by Jill Sanders
He stopped pacing and turned to her. “Left eye?” She nodded and he felt his stomach turn. “Ryan.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” He closed his eyes and remembered his brother’s face. “I gave it to him.”
“Well, Carol—that’s the head nurse that works in Houston—she says that it was noted that the police came and took him away. They claimed he was dangerous.” She looked down at her hands, and he felt his world spin. His brother, his twin had turned out worse than their old man. No! He wouldn’t believe it until he saw it for himself.
“I think it’s time I hired someone to find him. I won’t believe it until I see it for myself.”
She smiled and nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She pulled out a piece of paper from her purse. “Here.”
“What is it?” He looked down at it and frowned.
“It’s a receipt for hiring a private detective.” She smiled. “I talked to my father and he highly recommends this man. I guess he represented him a long time ago.” She waved her arm. “Anyway, dad swears he’s the best.”
“You hired a detective to find my brother?” When she nodded, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her. “You are the best.”
She smiled up at him. “I know.”
He laughed.
Breaking Travis… Coming in October
Prologue
Holly was going mad. It had been two weeks since she’d shut down the old bookstore and moved. Two weeks of living in a strange place, in someone else’s apartment. Two weeks of the daily stress of coordinating and working with all the contractors and laborers. Two weeks without work. But, other than a sore back from sleeping in a strange bed, she was loving every minute of it.
She couldn’t stop herself from rushing down to the old brick building she’d known her entire life and seeing the work that was being done on it. Sure, currently it didn’t look much different than when the tornado had ripped through town over two years ago. But, if you looked closely, you could see a method to the madness.
There were two large dumpsters in the back alley behind what was going to be her new business. On several occasions, they had been full to the top and hauled away, replaced by two new empty ones.
As she stood in the middle of the building her mother and her had worked all their lives in, she couldn’t help but smile. It was an early Sunday morning in late fall and she knew the place would be quiet. She loved coming here when the workers weren’t banging around, making messing. She could actually see the vision she and Mr. Nolan had designed.
Who would have known that the old mayor had an architecture background? Not her, but when she finally built up enough nerve to ask him about updating his building, he’d not only jumped on board, but had fronted the entire cost himself. Sure, the building was his and he could do whatever he wanted with it, but she never expected him to include her tiny apartment upstairs in all the plans.
“Why not redo the whole place?” He’d said, walking around the downstairs. “In the last two years there’s been more repair on your apartment than down here. If we’re going in for a penny, why not a pound and do it all.”
She’d jumped at the chance, of course. He’d been right; her apartment was in dire need. The roof leaked during heavy storms and some of the old wood floorboards had come up. She’d covered them with rugs, but still she tended to stub her toes on them if she wasn’t careful. All of the plumbing and electric for the entire building was in dire need. She lost electricity more often due to not enough volts going through the breaker box.
So, Mr. Nolan and her had marched down to the bank and signed an agreement that the town’s lawyer, Grant Holton had written up. The next week she started receiving bids on the construction and moved everything out, including herself. At least until everything was completed and according to the latest news from her contractor wouldn’t be until sometime early spring.
She looked around and smiled. She didn’t mind all the mess and hassles her life was in right now, especially since she knew what it would look like afterwards. Her furniture and the bookstores inventory were in storage, tucked away until next spring when she could open Holly’s. The first bookstore slash coffeehouse slash wine bar to grace the small town of Fairplay Texas.
“Dreaming of what it will look like when it’s done?” She heard behind her, causing her to jump a little.
“Oh,” she rested her hand over her heart. “Mr. Nolan, I didn’t expect you.”
The older gentlemen stood in the doorway, his hands tucked into his pants, looking tired. She’d known Roy Nolan all of her life, he’d been the town’s mayor for as long as anyone could remember, that was until his wife of thirty plus years had gone plane nuts. Then he’d quietly stepped down as mayor and retreated into his large white home just a few blocks from there. His only child, Travis had left town the same night they had hauled his mother away to the state penitentiary. No one in town had heard from him since. All thought it was rumored that Savannah Douglas has visited him on several occasions in the past few months.
“It looks a mess now. Doesn’t it girlie?” He said, using her nickname for her as he walked into the empty room. All the walls were gone and the hardwood floor was completely ripped up, leaving only cement.
“I can still see the potential.” She turned and looked at him. “Especially with all the wonderful drawings you did.” She smiled.
He nodded. “Well, girlie, you had a wonderful idea for this place. I had big dreams for this town.” He sighed and looked out the large front windows towards Main Street.
She walked over and rested her hand on his arm. “This is a wonderful first step.”
He nodded. “I had hoped that…” He started and then shook his head.
“What?” She waited.
