More than anything. That was his sole position in life, the man who protected his wife, his children, his husband.
“But we have to keep moving forward,” she said, her voice a tad calmer, her arms coming around his waist to hold on to him. “We have to keep livin’ our lives. You can run this investigation in the background, but you can’t devote all your time to it. The kids can feel the tension. Kate’s asked me numerous times if you’re still lookin’ for that bad woman.”
Some of his anger drained away. “What do you tell her?”
“I tell her, yes, of course you are. I’m honest with her. I tell her that neither of her daddies will stop until that evil woman’s in jail where she belongs.”
Travis felt the emotion bubbling in his chest, the heat in his sinuses. Every time he thought about what Kate went through, he fought to hang on, not to lose it. He hadn’t been there to protect her, hadn’t stopped that bitch from traumatizing his daughter, his entire family.
When Kylie began to pull back, Travis released her, schooled his expression because it would do no good for Kylie to see him at less than his best. Not now.
“Gage is hurt,” she said, meeting his gaze.
“Because I won’t stop. I know.”
“No.” Kylie took his hand, squeezed it. “Because you’re doin’ this solo. You’re not keepin’ him in the loop.”
“To protect him,” he rationalized.
“He doesn’t see it that way. Think about it, Travis. Gage wants to protect you, too, and this is his way of doin’ that. He needs you.” Her eyes implored him. “And he needs you to need him.”
Travis took a deep breath, stepped away from Kylie, and paced the floor.
“Let him help,” she pleaded. “He needs to feel included where you’re concerned, Travis. We both know that.”
He turned to face her. “Where is he now?”
“At home. He’s takin’ the kids to daycare, then he’s bringin’ Kate here. I told my sister I’d help her with a few things in the spa. Then I was gonna take Kate home with me.”
Travis nodded. “All right. I’ll talk to him when he gets here.”
She walked over to him, her soft hand cupping his cheek as she stared up into his face. Travis could feel her pain, her worry. It was etched in her face and he hated that he’d done that. That he was responsible for all of this.
“I love you,” she whispered. “More than life itself, Travis. We all do.”
He continued to stare, his heart squeezing in his chest.
“But you have to let us take care of you, too.”
He knew that. How could he not? They reminded him of it over and over again.
In fact, that was how they reined him in when he…
When he did shit like this.
Two hours later, Travis gave up on waiting for Gage. His husband never showed, instead taking Kate for breakfast. Just the two of them.
And to add insult to injury, Gage didn’t respond when Travis texted him.
It was no less than he deserved.
*
Friday evening, after putting in a long day and getting far too little sleep this past week, Kaden had one more thing to deal with before he could go home and possibly lose himself in a bottle for the first time in … years.
Yeah. That was exactly what he was going to do. So fucking what if he had a hangover tomorrow. Right now, he didn’t really give a shit.
“Where’re we headed?” Keegan asked from the passenger seat, his eyes pinned on him.
“Need to stop by the office, talk to Autumn before we head home,” Kaden explained.
“Fine. But after that, we’re goin’ to the lake.”
Kaden peered over at his brother. “What? Why?”
“Because Bristol agreed to go with us.”
Shocked, Kaden managed to keep half his attention on the road. “She did?”
“Well, to be fair, I kinda made it non-negotiable. Told her we needed some fresh air.”
“And she agreed?”
“To going out in public? No. But I assured her we’d go somewhere secluded and no one would be the wiser.”
Kaden exhaled his disappointment.
“Fine,” he said, shifting his attention back to the task at hand: relaying their official resignation to the boss.
He’d been putting this off, but he knew it was time to make the leap, to put in their notice at the demolition shop and shift to taking over the ranch duties full-time.
Kaden wasn’t exactly sure why he’d been waiting to tell Autumn. Perhaps he’d thought he would have more news to share than merely a resignation. Something along the lines of, hey, not only did we buy a ranch, but we’re also havin’ a baby and gettin’ married. Unfortunately, they hadn’t gotten anywhere in that regard.
