Travis (Alluring Indulgence, #3)

by Nicole Edwards

  Ok.

  Well, shit.

  There was no way this was going to go well.

  Ten minutes later, Travis was pulling into the diner beside Kylie’s red Chevy. A couple of seconds after that, he was walking inside to find her.

  “Hey, Travis,” Rachel said when she met him at the door. “Table for one?”

  “No. Thanks. I’m actually just looking for someone.”

  “Oh. Ok. Well, let me know if you need anything,” she said sweetly and then sauntered off without looking back.

  The place wasn’t all that big, so it only took Travis a minute to find Kylie sitting in a booth in the back. Both Zoey and Jessie were sitting across from her, and the horrified expression on her face said Jessie had already shared the wonderful news.

  Shit.

  On the way over, Travis had called Gage and let him know what was going down. He told him that he might want to have a first aid kit handy because he had no idea how her father was going to take this. Considering he didn’t know whether Jessie had given the man any backstory, he wasn’t sure what he should expect. Then again, either way, if it had been his daughter and he’d learned that she was married, well, Travis would pound heads first and ask questions later.

  “Why would you do that, Jessica?” Kylie’s voice was hysterical and based on the fact that she used her sister’s full name, Travis figured this wasn’t going to be a happy reunion.

  “”I don’t know. I was… I was mad. He was yelling at me and telling me that I was not acting like a responsible adult. I just wanted him to focus on something else.”

  “Well, that’s one way to do it,” Travis said as he approached the table, all three women looking up at him.

  He slid into the booth beside Kylie, but she moved over, closer to the wall as though she were trying to get away from him. He made eye contact with Zoey, not sure what answer he expected to be on her face, but what he saw wasn’t it.

  Great.

  “Did you tell him that I’m sleeping with two guys too?” Kylie asked.

  She was so distraught, Travis wasn’t sure she even realized what she asked. Or that she’d said it loud enough to attract the attention of several other patrons. And the waitress.

  Jessie looked down at the table, a slight nod was her only response.

  Fucking lovely.

  Travis glanced down at his watch. He figured he’d have about ten minutes before word reached his parents. He almost considered calling them and giving them a heads up but from the looks of it, Kylie needed him more. And he wanted to be able to talk to them in a less public place. Face to face would also be good. Because, Hey, Mom and Dad, I’m kinda in love with both a man and a woman and I think this is forever, really would sound better in person.

  He was aware of the murmurs that started up around him, but Travis put his hand on Kylie’s arm and tried to calm her. She jerked away from him and the reaction stung. Like hell.

  Kylie tried to play it off by reaching for her phone in her hip pocket. She flipped it on while muttering, “I’ve got to text him. Tell him not to come here.”

  The rest of them shared glances as they watched Kylie type furiously once the phone screen lit up.

  Not a minute after Kylie had sent off the text, her phone rang. With a strained sigh, she hit the talk button and Travis watched as she stared into space and spoke to her father.

  There was a series of No, Dad’s followed by a sequence of I know’s, but then Kylie said the one thing that felt like a dagger had been slammed right between his ribs, piercing his heart with deadly precision.

  “I’m getting a divorce, Dad. We’ll talk about it when I get home.”

  The wind was knocked completely out of him.

  Chapter Forty Seven

  ♂♀

  “What are you doing?” Gage asked, anger and confusion wracking him as he followed Kylie through the upstairs bedrooms watching as she packed her things.

  “I’ve got to go home. My dad’s coming to visit and I don’t want him coming here.” she said over her shoulder, still not looking at him.

  In fact, she hadn’t made eye contact with him since she walked in the door ten minutes before. He knew what was going on because Zoey had called him with a heads up. Apparently, that afternoon all hell broke loose, and it started with Kylie asking questions about Gage’s relationship with Zoey. It ended with Travis roaring out of the parking lot of the diner like his ass was on fire.

  According to Zoey, she’d watched the lights dim in Kylie’s eyes after she answered Kylie’s questions as honestly as she could. But that hadn’t been the worst of it. As they had sat in awkward silence, Jessie showed up and plopped down in the booth beside Zoey and proceeded to give her sister the terrible news.

  Kylie’s father found out she was married because her sister had spilled it in order to take the heat off of herself and in the process, Kylie told her father she was getting a divorce. Yep, Travis had been right there to hear the news. Zoey said it hadn’t been pretty. According to her, every ounce of the easy going guy they’d started getting used to, drained out of him right in front of Zoey’s eyes, along with his color. Without a word, he had walked out and even from inside the restaurant they heard his truck peel out of the parking lot.

  Of course, Travis wasn’t answering his phone, so Gage only knew this second hand.

  “When are you coming back?” he asked Kylie when she disappeared into the bathroom she had been using while she was there. This one was bigger than the master so she’d commandeered it upon her arrival.

  “Umm,” Kylie didn’t answer and even though she started to, Gage knew she had no intention of telling him anything. She was stalling for time.

  Rather than letting her walk out the door and out of his life, Gage wasn’t going down without a fight. She might have heard some things she wasn’t happy about, but he deserved a chance to explain.