“I had hoped that Travis would come back. He loved this town. Everything I’ve worked so hard for…” He paused again and Holly felt his arm stiffen. “Everything I did was for that boy.”
She started to worry when he began shaking.
“Mr. Nolan? Are you alright?” She gripped his arm tighter, but he seemed to just look off into the distance.
When he hunched forward and started to fall, she gripped tighter, trying to hold him upright, but the man’s massive frame was no match for her tiny five-four. He hit the floor hard, causing her to land on her knees.
When she looked over, she saw that his face had gone completely white. Rushing up to him, she rolled him over onto his back and listened for a heartbeat. When she couldn’t find one, she rushed over to where she’d set her purse down and pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911 as she knelt beside him again.
“Hang on Mr. Nolan, help is on the way.” She reassured him, holding his hand in hers as a tear slipped down her face.
Chapter One
Travis stood in front of his old house and hated being there. It was too dark to see anything clearly, especially since all the lights in the massive place were out. Too many memories flooded his mind. He wanted to escape them, but he knew he couldn’t, not until all his business was done and he could start fresh.
It had been almost a month since he’d gotten word that his father had passed away from a massive heart attack. It had taken his father’s lawyer almost two weeks to track him down in Montana. The fact that the man was his ex-fiancée Alexis’ husband had just been the icing on the bitter cake he’d been eating for the last four years.
He grabbed his duffel bag from the rental car and started walking towards the house. But instead of heading to the big house, he circled around the back and climbed the sitars to his old apartment above the garage. It was just past midnight and his flight had been delayed due to a thunderstorm in Colorado. He was exhausted.
Dropping his bag inside the door, he took a few steps into the apartment and knew instantly that he wasn’t alone. Every muscle in his body tensed as he scanned the dark room. In the last two years, there had been plenty of fights and as he prepared his body for the blows
, his mind refused to hear the signal his nose was sending to him.
The first blow skimmed his jaw, sending him back a few steps. When he reached out with his fist, he thought he’d connect with something. Instead, he hit only air. The next blow took him by surprise in his gut, forcing him to reach out and grab what he could of his attacker.
When he grabbed a hold of clothes, he stepped back to flip his assailant over, but tripped on his duffel bag and ended up on the ground. He’d taken his assaulter down with him so he rolled a few times until he ended up on top.
“What are you doing in my house?” He demanded at the same time a fist came up and connected with his left eye. He moaned with pain just as the body underneath him stilled.
“Your house?”
It was a woman’s voice, causing him to momentarily drop his guard.
She shoved his shoulder and leg hard until he fell off her. He landed on the floor holding his throbbing left eye.
Then the lights flipped on and there by the door to his apartment stood a warrior. Her long red hair flowed down past her breasts, which were covered nicely with a teal tank top and matching shorts.
“Travis?” She stood looking down at him.
He dropped his hand away from his face and looked at her with watery eyes. “Do I know you?”
She shook her head and put her hands on her hips. “Holly Bridles.” He just looked at her. “I run the bookstore.”
“Sure you do.” He said getting up off the ground. “That doesn’t explain what you’re doing in my house?”
She sighed. “I live here.” She looked around the apartment and for the first time he realized it was clean. Clean, cleaned. Everything of his was gone, except the furniture his parents had bought him when he’d moved out of the big house.
He groaned. “That’s just great.” He turned and looked at her again.
She was still standing by the front door and he wondered why his father would have rented the place out to a librarian.
“I guess I didn’t know he rented the place out.”
“He didn’t.” She said quickly. His eyebrows shot up. “I’m not renting the place.”
Well that cleared it up, he thought. It was bound to happen, after all the ink on his parents’ divorce had been dry for almost three years now. His father was bound to have moved on. He looked at the woman’s skimpy outfit and smiled a little. Way to go dad, he thought. Then he frowned as she stepped further into the light. What was a man in his late sixties doing with someone so young?
“I didn’t know you were going to be back.” She crossed her arms over her chest, no doubt because he’d been staring at those lovely tits of hers.
He blinked and stepped closer. Her hands dropped and rested by her sides in fists and he wondered how such a small package could pack such a big punch.
“I guess I’ll head over to the big house until we sort this all out.” He bent to pick up his duffel bag. When he stood back up, he noticed her biting her bottom lip with worry. He turned and walked out of his apartment without another word.
Okay, he told himself on the short walk towards the back door of the big house, new list. As he opened the back door of the massive house, he listed them off in his mind. Get rid of dad’s hussy, which was really too bad since he could have used the detraction while he was in town, sell the house, and get the hell out of Fairplay Texas.
Holly stood in her doorway and bit her bottom lip. Travis was back. What did that mean? Was he going to kick her out of the apartment? Without the store being opened, she doubted she could afford renting another place. At least until the doors opened.
