by Carly Bloom
“Exactly. So you have nothing to worry about,” Maggie said.
“You don’t know Scott. He’s going to try and force me to sell the ranch. He obviously needs the money for something. Who knows what’s hanging over his head? Scott’s dangerous when he’s desperate.”
“Do you think he’ll try to take Henry? Like blackmail? Sell the ranch, or else?”
That took the wind out of his sails. That’s exactly what he thought Scott would do, but he didn’t like hearing somebody say it out loud.
“What kind of custody do you have?” Maggie asked.
“I have temporary custody. That’s all.”
“Well, what do we do?”
She’d used the word we. God, he could kiss her. He could kiss her because she clearly didn’t want him to think he was in this fight alone, and because she loved Henry. She really did. It was right there in those big brown eyes.
“I’ve got a lawyer,” he said.
Her eyes melted with relief. “Good. Where did you find him?”
“He’s a friend of JD’s.”
“JD is friends with a lawyer?”
Travis tried to keep his eyes on hers, but he couldn’t. He was a horrible liar. He performed all the telltale liar liar pants on fire signs when he did it. Like avoiding eye contact. “Yeah. Just a guy he knows in Austin.”
He glanced back at Maggie. She scowled in thought, trying to figure out who JD knew that she didn’t. “You want just a guy to be your lawyer?”
“JD knows him well,” he said, watching a moth flutter around the cab of the truck. “I trust him.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Man, I really thought I had more time to get all this settled. Scott got out early. Gabriel thinks—”
“Who’s Gabriel?”
“JD’s lawyer friend.” Back to the moth tracking. “He says the courts try really hard to keep kids with their biological parents. And even though Scott’s been in prison, if he can pull off looking like he’s making a good faith attempt at turning his life around…”
“I just saw him. He’s not pulling anything off.”
“I know. But he’s a goddamn sociopath. He can be charming when he wants.”
“Really? I think you’re the charming brother.”
Maggie looked at him almost shyly, and his heart thumped away like a tail on a dog that had been praised by its master. He was a roller coaster of emotions. “I should have jumped on this sooner. But I was reeling from my new responsibilities.” He looked her straight in the eye. “Maggie, I didn’t want to be all Henry had in the world. I held off because I secretly hoped something else would work out.” His voice hushed to a whisper. “I didn’t want him.”
“But you do now, and that’s all that matters,” Maggie said, touching his hand. “It’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it.”
There was that we again, settling over him like a comforting blanket. He brushed her bangs out of her eyes, and then he just fucking went for it. Leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Her fingers floated up to caress his cheek, then entangled in his hair. She parted her lips and moaned softly as he deepened the kiss.
Travis’s heart thudded, threatening to burst out of his rib cage. When Maggie’s tongue brushed up against his, all of his worries disappeared into thin air. Well, maybe they didn’t disappear. But they retreated to a respectable distance.
There was only room for one concern, and that was to kiss the hell out of Maggie Mackey.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Maggie sat in the break room at Petal Pushers, staring at her phone. She and Travis had gone at it like teenagers in his pickup truck yesterday. And Travis wasn’t selling Happy Trails! Even better, he’d told her she was one of the reasons. Henry was the other one, so she was in good company.
She needed to do something about the wolf, though. His last text stared up at her. You’re my moon.
It was the most romantic and sweetest thing a man had ever said to her. Especially since the man was a wolf. But she had to let him go. Travis was real. The wolf was not. The choice was easy.
Hey, wolfie. You there?
The response was immediate.
Right here, Red.
Best to just come out with it.
I can’t play with you anymore. There’s someone else.
She stared at her phone and counted…one, two, three…She’d never broken up with anybody before.
Is it serious?
I’d really like it to be.
Four, five, six…
Here’s to your happily ever after.
Relief washed over her. Also, a bit of sadness. She’d miss her wild wolf, no doubt about it. But mostly, she was looking forward to kissing Travis again. Which would hopefully be sooner rather than later, since he would be dropping Henry off any minute.
