She told him, and he packaged up the leftover chicken, steak, salad and soups.
When he opened the refrigerator door to put it all away, he got a shock. There was next to nothing in there other than a few condiments and a carton of milk. What would she have done for dinner if he hadn’t come by?
He damned Cindy to hell and back for leaving her daughter in this situation. Just when Rachel needed her mother the most, the woman was gone.
Cindy should have been here buying groceries, or babysitting so Rachel could get out.
“I’ll get you some more groceries when this stuff runs out. You need more milk for Tori for tomorrow?”
“Just milk, Travis. Nothing else. No, wait, a loaf of bread, as well. Can you get my wallet? I’ll give you money for it.”
“I’m not taking mon—”
“Travis, please.” Her jaw jutted as she dug in for a fight.
There came a time when you just had to allow a person her pride. He carried her purse to her. She took out her wallet and handed him a five-dollar bill.
He managed to get a quick peek inside. It was all she had. So the problem wasn’t just not being able to get out to get food. It was also not having money, unless she had oodles in the bank.
Somehow, he doubted that.
Otherwise, there would be more in the cupboard than peanut butter.
Anger raced through him, but he held it in check.
What Rachel and her children needed most right now was not high emotion, but simple acts of support and kindness.
If he ever saw Cindy again, though, he’d tear a strip off her hide.
“Anyone want a hot drink with dessert?”
“Dessert!” Tori abandoned the Legos and wrapped her arms around his legs. She did that a lot.
The spontaneous act filled him with wonder.
He could get used to being part of a family.
That sign of jealousy in Rachel could be a start. He knew she found him attractive. He knew she liked him.
Could she ever love him?
He made tea for Rachel and hot chocolate for Tori and put out the box of cupcakes with small plates from the cupboard.
They sat in the living room because Rachel still held Beth, who had finished her dinner at her mother’s breast.
Tori made it only halfway through her cupcake before lying down with her head in Travis’s lap and falling asleep. All that playing in the snow had worn her out.
After he’d finished his dessert, Rachel said, “Beth is sleeping. Would you like to hold her?”
“Yeah.”
Her brows shot up. “I’m surprised. I thought infants would intimidate you.”
“I held my nephews a lot when they were little. Their father was AWOL most of the time.”
Rachel brought the baby to him and snugged her into the crook of his arm.
“Did your brother-in-law travel for business, or something?”
“Yeah. Something. He was always running off to different ashrams and yoga retreats and meditation conferences.”
Rachel covered Tori with a blanket. “Sounds like a man who is trying to find himself.”
“That’s all fine and dandy, but he should have done it before having kids. Once you’ve made that commitment, those kids are more important than anything else. Kids don’t ask to be born.”
“True.”
Of course she would understand. Her own father had run off and left her behind.
Silence settled over the trailer.
Tori slept soundly, as did the baby in his arms.
Again that sense of peace that this small family brought with it came over him.
In time, he gave Beth back to Rachel and carried Tori to bed, tucking her in fully clothed.
At the front door, Travis pulled on his boots and coat.
“Thank you, Travis. You gave us a real gift today. It was wonderful to have more than just our own company.”
She pointed one stern finger his way. “But don’t do it again. I can take care of myself and my children.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He leaned forward, kissed her gently on her lips and smiled.
Just before stepping out of the trailer, he said, “See you on Christmas Eve.”
“What? I thought we were coming on Christmas Day.”
“You are. Sammy and the boys aren’t coming until February. They won’t be here for Christmas. I want to have you all over for supper on Christmas Eve, too.”
When she didn’t respond, he leaned in. Her eyes dropped to his lips. Obviously, she thought he meant to kiss her again.
She didn’t step away, and in fact, seemed to move closer.
So, she liked him and she desired him. Perfect.
“You have any plans for Christmas Eve?”
She shook her head.
“Good. Bring the kids over at five.”
He left his truck where it was and walked across the road. After cleaning the barbecue and putting it away in the garage, he closed the front door with a big smile on his face.
Chapter Thirteen
Rachel bundled up the children and drove into town.
She needed to get the last of her money out of the bank.
What she would do after Christmas when it was all gone was still a question. She wondered if she could get an advance from Honey.
But then what would she do when she was working and not getting paid because she’d already borrowed it and spent it?
Her stomach roiled. Her mind balked at applying for welfare or any kind of public assistance. Grimly, she thought, I will if I have to. It would take a while to come through. What would she do in the meantime?
In town, she parked and got Tori out of the car, then Beth.
In the bank, she talked to Ethel, the aging teller who’d been there all of Rachel’s life.
“Can I withdraw a hundred, Ethel?” That would leave another forty to last through Christmas.
Dear Lord.
For now, she needed a hundred to get more groceries, oatmeal, powdered milk and more diapers for Beth. She was just about out of the supply she’d put by before giving birth.
