by Tracy Ewens
Travis laughed and then kissed her. “Wow, that was good. He really does have a bad haircut. Maybe you can mention that to him the next time you see him, you know, just like that with the asshole part in there too.”
“Oh, that would be my pleasure. You know how things just flow right out of my mouth.”
“I do know that about you,” he said, laying her back on the bed and caging her between his arms. “Blunt, I think that’s what we call it. I really do love you when you’re to the point.”
“Really?” she said as she pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor.
“Absolutely.”
“Good, because here I go again. Take off the rest of those clothes and get in here because under this robe . . .” She playfully pulled the silk off one shoulder.
Travis reached out to touch her. “I’m all ears.”
“Serious unicorns await you if you get naked and hit that light.”
Travis leaned up off the bed, dropped his jeans, and clicked the lamp off in record time. When he slid under the covers and pulled her on top of him, moonlight filled the room, as if it’d been put there just so he could keep looking at her.
He pushed the hair off her face as she straddled him and let her robe fall open.
“I love you,” she said, nothing short of stunning in all her open abandon. She lifted and slowly they filled each other with warmth that had nothing to do with their pasts. They were connected in a now that no longer confused him. He had no idea if he could be the “right” man for her world, but he knew he was in love with her and would be for the rest of his life. As the moonlight spilled over them, with each pull and every glide, she seemed to fall farther and he followed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Makenna opened her eyes, somehow knowing exactly where she was, and then pulled up the duvet she was nestled in to check for clothing. Panties and camisole in place, her next thoughts were filled with wondering if Paige was awake, what time it was, and then . . . Travis.
He had been there last night, right? The whole thing felt like a dream, not the dream, but an entirely different dream. He loved her, she knew that already, but he’d said it and so had she, and they’d spent some time showing each other just how much.
Before she’d fallen asleep in Travis’s arms last night, she’d gotten up and put her clothes back on. She remembered now. Even though she’d been exhausted, some things were automatic for Kenna. There was no way she would allow herself to sleep naked in her family home or with her daughter two doors down. Sure, she made love to a gorgeous man until almost sunrise, but there were still rules. She sat up and realized it was nine o’clock. This was clearly some version of a dream because there was no way she was at Ryeland Farms and allowed to sleep past five o’clock. She hadn’t even heard the roosters. Makenna wondered if Travis had left as she tightened her robe and made her way downstairs. Before she even entered the kitchen, Paige plowed right into her.
“Mama!” she yelped, dancing around in her sweatpants, cowgirl boots, and a Dodger’s T-shirt that was about four sizes too big. “Guess who came to visit us and to see Gracie’s new babies?” She pulled Makenna into the kitchen, and with a big sweeping gesture of her little arm, said, “Tada! Mmmmy Travis!”
And there he stood, looking like he’d just arrived and scooping Paige up with one arm when she charged at him. Travis was holding a coffee cup in the other hand and, from what Kenna could hear as she went to the fridge, discussing gumbo with her father. She made herself a cup of tea and kissed her father on the cheek.
“Morning. Is it the end of the world? You let me sleep in.”
Her father grinned and picked his hat up off the table. “You had a fill-in.” He gestured to Travis, who met Kenna’s eyes and gave her that rich melting smile he’d perfected.
“Really? You let a city boy play 4-H?”
Her dad nodded and took Paige from Travis, throwing her over his shoulder as she squealed. “He did a pretty good job too. I think I’ve got him convinced he needs to sell that bike and get himself a proper truck.”
Makenna laughed and took a sip of tea. “Is that so?”
“I’m thinking about it,” he said, drinking coffee and looking right at home in their kitchen, in her life.
“That’s a shame. I love that bike.”
Travis looked at her father, who promptly dropped his head and laughed as he filled one Thermos with coffee and the other with hot chocolate.
Kenna watched her dad and knew he was taking Paige on the tractor. Coffee and cocoa always meant a tractor ride was in the works. The first memory she had after her mother left was coffee and cocoa. She’d been crying in her room when her father came in, big cowboy hat firmly in place, and told her to get dressed. She’d looked up at him, wiped her eyes, and when she hesitated, he said, “We’ve got a Thermos of coffee for me and one with cocoa for you. Let’s not dillydally or it’ll get cold. We don’t have time for crying; there’s work to be done.”
She’d gotten dressed quickly and when she ran down the stairs, her father held out her coat and pulled up her hood. She remembered swallowing back her remaining tears and taking her father’s hand. She’d ridden with a big wool blanket across her lap as her father delivered mail and equipment to some of the houses the farm hands lived in on the property. Standing in the kitchen, a grown woman now, she could still feel the scratch of the blanket and the fuel smell of the tractor. After their deliveries, her father had parked them under one of the pecan trees and poured coffee and cocoa into the green metal cups of each Thermos.
“It’s good to get out and get some air in your lungs.”
Kenna, who was just about six, nodded up at her father.
“Who’s going to sit next to me at the table now?” she’d asked.
Her father must have hesitated and at least allowed a moment for his own emotions, but as a little girl, she hadn’t noticed.
