“Remedy this, Skye. Take a drive out to Everett and talk to the man. Your ability to get visions might come back for real if your mind is clear of this one thing. That’ll only happen when you settle this between you and Travis. Otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels. Look, I’m distracted enough. We don’t need for both of us to be vulnerable during this time. It might give this son of a bitch an opening. He doesn’t need another advantage.”
“That actually makes sense.”
“Good. Because you don’t want to be dragging more excess baggage around for another dozen years, do you? Why not just settle it once and for all? Either you come to terms with what Travis did or didn’t do or you tell the man how much he hurt you, have it out with him and leave it at that. Either way, you get it all out in the open, no more hostility to muddy your mind. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You get some resolution either way.”
“It may not go well.”
“Then at the very least you’ll know where you stand with him and can move on. Want me to go with you?”
“No. But you’re right. I need to face him about all this stuff and get some answers for my own peace of mind. Otherwise I’ll just stew about it for what could end up being years.”
“Wasted years at that.”
“Okay, I’ll drive up to Everett. But I’m not calling and giving him a heads up and I don’t want you doing that either. Promise me.”
“Who me? I wouldn’t dream of interfering,” Josh said with a wink.
“Good because the trip will either be a quick turnaround and I’ll be back this evening or this hostility between us will take a couple of days to sort out. Either way, I’ll pack a bag for overnight just in case.”
“Take all the time you need, Skye. Don’t let this fester until it rots and there’s nothing left to claim for a relationship.”
“Okay. But if you should happen to get news of a natural disaster with an earthquake magnitude where the epicenter is located in Everett, you’ll know it’s nothing to worry about. Just two stubborn Nez Perce butting heads right before they go to war.”
Chapter Twenty
Travis’s haven from the world was forty acres of ranch land outside Everett he’d dubbed, The Painted Crow. Here, he could get away from the hustle and noise of Seattle where he could spend time breeding, raising, and selling the American Paint Horses he loved.
Among the rolling pastureland he found the solitude he often needed from running several diverse businesses that usually kept him hopping. Even when he hired the best managers he could find, there were still problems that cropped up. The Country Kitchen offered its share of headaches but it wasn’t his only business with a slew of problematic issues. In addition to the greasy spoon, he owned a fishing boat that brought in enough Dungeness crab to supply the Farmer’s Market on a daily basis. He owned an office supply store, a design business, and was part owner in an upscale seafood restaurant located in Capitol Hill.
The Painted Crow was his only place to escape from it all.
Hugging the Washington coastline, his spread sat at the top of a majestic cliff where giant Douglas fir and Sitka spruce vied for space to grow tall and strong. The surrounding forest easily turned out hundred foot tall conifers that continued, year after year, to dot the peaks and rocky seashore.
Standing in the corral, Travis brushed down his latest acquisition, a feisty, smoke-cream mare he intended to use for breeding. While he worked he could smell the salty sea mist as waves crashed up against the wedge of beach and rock below.
When he heard a car pull in past the iron-gate, he recognized the engine in Skye’s Subaru. His heart soared with hope. Maybe she’d decided to forgive him. Hell, at this point he’d settle for her sitting down and listening to what he had to say.
Travis watched as Skye crawled out from behind the wheel, watched as she walked up to the wooden fence, all the while boring holes through him. He decided to go with something that wouldn’t get him in too much trouble right off. “I hear you have a spirit guide problem,” Travis said with a twinkle in his eye. He wanted so much to approach her and give her a hug. Since he wasn’t sure that would be a good idea, his feet remained planted where they were. He decided to let her give him a sign of why she was here. It had to be significant she’d driven out to see him.
Skye smiled. “Turns out, I do. I thought maybe my father might be able to help me get her back.”
Travis’s eyes misted over as he tossed the brush he’d been using into the bucket. He went over, opened the gate and met her with his arms spread out wide. “Come here, honey.”
Like a small child, Skye went into his embrace.
“I don’t blame you for being upset with me. But you should know by now how much I love you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you with all my heart. I always have.”
“There’s something I should probably confess then.”
“If this is major maybe we should take it into the house. I made fresh raspberry tea not two hours ago.”
Skye nodded. “I could use some of that right about now. It was a long drive up here. But what I have to say, you may want something a little stronger than tea though.”
His brow furrowed, deep lines that usually weren’t noticeable, now exposed worry and concern. “Okay, you have my attention.”
When they got to the house, Travis disappeared into the kitchen and Skye followed, not content to stay in the living room. But once she watched him take the tea from the refrigerator and fill the glasses with ice, as the silence dragged out, Travis finally turned to her and said, “What gives?”
Skye took a deep breath, let it out. She rubbed her hands on her jeans. “Okay, here goes. When I was about four or five, I know it was around that time because I hadn’t started school yet, I saw you with my mother. You were both standing together in the garden. You were kissing. Not like friends, but lovers. So I don’t really want to hear your lame excuse or lie that this thing was simply a one-time shot between the two of you where you acted as sperm donor out of the goodness of your heart.”
