That Woman in Wyoming

by Sherry Lewis

  Reagan opened the door and started inside, but the beam of headlights swept across them as a rattletrap van pulled into her driveway. She stopped on the threshold and shielded her eyes against the glare. “Who could this be?”

  “Maybe they’re just turning around in your driveway,” Max growled, irritated by the interruption.

  “I don’t think so.”

  The van chugged to a stop, and Reagan took a step closer to it.

  “Travis? You’re actually here?”

  Travis?

  The fire burning inside Max turned to ice. Travis? It couldn’t be. He’d heard wrong.

  Reagan caught Max’s hand in hers and tugged him toward the porch steps. “It’s my brother. Come and meet him.”

  Numb with disbelief, he stumbled after her. This couldn’t be happening. Ronnie. Reagan. How could Monique have mixed up those two names? This had to be another Travis. Max wouldn’t let it be Carmichael.

  Through his stunned denial, a sick dread filled his veins. No wonder he hadn’t been able to find any trace of Ronnie. No wonder no one in Serenity knew her. He almost wished he’d given up and left town before he found out. This truth hurt too much.

  Travis climbed slowly out of the van. His battered army jacket swayed over his stretched-out T-shirt and worn jeans as he closed the distance between them. His dark auburn hair hung into his eyes and stuck out at odd angles, as if he’d been asleep until just a minute ago. “You look kinda busy,” he said in a slow drawl. “Maybe I should drive around the block a couple of times, and then come back.”

  “No. Stay, please.” Reagan looked delighted. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”

  “Told you I’d be here.” Travis held back, looking Max over cautiously.

  Reagan took Travis by the arm and pulled him closer. “I know you don’t want to meet people while you’re here, but you should at least meet my friend, Max. Max Gardner…my brother, Travis Carmichael.”

  Travis gripped Max’s hand and pumped it a couple of times. “Friend? It looked like more than that to me, but what do I know?” He grinned as if he and Max had been friends for years. “I’m just glad to see her happy.”

  Happy. She wouldn’t be happy for long.

  Max’s stomach churned and his heart felt like stone. He managed to respond, but he wasn’t at all sure that he made any sense. The only thing he knew was the creeping sense of failure.

  The one thing he wanted most was the one thing he could never have.

  BRIGHT SPRING SUNLIGHT flooded the kitchen the next morning as Reagan carried two cups of coffee to the table. Birds chattered in the trees, and a soft breeze set the blind rattling gently against the open window. The weather had turned unseasonably warm overnight, and the sky was a deep azure with only a trace of clouds. A perfect day in keeping with her mood.

  Now that Travis was here, she was even more glad that she’d gone with Max yesterday. She might not get many more chances to spend time alone with him. He’d gone back to the motel almost immediately after Travis had shown up, insisting that she needed time with her brother. She appreciated his thoughtfulness, but it hadn’t really been necessary. Travis had crashed on the couch less than half an hour after Max left.

  Yawning, she slid one cup in front of Travis and sat down across the table. She savored the coffee and waited for it to pop her eyes open so she could get started on her day.

  Travis sat bare-chested and slouched over the table, both hands laced into his hair as huge yawns racked his body. He looked like the little boy she’d grown up with. He glanced at the cup, murmured a thank-you and took a long, careful sip. “There’s nothing like screaming girls to wake a guy up fast.”

  “Or a mom, either.” Reagan rubbed her forehead gently. “I should have woken them last night to tell them you were here. They’re not used to finding men sleeping on the couch.”

  Travis eyed her over the top of his cup. “They scared the hell out of me.”

  “Sorry.” Reagan glanced over her shoulder toward the sounds of mild morning argument drifting from the bathroom. “I’m not sure who scared who the most.”

  “Trust me,” Travis said with a slight frown. “They were a lot better off than I was.”

  Reagan put her hand over his. “I’m so glad you’re actually here. Tell me what’s been happening with you.”

  Travis shrugged. “Same old, same old.”

  Predictable answer, but Reagan was determined to get through to him this visit. Who knew when she’d have another chance? Besides, Travis wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t ready to make things better.

  “The trouble with that answer,” she said, “is that I haven’t seen you in so long, I don’t know what the same old thing is for you. How about giving me some details—like where you’ve been working, or if you’re seeing someone special.”

  “There’s not that much to tell. I’m not a brain surgeon yet, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Reagan searched his face for a smile, but he looked mulish and defensive. “I’m not being critical, Travis. I just want to know what you’ve been doing.”

  “Why? So you can call Dad and tell him?”

  “No. I promised you I wouldn’t do that.” Reagan couldn’t help wondering what made him so irritable this morning. “I won’t tell Dad, even though I think he deserves to know that you’re all right.”

  Travis’s lip curled. “Like he cares.”

  “He does care, Travis. I wish you’d give him a chance to prove it.” Reagan pushed away from the table. “Why are we arguing? We’ve been together less than one day.”

  “Because I didn’t come here to talk about Dad, or to have you lecture me about what I ought to do.” He hooked his arm over the back of his chair. “I haven’t even had my coffee and you’re already preaching.” He took a long, slow drink, challenging her with his eyes. “If I’m in your way here, just tell me. I can leave. It’s no skin off my nose.”

