Megan's Marriage

by Annette Broadrick

  Sometime during the night, Megan was roused by Travis turning them in the bed and tucking the covers around them both. As he hauled her back into the warmth of his body and contentedly curled around her once more, she heard him whisper, “You’re going to be the death of me yet.” She was much too relaxed to respond.

  Eleven

  The insistent ringing of the phone eventually drew Megan from a sound sleep. By the time she remembered that Travis wasn’t there to answer it she was awake enough to realize it was in the middle of the night.

  She fumbled for the phone, which was on his side of the bed. “H’lo?” she muttered, her tongue still asleep.

  An agitated feminine voice replied. “May I please speak to Megan Kane?”

  Megan blinked her eyes, trying to get them open enough to see the clock. The digital numbers said it was after midnight. “This is Megan. Who’s this?”

  “You don’t know me. My name is Kitty and I’m a friend of Travis’s. He’s going to kill me for calling you but I thought you’d want to know.”

  Megan sat up in bed, clutching the phone to her ear. Travis had only been gone a few days. He’d stayed home longer this time than at any time since they had married. He’d been reluctant to leave and she still hadn’t gotten used to having him gone again. She leaned over and turned on the bedside lamp. “Know what? What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

  “Travis is in the hospital here in Pendleton.”

  “Oregon?”

  “Yeah. You knew he was here for the rodeo?”

  “Oh God! What happened?”

  “He got throwed and gored and stepped on. The doctor has been working on him for several hours. Said he’s lucky to be alive. He’s got a concussion, some broken bones in his foot, as well as broken ribs and a deep slice along his side. But it’s the concussion the doctor’s worried about. He hasn’t recovered consciousness since he was hurt.”

  “Oh my God. When did this happen?”

  “This afternoon. Maybe nine hours ago. I figured you’d want to know.”

  “Oh my God,” Megan repeated, her thoughts swirling so fast she was dizzy from the sensation.

  “If there’s anything I can do—”

  “What did you say your name is?”

  “Kitty Cantrell. I’ve known Travis since he started on the circuit way back when. He mentioned he got married a while back, so I thought—Well, if it was me sittin’ there at home, I’d be wanting to know what had happened to him.”

  “Oh, yes, Kitty, thank you. You’re absolutely right. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

  “Probably the quickest way would be to fly into Portland and rent a car, unless you want to charter a plane out of Portland to get over here to Pendleton.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see what I can do. Can you give me the name of the hospital? The doctor’s name? What room he’s in?”

  Kitty quickly gave her answers and she scribbled them down on the notepad beside the phone. By the time she hung up the phone, tears blinded her.

  “Megan?” Maribeth stood in the doorway. “Who was that? Is something wrong with Mollie?”

  Megan threw back the covers. “Not Mollie. Travis.”

  “Travis! What’s wrong? What happened? Is he all right? Where is he?”

  “In Oregon. I’ve got to fly out there. He’s in the hospital, unconscious. They don’t know for sure—The doctors think he’ll be okay but they aren’t sure because he hasn’t regained consciousness.” She rushed over and hugged Maribeth. “I’ve got to go to him.”

  “Of course you do.”

  “But I can’t leave you here alone.”

  “That’s not a problem. I’ll stay with Kim in town. Her mom won’t care. As soon as she hears what happened, she’ll insist on it.”

  Megan tried to remember if she had a suitcase. She never went anywhere, but maybe there were some things in the storage room. She ran down the hall and opened the door to what they had designated the junk room. She found a dilapidated duffel bag in one of the corners and hurried back to her room.

  Maribeth was already placing underwear and shirts out on the bed. “Gee, Megan, I hope he’s all right. It would be awful if something happened to Travis. Y’all have only been together for such a short time. It doesn’t seem fair.”

  Megan began to dress, not worrying about how she looked. She found jeans and a heavy shirt, then ran a brush through her hair.

