Kylie had only taken a few sips of her coffee when she heard the front door open and then close. She cocked an eyebrow at Gage, silently asking whether he was expecting someone that early. She knew Travis’ brothers were coming over to help paint, but she didn’t think they’d be there already. When he shook his head and took a tentative step toward the dining room, she knew the answer was no.
Surprisingly, he didn’t reach for his gun, but that was only because it wasn’t tucked into the back of his jeans like it had been the first day she was there. She’d politely asked him to relax a little, and after a number of excuses, most of them about him feeling naked without it, he’d put the gun somewhere safe.
“Put me to work.” Travis’ voice sounded from the other room, and Gage turned back to look at Kylie before he pushed the kitchen door open to welcome Travis.
“What the hell? You play too much hooky, and you’re going to get fired, you know that?” Gage joked as he stepped back.
“Can’t fire the boss. And I’ve got priorities, people should understand that.”
“And that includes helping us paint?” Kylie questioned, sipping more of her coffee. She was going to need to connect the pot to an IV at this rate.
A disappointed grumble came from Gage and Kylie laughed. He had mentioned that he wasn’t fond of painting, but aside from the patching and hole filling they’d already completed, it was one of the first things that needed to be done.
“It does now that my meeting was canceled,” Travis said, leaning up against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. “My brothers will be here soon. They’re goal is to get as much done as they can today and tomorrow, but after that, I need them back to work.”
Kylie nodded, understanding how generous his brothers were being by volunteering to help them in the first place. Free of charge.
“Where is the rowdy bunch? I figured they’d get here before you,” Gage asked.
“The twins stopped to get breakfast and Zane had to pick up V. Haven’t heard from Kaleb, so I’m betting he’s on his way already. Sawyer was finishing up something at the office when I left.”
“Well, I’d like them to start down here if at all possible. Now that Gage has furniture, we’ll have to tarp everything and work around it,” Kylie told Travis and then turned to look at Gage. “You and I can head out to pick out flooring for the kitchen and the bathrooms today if that works for you.”
Gage frowned. “How ‘bout you pick everything out and I promise, I’ll love it.”
Kylie laughed. She didn’t figure him for the shopping type.
The ancient doorbell sounded, and their conversation came to a halt as Travis said, “Time to get to work,” and then disappeared from the kitchen with a huge smile on his face.
Gage was right on his heels.
“Kylie, come here, darlin’,” Gage called from the other room a minute later and Kylie set her coffee cup on the counter, staring down at her state of dress. Yeah, she so wasn’t going to face all those cowboys while she was in her pajamas.
Rather than answer, she flew up the stairs, running to the bedroom and probably alerting them all as her feet pounded on the floor. She grabbed the first thing she could find in the dresser she’d commandeered in one of the extra bedrooms. Gage had specifically told her she could put her clothes there, but her body was going to be staying in his room with him.
She hadn’t argued.
She was dressed, her hair pulled up in a haphazard ponytail, and she was back down the stairs within five minutes. Quite impressive if she did say so herself.
“Hi,” Kylie greeted the two people currently smiling at Gage and admiring the room they were standing in.
Kylie couldn’t keep the frown from her face when she noticed that, once again, the pretty blonde woman had her arm around Gage in a very casual, almost possessive hold.
“Kylie, you remember Kaleb and his wife, Zoey,” Gage said by way of introduction as he stepped back from Zoey.
Kylie had met them at Moonshiners a while back, and just like now, she’d never forget them either. The way they reacted to Gage was way more intimate than mere friends.
“Hey,” the tall sexy cowboy said with a mischievous smirk as he held out his hand like this was their first introduction. Kylie reached over, shook his outstretched palm and then turned when Zoey stepped up beside her.
“Nope, no hand shaking for me,” Zoey smiled. “I want a hug.”
Kylie was stunned at the woman’s forwardness, but she leaned in, responding to the hug by briefly touching Zoey’s back with one hand. When they parted, Zoey placed her hands over her tummy, and that’s when Kylie noticed the barely visible baby bump. If Travis hadn’t told her, or Zoey hadn’t done the maternal cradling of her belly, Kylie would’ve never been able to tell.
“Nice to see you again,” she finally told them, realizing Zoey was once again flashing a dazzling smile at Gage.
Kylie felt the warmth of Travis’ body as he stepped closer, his arm going around her shoulder in a possessive gesture that made her insides go haywire.
“This is the paint crew,” Travis told her. “Well, part of it anyway.”
“Well, technically, I’m not part of that crew, but feel free to use me however you’d like,” Zoey offered.
“Hey, the two of you could go together to pick out the flooring. Lord knows I’m not all that fond of shopping,” Gage said.
“No, but I am,” Zoey laughed. “I’d be happy to help.”
An hour later, Zoey was behind the wheel of her old pickup truck and Kylie was riding shot gun. The woman hadn’t stopped talking for the last few minutes, and Kylie welcomed the random chatter. And she welcomed the girl talk. It’d been a long time since she’d had a friend she could talk to other than her sister. Kylie wasn’t one to share much of her personal life, but she’d never had someone to share it with, not having had many girlfriends through the years. Not that Kylie would be sharing much with Zoey, but the idea of it made her feel better.