“Well, there are five chairs, but one of them is loose.”
“The one Garrett sits in?”
“Yeah, that one. It’s wobbly, so let’s break that one up and make it firewood. That’ll leave four chairs, just enough.” Her father took a gulp of coffee. “In fact, since we’re changing it up, let’s not have set seats anymore. Instead, let’s just grab whatever seat we want.”
“What if Garrett or Logan push and I don’t get a seat?”
“Well, we know there will always be four seats, so it might be a little crazy, but eventually everyone will find a seat. It’ll be like an adventure every morning.”
Kenna remembered nodding and could still feel the warmth of the cocoa as it hit her little stomach. “Sure, I like adventure.”
“Me too.” He’d kissed her on the forehead, and that was the last time Kenna cried about her mother. After that day, her father kept her busy and life with her brothers and her father became an adventure.
“Well, the almost birthday girl and I have a tractor ride waiting for us, so we’ll leave you two now.”
Before he could grab Paige under his arm, Kenna put her arms around her father, kissed him on the cheek, and held on.
“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear.
“What for?” he whispered back.
“For taking me on the tractor.”
Her father pulled back and looked at her through weathered green eyes that had seen more than their share of heartache. She didn’t need to explain it; he knew what the tractor meant, and again, he took off his hat and kissed her on the forehead. He turned to Paige and Travis, who were locked in an intense thumb war, scooped her up under his arm, and was gone.
Kenna watched them go down the path, her daughter giggling and squirming, and for what felt like the thousandth time in her life, she was so grateful.
Travis checked the door then leaned in and kissed her.
“You did chores for me?” she asked, returning to her present.
“I did. I was a very good boy.” He backed Kenna up toward the counter, but before
she had a chance to be playful and tell Travis what a good boy he had been, Garrett walked into the kitchen with dirty hands extended.
“Aw shit, it’s clearly mating season for all the animals.” He turned on the sink and lathered his hands.
Makenna huffed, sure her face was flushed. “What are you talking about? Travis just got here. He came to see Gracie’s babies.”
Garrett nodded and dried his hands. He stared down at her, not moving, eyes giving nothing away.
“He let me in last night,” Travis leaned into her and whispered.
Makenna closed her eyes. “Right, sure. Well, good morning, my least favorite and always rude brother.”
Travis said nothing. It was probably best because Garrett seemed poised and ready to use anything that came out of his mouth for his next smart-ass assault.
“Least favorite? Yeah, I don’t think so.”
Kenna nodded her head like a child and drank her tea.
“Well, that’s a shame, because your least favorite brother just got done installing the new top you ordered for your Jeep. Maybe next time you should ask your favorite brother—that is, if he’s not too busy melting butter with this guy.” Garrett gestured with his thumb to Travis.
Makenna all but jumped into her brother’s arms and planted a big kiss right on his mouth. Garrett set her down, rolled his eyes, and Travis laughed.
“Did you really put on the new top?”
“Dirt on my hands proves it.”
“Thank you, my favoritest brother,” Makenna said, using a Paige word and wide eyes.
Garrett shook his head and flicked her hair. “Not quite as cute when you say it. What are you two doing, other than feeling each other up?”
“Travis did chores for me this morning,” Makenna said playfully. Raising Paige had restored a youthfulness she never really felt growing up, but playful without chasing her daughter around their home was something new. Kenna felt giddy, silly, and crazy in love.
“I noticed. A sure sign of a whipped man.” Garrett laughed, patted Travis on the back, and left out the front porch.
Travis didn’t normally lean toward comparisons, but there was no denying the contrast between the Ryes and the McNultys. It was obvious to him just working with Logan, but the contrast was even greater in their personal lives. Always plenty of teasing and pushing around, but it was tempered with what Travis could only describe as fun, joy maybe. The teasing was the fun and he’d seen it get pretty intense, especially between Logan and Garrett, but Makenna was right—it wasn’t hurtful. Watching the Rye family, Travis started realizing his family members were bullies, as she’d said. He remembered reading some self-help book a long time ago that said, “You can’t choose your family,” and hanging right in the McNulty family kitchen were the colorfully stitched needlepoint words, Family is Family.
Travis knew what he had been born into, the inevitable pull of his blood, but for the first time in his life, he was beginning to envision his own family, people of his choosing who loved him. Love. He loved her and her daughter . . . and wanted them in his life. Even if he wasn’t yet sure what that meant or if he was even up for it, the need was there. He tried to push it back and steady his heart. One more cup of coffee and a few more stolen moments with Makenna, and Travis needed to get a move on if he was going to make it to The Yard in time to meet Logan and start prep for lunch. Paige grabbed him on his way to his bike and pulled him back into the barn for one more look.
“The one in the back is shy. I named her Kitten,” Paige whispered.
“Kitten is a clever name for a goat.”
Paige nodded. “I know, it’s not somefing you expect, but she’s soft like a kitten, so Donk said it was perfect.”
“That it is. Okay, I’ve gotta get going, but I’ll be back tomorrow for the big day.”
Paige pulled him down, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered that they were having her favorite cake.