Claire breezed in, carrying a tray of paints and paintbrushes for the craft class she was leading this morning. “Did you do it?”
Maggie nodded. “Yep.”
“Good. Because you can’t be two-timing on your cowboy when he just pulled into the parking lot.”
Maggie’s pulse picked up. “He’s here to drop Henry off.”
“He’s leaving a five-year-old in our store?”
“Just for a few hours. It’ll be fine.”
The bell on the door jingled and Pop bounded out of the break room. Soon he came trotting back with Henry in tow. “Hi, Maggie!” Henry said, climbing onto a stool.
“Hi yourself. Where’s your uncle?”
“He’s in the truck lookin’ at himself in the mirror. I got tired of waiting on him.”
Claire laughed. “Aw, Maggie. He wants to be pretty for you.”
“Boys aren’t pretty,” Henry said.
Travis walked into the room, proving Henry wrong. His shirt was pressed and tucked into his Wranglers, and his smile lit up the room. Honey would have referred to him as a long, tall drink of water.
“Thanks for watching him while I go to Austin,” Travis said. “I wasn’t prepared for a teacher workday, and Mrs. Garza has plans until three.”
“No problem. I’m happy to have him hang out at Petal Pushers.” Maggie went to the mini-fridge and grabbed a carton of milk. “Want a cookie, Henry?”
“Did you make them?”
“No.”
“Then yes.”
Travis poked Henry. “Manners.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Maggie laughed and set a store-bought bag of cookies on the counter. Henry was a truth-o-meter. He didn’t get all the subtleties involved in sparing someone’s feelings. Not that her feelings were hurt. Baking was clearly not her strong suit. Now if someone were to criticize her landscaping, that would be another story.
“We’re going to have fun today, Henry. It’s time to decorate for Christmas.”
“It is?”
“Not really,” Maggie said. “But in the retail world we don’t let that stop us.”
Henry stuffed a cookie in his mouth and nodded as if he understood.
“The trees were unloaded early this morning. And we have all the Christmas goodies to set out. I’m talking snowmen, reindeer, You Know Who with the sleigh—”
“Santa!”
It wasn’t usually this easy to make someone happy. It felt good.
“When are we getting a tree, Uncle Travis?”
Travis frowned. “Trees are a fire hazard and they make an awful mess.”
“You’re not serious,” Maggie said.
“We never had one for those very reasons.”
“You probably never had a lot of things. That doesn’t mean Henry doesn’t deserve them.”
Travis rolled his eyes. “It’s all a bunch of clutter, if you ask me.”
Maggie wasn’t exactly a glitter cannon of Christmas herself. In fact, she found a lot of it nauseating. But she was not going to let Travis Blake deny this kid a tree just because he’d never had one and apparently harbored an inner five-year-old who thought he didn’t deserve one.
“We have ormy-men
ts at the house. And lights, too.” Henry toyed with a second cookie but didn’t eat it. “From before,” he added quietly.
Maggie pulled gently on Travis’s beard, so he’d look at her. “This is Henry’s first Christmas with you.” She gave him her very best no way in hell you’re denying this kid a Christmas tree after his goddamn mother died glare. “He needs a tree.”
“Fine. A small one.”
Maggie gave a little yank on the beard. Travis winced. “Or a medium-sized one.”
“Yay!” Henry took an enormous bite out of the cookie and began humming “Jingle Bells.”
Maggie rose up on her toes and planted a kiss on Travis’s cheek. “Thank you.”
“What about you?” Travis asked.
“What about me what?”
Travis lowered his voice. “When are you trimming your tree?”
That sounded filthy, and Maggie’s ears lit up like she wanted to pull Travis’s sleigh tonight. “They’re fire hazards and they make a mess.”
“Are you kidding me?”
She wasn’t, and she grinned to let him know it. “No tree for me. I’m hardly ever home, and anyway, I’m surrounded by them here.”
