“You and your cowboys,” he laughed. “You know I couldn’t ride a horse even if my life depended on it, right?”
“I’ll teach you.”
“You want another glass of wine?”
“No, I’m good, thanks.”
They continued with their meal, but he was still unusually quiet. At last she put her fork down.
“Travis, what’s wrong? Tell me. You regret it? It was a lot of money. I wouldn’t blame—”
“No.” He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “How could you possibly think that?”
She played with her pearls. “You’ve been really quiet, which is not like you.”
He let out a breath. “I miss Belle. I was kind of hoping we could celebrate together. All three of us. It’s a pretty special day. Maybe not exactly a great day, since, well, now she’s officially without a father. But he was a shitty father, so maybe it’s better for her to have no daddy than to have a shitty daddy, right? Anyway, I just—”
She put her napkin down, stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the floor, walked around to his side of the table, and sat on his lap. She wasn’t a bold person, not at all. But today she didn’t care who saw. “I love you, Travis Calhoun. Every day you give me more reasons to love you. I miss Belle too, but I thought you’d prefer a quiet meal. If you’d rather be with her, then let’s get out of here.”
He kissed her hard and signaled for the check. When the check arrived, Penny took it. “Please. It’s the least I can do.”
“No fuckin’ way,” he argued, trying to get it. “Penny, darlin’, don’t make me spank you right here, in front of all these nice people enjoying their meals.” She raised a brow in defiance. “Bend over, momma,” he warned.
She laughed and dropped the bill on his lap. “But you can still spank me later if you want.” She winked.
After they picked Belle up and visited JL, Enzo, and the twins, the three of them went home and fell asleep watching Barney on Travis’s king-size bed.
Chapter 17
After the initial adjustment of not having to constantly look over their shoulders, they fell into a routine. Within a week the paparazzi that had been loitering around her apartment had disappeared, for the most part. When Penny did run across an inquiring reporter, instead of avoiding them, she gave elusive answers that seemed to appease them: “I’m where I need to be,” “I love this town,” and, when questioned about Belle, “I’d like to leave her out of the media. Please respect our wishes. She’s just a little girl.” Most reporters seemed to think that Travis was Belle’s dad, since many of them remarked on their similar eye color.
Penny continued to work at Ruby’s, and while she was working Travis usually took care of Belle. Chrissy had finally given the okay to pick up one of the puppies, which she had named Daenerys, or Rys for short, after a character in Game of Thrones; the pup’s father, Drogo, was also named after one of the series’s characters. Penny, Travis, and Belle went to visit Ms. Hannigan and give her the puppy.
“I’m so glad you two are doing well. I’ve missed you.” Ms. Hannigan hugged Penny and Belle repeatedly. “And look at this sweet puppy,” Ms. Hannigan said, nuzzling Rys, who was licking her face.
“Chrissy assured me that Rys is nothing like Drogo, even though he’s the father.”
“I’ve heard horror stories about Drogo. He’s that mean dog that bites everyone,” Ms. Hannigan said.
“I’ve heard the same thing, but I have to admit, the only person he seems to dislike is Slade, who was visiting when we went to pick up Rys. At any rate, this one seems to take after the mom.”
“Drogo’s an ass, trust me,” Travis chimed in.
“Watch the language, Travis Calhoun!” Ms. Hannigan admonished.
“Sorry, ma’am. What I was sayin’ is that Drogo isn’t very nice, but the mother is. She’s a pug, by the way.”
“Oh, that explains the curly tail.”
“And we brought you a bed, and some food and other essentials. If you need anything else, I’ll bring it over. Don’t go out spending money on anything for Rys, okay?”
“Don’t worry about me, dear.”
“I’m so sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused, Ms. Hannigan,” Penny said.
“Trouble? No, dear, it was so exciting. I don’t remember the last time I had that much excitement in my life.”
“Oh…well, that’s good, I guess,” Penny said with an unsure shrug.
