by Marla Monroe
Jillian smiled and hurried off. She returned with a boxed-up piece of pie and Mattie, the diner’s owner in tow.
“Hey, Travis. How’s Randy doing?” Mattie asked.
“Doing fine. He’s back at the ranch. How are you and your husbands doing? You look mighty fine.”
“Oh, those two are right as rain. Giving me fits about taking more time off all the time.” She looked over at his guest. “Who do we have here? Don’t reckon I’ve seen you around here before, sweetie.”
“This is Angela Carter. She’s just arrived in Riverbend.” Travis smiled at the pretty woman across from him.
“Good to meet you, Angela. My husbands and I run this place. It’s good to have you here. If you’re looking for work, I might have some part time available. You just let me know.”
“Oh, no you don’t, Mattie. I’ve already talked to her about helping us with our books out on the ranch. You’re not sweet-talking my help away from me.” Travis almost panicked and hoped he didn’t sound rude. No way was he letting Angela get away from them before they had even had a chance to get to know her.
“You devil you. I ought to sic Bruce on you for getting the jump on me.” Mattie’s eyes twinkled as she took the money he held out for the check.
“Thank you both so much for the kind offers. I’ll think about both of them.” She looked from one to the other with worry evident in her expression.
“Now don’t worry about it, sweetie. Travis knows I’m joking with him. If you have a chance to work out at the ranch, you should jump at it since it will be more money and more hours than what I can give you right now.” Mattie winked at her.
“Ready to go, Angela?” Travis stood up and helped her from her chair.
Picking up the box Jillian had handed him, he waved good-bye as they walked toward the door. Travis opened the door for her, following Angela outside. When they emerged from the diner it was to find that the rain had nearly stopped. A light drizzle fell on them as Travis opened the door to his truck for Angela to climb in. Her ratty jeans were pretty much threadbare as was the thin blouse that had already dampened from the quick walk to his truck.
Travis hurried around the front of the truck and jumped in. He hated leaving her at the boarding house he’d told her was a shelter, but he didn’t know what else to do right then. He was sure she would never agree to go home with him when she knew nothing about him and his brother. Plus, he needed to talk to Randy about her first. And he wanted to ready a place for her to move into so she would be closer to them.
“Here is the shelter. It’s a nice enough place to stay. Helen Causey runs it. She’ll take good care of you here.” He parked the truck out front, but instead of opening the door, he turned toward her. “I’m serious about the job, Angela. We could really use someone who knows how to run an office and handle the books. We’ve needed someone for quite some time, but there’s no one around here with any experience.”
“Thanks for the offer. I won’t say no ’cause I need a job, but how do you know you can trust me? I mean you don’t know anything about me yet.”
“You’re right. I don’t know anything about you, but my gut instinct says I can trust you. It’s never steered me wrong before. Get settled in with Helen and we can talk more tomorrow. I’ll bring my brother out tomorrow afternoon and we’ll talk more about the job. Why don’t you tell me who I can call back in Belzoni and I’ll talk to them before we come to meet with you?” Travis asked.
“That sounds fair enough. Do you have anything in here I can write the information on?”
Travis reached over and opened the glove compartment. Pulling out a notepad, he closed it again and handed it to her along with the pen he carried in his shirt pocket. He watched as she wrote down the information in a careful and precise handwriting before handing it to him.
“Great. Let’s get you settled with Helen.” Travis opened his door and walked around the truck to help Angela down.
When they walked inside the small building housed next to the sheriff’s office and combined police station, Helen greeted them with a welcoming smile. Just like that, Angela was pulled from his grasp, and he was dismissed. Just as quickly as she’d come into his world, Helen had snatched her back out. Hopefully, it would only be for a couple of nights. Something told him that Angela was the woman he and his brother had been waiting for.
Travis quickly explained that Angela needed a safe place to stay for a few days, emphasizing that she had requested a shelter so Helen would understand. Although she took in the occasional needy person, she mostly ran the place as a boarding house. It wouldn’t do for Angela to learn that just yet. She’d never accept a room or help from the woman if she knew the complete truth.
He climbed up in the truck and turned it toward home. He and Randy had a lot of talking to do. He just hoped Randy was in a better place than he had been of late. He was afraid his brother was giving up on their dream of sharing a woman between them and living in a family like they’d grown up in. He was sure that once he met Angela though, he would realize that dreams did come true.
Chapter Two
Angela let Helen lead her to the storeroom where they located several changes of clothes and toiletries before climbing a set of stairs to the second floor. Then she led her a short ways down the hall where she unlocked a door and opened it for Angela to go inside.
“It’s not very large, but it has a comfortable bed and chest with a mirror. The bathroom is through there. You share it with the room next to you, but there’s no one in it right now, so you have it to yourself. I only have two men living here right now. Both are good men and work at the lumberyard in town. You can lock your door though if you feel better that way.”
