Becky
There’ssomething about having the man you love dive out of a moving vehicle to tackle the man that destroyed you—and yes, I said love, because in that moment, I realized that I was painstakingly in love with Travis Channing, and that I no longer feared thatfact.
I saw the gun, and the terror that rolled through Travis’s eyes when he saw it too. But, he didn’t hesitate, he lunged for it. He put himself in harm’s way to try and protect us, and that was on top of hiring the private investigator and thebodyguard.
It had been three weeks since everything had happened. Richie was going to jail, and would be there for a very long time. The private investigator had dug up a lot of information that would bury him in court. He had an extensive debt with a biker gang, and he had a lot of drugs in his possession when they searched his car and motelroom.
I used to think that I would forever be shattered by Richie, but Travis had picked up the broken pieces of me one by one, sliding them back into place. There was still cracks throughout me, some deeper than others, but the way he loved mefilledthe deep rivets and made me feelcomplete.
Aiden had nightmares following the incident, and after a few appointments with a play therapist, his nightmares had stopped and he seemed to be back to his happy-go-luckyself.
This entire experience had reminded me of a very important lesson: don’t waste time with your loved ones. I didn’t intend on wasting any more of mytime.
We had spent as much time as we could with Travis over the past three weeks, out on his boat or at our lake. We’d had dinner a few times with his mother, and she was every bit as nice as I remembered. She’d been really great with Aiden, and he’d taken a liking to hertoo.
Travis slept over at the house more often than not. We had been careful to not let Aiden know about the adult sleepovers, but I’d grown accustomed to falling asleep in his arms, and I was going to miss it when he returned toNashville.
I wasn’t worried about the distance anymore—not after I’d seen how far Travis would go to keep me safe. It was also hard to sulk when I was so excited for him. He was heading to Nashville to start recording the first track on his new album, and in October—he’d play his new single live at the Grand OleOpry.
He’d played it for me many times before, and I knew his fans were going to love it as much as Idid.
With summer coming to a close, the gang had naturally decided to throw one final hurrah. This time, the party was at Travis’splace.
I was a little nervous. Although all of our friends—and most of the world—knew about our relationship, this was our first official outing at a social gathering as acouple.
I’d chosen a deep blue lace dress that cost more than I’d usually spend. I liked how it hung off my shoulders, and the plunging neckline made me feel more glamorous than I’d ever felt before. I blew dry my hair and used a curling iron to make loose curls frame myface.
I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup when the doorbell rang. I finished up and dropped my mascara into my makeupbag.
Opening the front door, I greeted Kimberly with a warm smile. She had offered to babysit Aiden, and while I’d felt a little guilty, there wasn’t any reason for me not to trusther.
Kimberly was expressive and warm, and had wholeheartedly welcomed both Aiden and I into her life. Her kindness—and her active presence in Travis’s life—made me miss my own mom, but it also provided comfort, because she treated us like family already. It was easy to likeher.
“Thanks so much for watching Aiden tonight,” I told her as she walkedin.
“Oh it’s no problem at all!” she exclaimed, taking my hands in hers. “You look beautiful, Becky,” she added, her eyesshining.
“Thank you,” I said, my cheeks turning a little pink under herattention.
I kissed Aiden goodnight and drove to Lake Rosseau to help Travis set up for the party. I pulled up to the gate, leaning out to type in the code he had given me. The gates swung forward and I drove through. I parked near the garage and got out, my heels clicking against the stone pathway as I walked to the frontdoor.
I rang the bell, and a moment later he answered. He was dressed in khaki shorts and a black t-shirt, a pile of twinkle lights in hisarms.
“Whoa,” he breathed, his eyes trailing the length of my body fervently. I stepped closer to him, tilting my head so I could press a kiss to his lips. “We might have time for a quickie, if wehurry.”
Laughing, I pulled away, my eyes roving over his body with greed. “You’ll have plenty of time for me later. I’m spending the night,” I winked, taking the tangled lights and skirting aroundhim.
After the party, Braden and Elle would be heading back to the house, and they’d offered to stay with Aiden so I could spent some alone time withTravis.
He groaned, watching my hips sway as I moved away from him, and followed behindme.
We spent the next forty-five minutes decorating for the party before the caterers showed up. We detangled the twinkle lights and strung them up along the railing on thedeck.
Twenty minutes later, people started to arrive, let in by the security team Travis had hired. They checked licenses to make sure everybody trying to get in was on the guest list, and they even patted down people to make sure nobody was trying to bring in anyweapons.
“You can’t be too careful,” he’d shrugged when Gordon started razzing him about it. “Especially not after everything that’s happened,” he added, drawing me closer tohim.
“I’m just playing,” Gordon said apologetically. He looked at me. “I’m glad you guys are okay,Becs.”
