Dakota was pissed. Really, really pissed.
The family lake house had, apparently, totally wrecked her mellow. What with all the yelling going on behind the door of the study.
Dakota was yelling. Gavin was not. Gavin was, surprisingly, calm and doing his best to utilize reason. Travis never thought he’d live to see the day that Gavin was the reasonable one in a relationship. Turned out anything could happen at Twin Lakes.
“You think they’re okay?” Rachel asked. She wasn’t talking to anyone in particular. Because they were all standing outside the door.
Well, technically it was the living area right off the study. Even Mom and Dad were there. They kept giving each other looks that communicated a lot more than words. And Mama kept side-eying Rachel like this was just the opportunity she’d been waiting for to nudge Rachel back into Gavin’s arms.
Travis did not fucking think so.
Dakota was really on a roll, and this was the kind of thing the boys probably didn’t need to hear when it came to their dad.
“I don’t think they’re okay,” Dane said, shooing the boys toward the kitchen when they came out after a particularly loud Dakota f-bomb.
Travis didn’t think they were okay, either. This was definitely mid-relationship implosion magnitude.
“I think we should mind our own business,” he said, turning to follow Dane, the boys, and the dogs, who were always ready and willing to go into the kitchen because that’s where the good stuff happened for them.
“Maybe I should go in. See if I can defuse things.” Rachel had her arms crossed at her chest again. Travis felt the pull to go to her, help hold her up, so she didn’t feel like she had to hold the world up herself.
“I think the one thing that could make this relationship ending worse is the ex-wife stepping in,” Travis said. He tilted his head toward the kitchen.
“Then I should go in.” Evelyn started toward the door.
Right, so Rachel was probably not the worst thing to add to the recipe of their relationship destruction.
Bob shook his head. “No, sweets. Let them figure it out.”
Instead of going to the kitchen, Rachel headed toward her bedroom.
Travis gave her a few minutes, made an appearance in the kitchen, and then followed her.
He found her sitting on her bed, laptop in front of her, clicking away.
“You’re exhausted,” he said. She was gorgeous, of course, but the smudges under her eyes were becoming more and more prominent.
Also, she looked like she was ready to cry.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He stepped toward her, carefully, because she looked easily spooked at the moment. She shook her head, a little too quickly, a little too jerky.
“Is this about Gavin? Did he say somethin’ to you?” Because if he did, Travis would need to have more than a word.
“No, it’s Cassie. She called when Gavin and I were talking. I didn’t pick up. So she sent me an email detailing her concerns about my availability.” Rachel gulped, pasting on a smile. “I’m so tired of this, Trav. So freaking tired.”
Fucking hell. This Cassie was a piece of work. “It’s fine, though. I’ll fix it. Somehow.”
“You get to have a life, too.” He continued moving toward her, keeping his voice even. “And you get to spend time with the boys, with me, with whoever you want.”
She nodded.
“That’s why I wrote this.” She turned the laptop toward him.
“I wrote this after we got back from dancing the other night. But I wasn’t sure if I should send it,” she continued. “I figured if I doubled down on my dedication, I wouldn’t have to.”
Rachel had drafted an email laying out her office hours, the time required to respond to requests, and guidelines on the best ways to communicate.
It included scheduling links, bullet points, and an abundance of organization. Not that he’d expect anything less from her.