“Maggie can come to Happy Trails and trim our tree,” Henry announced.
Travis raised an eyebrow at Maggie. “How about it?”
“Sounds like fun,” she said, heart fluttering. She’d never been inside Travis’s house.
“I get to put the star on top. Uncle Travis will have to hold me on his shoulders like in the movies.”
Something about the expression on Travis’s face told Maggie that Henry wasn’t the only little boy who’d imagined having a made-for-TV Christmas. This year they were both going to get one.
“I’d better get out of here. Are you going to be okay with Henry?”
“Of course. And he even gets to do a craft class with Claire. Right, Claire?”
“You bet,” Claire said. “He’ll like that.”
“I’m not painting pots with a bunch of old ladies,” Henry said. “That’s what Uncle Travis says Claire does in her classes.”
“Uncle Travis spouts off a lot, doesn’t he?” Claire said.
“It’s part of my charm,” Travis said with a wink.
“They’re making ornaments today. I think Claire should at least wait until after Thanksgiving, but some folks just can’t help themselves.” Maggie gave Claire the side-eye.
“If I ran the world, it would be Christmas all year long. Maggie’s a Scrooge.” Claire held out a hand to Henry. “Come on, let’s go set up.”
“Okay,” Henry said, grabbing two more cookies before hopping off his stool. “What’s a Scrooge?”
The tapping of Claire’s heels and Henry’s questions receded as Travis cleared his throat. They were alone. And Travis looked like he had something on his mind. If it was the same thing she had on hers, they might need to lock the door.
“Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?”
This was unexpected. And somewhat delightful. “Are you inviting me?”
“Yes.”
What was it she’d said to Claire? You don’t do Thanksgiving with someone unless it’s serious. She swallowed. “I’d love to come.”
“Good,” Travis said. His voice was tinged with relief. It was so sweet! “I should be back by suppertime. You behave yourself now.”
Maggie looked around the room. “Are you talking to me?”
“Is that the best Pacino you got?”
“It’s the only Pacino I got, and I always behave myself.”
“I doubt that, Miss Mackey.” He kissed her on the nose. “I’ll see you later.”
He headed for the door and then stopped. “I’ve been meaning to tell you that package came in.”
“What package?”
Travis waggled his eyebrows. “The long, skinny one. I think we determined it’s about twenty-five inches.”
Maggie’s ears lit up like beacons. “You did not really order that.”
Travis picked up a wooden ruler—MEASURE UP WITH PETAL PUSHERS!—and smacked it against his hand. Maggie jumped and squealed.
“Scare you? Guilty conscience got you thinking about a spanking?”
This was getting more and more Big Bad Wolfish by the minute. Was there an animal lurking behind Travis’s twinkling blue eyes? As she watched, they darkened a shade or two.
“Don’t you need to be somewhere?” she asked.
Travis blinked like someone had just turned on the lights. “Yeah. Wow. I’d better get out of here. Don’t forget about Thursday.”
Like she could forget about Thanksgiving. “Wait! What should I—”
“Anything but brownies,” he called over his shoulder.
* * *
Travis hoped his jeans were clean. And his shoes. And his hands. He’d never been inside a room that was so white. White rug. White furniture. White walls.
Gabriel Castro did not have kids.
Gabriel came back into the room with two cups of coffee. “It’s black. Do you need cream or sugar?”
Travis took one of the mugs with extreme care. If Henry were here, he’d choose now to jump on his back. “Black is fine. Thank you for meeting with me.”
Gabriel sat down and set his mug on the coffee table. “I’m happy to help. Any friend of JD’s is a friend of mine.”
Time to get some unpleasantness out of the way. “Listen, before we start, I need to know how much this will cost.”
“I told you not to worry about that.”
“I have to worry about it.”
“It’s pro bono, brother.”
“You don’t need to—”
“Yes, he does.”
