“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Travis barked.
“Why? Because I’m not willing to let her go either? You said it yourself, if she’s gonna be in my bed, you’re gonna be right there with us, remember?”
She watched just as one would watch a train wreck, trying to determine the exact moment the fireball was going to engulf the wreckage while categorizing everything that was happening as it did. They were talking about her, and it sounded like they’d tried to plan this whole thing out. If anyone should be pissed, it should be her.
“That’s exactly what I fucking said. So what?” Travis took a step closer although they were almost nose to nose. “Did you think bringing her back into my life would change what this is between us? Well, it worked. You managed to fuck my life up beyond repair. And it didn’t fucking help!”
“Didn’t help what?” Gage asked, his voice low and menacing. He seemed to move closer to Travis, eliminating the breath of air that still remained between them. Their cowboy hats were the only thing keeping them from getting any closer.
“It didn’t make me want you any less,” Travis growled, letting go of Gage’s shirt and taking a step back. “But you did accomplish one thing, Gage.”
“What’s that?”
“Now I want her just as much as I want you. Are you fucking happy now?” Travis spun around and lifted his face to the sky and roared, “Goddammit!”
Kylie’s mouth hung open as she stared in disbelief. Travis’ words answered every single question she had. She knew she should walk away, give them a little space because clearly tempers were getting out of control, but she couldn’t seem to move. The rain was coming down in sheets, drenching them all, the sound of the wind making it difficult to hear anything except for her own heartbeat.
Except, she had heard Travis’ words.
Clearly.
Now I want her just as much as I want you.
Travis turned to look at her, not an ounce of the compassion she’d seen earlier lingering in his gaze. His smoke-blue eyes swirled with anger and something else. Lust? Desire? Longing?
“Did you tell her?” Gage’s question had them both turning to look at him.
“Tell her what?”
“Did you tell Kylie why you ran like a chicken shit ten years ago? Did you tell her what you’re running from?”
“Fuck you,” Travis barked, taking a step closer to Gage.
“Yeah, well, I’m sure we’re getting to that point,” Gage growled and Kylie stared at him. “If you can’t even be honest with yourself, how in the hell do you ever expect anyone to want something from you?” Gage asked, but Kylie wasn’t sure he was looking for an answer.
If someone would have told her that she’d be standing in the middle of the pouring rain with two men who had managed to turn her life upside down at some point, she wouldn’t have believed them. For years, Kylie’s life had been too normal. Too mundane. This wasn’t supposed to happen to her, yet here she was listening to a drama unfold between two men she’d developed feelings for, yet they seemed more interested in one another than her.
Thunder boomed, and she jumped, suddenly acutely aware of the storm still surging around them. They needed to get out of the rain. And soon.
“I told her,” Travis said. “I laid my heart out there, is that what you want to hear? You want me to grovel? To drop to my knees and beg her forgiveness because I’ve never found anyone who could even remotely satisfy me the way she did? Huh? That what you want?”
Gage’s eyes widened, and he seemed just as stunned as she was. Kylie wasn’t sure she was even breathing. Travis’ words ripped through her heart, penetrating the anger and desperation that had been building there ever since she saw him again.
Travis’ back straightened as he continued, “Is that what you wanted me to do? You think you haven’t done enough damage yet?” Travis took another step closer, only this time, Gage retaliated as he moved in, their chests touching, their hands fisting in one another’s shirts.
“But did you tell her the rest? Did you tell her how you kissed me? Or how about how you led me on, made me want you when you had no intention of following through,” Gage’s voice grew louder, suddenly booming over the rolling thunder, “You kissed me, goddammit!”
“In case you didn’t know, I had every intention of following through. You’re the one who ran, you’re the one who disappeared for months. And let’s be real fucking clear here, you fucking kissed me back!” Travis yelled.
Hearing the words were like an arrow straight through her heart. It didn’t matter that Gage was a man, or that she hadn’t seen Travis in ten years until recently. The jealousy raged a war inside of her and tears threatened from the anger that was building. Kylie didn’t even think it was possible, but suddenly her heart was breaking all over again. Right in her chest, the anguish that consumed her nearly had her knees giving out. But this time, it was breaking right in half, and there were two men responsible. Not just one. She was somehow stuck in the middle.
“You’re damn right I did,” Gage said, his temper cooling significantly. His voice lowered even more before he continued, “I’d do it again too.”
His confession made Kylie’s blood run cold. Here she was, in the middle of a pissing contest between two men who clearly had a thing for one another. Yet it didn’t explain what happened between her and Gage, or what just happened not five minutes before between her and Travis.
Nor did it help to clear up what she was feeling for either one of these men because she knew from grade school math that one plus one did not equal three. She’d been dragged into this for what? So Gage could get his point across to Travis? So he could declare his feelings for the man?
Hell, she wasn’t even sure whether she cared anymore. Glancing around, Kylie tried to remember the way that Travis had come in. It might take her all day to walk back to town, or hell, maybe a week, but at this point, she was willing to walk if it meant she could get away from them. While the two of them continued to stare one another down, Kylie turned and started walking.
