Texas Tango: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 2 (23 page)

“Says he’s her brother.” Webster pointed toward Caroline with his chin. “Said you two got married three weeks ago. I told him he was mistaken, but he demanded that I bring him over here.”

Noah pushed his way into the dining room. “Caroline,” he said, a catch in his voice. “This man said I was lying. Tell him I’m not. Tell him.”

“Noah.” Caroline pressed her hands to her chest in shock. “What are you doing here?”

Noah’s hands fisted. “Tell him,” he insisted. “Tell him you and Travis got married. Tell him I’m not lying.”

Caroline froze. How could she tell her brother that the whole wedding had been a staged scene for their grandmother? How could she tell him that she was the one who was lying? She risked a quick glance around the dining room. Everyone seemed frozen in spot watching the after-dinner show.

“Travis?” his mother said. “What’s going on?”

“Son?” his father asked.

Caroline swallowed, almost choking on the boulder in her throat. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

Travis moved to her side and put his arm around her. “Now, honey. Don’t go taking all the blame. I wanted to keep our marriage a secret for a while too.” He plastered a big smile on his face. “Surprise. Caroline and I got married.”

Chapter Thirteen

Travis pulled her snug against him. He was pretty sure she was getting ready to confess all. He didn’t want her to say another word. When she opened her mouth to speak, he leaned over and kissed her. Her shoulders stiffened. Around them, a stunned silence filled the room.

He looked at his family. “Isn’t anyone going to congratulate us?”

“Of course, honey,” his mother said. “I think we’re all thrilled for both of you. We’re just a little…”

“Surprised?” Travis offered.

“Shocked,” Jason said. “Where are your rings?”

“Well, personally I don’t care where their rings are. I think it’s wonderful,” Olivia said, hurrying around the table. She pulled Caroline from Travis’s arms and embraced her. “You are my favorite sister-in-law.”

“Hey!” Lydia said. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

Olivia looked at her. “You haven’t made an honest man of my brother yet. This one…” She pulled back to look at Caroline. “I am so happy, Caroline.” She pulled Travis into a group embrace. “So happy for both of you. I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”

“Yes,” Jason said with a suspicious glint in his eye. “Why haven’t you mentioned this? Noah—it’s Noah, right?”

Noah nodded.

“Noah says you two got married almost a month ago. Why keep it a secret?”

All the color had drained from Caroline’s face. Her body shook like his old truck with no shocks. Travis feared she was either going to faint or blurt out the truth. They needed to talk…privately. They needed to get their story straight before going public. Her reputation was at stake.

“Noah, we—”

“We haven’t worked out all the logistics,” Travis interrupted her to say. “Like our rings.” He pulled his wedding band from his front pocket and slipped it on. “We just weren’t ready to go public.”

Jason’s gaze flicked from Travis to Caroline and back. “The logistics, like where to live? I mean, Caroline is still living in her house in town, right?”

Travis grabbed the lifeline tossed him by his brother. “Sometimes. We tried her staying at the ranch, but it was such a long drive to town every day. Caroline thought it’d be better if she stayed in town during the week when she’s on-call for the emergency room.”

Jackie Montgomery came over and pulled Caroline into a tight embrace. “I’m so happy. Thank goodness, you two finally got the hint. I mean, when I think of all the times I’ve thrown you together.” She laughed and kissed Caroline’s cheek. “I knew when I met you that you’re exactly what Travis needs. I promise to be the most awesome mother-in-law. I’ll never interfere in your lives or stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Can I have that in writing?” Mitch joked.

“Hush,” his future mother-in-law said. “I’m not making you that promise.”

Caroline laughed and Travis could see her shoulders relaxing as some of her tension let up.

“Not to change the subject,” Travis said, “but what are you doing here, Noah? Do Patrick or Leslie know where you are?”

Noah assumed a defiant pose. “I’m not going back. I hate it there.”