Nope. No coming out to anyone yet. Bristol was still insisting they keep things quiet for the time being, and Keegan seemed entirely content with that, though Kaden wasn’t sure why. Probably had to do with the fact they were getting laid multiple times a day. Morning, night, whenever they were with Bristol—always at her house—the three of them were rarely clothed.
And the more encounters they had, the more he noticed Bristol settling into this routine of seduction. She’d gotten good at steering him away from conversation. Almost as good as Keegan. Kaden had caught on to her ploy, and he’d made the decision that they would be having a heart-to-heart in the very near future. Which meant he wanted to have the rest of their shit in order, so they’d have something to present her with.
Yes, something along the lines of marriage and a future together.
Maybe tonight. At the lake. He couldn’t imagine there would be any seduction on Bristol’s part. Not when there was the chance someone might see them. It would be the perfect opportunity to chat openly, on neutral ground.
With a plan for later taking root, Kaden pulled up to the office, a single-story, two-room building that housed a couple of desks, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. Considering it was rarely occupied, it didn’t make sense they’d have much more than that.
He noticed another car in the parking lot, which was little more than a dirt section worn down by years of tires rolling over it.
“Holy shit,” Keegan said as they climbed out. “Nice car.”
Yeah, it was. A 1969 cherry-red Chevy Camaro. Damn nice.
He had no idea who it belonged to, but knowing Keegan, they’d befriend the owner and likely be getting an up-close glimpse beneath the hood.
Because he didn’t know who was on the other side of the door with Autumn, Kaden knocked before opening it then stepping inside when they were summoned by a “Come in.”
“Hey,” Autumn greeted from her spot at her desk.
Sitting in a chair across from her was a pretty black woman whose smile was both bright and genuine but had nothing to do with them. Oh, no, that smile was all for Autumn.
“We can come back,” he told her quickly.
“No. Come in.” Autumn stood, as did her friend. “I’d like you to meet Charlotte Miller. Charlie, meet Kaden and Keegan Walker.”
Kaden offered a hand, smiled.
When she faced him head on, he amended his earlier description. Charlie Miller wasn’t merely pretty. She was strikingly beautiful, but he wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint exactly why if asked. Her shoulder-length black hair was board straight and angled around her long, narrow face. Her brown eyes were so dark it was hard to tell the pupil from the iris. She wore little makeup, but what she wore accentuated her high cheekbones and her long lashes. She was tall, probably just a few inches shy of six feet, but the short-heeled boots had her hitting close to the mark. The clothes she wore seemed tailor-made to fit her trim, athletic body.
“Nice to meet you,” he greeted kindly, noticing the sideways glances Autumn was stealing of Charlie.
“Likewise. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She shook Keegan’s hand. “Both of you.”
“Good, I hope,” Keegan replied.
C
harlie’s smile widened, her dark eyes glittering with mischief. “Mostly.”
“Charlie’s the newest member of Brantley’s task force. She’s a Taylor police officer.”
“Oh, yeah? How’d you find Brantley?” Keegan inquired.
“He found me, actually,” Charlie said easily. “I previously worked on a task force with Sebastian Buchanan. Apparently, I impressed him.”
Kaden didn’t know Sebastian Buchanan—known as Baz to those around there—all that well, but he’d met the guy, seen him around a couple of times. More importantly, he’d heard good things about him from Brantley and Reese.
“Well, welcome to Coyote Ridge,” Kaden said in response.
“Thanks.” Her dark eyes cut over to Autumn. “I’m lookin’ forward to bein’ here.”
There was something in Charlie’s tone that was familiar. It was appreciation, he realized.
“Well, I should get outta your hair,” Charlie said, smiling over at Autumn. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Lookin’ forward to it,” Autumn replied, sounding oddly smitten.
“Nice to meet you both,” Charlie said on the way out the door.
