by LeAnn Ashers
Copyright
Travis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author.
Designer: Regina Wamba
Photographer: Wander Aquilar
Editor: Stephanie Marshall Ward at Eats, Shoots, Edits
Formatter: Brenda Wright, Formatting Done Wright
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
I never expected to get pregnant at seventeen and have a daughter at eighteen.
When you are young you have this perfect life in your head, and I thought I had already found the one and would be happy forever. But the guy who had gotten me pregnant was not the man I thought he was.
Adeline came into my life when I needed her most. I was lost and so confused about what to do with my life, but I knew I wanted a fresh start. I wanted my daughter to live in a world different from the one I’d grown up in.
At the age of twenty-one, I was struggling big time to support myself and my daughter. My mother had kicked me out of the house when she found out I was pregnant, and my boyfriend did not want me. He’d felt obligated to help, so he’d rented me a one-bedroom apartment and only paid one month’s rent. That was the first and only time he ever helped me do anything.
I worked three jobs and managed to save enough money to live on for a while after Gabby was born; then I went to school to become a makeup artist. But now, due to the high cost of living in Hawaii, I was struggling more than ever, and I wanted a fresh start somewhere new. That’s when I met Adeline, who gave me the strength to get out and be my own person again. She also gave me hope that I would not be completely alone, so it wasn’t so scary. Who knew doing one person’s makeup would completely change my life?
Bailey
As we get off the plane, Smiley helps us with our stuff. We’re disembarking from a private jet, mind you, which completely blows my mind. I help Gabby walk down the steps. She’s half asleep and has trouble balancing on her little legs. She slept throughout the plane ride, and it took me a while to wake her up. She is a really heavy sleeper.
We walk across the lot to two parked SUVs. A big man—as tall as Smiley—is talking to Smiley and Adeline. They look at me, and the guy turns around. His eyes widen when he sees me; then it’s like he trips on air. He grabs the side of the SUV to keep himself from hitting the ground.
Hmm, that was weird. I look down at my daughter, who is grinning like this is the most common thing in the world. “I guess you’re my ride?” I ask the guy. My face is burning and I know it’s red.
He clears his throat. “Yeah.” He opens the door and I see a car seat strapped into the back seat. “Oh, thank you for the seat!”
He blushes before my very eyes. The most gorgeous man I have ever seen in my life is blushing at my compliment. He shakes his head like he is trying to clear his thoughts and bends down to Gabby’s level. “Can I help you into your seat, doll?” He smiles at her and she returns it. She goes straight to him, and he lifts her into the SUV and buckles her in like a pro. He opens the passenger door for me, which completely shocks me for some reason.
I look back at Gabby, who is still holding the doll Adeline gave her. Sadly, Gabby has not had the privilege of having many people in her life besides me and the babysitter. Her dad sure wasn't in the picture, and my mother doesn’t even admit she ever had a daughter. My mother is all about her public image, and if anyone hinders that, even a little bit, they are pushed away and forgotten.
Instead of being ashamed, my mother should have protected me. The guy who got me pregnant when I was seventeen was thirty-five years old, and I didn’t even know it. I am sickened that he was so much older and, in a way, I feel foolish because I was played by him. He told me whatever I wanted to hear, and he played me like a fiddle.
The driver’s door opens and my driver gets inside. I am hit with his warm and woodsy smell, which is all man and makes him ten times sexier in my eyes. He is a very attractive man. His hair is cut short, and the top is gelled and combed slightly to the side. His body, from what I can see, is a work of art. He is big and muscular, and his brawny arms are tattooed down to his wrists. I clear my throat, and he looks at me and smiles slightly. Oh boy, he is a lady-killer for sure.
“Mommy, can I have a shake?” Gabby is holding her doll and looking around the SUV. I am not sure what to say. I don’t have my own vehicle.
“Sure, sweetheart,” Travis says, surprising me.
“You don’t have to.” I don’t want him to feel obligated to do that.
He shakes his head, smiling. “It’s nothing, the princess is wanting a milkshake and fries?” He winks at her.
She giggles. “Wight.”
I laugh. My daughter is a little angel. She came into my life when I needed her the most; I felt so alone in this world. She gave me something to push me through, and I wanted to better myself—for her. She is my whole world. “What do you say, baby?” I tell her.
“Thank you,” she says in her cute little baby voice.
He laughs. “You are welcome, sweetheart. What does Momma want?” He looks at me from the corner of his eye.
I bite my lip to stop myself from groaning at hearing him call me Momma. I don’t know why, but that got to me a bit. My stomach is twisting. “Hmm.” I press my hand against my face. “I think a double cheeseburger with the works, some fries, and a chocolate shake.” My mouth is watering at the idea; the plane ride was long, and I am in dire need of some greasy, not-good-for-me food.
“A woman after my heart.” He can’t say that to a woman. She might never be the same after that. Hell, I don’t think I will be the same after just being in his presence.
