Texas Tango: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 2 (33 page)

Caroline felt heat flush her neck and cheeks. “Great,” she said. No, no, no is what she meant.

As she made her way to the front, she stopped to hug KC. “Meet me in the bathroom. Now,” she whispered in her ear.

KC nodded.

Once the four women reached the head table and took their seats, Caroline saw KC rise and leave the room. She counted to fifty then leaned over. “Gotta run to the restroom. Be right back. Don’t hold lunch. Start without me.”

Jackie nodded. “Okay.”

Caroline hurried from the room and headed toward the ladies’ lounge. The door to the housekeeper’s closet between the ladies’ lounge and the men’s lounge was ajar, which was odd. She thought about shutting it as she passed, but she didn’t really have much time. She had to get back. Rushing past the closet, she blew into the lounge.

“We alone?” she asked looking around.

KC nodded. “Yes.”

Caroline twisted the lock and sagged against the door. “Give me some advice. This is out of control. You’re the only one I can talk to. Travis just smiles and says don’t worry, but I do.”

KC took a seat on a stool in front of the mirror. “I told you your fake-marriage idea was crazy.”

Caroline joined her on an adjacent stool. “Except it worked. My grandmother was so happy when she died.” She dropped her head into her hands. “What am I going to do? I can’t go back into that room and tell all those women Travis and I aren’t married. It’d embarrass his whole family. I couldn’t do that to him or them.”

KC laid a hand on Caroline’s shoulder. “So stay married. Travis doesn’t seem to be fighting the idea too hard.”

“I can’t,” Caroline said, her voice echoing against the marble counter.

“Why not?”

“Travis doesn’t love me.”

“Ah,” KC said. “But you’ve fallen in love with him.”

Caroline sat up and nodded. Publicly acknowledging her feelings for Travis sent heat rushing up her neck to her face.

“So how do you know his feelings aren’t the same as yours?”

“He would have told me. He’s always talking about what good friends we are, and things like that. If he felt more, he would have said.”

“And of course you’ve told him how you feel.”

“I can’t. If I do and he doesn’t feel the same, it’ll put him in a horrible situation.”

“But what if he does feel the same?”

“He doesn’t.” Caroline sighed. “No, he’s being a good friend to me right now.”

“Taking Singing Springs Ranch as part of the deal is a great way to show how good a friend he is.”

“I gave him that ranch. He didn’t take it.”

“Whatever. Look, as your lawyer, you’ve not done anything illegal that I’m aware of. As your friend, I think you’re a fool for not telling him that you’re in love with him.”

“I can’t.”

KC smiled. “If you could see yourself when you look at him, you’d realize it’s written all over your face.”

“Oh, God. Do you think Travis knows?”

KC shrugged. “Doubtful. Men can be so clueless when it comes to nonverbal cues. For today, open the presents. Coo over each gift. Make sure the giver’s name is well documented. Don’t take the tags off the gifts. When you leave, I’ll return everything for you.”

Caroline hugged her. “Thank you.”

“I still say you’re a fool. Tell Travis tonight. You might be surprised at his response.”

“Yeah, and I might wreck everything. No, I’ll stick to the agreement. Remember to process all the title-transfer paperwork for Singing Springs.”

“A million-dollar ranch in exchange for marrying you. Hell of a deal.”

“It was a good deal for both of us.”

There was a knock at the door. “Hello?”

The two women exchanged looks.

“I’d better get back,” Caroline said.

They stood and Caroline unlocked the door. Elsie Belle Lambert stood there.

“Is this a private lounge now?” she asked in a huff.

“Just leaving,” KC said. “All yours.”

They exited and the door closed between them and Elsie Belle.

“Think she heard anything?” Caroline asked.

“No. That door is as thick as your head. Nothing gets through it.”

“Ha. Ha.”

Caroline had never spent much time thinking about what hell on earth might be like. However, by three p.m., an afternoon bridal shower dedicated to naughty lingerie had made its way to the top of the list. If she saw another pair of thong panties, she thought she might go screaming from the room. But her Southern manners won out. Each gift was opened, cooed over and the giver’s name noted along with a detailed description of each item. She wanted to make sure to get Lydia’s gift of edible panties back to her.

After the presents were loaded into Travis’s car, the other women wandered off to their vehicles. As Caroline was getting into the driver’s seat, Elsie Belle walked up.

“That was a nice shower,” she said, her Southern accent barely disguising her true feelings.

“Yes, it was,” Caroline said. “I admit I was a little surprised to see you here.”

Elsie Belle straightened from where she’d been leaning on the car parked in the next slot. “I know your little secret. Either you tell everybody or I will.”

Caroline shoved the key into the ignition. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” A combination of fear and anger made her vision blur. The sudden rush of adrenaline made her a tad nauseous.

As she began to shut the door, Elsie Belle grabbed it. “I’ll ruin you,” she said. “I’ll tell the entire town about your so-called marriage. You’ll be a laughing stock.”

“So if you think you know some big secret, why don’t you tell everyone?”

“I don’t want to do that to Travis. He’s a good man, better than someone like you deserves. I swear. Either you tell his family what you’ve done or I will.” Her eyes glimmered with glee. “Jackie Montgomery will hate you. The entire Montgomery clan will never forgive you for what you’ve done to Travis.”

“Let me guess. You think you’d be a better wife for him?”

“You don’t understand,” she said. “You’re just passing through. Travis and I have deep roots here. We belong. You don’t. So, yes, I’d be a better wife to him than you ever would.”

Caroline shook her head. “Go home, Elsie Belle.” She jerked the door from the offending woman’s hold and slammed it shut.

