Kate's Secret (Bluegrass Spirits Book 2)

by Kallypso Masters

  “Wow. Sometimes I work in the nursery at church. I love babies. I can’t wait to play with them.”

  “We’ll have to talk with your mom about when might be a good time for you to meet the Cooper clan, but I’d like to arrange for a get-together as soon as possible. Mom loves having backyard barbecues.”

  “Mom can come, too, right?”

  Travis didn’t want to answer for Katie. “Why don’t we go find her and ask?” Too late, he realized he’d be putting her on the spot. Reuniting with his family wouldn’t be easy for her, not after the way they’d taken the news of their breakup and the resentment a couple of his sisters still held toward her. Mom had adored Katie and had been hoping for a wedding in a couple of years, and his sisters were outraged any girl would dump their big brother.

  Thinking better of asking Katie tonight, he began, “Wait. Why don’t I—”

  Chelsea jumped up like a lithe cat, much quicker than he could move, and started toward the kitchen before he could stop her. When she turned to take his hand so they could walk together, worries about Katie fled.

  “Mom! We need to ask you something!” she said, nearly dragging him into the hallway.

  Katie came to the kitchen door, her brows furrowed. He couldn’t read her expression due to the backlighting in the dark hallway, but even in the dim light, he thought he saw tear tracks on her cheeks. She clung to a dishtowel, but forced a smile when she saw them. Until she glanced down at their clasped hands, and her smile faded.

  “What’s that, honey?”

  “Daddy wants to take me to meet his parents. Did you know I have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins?”

  Katie smiled, but her eyes seemed filled with sorrow. “Yes, I do. I’ve met most of them, and they’re wonderful people. You’re going to love them, and they’re going to be over the moon when they hear about you.”

  “I can’t wait! Can we go this Saturday”—Chelsea looked up at Travis for confirmation—“if that’s okay with them?”

  He turned to Katie to see if that was okay with her. Her shoulders relaxed as if with relief, and she nodded at his unspoken question.

  “Will you come with us, Mom?”

  Katie’s gaze collided with his. Her jaw tensed as if she’d clenched her teeth. With a quirk of his eyebrow, he waited for her to answer. “Chelsea, you know I have lessons all day Saturday. Besides, I think it might be best if you got together with your dad’s family without me around, because I’m not really sure they—” Katie glanced at him as if trying to let him off the hook, he supposed.

  “Nonsense.” While they may not be a traditional family like Clint’s, Katie was Chelsea’s mother, and his folks would probably have a million questions about Chelsea he wouldn’t be able to answer. “How about Sunday? Miguel will be back by then, right?”

  “When do you have to head back home, Daddy?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t worry about my schedule.” Jackson had told him to take as long as he needed. What’s another week? After all, he was a short drive away, if needed.

  He glanced at Katie. “Come with us. You and Mom always got along well. I know she’d love seeing you again.” Mom never held a grudge. She still talked about Katie from time to time, no doubt hoping Travis would get in touch with her to rekindle something. Man, was she going to be surprised to find out about Chelsea.

  Katie drew her trembling lower lip between her teeth. Unable to stand it any longer, he closed the gap between them and cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her eyes welled. “Come on, Katie,” he whispered. “Chelsea and I both want you to be there.” Whether as moral support for Chelsea or to pretend for a short time they were a real family, he didn’t know, but having her there was important to him.

  “Please, Mom,” Chelsea begged from across the room. “It won’t be so weird if you’re there with me.”

  Apparently, his little girl had her own set of insecurities. Katie grinned at Chelsea’s remark, and Travis waited for her to respond to his invitation.

  “Well, if you’re going to gang up on me, okay. I’ll go. Miguel returns Saturday night and can keep an eye on things here while we’re gone.”

  Travis grinned at Chelsea’s squeal of delight. “Thanks. I’ll call Mom tonight, and if Sunday’s okay with her, too, we can leave after the barn chores are done. It’s just a little more than an hour’s drive. We should make it back in time to bed down the horses that night, if Miguel needs a hand.”