  “How are you going to get to the airport?”

  “I’m going to have Butch drive me.”

  “Should I go wake him up?”

  “Thank you, Maribeth, that would be great. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”

  By the time she was dressed and packed, she heard voices in the kitchen and knew that Butch was already up and ready to take her to Austin. Thank God for Butch. He would be at the ranch to keep an eye on things while she was gone.

  She hurried into the kitchen and saw him standing there, his hands in his pockets, waiting for her.

  “Thank you for this,” she said.

  “It’s the least I could do. You ready?” he asked, taking the bag from her.

  “Yeah,” she said, knowing that she was lying. How could she ever be ready for something like this? She’d never been out of the state, never flown in an airplane and now she was going to go racing halfway across the country to Travis’s side. What had that woman—Kitty—said? That Travis wouldn’t like it because Kitty had called her. Why? What didn’t she know? Did that mean that Travis had been hurt other times and hadn’t bothered to tell her?

  She hopped up into the truck beside Butch and leaned back against the headrest as they began the two-hour trip to Austin. She would try to get booked on the first plane to the Pacific northwest. She could only hope that by the time she got there Travis would be awake and yelling at her for dashing up there.

  He wasn’t.

  As soon as she reached the hospital, Megan explained to the nurses at the desk who she was. They told her that he had not regained consciousness, The doctors had done several sets of X rays to determine the extent of his head injury but she would need to discuss the results with them.

  “May I see him?”

  The nurse nodded. “The doctor will be making his evening rounds later today. He’ll be able to discuss your husband’s condition with you at that time.”

  Megan was glad she was alone when she stepped inside Travis’s room. Late-afternoon sunlight flooded the room. The other bed in the room was empty. There seemed to be a cluster of machines surrounding Travis, all making their own peculiar sounds.

  His skin looked pasty white except where there was massive bruising and for a horrifying moment she thought he was dead. Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping off her chin despite her attempts to wipe them away. She tiptoed to the bed, uncomfortable with the sound of her boots on the tiled floor.

  He had a cast on his foot, which was propped up. Massive bruises covered the side of his swollen face—mottled purple and green and yellow. One eye would probably not open even if he were awake to attempt to see out of it.

  She sank onto the chair beside the bed and touched his hand. Megan had had several hours to think about what had happened to Travis during her flight between Texas and Oregon. She’d also had time to look at what had happened to her.

  During the five months she’d been married, she’d become used to the idea of being Travis’s wife. She’d accepted his long absences, had looked forward to his quick visits home, had reveled in their lovemaking, but until now she hadn’t really allowed herself to admit the truth.

  She had fallen in love with Travis Kane. It had happened so gradually that she wasn’t certain when her attraction to him had become so much more.

  Even though he had explained early on that he had loved her for years, she hadn’t been comfortable with the idea that he was telling her the truth. She had no way to compare what he’d told her with what other men said when they tried to convince a woman they wanted them.

 
; If they hadn’t already been married at the time, she would have thought that Travis said that to every girl he dated, which was why they were so hurt when he walked away.

  He hadn’t walked away from her. He’d married her. Of course neither of their life-styles had changed much since the marriage. She still ran the ranch, he still traveled. But the routine had worked for them. She hadn’t made any claims on his time, he hadn’t tried to push her aside to take charge of the ranch.

  Sometime during these past several months, Megan had forgotten the reasons behind their marriage and the fact that she hadn’t intended to stay married to him when she originally agreed to the idea.

  Now, as she sat beside him, she wondered how she could have been so blind to her own feelings. Was she so singleminded that her concerns were limited only to the ranch and her sisters? How could she have ever seen Travis as a means to an end rather than to love him and appreciate what he had done for her?

  Yes, she loved him, but she had never told him. The grim thought that she might not be able to do so shook her tremendously.