  Gently placing his hands on her shoulders, he tried to stop her. When she went to jerk away from him, he tightened his grip slightly and held her in place. “We’re going to talk, Kylie. Something’s obviously wrong,” he told her as he lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. She avoided making eye contact, but he held her there until she did.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just need to go home.” Her response was straightforward. And lacking any emotion whatsoever.

  “Bullshit, Kylie,” Gage growled through clenched teeth. “Don’t stand there and treat me like I’m an idiot. This morning you were screaming my name when I was fucking you against the shower wall, and now you’re not looking at me and trying to run out the door like the world is crashing down on you.”

  She had the decency to blush, but when Kylie pulled away, Gage let her go. She wasn’t going to talk to him, she was making that perfectly clear. He had half a mind to lock her in the bedroom until she calmed down. Figuring it would only make things worse, Gage gave in to his anger and stormed out of the room and back downstairs.

  If he couldn’t stop her, he damn sure wasn’t going to watch her go. He didn’t have it in him to lose her again.

  Twenty minutes later, Gage was pulling up to Travis’ house. His truck was parked outside, and although it was halfway in the yard, the fact that it was there, was a good sign. Gage was up to the front door before the engine on his truck stopped clicking. Without knocking, he tried the knob and found it unlocked, so he walked in.

  “Travis!” he called out, mainly to let the man know he had company but then he went on the hunt.

  He didn’t have to go far.

  Travis was sitting on the couch in the living room, the blinds drawn, the television off and the room was almost totally dark. His only company appeared to be a six pack of beer sitting on the coffee table. Nice choice. At least they wouldn’t tell you something you didn’t want to hear.

  Gage moved around and dropped onto the couch beside Travis, their arms touching. They sat that way for a good ten minutes before Travis pointed his beer bottle toward the table. “Help y
ourself.”

  That’s all that was said between the two of them for the next few hours. Gage didn’t ask questions, Travis didn’t explain anything. They drank the beers on the table and only when those were gone did Gage get up to get more. A couple of trips to the bathroom to take care of business and they were right back at it. Staring at the walls and listening to one another breathe.

  Gage’s heart was breaking in his chest, he could feel the tiny fissures opening up and trying to suck the air from his lungs. Never once did he give in to the tears though. And neither did Travis, although he was pretty sure the man was suffering right along with him.

  By rebuilding that wall of hers and walking away without an explanation, Kylie had effectively broken them both. And the only thing they had left was each other.

  Neither of them answered the phone when it rang, which it did more than once. And it wasn’t until they were swallowed by the dark of the night that they moved. And that was only to go to Travis’ bedroom.

  Their clothes fell where they took them off, and then they climbed into bed together. There was only one thing that would help right now, so Gage spooned up behind Travis, wrapped his arms tightly around him and they slept.

  Chapter Forty Eight

  ♂

  Several days passed before Travis forced himself to leave his house. Gage came and went, but Travis hadn’t had it in him to see anyone else. The anger was gradually resuming control of his body, and he needed time to get reacquainted with it. Thankfully, Gage hadn’t pressed him to talk because he’d have ruined the only good thing left in his life at that point.

  As Travis walked in the door to Walker Demo, he heard Sawyer’s voice as he spoke to someone on the phone.

  “Yeah. Perfect. Yes, we’ll be here. Thanks.” The phone landed in the cradle as Travis was pouring coffee into a Styrofoam cup.

  Walking over to his desk, he prepared himself to have to talk to Sawyer, but the man didn’t say a word. Travis forced himself to look over at him, thinking he might still be on the phone. Nope, he’d been right, Sawyer had hung up and was currently typing on his computer, paying not a lick of attention to Travis.

  Thank Christ.

  He sat down at his desk and opened his email on his computer. There were a handful of things he needed to take care of, but nothing pressing. If he knew his brothers, Sawyer and Kaleb took care of everything while he was gone. They always did, it was one of the reasons they all worked so well together.

  They had each other’s back.

  An email caught Travis’ attention, and he clicked to open it. It was from Luke McCoy, dated two days ago.

  Travis,

  Haven’t heard from you but wanted to let you know that we’re heading down to Austin. Sierra’s got a little time to meet with you so we’ll be stopping by. See you on Thursday.

  Luke McCoy

  Shit. That was today.

  He knew there wasn’t time to call the guy and tell him not to come. It wouldn’t be professional either, and Travis might not be a lot of things, but he did pride himself on his work ethic. He’d spent the last few days wallowing in his own pain in order to spare those he cared about, but now it was time to get back to it. Life would go on.

  It always did.

  Travis’ phone vibrated on his hip, and he flipped it off the holster and glanced down at the screen.

  “Just saw your email. Where’re you at?” he said by way of greeting.

  “Just hit Main Street. Want to meet somewhere for coffee?”

  Travis wasn’t up for social interaction, but he wasn’t fond of sitting in the office watching Sawyer dissect his every word either. “Yeah. The diner in town work for you?”

  “Yep. See you in a few.”

  With that the line disconnected and Travis stood from his chair, clamping his cell phone back in place. He didn’t say a word as he passed Sawyer on the way out. No reason to initiate conversation. He had no intention of talking to anyone anyway.