“I can already see that it’s so different here from Hawaii.” I look at the buildings and the people on the streets, waving to us as we pass.
“I bet it was nice to live in Hawaii, though.”
He is right. Hawaii is beautiful, but it was not my home. Home is not a virtual prison cell that brought years of stress and aggravation. “Being so close to the beach was nice.”
He pulls over into a diner parking lot. It looks like it’s straight from the movie Grease, which I have seen so many times. “How cute,” I tell him, and he smiles and gets out of the SUV.
Bless my heart, he is so pretty it should be a crime. Hell, there should at least be a warning label so we can brace ourselves. Most of the guys I have seen surrounding Adeline are out-of-this-world gorgeous. Her man, Smiley, is a silver fox and is a downright sin to look at. One thing is for certain: he is so in love with her. The way he looks at her is something straight out of a book. I hope that someday I will have a smidge of that. What would it be like to be in love with someone and have them love you back?
I know one thing: I will not settle unless I have what Adeline and Smiley have. It would not be fair to myself. I have had a shitty enough time, and
I don’t need another man like my ex.
I do want Gabby to have a father figure in her life, someone to look up to, but I can be both her mother and father. I have done that from the moment she was born.
I had her alone, though the hospital nurses kept me from feeling lonely. My mother did not even call me, and my ex only showed up to sign the birth certificate. Then Gabby came, and I knew I would never be alone again.
I wish my ex hadn’t shown up at all; he only came around to torture me. He would bring food for himself and eat it at my house, when he knew that I hadn’t eaten in two days. Hawaii was not cheap, and Gabby’s needs always came first. I did everything completely alone, and I am damn proud of myself. No matter how hard it got, I was up every single morning and did what I could to provide and care for my daughter.
In the diner parking lot, I open my door and climb out before I get too lost in my thoughts. Travis surprises me again by unbuckling Gabby from her seat and helping her out.
“Fank you.” She smiles at him and grabs my hand.
“Thank you,” I say. “You don’t have to help me. You know that, right?”
He shakes his head. “It’s a habit. There are a lot of kids in the MC, and we want to make it easier on the women when we are around.” He winks as he walks past me. I hold my chest. Oh boy.
“Can I hold his hand?” Gabby asks.
Wait, what? She has never asked to do something like that before. I look at Travis.
“Whatever the princess wants.”
Yeah. They need to grow more of him, so I can have one for myself. Gabby shakes my hand off and grabs his. His hand swallows hers, and it’s so cute. She is so tiny compared to him. I lick my lips. There is nothing sexier than seeing a man being such a sweetheart to a kid.
Travis
Fuck me, I am in so much trouble. The moment I saw her step off the plane and walk toward me, I almost fell on my ass.
Bailey is fucking tiny but out-of-this-world gorgeous. Her dark brown hair flowing all around her. Her big eyes, the way they caught my eye and stared right into my fucking soul. Then I saw she had a daughter. Fuck me, she is the spitting image of her mother. The mother is a sweetheart, and her little girl is already stealing my heart. Is it weird that I know that she is going to be mine? I never knew what my brothers were talking about until I saw her. I just knew.
We sit down and I hand Bailey and Gabby menus.
“I don’t need that, I want some pancakes.” Gabby has her hand up. I laugh because she sounds so grown up.
Bailey blushes. “Don’t be rude, baby.”
“I was not, I was speaking my thoughts.”
I laugh again. “She is right, Momma.” Her face reddens. Oh, yeah. I am going to love every fucking minute of chasing her and capturing all of her. I want to see how far that blush goes. And her daughter is so cute; she is a mini version of her mom.
“I fink I like it here.” Gabby looks out the window at the traffic.
“I am glad, sweet girl.” Bailey smooths down her hair. She is a good mom. I can tell by the way she stares at her daughter like the world begins and ends with her.
The waitress comes over, and we give her our orders.
“Play on your phone?” Gabby asks her mom.
“I am sorry, baby, my phone is dead.”
I reach into my pocket and take out my phone. “Here, you can play with mine.” Her eyes light up and she slips under the table. She peeks at me, and I touch the top of her head so she doesn’t bump it. She climbs into the seat with me and reaches her small hands out for my phone. I click on Netflix Kids. I look at Bailey to make sure she is okay with everything, and she is smiling.
“You just made a best friend for life. You know, she has always been kind of wary of guys, but with you it seems that went completely out the window.” Well, that feels fucking amazing.
Our food arrives a few minutes later. I take Gabby's plate and immediately start cutting up her pancakes for her.
“You don’t have to do that, I can do it,” Bailey says.
I shake my head. “Rest. You had a long trip, and I know you are exhausted.” She really does look tired. The trip from Hawaii was long, and I know she is mentally drained from having to move her life.
“Thank you, Travis.” She smiles and takes a huge bite out of her burger. I love a woman with an appetite, especially one that looks like her.
