Chapter 8
“Did you see? Uncle Travis is here!” Hudson’s exclamation of delight came right after snack time the next day.
I looked up toward the doorway, confused. It wasn’t time for Hudson to be picked up.
I watched Travis talking to Mike, who ran our soccer program for the kids twice a week. They shook hands and my gaze narrowed in suspicion.
I went back to helping Tabitha open her yogurt as the kids finished up snack.
I felt him before I saw him, the heat at my back like a beacon of awareness.
Hudson squealed, jumping out of his seat to greet his uncle.
“Hi, bud.” Travis’s voice was warm as he moved to stand alongside me, scooping Hudson up in his arms.
“Time to go home?” Hudson asked.
“No. I’m going to help coach Mike out today,” he explained.
I looked at him in surprise. “Since when?”
He stared at me with that trademark intensity. “Since I just really like the view around here.”
I flushed, glancing down at Tabitha, reaching out just in time to prevent a giant yogurt glob from landing on her dress.
I tried like hell not to stare out the window as the soccer lesson started ten minutes later.
“Wow, he is so hot,” Lindsey breathed reverently as she stared unabashedly at Travis helping Mike with the kids.
“Yeah.” I had to agree.
Travis was hot at any time, but Travis kneeling down to talk to the kids, with that gorgeous dimple on prominent display? Well, that Travis was downright irresistible.
It was a good thing I’d discovered a newfound form of willpower. Maybe. Probably.
When they wrapped up, the kids came in to nap, and I packed up my things. I left at midday three days a week and taught more yoga classes those days.
I’d learned to be scrappy and creative when it came to making ends meet.
“You headed out?” Travis asked, falling into stride with me as I walked out to my car.
“Yeah.”
“Want to grab some lunch?”
I knew he’d broken through when I felt disappointed that I really couldn’t. “I have class.”
“Dinner, then,” he replied easily.
I let out a short laugh. “Don’t you have work?”
“One of the benefits of being the boss.” He shrugged with a sideways grin.
“Maybe another time,” I replied quietly.
He reached out, grabbing my arm to gently halt my progress. “Em… please tell me I haven’t fucked this up beyond repair.”
I looked up at him, finding his expression shrouded in worry. “A few days ago I would have said yes,” I admitted. “But I’ve had time to think, and although you did hurt my feelings, I think I understand where you were coming from, and I’m willing to accept your apology.”
He visibly slumped with relief. “Good. Does this mean you’ll start returning my texts?”
I had to smile at that. The man had probably texted me a hundred times over the past few days. “Maybe,” I answered coyly.
Accepting his apology didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have to work for it.
His eyes were blazing with intensity as he looked down at me. “I’ll take it. And I’ll text you later. Have a good class.”
With a nod, I watched him walk to his Jeep, admiring the way he moved. For such a big man, there was something so graceful about him.
I shook myself out of my Travis fog and focused on getting to class.
****
My phone rang later that night just as I was crawling into bed. My heart thudded with anticipation when I saw Travis’s name flash on the screen.
“Hi,” I murmured in greeting as I snuggled deeper into my covers.
“Hey.” His voice was impossibly sexy over the phone.
“This isn’t a text,” I commented with a smile.
“No, I wanted to hear your voice. How was the rest of your day?”
“Good. I taught three classes, and then I had to help Mabel pack. Charlie’s taking her on some romantic getaway. She seriously packed a month’s worth of clothes.”
He chuckled. “Oh yeah? So, are we settled on Charlie now?”
I laughed. “You never know with May, but taking her away somewhere will definitely give him some points. I’m going to watch the house for her while she’s gone.”
“Are you going to sleep there?”
“No, but I’ll definitely take advantage of her tub,” I shared. I missed having a bathtub desperately, and May’s was like a small swimming pool. “How was your day?”
“Fine. Things have been a little more hectic since I lost my best receptionist, Sarah, last year. Since then it’s been a revolving door of ineptness.”
“Why did Sarah leave?”
“She was mysterious about it. The girls are still pretty upset. They were close. And whether he admits it or not, there was something going on with her and Theo. Obviously, I could check up on her, but I’m choosing to respect her privacy.”
“So, you’re sans receptionist?” I asked, enjoying any small detail about his life he was willing to share.
“As of this afternoon when I fired the last one? Yes,” he grumbled.
“I don’t imagine it’d be an easy job working for a bunch of type A retired military guys,” I commented.
“Who says I’m type A?” he replied, sounding comically affronted.
“Um, the dictionary?” I retorted, earning a deep belly laugh from him in response.
“I guess that’s fair enough. So, what’s on for tomorrow?”
“The usual. Work, then more work. I’ll pop by May’s to get her mail and check on things. She gets about a hundred catalogues a day. Then I was hoping to catch Ryan on Skype at some point. We haven’t talked in a few days.”
