by Emmy Eugene
“What do you want the tradition to be?” she asked. “That’s what’s important.” She curled into his side, glad her clunky boots had been left by the back door.
“A nice meal.” His fingers went up and down on her arm. “One gift per person. Giving compliments. What else?”
“Games?”
“We sometimes play games on Thursdays,” he said. “And us brothers hang out on Sunday evenings.”
“Right.” Millie sat up. “About that…would you be able to sneak away tomorrow? There’s the bell choir concert, and I’ve missed going for the past ten years.”
“No bell choirs in San Antonio?” he whispered as he leaned closer and closer to her. Before she could answer, his lips touched hers, and heat exploded through Millie. Travis kissed her for a good long while, and she was pretty sure he only stopped when they heard an alarm go off in the other room so Rex and Griffin wouldn’t catch them making out.
She felt like he’d dunked her in lava, and she tried to smooth her hair down from where his hands had mussed it up.
“Travis?” Griffin called, and he got to his feet.
“Yep,” he said, extending his hand for Millie to take. “We’re comin’.”
Millie let him pull her to her feet, feeling like her bones had been replaced with gelatin. Wow, that cowboy could kiss.
“The bell choir sounds amazing,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at six?”
“Mm hm,” Millie said, because she wasn’t capable of anything more coherent than that.
Chapter Seventeen
Travis changed his shirt and went downstairs so he wouldn’t try on a different one. It was a blasted bell choir concert, not a Presidential dinner. Millie had seen him covered in dirt, wearing his regular old ranch clothes. The shirt didn’t matter.
“You changed again?” Russ asked from his position at the bar.
“Look,” Travis growled, because he was already late to pick up Millie. “I didn’t press you even once about Janelle. Don’t ask me about the shirt.”
Russ held up his hands in surrender. “All right. Sorry. It’s just that you’ve changed three times now, and you should just be glad Rex and Griffin didn’t come out this afternoon. That’s all.”
“You should be too,” he said. “Rex texted me for a solid forty-five minutes last night about walking in on you and Janelle.”
“He’s got to get himself a girlfriend,” Russ said darkly. “Maybe then he’d leave the rest of us alone.”
“Heaven help that woman,” Travis said, and the two of them laughed. “Sorry to leave you here alone this afternoon.” A slip of sadness did move through Travis that they weren’t doing their weekly brother get-together.
“I’m not going to be here,” Russ said. “Janelle’s making peanut butter bars today.”
“Oh, wow. See if you can bring some home.”
“I’ll be able to,” he said. “Apparently, every December, she and her girls make a treat at least three times a week. They take them to neighbors, to the firm, and now, out here to us.” He grinned like he’d just solved the world’s problems. “So I’ll bring you one.”
“Nice.” Travis swiped his keys from the pegboard by the door. “I’ll see you later then.”
“Yep, later.”
Travis hurried out to his truck, and he may have driven ten over the speed limit to get to Millie’s by six. The bell choir concert didn’t start until seven, but he knew he’d have to go inside and make small talk with her Momma.
Millie had also texted him a lot last night, and Travis wished he’d asked her out instead of letting her go home after a full day’s work on the ranch. He’d learned quickly that she didn’t like spending weekend nights with her mom when she had a “hot cowboy boyfriend.”
Travis didn’t know what was so hot about him, but he knew he’d been exhausted last night. He hadn’t even thought to ask Millie to dinner. He’d paid her, and she’d left. Of course, he’d only been able to take a shower and lay down for fifteen minutes before the texting started.
Rex had been highly amused by Russ’s renewed relationship with Janelle, and he’d seen them kissing yesterday. Travis didn’t care. If Russ wanted to be with Janelle, he could be—and should be. He was glad his brother had worked out whatever had gotten kinked in their relationship, because it was obvious that Russ liked Janelle.
He rang the doorbell at Millie’s and heard the cat inside yowling. For some reason, that made him smile, and so it was that he grinned at her momma when she opened the door.
“Travis Johnson,” she said, just like she had last time he’d seen her. This time, though, Millie was right behind her.
“Ma’am,” he managed to say while Millie squeezed past her mom.
“Momma, we can’t stay.” She brushed a kiss against her cheek. “Betty will be over in ten minutes. I just got off the phone with her.”
“Did you check the stew?” her mother asked.
“Yes,” Millie said, stepping out onto the porch with Travis. It was obvious she was in a hurry to go—and obvious her mother was going to do everything she could to keep her there. “It’s all ready, Momma. Rolls are cut. Your medicines are in the pill box. Do not forget to take them.”
“I won’t.”
“I’ve told Betty to check.”
Her mother’s eyebrows drew down into a frown. “Did you—?”
“Momma, the movie is already in the blu-ray player.” She linked her arm through Travis’s and turned as if she’d walk away mid-sentence. “Let Puddles sit on the couch by you, and you’ll have a great night.”
“Millie—”
“Bye, Momma.” Millie marched down the steps, and with the way she had Travis’s arm laced in hers, he had to go with her or lose a limb. He helped her into the truck and leaned into the doorway, trying not to laugh.
“What was that about?”