  Megan continued to sit there with him, willing Travis to open his eyes. She’d come along way, not only in miles but in emotions, to tell him what was truly in her heart. She prayed that he would wake up soon and be able to hear her.

  Hours later Megan stepped out of the room to get some coffee from the vending machine near the waiting room. She had spoken to the doctor who explained the procedures they had taken to check for injuries. He pointed out that the other injuries were healing satisfactorily and that hopefully Travis would regain consciousness soon. Head injuries were always tricky and couldn’t be predicted with any degree of accuracy.

  Since there was no other patient assigned to the room for the night, the doctor gave Megan permission to stay with Travis. The large overstuffed chair would serve as a place to nap as she waited out the hours for him to regain consciousness.

  She stopped at the vending machine and placed the necessary coins into the machine, then punched the button needed for the coffee.

  “Excuse me. Are you Megan?”

  Megan glanced around and saw a strikingly beautiful woman a few feet away, watching her intently. The woman’s hair was so black it glistened. It hung long and straight, cascading across her shoulders and down to her waist. Equally black eyes, delicately tilted at the outer edges, studied her with an expression of curiosity and interest.

  She wore a gold satin Western-cut blouse and black jeans that accentuated the long curving line of her legs. Her black boots gleamed.

  “Yes, I’m Megan. May I help you?”

  The other woman closed the gap between them and said in a low, husky voice, “I’m Kitty. I called you when Travis was hurt.”

  Megan’s heart began to pound in her chest. This woman was Travis’s friend? She was drop-dead gorgeous. Struggling to hide her reaction, Megan held out her hand. “I’m pleased to meet you, Kitty. I want to thank you for calling me.”

  Kitty took her hand. “How is he?”

  “The doctor says he’s healing nicely.”

  “Has he regained consciousness?”

  “No.”

  Kitty’s expression fell. “Oh. That’s too bad.”

  Megan took her coffee and motioned to the empty waiting room. “Would you like to sit down?”

  “Thanks.” Kitty seemed to glide across the room as she led the way and sank into one of the chairs with all the poise of royalty. Megan felt awkward and unpolished, suddenly aware of her casual clothes she’d thrown on much earlier that day.

  And yet—Kitty was also dressed in Western wear. On her the Western-cut blouse and jeans looked custom-made to fit her curvaceous body.

  Once seated beside her, Megan gripped the paper cup with both hands. Staring at the black liquid, she fought to sound casual as she asked, “How long did you say you’ve known Travis?”

  Kitty’s smile flashed brilliantly white in her tanned face. “Oh, Travis and I go back a long ways.”

  That’s what I was afraid of, Megan thought to herself.

  “Are you part of the rodeo?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been riding since I could walk. My dad was a rodeo bum, trailed around the country for years. He taught me to ride. I do some of the special events—trick riding and roping—that kind of thing. More exhibition than anything. I’m considered part of the entertainment.”

  Megan felt so out of place, not only because of the hospital environment but because she knew so little about Travis’s life. She was certain that this woman knew her husband much better than she did, and she recognized that she didn’t like the idea at all.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot,” she said, determined to be honest, “but I have to say that you are very beautiful.”

  Kitty smiled. “Thank you. I didn’t have much to do with that. My folks are from Oklahoma—my mom’s mostly Cherokee and I look like her, although I got my height from my dad.”

  “Travis’s never mentioned you to me.”

  Kitty glanced away before answering. “No reason why he should.” She shifted her shoulders in a tiny shrug. “I always knew that there was someone waiting for him at home…and that’s okay. He’s always been there for me, a good friend when I needed one.”

  Megan swallowed. Hadn’t that been what he offered her as well…friendship plus the legal right to sleep together?

  She shivered, wondering if she had misunderstood his intentions. Wasn’t he the one who had said they didn’t have to end the marriage after a year, that he was willing to consider their arrangement a permanent one?

  However, now that she was being forced to look at the life he led when he wasn’t in Texas, she was beginning to realize that there was a great deal about Travis she didn’t know.

