by Lisa Crane
“Hey,” another voice said quietly from behind Brooke.
Brooke spun to face the man behind her. He smiled at her, softening his hard face. He was tall and slim, with the long, lean muscles that come from hard work, rather than just working out. He looked very intimidating, all hard muscles and frowns, until he gave her that small smile. Then he spoke again, and his voice completely belied his appearance.
“You lookin’ for Travis?” he asked. Brooke nodded. “You must be Brooke. I’m Nick. Nick Rodgers. Come on, kitchen’s this way.”
Nick led the way to the kitchen where Travis stood at the stove. Another muscular man sat at the table; he looked up when Brooke entered. His eyes moved up and down her body once, then he glanced at Travis, one brow arched; his expression seemed to be saying something to Travis, and Brooke didn’t think it was very complimentary to her. Travis pulled out a chair at the table.
“Have a seat, Brooke,” he said. “I see you’ve met Nick. And this character is Will Barnes. Will, this is my neighbor, Brooke Valentine. Will is the guy who drove us to the hospital when you were hurt.”
“Brooke Valentine,” Will repeated. He gave her a sly grin. “Valentine. Sounds like a great stripper name!”
Travis choked on a swallow of root beer, coughing and sputtering, his face turning red. Nick pounded him on the back until Travis held up a hand. His blue eyes darted to Brooke’s face, noting the blush on her cheeks. Quickly, he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a soda for Nick.
“Here, Nick,” Travis rasped. He glanced briefly at Brooke again. “Brooke, can I get you a drink?”
“Just water, please,” she said.
“You sure?” he asked, his voice almost back to normal. “I’ve got plenty of sodas.” He jerked his head toward Nick and Will. “I keep ‘em in stock for the guys who work for me.”
“Water’s fine,” Brooke repeated. “Really.”
Travis set a bottle of water in front of Brooke before turning back to the stove. Brooke watched him for a minute.
“Can I help with anything?” she asked.
“Uhhh….” Travis pretended to think hard, then pulled a face. “No. You’re a guest.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “Did you take any pain pills?”
“Not yet, no.”
“Nick, watch this for a minute,” Travis said, pointing at the pot on the stove. He left the kitchen, then returned a minute later; he shook two medicine bottles. “Antibiotics, too. When did you last take them?”
“I haven’t taken any of those yet,” she answered. “We just picked them up on the way home, remember.”
Travis rolled his eyes as he shook a capsule out of one plastic bottle, and two tablets out of the other. He looked at the directions on the side of the bottle of antibiotics and frowned.
“Says you’re supposed to take this with food,” he observed. He glanced up at her. “How about a glass of milk for now? Chili will be ready soon.”
“Travis, I wish you’d stop this!” Brooke said suddenly. She appeared uncomfortable. “I can take care of myself! I’ve been doing it for a long time!”
“And I wish you’d stop fighting me every step of the way!” Travis growled back at her. “Is it so hard for you to let someone help you?”
“Might as well give in, girl,” Nick said. He smiled at Brooke again, his warm brown eyes teasing. “Our cap’n here is a care-taker.” At Brooke’s questioning look, he chuckled. “Strays, lost souls, injured soldiers, whatever; Travis has to fix it.”
“I’m no stray,” Brooke muttered, rising awkwardly; her leg stiffened up every time she sat still for more than a few minutes.
“Brooke, sit,” Travis ordered. She glared at him. His next words were less harsh. “I mean, please stay. I know you can take care of yourself. But I’d really like it if you’d let me help you out a little.”
“And I didn’t mean you were a stray,” Nick added. “I just meant Travis is a little bit of a control freak and he likes to make things right. I’m sorry if I offended you, Brooke.”
Brooke nodded briefly, indicating she’d stay. Travis tipped the pills in his hand into her palm and placed a glass of milk in front of her. He gave her a tight-lipped smile and Brooke felt bad for her behavior. It had been a long and difficult day, and she’d taken it out on Travis, who’d been nothing but kind to her.
