Authors: Lisa Crane
“Wow,” Brooke
said. “Impressive.” She leaned back as the waiter put a plate of enchiladas
in front of her. When he left the table again, Brooke continued questioning
Travis. “What about your family?”
“Crazy,” he
answered. “But in a good way.” He laughed. “I have three sisters, all older,
and –“
“Ah, so you’re
the baby!” she laughed.
“You have no
idea!” Travis groaned. “I was their live doll until I was about six years
old!”
“What happened
when you were six?” Brooke asked. “Did you turn into an obnoxious little boy?
All dirt and worms and frogs?”
“Nah, nothing
like that. They just discovered bigger boys, boys who weren’t related to them,
if you know what I mean.”
“Aw, poor baby!”
“No, by that
time I was in school and I found girls
I
wasn’t related to, also!”
Travis quipped, winking at her.
“A ladies man at
six, eh?”
“Well, I had a
lot of practice the first couple of years,” he said, grinning. “My sisters
took me everywhere with them. And when they had friends over, I was right
there in the middle of it. They all thought I was adorable.”
“I just bet they
did!” Brooke laughed. “So what about now? Do your sisters still live in the
area?”
“Yes, along with
their husbands and all of my various nieces and nephews.” He smiled. “My
parents still live in the house where I grew up, and we still have holidays and
family celebrations there.”
“I always wanted
that,” Brooke said quietly, a sad little smile touching her lips.
“You’re an only
child?” Travis asked. Brooke nodded. “And you grew up in the house where you
live now, right?”
“When I was
about eight, my mother dropped me off there,” Brooke answered. “Told him it
was my father’s turn to take care of the bills for a while.”
“So your father
was there, too?”
“No,” she
answered. “When he found out my mother was pregnant, he left town and never
came back. My grandpa told me he got married and has a whole other family out
in California. Went to college, married well and now he’s a successful
businessman.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve never met the man, and he didn’t even
come back for Grandpa’s funeral.”
“Brooke….”
“Spit it out,
Travis. I can tell you want to ask something.”
“The money you
send to your mother,” Travis said. “What is that about?”
“Habit, I
guess,” she replied, shrugging.
“You send your
mother money out of – I’m sorry, did you say
habit
?”
Chapter
14
“Grandpa sent
money to my mother every month,” Brooke explained slowly. “I think it
was…well, guilt. You know, because of what his son did.”
“Brooke,
sweetheart, you do realize that’s not your burden to bear, right?” Travis said
quietly.
“I know,” she
nodded. “But the money also kept my mother from coming to take me away from
Grandpa. It didn’t take her more than a month or so to figure out that Grandpa
liked having me there with him.”
“So she
blackmailed him?” he asked incredulously.
“More or less.”
“So why do you
still send her money? It’s pretty clear to me that you barely make ends meet,
but you’re sending her money?”
“The last check
I sent her was…well, the last check,” Brooke said determinedly. She seemed a
little defeated and she played with the food on her plate, not meeting Travis’
blue eyes. “I’m sure you gathered she changed the check.” Travis wasn’t sure
if she saw him nod. “She changed it from two
hundred
dollars to two
thousand
.
I’m on the hook now for that money.”
“Unless you can
prove you didn’t write it for two thousand.”
“Right, but that
would also mean she’d be charged with theft or fraud or – I don’t know,
something.”
“Brooke, she
did
commit fraud and theft,” Travis pointed out.
“She’s not much
of a family,” Brooke said quietly. “But she’s the only family I have left.
I’m just not sure I’m ready to burn that bridge, you know?”
“Can I ask
another question?”
“Sure. I can’t
promise I’ll answer, though.”
“Brooke, you’re
a smart, hard-working woman,” Travis said carefully. “You’ve been working two
jobs
and
going to school. How did you end up…well….”
“Broke?” Brooke
supplied. “Is that the word you’re looking for?” She nibbled on the edge of a
tortilla chip. “Grandpa was sick for about two years before he died. In and
out of the hospital, surgery, chemotherapy, doctor visits….” She took a deep
breath and stared out the window beside their booth. “I don’t know if you’ve
ever lost someone to an illness like that.” Travis shook his head silently.
“It’s really hard to watch someone you love go through that. Grandpa fought
really hard for a long time, but he just kind of wasted away. He stayed as
long as he could…for me.” At some point, Travis had reached across the table
and taken Brooke’s hand; he held it, his thumb rubbing across the backs of her
knuckles. “Toward the end, I prayed for God to take him so he wouldn’t suffer
any more. And I – I told Grandpa it was okay, that
I’d
be okay.”
Neither Travis
nor Brooke was eating anymore. Travis signaled to the waiter to box up their
meals. He paid the tab and they walked back outside to his Hummer. They rode
in silence until the reached Brooke’s house. Travis helped Brooke down from
the vehicle and looked at her.
“You might as
well come in,” Brooke said. “If you want to hear the rest of the story, that
is.”
Travis followed
Brooke inside. He sat on one end of the sofa, while Brooke sat on the other
end. She gathered her thoughts.
“Grandpa was
very independent,” Brooke said, picking up the thread of her story again. “He
also believed women were supposed to be taken care of. He didn’t believe a
woman should ever have to worry about money. So he refused to let me help with
finances.” Travis had an idea he knew what was coming next. “I tried. I
really did. But I also had to respect his wishes, you know?” Travis nodded
slightly. “A couple of weeks after Grandpa died, I went through everything and
found out…what a mess! The medical expenses nearly gave me a heart attack! I
also found out Grandpa had failed to pay property taxes for a few years.”
“Oh….”
“Yeah. If
Grandpa hadn’t left the house and the land to me, I don’t know what I’d have
done.” Brooke sighed. “I sold all but these ten acres and paid off most of
the medical bills. I took a second job – the one at Hot Diggity’s – and worked
out payment arrangements for the rest of those bills, and for the back taxes.