  “Hey, where’re you headed?” Braydon asked when Travis passed him on his way out the door.

  “Meeting with McCoy.” With his head down, he kept going, but Braydon reached out and touched his arm. Travis stopped, resisting the urge to pull away from his brother.

  “You all right?”

  No. He’d never be all right again. “Fine. Why? What’s up?” If he pretended he was all business, he hoped Braydon would move on.

  “She’s not doing well,” Braydon said, his voice low. “I’ve talked to Jessie a couple of times. Kylie’s taking this hard.”

  Well, she should. She went and made a fucking decision for whatever reason and just like he’d expected, the happily ever after wasn’t within his reach. No sense in going back to try and grab it now.

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “You should talk to her,” Braydon told him, pulling his hand away.

  “And you should mind your own fucking business,” Travis barked and walked away.

  “Do you do this to yourself on purpose?” Braydon’s voice rang out, stopping Travis dead in his tracks. He turned to glare at his brother, fists clenched at his sides. He was already itching for a fight, and he hadn’t wanted to do this, but it was clear Braydon was going to push the issue for whatever reason.

  Taking slow, measured steps back toward him, Travis stopped just inches from his face. “Do I do what on purpose?”

  “Fuck everything up?”

  Travis felt as though he’d been slapped across the face, causing him to stumble back a step or two.

  “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “No? You let her walk out on you like that and you hole up in your house sulking over it.”

  “Fuck you, Braydon.”

  “No, fuck you, Travis. I’m so fucking tired of sitting back and watching you waste away.”

  “Me? Who the fuck are you to judge me? I’m not the one fucking my twin’s girl. If you’re so fucking concerned about me, you might want to take some time to look in the mirror.”

  Braydon didn’t even flinch, although Travis knew for damn sure the statement had hit home. In a big way.

  With his voice low and eerily calm, Braydon said, “I’ve never, ever seen you happy before. Not until this woman walked back into your life. There was a smile on your face for days. And now you’re going to turn your back on her.”

  “Turn my back? She fucking walked away from me,” Travis growled, letting the urge to rush his brother and take him to the ground pound in his veins.

  “This time,” he said softly. “From the way I see it, you got a little taste of your own medicine.”

  Travis felt as though he’d been sucker punched. The image of Kylie’s face from ten years ago flashed before his eyes. The pain and confusion, the tears streaming down.

  Fuck.

  Without arguing further, Travis turned on his heel and stormed to his truck. He let his tires spin on the gravel as he floored it down the driveway on his way to town.

  He needed to meet with McCoy, but then he had a couple of things to take care of.

  ♂

  Gage was on his third cup of coffee as he sat at his kitchen table with his laptop open. He’d spent the better part of the last few days talking to Cole Ackerley and Luke McCoy about a potential job opportunity. Still on administrative leave, he was starting to go batshit crazy which meant he needed to get back to work.

  And with Kylie gone, he had no reason to stick around the house all day.

  He reread the email he had pulled up as he sipped his coffee.

  Gage,

  I’ve got some business to take care of in Austin on Thursday so if you’re serious about the job opportunity, I’d like to meet with you while I’m down there. Let me know.

  Cole Ackerley

  Gage had sent the email back the same day, letting Cole know he was interested. After spending the night with Travis the same as he had for the last several nights, Gage came home early, taking a shower and was now waiting fo
r the call.

  Seemed all he’d been doing lately was waiting. Waiting for Travis to come around, waiting for Kylie to call, and waiting for his heart to heal. The more time he spent staring at his phone, willing it to ring, praying for a call from Kylie, the more he knew it wasn’t going to come.

  He’d fought the urge to call her, although his fingers were itching to push the buttons just so he could hear her voice. He still couldn’t believe she’d just walked out, never even giving him a chance to talk to her, to explain anything.

  The day after she left, Gage had gone to Kaleb’s and Zoey’s, and they hashed through the details once again. Kylie hadn’t given Zoey any specifics about how she was feeling, but her reaction had been palpable. As they made assumptions about how she felt when Zoey told her, they’d decided Kylie didn’t like the idea of Gage having been in a relationship like that before.

  “Think about it, Gage, this is new to her. She wants her happily ever after just like the two of you do, but she thought this was specific to her. That the stars aligned and everything came together like it should. It’s how girls think,” Zoey had told him.

  Yeah, well, he didn’t like the way Kylie was thinking. He wanted her to believe this could work, and, although Gage had been in other situations similar, never were they like what he had found with Kylie and Travis. He loved them both. He’d never loved anyone like this before, never suffered a pain so extensive that his chest physically ached.

  Gage glanced down, realizing he was rubbing the consistent pain that had taken up residence. Didn’t matter how hard he pressed, it never eased though.

  His phone vibrated, distracting him from his thoughts, but it wasn’t an incoming call. Gage hit the little envelope icon and pulled up his texts. One incoming from Cole:

  Stopping at diner in 10. Meet there.

  Gage dumped his coffee in the sink and grabbed his keys. Time to figure out what he was going to do with the rest of his life because he damn sure wasn’t going to sit around waiting anymore.