Ethel frowned. “Didn’t you know, Rachel?”
“Know what?”
“Oh, dear, I’d hoped it was okay. I’d hoped she’d asked first.”
Dread weighing on her shoulders, Rachel didn’t need to ask who she was. Cindy. Rachel had put her onto the account after Davey’s death, for when she gave birth and Cindy would have to buy food for Tori.
Obviously a foolish move, but she’d thought she could trust her own mother.
“What is it, Ethel?”
“Cindy cleaned out the account before she left town.”
Rachel locked her knees to keep herself upright. She breathed through her nose so she wouldn’t get light-headed.
“I see. Okay, thank you, Ethel.”
She left the bank quickly, with her dignity intact.
She would get through this. She would survive.
Dear God, how?
* * *
IN THE DAYS after their meal together, Travis hadn’t made the mistake of taking more food across the road. He’d known Rachel wouldn’t accept more even if he invited himself to dinner.
In another few days, he’d be feeding them all on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Sitting in the diner one morning, he perked up when he recognized Rachel’s car pull up and park across the street.
She got both children out of the car and went into the bank. A short while later, she came back outside. She didn’t look happy.
“Vy, come here,” he called.
When she did, he said, “Sit down.” She slid into the window booth across from hi
m and followed the direction of Travis’s intent stare.
“What do you want?” she asked.
He pointed. “Does she look happy to you?”
Rachel finished strapping both of her children into the car. She rounded the hood and got into the driver’s seat, sitting there without starting the engine.
There was no missing the deep unhappiness on her face.
“No,” Vy said, and Travis glanced at her. Her mouth drooped in a grimace. “What’s going on, Travis?”
“I think Rachel’s out of money.”
“Impossible. She’s worked hard at Honey’s. She had to have been saving to get ready for this time. She has a good head on her shoulders.”
“I would have thought so, too.” He explained about the empty refrigerator and cupboards. “I caught a look at her wallet. She had nothing.”
“Look.” Vy grasped his arm. “She’s driving back out of town without stopping at the grocery store. Would your groceries have lasted this long?”
“Nope. We have to do something.” He corrected himself. “You have to do something. She won’t take any more from me, but if her friends stopped in, each a few days apart, with supplies, she might accept that.”
“That’s only temporary. What about after Christmas?”
“Vy, I hope to God I will have convinced her to change her living situation permanently by then.”
A broad smile split her face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He threw forty bucks onto the table. “That’s to cover my sandwich and some food for Rachel. Can all of you work out a schedule between you?”
He stood and retrieved his hat. Before leaving he said, “Leave Christmas Eve and Christmas Day open for me. I’ll be taking care of things then.”
“You got it, Travis.” She took off her apron.
“Will!” she hollered to her cook. “I need to go to the pharmacy for diapers and wipes. Oh, Lord, what else would she need for the baby?”
Travis shrugged. He knew stuff about babies only second hand.
“Don’t worry,” Vy said. “I’ll raid my stores here and bring her eggs, milk, flour. All kinds of stuff.”
To Will she hollered again. “Wrap up a bunch of that fried chicken and mashed potatoes and a container of the pasta carbonara to take out. I’ll be back in a few minutes to deliver it personally.”
* * *
CHRISTMAS EVE ARRIVED. To Travis, it seemed to have taken forever to get here.
He fussed with the food, more nervous than he could ever remember being. He had a lot riding on tonight’s dinner.
The evening started at five o’clock in deference to the two children. They arrived on time.
At the door, Travis took Beth so Rachel could take off her coat. She hung it with Tori’s beside his. Travis liked the look of their coats hanging together.
He wanted to see them there from now on.
“Travis, look. Mommy curled my hair.”
“She did a good job. It’s beautiful.” He noticed that Rachel had taken care with her own appearance, as well. Her hair was full and curly. From the first moment he’d set eyes on Rachel, he’d wanted to run his fingers through her hair. That urge was even stronger now.
In the living room, he noticed something else. She’d lost much of the weight she’d had when she was pregnant. He’d never seen her normal figure before, and he liked what he saw. A lot.
“I’ll take Beth and undress her.” When Rachel took the baby from him, the side of her breast brushed his forearm, and his desire for her shot through the roof.
Quit it, Travis. This is a family night.
He had to get this relationship settled before his unrequited lust sent him ’round the bend.
Not only that, he just plain wanted these girls in his life forever.
“Where’s that drawer we used for Beth before? Can we use it again?”
“You bet. I emptied it earlier just in case.” He brought it to the living room, and Rachel put the baby into it. They covered her with the receiving blankets Rachel had brought over with her.
“She’s cute as a button, Rachel.” It was no lie. The child was beautiful.
“Me, too. I’m cute as a button, too, aren’t I, Travis?” Tori tugged on his pant leg.
From his nephews, Travis knew all about sibling rivalry.
