Chapter Nine
Travis closed the front door and punched in the security code. Even though Bo had given Travis a key, it felt weird. This was the first time he’d used it and Bo didn’t know Travis was there. It was a surprise. Bo worked until seven and Travis planned on having an incredible dinner ready for him. Travis rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen. He felt at home here. Which was an odd yet settling feeling after years of living like a nomad.
He dug the ingredients out of the pantry for his homemade manicotti: olive oil, garlic, onion, tomatoes, basil, sugar, and salt for the sauce; fresh ricotta, eggs, parmigiana reggiano, mozzarella, and spinach for the filling. He had everything he needed, including the noodles.
Bo was going to love this.
Travis turned on the CD player. He knew Bo would announce himself when he got home so there’d be no chance of surprising Travis. He hummed along with whatever song was playing. He didn’t care what it was as long as it had a good beat. He pulled out the big pot and filled it with water before setting it on the stove, and then pulled out a cutting board. While the noodles were boiling he’d cut everything else up.
Travis was busy cutting tomatoes when he accidentally hit the edge of the plastic board with his hand and covered the front of his shirt, pants and floor with diced tomato. Shit. He took a deep breath before cleaning up the mess but his clothes needed more than a wipe with a cloth so he took them off and headed for the washer. He felt comfortable enough in the house to remain in his boxers; after all, the blinds were closed.
Another little step.
Finally he had everything back in order and pulled out a new tomato and went back to chopping. Once done he turned to the stove, which faced the beautiful yard, and began humming again. He was happy for the first time since his father’s death. Truly happy.
That all faded away when he heard the creak of a floorboard. He had set the volume low enough on the stereo so that he could hear when Bo arrived. But it wasn’t time for him to be home yet. The sound had come from the foyer down the hall from the kitchen.
It could have been his imagination. That thought lasted a few seconds until Travis heard another small, barely audible scrape of a shoe on the floor. He had no idea how Bo had managed to sneak up on him the other day since his hearing had become attuned to the world around him. That didn’t matter now; someone was in the house. He’d locked the door but somehow they got in.
Travis reached for one of the knives out of the butcher block before squatting down behind the kitchen island to hide. It was too late when he realized he’d left the stove on and the pot boiling because whoever it was had just entered the kitchen. A shoe squeaked on the tiled floor and his head began to pound as fear spiked through his body. He wasn’t a fighter. Though he would stick up for others, he was more of the head-for-the-hills kind of guy. The footsteps got closer to his hiding spot and his heart was pounding its way out of his chest. He felt the panic attack coming on but he fought it back as best he could. His breathing was getting shallow and he could barely hold the knife.
Visions of being dragged back into that dark room at the shelter flashed though his mind. The air ripe with the body odor of over fifty homeless men. Sharp nails grabbing at Travis’s skin and clothes as he prayed for help that would never come.
“I know you’re in here,” a man’s voice said from somewhere close to Travis’s right. For a moment he thought he recognized the voice.
The last thing he saw was the barrel of a gun inching over the top of the island above his head. Then his world went dark.
*****
When Travis woke he was disoriented. He was lying down and he could hear hushed voices coming from not too far away. He tried pushing himself up on his elbows but his head began to swim again.
“Don’t sit up, Travis.” Bo’s voice reached him before his body came around the corner of the couch.
“Bo?”
“It’s okay, you’re safe,” Bo assured as he cupped the side of Travis’s face.
“But someone was in the house, I swear. I saw his gun.”
A noise in the corner alerted Travis to another person in the room. He turned to see Police Chief David Graham and Grady standing off to the side. “What’s going on?” He looked down and for the first time he noticed he now had his sleeping pants and shirt on. “What happened?”
Grady looked uncomfortable and Chief Graham looked furious, but Bo remained calm. That had to be a good sign.
“Travis, there was someone in the house.” He looked up at Grady, indicating it had been him.
“Grady? Why would he have been in the house? Wait, I locked the door.”
“I gave Grady a key several months ago when he first moved here. He hadn’t found a place to rent yet so I let him stay in the guest room,” Bo explained.
“That explains the how. What about the why?”