“Oh, she’s been on me all day.” Millie patted her hair and finally looked at Travis. “I need to get my own place.”
He nodded, closed the door, and walked around to the driver’s side. “Why don’t you?”
“I need a few more jobs before I can do that,” she said. “Although, I got a call today from the pastor’s wife. She wants to do a big Christmas shindig for everyone who doesn’t have somewhere to go for Christmas.”
“Oh, that’s great,” Travis said, suddenly feeling bad for the amount of money he had in his bank account. Yes, he’d had times where he had to worry about things like paying the rent and putting gas in his truck, but admittedly, not for a while.
“Yeah.” Millie exhaling heavily. “So I booked that. I’m still waiting to hear about the vow renewal up at Chestnut Springs. And I’ve got your party, a birthday party in March, and now the church thing.”
To Travis, it didn’t sound like a whole lot. With only a few things on the calendar, she didn’t seem like she’d be moving out of her momma’s house for a while.
Maybe she could move in with you, he thought, and he had no idea where that idea had come from. Number one, that wouldn’t happen unless they were getting married. Number two, he’d only been dating Millie for nine days. Not even double digits yet.
He shifted in his seat, unsure of what to say. He probably didn’t need to say anything. “Where is this concert?” he asked, only to give his mind something else to think about. Because while Travis had never taken long to know what he wanted, even he knew it was too soon to start tossing around words like marriage.
Way too soon.
“The community center,” Millie said. “I think you just missed the turn.” She swung around and looked behind her, and Travis’s nerves went ballistic.
“Yeah, I did,” he said, slowing as he moved over to the side of the road. He flipped around, his fingers tightening on the wheel. “I was just drivin’. Not paying attention.” He got them going in the right direction, and made the right turn that would take them over to the community center, which sat right next to the fire station.
“Co
nfession time,” Millie said, and Travis nearly yelped.
“What?” he asked instead.
“When I was a little girl, I wanted to be in the bell choir so badly.”
He managed to force a chuckle out of his mouth. “Is that so?”
“But you have to be fifteen,” she said. “And by then, it wasn’t nearly as cool.” She shrugged. “Maybe I should do it now that I’m back.” She turned toward the window and added in a much quieter voice, “I certainly have time.”
Travis had no idea what to say. She certainly didn’t seem happy, and a new kind of thought entered his mind. He mulled over it as he pulled into the parking lot, realizing they’d both gone quiet.
He parked and held her hand as they went inside. They definitely hadn’t had to leave at six for a concert at seven when the venue was only ten minutes away. She tugged him toward a hallway on the right, but it was in the opposite direction of the theater where they bell choir would be performing.
“What’s down here?” he asked, the scent of something sweet meeting his nose.
“Hot chocolate tasting,” she said.
Travis chuckled low in his chest. “I see what’s going on here. You don’t care about the bell choir at all.”
Millie gave him the pleasure of one of her giggles, her grip on his hand tightening. “Of course I do. But it just so happens that the one and only night of the hot chocolate tasting is right before the concert.” She turned around and walked backward, and Travis thought that was quite the feat considering the shoes she wore.
With wedges that lifted her at least four inches closer to his height, she’d paired the sexy shoes with a pair of jeans and a red and white polka dot top. She looked like she could be one of Santa’s helpers in the most wholesome of ways.
“You’re not going to try any, are you?” she teased.
“Sure I will,” he said. “Anything that doesn’t mix chocolate and coffee. I know people love that, but I sure don’t.”
“What about chocolate and raspberry?”
“Yeah, that’s fantastic,” he said, his mouth already watering.
“Then there’s another food item we have in common.”
Travis beamed down at her, and she switched back to walking forward. The room where the hot chocolate tasting was happening wasn’t hard to find. Laughter spilled from the room, as did chatter and the scent that could only belong to chocolate. Travis got overwhelmed the moment they stepped inside, and he wanted to walk right back out when he and Millie were separated.
“Vote for your favorite on every table,” a perky woman chirped. “One per table. Meet back here with your absolute favorite, and you get a whole mug of that one!” She made it sound like he’d win the lottery if he did what she said.
He took the paper and nub of a pencil from her and tried to rejoin Millie, but the blonde put herself right in his path. “We have to keep the traffic flowing the right way, Mister Johnson.” She singsonged his name, and he blinked at her. He should know who she was, and he knew her last name.
Robertson. But whether she was Phoebe or Bella, he wasn’t as sure. He watched Millie giggle, take her pencil and paper, and turn her back to him. She stepped up to the first table and started sipping from the plastic cups volunteers behind the table were handing out.
Travis frowned, but he did the same, moving to table eight, which was on the left side of the entrance. A quick glance told him this table had five samples, and he might not be great at math, but eight tables meant he’d be sipping forty different kinds of hot chocolate.
He wasn’t sure why, but he really didn’t want to. Maybe if Millie were the one holding the small plastic cup to his lips. Maybe if he could kiss her after she tasted the one she liked best, and then he’d get to taste if off her lips.
He made it through the first five samples and wrote the number of the one he liked best on a slip of paper before dropping it into the box. He wasn’t sure what the point was. Was there a contest? Who had come up with cranberry hot chocolate with almonds? Because that one was disgusting.