I figured out pretty quickly that wasn’t working, and that’s when I decided to
sell the rest of the acreage to you. That money covered the taxes and the last
of the medical bills.”
“Brooke…I had no
idea,” Travis said slowly. He shook his head, remembering some of the thoughts
he’d had about Brooke’s situation. “But now, working full-time at Babycakes,
you should be okay, right?”
“I think so,”
she answered. “From now on, I’ll only be responsible for my own expenses. No
more medical bills, no more taxes…and no more guilt money to my mother. If she
wants money, she can…well, do what she does.”
“Does she
really…you know?” Travis asked awkwardly.
“Yeah, she really
does take off her clothes for a living. That was another reason Grandpa was
determined for me to stay here with him.”
“Brooke, I’m
sorry you’ve had to go through some of the things you have,” Travis said. He
leaned over and brushed a lock of hair back, his hand gently brushing her cheek
for just the briefest touch. “But I’m kind of glad you had to sell that last
nine and a half acres that brought me next door to you.”
“My turn to ask
a question,” Brooke said. “Since you mentioned it, you had nine and a half
acres on which to build your house. What made you put it right next door to
mine?”
“Probably the
same thing that made you keep those last ten acres to begin with,” he
answered. “I didn’t want to be in the middle of a big subdivision. I figured
I could live with one neighbor.” He grinned. “Turns out I was right.”
“So what are you
going to do with the other acreage?”
“Nothing right
now. I plan to build a small office – my office is in my house right now, but
we don’t really have anywhere for meetings.”
“Speaking of
that,” Brooke said, holding up a finger as if remembering something. “I have a
phone number for you. I wasn’t able to get Blair’s résumé – she wasn’t working
when I went to the diner. But I have her number, and I think she’d be good as
an assistant. She’s very bright, and she has a business degree. She just
graduated last spring, and hasn’t found a job yet, other than the diner.”
“Sure, give me
her number.”
Brooke recited
the number and Travis entered it in his own cell. Then he looked up at her.
“Listen, I know
I said we’d have a look at your car this afternoon,” Travis said. “But I have
a better idea, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve got a
friend who has a garage. The guy can repair any vehicle on wheels – and a few
that aren’t! May I call him and ask him to take a look at your car?”
“I appreciate
it, Travis,” Brooke said hesitantly. “But I need my car to get to work
tomorrow morning.”
“Well, I’ve
actually got that figured out, too, if you’re agreeable,” he said. “I’ve got
two meetings tomorrow – one of them is actually with Riley Parker’s father and
brother. I can drop you at the bakery in the morning and pick you up when you
get off in the afternoon. By then, Jake should know something about your car.”
“Travis, I can’t
ask you to do that.”
“You’re not
asking. I’m offering. And if it were a problem, I wouldn’t offer.”
“Are you sure
it’s no trouble?” she asked doubtfully.
“None at all,
Bunny-girl!” Travis chuckled.
Chapter
15
The next
morning, it was still dark when Brooke knocked on Travis’ front door. The door
swung open and Travis smiled down at her.
“Are you sure
about this?” Brooke asked. She glanced over her shoulder. “It’s not even
light yet.” She looked back at him. “And I know none of your meetings are
this early.”
“I’m sure,
Brooke,” he said, pulling her through the front door and closing it behind
her. “Let me just grab a couple of things and we’ll go.”
Brooke had the
opportunity to look at Travis as he put on a suit coat;
gawk
might have
been a more appropriate word. Travis Cooper looked amazing in a pair of jeans
and a tee shirt. He’d looked equally attractive in the casual slacks and
button-down shirt he’d worn to church. But in a dark gray suit, a French blue
shirt and a pearl gray tie? Mercy, the man was stunning!
His black hair,
still damp from his shower, was combed smoothly. The blue shirt made his eyes
as bright as blue flames. He turned around and caught Brooke ogling him. A
grin crept slowly over his face as he walked toward her where she still stood
by the front door. With a knowing smile still on his face, he slipped his arms
into a black wool overcoat.
“Ready?” Travis
asked.
“Um, yes,” she
said.
“You warm
enough?”
“Fine thanks.
I’m fine.”
“Here.” Travis
pulled a dark gray scarf from around the collar of his overcoat; he looped it
over Brooke’s head. He slid one large hand beneath her hair and flipped it
over the scarf. “There. Now you look warm enough.”
Brooke was
speechless as she walked out the door ahead of Travis. What on earth was the
man playing at? As if she hadn’t already been aware of him, Travis put a hand
at the small of Brooke’s back as they walked to his Hummer; she was certain his
hand would sear a hole right through the layers of her clothing. She walked a
little faster, trying to get out from under his touch; Travis’ long stride
easily kept pace with Brooke’s shorter legs. As usual, when they reached his
vehicle, Travis helped Brooke up into the passenger seat and closed the door.
“You said you
were meeting with Riley’s father?” Brooke asked, trying to get her brain to
focus on something other than Travis Cooper’s blue eyes.
“Yes, that’s
right,” Travis nodded as he drove. “Parker Financial. They own the office
building, but they’re not happy with their current security. I’m also going to
offer them several options for their server security.”
“And who’s your
other meeting with? You said you had two.”
Travis grinned
at her and said, “Riley and Jazz.”
“What?”
“Yep,” he said.
“So see? I’ll already be at the bakery this afternoon.”
“Very sneaky.”
Before long,
they arrived at the bakery. Travis followed Brooke inside, where Jazz told him
to pick something out of the display case. He stood there for a minute,
reminding Brooke of a little boy trying to choose a treat from a candy store.
She giggled before heading to the kitchen for an apron.