“She’ll be the talk of the town, and not in a good way.”
That snide comment hit a nerve. Coming nose-to-nose with him, Maggie seethed. “Like her mother? Is that what you mean?”
Travis’s voice dropped to just above a whisper. “I didn’t say that.”
“But it’s what you meant.”
His gaze landed on her mouth, and she felt a shiver when he ran his tongue over his bottom lip. Taking a step back, he narrowed his eyes as a wry grin grew on his face. Like a train rolling slowly down the tracks, his gaze traveled downward, lagging a beat too long at her breasts and stopping at her hips. That shiver surged to her belly, and below. Damn him for looking so sexy while he thought up a hurtful remark.
His gaze headed north and locked with hers. “Looking good, Maggie.”
“And?” Surely he had a zinger coming her way.
“And nothing. You look really good in that dress.”
Fury raged through every cell in her body. Travis didn’t compliment her. He never said anything nice. What kind of game was he playing?
“Liar,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling exposed.
He chuckled and turned to Riley. “See what I have to put up with? I give the woman a compliment, and she calls me a liar.”
Riley threw out her hands, wisely staying quiet.
“I’ll be outside, Carly,” he called out as he turned toward the curtains. “Good luck with this one, Mag.”
Maggie punched the air behind Travis’s back as he disappeared through the curtain.
“That man.” She stomped her foot, fisting her hands at her side.
“Why do you let him get to you?”
“I wish I knew.”
Chapter 2
Dig in, get dirty, plow through the day until his arms and back ached. Travis’s surefire way to handle stress was non-stop work, going at it to the point of exhaustion so that his mind numbed and his sleep was deep and dreamless. After seeing Maggie in a white wedding gown this morning, he would have to double his typical workload to get that image out of his mind. She had looked as pretty as she had all those years ago when they had gone to his senior prom. Back then, she had worn a light blue gown and a sapphire pendant around her neck.
God, what a morning.
Travis unscrewed the last bolt and jerked the rusted tailpipe from beneath Virginia McNamara’s sedan. He hoisted it to his shoulder and stomped out the backdoor of the garage.
Why did he have to see her in that gown?
He threw the pipe like a spear into the scrap pile and slammed the gate on the chain-link fence. When Hilda had called about a leaky roof, he hadn’t expected to see Maggie in all her frilly wedding glory. Until this morning, he had successfully avoided seeing her since he’d heard about her engagement. He hadn’t stopped by her house or gone to the Brass Rail. His plan had been to steer clear until . . . well, for as long as it took to get it through his thick skull that Maggie was getting married again.
What the hell was she thinking?
That woman didn’t have a lick of sense or an ounce of good judgment when it came to men. Travis hadn’t been around to warn her about Sonny, the sonofabitch who nearly put her in a grave, but he had certainly tried with the third one. He’d known Chuck Bridges most of his life and knew the word fidelity wasn’t in Chuck’s vocabulary. Now she was about to marry Buddy Garrett—that asshole. None of these jerks had real names, just stupid nicknames. That alone should’ve been a warning to her.
But Buddy Garrett? He was a loser back in high school and a loser still today. The first time he had laid eyes on the little punk was nineteen years ago at a softball game. Buddy had been harassing Maggie, and Travis had put a stop to it.
* * *
“Hey, batta, batta, batta.”
“I swear to God, I’m going to knock the shit out of that guy.” Travis stood up and glared at the short, round, stringy-haired kid yelling obnoxious comments at Maggie. Every time she came to bat, he had something to say.
“Sit down.” Brody tugged on Travis’s arm until he dropped back to the bleacher. “The last thing you need is to get suspended for fighting a month before graduation.”
“What difference does it make?” He leaned around Brody and sneered at the little weasel.
“That’s it, Maggie, tighten it up.” The jerk shouted his innuendo as his equally slimy friends fell into a fit of laughter.
“Who the hell is that kid anyway?”
“I don’t know. He’s a sophomore, I think,” Brody said.
“Well, he’s not going to make it to his junior year when I get finished with him.”