“And now that everything is okay, when are you moving back?” Ms. Hannigan asked.
“As soon as I have a day off and can pack up all the things we’ve accumulated in poor Travis’s house. In fact, can you watch Belle for a few minutes, Ms. Hannigan? I need to grab some things from my apartment.”
“Sure, honey.”
Travis followed Penny next door, and as soon as the door closed behind them, he said, his face crestfallen, “You’re moving back here?”
“Well, yeah. Now that things are all squared away, it’s time for us to get back to reality.” She went straight to the kitchen to throw away some of the food that had gone bad while they’d been away.
“Living with me isn’t reality?”
“No, actually, it’s not,” Penny said, stopping what she was doing to look at him. “Travis, living with you is surreal. It’s too good. It’s too perfect. I need to get back to my routine. I’m still paying for this apartment, my utilities; it’s home for me and Belle.”
“Why would you leave something you think is perfect?” He took off his hat, ran his fingers through his hair, and then put the hat back on. “I don’t understand. I thought we were good. I thought you liked it there.”
“We are good. But it’s not my home. It’s your home. This,” she said, pointing to the small area around her, “is my home. My normal. It doesn’t mean that we have to stop dating, just that I have to go home. I can’t keep pretending.”
“So don’t pretend.”
Her fingers were on her pearls. “What are you saying, Travis?”
“I’m saying…break the lease here. Move in with me.”
“We’re a package deal, Travis. It’s two for one.”
“I know! I want you both. What kind of asshole do you take me for? Why would you think I don’t want Belle too?”
“I’m not being difficult. I just want to make sure you understand what you’re getting into. First the exorbitant amount of money you paid Lawrence, and now living together…we’ve slowly taken over your quiet life. I don’t want you to regret making this decision or resent me for tying you down. And I don’t want to move Belle if you aren’t very sure.”
“I’m sure, momma. Never been more sure of anything else. Please move in with me. Officially.”
“Okay,” she said with a huge smile. “I’d love to, Travis.”
Travis swooped her up and spun her around. They quickly packed up some of Belle’s and Penny’s things; the rest could be dealt with later.
That night after she put Belle to bed, she found Travis lounging outside by the pool, a beer in his hand. She took the baby monitor he had purchased outside with her. “Am I interrupting?” she asked as she closed the sliding door.
“C’mere,” he said in that lazy drawl she liked so much. He moved his legs to either side of the lounge and patted the space in front of him. She sat, her back to him, and put her feet up. One of his arms circled her waist and she laid her head on his chest looking up to the sky.
“I’ve been thinking that maybe when this season of Fight Night ends, which is more or less after the Vegas fight, we can go on a small vacation.”
“Vacation?” She looked back and up at him, her expression quizzical.
“Yeah. A few days, catch some sun, relax. Maybe Mexico or somewhere in the Caribbean?”
“But Belle…”
“With Belle, of course. Why can’t I do the traveling thing? Just because there’s a kid around now doesn’t mean that it still can’t happen, right? I still don’t like kids, but
Belle, she’s cool. She doesn’t get in the way. She’s funny and well behaved. She would love the beaches in Mexico. I think it would be great.”
“So you’re basically saying that Belle is the exception to your rule?”
He guffawed. “Yep.”
“I think you like kids, Travis.”
“I don’t,” he answered. “I like you and I like Belle. My niece and nephew are kind of cool too. I still don’t think I’m ready for kids, though.”
She snorted. The man was in denial, with a big fat capital D.
“Well, that sounds great, cowboy. A few days with my two favorite people on a beautiful beach—how can I say no to that?”
“Good. I’m pretty sure they’ll be renewing Fight Night for another season, and my agent emailed me yesterday about a spread in a fitness magazine and a few other endorsements.”
“So the money you gave Lawrence didn’t leave you broke?”
“It put a dent, not gonna lie, but it’ll be okay regardless, and anyway, these new gigs will set us up,” he assured her.