“Not my question,” Travis said, his voice coated with steel. “Do your uncle and aunt know where you are?”

Caroline went to Noah and took his hand. “What happened?”

“I just hate it, Caroline. They’ve moved into Mamie’s house like…like they own the place.”

Caroline understood his loss…of home, of his grandmother, of everything he knew. “That’s what Mamie wanted, Noah,” she told him in a quiet voice. She brushed his long hair off his face. “She wanted you to be able to stay where you’d been. She didn’t want you to have to move.”

“I don’t care,” he said, jerking his hand away from hers. “I hate them. I want to stay here. With you and Travis.”

“Oh, Noah. I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Caroline said. Her house of cards was teetering. Soon it was going to fall and bury both Travis and her. She wasn’t going to let Travis look bad because of her mess. “Travis and I—”

“We’ll talk about it,” Travis interrupted. He looked at his watch. “Cash will be riding soon, and I think Caroline and I have brought enough chaos to tonight’s dinner. Maybe we should take Noah home and contact his uncle and aunt. They must be frantic since—” he glared at Noah, “—I’m sure they don’t have a clue where he is.”

“You don’t have to go,” Olivia said.

Travis hugged his sister then held out his hand to Mitch. “Congratulations, man. She’s too good for you.”

Mitch shrugged good-naturedly. “I know, but let’s keep that between us. Maybe she’ll never figure it out.”

Caroline hugged Travis’s parents. “Thank you for, well, for just being so great. I’m sorry we’ve thrown a kink into tonight’s after-dinner plans to watch Cash ride.”

Jackie kissed her cheek. “Are you kidding?” She grabbed Travis’s arm and pulled him over for a kiss too. “I’m so happy for both of you.” She gave Noah a squinted look. “I don’t know you, son, but if you’re going to be hanging around this family, you’d better learn right now that we don’t like liars, cheats or dishonesty in any fashion. If you’ve run away from home, you’d best get on the phone to let those people know you’re okay.”

Caroline flinched at Jackie’s words. All those words fit Caroline. A liar and a dishonest person. And maybe a cheat, if she counted cheating Olivia and Mitch out of all of the glory for tonight’s announcement. If God had any mercy at all, He’d strike her dead right now. When He didn’t, she decided leaving was the best option.

She and Travis said their goodbyes and headed for their cars. Once the front door had shut, she whirled on Noah.

“You are in so much trouble, mister. You have no idea.”

Noah assumed his I’m-not-scared-of-you posture and sneered at her…until he found himself facing an irate Travis Montgomery.

“Let me tell you something, boy.” His Southern accent became quite pronounced with his anger. “You don’t have to love your sister, or even like her, but you will give her respect. You understand?”

Noah mumbled his answer.

“What’d you say?” Travis growled. “Speak up.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“I’m sir to you. And you’ll address Caroline with yes, ma’am. Got it?’

“Yeah.”

“Excuse me?” Travis barked. “You deaf, son? If you have any hope of staying here, you’d better learn some manners and I mean now. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Noah said through gritted teeth. “I got it.”

“Great.” He turned to Caroline who’d stood watching Travis whip her little brother into shape. “You okay?”

She nodded.

“Can you follow me to my house?”

She nodded again.

“Okay. I’ll take Noah with me if that’s okay with you.”

She nodded a third time.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Caroline blew out a long breath. “Am I going to wake up soon from this nightmare? I mean, this is a bad dream, right?”

Travis chuckled. “At least your sense of humor is intact.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Follow me.”

Caroline dragged herself to her loaner car and got in. Sense of humor? She didn’t have a sense of humor. She was serious. This was the worst nightmare of her life.

She followed Travis’s truck taillights as it rolled down the road about ten miles and turned onto a concrete drive she was well familiar with. She’d hoped to be back at his place soon but not exactly like this. Her legs and arms were shaking…from anger first and fear second.