“Likewise,” Keegan called out. “Next time you’re in town, maybe we can get a look under that hood.”
“Keegan,” Autumn said, obviously gearing up to chastise him for coming on to the woman.
“Absolutely.” Charlie peered over at Autumn. “And if I’m lucky, I’ll get to take this one for a spin.”
Without another word, Charlie was out the door.
“You know she’s gay,” Autumn told Keegan when the door closed behind the other woman.
“And?” Keegan looked at Kaden then back to Autumn, his confusion evident. “There somethin’ wrong with a gay woman ownin’ an awesome car?”
Autumn’s eyebrows popped. “Car?”
“Nineteen sixty-nine Camaro?”
Autumn spun around and tugged the blinds down to peer outside. A very impressed “Holy shit” followed.
Keegan laughed. “She thought I was hittin’ on her.”
“Well, in her defense,” Autumn replied, “it’s not a farfetched idea.”
“Guilty.”
“What brings you boys by?” she asked, returning to her chair and motioning to the empty ones across from her.
Kaden sighed as he took a seat. “We’re here to officially give our notice.”
Autumn glanced between them as though waiting for the punch line.
Kaden went on to explain about the ranch, their need to be there full-time so they could get the place functioning how they needed it to in order to support them.
“Figured it was best to let you know sooner rather than later,” he stated.
He could tell she wasn’t exactly thrilled with the news. “How long do I have you for?”
“Tomorrow’s our last day,” Keegan said, deadpan.
Kaden had to smile when Autumn’s eyes rounded like saucers.
“For as long as you need us,” Kaden told her. “We’ve already let Ethan know. He mentioned Beau wants to come back part-time. Figured we’d do the same.” He nodded at Keegan. “We’ll alternate hours so you’ll have one full-time person. At least until you’re at the point you don’t need us anymore.”
He could practically see her brain working, likely turning over images of people who might be a good replacement in her mind.
“Well…” Autumn sat up, pushed her shirt sleeves back and put her elbows on her desk. “I have to ask this.”
Kaden waited.
“Is it somethin’ I did?” Her gaze bounced back and forth between them. “Because I’ll change. I will. I swear to you.”
She was dead serious.
“What?” Kaden stared back at her. “We… No…” He shook his head, tried to come up with a better explanation. Came up with “Uh…” instead.
Keegan laughed.
This time Autumn was the one to grin.
Kaden breathed a sigh of relief when he realized she was fucking with him. “I will get you back,” he promised.
“I look forward to it.” She leaned back again. “And I’m truly happy for you. Both of you. Assuming this is something you can afford to do.”
“Our parents are investing,” Keegan blurted. “Said they wanted to get in on the action, so to speak.”
Kaden held his tongue. He didn’t feel the need to explain that even without their parents’ money, they could hold their own for a while. He had been saving money for a good majority of their lives with this specific end goal in mind.
“This is somethin’ we’ve wanted our whole lives,” Keegan explained. “When the opportunity arose, we had to jump on it.”
“Gotta do what you love,” she said. “Otherwise, life ain’t worth livin’.”
No. No, it certainly wasn’t.
Two hours later, not long after the sun went down, Kaden was behind the wheel again, this time heading for the lake.
When Keegan told him this was the plan, Kaden admitted he was a bit hesitant. It wasn’t their normal outing when they were with a woman. And while he had nothing against the lake, he wasn’t sure it was an appropriate way to spend time with Bristol. She wasn’t simply some woman who was looking to slake her lust with them, so suggesting a romp in the bed of the truck seemed disrespectful.
Turned out, he was wrong to worry. Bristol seemed completely at ease with their outing. At least after they’d left the town proper, where no one could see her riding with them.
Her reaction was simply another in the list of things he hadn’t expected from her.
“Come on, darlin’,” Keegan summoned when Kaden backed the truck up near the water.
“Where’re we goin’?” she asked, turning to look out the back window.
“Nowhere.”
