Heartbreakers and Heroes

by Box Set

  "This is Dominic Jackson talking, not you."

  "Watch my lips moving," he said carefully. "It's me speaking."

  "The words aren't yours," she argued. "You don't have to do this."

  "It's going to happen."

  She bit down on the inside of her cheek. "What would John Stone say if he knew?"

  He sucked in a breath like she'd slapped him. "Don't say his name."

  "Why? Because he would hate this?" She leaned into him. "Where does ruining hundreds, if not thousands, of lives across the country fall into your Saddle Creek Ranch rules?"

  "This is business," he said.

  "Bad business," she muttered, then turned on her heel and walked away.

  He was at her side by the time she hit the sidewalk. "Go away, Travis."

  "It's getting dark," he said. "I'm walking you home."

  "I can take care of myself." She stopped and whirled to face him. "Is this why Clara hired me? Did the two of you feel guilty for what you're about to do to my family?"

  "No," he answered. "Clara doesn't..." He paused, ran a hand through his hair. She hated that she still noticed how handsome he was, even more so with the glow of the streetlights making shadows play across his strong features. "This is my decision."

  "This is not you," she insisted, and wished she could believe it was true.

  Chapter 6

  He heard the soft knock an hour later.

  Travis set aside the shot of whiskey he'd been pouring into a glass and moved to the door.

  It had to be Hailey. It couldn't be Hailey.

  Not when she'd made it clear she didn't want to see him again by slamming the door to his sister's apartment in his face.

  He'd spent the better part of the past hour trying to wash away the image of pain slicing through her eyes with a mix of rationalization and liquor. Nothing worked. He could spout out excuses about business and the bottom line until he was blue in the face. There was no excuse for hurting her.

  But when he swung open the door, his heart took a direct hit. Hailey stood on the other side, tears staining her cheeks.

  Anger was one thing, but knowing he'd made her cry made him feel like the biggest fucking jackass on the planet.

  "I have to go," she whispered, sounding miserable.

  "No, sweetheart," he murmured, reaching for her. "This isn't about you. Let me--"

  She backed away a step then lifted one arm, her cell phone clenched in her hand. "Back to Montana. My dad..." Her shoulders began to shake.

  She didn't move away this time when he grasped her wrist and tugged her into his apartment. He moved his hands to her arms and bent his knees so they were at eye level. "What happened to your dad, Hailey?"

  She dragged in a ragged breath then swallowed. "I called him."

  "About Big Sky's contract with Mel's?"

  "I didn't tell him everything, but I wanted to warn him, you know? He has to make plans. That store is his life."

  Guilt was an emotion unfamiliar to Travis. He'd left it behind years ago as he'd worked to hone himself into the man Dominic Jackson expected him to be. But now it felt like a decade's worth of guilt poured over him. His knees almost buckled under the weight of it.

  She looked at him, and behind the pain in her eyes there was a spark of something else, like she was daring him to attack her for sharing a company secret with her father.

  "It's okay," he murmured.

  "It's not," she said, shaking her head. "Something happened...his heart...I don't know." She let out a sob then pressed her lips together. "He dropped the phone. I could hear my mom shouting then the line went dead." Her face crumpled. "I don't know, Travis."

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She stayed rigid for only a moment before sagging against him, her forehead pressed into the soft fabric of his shirt. "He's going to be okay," he said automatically, even though he couldn't know that.

  As if on cue, her phone rang and she stepped out of his embrace.

  "Mom, what's going on? Is Dad there? Is he--"

  She turned away from him, hugging her arms to her side as she listened. She let out a small cry. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." She took a visible breath. "I'll book a flight for tomorrow morning. I'm not arguing about this, Mom. I need to see him for myself, okay?" After a few more minutes she whispered, "I love you, too. Tell Daddy how much I love him. I'll be there soon."

  She pulled the phone away from her ear, and her shoulders slumped forward. Otherwise, she didn't move.

  It killed him to see her like this, and wasn't he just the biggest fuck-up on the planet for being the cause?

  It's business.

  She was right. Those were his father's words, but he'd long ago stopped caring where his dad's image ended and his began.

  Now he realized how much that had cost him, but it was too late. He was on a path that he couldn't veer from and wasn't sure where he'd end up if he set off in a different direction.

  All he knew at the moment was that Hailey mattered, more than he'd ever expected in such a short time.

  He moved behind her and enveloped her in his embrace once again. Her breaths came out in shallow puffs, as if she was working overtime not to totally lose control. He lifted her into his arms and walked to the sofa, lowering them both onto the cushions and holding her as close as she'd allow.

  "What did she say?" he whispered into her hair. "How is your father?"

  She didn't answer for several minutes, just breathed in and out as her fingers splayed over his chest and she continued to clutch the phone in her other hand.

  Eventually, she relaxed the tiniest bit. "They're taking him to the hospital, but the EMTs don't think it's another heart attack."

  "Another?"

  He felt her nod against his shoulder. "He had one a few years ago, a combination of stress and lifestyle, but he's turned things around and gotten healthy. My mom, too. They're calling this an 'episode,' probably a result of the shock of what I--" She broke off on another small sob.

