The Best Bride (22 page)

Austin grinned. “Don't worry. I stay away from the innocents. Unlike you.”

It was true. Austin only spent time with women who understood the rules of his game: no involvement. “Elizabeth's not an innocent.”

“So you
are
involved.”

Travis glared at his friend, then smiled sheepishly. “Okay, I'll admit I'm tempted.”

Austin glanced at his watch. “I've got to get going if I want to make my flight.” He turned to leave, then paused and looked back. The afternoon sun caught him full in the face, highlighting his strong features and boring into his gray eyes. For just a second, some emotion flickered there. Travis wasn't sure, but he thought it might be envy.

“You shouldn't believe it all, buddy,” Austin said. “What people say about you. Sure you had some tough breaks with your dad and all. But it doesn't have to be like that again. You have a choice. Don't screw it up just because you think that's all you know.”

With that he walked over to his car and climbed in. Travis was still staring after him long after he had disappeared down the road. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the game. Austin made it sound so damn easy. As if he'd
wanted
to mess up before, just because it was easier. It wasn't like that. He'd tried with Julie. They'd both tried. It hadn't worked out. Despite Austin's feelings
to the contrary, Travis knew there was too much of his father in him to ever risk anything again.

“We make a sorry group,” he muttered to himself. “Maybe men are just born stupid about women and love.”

He watched Mandy sprint across the field and kick the soccer ball. It bounced off the goalie's shin, over his head and hit the net. There was a moment of stunned silence on the field, then the kids erupted into screams of delight. Mandy caught his eye and grinned victoriously. Travis called out his approval.

The coached strolled past him. “Are you working with her between practices?” he asked.

“A little.”

“It shows. Most parents don't take the time.”

Travis started to remind the man that Mandy wasn't his child. He shrugged. It would take too long to explain. He worked with Mandy because they both enjoyed the time spent together. The fact that it improved her soccer game was just a by-product of the fun. Practicing football with his brothers had been one of the best parts of growing up in his family, he remembered. Not that their father had spent much time with them.

Travis frowned. Earl had been kept pretty busy. Between his job as sheriff of Glenwood, and his extracurricular activities, there hadn't been a lot of spare time leftover for four growing boys.

Without even trying, Travis found himself remembering the past. One day in particular, that day in the hardware store, came back to him. He'd seen his own father pick up a woman and take her with him. He'd heard most of their conversation, had winced at the practiced lines, had been shattered and embarrassed as his father had touched a woman who wasn't his wife. He'd seen the lust in Earl's eyes, watched as his father's big hands, hands too much
like his own, had rested on that woman's back, then slid lower to her backside. He remembered the smiled promise, the way the woman had brushed her breasts against his father's arm. He'd seen her nipples hardening to tiny points through her thin tank top. At fourteen, what he'd seen had disgusted him, but the woman's body had also aroused him. The conflicting feelings had forced him to run away before he confronted his father.

Even now, Travis could feel the burning in his lungs as he'd run farther and faster than he ever had. Away from his father and that woman, away from what was happening to his family, away from his own adolescent desires. He remembered he'd cried that afternoon. Alone on the banks of the stream, hidden from everyone by a screen of bushes, he'd sobbed out his heart, crying for the pain of what he'd lost. Thinking then it had only been for the loss of his father, knowing now those tears had been for the end of his innocence. He'd never told anyone about that afternoon at the hardware store. His mother hadn't asked why he didn't return with the items she'd sent him for. He wondered now if she'd seen the truth in his eyes.

It had been nearly twenty years since that day, but he could still remember every moment. He'd clenched his fists, raising them high toward the heavens, and sworn he would never be like his father. He'd declared that he would never treat a woman like his father treated his mother. He'd sworn to be faithful, no matter what. He'd risked his soul in a pledge of honor to his yet unknown wife. At fourteen he'd assumed that all emotional problems could be solved if a man didn't cheat. With the hindsight of adulthood, he knew it wasn't that simple.