But Penny wasn’t so sure. She turned her head back to the front, his fingers moving lazily on her stomach. She wished there was a way she could help pay him back somehow, but it would take the rest of her life. She had a lump in her throat the size of a bowling ball. Her life had been on a different course than his, but now he was taking her on his. She wasn’t complaining; she was just overwhelmed.
“It’s a beautiful night,” she said at last.
“It is,” he agreed, and kissed her head. “Did you have a good day today, momma?”
“The best.” She pointed to a falling star. “Look! Make a wish, cowboy.”
They were quiet for a moment.
“What did you wish for?”
“To fit into your world,” she admitted.
He set the beer down and put a finger on her chin so that she’d have to look at him.
“I just hope and pray that I can fit into your world and bring you happiness,” she explained. “I never want to be something you regret. So, yeah, to fit into your world. That was my wish.”
“Silly woman.” He shook his head as if she was full of nonsense. “You are my world, momma.” He kissed the top of her head, and her eyes filled with happy tears. He hadn’t said the words, but he’d said so many other things that she had no doubt he loved her back.
Chapter 18
It was a few days later and they were back at their special park. Travis parked the truck; Penny jumped out first, then unbuckled Belle and lifted her out.
“You sure you’re okay here?” Travis asked.
“Belle needs to run around, the paparazzi have mostly disappeared or gotten bored, and Kip’s kept his word. So yeah, we’re good. She needs sunlight and so do I. There’s no one around—we’ll be fine. Go for your run. We’ll be right here.”
“Okay, sugar. I’m just going to go down to the beach, up to the pier, and back around. Forty-five minutes tops.”
“Go.” She shooed him off. “Don’t worry about us.”
“Can’t seem to help it,” he mumbled as he turned and left.
The fresh warm air felt wonderful on her skin, and she could smell the salty beach from where they were.
“Where do we start, Belle?”
Belle made a giggling noise and waddled toward the swing. She lifted her arms in the air so that Penny could put her into the seat. After a few minutes of being pushed, Belle began to fuss, saying, “Mama, off.”
Penny took her out, and Belle pointed to the small play area that had a slide and a little bridge for toddlers. There were a few other kids playing there and other parents sitting nearby. Belle ran, falling once on the way, and climbed up, then slid down. She then met a little boy and together they went down the slide.
“Looks like my Alex made a friend.”
Penny smiled. “Looks that way.” She extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Penny, and that’s my daughter, Sarabelle.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Julie. Glad to see another kid his age here. Usually they’re either too big or too little.”
“I know what you mean.”
For the next five minutes Julie told her all her secrets to get Alex to eat vegetables, and Penny told her the best way to get dirt stains out of cotton.
“It’s been nice meeting you, Penny,” Julie said as she got ready to leave. “I try to bring Alex here around this time every day. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“That sounds great. Thank you.”
“Alex, honey, say goodbye to your little friend.”
Penny glanced over and saw that Belle wasn’t with Alex. She stood and looked around. “Belle?”
“Alex, where’s Belle?” Julie asked.
The little boy shrugged.
“Belle?” Penny looked behind the slide, but there weren’t many places for her to hide in the playground. But in the trees that surrounded them…well, that was another story, one that scared her.
“Belle!” Penny began to search frantically.
“Alex, where did your friend go?” Julie asked urgently.
“Over there.” He pointed to the dense clusters of mangroves that eventually led to the beach.
With trembling hands Penny took out her phone.
—
Travis was on the tail end of his run when his phone rang.
“My girls miss me already?” he answered.
“Travis! She’s gone!”
Her scream sent him into a full sprint.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Belle!” she yelled breathlessly. “I was looking at her, I swear to God, and then I turned around for a second. One second and she was gone!”
“Hang up. Call 911. I’m almost there.”
