She shook her head, clearly suffering a lack of confidence. First time he’d seen that in her.
“Know what I saw when I watched you five women on stage?”
“No. What?”
“A smart, determined group of women. Starting with you.”
“Really? Starting with me?”
“Yeah.”
They stopped speaking and stopped moving. The air around them seemed to become rarefied. The coconut scent of her shampoo drifted around them. While Rachel turned her brilliant golden eyes on him, Travis lost the ability to breathe, let alone think or talk.
Move, Travis. This isn’t what you want. Friendship, remember? Only friendship.
The song changed, but Rachel stayed in his arms until a moment later when she gasped, breaking the spell.
Travis followed the direction of her gaze. Cindy was dancing with a man Travis didn’t recognize.
“Who’s that?” he asked.
“A stranger. He was in the bar the other night asking about job prospects in town.”
Travis studied her keenly. “You didn’t like him.” He didn’t need her to answer. He sensed the tension in her.
“I thought he was less than honest. He bragged about all the places he’d been.”
“Ah, I see.”
“What does that mean?”
“The man’s a drifter. That’s an automatic strike against him.”
“That was some of it.” He liked her unflinching honesty, even about herself. “Not all, though. It was more than a knee-jerk reaction on my part. I don’t know what his game is. The only thing I feel for certain is that there is a game.”
Travis checked him out. Other than the slicked-back dark hair and shiny gray suit, there wasn’t much to distinguish the man...except that he appeared to like Cindy, and she liked him.
There wasn’t an inch of breathing room between them.
He returned his attention to Rachel, who hadn’t stopped watching the pair.
“You think Cindy will get hurt.”
“No doubt in my mind.”
“There’s nothing you can do about it. Cindy’s a grown woman and can date anyone she wants.”
“I know.” She said it grudgingly. It took a moment, but she rallied and showed him her game smile. “I’m okay, Travis. Really.”
He led her off the dance floor.
“You need a drink or anything?”
“I’m good. I’m going to head to the ladies’ room. Thanks, anyway.”
* * *
WHEN RACHEL STEPPED out of the washroom, she nearly collided with Nadine.
“I nearly forgot. I have news for you,” Nadine said. “I’ve been doing more digging into Travis.”
Rachel’s heart sank. “I didn’t know you were going to keep looking.”
“You know me. I do a job till it’s beaten to death. I love doing research.”
“You mean you love digging up dirt.”
Nadine’s broad smile was dazzling. “That, too.”
They made room for a couple of women to pass by.
“Seriously, though,” Nadine said. “I have news you need to hear.” All traces of her good humor had vanished.
“You’re scaring me, Nadine. What is it?”
“It’s about Travis’s sister.”
“What about her?”
“Apparently she worked in Las Vegas for some big criminal named Manny D’Onofrio and testified against him. He’s in jail now for embezzlement. The scuttlebutt is that he vowed to get revenge.”
“Jeepers, Nadine. That sounds like something out of a bad movie.”
“I know, but the source was impeccable. Apparently this Manny guy could be quite vicious.”
Rachel shivered.
Travis was bringing his sister and her two boys to live in Rodeo, along with whatever danger this vicious Manny guy was threatening.
Rachel felt as though she had chips of ice in her veins. Travis had bought the house right across the street from Rachel and her children for his sister. She was coming here to live.
Was she a criminal, too, like her boss? Had she cut a deal to testify against this guy so she wouldn’t have to go to jail herself?
Bile rose into Rachel’s throat, not morning sickness, but fear.
Travis was bringing danger to her town, to her backyard, to her family.
She knew he wanted them here by Christmas. How close was his sister now?
Was trouble looming on Rachel’s doorstep?
Travis was a nice man, a good one, but she would never forgive him for this. None of the kindness he’d shown her in the past could make up for bringing this here.
If she had to fight tooth and nail to protect her family, she would.
If Travis or his sister got in her way, God help them.
“Thanks.” Chilled to the bone, she marched away from Nadine to fetch her coat and then to find Travis. “Gotta go.”
She located him at the bar set up in the far corner. He nursed a beer.
“Could I talk to you for a minute?”
He raised his eyebrows at her hard-edged tone, but dutifully followed her outside.
In the cool night air, she rounded on him. “What’s this I hear about your sister having something to do with a crime in Las Vegas?”
He reared away from her. His expression flattened. “How is that anyone’s business but mine?”
“If you bring danger to this town, I have a right to know.”
“I’m not bringing danger. I’m bringing my sister and her two little kids.”
“Your sister worked with a criminal.” She’d raised her voice, and a pair of smokers nearby stared at her. “Did she get some kind of deal? What kind of crime was she involved in?”
“She wasn’t involved. Only her boss was. She—”
“He said he would come after her.”
“He’s in jail. Everything will be fine.”
She heard defensiveness. Was he protesting too much? She tried to get in his face, but Beth got in the way.
