Читать книгу A Mummy for Christmas - Cathy Thacker Gillen - Страница 7

Travis and Holly sat side by side in the elegant law firm reception area. They were ten minutes early and she was a bundle of nerves, wondering what this was all about.

“So I was thinking…” Travis said quietly, in his attempt to distract her while they waited. His arm nudged hers as he bent his head nearer. “Maybe there is a way to give the kids what they want for Christmas, or pretty close to it.”

Jerked out of her reverie, Holly turned to face him. Like her, he was dressed for a business meeting, instead of the construction clothes he normally wore to work. And although she had seen him many times in a suit before, she was struck as always by how handsome and successful he looked.

“What are you talking about?” she blurted, before she could stop herself. “You can’t actually be…you’re not just going to…!”

“Marry?” Travis shook his head, as if even the idea was ludicrous. “Of course not. But I was thinking we could build your boys a wooden spaceship for the back yard that they could climb in.”

“Are you serious?” Holly twisted around fully, her nylon-clad knee nudging his thigh. A tingle went through her at the unexpected contact. Deliberately, she pushed it away.

Oblivious to the awareness suddenly surging inside her, Travis met her eyes. He shrugged his broad shoulders and spoke in a low, mesmerizing tone, “What’s the point of owning a construction company if you can’t do things to help out your own family, or someone else’s?”

True, Holly thought. And it was so like Travis’s generous nature to think of it. They needed to be fair in the gift giving, though. She studied his face, zeroing in on the compassion in his dark brown eyes. “What about your girls?”

Travis grinned, pleased she was thinking about his children as much as her own. “Well, obviously, we’d have to build them something for our backyard, too. I was thinking maybe a little cottage they could play house in.”

“Ah.” Holly smiled. “So although they wouldn’t be getting a mommy…”

“…any more than your boys would be able to actually fly to outer space.”

“But they would be able to pretend,” she concluded.

He nodded. “They’re only little once. And maybe this will take the sting out of not having a mom.”

And whatever was coming next for her sons, Holly thought pensively.

Travis touched her hand, drawing her back to the conversation. The brief feel of skin on skin was as warmly reassuring as his presence. “So what do you think?” he asked softly.

At the thought of how much joy this would bring to their offspring, Holly felt a wave of excitement. She found herself suffused with the Christmas spirit once again. “Can we get it done in time?”

He nodded, confident as ever. “Sure. I’ll have both items built off-site in the warehouse where a lot of our custom cabinetry is done, and then delivered early on the twenty-fourth.”

The first glitch presented itself. “How will we be able to do that without the kids seeing?”

“We’ll keep them busy elsewhere until it’s dark on Christmas Eve, while the delivery is made. And probably also cover the structures with black construction tarp, to ensure they’re obscured from view. We’ll take that off while they are sleeping, replace with large ribbons. And when they wake up the next morning we’ll give them some time to enjoy what Santa left them under the tree, then take them to the backyard for the big reveal.”

“Sounds like a great plan!” Holly exclaimed.

Travis held out his hand for a fist-bump of victory. Holly fist-bumped back.

The receptionist nodded in their direction.

A minute later, they were settled in family law attorney Martin Shield’s private office, which was just as old-money-intimidating as the reception area of the venerable Texas law firm.

“I’m glad you agreed to come in,” said the distinguished, sixty-something lawyer in the two thousand dollar suit. “Cliff would like to keep this as informal as possible.”

Holly’s throat was so tight it was all she could do to get the words out. “What exactly does he want?”

“To see the kids.”

She had been afraid of that. Determined, however, to play it cool, she held Martin Shield’s gaze. “After all this time?” Did Cliff and his attorney not understand how ludicrous—not to mention selfish—this request was?

Cliff’s attorney did not bat an eye. “My client is well aware it’s been three years, five months and two days since he saw the twins.”

Anger surged inside Holly. She had thought the hurt and pain of her ex’s betrayal was well behind them. She wanted it to stay that way. “Cliff voluntarily chose not to exercise his right to visit the boys at the time we divorced—over my objections, I might add.” Back then, she had been desperate for him to do right by his kids.

“Things have changed. He was making plans to work and live in Europe at the time he divorced you. Now he’s in the process of moving back to the United States. His new position is in Connecticut.”

Holly wasn’t surprised to hear Cliff was on the move again. Frequent transfers were part of the process of climbing the investment banking career ladder. Had the two of them stayed married, she would have been prepared to adapt. Since they hadn’t, she was content to stay in Texas and rear her family in the lovely city where she’d grown up. Wanting as much information as possible, she prompted, “So his visit…?”