“Where the hell are you going?” Travis growled, falling into step beside her. She didn’t bother looking at him.
“I don’t want to interrupt your little love fest. I’ll just find my way back to town on my own, thank you very much.” It took everything in her not to let the dam break and tears to rush forth. She kept moving, but was quickly pulled up short by Travis’ hand on her arm. He wasn’t gentle as he turned her to look at him.
She found herself staring up into pools of blue, dark and cloudy, just like the storm brewing around them. His mood resembled the weather as a matter of fact, evident in the eerie blue swirls in his eyes. Kylie had no idea what to say to him, but she knew she couldn’t be near him. They were too close as it was, and for a second she actually thought he might kiss her again.
“Let me go,” she pleaded. “Just let me walk away, Travis. I can’t do this anymore. I don’t know why the two of you had to pull me into this. It’s clear that you both want each other.” Kylie paused, forcing her wet hair away from her face. A small part of her wanted him to deny it, to tell her to her face what he’d said to Gage moments ago. “I only want one thing from you,” she finally said, her voice quivering from the pain ricocheting like a stray bullet in the center of her chest.
“What’s that?” he asked, pinning her with a glare.
“A divorce.” The words escaped on a sob, but Kylie couldn’t hide how much pain she was in. She’d have thought ten years would’ve healed some of the damage this one man had caused, but her heart felt like an open, throbbing wound all over again.
Travis didn’t stop staring at her and Kylie felt the urge to grab him by his shirt and crush her mouth to his. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. Gage was the other half of what Travis had been missing when they got married. He could give Travis what he needed and without her, they’d find someone else. A woman who could handle two men.
Acknowledg
ing the truth didn’t make it any easier to swallow, in fact, she felt as though she might just throw up.
“Not happening,” Travis growled before letting go of her arm and stomping back to his truck.
Kylie could only stare after him. “What’s not happening?” she yelled over the crash of thunder from the heavens.
“The divorce.” Travis turned momentarily, staring back at her. “It’s not fucking happening.”
With that, he climbed in his truck, started the engine and then tore out of the parking space, throwing up mud and water with his exit, leaving Kylie standing there with Gage.
Both of them too stunned to speak.
Chapter Nineteen
♂♀
“Get in the truck,” Gage told Kylie when Travis’ four wheel drive Chevy disappeared from sight and another bolt of lightning crackled and lit up the now blackened sky. The clouds were rolling in fiercely, turning under themselves as the storm blew in stronger. “Now!”
The rain was coming down harder, but what scared him most was the electrical storm that was intensifying all around them. They were surrounded by trees and water and the wind had picked up considerably within the last few minutes, leaving them sitting ducks in the middle of a vicious early summer storm. Being June in Texas, the weather could get ugly fast, and he wasn’t willing to risk her life or his at this point. It should’ve been enough that the water was now coming down in buckets, and they were both soaked to the skin, but Kylie seemed to be riveted to where she stood, staring after Travis’ truck even after it disappeared.
When she didn’t move, Gage took matters into his own hands, grabbing her arm and leading her to the driver’s side, which was closest. “Move over,” he instructed after opening the door and pushing her closer.
If they didn’t hurry, they were going to be trapped by the raging river guaranteed to wash out the low water crossing that would take them back to Coyote Ridge. As a teenager, there’d been many times Gage and Kaleb had waited out a storm and then some just to get across.
Once they were both inside the cab of the truck, he started the engine and then turned off the air conditioner. Although it was relatively warm outside, cool air blasting at them was only going to make their damp clothes that much more uncomfortable. They were both drenched through and through, but Kylie was shaking. Gage had no idea whether she was cold or if the conversation had set her on edge. Considering she had been willing to walk back to town, which was a good six miles, he would guess the latter.
“If you’ll take me into town, I’ll call a cab,” Kylie finally spoke as she fastened her seatbelt. She went on to explain, “Travis picked me up this morning, so I don’t have my truck.”
“Not sure we’ll get that lucky,” Gage muttered as he spun his tires in the mud, trying to gain purchase so he could back out onto the road. The condensed grove of trees had done remarkably little to keep the soil from taking the brunt of the rain, and the truck was currently battling the elements.
“What does that mean?” Kylie asked, glaring at him as she wrapped her arms around her body, shaking like a leaf.
“There’s a good chance the road is under water.”
“Already?”
“It doesn’t take much down here,” he explained as he managed to get enough dry land under his tires to jerk the truck out of the mud. Turning in his seat, he watched out the back window as he floored it through the open space that led to the main road. Once he hit pavement, he threw the truck in Drive and turned the truck toward their exit.
“What will we do if the road is under water?” she asked, sounding somewhat panicked.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” he told her, not wanting to spook her even more. The problem was…
“I don’t have a signal on my phone,” she said, sounding nearly desperate.
Yep, that was the problem. They were in a veritable dead zone this far out. Not a cell tower for a good ways. They wouldn’t even be able to call the fire department to come and fish them out if necessary.