“You two are close,” he commented.
“Yes,” I replied simply.
“Maybe I’ll get to meet him one day.”
I’d never introduced my brother to anyone I was dating before. Not that there had been a long line of suitors. “Maybe,” I replied evasively.
“How about dinner on Friday night?” he suggested.
I thought about that for a minute. “Okay.”
“Okay? Damn that feels good.” He chuckled.
I grinned.
“I’ll pick you up at seven, that work?”
“That works,” I confirmed, grinning like a lovesick schoolgirl.
“All right, I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Night, Trav.”
“Night, Em.”
****
His nightly calls continued for the rest of the week. He’d call as I was getting ready for bed, and we’d talk until I was nearly falling asleep. I loved hearing his voice at the end of the day.
Friday evening found me soaking in May’s tub when he called.
“Hi.” I smiled as I answered the phone. I swore my face hurt from smiling so much.
“Hey. I can hear an echo, where are you?”
“In May’s tub,” I replied blissfully.
He groaned. “You expect a man to carry on a conversation with that visual?”
I blushed. “Yeah well, it’s awesome for my sore muscles. It’s the one thing I really miss in my place—I just have that tiny shower.”
“Well, you can come soak in my tub anytime you want,” he invited, his tone low and full of intent.
“Oh yeah?” I replied. “I think you’ll have to take me to dinner first,” I teased.
“Fair enough,” he replied, just as my ears perked to what I swore was movement in the house.
“Hang on.” I pulled the phone from my ear, listening intently, and was sure I heard the tread of footsteps below. Fear had my heart pounding frantically in my chest. “I think there’s someone in the house,” I hissed to Travis as I sprang from the tub and wrapped a towel around myself.
“What?” he clipped, his tone immediately changing to something I hadn’t heard from him before.
“I hear footsteps,” I whispered. “What do I do?”
“I’m patching in the police, and I’m coming, Em.”
“I could try to hide but they’ll know someone is here because of the bath,” I whispered worriedly.
“You’re on the second floor?”
“Yes.” My breathing grew more rapid as I heard multiple steps below. “It sounds like they’re in Benny’s old office.”
I whipped my yoga tights up my legs and threw my sweatshirt back on. I didn’t want to be caught with just a small towel wrapped around me.
“Is there a good place to hide?” he demanded as I heard his engine rumble to life.
I looked around the large bathroom, trying to think. Holing up in a closet would make me feel like a sitting duck.
“If they’re in Benny’s office, I can make it down the stairs without them seeing me,” I whispered urgently.
“Stay where you are,” he instructed firmly. “The police are en route. Five minutes. I’m ten.”
So, in other words, an eternity.
“So, I just sit here and hope they don’t come up here?” I hissed frantically.
“Baby, I need you to stay calm for me, okay?” The combination of his no-nonsense tone mixed with the endearment had me calming a bit. “I want you to stay put. That’s a big house. It’s possible whatever they’re after is downstairs. The police will be there soon,” he reiterated. “I’ll stay on the line with you the whole time.”
“Okay,” I whispered, despite it feeling completely counterintuitive to simply stand and wait.
I fidgeted as I sat on the lip of the bath tub, unable to keep still. I could hear the sound of Travis’s motor and my own frantic breathing as my heart thundered in my chest. When I heard footsteps on the stairs, I froze in panic. I didn’t even have time to tell Travis before the knob turned.
A vaguely familiar man came in, though at first I couldn’t place him. He glared at me, his eyes bloodshot, the smell of alcohol immediately burning my nostrils. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded as he stepped unsteadily into the room and into my space, grabbing my upper arm roughly with his gloved hand.
My phone clattered to the floor as I gasped in pain.
“I’m house-sitting for Mabel, and you’re....” My eyes widened as realization struck me. “You’re Roy, her son.”
He sneered. “And you’re that little bitch my mother thinks so much of.”
I reeled back at the spite in his tone.
“There wasn’t supposed to be anyone here. That’s a fucking problem,” he gritted out, and yanked me with him toward the door. It was obvious immediately he wasn’t in his right mind, and I struggled against his grasp with every bit of strength I could muster.
“The police will be here any second,” I exclaimed, pulling my arm out of his grasp and falling on my backside painfully in the process.
As if on cue, the wail of sirens sounded in the distance.
He leaned down over me, wrapping his large hand around my neck and squeezing painfully.
I wheezed against his hold, gasping for breath as his image blurred.
“You listen to me,” he snarled. “You don’t say a fucking word about me. You never saw me. I have friends in very high places on the force. You say anything—you’re dead. Understand?”
I nodded frantically, desperate for air.
“Good, now you’re going to take a little nap.”
I didn’t have a second to grasp his meaning before he slammed my head on the marble floor and everything went black.