while he washed up for supper. Now at the table, he was so accommodating that she felt herself softening.

It won't work. If I don't stay strong I'm going to end up being everyone's floor mat all over again. I will not live like that again!

"I hope you like chocolate," Lavena announced, breaking into Rebecca's tempestuous thoughts.

"A cake!" Wyatt shouted, jumping up from the table.

"Sit down," Travis ordered calmly just as Rebecca was opening her mouth. She wanted to be angry when her son obeyed without question but knew that Wyatt wouldn't have listened to her anyway.

"How did you know it was our birthday?" Garrett wanted to know.

"Why, your father told me, of course. We can't celebrate a birthday in the back of a wagon!" With that she went on her way, and Travis felt Rebecca's eyes on him.

"You need to thank your father, boys," Rebecca told them, but they only stared at him.

"It's not our birthday, is it, Mama?"

"No. Your birthday was Tuesday, but you wouldn't have a cake if your father hadn't told
Lavena."

"That's a funny name." Wyatt was sidetracked.

"Say thank you to your father," Rebecca repeated, but the boys only cast mutinous looks at her. This had been one of Angel's biggest complaints. "It's common courtesy, Becky," she would say when the boys refused to thank her. Rebecca agreed with the complaint, but the boys were very stubborn about it.

"Actually," Travis spoke up when he saw their faces, "I think we should thank
Lavena. I'll call her back in, and you can thank her. Okay, boys?"

There was complete silence at the table. Rebecca, knowing how bullheaded the boys could be, was silently begging Travis not to make an issue of this, but she could see that he expected better.

"Well." His voice was still calm. "Either way, I'm going to call Lavena back in. You can thank her, or she can take the cake back into the kitchen. Little boys who can't be thankful when they're given something do not deserve to have it."

Travis watched the boys exchange a glance and look back at him.

"Lavena," he raised his voice just enough. "Will you please come back for a moment?"