Chapter 6
Will Barnes watched the exchange between his boss and the woman who sat at the kitchen table. He gave a mental shake of his head, wondering what was going on with the two of them. Brooke Valentine was nothing like the women Travis Cooper usually dated. Not that women like Brooke didn’t throw themselves at Coop, right along with all the gorgeous, sexy babes. But Travis usually ended up at the end of the day – or evening or party or whatever – with the hottest chick in sight. Brooke Valentine, on the other hand was…well, she wouldn’t be homely if she were fixed up a little, but she was no beauty queen. That didn’t even address the extra weight she carried, although Will had to admit, she had great boobs under that shapeless tee shirt that was about three sizes too big.
Will puzzled over Brooke’s attitude. A woman like her should be drooling by now, having Travis Cooper’s undivided attention. Instead, she snapped and growled and seemed offended by his actions. So why did it seem like Travis was bending over backward to be nice to this woman?
At the same time Will was puzzling things out, Nick Rodgers was idly stirring the pot of chili on Travis’ stove. People often looked at Nick, listened to his country drawl and immediately labeled him; they assumed he was a “dumb hick”. But Nick’s quiet didn’t come from a low IQ; it came from a penchant for listening, including hearing what wasn’t said sometimes.
Now, he listened and observed Travis with Brooke Valentine. Brooke was certainly a bristly little thing! Nick was convinced that fierce independent streak was forged by a life that had been less than idyllic. He’d seen Brooke coming and going when he’d stopped by to talk with Travis during the construction of the house; he’d noticed a marked difference in her appearance between leaving her house and returning. When she left in the mornings, Brooke fairly bounced out her front door, nearly vibrating with energy and enthusiasm, a small smile on her lips; but Nick had seen her return in the afternoons, looking tired and considerably less enthusiastic. Usually, she was back out the door within minutes, wearing one uniform or the other, obviously on her way to work at a second job.
Nick hoped whatever was going on between Travis and Brooke wouldn’t end up with her getting hurt. He respected Travis Cooper and loved him like a brother, but Nick just had a feeling it would be all too easy for a girl like Brooke to be hurt by a man like Travis.
Will leaned back in his chair and watched Brooke for a moment. Then he asked, “So how much of the surrounding land do you own?”
“Not much,” she answered. “It was ten acres. I sold nine and a half to Travis. That was the last of it.”
“There was more?” Will asked.
“My grandfather owned about a hundred acres.”
“He sell it?”
Brooke looked closely at Will for a moment. The man was certainly persistent; she had to give him that. Travis and Nick were at the stove, discussing the merits of various hot peppers in chili; neither of them were listening to the conversation between Will and Brooke.
“No,” Brooke finally answered. The pain pills were making her sleepy. “No, he left it to me and I sold it.”
“Too much trouble, huh?” Brooke didn’t answer. “Wow, nearly a hundred acres and it looks like it went to a developer, huh? Must’ve made you a pretty penny, huh?”
“Will,” Nick said suddenly. “Stop interrogating the girl.”
Brooke shifted grateful eyes to Nick. He smiled and nodded. Brooke thought it might be nice to close her eyes for just a moment. She rested her chin in the palm of one hand and closed her eyes.
“Brooke.”
Brooke was dreaming. She didn’t know where she was, but it was a warm,
safe place; it was a good place. She wasn’t in a hurry to get to work or school. She wasn’t trying to figure out how to juggle bills and keep the creditors happy. She was just warm, and safe and comfortable, enjoying the touch of a hand gently smoothing her hair.
“Brooke.”
A deep voice repeated her name, pulling her out of the warmth. Slowly, Brooke’s eyes opened. She blinked at the handsome face before her, and her eyes widened. Travis Cooper knelt near her, his eyes concerned.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Y-yes,” Brooke answered groggily. She sat up. She’d fallen sound asleep, her head resting on her forearm on the kitchen table. She sat up, embarrassed. “Sorry. The pain pills make me loopy.”
“No worries,” Travis said, grinning. He straightened. “You ready to eat? I make a mean pot of chili.”
“Yes, thank you.” She looked around the kitchen. “Where’d your friends go? How long was I asleep?”
