The tears came in a downpour, and, clutching a pillow to her stomach, Addie wept.
Chapter 19
“Stop fussing at me,” Travis snapped, annoyed. “I’m fine.”
He glowered at Brady, who glowered back while Colton eyed them both with amusement.
“If looking like the bride of Frankenstein is fine, then I reckon you are,” Brady retorted. “You’re not fit for anything except maybe, maybe, paperwork.”
His face in his mirror that morning showed the scrapes and bruises from his tumble off the sorrel, and he still had a knot on his forehead. While his headache had receded over the past few days, his neck was still terribly stiff and sore. Not liking to leave the ranch work to just the two of them, Travis insisted on riding out to work again on the irrigation system.
“Maybe getting exercise will loosen up my neck muscles,” he said.
“Or make things worse.”
“Ease up, Brady,” Colton interjected, still grinning. “We need the help, and we can give him the easy stuff to do.”
“I still think he should stay home and rest up,” Brady replied, staring at Travis. “We don’t need his help that badly. The lab results came back negative, so with the water clean the EPA boys will pack up and go home.”
“I can’t handle lying around like a sack of grain.” Travis walked away from the argument to go into the barn.
Brady and Colton had already saddled their mounts, but they waited as he tacked up his own. With little to do except ache over the last few days, Travis had thought of little except Addie. I acted the fool last week. I drove her away from me again, and now she’s off to Dallas for that interview.
He knew he didn’t deserve her affection, and he wanted her to succeed. But part of him hoped that she wouldn’t get the job so she’d stay in Honey Creek.
Wondering if Brady was right and he wasn’t fit, Travis mounted with difficulty, and followed them as they hit the trail toward the stock tank. Shooting pains traveled up his back to his skull, yet he grimly ignored it as best he could. He caught glimpses of both Brady and Colton looking over their shoulders at him as though making sure he hadn’t fallen off his gelding.
“Isn’t that beautiful?” Colton asked, reining in at the tank.
Cattle stepped into the soft mud at its edge to drink while keeping a wary eye on the men. Water from the irrigation canal fed it, oozing through the sand that helped purify it. Dismounting, Travis tied his horse in the shade of a pecan tree, and set to work.
Despite being given the easiest tasks as the three of them built berms along the canal’s edges, then lined it with plastic, Travis felt the sun beating down on his sore body. He sweated buckets, but refused to take a break to sit in the shade. By the time they finished in the mid-afternoon, he felt wrung out and exhausted, and longed for a tall glass of iced tea in the air-conditioned house.
“Good job, Travis,” Brady said, riding beside him. “The EPA inspector didn’t have an issue with what we’ve done, and we made the improvements he suggested. We should celebrate.”
“Maybe we should wait until after court with Parnell,” Colton suggested. “That’s this Friday, right?”
“Yeah,” Travis replied. “I’d hate to celebrate the end of one problem, only to not celebrate the end of another.”
“You two are a pair of sticks in the mud, you know that?” Brady grinned. “We can throw that success in with this one.”
“Nooo.” Colton shook his head. “Let’s not jinx it. Sure as we think we’re gonna win it, then we’ll lose.”
“Superstitious schmuck.”
“Hey, Colt’s right,” Travis protested. “Let’s not tempt fate.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
Though tired and in pain, Travis still felt the rumblings of hunger as they untacked and washed the sweat from the horses. He slapped dust from his clothes with his hat as they walked to the house. “Man, I could use a nap,” he commented, knowing to say that was to invite some good-natured ribbing.
“Naps are for babies,” Colton remarked.
“Then I’m in good company.”
As usual, Riley’s nanny brought the mail in and set it on the kitchen table. While Brady sat down and Colton opened the refrigerator for the makings of sandwiches, Travis flicked through the envelopes. “Hey, boys, looks like we got an apology from the EPA.”
“Since when does the federal government ever apologize for hassling its citizens?” Brady asked, putting his hat on the corner of his chair.
