Calico Cupid

by Kay P. Dawson

  She trusted her dad’s opinion, and if he liked Travis already, without even meeting him in person, she could believe that what she’d already thought about him had to be true.

  Travis would never end up being like Lawrence.

  She leaned down and kissed her dad’s forehead. “I’m going to let you get some rest. We’ll be here in the morning before you go in for your surgery.”

  As she walked out into the hallway, she was met with the angry face of her brother as he tilted his head to the side. She turned to look at what had upset him and cringed when she saw Lawrence coming up the hallway toward them.

  “Caroline! I came as soon as I heard. How is he doing?”

  She had to take a deep breath and make sure her father’s door was completely closed so he wouldn’t see Lawrence. That would probably make him rip all the tubes out and come barreling out here to give him a piece of his mind.

  “He’s fine, Lawrence. But this is a family matter, so you didn’t really need to come.”

  He came over and took her hands. “Just because we aren’t together right now, doesn’t mean I’m suddenly not family anymore. We were together for over five years, so your family is like my own. I’ve known Ian since I was a teenage boy. Of course I’m going to be concerned about him.”

  Caroline clenched her jaw tight and pulled her hands from his. Her brother looked like he was ready to knock Lawrence to the ground, so she shook her head slightly in his direction.

  “I appreciate your concern, but everything is fine here.”

  She saw a flash of anger in his eyes, but he quickly covered it up. In all the years she’d been with Lawrence, he’d put on a sweet as pie attitude around her family, when he could be bothered to do something with them. But other than that, the only feelings he had for her dad and brother were jealousy that she wanted to ever do things with them and not him.

  “Well, I just wanted to be sure you were all right. My mom called and told me what had happened, and she was so worried.”

  His parents were genuinely nice people, but they enabled Lawrence’s behavior by always making excuses for him. He was just overworked or stressed because of his job. Anything to not admit that maybe he sometimes just wasn’t the nicest person to be around.

  “You can let your parents know that Dad is doing great, and he’ll be having surgery tomorrow. I can text your mom and let her know when he’s out.”

  He smiled at her and tried to move closer, but she stepped sideways. “Could you text me too, just to let me know?”

  She shook her head. “No, you can ask your mom if you’re concerned.”

  His jaw clenched and he swallowed, giving her a wounded look. “After all the years we were together, and everything we went through, you can’t even take a few seconds to text me too? I know you think I’m this horrible person, but you have to remember how much I love you. That’s never going to change. I just want to make sure you’re all right too, that’s all.”

  Her eyes caught her brother’s just past Lawrence’s shoulder. If not for the seriousness of the situation they were here for, she would have burst out laughing. Dylan’s face was so red with barely controlled anger, she was sure he was going to end up in the bed next to her father.

  “Whatever feelings I had for you are gone now, Lawrence. I’ve told you that so many times. I appreciate the time we had together, and we did have some great memories that I will always cherish. But I’ve moved on now, and I think you should too.”

  His face lost expression as he watched her closely. “You have someone else, don’t you? You’ve already taken up with a man in Idaho. Is that why you moved there? Is that why you left me?”

  His voice was starting to get louder, and she was afraid he was going to have an outburst right here in the hallway. Thankfully, her brother stepped over and put his hand on Lawrence’s shoulder.

  “I think it’s time for you to go. What happens with my father is of no concern to you, so you don’t need to be here. Either you turn around and walk out on your own right now, or you’re going to need a gurney to take you out of here. It’s your choice.”

  Immediately, Lawrence’s face turned a scary shade of purple as he turned to face her brother. The last thing she wanted to happen was a fight right here when she needed to focus on her dad.

  She stepped between them and put her hands on her brother’s chest. “Come on, let’s go home. He isn’t worth causing a scene over.”

  As they walked away, she could feel the anger seething from Lawrence’s pores. But for the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn’t care that he was upset.

  And he no longer had the power to get to her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Bentley, I don’t want any more dead rodents lying in front of my door. And furthermore, how are you even getting out of my house now? I’m going to have to tie a camera to your collar to figure out exactly what you’re getting up to.”

  Travis put two plastic bags together and scooped up the carcass of whatever small animal Bentley had decided to drop off for dinner. He quickly carried it to the garbage bin and chucked it inside. “Ugh, that animal really needs to find better ways to show his love.”

  Vicki laughed as she sat down on the patio chair, letting Bentley hop up onto her lap. She scratched behind his ears as the big cat curled up and went to sleep, not even aware how much his “gift” hadn’t been appreciated.

  “He’s just having a rough time. First, he gets moved all the way across the country, now his owner has taken off, and he isn’t sure exactly where he’s even supposed to be living.”

  Travis sat across from her and scowled at his sister. “He knows where he’s supposed to be, but he chooses not to be there. And now that he has the chance to be here, he keeps sneaking back home. I honestly think he believes he lives in both places and that it’s completely normal.”