  Reagan bit back the first response that rose to her lips and tried to put herself in Travis’s place. “I didn’t mean to lecture you. I really am glad that you’re here.”

  Travis stood quickly and kissed the top of her head. “You need to relax, sis. You must drive your kids crazy if you fuss over them all the time like you do me. So, what’s up for today?”

  “First, we need to get Jamie’s things moved into Danielle’s room so you have a place to stay.” And she’d need to do laundry so he had clean sheets. “Then, I guess we’ll see how much time is left after that.”

  “I’m surprised,” Travis said. “I would have thought you’d have every minute of the day planned. I’ve always wondered if you allow those girls any free time, or if you keep them tied up all day.”

  Reagan carried her coffee cup back to the sink. “It’s not a bad thing to keep busy when you’re a teen. Too much free time only leads to trouble.”

  “And you’re scared to death your kids’ll turn out like me, aren’t you?”

  “Should I be?”

  Travis laughed again and rested both arms on the chair’s back. “One of these days, your daughters are going to rebel.”

  He was needling her, trying to get a reaction. But why? She swept some imaginary crumbs into the sink and pulled bowls from the cupboard for cereal. “I doubt that.”

  “Mark my word, sis. Last time I saw you, you had their days packed so tight, they barely had time to go to the bathroom. Nobody can stand living like that forever.”

  Suddenly tired of the attack, she rounded on him. “What makes you such an expert on kids all of a sudden? You don’t even have any.”

  “No, but I was one.”

  “You never played on any teams or took any extra classes. You were…”

  “Ignored?”

  “That’s not what I was going to say.”

  “But it’s the truth, isn’t it?”

  Reagan pulled two boxes of cereal from the cupboard and closed the door with a bang. “I’m not sure how this happened, but I really hate feelin
g as if I’m under fire.”

  “Really?” Travis came into the kitchen behind her. A slow grin curved his mouth. “Gee, I kind of like it. I can’t get enough.”

  She had to look up to glare into his eyes. “You’ve made your point, Travis. You can back off any time now.”

  He surprised her by bending down to kiss the top of her head once more. “Cool. Then we should be able to have a good visit for the rest of the time I’m here, right?” With that, he shuffled from the room on bare feet, leaving her completely confused.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  REAGAN BRUSHED A TRICKLE of perspiration from her forehead as she snapped open a fitted sheet and started putting it on the mattress. After taking Jamie to practice and Danielle to dance rehearsal, she’d done two loads of laundry, dusted and vacuumed Jamie’s room, and made several trips from Jamie’s room into Danielle’s with clothes. The girls had been working to make space in Danielle’s room for the roll-away bed ever since they got home.

  Reagan had no idea where Travis had gone.

  She was trying hard not to be irritated with him, but he made it difficult. He’d mysteriously disappeared as soon as the lifting and carrying started.

  To make matters worse, Jamie’s mood had gone steadily downhill over the past few hours. Reagan was trying to stay upbeat. She didn’t want to argue with anyone today.

  Jamie was probably upset at having to give up her room, but Reagan couldn’t see any other way to accommodate everyone. Danielle’s was the bigger bedroom, and the girls would be more comfortable together there than in Jamie’s.

  Nudging Travis’s backpack out of her way, she tugged the fitted sheet into place. Jamie would adjust, she assured herself. Travis wouldn’t be here forever. He’d probably find some reason to move on in a day or two.

  “What time are we leaving?”

  Reagan whipped around and found Jamie in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. “You startled me,” Reagan said with a laugh. “I didn’t hear you come back. What did you say?”

  Jamie leaned against the door frame. “I asked how much longer before we can leave.”

  Reagan opened the top sheet and smoothed it over the mattress. “Were we supposed to go somewhere?”

  Jamie’s mouth fell open and her posture grew rigid. “Are you serious?”

  Reagan stopped working and took a closer look at her daughter’s face. “Have I forgotten something? I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s been a long week.”

  “You promised you’d take me to Jackson today, remember? You promised you’d talk to the people at the climbing school.”

  “Oh, Jamie, I—” No wonder the girl had been acting so strangely. “I’m so sorry. I forgot.”

  “But you promised.” Jamie’s mouth twisted. Hurt and anger flashed in her eyes. “You promised.”

  “I said I’d try, honey. That’s not the same as a promise. I had no idea Travis would actually show up.”

  “He told you he was coming. We could have had all this stuff done already.”

  They could have if Reagan had believed him. She resisted the urge to say so to Jamie. She didn’t want to prejudice the girls against their uncle. “Maybe so,” she said slowly. “But we didn’t. And now that he’s here, I can’t just leave him sleeping on the couch. We’ll never be able to use the living room if I do.”

  Jamie propped her hands on her hips. “Does that mean we’re not going?”

  Reagan sat on the foot of the bed and patted the mattress for Jamie to join her. “I know you’re disappointed, honey, but I don’t see how we can go today. It’s already afternoon. Even if we left right now, we’d have trouble getting back before the sun goes down, and you know how I hate driving that canyon after dark—especially at this time of year.”