  An idea started to form in his head, even if they couldn’t make a go of things romantically. He needed more time to think about all the ramifications, but Chelsea deserved to have both parents in her life.

  First, though, he needed to smooth things over with his family. If this plan would have any chance, they’d need strong support behind them.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kate’s stomach churned at the thought of facing Travis’s family again. If only they’d decided to do it on Saturday, she would have been off the hook. Travis made it sound like they were a typical family planning a Sunday visit with relatives. Would the Coopers hate her for not letting them get to know their granddaughter? She tried to remind herself that this wasn’t about her comfort level. Obviously, Chelsea was ecstatic to meet her extended family. And the Coopers were good people. They’d love Chelsea in an instant and would treat her well. Kate would be there for Chelsea.

  She forced a smile and stepped out of his reach to go to the counter and pretend she was busy cleaning. This Sunday would be for Chelsea. She owed her that much.

  Her decision not to tell them about Chelsea suddenly sounded like the stupidest, most selfish thing anyone could have done. All she’d tried to do was to protect her daughter from being abandoned if Travis wasn’t able to cut it as a father, and to keep Travis from feeling obligated to give up on his hopes and dreams. She and Travis had discussed getting married, but not until after college. There had been talk about holding off on having kids, but not until they were in their thirties so that he could establish his career.

  What a different life they would have given Chelsea if Kate hadn’t shut him out. He’d have made a wonderful father and loved every minute of it. Tears filled her eyes again. She was now the one with regrets concerning what might have been. For whatever reason, Travis’s life had gone in an entirely different direction.

  “Your truck has Towers Contracting on the side,” Chelsea said, bringing Kate back to the present. “At first, I wondered why a construction guy was here from that far away. Now I know. What’s contracting?”

  “I coordinate the building of luxury homes, pricey condos, and the occasional high rise.”

  “Is that where you met all those country-music stars?”

  He chuckled. “Pretty much.”

  “I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, although I do like horses and mechanics. How’d you decide?”

  Chelsea was all over the place about what career she might pursue—from healthcare to car mechanic. Kate was interested in hearing this, too.

  “My dad owned a construction firm, so I learned a lot from working with him over the years. I guess it was ingrained in my genetic makeup.”

  But what about your dream, Travis?

  “I enjoy bringing all the various tradesmen together rather than only overseeing one small part of the operation like I did with my dad.” Travis chuckled. “Sorry. Best not to get me started on my career.”

  If he loved it so much, how long would he be able to stay away from it? Once again, doubt reared its ugly head.

  “Once, I wanted to oversee the building of skyscrapers in New York City, but…”

  Kate had been wondering for a long time why he hadn’t returned to University of Kentucky after Manhattan. Not that she had finished her senior year, either. She’d had to drop out in November when she’d become too sick during her pregnancy. When he didn’t seem to intend to explain further, Kate couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to that plan?”

  He me
t her gaze, sobering. “The Manhattan internship. I met a lot of survivors of 9/11, including some of the first responders.” He shrugged. “Hearing them tell about how they witnessed metal structures that were supposed to stand the test of time, to protect those working and living within, come crumbling down around them….well, it made me change how I saw my future career.”

  Wow. “I can imagine that it would.”

  The two of them stared silently as each other until Chelsea said, “My social studies teacher talked about it last year. It made me cry.” Chelsea hadn’t even been born yet when it had happened. “Why are people so cruel to other people?”

  Travis shook his head. “Search me. But my experiences that summer made me reevaluate my priorities.” To Kate, he added, “I joined the National Guard immediately after I came home from my summer in New York City. Served eight years. I didn’t return to UK for our senior year. Much later, I finished up at Vandy on Uncle Sam’s dollar.” He focused on Chelsea again. “I’m in the reserves now.”

  “Did you go to war?” Chelsea asked, her eyes solemn.

  “Three deployments too many.”