Angela smiled but didn’t know what to say. The woman had a way of just bulldozing through everything. Her pretty light-brown hair was pulled back in a small bun and she had the sweetest face Angela had ever seen. Her hazel eyes held a deep kindness that drew Angela in with a glance. She doubted she would ever be able to keep a secret from this woman. Not that she had any to keep.
“This is really nice, Helen. Thank you for letting me stay here for a few days. I just need to get a job and find a place I can afford.”
“No problem, honey. You can stay here as long as you like. That’s why it’s here.” She hugged Angela. “Now, why don’t you get a shower and changed into something warmer. We have two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. They’re simple meals, but you can eat your fill. Keep your room and the bathroom clean, and you can come and go as you like. Since you’re a woman, I would prefer if you would let me know if you are going to be late so I don’t have to send the sheriff out looking for you. We look out for each other here in Riverbend.”
Angela nodded. “I will. Travis and his brother are supposed to come over tomorrow afternoon sometime to talk to me about a job. I hope that is okay.”
“That’s fine. They’re good men. They’ve helped over the years to keep this place in good shape. You’re welcome to come downstairs anytime you want some company. Dinner tonight will be at six.” With that, Helen turned and walked back through the door.
Angela closed it behind the woman, and after staring at the knob for a few seconds, she locked it. The room was small but comfortable looking. Everything looked almost brand new, and it was clean. She sorted through the clothes they’d brought up and put them away in the chest, leaving out a change for when she finished her shower. She couldn’t wait to clean up. After spending the night in that car and getting wet, she felt like something the cat had dragged in.
The bathroom was really quite nice considering it was shared between two rooms. She found that the hot water worked great and allowed herself to drift as she washed off. So much had happened in the space of a couple of hours that she wasn’t sure how to process it all. The main thing on her mind was Travis Woods. Not only had he rescued her off the side of the road, but he’d fed her and taken her to the shelter like he had promised. The fact that he hadn’t tried
to take her home with him or even attack her in his truck went a long ways to making him a true hero in her book.
The added bonus of a possible job was icing on the cake. She was deeply thankful for what the good Lord had given her. It was up to her now to make something of it. She would do her best to make the most of the gift. Now if only she could manage to earn enough to rent a small room somewhere safe. She knew nothing of the area, but she was sure Helen would be able to direct her when the time came. It would take several months to earn enough to set up in a small apartment.
As she toweled dry, her thoughts turned to how good Travis looked. He was way out of her class, but he made excellent eye candy for someone like her. With his dark-brown hair that was just short of being shaggy and those amazing chocolate eyes, Angela thought she would embarrass herself by staring at him like a lovesick schoolgirl. Fortunately her stomach had outvoted her eyes and she’d concentrated on her meal for the most part. Still, she’d snuck several quick looks at how his smile warmed his face and took away the harsh lines that had been apparent when he’d first found her. Even the small scar at the corner of his left eye didn’t detract from his handsome face.
When he’d helped her into the truck both times, she’d marveled at his strength. He appeared to be about six foot three inches of hard muscle. He would have to be to have almost picked her up. She wasn’t a small woman despite having fallen on lean times. She knew she was a little curvier than most men liked. And her butt was anything but small.
She figured he must spend a great deal of time outside working since his skin still held on to a solid tan even though they were on the back end of winter and knocking on spring’s door. She wondered just how far that tan went on his body. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
Best to get those kinds of thoughts out of my head right now. If he ends up being one of my bosses, I have no business imagining him without clothes.
Angela snorted and pulled on the new-looking jeans and blouse. It wasn’t like she had a chance at catching his eye anyway. They were respectable men, and she was a homeless woman without a cent to her name with nothing but the clothes she’d been given out of the generosity of others. She figured in their world she was one step up from trailer trash.
With that cheerful thought, she decided a nap would help her recover from the last few days. She hadn’t slept much at all last night being out in the open as she’d been. Every noise had her eyes snapping open in fear. She quickly dried her hair with the blow dryer that was provided in the bathroom and brushed it out so it wouldn’t get tangled while she rested.
She eased down on the bed and found that the mattress felt just like new. She sighed as she curled her feet under the covers and closed her eyes. She couldn’t wait to find out more about the job Travis had talked about. She prayed that her boss in Belzoni wouldn’t ruin her chances at landing the position. She really could use the chance.
* * * *
Travis all but ran up the steps to the porch once he got home. He couldn’t wait to talk to Randy about Angela and his offer of a job. He clutched the sheet of paper that had the name and phone number of her boss from her last job in his hand. As long as the other man didn’t accuse her of theft or something equally as bad, he planned to hire her.
When he closed the door behind him, Randy stuck his head out of the office door just off to the side of the staircase. More than likely he was sitting in the desk chair and had rolled it across the room. He tended to roll it around the room instead of getting up and walking. Travis had no idea why since he knew his brother didn’t have a lazy bone in him, but he chalked it up to one of the crazy things that made up Randy.
“Hey. I’m in here. What kept you an extra hour in town, brother?” Randy’s head disappeared back into the other room.