  Ever since he’d been brought to stay at Travis’s, Bentley had continued sneaking out and this time making his way back home. For the life of him, Travis could not figure out how he was doing it or why he couldn’t just be happy wherever he was. But he’d promised to look after the cat for Caroline, so every time he escaped, Travis went and brought him back.

  “Well, he’ll be even more confused when he has to come stay at my place.” Vicki rubbed the cat under his chin and smiled as he lifted his head so she could get better access.

  Caroline had called yesterday and said there’d been some complications during her dad’s surgery, and she was going to be staying a bit longer. She’d been so upset; it had killed him to not be with her to offer comfort when she needed it.

  So he’d rearranged his schedule and was going to fly down to be with her tomorrow. Vicki had agreed to look after Bentley, but Travis was worried she was going to have her hands full keeping tabs on him.

  “Hopefully, everything will turn around for Caroline’s dad, and we won’t be gone for long. I hate to see how much this is hurting her and not being able to fix it.”

  Vicki took a sip of her lemonade and smiled warmly. “You really do care about her, don’t you?”

  He nodded and leaned back in his chair. “More than I ever would have believed it was possible to care about another human being.” He laughed at the annoyed expression on Vicki’s face. “Other than family, of course.”

  She nodded appreciatively and grinned. “I knew that. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and tipped his head. “You know, if things work out with Caroline, and I fully intend to make sure they do, that’s leaving you awfully close to being the last Quinn standing. Hope you’re ready for a whole lot of attention from Grams.”

  The smile slid from her face as she realized the truth in his words.

  “Thanks for the reminder.”

  He shrugged, then stood up when his phone rang from inside the house. When he picked it up, he didn’t recognize the number, but knew it was a Florida area code. With a feeling of dread, he answere
d it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, is this Travis Quinn?”

  “It is.”

  “This is Dylan MacGregor, Caroline’s brother.”

  For some reason, his stomach sunk, and he had to sit down on the edge of his couch. Why was Dylan calling him?

  “I was hoping to have the chance to talk to you about Caroline. With everything that’s happening with Dad, she needs to be back here. We talked a bit last night and she knows she has to come home to help him with his recovery. But she feels bad about leaving with how things were starting to develop between you two.”

  Travis wasn’t sure what to say. Caroline hadn’t mentioned anything to him about wanting to stay, but maybe she’d been afraid to.

  “Well, I would never ask her to come back until she’s done everything she could to help your father.”

  “That’s the thing. It’s going to take a long time, according to what the doctors told us this morning. She’s going to have to move back here but she’s having a really hard time knowing she has to tell you.”

  Travis was having a hard time breathing. Why hadn’t she talked to him about this?

  “So, I’m not really sure why it’s you calling me, and not Caroline? If she wants to call me, I’m more than willing to talk to her and figure something out.”

  “I’m calling to try and make things easier for her. With everything that’s happened to her in the past year, and now with Dad, I’m worried she can’t deal with much more. She doesn’t want to hurt you.”

  He swallowed the pain that was rising from his chest. He knew what her brother was asking.

  “You want me to make things easier for her by breaking up with her?”

  The phone was silent for a moment, and Travis knew it was probably just as hard for her brother.

  “I know it’s awful, but she needs to be here. I know my sister. And the guilt of having to choose between her family and having to hurt you will kill her. I know you care about her too, so I hope you can help.”

  He did care about her, but he couldn’t grasp the idea of having to tell her he didn’t want to be with her anymore.

  “I don’t know. If I could just talk to her, and let her know she can stay as long as she needs…”

  “She will always feel torn, wondering if she’s doing the right thing being with Dad or if she should be going back to you. Please, for her. I hate having to ask you to do this, but I don’t know what else to do.”

  Vicki came into the house now, sensing there was something wrong. She sat in the chair across from him with a concerned look.

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  That’s all he could commit to. Right now, the thought of having to tell Caroline she didn’t need to come back tore his heart from his chest. In just a short time, she’d become a big part of his life.

  When he hung up, he just stared down at the phone in his hand.

  “What’s going on?” Vicki reached out and put her hand on his arm.

  “That was Caroline’s brother. He wants me to break up with her so she can stay there with her dad while he recovers. He says she needs to move back there but will feel guilty having to tell me that and having to leave me.” The final words choked from his throat as he quickly stood up and threw his fingers into his hair in frustration.

  “That’s ridiculous. Just go down there and talk to her.”

  He paced around the room, vaguely noticing Bentley had followed them in and was now sitting on the couch watching him intently.

  “Besides, she still has to come back here to get everything. I mean, she has a job and all her stuff is here.” Vicki pointed at the cat as she stood up too. “What about poor Bentley?”

  He stopped and pinched the skin between his nose as he tried to think.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. The only thing I do know is that I don’t want Caroline to only stay with me out of guilt. If she needs to be back with her family, I just don’t know if I can live with myself if I make her choose.”