“Nick and Will went to cover the window beside your door. Boo went with ‘em. And you’ve been asleep for about half an hour.” He set a bowl of chili in front of Brooke. “The guys will be back in a minute, but you go ahead and eat.”
“Travis,” Brooke began hesitantly. He turned back to face her. “Listen, I owe you an apology.”
“An apology?” he echoed, frowning slightly. “What for?”
“Since the accident, you’ve done nothing but go out of your way to help me,” Brooke replied. “You’ve been kind and helpful, and I’ve…well, I haven’t been very nice or very appreciative.” She looked up at him. “I promise you I’m not usually like this.” She shrugged a little. “My only excuse is that I’ve had a lot on my mind, and then I was kind of in pain.”
“I thought you just didn’t like me.”
“Oh, no!” she said quickly, her expression pained. “No, it’s not that, really! I just don’t –“
“Relax, Brooke, I was teasing,” Travis interrupted her. He grinned and set a sleeve of saltine crackers on the table, along with a bag of tortilla chips. “Seriously, just kidding, okay?”
“Well, I just don’t want you to think I’m some whiney woman who doesn’t appreciate someone’s help.” She toyed with the spoon in front of her. “It’s just…well, I’m kind of out of practice in the whole ‘getting help’ department. So I’m sorry if I was obnoxious and offensive.”
“Forgiven,” Travis said. He extended a hand. “Friends?”
Brooke accepted his hand. She marveled at how his swallowed her own fingers. Travis shook her hand and squeezed it briefly before turning back to the refrigerator. When he moved back to the table, he held a container of grated cheese in one hand, sour cream in the other. They joined the things in the center of the table.
“So did you grow up around here?” Travis asked.
“Right next door, actually,” Brooke answered. “My grandpa lived there. He raised me from the time I was about eight.”
“That’s right, you said he owned the land, didn’t you?”
Brooke nodded. Travis wanted to ask about the sale of the land. He’d researched the price of land in the area before buying the property from his new neighbor. The sale of nearly a hundred acres should have, as Will put it, brought a pretty penny. So Travis asked himself again, why did she work two jobs and seem to be struggling so financially?
“So tell me about your mother,” Travis said, instead of asking about the land. “Is her name really Satin?”
“No, but watch out if you call her Susan!” she answered, smirking. “No, her mother didn’t saddle her with a stripper name!”
“Bunny Valentine,” Travis said grinning. “I like it!”
The back door swung open and Boo bounded inside the room, headed straight for Brooke, as usual; before anyone could stop him, the big dog crashed into her. Brooke winced and jerked away, but the damage was done; a dark stain began to spread along the leg of her pajama pants.
“Boo!” Travis growled sharply. “Sit!” He looked at Brooke’s leg. “You need to let me look at that leg.”
Brooke looked shocked and began to protest, saying, “No, I’m sure it’s okay! I’ll just go –“
“Brooke, you’re bleeding!” Travis said. “Look, be reasonable. That shirt you’ve got on is long enough to keep you decent. Just let me take a look, okay?”
“Well….”
“You really should let him look,” Nick said. He gestured at the blood on Brooke’s pants. “Looks like your dog tore some of your staples.”
“All right,” Brooke said reluctantly. She rose and limped from the kitchen. “But not in here with everybody.”
Travis led Brooke to the bedroom where he’d placed her bag. He turned his back while she removed her pajama pants.
“Okay,” Brooke said quietly. “You can look.”
Travis turned around. Bright color stained her cheeks and she wouldn’t look Travis in the eye as she tugged at the hem of her large tee shirt. Travis squatted beside Brooke to examine her leg. She jerked when she felt his hand on her thigh as he pulled gently at the bandage that covered her wound.
“Easy,” Travis said, his deep voice soothing, as if he were talking to a frightened animal. “Let’s go in the bathroom. The light’s better, and I can clean this blood off.”
In the bathroom, Brooke gasped when Travis put his hands on her waist and easily lifted her onto the counter. He ignored her and gently pulled the bandage further away so he could inspect the wound. He pulled a washcloth from the cabinet and held it under warm water; then, with careful hands, he washed the blood away. He gave Brooke a pleased smile.