  Chelsea grew silent for a moment. “I’m glad you made it back home. The dad of one of my fourth-grade classmates didn’t.” Kate could hear the thickness in Chelsea’s words and was going to comfort her when Travis opened his arms and wrapped their daughter in his shield of protection and comfort. Kate had been up with Chelsea many nights after LaTasha’s dad had been killed in Afghanistan. Now it was Travis’s turn.

  “I’m sorry about your friend’s dad.”

  Kate longed to give them both a hug, but didn’t want to intrude on their moment. “I’m going to go take care of the horses for the night.” She doubted they needed anything more, but crossed the kitchen and set the dishtowel beside the sink before heading toward the door. Travis had everything under control here.

  “Wait!” Chelsea came toward her and wrapped her arms around her. Kate reciprocated. “Good night, Mom. This has been the best night ever.”

  “Night. I love you, sweetie.”

  “Me, too, you. And thanks!”

  “For what?”

  She let go and met Kate’s gaze before lowering her voice. “For giving me the best dad ever.”

  Before Kate could form any words, Chelsea pivoted and returned to Travis, grabbing his hand before dragging him out of the kitchen.

  Kate couldn’t help but smile on her way to the barn. Maybe things were going to turn out all right, at least for Chelsea.

  She was in B.C.’s stall later when she heard someone enter the barn. She looked up as Travis came to stand in the doorway. Alone.

  “Chelsea all right?” she asked.

  “She said she wanted to take Xena up to meet her other stuffed animals.” He grinned. “I think she wanted to call or text some friends and tell them what’s going on, too. She probably needed some time to digest it all.” He came closer to where she stood in the aisle with the empty water bucket. “How about you, Katie? None of this could have been easy for you.”

  “Nonsense. Seeing my daughter happy is all I’ve ever wanted.” She stroked the horse’s neck. Now what? Kate swallowed past the lump in her throat, unsure where to go from here.

  When she said good night to B.C. and would have headed back to the house and the sanctuary of her room, Travis gently grasped her elbow and turned her toward him.

  “Please don’t…” she begged, not even sure what she was afraid he’d do. Kiss her again? Express his regrets over time lost?

  “Katie,” he said, cupping her chin with his warm hand and forcing her to meet his gaze no matter how much she wanted to escape. “Can we pretend for the sake of Chelsea that we enjoy each other’s company? Especially in front of my family?”

  “Of course. I think we only get into trouble when we’re alone like this.” She sighed. “It’ll work out fine Sunday. By the way, you were wonderful with Chelsea tonight. I didn’t know what to expect, but you’re a natural father.”

  “Why do you look so miserable then?”

  She did? Okay, probably more than a little. “I’m scared.” Her life was changing in a huge way, although not as drastically as Chelsea’s. Her daughter embraced the changes, but Kate, well, not so much. “I have always tried to plan everything out to ensure stability in our lives, and now I don’t know what’s going to happen from one minute to the next.”

  His thumb brushed across her cheek, and she inhaled sharply, not expecting the intimate gesture to affect her so. When she tried to pull away, he wrapped his other arm around her waist. “Katie, I’m not the enemy. How can I make you see that I have no intention of hurting you?”

  “It’s not you. Just give me time to process all that’s happened.”

  When he started to lower his face to hers, she did wrench herself away. “Travis, kissing me isn’t going to do anything but add to my stress right now.” Why did their bodies have no problem reconnecting whenever they were alone? Sexual attraction didn’t last, though. And her heart wouldn’t be able to stand it if things didn’t work out between them.

  “I’ve enjoyed every single one of our kisses.”

  “Mom! Daddy! I have the best idea ever!” Both turned as Chelsea came bounding through the open barn door into the aisle. Kate took several steps from him to provide more distance. The last thing she wanted to do was have Chelsea think there might be a chance of them rekindling their old feelings for one another.

  “What’s that, sweetie?” she asked.