JD strutted out of the bedroom. Shirtless and damp from a shower, he wore nothing but athletic shorts.
“Jesus Christ, JD. I’ve never seen your legs before. Where are a pair of sunglasses when you need them?”
Gabriel grinned. “When I decided to go for a white boy, I went for a white boy. Check out that sexy farmer tan on his arms.”
“I’d have worn a shirt, but I didn’t know you were coming.” JD glared at Gabriel.
“I forgot to mention it.”
JD disappeared—probably to grab a shirt—and Gabriel popped open his laptop. “Has Scott ever paid child support?”
“Are you kidding?”
Gabriel wasn’t smiling.
“No child support. Ever.”
“So, you support the child?”
The child had a fucking name. “His mom used to support Henry. Now I do. Lisa had some life insurance—not much—but it’s in trust. Henry gets it when he’s eighteen. And there’s some social security.”
“Scott has been incarcerated multiple times, correct?”
“Yes.” This was sounding better and better. What judge in his right mind would grant custody to Scott?
“Has he been involved with Henry at all?”
“Not enough to be noteworthy.”
“It’s all noteworthy. And I’ve talked to his parole officer. Scott took a parenting class in prison, and as of this morning, he’s signed up for a series of parenting workshops that start next month.”
“Shit. That was fast.”
“He’s looking for work. Doing all the right things.”
What had seemed black and white was now murky as fuck.
JD came back into the room wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a red face. He glanced at where his hat hung.
“Not in the house, cowboy,” Gabriel said, and JD sat down and crossed his arms, staring straight ahead. Hatless.
Gabriel typed on his laptop, JD scowled, and Travis became more nervous by the minute.
“Scott reports that he’s attempted to see Henry twice since his release. The first time was the day he got out—it was supposedly the first thing he did. And then he tried again yesterday.”
“He did not try—”
“Says he did.”
“I have custody. I don’t have to let anybody see H
enry if I don’t want them to.” He was getting pissed.
“Actually, you have temporary guardianship. You do not have custody.”
Travis tried to quell the rising panic. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Guardianship was granted due to parental incarceration. And that has ended.”
“Early,” Travis said. “It ended early. And he said he wanted to relinquish his rights.”
“Verbally?”
“Yeah. I bet that doesn’t mean shit, does it?”
“That’s right. Verbal doesn’t mean shit.”
Travis rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I should have jumped on it when I had the chance.”
“His crimes were not violent,” Gabriel continued.
“Oh, he’s plenty violent.”
“I can only go by his convictions. And according to those, he’s not violent, and none of his crimes are against children.”
Gabriel typed for a few minutes while Travis and JD fidgeted. Finally, he looked up. “I don’t want to give you a false sense of hope. But my gut says Scott doesn’t want Henry, especially if he verbally agreed to relinquish his rights. He’s fucking with you. I’m going to petition for nonparental custody. That’s our first step. And since he’s looking for a job, I’ll also begin the paperwork to garnish future wages for child support. He’ll hate that.”
“What if it doesn’t work? What if he still goes after Henry to try and force me to sell the ranch?”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “He’ll have to prove to a judge that he can care for Henry better than you can. But we’ll cross that bridge when, and if, we come to it. If you think there’s a chance Scott isn’t going to relinquish his parental rights voluntarily, then we need to go on the offensive and file.”
After a few minutes of idle chatter to wind things down, Travis asked about Thanksgiving plans. “Having Thanksgiving with your folks, JD?”
“No. Not this year.”
Gabriel sighed. “I hate being the reason you’re not with your family.”
“I’d rather be with you.” JD grabbed Gabriel’s hand.
“What about you, Travis?” Gabriel asked. “You got big holiday plans?”
“Believe it or not, I’m having Thanksgiving at Happy Trails. Mrs. Garza and Maggie are coming over.”
“Maggie?”
“Yeah,” Travis answered. “We’re kind of dating, I think.” Although he hadn’t taken her anywhere. He should probably do that.
