There were no words needed. She made a leap and was in his arms. Clothes flew across the room and puddled on the floor. By the time they’d covered the few steps to the bed they were naked. They came together with all the passion they felt. And five minutes after their mutual climax, they began again, this time exploring each other’s bodies and finding what the other liked.
“What about this?” Travis whispered, his hand between her legs.
“Yes, very much.” Part of her still wished that they’d been together from the start of their adulthood. It would have been nice to learn about one another together. On the other hand, Travis knew some truly lovely things about a woman’s body. He knew just what to do to take her to new heights of ecstasy, and keep her there.
As for Kim, she’d learned a thing or two also, and when she lowered her mouth onto the center of him, she was pleased by his gasp. Twenty minutes later she moved back up to his neck.
“Where did you learn to do that?” he asked, his eyes full of wonder.
“Late night TV,” she said without cracking a smile.
Travis let her know he wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not, but he liked thinking she’d learned from TV and not from another man.
“You make me crazy, you know that?” he said as he rolled her to her back and began kissing her.
They hadn’t gone to sleep until 3:00
A.M
. They’d fallen across each other, naked, sweaty, and as limp as rag dolls. At some point Travis had awakened. He moved Kim from lying crosswise on the bed, positioned her head on his shoulder, pulled the covers over them, and immediately went back to sleep.
It was morning now, and as Kim listened to the shower running, she kept smiling as she remembered last night.
Travis entered the room wearing a towel and drying his hair with another one. “You continue looking at me like that and I’ll need another shower.” He gave her a hot little look. “In an hour or so, that is.”
Smiling, Kim stretched. “I had a good time last night.”
“Yeah?” he said as he sat down on the bed beside her and stroked her hair back from her face. “I did too. How about if today we—”
“Oh!” she said and sat up straighter. “I forgot to tell you that I know where Tristan Janes is buried.”
“That isn’t what I was going to suggest we do, but we did come here for that purpose.”
“Right. To find more of my relatives.” Bending, he kissed her earlobe. “Maybe we could just call people named Janes and ask what they know.”
Travis got up and headed for the bathroom. “I already checked the local phone book and I asked Penny. There are no Janeses left.”
“When did you talk to her?” Kim asked.
“This morning while you were asleep,” he called from across the room.
Kim glanced at the clock. It was a little after nine and she didn’t think she’d ever slept so late in her life. When they were kids she and Travis had been outside before six. “Are you still a morning person?”
He put his head around the doorway, his cheeks covered in shaving foam. “I’m usually at the office by seven. What about you?”
“In my garage workshop at six.”
“Of course I’m having breakfast by five,” he said.
“Four-thirty for me.”
“I’m in the gym at four.”
“I don’t bother to sleep at all,” she said and they laughed together at their one-upmanship.
He came out of the bathroom, freshly shaved and nude. At Kim’s look he paused in starting to dress, but then he turned away. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
As she started to get out of bed, she realized she too was naked and hesitated. Travis had his back to her but he was watching her in the mirror. It’s not as though he hasn’t seen me nude before, she thought as she threw back the cover and walked across the room with all the bravado she could muster. She paused at the bathroom door and looked back at him. He was buttoning his shirt—and he was smiling broadly.
She showered and washed her hair, copiously applying conditioner to make it as silky as she could. When she got out, she dried off, put on the hotel robe hanging from a hook on the door, and began to blow-dry her hair. Travis came in, fully dressed, and took the dryer from her. She was glad to see that he was a bit awkward with the big hand dryer—which meant he hadn’t done such a domestic task before. As Kim bent her head forward and felt his hands on the back of her neck and in her hair, she didn’t think she’d ever felt anything so sensual. There was something so very intimate, so private, about what he was doing that she thought it might possibly be sexier than sex. What a funny thought! Sexier than sex.
“What’s that laugh for?” he asked as he turned the dryer off.
“Nothing, just silliness.” Turning, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thanks,” she said. “I enjoyed that.”
“Me too.” He ran his hands down the back of her body, and gave a pat to her rear end. “Get dressed so I can get some food! You wore me out last night.” He left the bathroom.