“What kind?” Travis asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
He nodded. “Right, of course.”
Paige held out her hand, and Travis took it as they walked out of the barn. He left her with Kenna and started his bike. The woman he was in love with and her daughter stood waving as he drove away.
Waking up with a woman, doing chores, talking with Paige, and then heading off to work. Could his family, his version, be different, or did it all eventually melt into the fake Folgers commercial that his parents tried to portray? He’d had a great time and would look forward to seeing Kenna and Paige again the next day, but when he opened up his bike on the empty country road, he had to admit freedom felt nothing like family, and that felt good too.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Garrett and Logan carried Paige on their shoulders like a miniature Cleopatra. They made their way out to the grassy patch under the largest of the pecan trees they had on the farm. After a rousing, male-dominated version of “Happy Birthday,” Makenna’s sweet baby girl blew out the six birthday candles atop her hummingbird cake. As their friends and family clapped, Kenna kissed Paige and realized her daughter was kneeling at the same picnic table she had sat at when she turned six years old. Her life had been different than her daughter’s at that age, and Kenna found herself with a mixture of pride and sadness for them both. Her mother had abandoned Makenna shortly before her sixth birthday, and Paige had spent most of her life without a father.
Makenna handed out pieces of cake and amid the laughter and celebration, she understood that joy and love came from so many places and often went hand in hand with pain.
“Oh my goodness!” Paige exclaimed as she tore open one of her presents. “Thank you, My Travis!”
Travis leaned in for a high-five and a kiss on the cheek.
“What is it?” Makenna asked, stepping closer.
“I get to grow butterflies. It’s a kit.” Paige held up the box.
“Wow, so fun.” Kenna looked at Travis.
There was no doubt he understood Paige, got her quirkiness, and encouraged it. Kenna somehow loved him more for that. She’d only been in love with one other man and that was Adam, whose memory was always fresh on important days like these, and yet today there was somehow enough room to love Travis too. She wasn’t quite ready to unravel all of these new feelings because buried way in the bottom of it all, she found herself thinking about her own childhood, her own mother. Kenna didn’t want to go there, didn’t want to have to look back. Instead, she accepted the love surrounding her daughter and went inside to grab a trash bag for the quickly mounting wrapping paper.
“Need any help?” Travis asked, walking in behind her.
“No, I think we are good.”
By the time Kenna grabbed two black trash bags and closed the pantry door, she was wrapped in his arms.
“Very cool gift,” she said, gently kissing him.
“Thanks. I think it takes like ten weeks for those things to grow, so that should hold her busy mind for a while. Great party by the way. Did you see that chair your dad made?”
“I did. He knows more about Marrakech now than I ever thought possible.”
They both laughed and Travis played with the hair around her neck. “So, how are you?”
She laughed because he almost looked uncomfortable, which of course was ridiculous because this was Travis. Granted, it was in love Travis, but the man still had moves Kenna had just started to understand. “I’m good, I’m great. Paige is happy and it’s gorgeous out today. Things are good. Aren’t they?”
“Yeah, they are.”
They stood watching the party through the screen door.
“Why is this so . . .”
“Awkward, first date, meeting-the-parents weird?” He looked at her.
Kenna laughed again. The man could make her laugh. Without fail, no matter the situation, he always managed to get right in there. Part of her, the part that thought of Travis in her future, in their future, knew his humor was a good thing.
“I have no idea
. Maybe it’s the birthday party. Our first . . . family function as . . . “
“A couple?”
“Is that what we are?” Kenna turned to him.
“I . . . well yeah, I mean I love . . . Damn, why can’t I get this out in the daylight?” He held her arms and studied her as if he were looking for some secret that would help his heart. “Makenna, yes, we are a couple. I love you and your daughter and we are not just having hot, holy hell, sex. I love you.” He let out a breath. “There.”
She smiled, and they both turned and stood side-by-side watching the party. Kenna reached around and put her hand on his very lovely ass. She had no idea what had gotten into her, but if he was going to play the adult, the responsible one, she wanted to be the fun one. “I’m glad we cleared that up, babe.” She squeezed and then gave him a kiss that left him gaping as she walked through the screen door.
“Babe, did you just call me babe?”
Kenna nodded, and then it was his turn to whip her around for a kiss. The wind blew and at her daughter’s squeal, Kenna turned to see Paige blowing bubbles. See, she told herself, you can have both, this works.
“I’ve just agreed to help out with Paige’s field day next week. Is that okay?” Travis asked after things had been cleaned up and Paige was playing Twister with the men of the Rye family. That was a treat Travis wouldn’t soon let them live down. He thought of taking pictures but really wanted to keep his ass whooping restricted to the gym.
“Really?” Kenna almost tripped over Garrett’s dog, Jack, who was lying on his back taking in the sun.
“Huh, is it that bad?” he asked, steadying her arm.
Makenna grinned, as if she knew something he didn’t. “You volunteered for field day at St. Christopher’s Private School?”
“Well, hell, it sounds ominous when you say it like that. It’s a field day.”
Makenna raised her eyebrows, clearly deciding to play with him.