If it was possible every ounce of color drained from Travis’s cinnamon face. He dropped into one of the kitchen chairs. Finally, after what seemed like several long minutes passed, he composed himself enough to admit, “It took more than a couple of times for Jodi to conceive.”
“Oh please. So this is how you want to mend things with me? With a lie? After your revelation at dinner that night, I started going back in my head to my childhood. I remember times when you were there and Dad was not. He’d go away for long absences. And do you think my math didn’t take? What part of ‘I was four or five years old’ did you not get? You and my mother had an affair. Are you going to sit there and deny it?”
“No.”
“I guess that’s a start. You want to tell me how you betrayed a man who you considered a brother at the time?”
“What I told you the other night was the truth.”
“Which part? Maybe you should explain to me which part you want me to believe—this time. Parsing words, Travis, won’t cut it with me, not anymore. I want the truth, all of it, from the beginning.”
“I saw your mother first. But she wanted Daniel.”
“I got that part already. Fast forward to when you first slept with my mother.”
This time, Travis got up and went to the cabinet. He reached for the whiskey and poured a generous amount of Jameson’s into a stubby glass. He knocked all of it back in one gulp.
Travis turned to face her as if the alcohol had given him the courage he hadn’t had before. “Things changed between Daniel and Jodi after you were born. Turns out, Daniel couldn’t exactly handle the fact that you belonged to me and not him.”
“But he was a loving father. He was always so involved in whatever I did,” Skye reminded him.
“Do you want to hear this or not?” Travis snapped. “This is very difficult for me. If you want the truth then I suggest you sit down and listen for a change instead
of popping off at the mouth at me.”
“Very well,” Skye said with enough frost in her voice to form ice.
“Fine. After you were born, Daniel had difficulty with the situation. I don’t think he’d thought it through very well when he had to look at you every single day and realize each and every day you weren’t his, that you belonged to me. You might have gotten your mother’s deep blue eyes but Daniel could plainly see you had my nose and mouth. Then for some reason, his bitterness over the whole thing shifted to Jodi. At a certain point, Daniel directed his anger at her. A great deal of that time he and Jodi were at odds with one another. They fought constantly. When you were about two years old, it got so bad at one point, they separated. Daniel moved out. He got a place out near Fort Lewis, Washington, where he worked as a civilian contractor. His engineering job took him out of state quite a bit, and because of that, Jodi and I grew closer.”
“I just bet you did,” Skye tossed out and earned a long glower from Travis. “Okay. Okay. I’ll shut up and let you finish.”
“Thanks. But need I remind you they were separated at the time?”
“And need I remind you they were still married?” Skye retorted.
“Point taken. At first, I stopped by to help out with things. I’d sit with you while she went shopping or took a break from all the mommy stuff. But one night I stayed for supper. Afterward we bathed you and put you to bed together. Then we watched a movie. One thing led to another.” Skye saw Travis swallow hard and turn to the bottle again. He poured another glass and drank it down before going on, “I ended up spending the night.”
Skye’s face fell. “You know what? I don’t think I’m ready to hear this after all. I’m surprised with all your ‘spending the night’ I didn’t have a brother or sister show up nine months later.”
“Why do you say that?”
Skye gaped at the man. “I had a brother or sister?”
He ran a hand over the top of his head that wasn’t tied back in a ponytail. “Jodi got pregnant again.”
“Ohmygod. Are you serious? Did my father know? I mean Daniel. Did he find out?” But the look on Travis’s face had her wondering why she’d bother to ask. “Of course, he did. Daniel had to be furious with both of you.”
“Oh he was. A couple of months went by where he didn’t even speak to either one of us. He stayed away from seeing you, as well, didn’t come around the house at all for visitation, nothing. But then five months into the pregnancy, Jodi had a serious medical problem. She developed something called toxemia. The doctor admitted her to the hospital in critical condition. Her blood pressure shot through the roof. Her kidneys started shutting down. I was afraid I was going to lose her, Skye, so I phoned Daniel, told him to get his ass to the hospital. He showed up. And for three days we both sat there, either at Jodi’s side, or in the waiting room before she finally lost the baby. From there, her condition stabilized. But once Jodi started getting better, her condition improving, she decided losing the baby was some kind of bad omen, some sign that we were not meant to be together. So she persuaded Daniel to give her another chance. Together, they made the decision to give their marriage one more shot.”
“Just like that? She sleeps with you. You get her pregnant, again. Then when that doesn’t work out for her she shifts back to Daniel. Who are you people? You think you know your parents and then realize nothing could be further from the truth. Wait a minute. Her decision must’ve meant you were left out in the cold again?”
Travis nodded once and then threw back another shot of whiskey. “I was devastated. That’s when I bought this place, The Painted Crow, and moved to Everett. I pulled away from both of them. That time I stayed away. I was determined to leave them both alone to put their marriage back together. Two years went by. I didn’t see Jodi and Daniel again until you were about four.”
“My God. That day in the garden. You and my mother just couldn’t keep your hands off each other—apparently.”
Travis poured another glass of gold liquid.
“You keep knocking back enough of that stuff because it’s loosening up your tongue. So let’s move on. Out of the blue, one day you decide to stop by the house for a visit, find Jodi alone, and make a move on her in the garden.”