“Wouldn’t be for another fifteen days,” the attorney stated. “Handled any way you want.”

Despite her effort to play it cool, Holly tensed. “And if I don’t agree?” she asked in a brittle voice.

The esteemed attorney was ready to play hardball. “Clifford Baxter wants to see his sons. Legally, he has every right to do so.”

Holly said nothing. She was so furious at her ex’s mixture of presumption and disregard for their children’s feelings in all this that she didn’t trust herself to speak.

Abruptly, Mr. Shield became conciliatory. “My client is just asking for a couple of hours one afternoon. He wants to see his children, get an inkling of the little men they’ve become.”

Holly knew if she fought this, they’d end up in court. The result would be the same. Cliff did have every legal right to see his children. It was only a question of how, where and when. Making the process difficult for him would only make it tough on her kids. They had been disregarded enough already. “All right,” she conceded at last. “Two weeks from Saturday, Cliff can see the children in my home, under my supervision.”

“I will be there also,” Travis interjected.

Holly looked at him. Feeling as if she could drown in his empathetic eyes, knowing it would be all too easy to depend on his inherent kindness even more than she already did, she nodded her assent.

The lawyer’s brow furrowed. “And your relationship with Ms. Baxter is what exactly?” he prodded.

“A friend,” Travis replied, then reached over to squeeze her hand. “A very good friend.”

“WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?” Travis asked, after ten minutes had passed and Holly had yet to say a word about what had gone on. Instead, she appeared deep in thought. A little sad. And a lot worried.

“I don’t think so.” She forced a smile as he parked next to the Carson Construction trailer that served as his private on-site office.

Travis got out of the Expedition and watched as she did the same. Damn, but she looked good today, in that feisty “I can handle anything that comes at me” way…

Not that he should be noticing, given the fact that their relationship was strictly platonic, he reminded himself sternly.

She strode purposefully to her minivan, released the latch and removed a garment bag from the cargo area. Her knee-length skirt and high heels seemed out of place in the dusty, rough-paved parking area.

He tore his eyes from her spectacular legs and visually instructed all the other workers in the area to do the same. “Need a place to change clothes?” he asked casually.

“If you wouldn’t mind.” She ran a hand down the skirt of her sexy, cardinal-red business suit. “I can’t really paint in this and I’ve got to finish the mural at the restaurant. I promised them it would be done today.”

He moved ahead of her to open the door. She took the two concrete steps into the mobile office that served as his command center. In the front room was a desk, drafting table, phone and several computers.

In the middle was a long table and chairs. Behind that, a private bath, complete with shower and a closet where he kept extra clothing.

“You can change in the conference room,” Travis said. “I’ll stand guard to make sure no one comes in.”

“Thanks.” She shut the door behind her.

Travis shrugged out of his suit coat, sat down at his desk, pulled up his e-mails. Made a few phone calls. Accepted a few more.

And still no Holly.

Wondering what was keeping her, he got up and went to the door. Rapped lightly. “Holly?”

There was no answer. Feeling his heartbeat picking up, he rapped again and spoke louder. “Everything okay in there?” Again, no answer.

So there was only one thing he could do.

HOLLY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT was wrong with her. She could not stop crying. And she had been trying for nearly ten minutes now.

Grabbing a hand full of Kleenex from the box on the bathroom counter, she opened the door and was startled to see Travis standing on the other side. Tall and indomitable, he sent her a brief, telling look that spoke volumes about his inherently understanding nature. The emotion still building inside her took another giant leap. “I thought this might happen,” he said gruffly.

The next thing she knew his arms were around her. Her head was on his chest, and the sobs she’d been holding back came out in harsh, ugly sounds that had been years in the making. And still they came—on and on and on, until she thought she would die of embarrassment.

Through it all, Travis simply held her, moving one hand over her spine, threading the other through her hair, the action as comforting as his presence.

Until eventually she did stop crying.

And feeling all the more mortified, she stepped out of his arms, only to bump her hip into the bathroom counter.

She started in surprise and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Red puffy eyes, redder nose and quivering chin. The distressing sight of her weakness was enough to make her tear up again. “Lovely,” she said with disgust. She knew she couldn’t afford to let her defenses down for one instant when it came to ensuring her children’s well-being. Like it or not, she was all they had.