Kylie was quiet for a few minutes while Gage continued to battle the blinding rain as he drove as fast as he was willing to go in hopes they could beat the rush of water that would likely already have washed out their exit.
The road was lined on both sides by towering ash and elm trees that had reached out their long, skinny arms, joining forces overhead which, coupled with the clouds, only made it darker. Pitch black was more like it.
As they rushed through the darkened tunnel of greenery, Gage was getting his hopes up, thinking they might just have a chance of beating the deluge that would submerge the road. And that’s when he saw taillights in the darkness ahead. And the vehicle they were attached to wasn’t moving forward. Pulling his foot from the gas pedal, Gage allowed the truck to slow until they were coasting closer.
“Oh my God!” Kylie screamed, and that’s when Gage realized – which he had already suspected – the taillights ahead were those of a familiar truck. Unfortunately, said truck was sticking ass up out of a ditch on the side of the road.
“Travis!”
“Don’t move,” he ordered, noticing she was getting more and more hysterical as the seconds passed, her hand already reaching for the door handle.
“Screw you,” she yelled, throwing open the door and dropping to the muddy earth beneath her. When she glared over at him as she prepared to run toward Travis’ truck, he saw the fear and anger swirling in the now dark blue of her eyes. “You’re not going to do anything?”
“Of course I’m going to do something,” he ground out. “But you aren’t. Get your pretty little ass back in the truck and don’t move. I’ll be back in a minute.” Gage’s temper had long since surpassed the pissed off point and Kylie’s quick assumption that he wasn’t going to help Travis nearly sent him over the edge.
As it was, Gage was relying on his training to keep him from getting upset. No matter what they were going through, no matter how many times they butted heads, Gage had already accepted that he was beginning to care about Travis more than he already had. Not only because he was Kaleb’s brother and Gage had spent more time with their family than his own for years, but also because there was an undeniable attraction between them.
Well, if he’d had any hope that Kylie would obey, which he really hadn’t, he learned his lesson right-fast. The passenger door slammed shut, and Kylie took off down the road, running flat out as she closed the distance between where Gage had stopped and where Travis’ disabled truck sat.
Gage sighed. This was not going to be fun. He felt it in his bones.
Battling the deluge of rain and the gale force winds, he managed to get the truck door open, dropping his cowboy hat in the seat before he climbed out. He was down the road and standing beside Kylie in seconds, both of them staring down the shallow embankment they’d have to descend in order to get to him.
Glancing over at her, he bit his tongue to keep from telling her to stay put. She wasn’t going to listen, and if he didn’t kick it into high gear, she was about to leave him behind.
“Stay behind me,” he told her as he started down the hill, his boots slipping in the mud and muck. When he felt Kylie’s fingers latch on to his belt loop, he felt marginally better. He’d be able to get to Travis faster if she had stayed in the damn truck, but he was learning just how tenacious the woman truly was.
Much to his relief, Travis was sitting up, staring out the front windshield when they approached a minute or two later.
“Travis!” Kylie yelled, trying to be heard over the rain and thunder.
Travis’ head snapped toward them at the sound of her voice. He didn’t move to get out though, which concerned him. Gage rapped his knuckles on the glass, but as no surprise, Travis lowered the window rather than opened the door.
“I don’t need help,” Travis growled. “And she shouldn’t be out here.”
Of course he didn’t need help. The man could take care of himself, he’d proven that. And as for Kylie, well, t
here was no telling that woman what to do, but Gage figured if Travis knew her as well as he suspected, he didn’t need to be reminded of how hard headed she was.
“Get your ass out of the truck,” Gage yelled over the wind that swallowed his words and carried them off as soon as they were out of his mouth.
Travis didn’t say a word, but those stormy blue eyes met his, and for a second, Gage didn’t think Travis was going to respond. Something transpired between the two of them in that moment, and it had the same impact as a hurricane battling against his resolve. This man was going to be Gage’s biggest test, and for some reason, he felt as though he had set himself up for failure long ago.
“Goddammit, Travis. Get your fucking ass out of the truck!” Gage wasn’t playing games anymore, and he wasn’t interested in being a target for the next electrical current that fell from the sky.
With a little hesitation, Travis rolled the window back up, but then opened the door and slid to the ground in front of him. Thankfully, he didn’t have a scratch on him from what Gage could see, but that didn’t stop Kylie from searching him over, her fingers poking and prodding even as the rain continued to pour down on them.
“We’re not going to get over the bridge,” Travis said, staring back at him.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Gage turned and then waited for Kylie to get in front of him. He’d have a better chance of catching her if she fell that way. Once she was satisfied with looking Travis over and certainly not before then, did she start heading back up the embankment.
They walked up the muddy hill, boots slipping and sliding in the muck as they went along, hands landing in the mud as they tried to brace themselves. Gage didn’t look to see whether Travis was following them or not, his focus was more on getting Kylie safely back on solid ground. Travis was a smart man after all, he would realize they didn’t have much of a choice at the moment.
Travis - An Alluring Indulgence Novel Page 17