The soccer ball bounced past him, calling him back to the present. He reached over and grabbed it, then threw it back into the fray. The kids were tiring from their practice.
A few wandered past the lines marking the playing field. Mandy was on the other side of the grass, kneeling on a stretch of dirt tying one of her shoelaces. Someone kicked the ball toward her.

Travis saw the bounce of the ball and in that moment, he knew what was going to happen. He started to call out her name, but it was too late. Before she'd even risen to her feet, he was partway across the field. She turned toward the ball, grinned and stepped after it. She hadn't finished tying her laces, though. When she took a step, she caught the loose lace, and tripped. She put out her arms to brace herself for the fall, but her forward momentum was too strong. She hit the dirt, hands and knees first, and went skidding.

The coach was closer and got there first. By the time Travis reached her side, she was crying hard enough to break his heart. The coach bent over to help her.

“No!” she screamed, pushing him away. “Travis! Travis!”

He was down beside her in an instant. “I'm here, honey.” He gathered her close in his arms.

Her small body shook with sobs. He could feel her tears soaking his shirt, but he didn't care. The other children started to gather around, but the coach shooed them away.

“It's okay, Mandy.” He bent over and looked at her knees. Dirt caked both of them and the right one was already bleeding.

“I have a first-aid kit,” the coach said. “Let me get it.”

Mandy looked up at him. Her pretty round face was blotchy and damp. Her long lashes had spiked together and her blue eyes were filled with tears. Her breathing came in gasps, between the sobs.

“I—I h-hurt my h-hand,” she said, as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. He looked at her palms. They were
scraped and bloody, with bits of dirt and small pebbles stuck to the skin.

“Oh, baby. I bet it stings, huh? I'm going to give you a magic hug to help, then we'll get you cleaned up.”

“M-make it really b-big magic, okay?” she said, clinging to him.

As he hugged her for all he was worth, the pressure in his chest grew. Damn, he didn't want anything to hurt this little girl ever. Unfortunately, reality was going to get in the way of that desire. He couldn't control the future, but he could control keeping her a part of his life.

He picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the water fountain. There was a small hose attached to the middle of the pipe. He stood Mandy up and took off her shoes and socks; then he turned on the tap and grabbed the hose.

“This is going to be cold,” he warned, hoping it was cold enough to numb some of the stinging.

She stood bravely as he hosed off her knees. The dirt came out easily. Her hands took a little more work, but he was able to get them clean without having to hurt her more. The coach handed him a towel to dry her off, some antiseptic and a few bandages. By the time Mandy had stopped crying, she was patched up and ready to go home.

He knelt before her on the muddy ground, not caring that he was ruining his uniform trousers. She sniffed, then wiped her eyes.

“I need another hug,” she said, holding out her arms.

He pulled her close. The tears started up again, but he knew they were more from shock than from pain. “It'll be okay,” he whispered. “I promise.”

Her body was slight against his chest. Her little-girl scent—part dirt, part sunshine—made him want to smile. The trust implicit in her embrace twisted in his chest like
a dagger. He was probably ten different kinds of fool, but he couldn't let her go.

He and his brothers had decided long ago that cops made lousy fathers. The hours were long, the interruptions unavoidable. For all his thirty-four years he'd believed that as much as he'd believed in the existence of gravity.

But as Mandy clung to him with her sobs breaking his heart, he knew he couldn't believe it any longer. Not when he remembered his own father. No one had forced his old man to pick up that woman in the hardware store. No crime, or criminal had been the reason he'd come home late every night smelling of sex and booze. Earl Haynes had decided early that his right in life was to have lots of women, his wife and family be damned. He had chosen.

Travis swallowed hard. It had been a decision on his father's part. Not genes, not an unavoidable family curse. Earl had
chosen
his destiny. And he'd used his position as sheriff to hide away from his real responsibilities to his family.

