Breaking Travis (The West Series Book 5) (15 page)

“Be careful, Savannah,” she warned her.

“Or what?” She laughed and leaned back a little. “You’ve already hit me when I was pregnant. You’ll do it again?”

Holly shook her head and stepped back. “No one knew you were pregnant that time.”

Savannah laughed and then glared at her. “Tread lightly, little book worm. No one believes your stories anyway. We all know that Travis is only amusing himself with you. He’ll be bored with you soon enough, if he already isn’t.” She turned and got back into her Jeep. It took her a few tries to hoist herself up into the tall vehicle, but finally she managed it and drove off, peeling out of the driveway.

Holly stood in the driveway, trying not to shake. Everything Savannah said hit too close to home. Travis had been pulling back from her.

Walking up the stairs, she ran over the last conversation they’d had and how he’d warned her that he wasn’t good for her. He’d been trying to break it off and she’d been too big of a fool to see it.

All thoughts of a dip in the pool fled, replaced by a strong desire to go riding. Changing into her old jeans and boots, she drove out to Saddleback Ranch, knowing there was always a horse ready to be saddled up at her friends’ ranch.

When she drove up, she saw Lauren step off the front porch with a baby in her arms. Emma had just turned one last month and was the spitting image of her mama. Rickie, their son, was running around the yard playing with fire trucks.

“Evening,” Lauren said, stepping off the porch.

“Hi.” She bent down and picked up Rickie and gave him a sloppy kiss. The boy hugged her back and started chatting about his trucks.

Holly laughed. “Maybe I can play trucks with you later. Right now I was hoping to go for a ride?” She looked at Lauren.

“Absolutely. You’re welcome to take Tanner. He’s in the first stall and ready for a run.” She nodded towards the barn. “I think you still have a saddle somewhere in there.”

She smiled. “Yes, I’ll find everything else. Thank you.” She sat Rickie back down and walked towards the barn.

It had been almost six months since she’d ridden—too long. She saddled up Tanner, Lauren’s gentle gelding. The horse snuggled with her shoulder as she strapped on the saddle.

She jumped on his back and they bolted from the yard. Holly’s mind cleared.

She’d never really thanked Haley for teaching her how to ride, or the West sisters for always having an open door and a horse to take out. Some things just didn’t need to be said. The sisters had always been there for her and their friends.

Holly could remember wishing she had two sisters and dreaming that they would be as close as Lauren, Alex, and Haley were. But her mother had always told her that being raised an only child had perks, like more Christmas presents. Holly would have gladly shared her presents if it meant having just one sibling.

Travis was also an only child. He’d been spoiled by his parents, and everyone in town had seen it firsthand. His father had constantly bailed him out of his problems, and his mother had spoiled him all throughout school. She’d attended every school function, and her voice was loud enough to make sure that her son was the star of every play or sporting event.

The woman had always claimed it was her duty as the mayor’s wife, but everyone had known it was her devotion to her son that caused her to push so hard. She supposed that, in the end, it had been that devotion that had caused her to go off the deep end and almost kill Grant Holton shortly after he and Alex had started dating, even though it was because Travis had cheated on Alex with Savannah that Alex and Grant had started seeing one another.

Holly slowed the horse down to open a gate so she could ride in the back fields towards the small pond.

Thinking of Travis only caused the hurt to surface again. She’d known what he was, who he was, before she’d let her heart get involved. Her mind had screamed at her, warning her to steer clear, but her body had taken over.

She smiled as she closed the gate and kicked the horse into a trot, thinking about Travis’ body. He did have one of those heart-stopping, sexy bodies. She’d never been with someone so damn sexy before. Nor had she ever been with someone she’d felt so connected with. The possibility that he didn’t feel that connection with her stung.

She leaned down and enjoyed the wind in her face as they rushed towards the other side of the field.

Travis was sore and sweaty again. His arms and back hurt from moving furniture around. He’d cleared out most of the old stuff in the guest rooms and had carried it all down to the garage. He’d had to pull his mother’s Mustang out to make room for everything. He thought about having a garage sale to get rid of all the old furniture, but it would have to wait until all the repairs were done inside.

He’d done everything he could over the last week to keep his mind off of Holly. He’d spent most of his time running between the theater and her store. The park had been completed and there was an official grand opening scheduled for a few weeks. He doubted he would attend the event. In his off-hours, he’d locked himself in the house and worked away.

It had taken him a whole day to rip out the old pink tile from the second bathroom. He’d watched video after video on how to repair and tile a tub before he felt confident enough to try it.

He’d made a trip to the Tyler hardware store and gotten everything he needed. When he’d tried to get it all in his little car, he’d wished for his old truck back. He’d ended up putting most of the supplies in the front seat next to him. The hardware planks for the flooring lay across his back seat and the tiles filled up his trunk. He’d hoped the little car would make it back to Fairplay and not conk out on him.

Unloading everything from his car was exhausting since he had to lug it up the spiral staircase and down the long hallway. He’d once loved the layout of the plantation style house with its large rooms, beautiful staircase, and tall ceilings. Now, however, he looked at it all as a lot of work. He had to pull the tall ladder from the garage so he could repaint the tall ceilings. He had to pay extra to have the large bedrooms re-carpeted. The railing on the staircase had to be sanded and restained.