“So, if I’m not mistakin’,” Zoey drawled, “I’d say Gage and Travis are smitten.”
Kylie laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement and at the abrupt change of subject. The idea of either man being smitten was amusing. Almost as much as Zoey talking about how half the town should’ve been declared a flood plain and then jumping right into a much more intimate topic without batting an eyelash.
When she recovered, Kylie said, “Well, I’m not sure about all that, but I’m quite fond of them.”
As they made their way through downtown Coyote Ridge, Kylie watched out the window as the handful of small stores passed by. Based on Zoey’s arsenal of random facts, she had learned that they’d had everything from an organic pet food store to an herbalist who sidelined as a palm reader, and neither of those had survived long in their little piece of country paradise – Zoey’s exact words.
Because of the limited resources the town had to offer, they were heading into Austin where their options were unlimited. Knowing they had at least a half hour drive ahead of them, Kylie prepared herself for Zoey’s questions.
“Now, if I overstep my bounds, tell me to shut up,” Zoey said, glancing over before turning the volume down on the radio.
Kylie thought she knew the direction the conversation was headed, but since Zoey had stunned her more than once already, she braced herself. Knowing that they were going to venture to more personal topics, Kylie was hesitant, but she welcomed the opportunity to talk to someone who wasn’t her sister.
“You’ve been married to Travis for ten years?”
Nope, nothing seemed to be off limits with Zoey.
“It would seem so, yes.”
“But I take it you haven’t seen him, right? I mean until recently.”
Kylie watched the trees pass by in a blur as they headed down a county road that would lead them to the interstate. Her thoughts drifted back to that miserable day when Travis had walked out on her, giving her so little to go on. “Not onc
e.”
“Mind if I ask what happened?”
Kylie didn’t say a word for a few minutes, trying to outline the story in her head. Or at least the version she was comfortable sharing with someone she didn’t know. Based on what she knew of Travis, he didn’t offer up many details of his personal life, and the last thing she wanted to do was to upset him by sharing information with his family.
“It was one of those whirlwind romances, I guess you could say. We met one afternoon at the lake. And I hate to sound like it was right out of a romance novel, but it kinda was. I’m pretty sure by the time night fell I was head over heels in love with him.”
“I imagine he felt the same way,” Zoey said, her full attention on the road.
“I’d like to think the feeling was mutual. We dated for about a year while he was stationed at Fort Hood and then one day he asked me to marry him. I was beside myself, and of course I said yes. Never even dawned on me that I hadn’t met anyone in his family, especially his parents. Considering he never told me he had any brothers, I didn’t think anything of it.”
“He didn’t mention any of his brothers? At all?” Zoey’s incredulity reflected the absurdity of what Kylie had considered the most intimate relationship of her entire life.
“No. I’m not sure I ever directly asked if he had brothers or sisters. Though that’s unlikely… Anyway. On our wedding day, we met at the courthouse, the Justice of the Peace presided over the nuptials, and the rest is history. Literally.”
Kylie caught sight of Zoey from the corner of her eye, waiting for her to toss more questions. When she didn’t, she just kept talking as though it were perfectly natural to share so many intimate details with an almost perfect stranger.
“We didn’t have a honeymoon, nor did we announce our good news to anyone. We spent the rest of that day in bed because he had only been able to take leave for one day and then things went back to normal. Until three weeks into the marriage, when Travis walked away.”
“Like out of your life?”
“Exactly. He told me he wanted something that I wouldn’t understand. Said he was different and left me with my heart in my hands. Insert ten years without him and all of a sudden Gage showed up on my doorstep. Not that I knew there was any association between the two of them at the time.”
“Did Gage say why he came to see you?”
“Well, initially he said he wanted me to restore a historic house that his grandparents had left him when they passed away. I believed it too, but it wasn’t like I had any reason not to.”
“Did the two of you start dating?”
Kylie breathed in slowly. She couldn’t help wondering if there was a reason behind the intimate line of questions that revolved around Gage. Now would’ve been the perfect time for Kylie to ask her own questions about the relationship between the two of them, but she bit her tongue. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answers.
“We did. Or at least I thought that’s what we were doing.”
“So when did you find out Gage knew Travis?”
“The day Gage brought me to your house,” she explained. That was the day her life had flipped upside down and nothing else mattered except trying to right it again.
Now that she thought about it, her life wasn’t right side up again at all. It was closer to inside out at this point, but she was finding she preferred it that way.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Zoey said with sadness in her tone. “I’m not sure what got into Gage, but I’d have never guessed he’d do something like that.”
Kylie knew his decisions were fueled by his reaction to Travis and looking back, she realized he was trying to hurt him. She’d been collateral damage, and although things ended up opposite from what she would’ve anticipated, Kylie had decided to put the incident behind her. There was no room in her heart for anything more than the love she felt for both Travis and Gage. They’d managed to shove out all of the pain from her past.
“So, are things serious between the three of you?”