“Remember what I said,” Elsie Belle yelled through the closed window. “You need to do the right thing.”

She steered Travis’s car back to Halo M Ranch with shaking hands. Fear about what Elsie Belle knew—or thought she knew—had caustic acid eating the lining of her stomach. She felt her house of cards tilting. Did Elsie Belle have the gust of air necessary to send the card structure flying?

She wasn’t sure what, if anything, to tell Travis about the conversation. She knew she should tell him, but with the ongoing ranch rodeo and all the other demands on him right now, she couldn’t dump one more problem on his plate. She walked into a deathly quiet ranch house. Travis was at the breakfast bar. At his elbow sat an open bottle of cheap whiskey with about one-third of it gone. Her heart sank at the sight. Ten years of sobriety gone in a flash. She jerked up the bottle, carried it to the sink and began to pour it down the drain. Abruptly, she stopped.

“No,” she said and moved back to where Travis sat. “I don’t have the right to tell you what you can and can’t do. I’m not really your wife. You’re your own man.” She sat the bottle back on the counter.

The damn man smiled, a sad smile, a tired smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Not mine. In fact, I’m not even tempted to taste it. I’ve been in that hole and I’m not going back.”

“So whose?”

“It’s Noah’s.” He carried the bottle to the sink and finished pouring the amber liquid down the drain.

His words were like a dagger to her heart. “Oh, Travis. No. Are you sure?”

After tossing the empty container in the trash, he retook his seat. “I’m sorry, darlin’, but I’m sure. He got it off one of the new cowboys from Riggs & Riggs. Found him sitting with the team around a campfire. From what I understand, they traded it to him for some help around their site.”

“I hope you kicked that team off your land immediately.”

He shook his head. “Can’t afford to. They buy a lot of their cutting horses from me.”

She stepped behind him and began to massage the rock-hard muscles in his shoulders. “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. I haven’t been fair. My family hasn’t been fair to you. I’m afraid we’ve dumped a lot on you.”

His hands covered hers. “It’s nobody’s fault. Noah’s a little lost right now. Your grandmother did everything she could, but teenage boys need a firm hand.” He squeezed her fingers. “I’m happy to be that firm hand, that male role model for your brother. He needs stability right now. He needs to know he’s wanted here.”

“You’re thinking he’s pushing boundaries to see what we’ll do?”

“He’s pushing boundaries all right, but we all did at that age.” Their fingers laced. “He has a home here for as long as he wants it. I like having him here.”

Before she could respond, her cell rang. The readout showed the call to be from her medical-placement agency.

“I’m sorry. I have to take this.” She clicked the answer button. “Dr. Graham.”

“Dr. Graham. This is Jeffery Cupps. How are you?”

Dr. Jeffery Cupps was the owner of Cupps Medical Services. As far as she could remember, she’d never spoken with him, only his assistants.

“Hello, Dr. Cupps. I’m fine. What can I do for you?”

“This is highly unusual, but we need you to take a six-week assignment in Key West. Your contract with Whispering Springs Medical Clinic is almost over, so I’m sure you’ve been taking the usual steps to disengage from there.”

Ha! If only…

“The physician we had scheduled for Key West had a serious accident yesterday and will be laid up for some time. You are the only doctor we currently have on retainer who can fulfill the requirements of that contract.”

“But I already have another contract after Whispering Springs.”

“You’ll be done before that contract starts in January. In fact, you’ll even have time for a little vacation before January. We’ll pay you double your usual rate and buy out the remainder of your contract at Whispering Springs.”

“When would you need me?”

“Immediately. Dr. Buggs was already in Key West. He was riding his bike when he was hit by a speeding truck.”

“How horrible.”

“No kidding. We haven’t anyone else with adequate emergency-department experience to take his place.”

“I meant the accident.”

“Oh, yes. That was awful. Anyway, I would need you to fly to Key West on Saturday. Arrangements have already been made for housing and transportation for the six weeks you’d be there. Can I count on you?”

“That’s day after tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that, but this is an unusual situation. Is this going to be a problem?”

She glanced at Travis who watched her with a puzzled expression. “What about Whispering Springs Medical Clinic?”

“I’ll telephone Dr. Henson immediately. Like I said, you were almost out the door there. I’m sure the clinic won’t mind the money they will get from the contract buyout.”

She picked at a ragged cuticle as she thought about telling Lydia that she was leaving early. Maybe this was for the best, exactly the sign she’d been praying for. It was becoming more and more difficult to not tell Travis how she felt about him. As KC had warned her, she had a tendency to wear her feelings on her face. She needed to put a few hundred miles between them.

“I need to think about this. Can I call you back?”

Dr. Cupps hesitated. “Well, okay, but I need an answer tonight.”

Caroline set her phone on the counter.

“What?” Travis asked.

“That was Dr. Cupps. He needs me to take an emergency assignment in Key West. The contracted physician had a bad accident and is in the hospital.”

“Can’t someone else do it?”

She shrugged. “Right now I’m the only other physician who can take over.”

“So this would be in place of going to Montana in January?”

“No. This assignment would start immediately.”

“Like how immediately?”

“I’d have to leave on Saturday.”

Travis froze in place for a minute. “Day after tomorrow?”

She nodded.

“You’re leaving then?”

Tell me not to go. Tell me you love me. Ask me to stay and I’ll stay.
“I think so. What do you think?” She held her breath, willing him to say what she needed to hear. A sigh. A look of despair. Anything to give her a reason to stay.

“Well, seeing as how we aren’t really married, I can’t see that I have anything to say about the matter. You need to do what you need to do.”

“So you think I should go?”
Say no.