“What else would they be sending us? The water’s clean, the inspector happy.”
Travis read the letter. His mouth grew dry. He forgot his pain, his hunger. Feeling his legs grow weak, he sat in the closest chair, rereading the terrible words on the single sheet of paper. In silence, he passed the bad news to Brady, and closed his eyes. Shock, despair, a spot of anger, and a great deal of fear coursed its way through his system. Lord, you can’t let this happen. How can you let this happen?
“No,” Brady whispered, his own shock clear in his voice as Travis rested his face in his hands. “No.”
“What’s wrong?”
Travis heard the rattle as the letter changed hands, and now Colton read the words that repeated themselves in Travis’s mind like a horrible echo. Regret to inform you. Toxic water. Cease and desist all ranch operations within ninety days.
“They can’t do that!” Colton exploded, forcing Travis’s head up and his eyes open. “Our water’s clean and we can prove it. The inspector was pleased. What is going on here?”
Brady’s fist crashed into the table. “Parnell has to be behind this, he has to be.”
“How?” Travis asked, confused, bewildered, too weary to feel the anger his brothers shared. “Sure, he can file a complaint, but how can he force a federal agency to shut us down?”
“I don’t know,” Brady growled, his normally cheerful face tight with suppressed rage. “But I’m going to find out. And when I do, that old boy will get more than a dead skunk in the mail.”
With that, Brady stormed from the table, and slammed his way through the front door. Travis exchanged a long look with Colton.
“What is he going to do?” Travis asked.
“Nothing stupid, I hope,” Colton replied, his own expression still furious, his eyes hot. “Even though I’m tempted to join him.”
Standing, Travis paced the wide kitchen, his back and neck aching fiercely. “Maybe there’s something Addie can do. Force the agency into court. We have both a clean water report, and the inspector’s bill of health. They can’t close us down while we have those, and are fighting.”
“What if that’s not enough?” Colton asked. “That’s the federal government, Travis, and they have a lot of weight behind them.”
Travis saw the fear in Colton’s eyes. “But laws are laws, Colt,” he answered softly, wondering if he was simply blowing a smokescreen against reality. “Not even the feds are above the law.”
“Since they make the laws,” Colton replied tersely, “they sort of are.”
“Then we better start praying, little brother.”
His frantic calls to Addie unanswered, Travis drove toward Honey Creek. He had no idea where Brady had gone, and calls to his cell also went straight to voicemail. Why has everyone gone incommunicado all at the same time? Too upset to nap, no longer hungry, Travis needed to get away from the house. As he had the night he fought with Addie, he simply drove.
Recalling her in his mind, he picked up his cell, and pushed her number again. Once more, he received the message inviting him to leave his name and number.
“Addie, it’s me again,” he said, fighting to keep the desperation out of his voice. “Please call me. Whether you want to see me again or not, we’re in trouble. We need you. I’m sorry about our fight, and getting mad at you. You didn’t deserve that, and I don’t blame you if you go away to Dallas.” Unable to stop himself, Travis barked a harsh laugh. “I may even go with you, if you’ll have me.”
/>
He clicked the phone off, and considered what he’d just said. Can I really leave the ranch and move away to Dallas?
Maybe he could.
Addie was more important than the ranch, he realized. He loved her deeply, and always had. If she chose to take the job with the law firm, then he could go with her. If the EPA lost the battle, Travis could hire hands to help run it. If they lost the ranch –
Travis couldn’t bear to think about that. We can’t lose it, not now. Not after all we have fought and bled and sweated for. His great-grandfather homesteaded the place, his grandfather turned it into a success, his father created an empire. Now it was up to him as the eldest son to make certain their legacy continued.
“But that doesn’t mean I can’t still be part of it, run it from Dallas, and still have Addie,” he muttered to himself.