I help Gabby with her food; she is sitting on her knees so she can reach the table. She is inhaling it. I grab my own burger and eat.
“Ahh! My hands.” Gabby has put her hands in her plate, which is now covered in pancake syrup.
“Gabby.” Bailey laughs and takes a pack of baby wipes from her purse. I take the wipes from her. Gabby giggles when her fingers start sticking together.
“Let me see your hands, angel.” She thrusts them in my direction, still giggling. I clean her hands.
“You are good with kids,” Bailey says.
“My cousin Wilder has a little baby, and we all pitch in to help each other. These little munchkins are the most important things in our lives.”
“All of you guys are like a huge family, aren’t you?”
I nod. “Yes, some of us may not be blood, but we are a family. Family does not mean blood, it’s the people you are close to.”
She smiles. “I love that. That’s the way it should be.”
I don’t know what to say to her, so I nod. Smiley told me she doesn’t have any family. We set up one of our rental houses for Bailey; it’s actually next to mine. Since she is new in town, we thought she would feel better if she’s close to people she knows. That’s why I picked her up today. Gabby settles back in her seat, yawns, and lays her head on my bicep, closing her eyes.
Bailey
Okay, I can’t get over how comfortable Gabby has been around Travis since the moment she met him. This has never happened before.
She has always been wary around men, since the only one she’s known is her father, and he has not been around often. She is usually glued to my hip, but now she is lying against Travis’s arm with her eyes closed, trying to sleep. This is wild. Travis is completely unfazed by it all; it’s so natural to him. I am used to doing everything for her, but he cut up her food and cleaned her hands without thinking.
Travis breaks me out of my thoughts. “I think you are going to like your new place, it’s completely remodeled.”
“Thank you guys for finding me a place. You have made the move so easy.”
He grins at me. “It’s nothing.” He’s shrugging it off, but it is something. Not many people would go out of their way to do something like that.
“I have to find a job. That’s the first thing I must do.”
He puts his burger down. “Oh yeah, we own a salon, and you have a job there if you want it. We were wanting to expand.”
What the heck? Are these people even real? “That would be amazing.” I have to admit a huge part of me wants to turn it down, because I want to do it myself, but to support my daughter I will do whatever it takes. She is asleep, lying against his arm like this is the most natural thing in the world. When the check comes, I reach for it but it’s snatched away from me before I can even touch it. “I can get mine and Gabby’s.” I wiggle my fingers for him to give me the check.
He chuckles. “I got it.”
“You don’t have to do that, I got it. Trust me.” I start to stand and snatch it away from him, but the waitress shows up and he hands her his credit card. Really? I sit back in my seat with my arms across my chest. I am kind of pissed—I am not going to lie. I can take care of myself and my daughter.
“Bailey, I am sorry if I made you mad. Let me do something nice for you. I don’t think you have had too many nice things happen to you.”
Well, he hit the nail right on the head. My throat dries. I have not experienced kindness like this in such a long time. Yeah, it’s just food but that shit means a lot. “Thank you, Travis.” My voice is softer than usual.
&nbs
p; His face softens and he smiles at me. “You’re welcome.” The waitress comes back with the check, and we stand up to leave. Gabby is still asleep. “Want me to carry her out?” Travis asks.
I hesitate before nodding. It will be much easier for him carry her than for me to wake her up. We walk out of the diner. I know I will be back; I love the atmosphere in there.
Gabby is lying against his shoulder, and I’ve got to admit the man has never looked better. Since I’ve had my daughter, seeing a guy with a small child makes my ovaries want to explode. There’s nothing better than a man taking care of a child. You get to see his softer side, something men don’t show a lot of people.
If only men saw that all women were once little girls. I cannot even fathom my daughter meeting a guy like her father and being treated the way I was. It took a long time for me to grow a thick enough skin to ignore everything. Going on no sleep for weeks, my ex showing up and saying I looked like absolute shit and he was thankful that he’d only had only to sleep with me a handful of times. That shit fucks with your head; that’s for sure.
I want my daughter to experience a love that only happens in books. I want to press it into her brain that she will never accept less than the absolute best for herself. I want her to be independent and never, ever have to rely on someone to take care of her. I want her to never know what it’s like to go without eating for a couple days, to live off of Ramen noodles, or to drink chicken broth to fill up her stomach just a bit.
One thing I am fucking happy about is that she has never gone without a single thing she needed; she was never touched by all of this shit. I am proud of that. She is always going to have someone to support her, help her through all of her troubles, and push her to be the best she can be. My life is hers.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” I jolt and look at Travis, who is staring at me.
“Nothing.” I shake my head. There is no way I would tell him all my thoughts. He stares at me for a few beats before opening the back door and setting my baby in her car seat. Her eyes open for a split second before she is out again. I laugh. “She slept on the plane ride over, but I guess she is still tired.” I don’t know what it’s like not to be tired, so I guess this is not fazing me.