“Not bad,” he said. “Looks like it’s just two staples, right down here near your knee.” He put a hand on her knee. “Sit tight. I’m going to go find my first aid kit. I think we can fix this up just fine.”
Travis left Brooke sitting on the counter, her expression slightly bemused. He returned shortly with a case in his hand; Brooke watched as he opened the case and looked through it.
“Here we go!” he said triumphantly.
In short order, with warm, yet efficient fingers, Travis had placed two butterfly bandages across the damaged staples. He replaced the long gauze bandage over the wound. He helped Brooke off the counter and looked down at her.
“I don’t suppose you have anything else to wear right now?” he asked. She shook her head. “Hang on, I’ll run over to your place and get you something, okay? Be right back.”
Brooke waited patiently, wondering at her new neighbor. Nick Rodgers certainly seemed to have hit the nail on the head when labeled Travis Cooper a “care taker”. It was an odd feeling for Brooke to have someone want to take care of her.
Chapter 7
In Brooke’s house next door, Travis found her bedroom. The room was like the rest of the house, neat and tidy, but slightly shabby. He now understood, however, Brooke’s life, her problems, weren’t of her own making. Rather, she’d inherited various debts from her grandfather and her mother.
Travis opened a drawer in the old dresser; it held faded jeans and sweats. Another drawer held tee shirts. The third drawer Travis opened gave him pause; the drawer was filled with lace, silk and satin and Travis couldn’t stop the grin on his face as he held up a pair of lacy black bikini panties. He whistled softly, then stuffed the item back in the drawer and slammed it shut.
“Well, well,” he murmured to himself. “I would’ve never guessed that, my little Bunny-girl.”
The next drawer Travis opened yielded what he sought. He pulled out a pair of soft, fuzzy pink lounge pants and headed back to his own house, locking the door behind him. He trotted across the adjoined yards, through his front door and back to the bathroom where Brooke waited. He held the lounge pants out to her.
“Meet you back in the kitchen,” he said. “I bet your chili’s gotten cold.”
Brooke pulled on the soft lounge pants and followed Travis to the kitchen. He was already in the process of placing a fresh bowl of chili on the table. Will and Nick
sat at the table waiting. Boo lay sprawled on the floor; he started to rise as Brooke limped in, but Travis stopped him with a hand on his collar.
“Boo, stay!” Brooke ordered. The dog relaxed and lay his head on his paws.
“You’re going to have to watch him,” Travis said.
“He’s not usually quite this bad,” Brooke said. “I think he’s just missed me.”
Travis sat down in the chair next to Brooke. They all began eating, the three men talking as they did.
“So when is the meeting with GeneSys?” Will asked. “Think they’ll sign?”
“I think so,” Travis answered, nodding. “Frank Traynor, the new CEO is concerned about all the proprietary research they’re doing. He thinks – and rightly so, from what I’ve seen – their security isn’t what it ought to be. The building, the files, their server, all of it is pretty much wide open right now. I can’t believe they’ve gone this long the way they have.”
The conversation flowed around Brooke as the three discussed topics about which she knew very little. From what she understood, Travis Cooper had started a security firm that provided security on every level, from building security guards to computer protection to bodyguards. Brooke perked up a bit when she heard something she did understand.
“And what about a secretary?” Nick asked suddenly. “Have you found a secretary yet?”
“No,” Travis answered. He rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t think it would be so hard, would you?”
“You’re looking for a secretary?” Brooke asked hesitantly.
“Yes. Do you know someone?”
“I might,” she answered. “I’ll get her résumé for you. She’s one of the girls I work with at the diner. Well…worked with, I guess I should say.” She tilted her head and gave Travis a small smile. “I can get her résumé when I take my uniforms back and pick up my last check.”
After dinner, Brooke tried to help clean up, but Travis would have none of it. She ended up sitting at the table with Nick while Will and Travis quickly cleaned up the dishes. When they were done, the other two men left. Travis gestured to the sofa and Brooke sat down on the end, as far from the opposite end as she could. Travis, however, plopped down right in the middle and grinned at her.
