“Morning, to you,” Free drawled, notching his chin toward the loft at Travis’s back. “I know it’s tiny, but we made sure the bed was comfortable.”
“I do feel a little like a bull in a China shop in there,” Travis laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He’d pulled his hair up into a half bun on the back of his head. “But it’s comfortable, thank you.”
It felt like he had hardly slept, the time change messing with his internal clock something fierce. His body was screaming athim that it was only five-thirty in the morning, but the clock inside the loft read eight-thirty. It would take some getting used to.
“Want to come in for some coffee?” Levi asked, gesturing toward the big house. “We just have to settle these two in at the barn and we’ll be done.”
Travis nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Coffee sounds great.”
Levi chuckled then. “The time difference takes some getting used to.”
“Are you a transplant, too?” Travis asked. He walked alongside them as they turned the two horses toward the largest of the barns, then set off at a slow pace.
“Born and raised in Texas, then went to New Mexico for college. After my parents died, my brother and I came up here—our parents had moved here after retiring—to get their estate closed out. I met Serenity, and the rest was history. Been here almost twenty-five years, now.”
Alighting from their steeds inside the massive barn, a ranch hand took over. Both men thanked the man, and then the three of them sauntered back out into the early morning sunshine. Everything was so green and lush here. Perfectly blue skies with fluffy white clouds.
The three of them made their way toward the big house, climbing the steps to the wide front porch. Several Adirondack chairs dotted the covered porch, but Levi led them inside. The house was stunning, and he admired it as they walked through toward the kitchen.
“Oh, good morning,” Serenity murmured with a smile as they walked in. Levi skirted the massive white marble island in the center of the large space, his long strides eating up the distance between himself and his wife. He wrapped one arm around her middle, pulling her close as he swiped the dark brown cowboyhat off his head, setting it on the counter beside them. He ducked his head, kissing her thoroughly. When he pulled back, she whispered, “Levi Kendall, we have guests…”
“If I have to witness that one—” he muttered darkly, gesturing to Freeman over his shoulder, who was currently pouring three cups of coffee out of the carafe on the wide counter, “—kissing our daughter, then he can suffer through me saying hello to my wife.”
“I’m just glad you got that out of your system after that punch,” Free muttered, then grinned over at Travis.
Seren pushed her husband away with a roll of her eyes. “I still can’t believe you hit him right before Shane’s wedding. You’re lucky Jodi could fix it with concealer, poor Cassie’s photos would have looked like a trainwreck.”
Levi harumphed something unintelligible, but accepted the cup of coffee Free extended toward him. Travis nodded in thanks as Free handed him one as well, watching the three of them with slightly raised eyebrows. Free chuckled, leaning his hips back against the marble countertop. “Levi didn’t take well to the idea of me and Jodi, at first.”
Taking a drink of his coffee, he nodded slowly, remembering the story that Roxy had told him. “You two have been friends for a long time, right?”
“My younger brother and I lost our mom when I was seventeen, and our dad was never in the picture. We bounced around family for a bit, but I was young and grieving. I decided to up and leave my aunt’s house, and my little brother came with me. We managed to make it up here where we thought our dad had some family, but our car broke down and we were hungry and cold. Found this little half dilapidated shack back on some property. We started a fire and a little while later this big motherfucker showed up with a shotgun in hand, scared the piss out of both of us. Then this little dark-haired kid convinced himto let us stay. Levi and Seren took both myself and my brother in, gave us a place to live, gave me a job, gave my life a purpose again. Gave me a family, and the best friends a guy could ask for.” He smiled over at Seren and Levi, and Travis watched on as Free continued. “About ten years later, that dark-haired kid that had convinced her dad to let me stay… I realized that she had become more to me. But she was still young, way too young for me. I kissed her, and then hated myself for it, because I never wanted to stop.”
Travis glanced at Levi, who was staring at the floor between his scuffed boots. Seren had one hand splayed wide on his chest, rubbing gently.
“I left that night, didn’t explain to anyone why, other than my brother. I went back to Texas, absolutely wrecked inside. My cousin—Kasey, who you met yesterday—convinced me to go out with him one night about a week after I’d gotten back, and I met Roxy. She knew as soon as she met me that I was a fucking mess. I loved Jodi, even back then, and nothing was going to change that. Came back for my brothers wedding what, seven years later?” When Seren nodded, he chuckled, shaking his head. “Jodi had me poleaxed within ten minutes of being back. Leaving her again was impossible. So I did what I had to do, and confessed everything to my best friend. He took the news well, considering I’d made out with his eighteen-year-old when I was twenty-seven—”
“Alright, enough,” Levi grumbled, shooting the younger man a death glare. “I don’t want to be reminded of that, you bastard. That punch was well-deserved, and you know it.”
Travis and Free laughed, as Free nodded in agreement. “Never said it wasn’t. Roxy was the one that convinced me to not give up on Jodi, even though I was fucking terrified. She’s a good wing-man.”
Travis laughed then, taking another drink of his coffee. “Speaking of Roxy, has anyone seen her this morning?”
Seren nodded, gesturing with her own coffee cup toward the hallway. “She’s in the office, do you want me to show you the way?”
“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “I know she has a lot to arrange back in Texas still, I don’t need to bother her.”
“What isyourplan?” Free asked, eyeing him shrewdly. Travis took another drink, contemplating how to respond, but it was Seren that responded first.
“I think she’s feeling a little overwhelmed this morning,” she said quietly. “Be gentle with her, both of you.” Free gasped in feigned outrage, but Travis nodded solemnly. “A lot has changed for her in the last week, even just the last few days. Be patient with her, Travis. She’s not used to having this kind of support system, and I know it can be jarring at first, when she’s been so used to being self-sufficient for so long.”
Travis swallowed, staring into the dark depths of his coffee. A soft hand touched his elbow and he looked up into the soft blue eyes of the woman in front of him, and she smiled gently. “Don’t be upset if she tries to push you away out of fear, okay? And don’t take it personally, if she does. It’s a form of self-defense, self-preservation. I promise you, she’ll come around, after she settles in.”
He nodded, hoping like hell that wasn’t the case, because he wasn’t going anywhere.
Forty-Three
Thumping her head back against the wall of the hallway, Roxy swore fiercely in her head.No, no no no. Don’t tell him that. Don’t give him hope when I have to break his fucking heart!