Feeling slightly better with his decision, Travis passed Honey Creek by. Still, he knew where he needed to go. Leaving the highway, he turned down the blacktop lane that led to the cemetery. Parking his truck in the lot, he stepped out into the blazing heat, and walked up the path to where his parents were buried side by side.
He and his brothers had set a small bench by their graves, and he sat on this, staring at their headstones. Fresh grief welled up in his soul, and he closed his eyes, bowing his head. “Hey, Mom, Dad,” he murmured. “Sorry I haven’t been by to see you lately. Things have been crazy here, you know.”
Naturally, that sounded lame even to himself. He could have come by anytime he was in town. “The ranch is in trouble. Serious trouble. We might lose it. Maybe you could pull a few strings up there. Ask for a little help. I’ll do my own praying, I’ll do everything I can, but if you were to just ask for some divine intervention, we sure could use it.”
Opening his eyes, wiping his tears from his cheeks, Travis looked at the graves of his ancestors. His great-grandparents and one of their other sons were buried nearby, as were his grandparents, and two great-uncles and a great-aunt, along with their spouses. Their offspring were buried in other parts of the country, as they had left West Texas long ago.
“We’re trying hard to keep your legacy,” he murmured. “Any help you can give us would be appreciated.”
The hot dry wind rustled through the grass, through the branches of nearby oak and pecan trees as though in answer. Travis prayed for guidance and help, begging the Lord to help them through this difficult time.
I seek no vengeance, Lord. Show my brothers and me the way to keep the ranch. I ask your blessing on our endeavors, Lord, and we need you to help and guide us. Amen.
Travis took a deep breath. He had a lot of work to do. He had to save the ranch, and he had to save his relationship with the woman he loved.
He only hoped he wasn’t too late.
Chapter 20
During the long drive through the day across Texas, Addie had nothing to do except think. However, all that thinking brought her to no good conclusion except that she needed to leave Honey Creek. Though it would hurt her terribly, she had to make the break from Travis and from the town. A clean one.
There’s no coming back after this. Travis made his choice, so I have to make mine. And hers was to pursue her career in Dallas. Her heart weighed heavily on her as Addie slowed the car upon entering the town limits. People she recognized walked along the sidewalks and drove cars she knew. The sense of coming home really struck her.
“But this isn’t my home,” she muttered. “It never has been. I was a fool to think it could ever be a place for me.”
You can’t go home again, isn’t that what the song says? I think I believe it now.
With no word from Travis, the reality of the romance truly being over sank into Addie like bitter fangs. He thought she planned to desert him again, and, despite the fact that she had told him she didn’t know what to do, he had slammed his way out of her life. “It’s just me now,” she said, turning onto her quiet residential street. “I have to think about my future, not a future with him in it.”
Stopping the Toyota in Callie’s driveway, Addie noticed the grass had been recently mowed. As Callie had no lawn mower, someone else had done it. You don’t often find neighbors helping neighbors in big cities.
Getting out of her car and into the hot sunshine, she saw that Callie wasn’t home from work yet. Plucking her phone from the console, she glanced at it.
The screen was curiously blank.
“Don’t tell me I didn’t turn this thing on this morning.”
Sure enough, she hadn’t. Addie sighed, and pressed the button to turn it on. As it booted up, she lifted the rear hatch to pull her suitcase from it. The phone buzzed and vibrated in her hand, an almost constant ringing that confused her. Looking at the screen, she had six messages and nearly twice that of texts.
All save one were from Travis.
The texts were all of the same variation – Addie, I’m sorry, call me, it’s an emergency. Alarmed, she hit the voicemail button, walking slowly toward the door with her suitcase in her hand. Most of the messages were the same variation as well, except for the last one.
Addie, it’s me again. Please call me. Whether you want to see me again or not, we’re in trouble. We need you. I’m sorry about our fight, and getting mad at you. You didn’t deserve that, and I don’t blame you if you go away to Dallas. I may even go with you, if you’ll have me.