  "This isn't your fault, honey. You can't think that."

  "My mom said the same thing," she whispered. "But like always, I just blurted out the news without taking a moment to think about how he'd react. Why does my stupid mouth always move a million times faster than my brain?"

  "Don't talk bad about your mouth," he told her, gently pushing the hair away from her face. "It's one of my favorite parts of you."

  She shifted and sat up to meet his gaze. "What does that mean?"

  "It means," he said, tracing his thumb over her full bottom lip, "I like hearing you talk."

  "Liar."

  "I'm not a liar." He sighed when her eyes narrowed. "Although I like kissing you, too. I'm not lying about listening to you, Hailey. Your energy is contagious and I have no doubt it's one of the things your parents love best."

  "When I'm not driving them crazy."

  He couldn't help the corners of his mouth tipping up. "It's all part of the package, honey."

  She rolled her eyes. "I need to learn to shut up."

  "Don't change who you are for anyone," he said gravely. "I'm sorry about your father, and I'm even sorrier that the news you gave him was about Mel's."

  "He was reassuring me," she said, her voice barely a whisper, "that everything would be fine. The store is his business, not his life."

  The words ricocheted through Travis like a stray bullet, ripping through sinew and bone and leaving behind a trail of destruction in their wake. His entire adult life had been built on the premise that business was his life. How else would he show his worth besides making the company bigger than anything that came before? No matter the cost or the collateral damage.

  He schooled his features and moved his hands around her shoulders, massaging the tense muscles there. "From what you've told me, your family is his life."

  Her breath hitched. "I need to get back there."

  "Your mom will call if anything changes," he said, trying to soothe her but not knowing the rig
ht way. For all his acumen in business, he had little experience being someone's support system. Selfishly, he didn't want to let Hailey go, not even for a moment. What if he never got her back again?

  He sucked in a breath as another question raced through him. What if he never had her in the first place?

  "I need to see him, Travis." She closed her eyes as he worked at her shoulders. "You understand, right?"

  "Of course," he lied. "I'll make sure Clara does, as well. Take as much time as you need."

  "Thank you," she whispered, and dropped her head to his shoulder once more.

  "I'm sorry, Hailey," he said against her hair, hoping she understood he was apologizing for everything he'd done wrong for so long.

  "Me too," she answered gently.

  ***

  Hailey blinked awake as someone called her name, then shot up in the unfamiliar bed, glancing down to find herself still wearing the same clothes from the night before.

  "Hey," Travis said, his voice soothing. "You're okay. Everything's okay." He sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in jeans and a collared shirt. The ends of his hair were damp, as if he'd just showered.

  "My dad?" she asked hoarsely, her gaze darting around for her phone.

  "I talked to your mom an hour ago," he answered, handing her the cell phone. "He's fine and being released from the hospital this morning. He should be back home by the time we arrive in Bozeman."

  She took the phone from him.

  "You fell asleep while we were on the couch," Travis told her. "Apparently a good cry is exhausting."

  "Where did you sleep?" she asked. Surely she would have realized if he'd been with her.

  One side of his mouth curved. "On the couch with Kiwi. The dog weighs three pounds, but she snores likes an elephant."

  Still trying to process everything through the haze of her foggy brain, Hailey reached for the glass of water on the nightstand. "What did you mean by we arrive in Bozeman?" She took a drink and watched Travis. "I booked a flight through my phone last night."

  "I chartered a plane." His gaze dropped from hers and his hand fisted on the sheet next to her, his skin bronzed in comparison to the white fabric. "It will be faster and simpler and..."

  He glanced up, looking at her through dark lashes that would make any woman jealous. "I want to go with you if you'll let me. I want to support you through this."

  "You talked to my mom?"

  He shrugged. "You had a rough night. I thought you should rest. I answered your phone and explained everything. I promised her I'd get you home safely."

  How was she supposed to reconcile the man who sat before her, sweet and a little unsure, with the cold, ruthless man who ran his family's company?

  "I don't need you to take care of me," she whispered. She had to remember what Travis was doing to her family.

  "I know, Hailey." He flashed a self-deprecating smile. "But I need you to let me. Please."

  As if she wasn't half under his spell already, the "please" did her in. Still, she stood her ground. "What about the retail contracts with Mel's?"

  His smile disappeared, but he didn't drop his gaze from hers. "You were right. The plan for the corporate expansion and canceling the contracts with Mel's retailers started with my father. I'm sorry this is going to affect your family, Hailey, but I have a responsibility to the company. I can't change course at the eleventh hour."

  "You could," she whispered.

  He gave a slight shake of his head. "There are...expectations. I want to go with you. I'd like to speak with your father. Big Sky was an important part of Mel's early success. I know my grandfather valued that--"

  "But you don't?"

  "I'd like to explain the situation I'm in to your father. I broached the subject with your mother and she thought he'd be willing to speak to me. I can't change what the company is going to do, Hailey, but I'd like the chance to be at your side for this."

  She wanted to argue with him. His expression was hard, but she could see something in his eyes--the same sort of lost look he'd had that first day. The one that had captured her attention and, if she had to admit it now, her heart. This man had so much potential to hurt her, and yet it felt different than it had with her ex-boyfriend. The connection she had with Travis went deeper. She wasn't ready to let it go. She only hoped her father would accept it.