Sure she’d be leaving Whispering Springs in only four months and would never see these people again, so what everyone thought of her was of minor concern. Of major concern was leaving here with Travis’s reputation intact. He’d stepped up and helped her when she needed it. Somehow she had to figure out how to make sure everyone knew she was the bad person in the marriage farce and Travis was the Good Samaritan.

Bright-red taillights flashed in front of her as Travis stopped in front of his old-fashioned farm house. Every time she’d been here, she’d parked in the garage, never in his circle drive. But each visit she’d taken a moment to appreciate the beauty of his place.

The large staircase that led up to a wrap-around porch supporting aged rockers. Potted green ferns hung from the porch eaves above the white railing. Dormer windows poked through the second-story roofline. This place was too big for one man. To her, it felt like the house cried out for a family.

As she turned her car, her headlights lit up a 1963 white Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud convertible.

“I’m going to kill him” she muttered as she slammed on her brakes. With a loud slam of her driver’s door, she announced her anger. “Noah!” She marched over to where he and Travis stood. “Do not tell me that you drove Mamie’s car down here.” Her breathing was rapid and noisy as she blew hot, angry air toward her fourteen-year-old-unlicensed-driver brother.

Rather than taking his usual defensive stand, Noah slipped a little behind Travis as though he could protect him from his sister’s wrath.

Travis’s gaze whipped from Caroline to Noah cowering behind him. “What did you do?” he asked in a scary, calm voice.

“I saw Aunt Leslie sitting in the Silver Shadow, Caro. It’s not her car. Mamie gave it to you, not them. Leslie had no right. I think she was trying to figure out how to take the Shadow from you.”

Caroline rubbed her hands over her face and tried to get control of her emotions. “So you what? Drove it down here?” She kicked a rock that had found its way onto Travis’s drive. She walked away, kicked a tire on Travis’s truck and marched back. “I don’t know what is going on with you, Noah. You’re fourteen. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’d have gotten in if the cops had stopped you? For all I know, Patrick or Leslie have reported this car stolen. That’s grand theft auto. We’re talking some serious jail time.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “Damn it, Noah. What is going on with you?”

“Yeah, you don’t know what’s going on with me. You don’t even care what’s going on with me,” he shouted. “You just go on with your life and never give me a thought.”

“Okay, you two,” Travis said in a composed voice. “Let’s calm down. For tonight, let’s call Patrick and Leslie and let them know where you and the car are. You can stay here tonight and we can talk about your future in the morning. Does that work for you, Caroline?”

She was grinding her teeth so hard her jaw was starting to ache. Of all the stupid—

“Caroline? You agree?”

She nodded, afraid that she’d begin shouting again if she tried to speak.

“You have clothes in the car?” Travis asked Noah, who responded with a nod. “Okay then, get them and let’s go inside.”

Noah set off for the Rolls like a demon was on his heels.

Caroline’s shoulders sagged. “My God, Travis. Sorry doesn’t begin to cover my feelings.”

He moved over to where she stood and wrapped a comforting arm around her. “He’s scared to death, honey. He thinks he’s all grown up but he’s just a kid. A lost, scared, desperate kid. I know you probably want to strangle him right now—”

“Ya think?”

With the full moon overhead, she could see his smile. “I’m sure Mom wanted to strangle me, or Jason, or Cash or maybe all of us at one time or the other. Let’s take this one step at a time. We’ll call Patrick and Leslie. Let them know he’s okay and put him to bed. I suspect he’s exhausted. Then you and I can talk.”

“Travis. You are an incredible man,” she said. “You don’t deserve all the crap I’ve brought into your life.”

He squeezed her shoulders. “To tell you the truth, life was getting a little boring until you came along. Now, don’t worry. We’ll get this straightened out.”

Noah jogged toward them, the strap of a dark-green backpack flung across his arm. He handed the car keys to Caroline.

“I’m sorry you’re mad at me, Caroline, but I’m not sorry to be here.”