She was gone? What the hell did that even mean? he thought as he ran full speed toward the play area. That little blond girl who took up so much space in his heart. The one who had sent his life into disarray, bottles and diapers everywhere. She was gone? No, it couldn’t be. No fucking way. He put on another burst of speed. In the distance he could hear sirens blaring. As he reached the park, he immediately spotted Penny standing next to a woman holding a little boy. Both women were yelling Sarabelle’s name.
“Penny!” he called.
She turned and spotted him, then ran toward him. “Travis, oh God, Travis. She was here. Right now. Alex and her, they were running around, I was sitting right here. Right here, they were right there!” She sobbed. “Alex, the little boy, says she went over there.”
“Ma’am?” said a police officer, coming up to her.
“Talk to the officer,” Travis instructed Penny. “I’m going to look around.”
He could hear Penny crying hysterically as she spoke to the cop. The woman and the little boy stood by Penny. The playground was small, but the area around it was enormous. It was practically in the middle of a forest. From where they were now, past the trees, maybe two miles away, it opened up to a beach. There were a lot of places a kid could hide, Travis thought. But Belle was small, with tiny feet, and she had just learned to walk. There would be no way she could go far on her own.
He had a very bad feeling. He pulled out his phone and looked through his contacts.
“Yo, man, what’s up?” Iggy answered.
“Need help. You in town?”
“Yes. What’s going on?”
“You know Sarabelle, Penny’s little girl?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s missing.” Saying the words out loud caused a boulder-sized lump in his throat. But he had to be strong. He couldn’t lose his shit. Someone had to keep it together. Travis quickly explained the situation and gave Iggy some info on Lawrence and Kip. Iggy was a former Army Ranger who now worked in IT; Travis knew he did some hacking for the government.
Travis hung up and jogged back to Penny.
“Travis! I can’t lose her. We have to find her. You have to find her!” Penny sobbed.
“I’m going to find he
r. Don’t even doubt that for a second.”
—
Ten minutes turned into thirty.
Thirty turned into an hour.
All their friends were now manning a search party, along with most of Tarpon Springs’ police department. As he searched, Travis waited for Iggy to call back.
“I’m losing my fuckin’ shit,” Travis exploded. “Where the fuck is she?”
“Why don’t we go for a drive?” Enzo suggested. “The cops are scouting this area. Let’s go to her favorite spots. She loves ice cream, right? Let’s go there.”
Travis needed to move. Standing there going in circles was driving him crazy, and seeing Penny hysterical was screwing with his ability to think rationally.
His phone rang. “Got it. I’m a minute out,” Iggy said into the phone, then clicked off.
“Iggy’s almost here,” Travis reported to the others.
“We’ll follow you,” Jack said. “Slade, Tony, Cain, come with me.”
When Iggy pulled up in his car, Enzo slid into the back, but Travis went to the driver’s side. “I’ll drive,” he told Iggy. “You’ve got one leg and you’re playing with that computer. I need us to make it safely to Belle.” Iggy rolled his eyes but got out and went over to the passenger side.
“If we weren’t in a crisis, I’d tell you to go fuck yourself. Remind me when this is all over,” Iggy retorted. “So, anyway, I traced that number you gave me, and I finally got it. He’s about four miles from here. Is that the baby daddy’s number?”
“Yeah, and that motherfucker isn’t supposed to be in Florida.” Travis gripped the steering wheel tightly. “I’m going to kill him if he hurts one hair on her head, I swear to God.”
“I think we should call the police,” Enzo said.
“Fuck that. I can’t have them seeing me killing someone.”
Enzo and Iggy looked at each other nervously.
Travis sped into the parking lot of a public beach a short drive away from the park. He didn’t even bother to take the keys out of the ignition when he jumped out of the car. “Straight, through the mangroves. By the beach,” Iggy instructed from behind him, but Travis didn’t need any directions because he could hear his little girl crying.
Stacked Up: Worth the Fight Series Page 23