“No. It did not happen like that at all. Jodi called me.”
“Booty call? Isn’t that what they call it?”
“Skye Melody Cree, show some respect! If not me, then for your mother.”
“Shouldn’t that be Nakota. After all, I’m Skye Melody Nakota, aren’t I?”
“Must I remind you that your birth certificate says Cree? Daniel is listed as your father. It’s your legal name.”
“Should I ask for that DNA test then that you didn’t want to take when I was thirteen?”
“I may not be the man you thought I was, but I’ll say this again. You will show me some respect. You’re a member of the Warrior Society now, act like the warrior you are.”
“Screw that. It’s a little difficult to show respect, Travis, especially when I’m learning some very not-so-flattering things about the people I cared about.”
“We weren’t perfect people, Skye. We had our flaws, our issues.”
“Oh I can see that. So what happened that day in the garden when Jodi called you? After all that time, why’d she call you?”
“She needed someone to talk to. What you saw that day was me trying to comfort her. That’s all. Nothing happened between us after I left her and Daniel in the hospital. You have my word on that.”
Skye was tempted to toss out another insult about how little she could believe anything he said, when she noted the disheartened look on his face. Knowing Travis wasn’t that good of an actor, she recognized that sad look for exactly what it was. It could mean only one thing. He’d never touched Jodi again after he’d made that promise he wouldn’t. And he wasn’t happy about it. Skye saw the regret in his warm brown eyes. She swallowed down her resentment and finally asked, “Why did she need to talk to you that day, Travis?”
“You won’t like what I’m about to say.”
Skye spat out in a mocking laugh, “I have news for you, Travis. I haven’t much liked anything you’ve told me so for.”
“Fine,” Travis said through gritted teeth. “Your mother discovered Daniel was having an affair with another civilian contractor he’d met out at the base. Your mother was naturally upset.”
“Naturally. She cheated on Daniel with you. He cheated on her with someone else. You people weren’t just flawed, you were weak.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion. But just remember, you never know what people are going through, what personal issues people are dealing with, or what difficulties they happened to be trying to cope with at any given time. So be very careful whenever you’re tempted to hand down a judgment to us lesser folks, us mere mortals. Not everyone can meet Skye Cree’s high expectations.”
“You’re putting this back on me?”
“I’m taking full responsibility for it. I admit I should never have touched Jodi in the first place. What happened after you were born, altered things between Jodi and Daniel, between Daniel and me, between the three of us. We were never the same. Having you changed our lives forever. No doubt about that. But if I hadn’t taken Jodi to bed, if I’d kept saying no to both of them, you wouldn’t be sitting here giving me a hard time and I wouldn’t have my daughter around, my blood kin. I can’t regret that, Skye. Don’t ever ask me to regret that.”
Her mouth opened for a quick comeback but closed at the profound sentiment. The realization hit her then that if he hadn’t finally agreed, she wouldn’t be here. She reconsidered that path, the options. The man was, after all, her father. At this late date there was only one other issue standing between them.
“Why did you let me go live with Ginny and Bob? The truth now, Travis. You’re not that much of a coward.”
“After Jodi and Daniel died, I managed to get through the funeral but I started a downward sp
iral from there. I went into a black hole and didn’t come out for months. I honestly believed at the time you’d be better off in Yakima. Every single day, I told myself that.”
“But you knew it wasn’t true. My mother told you about what kind of people they were and you stood by while I went anyway.”
“I know that!” he shouted, right before he closed his eyes shut as if to block out the memory. It took Travis a while to compose what he wanted to say. When he finally opened his eyes, he admitted, “If it’s any consolation, I’ll never forgive myself for putting you through those years with them. It was unforgivable. I was your father. But I was afraid of what you’d think. You were thirteen then. Look at how angry you are at me right now at twenty-six. I wasn’t sure how you’d react back then and didn’t want to take the chance. Look, if you can’t get past this, I won’t blame you. At all. But if you could see it in your heart to forgive me, I’ll make a pledge to you now, I’ll always be there for you from this point moving forward. I want more than anything for us to finally be father and daughter. Surely you can give me another chance, Skye. That’s all I’m asking.”
She blew out a huge breath right before moving across the room and into his arms.
Long after the tears on both sides had dried up, they still had to get past several awkward moments. The biggest one, of course, the realization that this man had deserted her at the very time she had needed him the most. No doubt Travis should have stepped up. He should have been the one to provide his expertise and counsel about what to expect from a spirit guide. His insight would have been invaluable—like how to handle all the disturbing images that had started after she got to Yakima. All these things would take Skye longer to get past than she was willing to admit. It wouldn’t be easy and it wouldn’t come overnight.
But Skye was willing to try.
As the evening wore on, things began to smooth out while Skye helped Travis fix dinner. Slowly over roast chicken and sautéed vegetables, the old friends began to pick up where they’d left off. Knowing each other for years, having a history together worked in their favor. Father and daughter began to find the easy dialogue they’d practiced all those years ago standing in front of the grill at the Country Kitchen, and at the gym where Travis had trained her.
Skye Cree 02: The Bones Will Tell Page 18