And as for this sudden interest of Cliff’s—every maternal instinct within her said it wouldn’t last. But it would certainly cause havoc in the meantime…

Travis put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face the mirror again. “Yes,” he said simply, clearly meaning it, “you are lovely—even now. And you’re also distraught. And I think it’s high time we talked.”

Holly preferred to handle her problems all by herself, but she also knew she couldn’t shoulder such a pressing burden without talking to someone. And since Travis was her best friend, and most frequent companion, he was the likely choice.

He took her by the hand and led her back into the conference room, and to a chair. He pulled up another, so they were sitting across from each other, and waited patiently.

Glad she had Travis to lean on, she said finally, “I’m afraid Cliff has realized what a mistake he made when we divorced, in voluntarily ceding full custody to me.”

“Why did he do that?” Travis asked gently, covering her hands with his.

Holly shrugged, aware she never talked about this. It was just too humiliating. She leaned toward Travis’s warm and strength, and turned her palms upward, so their fingers were loosely entwined. “Cliff said he realized he was not cut out to be a father, and he wasn’t going to pretend to be interested in the kids when he just wasn’t.”

Incredulity mixed with the concern on Travis’s face. He tightened his grip. “How old were they?”

Holly sighed, remembering that awful time in her life. “Tucker and Tristan were four weeks old the day Cliff told me he wanted a divorce, and walked out. They were four months old when the divorce was final.”

Travis released his hold on her, sat back. “That’s fast.”

She shrugged and kept her voice matter-of-fact. “He wanted out. He went to the Dominican Republic.”

Travis searched her face, finally settling on her eyes. “And since then?” he asked quietly. “Any other flickers of interest from him?”

“No. I haven’t heard a word. He’s never expressed the slightest interest, and given how he felt about Tucker and Tristan—” Holly felt her chin begin to quiver again, as she focused on the deficit of love her sons had received from their biological father “—I was relieved. They’re such great kids.”

“They deserved a hell of a lot better,” Travis agreed brusquely.

“Yes.” Holly thought about what this could to do to her happy-go-lucky kids, if it was handled the wrong way. “They do deserve a whole lot better!” She suddenly pushed herself out of the chair and began to pace. “Which makes it all the more bewildering. I don’t understand why he’s doing this.”

Travis rose, too, and caught up with her. “Maybe he realizes he made a mistake in letting you-all go.”

Holly scoffed in response. “I don’t think so.” She shut her eyes, aware she was near another onslaught of tears. “Oh, Travis,” she whispered miserably. “What if he wants to take the kids away from me?”

Travis embraced her again. “He’s not going to do that.” He silenced her protest with gruff certainty. “I’m not going to let him.”

Gratitude mingled with the overwrought emotion inside her. Holly held him tighter, needing him—his steady male presence and enduring friendship—as never before. And that was when it happened. She saw him the way she would have seen him, when she’d first moved into the house next to him, had she not been so overwhelmed with responsibility and mired in grief over her failed marriage. In that instant, she saw him not as the single dad next door, but as the wonderfully virile, exciting, incredibly principled and loving man he was. Desire swept through her, more potent than any spark she had ever felt before.

At that moment, something wonderful and mysterious shifted in his eyes, too. And then suddenly his mouth was on hers, and the unexpected embrace robbed her of breath and the will to resist.

Holly had never imagined what it would be like to stand wrapped in Travis’s strong arms, her body flush against the hardness of his. Now that it was happening, now that he was actually kissing her, it seemed unreal. And yet utterly amazing and satisfying in a way she never could have fathomed.

For starters, Travis tasted so good, in a way that was unique to him. His lips were soft and tender, the sweep of his tongue evocative and warm, as he brought her back to life, reminding her of all that had been missing for years now in her celibate existence.

And, unbeknownst to her, she evoked the same feeling in Travis.

When he had walked into the conference room, he hadn’t meant to do anything but give Holly the emotional support she needed, friend to friend. He knew she was upset, and deservedly so. He hadn’t expected to find her crying as if her heart would break, hadn’t imagined how simultaneously devastated and protective he would feel as he came to her rescue. He hadn’t counted on how right it felt when he instinctively pulled her into his arms to comfort her. Or considered how the aching vulnerability in her eyes as she reached out to him would change everything he felt, too.

The boundaries they had painstakingly put in place from the moment she’d moved in next door had instantly dissolved.

The blinders were off. He saw her as the vital, passionate, loving woman she was, and the feel of her soft, slender body in his arms sent a charge roaring through him unlike anything he had ever felt. Her tremulous sigh, the sweetness of her scent, the surrender of her soft lips all combined to further fan the fire. With just one kiss—long, sweet and sultry—his whole world turned upside down. Yet never had anything—or anyone—ever felt so right.