  “But if we don’t go, you won’t be able to see the school before the registration deadline.”

  “Are they open tomorrow?”

  “On Sunday?” Jamie shook her head and slumped against the wall. “Today’s the only chance unless we go after school next week, and I know you won’t do that.”

  Reagan felt about an inch tall. “I’m really sorry, honey. But there’s still so much to do today I don’t see how we can go.”

  “You never planned on taking me, did you.”

  “Of course I did. It’s just that things have come up that I didn’t foresee. Things that I can’t control. Sometimes that happens, and when it does we just have to deal with it.”

  “I don’t want to deal with it. It’s not fair.”

  The past week had taken its toll on Reagan’s patience. There’d been too many changes, both good and bad, and her ability to cope was growing shorter by the minute. She stood again and snapped, “Life isn’t always fair. You’re old enough to know that.”

  “Yeah,” Jamie said bitterly. “But why does it always have to be unfair to me?”

  Reagan shoved the hem of the sheet under the mattress and reached for a blanket. “It’s not always unfair to you. I haven’t seen my brother in three years. What would you have me do, ignore him?”

  “I don’t want you to ignore him, but I don’t want you to ignore me, either.”

  Reagan straightened the blanket without looking at her. “I don’t ignore you, Jamie.”

  “It sure feels like it.”

  The self-pitying tone frayed Reagan’s patience a little further. “I couldn’t ignore you if I wanted to, Jamie. You make sure of that.” She shoved pillows into cases and tossed them onto the bed. “You won’t take no for an answer. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve told you I don’t want you to take these lessons.”

  Jamie’s cheeks turned bright red. “If that’s how you feel, why did you say you’d take me up there?”

  “I intended to take you if I could,” Reagan said with the tiny bit of patience she could still muster. “And I would have. But Travis’s visit has changed everything, and I need you to understand that.”

  Jamie stared at her, unmoving, for what felt like forever. “Right. Sure.”

  The look on her face cut Reagan to the quick. She hated losing her temper with the girls. She hated losing control and saying things she regretted the instant they fell out of her mouth. She took a deep, steadying breath and tried to regroup. “Cut me some slack, Jamie. I’m doing my best here.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m not trying to be unfair.”

  “Whatever.” Jamie turned to leave.

  “Don’t walk away, sweetheart. Let’s talk about this. We can figure something out.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. You’ve already decided.”

  “Jamie, please—”

  But Jamie didn’t look back. She didn’t even slow down. A memory flash of Paul walking away after an argument took the starch out of Reagan’s knees. The look in Jamie’s eyes had been exactly like the one she’d seen so often in her husband’s eyes. It hurt just as much now as if ever had.

  MAX WATCHED THE NUMBERS on the clock beside his bed click the minutes away as he tried to figure out what to do. He’d really screwed up this time, and he couldn’t see a way out. He’d spent the day thinking, trying to come up with a way to tell Reagan the truth about her brother and about himself. But no matter how Max looked at it, no matter which explanation he tried, he knew she’d believe he’d wormed his way into her life to find her brother. She’d hate him, and the thought of that kept him searching for another solution.

  It should have been so easy—a no-brainer. He’d been raised to believe that a man’s duty came before anything else. Duty to family, to country, to his career. The old man had drilled it into their heads from the time Max and his brothers could first begin to understand. Yet the idea of hurting Reagan made Max want to forget he even had a duty.

  He wasn’t sure what that said about him.

  He paced to the window of his room and peered outside at the Saturday evening activity on Front Street. A few couples walked together hand in hand. A few cars drove slowly past the motel parking
lot. Young people laughed and shouted at one another, and music floated across the motel courtyard from some distant radio.

  A week ago, Max would have turned up his nose at this sight. Now he found himself wanting to be a part of it. He could almost see himself walking with Reagan to the Burger Shack or to another junior high school basketball game. He could almost envision a future here in Serenity.

  He wasn’t sure what that said about him, either.

  In San Diego he spent Saturday nights at the theater or a fancy new restaurant, usually with an elegant date on his arm. Now his imagination kept taking him back to the Chicken Inn, and Reagan’s was the only female face he could conjure.

  But she would hate his life, and he’d soon grow bored with hers. He shouldn’t even think about any kind of future with her. What he should be thinking about was how to get Travis Carmichael into custody.

  The answer was simple, of course. Put one foot in front of the other all the way up Reagan’s front walk, pull out the handcuffs and do his duty. Get Carmichael off the streets before he pulled another robbery or hurt someone.

  It couldn’t be any simpler.

  So why did he keep resisting?

  Because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Reagan? He’d lose her, anyway, as soon as he left Serenity.

  The telephone shrilled, breaking into his thoughts and making him drop the curtain back into place. It had to be Reagan, but he had no idea what he’d say to her. He strode across the room and answered, anyway.

  “Hey! What’s up? Still chasing that woman in Wyoming?”

  Donovan. Max didn’t know if he was disappointed or relieved, but the question bothered him. “Not exactly. How was Cancún?”

  “Heaven, buddy. Pure heaven.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “If you ever manage to get yourself a woman, take her there. Didn’t see much of the scenery, but the room was real nice.”