“If any harm comes to my family, I will never forgive you. I will personally boot you and your sister out of my town.”
He glowered and hovered over her. She’d never seen him angry and, boy, was he fierce. She stepped back.
He pointed a finger at her. “You know, I thanked you for putting me on that carousel my first day here, but I didn’t sign on for a roller-coaster ride. You need to get your emotions together.”
“I have every right to defend my family.”
He talked over her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but I don’t need this. I’m outta here.”
He strode to his truck and drove off. Only once she sat in her own cold vehicle did she realize he’d left without his jacket.
Tough. He could come back for it himself tomorrow.
She no longer cared.
Driven by a need to see Tori, to make sure she was safe and sound, she made it home in record time, following Travis’s taillights in the distance.
By the time she turned into her driveway, he was already inside his house.
She paid the babysitter and watched her drive away.
Only after the sitter’s car had disappeared down the road did Rachel go to her bedroom doorway to stare at her sleeping daughter.
Tori was safe and sound for now, but how long would that last?
The weight of her duties pressed down on her. Without Davey, she had only herself to rely on to keep her children fed, clothed and sheltered...and to keep them safe.
In this moment, despite all of her constant pep talks to keep her spirits high, she was overwhelmed.
Davey, what have you done to me?
* * *
/> TRAVIS COULDN’T REMEMBER ever being so mad at a woman.
No, that wasn’t true. There’d been his last girlfriend, Vivian, who’d turned out to be dishonest and using him. He’d been furious with her, but this was a different anger altogether.
This was based in fear, in utter terror that Rachel was right—that somehow Manny would find Sammy here. And that Travis truly had brought danger to a town he really liked, and to people he respected.
In his darkened living room, he watched Rachel storm into her trailer. Moments later, the babysitter drove off.
Spooked, he sat watching her home for hours. Nothing moved. No one drove out of the still Montana night to wreak havoc in Rodeo.
In the wee hours of the morning, he forced himself to go to bed.
The following week passed uneventfully. He spent his time alone. On Thanksgiving Day, he stood in his empty home and craved the mayhem of his nephews.
Nothing hollowed out a man like knowing his Thanksgiving dinner would be something pulled out of his freezer. Cardboard turkey, reconstituted mashed potatoes, gluey gravy and cranberry sauce awaited him later this afternoon.
His mood matched the chill wind blowing across the fields. Once the cold had settled on the land in earnest, both color and leaves had been quick to disappear.
There was weather coming in. Travis could feel it.
He stared across the road at the gray metal box hunkered down against the wind. It looked too flimsy to survive much.
Since the dance on the weekend, Cindy’s car hadn’t reappeared in the driveway. Travis wondered where the new man in town was staying ’cause he was certain that’s where Cindy would be found.
How was Rachel doing today?
What kind of Thanksgiving was she having? How was Tori? Was Beth moving a lot?
Travis wouldn’t intrude. She’d made her feelings about him clear. She wanted to have nothing more to do with him.
He should want nothing more to do with her.
In his anger he’d been nasty, but he... Well, hell, he might as well admit it. He missed them.
He liked Rachel. He liked her company and her conversation and her smile.
Sick of his own company by eleven in the morning, he made a decision to reach out. He would either be welcome or he’d get a kick in the teeth.
Either way, he’d get a break from himself.
Besides, Ghost needed the company, too.
He shrugged into his sheepskin coat and stepped out into a cold landscape, the unseasonably mild weather of three weeks ago a distant memory.
At Rachel’s front door, he screwed up his courage, took a deep breath and knocked.
* * *
TRAVIS STOOD ON her doorstep, big and handsome and uncertain of his welcome.
No wonder.
Her emotions were all over the map where this guy was concerned. She could blame it on hormones and the pregnancy, but her basic honesty compelled her to admit the truth.
She liked Travis far more than she should, and it killed her that there was no hope for a future with him.
She was pregnant, he would soon be taking care of his sister and her children, and she didn’t want to be anywhere near him if criminal elements came to town.
She’d fumed about it since Nadine had told her about his sister, but today, alone in the trailer with Tori, with nothing but a small turkey breast for their Thanksgiving feast, Rachel was rethinking her stance.
Her mom had been AWOL all week. They might not always get along, but Rachel missed her, especially on this special holiday.
For all intents and purposes, Rachel and Tori were alone. Travis was alone. His sister hadn’t arrived yet.
“Would you do me a huge favor?” Travis asked.
He needed a favor? He hadn’t yet figured out that she’d give him anything he asked as long as it didn’t hurt her or her children?
“What do you need?” she asked.
He ran his fingers through his hair and rested one hand high on the side of the trailer, looking anywhere but at her. His coat gaped open to reveal just a denim shirt underneath. He wore neither hat nor gloves, despite the drop in temperature.
Obviously he’d just run across the road for a brief visit.