“You?” she asked as she began putting on her makeup. “You spent most of the time on your back. I was the one doing all the work.”
Travis looked around the doorjamb. “So what channels of TV do you watch when you stay up all night? I think we should watch them together.”
“Go away,” she said, laughing, “and let me get ready.”
He went back into the bedroom and put on his watch. “So tell me how you found out where Janes is buried.”
With a curler clasped to her lashes, she told him about meeting the caretaker, Red, and the highlights of what he’d told her. Minutes later, she was finished and went to the bedroom to get dressed. Travis sat down in a chair to watch the show.
“So who’s here that we can take with us?” she concluded as she started to fasten her bracelet, but then held out her arm to Travis.
“The man said we should take someone big and strong with us? Is that in case a rock falls on one of us and the other can’t pull it off?”
“I don’t know why he said that. You think Russell is here?”
“Probably. And since I’m footing the bill, I’m sure he’s eating truffles and Beluga.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kim said. “After we go see this Old Mill, maybe we can walk through town.”
“And see if there are any jewelry stores to check out?”
“Exactly,” Kim said, pleased that he knew that about her.
He smiled as he opened the door into the hallway, and they started down the stairs. “I think I’d enjoy that. Maybe we could find a ring that you’d like.”
“I don’t copy other people’s work,” she said stiffly. They were outside the main dining room, which Kim hadn’t seen.
“I was thinking more of something you’d like to wear for the rest of your life.”
“I—” She wanted to say more but was cut off by a chorus of good mornings. The dining room had eight tables, and all of them were occupied by people she’d never seen before. But they all seemed to know them, as they said hello to Travis and “Miss Aldredge.” “You’ll have to introduce me.”
Travis nodded to a table for four. “That’s Penny and you know her kid. I’ve never seen the rest of them.”
“Your room fillers,” she said, amused. When Travis went after something he didn’t hold back; he covered all the bases. Am
I
what he wants next? she couldn’t help wondering.
Penny—Mrs. Pendergast—looked at Kim and nodded toward the two empty chairs at their table. She was a handsome woman, younger-looking than Kim had expected. Her face was unlined, and she’d kept her slim figure, which she showed off in black linen trousers and a white shirt. Peeping out from under her hair, which fell softly to her collar, were the pearl earrings that Russell had bought in Kim’s shop.
“Your choice,” Travis said.
Kim didn’t hesitate as she walked to the table and took a seat. Her eyes were on Mrs. Pendergast. “I’ve heard nothing but good about you,” she said. “Travis doesn’t seem able to conduct his life without you.”
“He gets in trouble; Mom gets him out,” Russell said.
Penny gave her son a look to stop it, but he just smiled.
“And I have heard about you for years,” Penny said.
“Really?” Kim asked, surprised. “I had no idea that Travis had ever spoken of me to anyone.”
“Did you show her the plaque?”
“Not yet,” Travis said as he gave his order to the server. There was an antique sideboard against the wall that was covered with silver chafing dishes, but it looked like he wanted the meal served to him.
Penny leaned toward Kim. “If you want something from the buffet, you’d better get it now before my uncle Bernie eats it all.” She nodded toward a corner table where a tall, skinny man was digging into three piled-high plates.
Kim excused herself and went to get scrambled eggs, sausages, and whole wheat toast. When she turned back toward the table, she paused to look at the three of them. Travis and Mrs. Pendergast had their heads together, talking quietly. Actually, she was talking while Travis nodded solemnly, a slight frown on his brow.
The familiarity between them didn’t surprise her, but what did was seeing Travis and Russell next to each other. When Kim had last seen Russell she’d been too upset to comprehend much of anything, but now she saw the similarities between the two men. They were the same height, had the same dark hair and eyes, and when they reached for their coffee cups, their hands moved in exactly the same way. Having lived in Edilean all her life, if there was one thing Kim knew about it was relatives. It was easy to see that Travis and Russell were closely related.