  "I need to shower and pack," she said, reaching out to wrap her hand around his.

  His clenched fist immediately loosened. He laced their fingers together and drew hers up, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. "Thank you," he whispered, and leaned in. Before he could touch his mouth to hers, she ducked away. She couldn't say no to him, but if he kissed her, she feared all her defenses would simply melt away. She held on to her anger and her pride like they a raft in the middle of a churning ocean.

  She flipped back the sheet and scooted off the bed.

  "I can be ready in thirty minutes," she said, moving toward the door.

  "A driver will pick us up and take us to the airfield."

  She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "I get that there are expectations, Travis," she said softly. "But try to remember that you're not your father. Hopefully, you never will be."

  Chapter 7

  Travis stepped out into the bright sunshine and fresh air of Montana three hours later, a few paces behind Hailey, with his sister's ridiculous dog tucked under his arm.

  Hailey had insisted on bringing Kiwi along for the trip instead of dropping the animal at the kennel as Travis had suggested. Kiwi spent the entire flight curled in a ball on the seat next to Hailey, leaving Travis stuck across the aisle. He was pretty sure that was Hailey's intention, since she'd popped in her earbuds shortly after takeoff and spent the rest of their time in the air ignoring him.

  He wasn't used to being ignored, and he didn't like it much. Or at all. Even if he deserved every bit of attitude she flung his way. His first instinct was to shut down and walk off that plane as soon as they landed and out of Hailey's life for good. He wasn't a man who allowed anyone to try to bend him to their will, or those people would soon be out of his life.

  The only person who had effectively made Travis feel like less of a man was his own father. The day the board had voted Travis in as CEO of Mel's, his dad's secretary had summoned him to Dominic's home on Lake Minnetonka. He'd had the sprawling McMansion built after Travis's mom died, and it was the polar opposite of the warm, inviting home she'd worked so hard to create. Dominic Jackson lived in a contemporary monstrosity, all sharp angles and sleek edges, and Travis and Clara spent as little time there as possible. Chase had already joined the military by the time it was complete, and Travis didn't think his brother would ever set foot in the home of the man he still blamed for their mother's mental break.

  Travis had gone because he couldn't seem to leave behind the childhood hope that his father would finally give him the approval he'd longed for his whole life. It was the last time he made that mistake.

  Dominic had sat behind the big cherry desk in his office, cigar balanced in one corner of his mouth, and said, "I suppose you are my son, since you're building your success by stepping on my back."

  Travis had started to list all the ways he'd earned his place as the head of the company, but his father stopped him with a wave of his hand. He'd pulled out the cigar and pointed it at Travis. "Your grandfather was a country bumpkin fisherman who never lost the stink of trout on his fingers. Mel's Outdoor Adventures would still be a two-bit camping operation if I hadn't taken over. Now it's in the hands of someone almost as inept. Try not to fuck it up, Travis, with that soft heart your mother loved so damn much." He'd spat the words "soft heart" as if they were trash in his mouth.

  His dad had an uncanny skill for making Travis feel like he was nothing but dog shit on the bottom of an expensive Italian loafer.

  As they stepped onto the tarmac of the regional airport outside of Bozeman, he looked down to his newly shined Italian loafers. Christ, he was so removed from the
real world that he'd come to Montana looking like a corporate prick.

  John Stone and the guys he'd befriended his summer at Saddle Creek Ranch would have laughed their asses off. He'd never seen John in anything but beat-up cowboy boots. He imagined the craggy rancher's booted feet poking out from the sheet at the end of the hospital bed. His heart clenched at the image.

  Somewhere in this state, the man who'd tried to make something better of Travis and the other boys under his care was lying in a coma. Travis was in the midst of breaking the one rule that had resonated with him more than any of the others that summer.

  Don't build yourself up by tearing others down.

  Wasn't that what he was allowing to happen at Mel's? He sucked in a breath as bile rose in his throat. Wasn't that what he was doing to Hailey--getting upset because she dared be angry at him for being less than she wanted him to be?

  Far less than she deserved.

  Kiwi squirmed, and he realized he was holding the tiny animal too tightly.

  "She needs to go potty," Hailey said. "I can take her once we get to the terminal."

  She wore big sunglasses, but Travis could see the strain at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, a few loose strands whipping about her face from the breeze that blew through the valley surrounding the airport. He'd spent the last few hours stewing because she wasn't her usual bubbly self. He'd practically forced her to allow him to accompany her on this trip when she was obviously worried sick about her father.

  She didn't owe him anything. The world didn't owe him anything, and as John Stone would say, it was high time he started earning his keep in her life.

  "I'll take care of Kiwi," he said, moving forward and pressing his fingers into the small of her back. She stiffened but didn't shrug off his touch. Travis counted it as a win. "We'll have a car waiting outside the terminal."

  She blinked but kept walking. "I think you need to rent it first."

  They'd reached the edge of the sidewalk that led to the terminal, and he set Kiwi down on a patch of grass.

  "I arranged it," he told her.