He picked up Tori and twirled her around. “You bet! You’re the cutest button in the jar.”
She giggled while he twirled her until they were both dizzy.
Dinner was beef stroganoff and crusty bread. Vegetables weren’t his thing, but he’d included steamed green beans.
They ate in the dining room on the Lady Carlisle plates that Rachel loved so much.
They had one of Uma’s homemade apple pies for dessert only because she’d put Travis to work peeling a mountain of apples. She’d made ten pies for Christmas and had given him one to take home.
After apple pie with vanilla ice cream, they sat in the living room. Tori sipped hot chocolate while the adults drank decaf coffee.
Deep satisfaction filled Travis.
The evening ended too soon.
“Travis, can you come over in the morning to see what Santa left for me?” Tori asked at the door.
He’d be honored. Life with these girls brought joy on top of joy on top of joy. “Sure thing, sprout.”
She slammed herself against his legs and yelled, “You’re my best friend.”
With a quiet smile, Rachel left with Beth in her arms. They made their slow way across the road and the snow-covered ground in front of the trailer bathed in the cool winter glow of a full moon.
Only after they’d made it inside their front door did Travis close his door.
The following morning, he awoke early as excited as any kid on Christmas morning.
He dressed with care and walked across the road in the darkness. They were in for a few months of dark mornings. Some of the ranch hands minded, but Travis didn’t. He liked mornings. The sun hadn’t yet crested the horizon. His breath frosted in the early-morning air. He knocked on the door.
No answer.
He knocked again.
Finally, the door opened and Rachel stood in an old plaid robe belted at her waist. Her rumpled hair begged to have his fingers untangle it. He wanted to bury his face in it.
“Am I too early? I thought Tori would be up by now.”
She started to laugh, couldn’t seem to stop, and he stared, bewildered.
“Rachel, what is it? What’s wrong with you?”
She wrapped her arms across her waist and kept laughing. He frowned and got exasperated.
“If you don’t tell me what’s so funny, I’m leaving.”
Laughing too hard to say anything, she threw her arms around his neck so he wouldn’t leave.
He hadn’t bothered to button his coat for the short walk across the road, so her full breasts flattened against the white shirt he’d put on. Only a couple of layers of fabric separated them.
He clung to her as though his life depended on it. In a sense, it did.
In his arms, she quieted and stopped laughing.
“Um, Travis, you should let me go.”
“Never, Rachel,” he whispered fervently. “I’ve wanted you from the first moment I set eyes on you.”
“Impossible. I was more than seven months pregnant.” Her breath brushed his ear.
He kissed her neck.
She moaned. “Don’t do that, Travis. I’m a mother.”
He chuckled. “Mothers don’t like to be kissed?”
“Mothers love it.” The sentiment seemed to have popped out almost against her will, and Travis chuckled again.
He kissed her neck and ran his tongue along her jawline.
&n
bsp; She pushed against his chest and stepped away, straightening her hair self-consciously.
“We can’t do this.”
“Yes, we can. I care for you, Rachel. I have since the day of the carousel ride. Hell, I’ll admit it. I love you.”
She stared with a deer-in-the-headlights shock. “You can’t.”
“I do.”
When she didn’t respond, he tucked her hair behind her ear. “Do you have any feelings for me in return?”
“It doesn’t matter what I feel. I come with two kids, Travis.”
“I’m aware of that, Rachel. So?”
“So...we’re a complete package. You can’t have me without them.”
“I’m aware of that, too, Rachel. I love those two little girls already.”
“This isn’t possible. Stuff like this doesn’t happen. Men don’t fall in love with pregnant women and take on ready-made families.”
“This one did and will.”
“Okay, that’s what you think now, but what about next year? You don’t stay anywhere, Travis. You travel around. I can’t do that.”
“I’m not doing that anymore, either. You give me more than I thought was possible. Joy. Happiness. Stability. An end to loneliness. Did I say joy?”
They stared at each other, a showdown of wills, Rachel still unbelieving.
She looked away first. “I need coffee. Make us a pot while I get dressed.”
“Why were you laughing at me?” He knew he sounded hurt, but what on earth had been Rachel’s problem when she’d answered the door?
From halfway to her bedroom, she started to laugh again.
“It’s five-thirty in the morning, Travis.”
Feeling like a damned fool, a hyperactive little boy in a man’s body, he cursed himself for not checking the time before he’d left home.
His cheeks heated.
Midway through making the coffee, he started to laugh, too.
Christmas Day turned out to be the most perfect day he’d ever lived.
Dinner was perfect, and both Tori and Rachel loved the presents he’d picked out for them—a pretty mauve sweater for Rachel and a tiny pink cowboy hat for Tori. He could imagine it hanging on a hook at the diner with all the adult hats.
He hadn’t expected anything in return, but Rachel had knitted him a black scarf. He would make a point of wearing it often.
Rodeo Father Page 19