“It’s a strange request.” He picked at a piece of flaking paint with his thumbnail. “Would you and the little one feel like coming over for a couple of hours to help me decorate the house for Christmas?”
Would she?
He was offering her the opportunity to decorate the Victorian for Christmas? He might as well hand her happiness on a silver platter and tie it up with a big red bow.
Would she? Heck, yes!
“Of course.” What else could she say? She might have promised herself she would keep her distance from Travis, but turn down the chance to get inside that house and gussy it up? No way would she pass that up. “I’d love to help. So would Tori.”
“Help what, Mommy?”
Rachel glanced down. Tori had joined her at the door.
“We’re going to help Travis decorate his house for Christmas. Would you like that?”
“Yes! We help Travis.” She sat on the floor and pulled on her pink cowboy boots. She stood on tiptoe, but couldn’t reach her coat. Rachel really needed to hang some low hooks for her.
She handed Tori her winter coat, hat and mittens before donning her own winter gear. The Victorian might be only across the road, but neither Rachel nor Tori was as hardy as Travis seemed to be.
After pulling the front door closed behind her, Rachel followed Travis and Tori across the frozen dirt yard. When crossing the road, Travis held Tori’s hand. Rachel approved. She might be trying to keep her emotional distance, but the guy made it hard. He did too much that was right and good.
She stepped into a toasty house. Travis had a fire going. It smelled woodsy, warm and inviting, and so, so much better than the trailer.
Glad to be out of the tin can for a while, she hung her coat and Tori’s on the hooks beside the front door.
“You did a beautiful job with the renovations, Travis.”
He came to stand beside her in the living room doorway. “Thanks. I tried to keep it true to its roots while modernizing a bit.”
The floor was freshly sanded and finished. “I like the color you used on the oak.”
“Come in. I want you to see what I did in the kitchen.”
She smiled up at him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re proud of the house.”
A sheepish smile grew on his lips, those beautifully defined lips she’d actually dreamed about.
“Yeah, I guess I kind of am. I’ve never owned a house before, or a single acre of property.”
“You’ve been caught by the pride-of-ownership bug.”
“Maybe. It’s for Sammy and my nephews, though. I want them to feel pride. And happiness.” He took her elbow to drag her to the kitchen, but she stopped him.
“Wait. I’m savoring all of the changes in here first.”
He’d taken all the old layers of paint from the wood trim. Stained dark, it provided a wonderful contrast to the lighter oak of the floors.
She touched a wall. “How did you decide on this sage green for the walls?”
“A woman in the shop helped me.”
“Nancy?”
“That was her name.”
“She’s good with her advice. I like this.” She still didn’t much like his overstuffed leather couch and armchair in this space, but hey, it was his house. Not hers.
Nonetheless, it was an inviting space. He’d stripped the mantel and wood around the fireplace and had painted it a glossy white. It worked, really brightening the room.
“You did a good job, Travis. I like it.”
H
e towered over her, his heat a source of both balm and sexual irritation, and a real danger to her peace of mind. Good thing he didn’t know that.
“That means a lot to me, Rachel. Your opinion matters.”
It did? Would wonders never cease? This man kept giving her the sweetest of gifts. Now he offered her his high regard.
Disconcerted by the happiness he brought her, she stepped farther into the room, away from Travis, avoiding trampling her daughter where she sat on the floor, rubbing Ghost’s belly.
“Where did this come from? Have you been sewing in the evenings?” She pointed to the rag rug on the hearth, knowing full well he hadn’t made it, but it amused her to tease him.
“It came with the house. You wouldn’t believe the stuff I’ve found in different cupboards and nooks and crannies.”
“I’ll bet Abigail made it. Blue, ivory and rose were her favorite colors.”
“That explains all the quilts in those colors.”
“She left you quilts?”
“Her family did. At least, they didn’t take them when they cleared out the furniture. It seems there was a lot of stuff they didn’t want.”
“They’re distant relatives from England. She didn’t have anyone close left. I guess they didn’t feel like carting the stuff across the ocean.”
“Probably not. In the meantime, I don’t own a lot, so I’ve been using her stuff to fill in the gaps.”
Rachel nodded her approval. “You need to update the paintings to your style.”
“Trouble is, I don’t know what my style is. I know what I don’t like, but haven’t figured out what I like.”
I can help with that. Thank God, she didn’t blurt the thought. Travis’s life was his. This house was his. Neither had anything to do with her.
And yet...here she was about to help him decorate this house for the holidays. The honor warmed her.
“I’m sure your sister will have ideas of her own. Let’s look at your kitchen and then start decorating.”
He seemed to like that.
In the kitchen, she pulled up short. Red cupboards dominated white walls.
“Why the red?”
Travis frowned. “Again, Nancy’s idea. I told her I wanted color, and she suggested the red. I like it. Don’t you?”
He sounded less than confident. Did her opinion matter that much?
Rodeo Father Page 11