With her eyes wide, Kim looked up to see Penny staring at her. Kim raised her brows, as though to ask if Travis knew. Penny gave one sideways movement of her head to say no, and her eyes were pleading. They said, Please don’t tell him. Not yet.
Kim didn’t like to keep secrets from Travis, but there was more here than she knew about. She gave a curt nod to Penny, then sat down.
Travis and Penny went on talking about what the “moron” in New York was doing about some deal. While it was interesting to see another side of him, Kim was more fascinated by the similarities between him and Russell. She watched Travis’s hand gestures, the way he held a fork. When Russell spoke to his mother, she listened to his voice. It was very like Travis’s deep resonance.
After a few moments of unabashedly staring, Kim felt Russ’s eyes on her, and she looked at him. He was smiling at her as though they shared a secret—and it looked as though they did. A very
big
secret.
When Kim looked at Russell, he raised his glass of OJ slightly, as though in salute to her. She couldn’t help giving a little laugh. Unless she missed her guess, Travis had a half brother.
“Sorry,” Travis said as he leaned away from Penny and looked at Kim. “We’re ignoring you.”
“No one is ignoring me,” she said. “In fact I’m being well entertained.” She turned to Penny. “Didn’t you use to work for Travis’s father?”
“For many years.” Penny’s eyes were alight, as though she was wondering what Kim was going to say next. Announce what she’d just figured out?
But Kim wasn’t even tempted to tell. Hearing that he had a brother was going to change Travis’s world, and
she
was not the one to tell him. That news needed to come from Russell and Penny—and a lot of explaining was going to have to be done.
“Maybe Russell could go with us today,” Kim said.
“Go where?” He was looking at Kim as though he expected her to tell what she’d just discovered.
“To some derelict old building,” Travis said. “Last night while I was working, the love of my life was flirting with another man, and he told her where to go today. He said that she’d need the help of someone big and strong. Kim seems to think that’s
you
.” His tone was light and teasing.
His words “the love of my life” made Penny and Russell look hard at Kim. Penny glanced at Kim’s left hand, obviously noting that there was no ring.
Kim knew there was more going on in the silence than in the words being spoken. “In case all of you forgot, I’m here to find my ancestor.”
“And his possible descendants,” Travis said.
“It seems that there’s a grave site near an old mill, so Travis and I are going to go see it.” She looked directly at Russell. “I think you should go with us. If this place is a ruin it’ll be quiet there. A person can think. Or talk.”
Russell gave a little smile. “I’m about talked out,” he said and looked at his mother. “What about you? Finished with your New York business?”
“Completely,” she said.
“Penny is going to retire,” Travis said to Kim, “and she’s thinking of moving to Edilean. Any good houses there for sale?”
“Old or new?” Kim asked.
“Old, small, on at least an acre. I like to garden. But I don’t want it to be too far out of town.”
“I know a place. It used to be an overseer’s house. It would need some renovation.” Kim turned to Russell. “And what about you? Where do
you
live?”
“Not in Edilean,” he said as he put his napkin on the table and stood up. “When do you want to go to this falling down old building? Anyone bring a camera? Notebook and pen?”
Travis stood up to stand beside Russell. They were exactly the same build and wore the same expressions of challenge on their handsome faces.
Kim glanced at Penny. Why didn’t Travis see the resemblance? Again Penny looked at Kim with that expression of pleading. Please don’t tell, she seemed to be saying.
Kim hadn’t made herself a success by being intimidated by anyone, no matter who she worked for. “Tomorrow,” she said softly, and Penny nodded. She had twenty-four hours to tell Travis the truth and if she didn’t, Kim would tell him.
Travis was waiting for her by the door. “Russ rented a Jeep and he went to get directions.” He lowered his voice. “Kim, if you’d rather that you and I spend time alone together, I can turn this whole thing over to Penny. She’ll find out about Dr. Janes.”
“No,” Kim said. “I think you should—” She’d almost said “get to know your brother” but she didn’t. She wondered how he was going to react when he found out that his beloved assistant had had an affair with his father. Travis already had enough issues with his father and he didn’t need any more.