Travis (11 page)

♀

Kylie
was fresh out of the bath when there was a knock on her front door. She quickly
glanced down, knowing the plush white robe probably wasn’t the most presentable
outfit to answer the door in, but she couldn’t figure who might possibly have
come over now. She’d already had her fill of unexpected visitors when Travis
showed up, which meant she wasn’t likely to see him again today.

Then
again, maybe Gage…

Wow,
she’d become quite the… Nope, not going there. Kylie laughed without mirth. A
thin veil of shame suddenly came over her as she realized her thoughts were
currently shifting between one man and another.

Shunning
the thought, she knew there was only one way to find out. Padding across the
house barefoot, Kylie pulled her robe tighter around herself and tightened the belt
before peering through the glass in the front door from across the room. Who
she saw looking back at her had Kylie running, no longer worried whether her outfit
was appropriate or not.

“Kylie!”
The squeal that greeted her sounded so much like it had when they’d been little.

Kylie
braced herself as her sister threw her arms around her, hugging her tight to
her.

“Oh,
my God, Jess. What are you doing here?” Kylie asked, taking a step back when
Jessie released her from the bear hug.

“You
were expecting me, silly,” Jessie grinned, running back to the porch and
grabbing her suitcase before wheeling it inside.

When
Kylie went to shut the door behind her sister, Jessie stopped her short. “Wait,
I’ve got more.”

Kylie
smiled. Of course she did.

“Let
me get dressed, and I’ll help you,” she offered, turning toward her bedroom.

“Definitely
get some clothes on, but I’ve got this.” Jessie grinned. “Although you could
find something cute and take me out for a drink. I need one.”

Well,
that made two of them, Kylie thought as she headed to her bedroom. Her sister
was there. And quite frankly, she couldn’t have had better timing.

It
didn’t take long for Kylie to scan through the items in her closet. She pulled
out a sheer, white, sleeveless blouse and a bandeau top to go beneath. Black
denim shorts from her dresser completed the ensemble and Kylie hurried to pull
them on. Her hair was piled on top of her head, so she removed the clip,
letting the long, wavy strands fall down her back.

“What?
No makeup?” Jessie asked as she waltzed into the bathroom behind Kylie. “Not
that you need any.”

Kylie
frowned. She didn’t usually wear makeup. In her line of work, with a uniform of
ratty t-shirts and worn jeans or shorts, she generally opted for pulling her
hair back in a ponytail. Simple. Easy. Nothing a little sweat would damage.

“Mascara
and gloss,” Jessie said with excitement. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Kylie
stared at the woman in the mirror as she waited for Jessie to retrieve what was
probably an oversized travel case with more makeup than the Macy’s cosmetics
counter. Not that Jessie needed it either, but the woman was usually all dolled
up. Even now, after three hours on the road, she looked like she just stepped
off of the cover of a magazine.

“Here,”
Jessie said when she came back, thrusting a small cosmetics bag toward her.
“What? That’s just the one I carry in my purse.”

Of
course it was.

Kylie
didn’t argue. She retrieved the items she needed and proceeded to doctor her
face. To her surprise, the mascara made her eyes pop, and the sheer gloss gave
a pretty shine to her otherwise boring lips. Not bad, if she did say so
herself.

“So
where are you taking me?” Jessie asked as they went out through the garage,
using the keypad bolted to the exterior frame to close the single door. She
didn’t park in the garage, but rather than carry house keys or an oversized purse
which would only contain things she didn’t need, she opted to use a code and go
in through the garage.

“I
was thinking Applebee’s,” Kylie said as she moved around to the driver’s side
of the truck.

“Ummm,
mind if I ask you something?” Jessie asked when they both climbed inside. Kylie
didn’t waste time before starting the engine and cranking up the air
conditioner. The harsh June temperature threatened to melt what little makeup
Kylie did have on.

“What’s
that?” she asked as she peered in her rearview mirror before backing down the
short driveway.

“How
old are you?”

As
Kylie flipped the gearshift into Drive, she peered over at her sister. “What? You
know exactly how old I am.”

“I
mean, Applebee’s?
Seriously
?”

“Well,
there’s not much here, and they’ve got a bar,” Kylie explained as she pulled
down the narrow street lined with large towering oaks.

“Umm,
they’ve also got creepers, Kylie. Take me somewhere fun.”

Kylie
didn’t know anywhere fun. It wasn’t like she did much more than work, rarely
getting out of the house. Her fun was generally limited to the grocery store
once a week to buy milk and creamer for her coffee.

“Hey,
aren’t you working on a house?” Jessie asked after they’d driven for a few
minutes.

Actually
she wasn’t, but Kylie had a good idea where Jessie had heard the news. A couple
of months ago, back when she was getting to know Gage, she’d told their father
about the project. When she’d been giddy with excitement. Before… Well, before
her world came crumbling down around her.

“Show
me,” Jess added before Kylie could respond.

“What?”

“You
heard me. Dad said it was only about an hour away. Take me there. I want to see
what you’re working on.”

“Aren’t
you tired of driving?” Kylie asked by way of an excuse.

She
so didn’t want to take her sister to Coyote Ridge. Not only was she not working
on Gage’s house, but there were other risks with taking her sister to the town
her
husband
lived in. No one, including Jessie, knew Kylie was married.
She doubted they’d understand now if she told them, so she intended to keep her
lips sealed until the divorce was final. Then it would be history and Kylie
wouldn’t be hiding anything.

“Nope,
I’ve actually enjoyed it. Gave me some time to think,” Jessie replied. “Come
on, sis. Take me there.”