  She didn’t care what Kitty said about her relationship with Travis…the woman was in love with him. It was easy to spot when you suffered from the same ailment.

  Kitty spoke. “Where are you staying?”

  “Here.”

  “No. I mean, what motel?”

  “I didn’t check into one.”

  Kitty shook her head. “You can’t stay here all night. You’ve got to get some rest, take a shower, that sort of thing.” She reached into her handbag. “Here. I checked into the Best Rest Inn down the street once everyone else left to follow the circuit. I usually bunk with one of the gals who has a travel trailer. But I didn’t want to leave town until I knew Travis was out of danger. Take my key and go get some sleep. I’ll stay here with him until you come back. Okay?”

  Once again Megan felt the odd throb in her heart at this further evidence that Kitty was deeply involved with Travis. However, she was exhausted, it was true. Not only the two-hour time difference, but the fact that she hadn’t slept since the midnight phone call the night before all added up to a weariness she could no longer ignore.

  Megan slowly reached for the key. “This is very kind of you, Kitty. I don’t know what to say.”

  Kitty briefly flashed her beguiling smile once again. “No need to say anything. I don’t want Travis to see those dark circles under your eyes when he finally decides to wake up. He’ll think you’ve been in a fight with somebody.” She stood and offered her hand to Megan, pulling her to her feet. “G’on, now. I’ll stay with him in case he stirs. If he does, I promise to call you immediately.”

  Megan knew she was right. “Okay.” She turned away and took a few steps. “I’ll see you early, I promise.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be here whenever you show up. Sleep well.”

  Unfortunately, once she got to the room and into bed, after she fell asleep her dreams were filled with foreboding images and feelings that haunted her. She kept waking up with a jolt at every unfamiliar sound, and there were many. Even though the motel was set back from the highway, there were still sounds of heavy trucks passing through, as well as local traffic, blasts of car radio music and muffled voices.

  She’d spent her life sleeping on a ranch wher
e every sound could be immediately identified. City noises were as foreign to her as a jungle would have been.

  Megan forced herself to go back to sleep each time, knowing she had to keep up her strength. Travis would need her and she wanted to be there for him.

  When the phone rang she let out a quick shriek before recalling where she was. Light came through the curtained window and she realized that somehow she’d managed to sleep past dawn.

  “H’lo?”

  “Hi, it’s Kitty. He’s been stirring some. Hasn’t opened his eyes or anything, but the doctor is encouraged to think he’s coming out of his deep sleep. I thought you’d want to be here just in case.”

  Megan was already out of bed, standing by the phone. “Yes. I’ll be there right away.”

  She dashed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She’d been too tired the night before to do more than fall into bed. Ten minutes later Megan let herself out of the hotel room and hurried up the street to the hospital.

  He was going to be all right! He had to be. She could hardly wait to see him again, to talk to him, to explain how she felt, to let him know how much she loved him.

  She slowed her hurried footsteps as she neared his room and quietly pushed the door open. Kitty was standing beside the bed, holding Travis’s hand. She glanced around at Megan, her face shining with relief.

  Megan immediately looked at Travis and saw that his one good eye was open. He’d been gazing at Kitty, but when Megan stepped into the room, he glanced at the door and saw her.

  He shut his eye for a brief moment, then opened it again, frowning. He looked at Kitty, his face registering his shock and disbelief, then back to Megan before saying hoarsely, “Megan? What are you doing here?” There was no sound of welcome.

  Megan felt paralyzed as she stood in the doorway, feeling like an intruder. Travis had looked comfortably relaxed with Kitty before he saw her. Her presence certainly changed that. She forced herself to walk toward him. Kitty obligingly stepped back.

  “Hello, Travis,” she said quietly. “It’s good to see you awake. How are you feeling?” She wanted badly to touch him, to reassure herself that he was all right. But the look on his face made her hesitate.