Texas Tango: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 2 Page 26

  “Fine. Say your hi’s and then we need to get busy. I’d like to get Caroline’s clothes shipped first thing in the morning.”

  Her words were like a slap to his face. It was all happening too fast. Caroline had just told him she wasn’t coming back, and suddenly his cousin was here to remove every trace of Caroline from his house? For a brief moment, he thought about hiding something of hers, anything that would make Caroline have to come get it, anything that would make her face him again.

  But, no. Caroline had made herself clear many times. She and he were friends, and apparently that was good enough for her.

  “I’ve got something I want you to send to Caroline when you mail her stuff.”

  “Not a problem. Where are all her clothes?”

  “In my room. Head on over. I’ll show Reno and Darren where the stacks of gifts are and then meet you there. I wouldn’t want you to miss anything,” he said sarcastically.

  After leaving his twin cousins working in the dining room, Travis headed to his office and pulled the unfiled marriage license from his desk drawer. He studied it, remembered how beautiful she’d looked that day, how strong she’d been when her grandmother died. Their signatures were bold in dark-blue ink. Her grandmother’s was thin, barely legible. This last memento of her grandmother would mean a lot to her. He’d meant to get the license framed for her but just hadn’t had time. Now, time had run out.

  When he got to his room KC was folding a pair of Caroline’s jeans to put in a shipping box on the bed.

  “Put this in there, would you?” He handed her the license. Letting go of the paper was letting go of Caroline. Inside, his heart ached. On the outside, he maintained his don’t-give-a-shit composure.

  KC dropped the jeans in the box to study the piece of paper. “You guys had a marriage license? I thought this was all a ruse for her dying grandmother.”

  “It was. Her grandmother was a retired judge and wanted to do the ceremony and sign the license. Caroline didn’t want to disappoint her, so we got a marriage license that morning. We just never filed it. Send it to Caroline as a keepsake from her Texas assignment.”

  “Interesting,” she said with an eyebrow lift.

  She studied him as though waiting for a reaction on his part. Well, she’d be disappointed. He wasn’t going to fall apart, if that’s what she was waiting for.

  “Okay,” she continued. “I’ll send it. By the way, I found these as I was packing what little jewelry Caroline had.” KC passed him the wedding-ring set. She folded up the last shirt and laid it on top of the jeans. Pointing a finger at him, she said, “You. Are. An. Idiot.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You. Caroline. Hell, man. It’s obvious you’re in love with her. Why the hell didn’t you ask her to stay?”

  “I don’t beg any woman to stay when she wants to go.”

  “You are a bullheaded fool, Travis Montgomery. You two were perfect for each other, and you just let her walk out.”

  “Damn it, KC, I did not just let her walk out. She left. What did you want me to do? Hold her clothes hostage until she came and got them?”

  “That’d be better than what you’re doing.”

  “She doesn’t love me.”

  “God, save me from men in love,” she swore. “Think about it, dunderhead.” She waved the license in his face. “If you loved her, you could have filed this, you know.”

  “I’m not going to trick her into being married.”

  “Idiot. Must run in the Montgomery male chromosomes, because we Montgomery women don’t have that stupid gene.” She put the license in her purse and picked up the box. “When you realize how stupid you are and you want to call her, or better yet, go see her, call me. I’ll give you her new address.”

  After the Montgomery cousins left, Travis picked up his phone and called his brother.

  “Hey, bro,” Jason said. “Lydia told me that you and Caroline were splitting. Tell me she’s wrong.”

  “I wish I could.”

  “What happened?”

  “Let me tell you the story.” Then Travis told Jason everything, from start to finish.

  The next week he did one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He broke the news to his parents that Caroline had left him. They were crushed. His mother even cried, which just about killed him.

  He held off saying anything to Noah just yet. The teen had been on his best behavior since the incident with the whiskey. His school work was excellent. His attitude couldn’t be better. He worked around the ranch without a word of complaint. Now that Noah currently seemed to be on the right path, Travis didn’t want to land another devastating blow in the teen’s life. Caroline might have to come back to Texas so they could talk to her brother together.

  After she’d been gone a couple weeks, Travis found himself fighting a deep depression about his current love life, or rather the lack thereof. He simply wasn’t sure what he should do, or not do about Caroline. He sat in the cedar swing on his deck, studying the orange, yellow and pink streaks in the sky as the sun dropped below the horizon. He sighed as he thought about his past and his future.

  He had loved his first wife as only a young, first love can. A love so pure, so innocent, so naïve that it would have had to change over time.

  What he felt for Caroline was so different. This time, the love was between two established adults with life histories. This love was different. Not better. Not worse. Just mature. A love based on an understanding of what he wanted in life.

  And what he wanted was Caroline Graham Montgomery. In the swing beside him. At the dinner table talking over meals. In his bed, making love for years to come.

  KC was right. He was an idiot. He needed a plan to—

  “Hello? Anyone home?”

  “Oh, damn,” Travis muttered and thought seriously about not responding, but Southern manners being what they were, he couldn’t do that. Thank goodness, Noah was over at the Websters’. “On the deck.”