Grady stepped forward at this point but he still wouldn’t look Travis in the eye. “I’d left work and knew Bo was still at the station for another hour. I’d told him earlier this week that I’d drop in and pick up the rest of my belongings.”
“I didn’t even think to say anything to you.” Bo shook his head, guilt written all over his face.
“I opened the door and heard movement inside. I called it in and went to investigate. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone here.”
“So you immediately thought I was an intruder and pulled out your gun.” Travis knew he was angry but the lethal tone of his voice surprised him. “I was cooking dinner. You could have called out from the door when you realized someone was here. Hell, when does an intruder turn on music?”
“Yes, I realize that now,” Grady agreed. “I’m sorry.”
Travis wasn’t ready to accept the apology quite yet—he was still furious. After everything he’d lived through, to have his safe place taken away was just a step too far. “What happened after I had a gun pointed at me?” He didn’t remember the rest.
“Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and you passed out,” Grady answered before stepping back beside Chief Graham, who remained silent.
“Dave and I arrived right after that,” Bo said. “I tried to raise Grady on his radio to tell him that it might be you, but he’d turned the volume down when he entered.”
Great. Travis had passed out in front of all of them. Grow a pair of balls much? Even though anyone would be scared facing a gun, they all didn’t pass out. But he did. He could picture himself on the floor in his boxers—boxers. The room had gotten really quiet as he realized what had happened.
“They saw?”
“Yes,” he replied softly.
“They helped you dress me?” God, could this get any worse?
“No. I would never allow anyone to touch you when you’re unconscious other than medical professionals. They waited in the foyer until I had you dressed and laying on the couch.”
Travis glanced up at the two officers who were now looking anywhere but at him. He’d seen that reaction many times before: doctors, nurses, his mother, and it never got easier.
“I don’t know how to deal with that right now. Can you please leave? Or I could go.”
“No, Travis. I don’t want you to leave,” Bo insisted. Travis tried to stand, but like the idiot he felt he looked, he was caught up in the blankets.
“We’ll go. I’m sorry this happened,” Dave stated and for the first time Travis noticed Dave was holding a duty belt and Grady had none. The two men walked out the front door before Travis had a chance to ask why.
Bo came to sit beside Travis on the couch but he needed to move. Sitting still would mean more time to think and he didn’t want that right now. He unraveled his legs from the blankets and got up.
“I’m going to clean up the kitchen,” he announced.
Bo followed him. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll take care of it.”
Travis turned to face Bo. “I need to keep moving right now. I want to save dinner. I’ll have to boil fresh noodles but everything else should be fine.”
He knew Bo understood when he asked, “What were you making?”
“Manicotti.”
Bo smiled and said, “Oh yeah, we’re definitely saving that.”
“Thank you.”
Bo held Travis close. “Any time, my love.”
“I’ll go see what I can salvage of dinner.” Travis sighed. “Can you tell me why the police chief was carrying Grady’s belt?”
At the mention of Grady, Bo’s eyes turned hard. “He’ll be suspended until there can be a hearing.”
“What? Dave suspended him?”
“He got off lucky. I would have fired him outright. He’s still on probation for god’s sake. He should have waited or announced himself before entering our house. He pointed a gun at you in our house.”
“He thought I was an intruder.” Wait, how did Travis manage to be the one defending Grady?
“He should have waited for us to arrive. If he had followed department policy of waiting for backup none of this would have happened. You wouldn’t have been pushed into a situation like this. You could have been killed.”
“All valid reasons, but he’s not some horrible person. He made a mistake.”
“Travis, I know you have a big heart and I’m not saying he’s a bad person, but he might be a bad cop.”
“You liked him. He hasn’t changed.”
“That was before he pointed a loaded gun at my partner.”
Travis knew it was no use talking about this right now; it wouldn’t fix anything. In truth it surprised him that he was defending Grady and hadn’t broken down. In the past he would have been a mess by now. Hell, he’d passed out at the sight of a gun less than an hour ago. But now he was standing having a conversation with no difficulty. Progress?
“I’m gonna get changed.” Bo kissed Travis loudly on the lips. “I love you, Travis Boone.”
Travis wished he could say it in return, but something kept holding him back. Instead he hugged Bo close before turning to walk into the kitchen while wondering if he’d ever be ready or able to face Dave and Grady again.