Kylie
wasn’t sure how to argue with Jessie at this point. If she told her that she
wasn’t working on the project, she’d have to explain the why of it and she
wasn’t interested in doing that either.

Resigning
herself to the outing, Kylie put her foot on the accelerator. After all,
showing her the house she would’ve been working on had Gage not pulled his
underhanded stunt was the lesser of two evils.

Right?

♂♂

“Damn,
woman. You take all the fun outta playin’ pool, you know that?” Beau chided V
as she once again kicked someone else’s ass at the pool table.

Travis
had given up a couple of hours ago, resigning himself to nursing a beer after
he’d given up on the Scotch. He had to be prepared to drive home which meant no
more hard liquor for him. Although he could’ve easily convinced one of his
brothers to take him home if he absolutely wanted to. Now that they were all there,
at least one of them would’ve obliged him.

In
fact, he could’ve convinced his father as well.

Exactly
why Curtis Walker showed up at Moonshiners was still a mystery. Travis figured
it had something to do with Zane, but he didn’t question the man. His father
had every right to hang out with his sons, have a beer or three and get his ass
handed to him at pool by his future daughter-in-law.

“What
are you sulking over here in the corner for, boy?” Curtis asked as he clapped
Travis on the back, jarring him hard enough that his teeth rattled and he damn
near spilled his beer.

“Not
sulking,” he lied. He was brooding. There was a difference.

“Still
trying to bullshit a bullshitter, huh, boy?” Curtis laughed, a booming sound
that had people turning to look his way.

“It’s
my life’s mission.”

“I’ve
noticed that.” Curtis signaled the waitress to bring another beer as he pulled
up an empty stool and took a seat at the small table Travis was currently
leaning over.

“What’s
going on with you?” his father asked, turning to face him and looking entirely
too serious.

Travis
considered telling his father what was going on, but that thought was fleeting.
The last thing he needed was to have his father giving him advice. He doubted
Curtis would understand what was bothering him, even if he did explain himself.
He also wasn’t interested in putting a shamed look in his father’s eyes.

Nope,
this was his secret to keep, and as far as he was concerned, if Curtis never
learned about Travis’ warped way of thinking, the better off he would be.

“Nothin’,”
Travis answered, peeling back the label on his beer bottle and staring at it
like he’d just found gold.

“Horseshit,”
Curtis said, his voice low and menacing.

Travis
slid his eyes up to his father’s, realizing his father was trying to keep his voice
low enough that no one else could hear. To ensure no one had heard, Travis
peered over his shoulder. His brothers were lined up around the pool table,
watching Brendon play Braydon, the twins giving one another hell as they went
along.

Nope,
no one seemed interested in the conversation he was having with his father.

“How’s
the resort coming along?”

Travis
was surprised his father had opted to forego the confrontation he felt was
coming. Being the oldest, Travis had developed a close relationship with his
father over the years and there’d been a few occasions when Curtis had managed
to pry details out of him that he hadn’t wanted to share. Granted, he was a
little more private about his life at this point, but he knew if Curtis tried
hard enough, he might just get Travis to crack under the pressure.

“It’s
ahead of schedule,” he told his father. “Seems my daily rants are keeping them
on their toes.”

“That’s
my boy,” Curtis said with pride. “Ever come up with something I could do?”

Travis
grinned. His father had been pestering him about giving him a job at the resort
as soon as it opened. Even after he’d been brutally honest about what would be
going on there, Curtis had still been interested. His exact words, “Son, you
think I had seven boys because I winked at your mother?” Travis hadn’t taken
the bait because the last thing he wanted to think about, much less talk about,
was his parents’ sex life. No thanks.

“I’m
sure I’ll come up with something by the time it opens,” he answered. It was the
same answer he’d given him time and time again. He fully intended to give his
father options, but he still didn’t understand how the man would have time to
do anything more than manage the ranch. Sure, they had a full time ranch
foreman and plenty of help to handle the day to day, but Curtis always had
liked keeping his hands in the pot so to speak.

“I’m
sure you will.”

Just
when he was going to change the subject, the front doors opened, and Travis’
heart went from a continuous, even thump to a heart pounding throb.

The
mere sight of Gage Matthews after all this time jump started his heart and made
the palms of his hands itch. He forced himself not to ball them into fists, not
wanting his father to pick up on his sudden change in mood.

Travis
tracked Gage through the bar, pausing while he ordered a beer, doing his best
to avoid the grabby hands of Ellie the waitress as he did. Gage wasn’t nearly
as successful as Travis was however. As it would appear, the two might’ve had a
history together. For some reason, Travis didn’t like the idea of Gage with that
woman. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the idea of Gage with any woman because
he’d had some seriously lewd fantasies about him, Gage, and Kylie together, so
yeah, he had an open mind. Just not with that woman.

When
Gage was on the move again, Travis kept his eyes glued to his well-built frame,
noticing he looked much better than he had the last time he’d seen him. He also
noticed that the man was going out of his way to avoid looking at him.

“Travis,”
Curtis’ deep voice boomed, grabbing his attention and causing him to glance
over at his father.

“What?”

“Well,
if I didn’t know what the source of your problem was before now, I’m pretty
sure I just got my first clue.”

Travis’
eyes went wide, unsure exactly what his father was referring to. He knew he’d
been fixated on Gage from the moment he stepped foot through the door, but
surely he hadn’t done anything to give himself away, had he?

Rather
than lying again, Travis shrugged his shoulders, forcing himself not to turn
around and see where Gage went.

“Boy,
I’ve got one thing to say and then I’ll leave you be.”

Travis
steeled himself for his father’s wrath. If Curtis had any idea that Travis was
lusting after a man, he’d surely be ready to tear him limb for limb.