Maggie swung and missed, striking out for the second time. Her chin quivered as she kicked up dirt on the way to the dugout. She should’ve hit a home run. She was one of the best on the junior varsity softball team.
Travis had dragged Brody to the last two home games just so he could watch Maggie Timbrook play. He’d been working up the nerve to ask her to the prom but so far had chickened out. She was the prettiest girl in the sophomore class, with long hair the color of walnuts and the biggest green eyes. They had met over a spilt soda at a football game in the fall, and talked a little at Tucker’s skating party over the winter. He’d been working up the nerve to ask her out ever since.
The mouthy asshole whistled at Maggie as she walked past the bleachers, and Travis saw red.
“That’s it. I’m done.” He stepped over Brody with his hands clenched in fists.
“Whoa. Oh, no, you don’t.” Brody squeezed his shoulders and forced him down onto the bench. “Let it go.”
“I can’t. He’s the reason Maggie’s not doing so hot today.”
“At least wait until after the game.”
That made sense. Maggie had already had enough distractions. Brody had always been the voice of reason. Maybe that’s why they got along so well. Brody’s laid back vibe was the yin to Travis’s hot-headed yang. They’d been friends since Travis had first moved to Highland Springs, and he wasn’t sure how he’d get along without Brody after he left. They were both graduating next month, and Travis was headed to the Air Force. He was scheduled to leave for boot camp in September.
Travis stewed the rest of the game—tossing angry sneers at the heckler while his heart broke for Maggie. Wavering between anger and tears, she had a terrible game all because some puny asshole had literally thrown her off her game.
As soon the teams shook hands, Travis rushed down the bleachers, keeping the dick-wad in his sights. He planned to pull his pudgy ass beneath the stands and punch his lights out for ruining Maggie’s game.
But she had beaten him to it.
“Why did you do that, Buddy?” Maggie had the guy pushed up against the fence, pointing her finger in his face. “You totally messed me up with your stupid comments.”
“Oh, come on, Maggie. I was just goofing around.”
“I didn’t get a single hit because of you.”
“You need to learn to block out the crowd and stay focused.”
Travis rushed over and shoved Maggie out the way. “Focus on this.” He plowed his fist into the guy’s fat face, making his head snap back. He crumbled to the grown, squealing like a greased pig. “Maybe now you’ll learn to keep your fat mouth shut.”
“Ah! You broke my nose.”
“I didn’t break nothing. But I will if you don’t leave Maggie alone.”
“Travis, why did you do that?” She dragged him away from the crybaby slumped by the fence, gripping his arms in her hands. “You punched Buddy in the nose. Why?”
“Because he wouldn’t shut up. He kept distracting you.”
“But you didn’t need to punch him.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Their eyes locked. His heart thumped. A slow smile formed on Maggie’s lips, which matched his own grin. She held fast to his upper arms as he reached out and placed his hands on her waist. The crowd brushed by them while Buddy continued to whimper at their feet. Ti
me stood still. The world stopped turning. And in that frozen moment, Travis fell in love.
* * *
After kicking a tire on a Ford F-150 waiting for a new transmission, he returned to the muffler job. Screw it. If that was the kind of guy she wanted, good luck to her. He wouldn’t stop her, even though he’d love another excuse to ram his fist into Buddy’s face. But he had work to do, work that would hopefully take his mind off Maggie.
Since coming back from Hilda’s, he had changed the oil in Darla’s minivan and rotated the tires on Arthur’s truck. In between those jobs, he had answered a call from Miss Libby, who had locked herself out of her house for the hundredth time. Still he was pissed. Shouldn’t he be over it by now?
“Hey, man. Am I catching you at a bad time?”
Travis jumped and knocked his head against the auto lift column, surprised at Brody’s sudden appearance.
“Sorry, Travis.”
“No worries. My head’s hard enough to take it.” Busy or not, he always made time for Brody. “And it’s only a bad time if Virginia needs her car in a hurry.”
“Let’s hope not. She shouldn’t be on the road anyway.”