Stunned, Addie went into the cool, dim interior of the house, and set her suitcase on the floor. There was no question she would call him back. She paced restlessly as the cell rang on the other end, feeling nervous, excited and worried all at the same time. No matter that Travis had called because he and his brothers were in trouble – he had called.
“Addie.”
The relief in his voice spoke more eloquently than anything else. “What happened?” she asked, her nervousness overriding all else. Whatever was going on, it was bad.
“Before I go into it,” Travis said, his voice shaking slightly, “I need you to know I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you. You tried to talk to me, and I wouldn’t listen.”
Addie rubbed her forehead where she felt a headache coming on. Why did he have to say that now? Now, when I accepted the job in Dallas, and am planning a clean break from this place? Why now?
“Yeah, thanks,” she replied slowly. “I got the job.”
The silence stretched out agonizingly between them. “Congratulations,” he said, his tone a bit dull. “You deserve it.”
She recalled in a fleeting instant his words of coming with her to Dallas. He can’t possibly mean that. “Thanks. What’s going on?”
“We got a letter from the EPA,” Travis continued, his voice stronger. “They’re threatening to shut down the ranch.”
Stunned, Addie stared blankly into space. “No,” she finally whispered. “They can’t do that, the water is clean, the inspector gave your place a good rating. They can’t just ignore that.”
“It seems they are,” Travis replied, his tone grim. “Brady found out that Parnell’s son works there. At the regional office in Austin. It appears he’s behind this, pulling federal strings, and issuing reports that contradict what we have.”
Sudden fury gripped Addie. “Then I’ll have him in court,” she snapped. “I’ll have him tied into knots in front of a judge and jury until he either backs off or perjures himself. And I am hoping for the latter so I can send him to jail.”
Travis laughed. “That’s the Addie I know and love. This letter says we have ninety days. I had hoped we could keep you on our side.”
“Of course I’m on your side. Where else would I be?”
Already mentally planning her suit, how she would word the case, determined to start that night, Addie barely registered what Travis had said. Another thought, a wild memory, struck her like a sharp blow to her head, and she forced herself to sit down in a chair. “What did you say?”
“I said I love you. And if it means leaving Honey Creek to keep you in my life,
then I’ll go to Dallas with you. That is, if you still love me, and want me in yours.”
Addie closed her eyes, unable to believe what she had just heard. “Oh, Travis,” she half moaned. “You’d hate it in Dallas, you’d hate giving up the ranch. If I asked you to do that, you’d hate me, too.”
“All I know is that I can’t live without you. We might lose the ranch, anyway, and if we did, where else would I go except with you?”
“You are not going to lose it,” she growled. “Parnell may have his sicko kid doing his dirty work, but I have an ace in the hole.”
“You do?”
“I also have a relative who works for the EPA. The one in Washington, D.C.”
Bewilderment filled Travis’s voice. “Who would that be?”
“My father.”
In declaring her father to be her ace, Addie discovered that calling him was harder than she thought it would be. When Callie returned home with Gus, Addie had found his phone number through an Internet search. She looked at Callie as her sister put Gus in his kitchen bassinet, chewing her lip and searching herself for courage.
“Did you get the job?” Callie had asked as she entered the kitchen.
Addie didn’t answer directly. “I have to call Dad.”
Callie glanced at her sharply as she set Gus down. “Whatever for?”
“As you know, he’s an attorney for the EPA,” Addie replied. “Parnell has pulled a dirty stunt, and I think I’ll be needing his help if the Hamiltons are to keep their ranch.”
Sitting across from her at the table, Callie finally nodded. “It’s for a good cause.”
Addie plugged the number into her phone, and took a deep breath. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck.”
If she was nervous when talking to Travis, Addie’s nerves hummed like live wires as she listened to the ringing more than halfway across the country. When a man’s voice said, “Hello?” she almost hung up.
Cowboy Billionaire's Second Chance Page 13