The line stalled a bit before he could get to table seven, and he looked over his shoulder to find Millie. He caught a flash of her hair before the crowd swallowed her again, and he ducked out the nearest door.
“Sir,” someone said, clearly meaning to stop him. He didn’t care; he went through anyway. The hallway was just down from where they’d entered, and he drew in a deep breath. A measure of embarrassment tread through him, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He didn’t want to be separated from Millie, he knew that much. And he had eaten a lot for dinner, so he didn’t want to sip hot chocolate alone.
Maybe you don’t want to do anything alone, he thought, and there was his blasted brain again, betraying him.
Music came from down the hall, and he wandered that way just to see what else was happening at the community center. He admittedly didn’t get off the ranch very often, and certainly not for town activities as often as he should. That was more Rex’s scene, and Griffin might go along with him instead staying in the house they lived in together alone.
Flashes of light spilled out of the room, and it was clear there was some sort of disco ball inside. He took a peek through the doorway, and it was clear this was a teen dance. Not for him. He’d have been mortified had his momma made him come to something like this, but the few kids he saw seemed to be having a good time.
He continued down the hall, ready for the bell choir concert to begin. Then he could get home and get to bed. Seth would only be gone for another week, and Travis wanted to get as much done on the new dog enclosure as possible. They needed the space, and he wanted his gift for his brother to be done before Christmas.
He’d also thought of the perfect thing to get for Millie, but he wasn’t going to buy it. He was going to build it, and he needed an hour or two in the wood shop every day to make that happen in time as well.
He leaned against the wall down the hall from the hot chocolate tasting, in plain sight should anyone come out and look to their right. Millie would notice he wasn’t there soon enough. Wouldn’t she?
The minutes passed, and Travis began to wonder if he should go looking for her. Around the corner, a sudden whoosh of air caught his attention. As did the voice that said, “Caroline, you can’t just go into the community center.”
“Sure I can,” a woman said, her footsteps coming toward him. “The door was open and everything. Let’s just see—” She cut off as she rounded the corner. Her dark eyes glittered with mischief and the few women she was with caught up to her.
“He’ll do,” she said.
“Caroline,” he said, because he knew this woman. The Landy’s were old Chestnut Springs blood, and he knew them even if he didn’t have any reason to deal with them. Especially Caroline, who was easily a decade younger than him. Maybe a bit more.
“Caroline,” one of the other girls hissed, but Travis didn’t know her.
“If we have to be in this awful town tonight,” she said. “We have to have some fun.” She looked back at Travis. “One of you get the camera ready.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “Travis, I just need a quick favor. It’s for a scavenger hunt.”
He felt trapped by this woman, and he probably outweighed her by a hundred pounds. “Uh, I should probably—”
“Two seconds,” she said sweetly, producing his worst nightmare—at least when this woman was holding it.
A sprig of mistletoe.
Before he even knew what was happening, her lips were on his and her gaggle of friends were giggling. Something flashed, and then Caroline released him.
“Thanks.” She went back the way she came, and Travis leaned against the wall, his breath coming in huge waves. He gulped at the air, trying to get enough oxygen.
He’d just wiped his mouth when Millie said, “There you are. Who was that you were kissing?”
Chapter Eighteen
Millie’s heart thrashed around inside her chest. When she’d seen the dark-hair
ed beauty kissing her boyfriend, her first instinct had been to run. Then she wanted to gouge out her eyes. Then the anger had taken over, and she’d watched Travis struggle to breathe as if he’d just experienced the best kiss of his life.
She knew; she’d seen him do that after kissing her.
And now he’d gone mute.
Millie’s fury combined with frustration, and she just wanted to go home.
“No one,” Travis finally said. “It wasn’t a kiss, Mills.”
“Don’t,” she said. “I saw you.”
“No,” he said quickly. “No, no. You didn’t see me kiss her. She kissed me, and it happened really fast. She was just doing a scavenger hunt thing.”
“A what?” Millie folded her arms and cocked one hip. If he knew how long it took her to pull these jeans on, he wouldn’t be kissing other women.
An alarm inside her started to wail, and Millie breathed in deeply, trying to silence it. He’d already told her that not all men left their families. And the very next day, he was kissing someone else?
Nothing made sense, but Millie couldn’t hear him if she let the panic inside her drown out her hearing.
“I don’t know,” Travis said. “That was Caroline Landy, and she’s insane.”
“Why’d you kiss her then?’
“I didn’t,” he said, clearly flustered. He glanced around the corner where the women had gone. “They took a picture. They’re doing some scavenger hunt thing, and she held up the mistletoe and kissed me in like, two seconds. I couldn’t even move.”
“Uh huh, yeah,” Millie said. “I saw that part.” She turned away from him and started walking. She wanted to go to the bell choir concert, but not with him. Not right now.
“Millie,” he said behind her, catching up to her in only a moment. “Wait.” He touched her arm, but she yanked it away. Her chest felt like someone had poured in an entire hill of angry ants and then bound her with an unyielding rubber band.