Travis didn't want to risk hope and then have it blow up in his face, but Mandy wasn't leaving him a lot of options. In the past few weeks she'd stolen her way into his heart. He couldn't cut her out now. If it
was
a matter of choice, he could choose a different path from the old man's. After all, Craig was a great father. Travis could be one, too.

Mandy released him and stepped back. She smiled and wiped her face. “That
was
a magic hug,” she said. “I feel better. Can we get ice cream before we pick up Mommy?”

“Sure,” he said. He rose and held out his hand. Mandy slipped her smaller one trustingly in his and started walking toward the car.

He would talk to Elizabeth, he decided. Mandy needed a father and he needed the little girl. He would be there for
her as much as Elizabeth would let him be. He'd made his decision and nothing was going to steer him off course.

* * *

Elizabeth stepped out into the bright sunshine and smiled. She felt wonderful being out of the house and back at work. If she had to be cooped up, then Travis's place was a wonderful home in which to recover, but after almost three weeks, she'd grown tired of staring at the same collection of walls.

She sat on the bottom step to wait for her ride. Late-September sunshine warmed her skin through the light cotton dress she wore. Beside her was a briefcase full of paperwork. Rebecca had teased her about not having to get it all done in one night. Elizabeth didn't mind the extra work. She had a lot of time to make up for. Besides, she liked feeling that she was actually accomplishing something.

A familiar black Bronco turned at the corner and pulled to a stop in front of her. She walked across the sidewalk as Travis leaned over and opened the passenger's door.

“Hi, guys,” she said, slipping into her seat.

“We had ice cream,” Mandy announced.

“Good for you.” Elizabeth snapped her seat belt into place, then half turned to look at Mandy. Her breath caught in her throat. Mandy's face was tear-streaked and there were bandages on her hands and knees. “What happened?”

“I fell down, but Travis gave me a magic hug and now I'm almost all better.” Mandy rubbed her left palm with her fingers. “But it still hurts a little.”

“I'll bet.” Elizabeth glanced at Travis.

He grimaced. “She tripped on her shoelace at practice. Unfortunately, she was outside of the grass playing field and on some dirt. I cleaned her up and patched the worst ones. I think she'll be okay.”

“She looks fine. Thanks for taking such good care of her.”

“No trouble.”

They drew to a stop at a traffic light. He glanced at her. His normally open expression seemed slightly shuttered and cautious.

He faced front again. She took the opportunity to study his strong profile, the straight line of his nose, his trimmed mustache, the firm yet sensual curves of his mouth. How was she supposed to resist this man when even the faint scent of his body was enough to make her weak with longing?

Only a few more days, she told herself. She would already be driving her own car if the clutch wasn't so stiff. She'd tried it that morning, but shifting gears had caused a sharp pain in her side. Her gaze slipped over Travis again. Being chauffeured by him wasn't the worse punishment in the world.

“Would you mind if we went by my rental?” she asked. “The landlord dropped off the key at work. I'd like to take a look at what furniture is there and what I need to buy.”

“Sure.”

There was nothing in his voice to indicate that he was pleased or sorry to take her there. Did he think about her leaving as much as she did? Did he want his house back to himself or would he miss her? It wasn't fair, she told herself. She wanted Travis to miss her terribly, yet at the same time she knew she had no business staying involved in his life. She couldn't do anything but hurt both of them. She wasn't getting involved again. Ever. It was too dangerous. She didn't have the common sense to know when a man was right for her. Even if she did, everything about Travis warned her that he was all wrong. They were both
relationship impaired, neither of them knowing how to make love work. It would be foolish to try.

So why was she thinking about it? She stared out the window and bit back a sigh. She had no answer. She was probably just tired from her first day back at work. Think about something else, she ordered herself.

As they drove through Glenwood, Elizabeth gave him directions to her rental house. The neighborhood wasn't anything like Travis's, she noted, eyeing the homes that hadn't seemed so small the last time she'd been here.