The reading of Mr. Nolan’s will had been postponed until Travis made it back into town. Until then, it had been agreed that the construction would continue. Shutting the door, she leaned up against the cool wood and rested her head back, closing her eyes. She was in deep trouble. What if there wasn’t anything about their agreement in his will? Would Travis hold up his father’s wishes? Would she be kicked to the curb? What about her shop? Would construction stop?
Shaking her head clear of the million questions running through it, she walked back towards the bedroom, she grabbed the water bottle she’d been getting which had caused her to hear the front door open earlier. She stopped and looked back at the door. Yup, it was locked and bolted. Something she did every night, which meant, he had a key to the place. She walked towards the door and snapped on the chain for good measure.
Travis was trouble. Had been most of his life and probably would be until the day he died. Too bad, she thought crawling into bed. The man had a body like the Gods and a face to melt even the hardest hearts. She sighed and closed her eyes, burying her face into the pillow. What she wouldn’t give to feel a good man on top of her like he’d been a short while ago. Giggling to herself, she decided she had gone too long without a date.
Then she frowned when she remembered she lived in a small town and there were no good men to date. Closing her eyes tighter, she tried to get the feeling of being that close to a man out of her mind.
She woke early that next morning and headed into check on construction. Since Mr. Nolan’s death, she spent most of her time making sure everything was on track. Helping with ordering and organizing the materials, coordinating the construction crews. Solving any issues or questions they had during the entire process. Some of the men had even gotten her her own hardhat and tool belt.
Not to mention that if she got out of the apartment, it would be harder for Travis to track her down and kick her to the curb. Since she was working on only a few hours of sleep, she was having a hard time concentrating. She stood off to the side and watched the men work and just couldn’t muster up what the place would look like once it was finished.
The day didn’t get any better when an hour past lunch, a water pipe broke in the apartment and started leaking downstairs. It took every man on sight to finally clear the standing water on the cement floor so the workers could continue hanging the drywall. Thankfully the damage had been left to just a small spot that was already being patched.
She stood in what would be her new storeroom looking up at the work the drywaller had done when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned expecting to see a work, but was shocked when Travis stood there looking down at her with a frown and a very black and swollen left eye.
“What’s all this?” He demanded.
Her eyebrows shot up in question. He had his hands on his hips and a very impatient look on his face. He was wearing a dress shirt and dress pants. Even his shoes were shinny and new looking. His hair had been combed back and he’d shaved since she’d seen him last night. “You shouldn’t be in here without a hard hat.” She walked over to the back doorway and grabbed a yellow hat, and handed it over to him.
He set it on his head and demanded in a louder voice, which rose above all the pounding and sawing. “What is this?” He motioned around him.
“This is my store.” She frowned. “Remember?”
“You’re bookstore?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. “What I mean is why is it under construction.
She frowned. “Because the wiring in the building was shot, there was still roofing damage from the tornado, and…”
“I mean…” He ground out, interrupting her. “Why is my father paying for this all?” He yelled, over the new loud noises coming from a few feet away and waved a stack of bills at her. She was used to the noises by now; after all, she’d been on site every day for the last month.
“Because it’s his building.” She yelled back and looked at him like he was crazy.
He grabbed her arm and marched her out the back door. Here there were other men using table saws and nail guns. He stopped and looked around, then continued to walk her towards the little garden area she had. She’d been raising tomatoes and squash and even had a little picnic table and swing along the tall fence.
“Why is my father paying a lot of
money to have you rebuild your store?” He finally said, dropping her arm and waiving the bills again.
“Because it’s his building and he had a vision.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Great,” He said, rolling his eyes. “Now he was having visions.”
She frowned. “Your father wanted to rebuild the bookstore.”
“I’m sure he did.” He looked her over. She had put on her standard work clothes, old jeans, button up blouse, and an old pair of boots. She’d tied her hair up in two braids, which lay across her shoulders out of her way.
“What does that mean?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips.
He laughed, “Listen, you’re very attractive and I’m sure you had your usefulness when my father was alive, but there’s just no way I’m going to continue all this.” He motioned towards the building.
She stood there shocked. He was going to take it all away from her.
“I don’t know what kind of… arrangement you and my father had, but he’s gone now and you can expect that anything he was giving you won’t be coming from me.” He turned to go.
“I’m sorry?” She said to his back.
He turned and looked at her, then sighed and turned back to her. “If I was sticking around town, maybe I’d help you out, but I’m not. I’m heading over to the lawyers right now and putting all this”—he motioned to the building—“on the market. So if I were you, I’d pack up what you can and get going, because if you’re still on my property by tonight, I’ll call the cops.”
She lost the last thread of her temper at that moment. “How dare you.” She took a step closer to him. “Your father was a great man. A man with a vision for this town and in one day you plan to wipe everything he worked hard for out.”