Travis knew he was grinning like a crazy person, but he couldn’t help it. Walking into the office where Randy once again sat behind the desk that was situated in the middle of the room, Travis slid into one of the chairs across from the desk and stretched out his legs.
“I met the most amazing woman on the way home this afternoon.”
Randy rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You must have found some poor woman having car trouble and offered her a ride back to town.”
“Well, that’s close, but take away the car and you’re closer to the truth.”
“Huh?” Randy’s confused expression was priceless.
“She was huddled under a garbage bag on the side of the road. I thought when I stopped it would probably end up being a kitten or puppy that someone had put out. Instead, it was a person.” Travis waited for what he’d just said to sink in. He wasn’t disappointed.
“Someone put a woman out on the side of the road in a fucking garbage bag! Who in the hell would do something like that? Is she okay?” Randy had both hands flat on the desk as he stood up and leaned over it.
“Settle down. She’s fine. Well, after I got her something to drink and eat. She hadn’t had anything since yesterday when it happened. The poor thing has been walking all this time and slept in an abandoned car overnight.”
“The hell you say. That’s criminal. How could anyone do that to another human being?” Randy shook his head and eased back down in the chair. “Where is she now?”
“I took her to Helen’s place. She wanted me to take her to a shelter, and Helen’s is as close as we have here. She doesn’t have to know it’s really a boarding house for anyone in need.”
“Good. Helen will take care of her.” Randy ran a hand over his face.
“The good news is that she’s got bookkeeping experience. I plan to offer her the job we have here after I check out this reference.” Travis waved the piece of paper with Angela’s old boss’s name and phone number on it. “We can move her into the cabin so she will be close by. I would offer her a room in the house with us except I don’t think she’d take it. Still, she has to be on the ranch in order to get to work each day. We can’t go get her every day and take her back, and she doesn’t have transportation.”
Randy watched him the entire time he was talking without saying anything. Travis stared at him once he’d finished. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, his brother spoke up.
“I think you’ve taken a shine to her. I’ve never seen you so stirred up over a woman before.” Randy leaned back in the chair and looked at him with a thoughtful expression. “What is her name?”
“Angela Carter. She’s from Belzoni, Mississippi.” He told his brother the entire story as she’d told it to him.
“Well, make that call and find out if she’s someone we can take a chance on or not.” Randy stood up and walked toward the door. “I’m going to check on how the hands are doing. You can fill me in at dinner tonight about what you’ve found out. I’ll leave the particulars to you.”
Travis watched his brother leave and wondered what that was all about. He would have thought the other man would be happy to find someone that could take some of the burden from their shoulders by handling the office. Not to mention that she was a pretty single woman that Travis found attractive and sexy as hell. Shaking it off, Travis moved to the other side of the desk and picked up the phone.
Twenty minutes later, he felt much better about Angela. The man on the other end of the phone had made it plain that he was disappointed in the young woman for leaving, but he hadn’t had anything bad to say about her. She had done her job and was good at it. The man had wished him luck in keeping her though. He found that a little funny since she’d worked for the man for almost six years, from the time she had been sixteen until a couple of years after she graduated from the community college.
Standing up, he stretched and walked down the hall to the kitchen. It was his turn to fix dinner. Neither he nor his brother was an excellent cook, but they managed to make decent meals. Tonight he planned on something quick and easy. They had a lot to talk about and plans to make. He wanted to be sure the cabin was in good condition. They more or less kept it c
lean in case anyone in the family wanted to use it, but it probably needed airing out after the winter. It was supposed to be a pretty day tomorrow. They could leave the windows open all day.
The little cabin only had two rooms. The main room held a small living area with a tiny kitchen on the other side, complete with a table and chairs. The other one was a bedroom with the bathroom off of it. He felt like it would be plenty of room for her while she was getting on her feet. He hoped that things would work out and that she was the perfect woman for him and his brother to share. They had dreamed of a woman to love between them since they’d been old enough to understand the ménage lifestyle that their parents had lived.
He sighed. It would all depend on how she and Randy got along. He worried his brother would resist though. Lately, he had been less and less hopeful of finding someone they both could agree on and who would accept both of them in her life. They’d been stung several times in the past with Randy suffering the most. He didn’t want that to happen again, but how did you find someone if you didn’t step out and try?
By the time his brother had made it back in, Travis had everything ready. While Randy showered, he set the table and settled on how he would present everything to him. He couldn’t explain it, but something deep in his heart said she was the one who could make their dreams come true. Now if only he could convince Randy to take a chance one more time.
Travis smiled when Randy walked back into the kitchen freshly showered. He squared his shoulders and offered him a beer.
Chapter Three
Angela checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror one more time. She didn’t have makeup to fiddle with, so all she could really do was mess with her hair, and there was no taming it as she’d found out long ago. It hung down to her shoulders in ringlets. If she tried to brush it too much, they frizzed up. Her bangs could use a professional trimming, but she would keep taking care of them until she had some money saved before she wasted it on a haircut.