They chuckled as Travis pulled off his rubber gloves, shooting them in the trash can like a basketball. “Come on in the office. I want to show you the blueprints for the addition.”
“Still planning to double the size of your business?”
“For sure.” With Carly leaving for college, it seemed like a good time to do it.
Travis led Brody out of the garage and through a door desperately in need of a coat of paint. It was dirty and peeling and now at the top of his to-do list.
“Come on in.” Travis clicked on the window air conditioner to cool down his warm, stuffy office. “Take a look.” He rolled out the blueprints of his planned expansion on top of his cluttered desk.
“Walk me through it,” Brody said, bracing his hands on the edge of the desk.
“We’ll have two more repair bays and one of those quick lube lanes right here.” Travis pulled his cap from Misty Mountain Brewery, Tucker and Brody’s business, off his head and slapped it against his leg. He swiped the back of his arm across his forehead and lifted his dreads from his neck. Positioning the hat back on his head, he continued explaining the changes to his auto repair shop.
“Nice.” Brody walked around the desk for a different angle. “Does this mean I won’t need an appointment in the future?”
“Shit, you don’t need an appointment now.”
“I had to wait half a day to get my oil changed last week.”
“Well, excuse me. I forgot I was dealing with a Grammy-winning songwriter. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Better not.” Brody patted Travis on the back as they shared a laugh. “I don’t want you to forget me when you’re crushing the competition.”
“Ha! What competition?”
“Good point. Not a better mechanic in the region.”
“Damn straight.”
Brody dropped into a grease-stained chair in front of the window air conditioner as Travis handed him a water bottle. He sat behind his desk and rocked back in the squeaky old chair that had been there since he bought the place.
“I’m going to give it a total overhaul. Along with the addition, I’m going to update the other two bays, and clean out this shithole I call an office. It’s going to look like one of those fancy dealership service departments.”
“Nice. Sinking some serious money in the place.”
“It’s time. Highland Springs is growing. Sometimes we’re booked two weeks out. There’s money to be made in this town, and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
“What about all your side jobs? Who’s Miss Libby going to call when she locks herself out of her house?”
“Christ.” Travis scrubbed his hands over his face. “You know she called me twice last week and again this morning? I’ve tried to tell her to keep her house key on the same ring as her car key, but she refuses.”
“That would make too much sense.”
“I could install an electronic keypad, but she’d probably forget the code.” Travis chuckled as he took a sip of water.
“She’s going to break the bank.”
“Aw, hell, I don’t charge her.”
“What about your plumbing business? What about that?”
“I wouldn’t call it a business. I just help out friends when they need it.”
“That’s my point, man. You’ve got so much going all the time. Something’s got to give.” Brody slid to the edge of his chair and nailed Travis with a serious stare. “I’m happy you’re expanding, that business is so good, but you’ve got to give up the rest. You can’t work twenty hours a day. You need a life.”
“Did you say I need a wife? Hell, no.”
“I said a life, but a wife’s not a bad idea.”
“If I could find a babe like your Kate, maybe I’d consider it.” He raised his water bottle in a toast and took a sip.
“There are plenty of single women in town who’d sign on. You just need to slow down long enough for one to catch you.”
“Nah, been there, done that.” He took another drink, debating whether or not to bring up Maggie. He decided to go for it. “Speaking of which, I ran into my former wife this morning.”
“Where?”
“At Hilda’s. Her roof was leaking so I replaced a few shingles.”
“Another sideline.” Brody shook his head and sat back in his chair. “So you saw Maggie at the bridal salon?”
“Yep, wearing a white wedding gown. Shouldn’t there be a law against wearing white at your fourth wedding?” Feeling fidgety, Travis stood and rolled up the blueprints, shoving them under his desk.
“I’m not sure there are any rules nowadays.”
“Marrying that dumbass Buddy Garrett—good God.” He tossed an empty food container in the trash and straightened the desk lamp. “I suppose you’re going to the wedding.”
“Wouldn’t miss it. You should come.”
“I wasn’t invited, but if I was, I wouldn’t go. I won’t be a witness to another one of Maggie’s harebrained ideas.”