The question took Kylie completely off guard. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say, nor did she know how to lie about something like that if she wasn’t willing to offer up the truth.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to push too far,” Zoey said when the silence began suffocating them. “It really isn’t any of my business.”
Kylie realized how much she liked Zoey and being that she didn’t have many friends, she wanted to share the details. Well, up to a point anyway.
“I think it is. I hope it is.”
“Me too,” Zoey whispered and shocked Kylie when she reached over and squeezed her hand. “Me too.”
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Kylie decided it was her turn. “How’d you and Kaleb meet?” Fair was fair. If Kylie was supposed to share, she figured Zoey would do the same.
A huge smile tipped Zoey’s lips, and she beamed as she glanced over quickly.
“We were next door neighbors,” she said. “Growing up we were best friends, but it wasn’t until last year that things changed.”
“Young love then?”
“Actually, no,” Zoey grinned. “There was a line there, and neither of us ever crossed it for some reason. Then all of a sudden there he was, right there in front of me and, well, the rest is history.”
Kylie returned Zoey’s smile. It was clear the woman was in love with her man. She glowed with love and Kylie envied her. She was sure it had been a long road to get where she was, and Kylie was still curious about a few things.
But she was going to hold the more difficult questions for another day.
Chapter Forty Four
♂♀
The rumble of voices throughout the house combined with the beat of the sound system blaring Fall Out Boy in the background – Light Em Up rattling the windows – kept Gage focused.
For the better part of four hours, he’d been painting until he felt as though his arms were going to fall off. The house was full of Walker men and their friends, including their cousin Jaxson, Sawyer’s friend CJ, as well as Beau Bennett. There was something to be said about putting eleven grown men to work. They weren’t finished, but at the rate they were going, Gage knew they’d probably shock the hell out of Kylie when she finally got back.
He’d only had to call her twice – once to confirm exactly what color paint was going where and the other to make sure she hadn’t gone overboard because as of now, she and Zoey still weren’t back.
“We brought food!” Zoey’s country twang echoed through the house, and a round of male cheers followed.
Finally.
Gage ran the roller over the paint about to drip down from the ceiling and then gave in. He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t beside himself now that she was home. He looked over at Travis and noticed the man was tense, likely trying to keep from running out of the room as well.
Caving, Gage dropped his paint roller in the pan after he descended the ladder. That got Travis’ attention, and they looked at one another from across the room. A small smile tipped Travis’ lips, and Gage knew he was daring him. Like teenagers, they were about to take off to see who could get to her first.
The tangy smell of barbecue wafted through the house, but that wasn’t the scent Gage was tracking. Like a hound dog sniffing a trail, he was in search of lavender and vanilla. He heard the pounding of Travis’ boots on the floor behind him, obviously in hot pursuit, but he wasn’t about to stop. Every man for himself and all that.
The second he spotted her long, wavy hair pulled away from her face, her pretty pink lips turned up in a smile, and baby blue eyes aimed toward them, Gage had to restrain himself from taking off at a dead run.
Hoping that outwardly he looked like a man who had his wits about him, Gage walked right up to Kylie, pulled her flush against his chest and pressed his lips to hers like he’d done so many times recently. He didn’t get to linger for long because Travis stepped up to them, cleared his throat and then grabbed Kylie in much
the same way, sending a wry grin at Gage over her head.
It was a good thing they were in this together, Gage thought to himself. He watched as Kylie went up on her toes and kissed Travis sweetly on the lips, a laugh escaping as she acknowledged their possessive greeting.
All background noise ceased, except for the banging beat of Korn’s Coming Undone – somewhat fitting for Gage’s mood – echoing through the house.
Hmm.
Gage replayed what just happened in his head.
Kylie came home.
Gage and Travis went on the prowl.
Gage kissed Travis’ wife.
Travis kissed Travis’ wife.
Yeah, he could see how that might look a little strange to their current company.
Well, hell.
He took a small step back and did his best to pretend nothing happened. Much to his surprise, Kylie looked back and forth between the two of them and smiled. “I missed you too.” She didn’t keep her voice quiet and her words apparently startled everyone back into action.
“You’re a godsend, you know that?” Braydon claimed the conversation at the same time he stole the food from Zoey’s hand. On his way to the kitchen, he called out over his shoulder to anyone who’d listen, “Fuck around and I can’t promise there’ll be anything left,”
That caused a stampede as eight hungry men fell in line behind Brendon. Gage didn’t move and neither did Travis. He wondered whether Travis was having the same problem he was: Gage wasn’t sure he could move, even if he wanted to.
“You two ok?” Kylie asked as she looked up at them.
“Never better, actually,” Travis said first, holding Kylie tight against his body in an act so foreign to Gage, he wondered if his mouth was hanging open. Travis was not known for his outward show of affection.
“And what about you?” she asked Gage directly.
“I’m good, baby. Especially now that you’re back.”
“Ok then,” she said. “Let’s get some food. I’m sure you’re starving.” Kylie grabbed both of their hands, but then she stopped suddenly. “Holy cow, this looks great.”
Travis - An Alluring Indulgence Novel Page 38