He’d convinced Roger to send the drywall guys over to patch up the walls in the bathroom so he could tile. He’d bought them some beer and had persuaded them to go around the house and patch any other holes they found.

He heated up frozen dinners and fell asleep watching the news in the living room so he wouldn’t think about Holly just a few feet away in the apartment. He’d watched her from the windows a few times, coming and going. Every time he saw her, his desire grew more and more. But he’d gone years keeping himself in line and knew it was just a matter of redirecting his energy. So he busted his butt on the house and went to bed completely exhausted each night.

He knew he couldn’t avoid her much longer; after all, she was living at his place. He’d heard from Roger that her place would be move-in ready in less than a month, at which time he planned to put the house on the market. He knew he couldn’t leave town until the theater was done, which Roger informed him wouldn’t be until next spring.

But he figured he could move back into his apartment after Holly moved out so he could start showing the house. He didn’t think there was much that needed to be done to the apartment, since his folks had just built it for him shortly after he’d graduated high school.

He stopped working on hanging the tile and closed his eyes. What a different life he’d had back then. Not only had he gotten anything he’d asked for, but he’d done anything and everything he’d wanted. Living unrestrained had been his biggest desire. That’s why he’d moved out in the first place.

The one rule his folks had set for him of not smoking in their house
had been enough to cause him to pack up and sleep above the garage. Finally, after he’d lived in the empty space for almost a year, his mother had convinced his father to spend a small fortune to turn it into an apartment for him.

How had he not seen that he was heading down a doomed path? Not only had he been drinking too much, but he’d been smoking more and more. He found an old picture book while cleaning out his mother’s sewing room. He’d looked at the images of what he used to be and almost cried. He’d had a growing beer belly and in every picture, he had a cigarette or a beer in his hands. Dependency. He never wanted to feel that dependent on anything ever again.

It took him almost three hours to finish tiling the tub and shower area. When he stood back, he couldn’t help but smile. It was perfect. The new dark stone tile would accent the antique white walls he was planning and the new sink and toilet that he planned on installing tomorrow.

When he heard a noise behind him, he jumped and spun around.

“Sorry.” Holly stood in the doorway. “I saw that the back door was open and I was worried.”

He frowned. “I guess I didn’t shut it after carrying all this in.” He nodded to the tile.

“It looks wonderful.” She stepped into the room. She looked good in tight faded jeans, an old blue shirt, and riding boots.

“Thanks,” he said, trying to get his heart to level off. “Have you been riding?” he asked, nodding to her boots.

“Yes, I was just out at Saddleback. Lauren let me take Tanner out.” She sighed. “There’s nothing like a long ride to clear your head.” She stepped closer to the shower. “How did you do this?” She ran her fingers over the tile.

“Actually, it was pretty easy. I thought I was going to have a hard time with it, but after watching a few videos…” He shrugged his shoulders and realized how sore they were again. His mind flashed to the night she’d given him a back rub and instantly wished for another one.

“Well, you’ve done a lot on the place so far.” She turned and looked at him. “I looked around.” She blushed a little. “You know, making sure that nothing was disturbed.”

He nodded. “I still have a lot to do.”

“If you need any help…” She waited. He didn’t know what to say so he just looked at her. “I saw some paint buckets downstairs.”

“Yeah.” He looked down at his hands and realized they were covered with grout. He dumped them in the bucket of water and scrubbed them clean. “I won’t start painting for a few days yet.”

“I can help. Until the store is ready I have nothing to do except check in there occasionally.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

She looked down at her hands. “Actually, I’d enjoy it. I’ve been going kind of crazy with nothing to do.”

“If you want to help, I’ll show you what needs to be painted.” He dried his hands on a towel and walked down the hallway.

“I brought the big ladder in.” He nodded to the beast sitting near the stairs. “I want to get rid of the mint green my mother made my dad paint everywhere. Why anyone would paint their walls pink and green is beyond me. I don’t remember the wall colors being a problem when I was a kid, but after moving out on my own, I couldn’t stand being in the house with the walls screaming at me.” He chuckled.

“My mother painted her kitchen bright yellow and orange.” She cringed as he laughed.

“I’ve got enough paint here.” He showed her the four five-gallon buckets. “There are brushes, rollers, and tarps to cover the floors. I’ve got a few more days work in the bathroom upstairs.” He glanced up the stairs and thought about everything that still needed to be done. “The appraiser was going to stop by later this month.

“So, you’re still going to sell the place?” She glanced at him.

“Yeah.” He avoided her eyes. “Once the theater is done, I’ll be heading out.”

She nodded and after a moment she said, “I’ll start first thing in the morning.”

He nodded, not sure what else to say. She started walking out, but he stopped her. “Have you had dinner?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Yes, I ate with Lauren and her family.”

He nodded and watched her leave, knowing it was for the best. He didn’t know what had caused him to blurt it out, but something had demanded that he stop her from leaving. His body reacted every time he saw her, and he cursed it for its weakness. He knew he needed to control it, and so far the only that had been successful in helping him do so was physical labor. So he started hauling the large boxes of flooring up the stairs, determined to sweat his desire for Holly out so he could get some sleep that night.