Which was why he had to stop it now, before any further boundaries were crossed, and they compromised their current relationship. Shaken to the core, he lifted his head and forced himself to let Holly go. Trembling, she stepped back, too, regret in her eyes. Without another word, she picked up her garment bag and purse. Head down, eyes averted, she rushed for the door.

And Travis knew he had moved way too fast, and in doing so, might just have put everything he held near and dear in jeopardy.

“ARE WE GOING TO TALK about this?” a familiar male voice asked five hours later.

A tingle went down Holly’s spine. She kept right on painting the last little bit of detail of the piazza mural on the wall of the Italian restaurant. “I don’t see why we should.”

Travis strolled nearer, looking incredibly masterful in his work clothes and yellow hard hat. “Because if we don’t, that kiss will always be the elephant in the room. And I for one don’t like living in a zoo,” he drawled.

His lame attempt at a joke eased the tension between them somewhat, as he had to have known it would. Holly sighed and put down her paintbrush. She flashed him a sassy smile she couldn’t really begin to feel, considering the mess they were in. “You really want to know what I think?” she asked softly.

Looking as if he had all the time in the world, Travis perched on one of the sawhorses. “I really do,” he replied, an emotion she could not clearly define in his dark brown eyes.

“Okay.” She wiped her hands on the rag tucked into the belt of her jeans, feeling her cheeks flush at the distinctly male satisfaction in his smile. “My defenses were down because I was clearly out of my mind this morning with worry.”

He paused, clearly caught off guard by her revelation.

Holly pushed on, determined to be honest. “I don’t blame you for kissing me—given the way I was acting. Like I wanted you to ride to the rescue.”

Another loaded silence fell between them.

Holly paused to lick her suddenly dry lips. She didn’t know how he could look so cool, calm and collected, when she felt so frazzled.

She stepped closer so they were toe to toe, then forced herself to go on with the speech she had been mentally preparing all afternoon. “I can see why you would have thought…”

She watched as he rubbed a hand across his closely shaved jaw.

“Hell, for a moment, I thought…may be…” She pushed away the memory of that mind-numbing kiss. Ignoring his slow, sexy smile, she swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat and continued sternly, “But you know as well as I do that it would be wrong for us to go down that path. Especially this time of year.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What do the holidays have to do with this?”

Holly pivoted and moved back to the sawhorse opposite him. “You know how a lot of people get all excited and go out and buy puppies at Christmas to give as gifts?”

He nodded, skeptically.

“They think they want a puppy and are prepared for one—and at first it really is great having one around. But before you know it, the puppy gets a little older and…”

“Poops on the floor?” He wryly guessed at where she was going with this.

Holly rolled her eyes, aware he had just broken her train of thought, which was perhaps his purpose. “All silliness aside, you know what I mean,” she persisted, determined to make her point. “What seems like a great idea when you’re all caught up in the spirit of the holidays often loses its luster after December 25.”

“I would buy that theory.” He gave her a long, steady look. “Except for one thing.”

Determined to hold her ground, she folded her arms in front of her. “And what’s that?”

Triumph radiated in his smile. “You weren’t enthralled with the Christmas spirit at the time we kissed.”

We kissed. A thrill went through her at just the memory…She lifted her chin and put a practical spin on their disturbing lapse in judgment. “My being worried that my ex is going to ruin the holidays with his machinations is more or less the same thing. Whatever Cliff is trying to do put me in a highly emotional state! I turned to you without thinking about the impact this could have on our lives.”

He lifted a discerning brow. “And now that you are thinking about consequences?” he challenged.

She let her glance drop to his broad shoulders and sinewy arms. “I don’t want to lose our friendship or complicate our lives unnecessarily, because you know as well as I do that sex changes everything.”

“So you want me to forget kissing you again.”

Was that disappointment in his low tone? And in her heart? Could she afford to fall victim to these feelings? Especially when she knew romance was based on the illusion of perfection, and that the illusion could never last, when confronted with the wear and tear of everyday living and familiarity.

Once again, Holly let her common sense take over. “Yes, I do,” she reiterated. “For both our sakes.”

Travis was quiet a long time. His expression remained maddeningly inscrutable. Finally, he stood and said. “The last thing I want is to upset you or give you any more trouble than you have at this moment. So whatever you want, whatever you need—” he paused and looked into her eyes “—let me know. And I will be there for you. No questions asked. No holds barred.”