“This one might last.”
“Not a chance. I don’t trust that guy.”
“Is that all it is?”
“What do you mean?”
Brody stood up and tucked his hands in his pockets. “You sure you’re not the least bit jealous?”
“Hell no.”
He damn sure wasn’t jealous of Buddy Garrett, but the thought of Maggie getting married again definitely burned his gut, though he didn’t know why. They fought like cats and dogs, never saw eye-to-eye, and could barely stand the sight of each other. But seeing her in the wedding gown this morning had brought back a flood of emotions that he didn’t want to examine.
Maggie was the only woman Travis had ever loved. When she’d walked out on him all those years ago, it had felt like his heart had literally ripped wide open. He had never experienced such pain. A sharp dagger to the chest wouldn’t have hurt as much. Since then, he’d been skittish about getting serious over anyone else.
“So you’ll just keep on working your ass off, sleeping alone at night.” Brody brought Travis back on track.
“I didn’t say anything about sleeping alone.”
“Oh, okay. Who’s the flavor of the month?”
“You know I don’t kiss and tell.”
“I hear you.” Brody reached for the door. “But one of these days, I expect to meet one of your conquests. Maybe even find out you’re openly dating one of them.”
“Not likely, so don’t hold your breath.” He may not want to fall in love again, but he sure had no problem spending time with the fairer sex. There was just no point in publicizing it, even to his friends.
They left the office, walking out into the blazing sun, past two bays where Travis’s employees worked on cars up on racks. A baby blue Mustang went by, honking its horn.
“Who
was that making all that noise?” Brody chuckled, giving Travis a nudge.
“At least she wasn’t speeding. But who knows how the hell she drives when I’m not looking.”
His heart swelled as his beautiful daughter sped by, blasting techno music for the whole town to hear. Almost eighteen years old and about to go off to college—he wondered how he would handle it when she was gone. She was the love of his life and the best thing to come out of his relationship with Maggie.
“That’s some graduation gift. She better appreciate it,” Brody said.
“Don’t worry, she does. She’s a good girl—thanks to her mother.”
“Hey, you’ve been a good dad. She’s a lucky young lady.”
“I’m the lucky one.”
The shiny sports car came back down Main Street and pulled into the garage parking lot. Travis’s very grown-up daughter climbed out of the car wearing cut-off jeans, a white tank top, and Ray-Bans. His breath caught as she walked toward him with her long blond hair riffling in the breeze.
“Hey, Dad. Hi, Brody.”
“What’s up, Miss Carly?” Brody dragged her into a tight hug before handing her off to Travis.
“How’s my girl? Twice in one day. How’d I rate that?” He kissed her cheek and followed up with a mock rebuke. “What the hell was all that racket? You trying to stir up trouble around here?”
“Seriously? It would take more than music and a few beeps to do that.”
“So what’ve you been up to? Haven’t seen you in a while,” Brody said.
“Just studying for finals and getting ready for graduation.”
“You’re graduating?”
“Very funny, Dad.” She slugged Travis in the shoulder and turned back to Brody. “June eighth. I hope you and Kate can come.”
“We wouldn’t miss it.”
“We’re having a party afterward in the park. Mom and Buddy rented one of the pavilions.”
Searing heat suddenly burned inside Travis. Buddy Garrett. Christ, Maggie sure knew how to pick them. It took all he had to keep from saying something to her, but he’d promised himself he wouldn’t step in. After Sonny had put her in the hospital, Travis had reciprocated by breaking his jaw. Then she’d married Chuck, who got caught between the sheets with the mayor’s wife after Travis’s anonymous phone call. Now Maggie was getting hitched to a wimpy, spineless guy who’d had his balls cut off long ago. Travis had taught him a lesson back in high school, but his days of fighting for Maggie were over. At least Buddy didn’t seem the type that would beat her or cheat on her, but there was something suspicious about him. Travis had to let it go and accept that it was her choice, her life. This time he’d keep his mouth shut, no matter what. What good would it do to tell her how he felt anyway?
Whatever Love Means Page 2