  “Daddy should stay in Grandpa’s old room so he can be part of our family for real. Besides, nobody ever uses that room. And now that Daddy’s going to be coming here lots of times, he needs a nicer place to sleep than the barn apartment.” Chelsea smiled up at Travis after making her pitch. Had Travis been aware she was going to ask that?

  “Nothing wrong with the apartment. You should have seen some of the places I’ve slept.”

  Okay, maybe she was being overly cautious, but being under the same roof with Travis—on the same floor no less—didn’t sound like such a great idea to Kate.

  “Mom, it’s just for a few nights this time, and whenever Daddy comes back to see me.” The hopefulness in Chelsea’s voice as she gazed up at him made Kate see there was no choice.

  Do it for Chelsea.

  “Forgive my manners, Travis, but she’s right. You can move into the house tomorrow. I’ll need to clean and air out the room first, though. Nobody’s slept in there for years.”

  “Thanks for the invitation—both of you,” he said, returning his gaze to Chelsea for a moment and smiling.

  “But you’re welcome to take the couch again tonight, if you want.” Kate couldn’t believe the words that just came out of her mouth. She was curious how he’d answer, but before he could open his mouth, Chelsea ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Please, Daddy? This way, we can stay up late and talk about more stuff. I still have hundreds of questions to ask.”

  He smiled down at Chelsea. She’d already wrapped him around her little finger, an innate ability most daughters had a knack for.

  “I appreciate that, but I’ll wait until tomorrow. That will give me time to clean up some out here.”

  “Bummer.” Chelsea’s lower lip jutted out.

  “But I can hang out until bedtime.”

  She fisted her hand in front of her mouth and gave a high-pitched squeal. “That would be awesome! And I’ll help carry your stuff over to the house tomorrow, Daddy,” Chelsea offered.

  He laughed. “I don’t have much. I think I can manage, but thanks.”

  Everything was happening so fast. Kate would have to get busy changing linens and straightening up in the guest room right away. It had become a bit of a storage room so she’d also have to find a place for several boxes of winter blankets and clothes. And the dust would be an inch thick. Usually, she only had time for the bare minimum of cleaning in the main living areas, so a room rarely used was hardly touched.

 
“It’s getting late,” Travis said. “Katie, do you need anything else done out here?”

  “No, the horses are all settled.”

  She checked to be sure she’d closed B.C.’s stall door and started down the aisle as the image of Travis lying shirtless on the guest room bed flashed across her mind. Did he still wear boxers?

  You aren’t going to find out, Katie dear.

  “Daddy, maybe we can watch a movie tonight or something. I won’t be able to sleep for hours.” Chelsea talked a mile a minute all the way to the house. She’d had more to say to Travis than she’d said to Kate lately. Chelsea was a different girl around him. What other changes would come over Chelsea as she grew closer to him?

  Leaving daddy and daughter to their movie, she went into Daddy’s old room to start preparing it for Travis. After she’d knocked down all the cobwebs and surveyed what else needed to be done, her thoughts went to her mom for some reason. They used to sit by the fireplace while she read Kate stories for hours on end. Through her teen years, Kate had often come in here to talk to her as if she were still here. Kate remembered how Chelsea had admitted to Travis that she’d often talked to him over the years, long after Chelsea had stopped bringing him up to Kate. The thought tugged at her heartstrings. She and Chelsea were alike in so many ways, both longing for a missing parent. Only her daughter’s situation was different. She’d done nothing to drive her father away. Not the way Kate must have done, even if she couldn’t recall what exactly had caused her mother to leave.

  After moving some of the junk out of what would be Travis’s room whenever he visited, Kate walked down the hallway toward the stairs and overheard the two of them talking in Chelsea’s bedroom. A quick glance at her watch told her that it had been almost two hours since she’d left them in the living room. Light spilled through the open doorway into the hall. The poor man must be exhausted.

  Kate didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but peeked inside as she passed to find them standing in front of her bookshelf filled with photos of the times Chelsea had competed in 4-H at the fairgrounds and again this past May in nearby Shelbyville at the academy level, both classes for beginners.