When she turned back around, her eyes met Kaden’s. She smiled and that sexy grin had him forgetting all his good intentions, wanting to be just as wild as Keegan in that moment.
“I’ll grab the blankets,” he told Keegan as the two of them hopped out of the truck.
While Kaden dragged their emergency blanket out from under the back seat and grabbed the two additional ones they’d brought from the house, Keegan lowered the tailgate. Kaden could hear Bristol giggle, figured Keegan had lifted her up and tossed her into the bed of the truck. By the time he joined them, he had some catching up to do. Keegan was standing, while Bristol was seated on the tailgate, her legs curling around Keegan’s hips, their lips locked together, Keegan’s arms wrapped around her, holding her to him.
Yep, they were in over their heads here.
While Keegan and Bristol made out like teenagers, Kaden stepped up into the truck bed, dropped the blanket, then joined the action, moving to sit behind Bristol. The move had Keegan stepping back before hopping up onto the tailgate beside them.
“Do y’all do this often?” Bristol inquired.
“What? Bring women here to make out?” Keegan teased.
“No,” Kaden answered. “We haven’t been to the lake since … probably not since early summer.”
“At the Memorial Day festival?” Bristol giggled.
“Yeah. Actually.” Kaden smiled. He loved to hear her laugh.
Bristol relaxed back against him, her hands resting on his knees.
It was funny but Kaden appreciated moments like this. When nothing was going on, the only thing they had to do was sit there, listening to the frogs and the crickets, watching the moonlight beam down on the glassy surface of the water. His brother was with him, the girl they wanted to spend time with. Not many moments compared to this one, when time seemed to stand still and all their worries remained somewhere behind them.
Bristol shivered, so Kaden wrapped his arms more tightly, letting her absorb his warmth.
“Why’d your family move to El Paso?” she asked, her thumbs brushing over his knees.
“We didn’t move,” Keegan answered. “It’s where we were born.”
“But you
r dad grew up here, right? He’s Curtis’s older brother?”
“Yep,” Kaden responded. “He was in the military—Army—met our mother while he was at Fort Bliss. She grew up in El Paso. They decided to settle down there and raise a family.”
“Do you like it better there?”
“Not better, not worse,” Keegan stated. “Each has its own perks.”
“So what brought you here? To Coyote Ridge?”
“Family,” Kaden told her.
“Our parents brought us down here every year for holidays. Sometimes we found it hard to leave,” Keegan added.
“Since we were teenagers, it’s been the plan,” Kaden said softly. “Buyin’ a ranch here.”
“I’ve never lived anywhere but here.” Bristol sighed. “Never wanted to.”
Kaden understood the feeling. While he wasn’t married to any one small town, there was something about Coyote Ridge. Although he missed some things about home, he wanted to stay here. To raise a family here.
After a few minutes of silence, Keegan hopped down, walked around to the cab of the truck. Kaden heard the soft whir of the window motor as his brother opened the one in the back glass. A few seconds later, music spilled out. “Withdrawals” by Tyler Farr was what was playing.
Keegan returned, only he didn’t sit, he stood in front of Bristol, between both of their legs. When she looked up at him, Kaden watched his brother’s expression, noticed the heat, the desire, but there was something else. Keegan felt what Kaden did. Maybe he had all along and he’d simply been pretending otherwise, protecting himself from heartbreak as he was so good at doing. Regardless, Kaden could see it in the way Keegan’s hand brushed her cheek, his head lowered.
When Keegan kissed her, Kaden realized this was going in a direction he’d hoped it wouldn’t. At least not until they’d had a chance to talk. However, it looked as though his twin wasn’t interested in chatting. Based on her soft moan, neither was Bristol.
Knowing he would be left out if he didn’t join in, Kaden pressed his chest against her back. The soft moan she emitted said she approved, but it was the way she leaned into him, trying to get closer, that had his body hardening, his cock throbbing.
Kaden & Keegan (The Walkers of Coyote Ridge Book 9) Page 29