  “Caroline is a big girl. I’m sure she can make her own decisions.”

  He looked at his sister and shrugged in defeat. “But how can I ask her to make a decision like this, knowing how hard it will be on her?”

  And he knew, in his heart, he couldn’t do that to her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Caroline sat next to her dad’s bed, listening to the monitors that filled the silence of the room. He was resting, and her brother had run down to the cafeteria to get them some coffee, so she was alone with her thoughts.

  It seemed like she’d sat in this hospital for weeks, when in truth it had only been a few days since she’d arrived. The first night, she’d stayed at her brothers but since then, she’d been sleeping on a cot in the small family room in the ICU. Complications from her father’s surgery were still causing problems, and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

  Her phone beeped and she looked down, smiling when she saw it was Travis. She’d tried calling him last night, but it had gone to voice mail, so she was looking forward to hearing his voice again.

  “Hey, you. Did you have an overzealous family game night last night or something? I hoped you’d give me a call when you got home but thought maybe you were too busy licking your wounds from your losses or something.”

  “No, nothing like that. Just working late.”

  His voice sounded flat, not at all like the man she’d gotten to know the past few weeks.

  “Is everything all right? Are you still going to be here by tonight? I can drive over and pick you up at the airport.”

  “I don’t think I’m going to make it down there now.”

  “Oh. I thought you’d already got the tickets and arranged everything.”

  “I did. But I realized I just have too much going on here now to be able to leave.”

  “Travis, are you okay? You sound like you’re upset with me or something.” She racked her memory for something she might have said the last time they talked. She really needed his support right now, not have him acting like this.

  “Maybe just let me know when you’re back in town. We can talk then.”

  What was going on? He was acting as moody as Lawrence used to get when he wasn’t getting his way. Surely this wasn’t happening again.

  “Are you upset that I’m going to have to stay longer down here?” Her anger was starting to rise as she realized what a fool she’d been. He was exactly the same as Lawrence—jealous about time spent away from him and he was trying to punish her.

  “No, I think you’re where you need to be.”

  Her mouth was open, but she couldn’t even think of what to say. She didn’t know if she should be hurt, or angry, or what. This was so unlike Travis, at least from what she’d gotten to know of him.

  “Travis, why do I feel like you’re saying goodbye?”

  Her heart was splitting in half, and she realized at that moment how far she’d fallen for this man.

  She loved him, and every word he spoke, cutting her out of his life was like a knife to the heart. Something must have happened since she’d left, but she couldn’t imagine what it would be.

  But the fact that he wasn’t even prepared to talk to her about it hurt more than anything.

  “I just think it’s best for you to focus on everything down there right now. We can talk things over when you get back to Quinn Valley. I’ll hold on to Bentley until you get back. Or, if you decide to stay down there and have someone pick your things up, I can help to arrange for him to be flown back down to you. Take care of yourself, Caroline.”

  Before she could say anything else, he hung up, leaving her sitting there staring at her phone in disbelief.

  “What’s up? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

  Her brother walked into the room and handed her a cup of coffee. She stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say.

  “Caro? Is everything okay?”

  “I think Travis just broke up with me.”

/>   His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “Did he say why?”

  She just shook her head. “No, just that he thought I needed to be here with Dad. But that doesn’t make sense. It’s not like I’m going to stay here forever. I’m only staying until Dad gets better.”

  Her brother watched her closely. “Would you go back to Quinn Valley if not for Travis?”

  She shrugged, still not able to think clearly. “I don’t know. Maybe not. I went there to get away from things here and to find myself. I did that, so I don’t really need to be away from here anymore. But I love Quinn Valley and the people there. And, I’d planned to stay there with Travis and see where things went between us. I thought maybe it would be different with him. I thought…” She choked on the tears as her brother pulled her over for a hug. She hadn’t thought she had any more to cry after the past few days with her dad, but obviously there were still a few more in there.

  She’d actually started to believe she had a future with Travis. With someone who cared about her and would let her be herself. Quinn Valley had already started feeling like home, and she’d imagined spending the rest of her life there—with Travis.

  Instead, she was back in Florida and everything around her once more seemed to be falling apart.

  “Are you insane? You know I love you like a brother, Travis, but right now I have to say I think you’re just about the biggest fool to walk the Earth. And that’s putting it mildly. You don’t want to know the truth of what I’m really thinking about you right now.”

  Travis glared at Dusty over the desk. He was looking over some of the appointments he’d changed while Amy ran to get the mail. As the office manager, Patrick would likely kill him when he came into work tomorrow if he’d messed with anything and rearranged people again, but Travis wasn’t in the mood to care.

  Right now, he needed his mind on something other than Caroline.

  “Luckily, I don’t really care what you think about me right now. I’m sure I’m thinking the exact same thing. So nothing you could say would make me feel any worse than I already am.”