  Elsie Belle Lambert flounced around the side of the house, a wicker picnic basket in one hand. “Oh, Travis. I just heard.” She practically danced up the steps.

  “What did you hear?”

  “Well, first that your rodeo this year was a huge success, and second, that Caroline Graham has moved to Key West.”

  “Both true. Now, what can I do for you?” Besides boot you off my deck?

  “It’s what I can do for you,” she said with a flirtatious wink. She held up the basket. “I brought dinner. It’s such a lovely evening I thought you might like to share it with someone.”

  He would, but that someone wouldn’t be her. However, her father had just purchased two expensive geldings from Travis, and he couldn’t afford to offend the Lambert family.

  “That’s thoughtful of you, but I’m not really fit for company tonight.”

  “Oh, Travis. You say the silliest things,” she said with a giggle. She set the basket on the patio table, opened it and pulled out a couple of stemmed crystal wine glasses and a bottle of chardonnay.” Since the cork had already been loosened, she pulled it out and filled both glasses. “Let’s drink to your successful weekend.”

  “You know I don’t drink.”

  “Oh, pooh. What will one little drink hurt?” She pushed a glass toward him.

  “You don’t understand. I can’t drink that wine.”

  “One little drink, Travis. Just to celebrate.” She drank her glass in one gulp.

  “I’m not drinking with you. Now what do you really want, Elsie Belle?”

  She sat in the swing next to him. “You know what I want, Travis. You and I are perfect together.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Daddy would be so pleased if we married.” When she leaned in to kiss him, he pulled away and stood.

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  She stood and glared at him. “I know your little secret, the one you don’t want the whole world to know.”

  His heart slammed against his chest. “
What secret?”

  “I know that Dr. Graham paid you to marry her. Paid you with Fitzgerald’s place.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, a smug smile on her face. “If you want to keep your little secret of how you sold yourself for a piece of land, you’d better start seeing a future with me in it.”

  A little too close to the truth to be comfortable. “Where did you hear that?”

  “From the bride herself.”

  He shook his head. “First, the story is a crock of bull. And second, no way Caroline would have confided in you. So try again.”

  She slammed her hands on her hips. “I’m not lying. So maybe she didn’t tell me directly. I overheard her telling your cousin about your deal.”

  “How?”

  She huffed. “My brother and his buddies used to hide in the housekeeper’s closet next to the ladies’ lounge and listen to the girls talk.”

  He spit out a harsh laugh. He and Jason had done that too. “I’d forgotten about that trick. Doesn’t matter. What you think you heard, you didn’t. Caroline and I married because we loved each other. End of story.”

  “I don’t think so. A wife in love with her husband wouldn’t be moving thousands of miles away if that were true.”

  “You need to leave. There’s nothing here for you. I love my wife, whether she’s standing right beside me or helping a fellow physician in Key West.” As he said the words, he felt the truth in the core of every cell in his body. How funny he could say the words to Elsie Belle when he’d never said them to Caroline. He was going to remedy that.

  “Go away.”

  “Well!” she said in a huff.

  “And take that booze with you.”

  Once he’d gotten the pain in his side on her way, he called Jason.

  “I need some help.”

  “What can I do?”

  “I’m going after Caroline. Next time, the marriage vows will be for real. Can you follow up on all the sales from the rodeo?”

  “Sure, but can you hold off running down to Key West just yet.”

  “Maybe. Why?”

  “KC told me about the marriage license you both signed. She said there was something about it that was bugging her. She put in a phone call in to a lawyer friend in Arkansas this morning asking about Arkansas marriage laws. Since we’re both licensed in Texas and the laws can differ from state to state, she thought we should clarify any possible legal ramifications. Her friend hasn’t called back yet, and since it’s almost quitting time on a Friday, it could be Monday before we hear anything.”

  “I’ll give you until Monday and legal crap be damned, I’m heading down to Key West.”

  The longest weekend of Travis’s life passed at a snail’s pace. He filled the weekend with every ranch task he could think of, including mucking the stalls on Sunday. Finally, at eleven a.m. on Monday morning, the call he’d been waiting on came. When he saw Montgomery Law Offices on the readout, he grabbed the phone.

  “About damn time you called back,” he growled.

  “Good morning, Travis. It’s KC. Jason is here with me. We’ve got you on speakerphone. Is that all right?”

  “Sure, sure. Whatever. What did you find out?”

  “First, sorry about the delay. My friend’s husband surprised her with a limo and a night on the town on Friday and she didn’t get back with me until this morning. Here’s what she told me. Arkansas statutory law requires any person obtaining a marriage license must return the license to the clerk within sixty days from the date the license was issued or pay a 160 dollar late fee. In 2001, the Arkansas Supreme Court said that failure to comply with licensing statues, like not returning the license within the sixty-day period, does not void an otherwise valid marriage. Specifically, the Supreme Court said that failing to return the license within the required time frame did not render the marriage void where the parties involved had solemnized the marriage by a wedding ceremony and the minister signed the license. Their decision was based on the fact that the statue didn’t say that failure to return the license voids the marriage, only that failing to return licenses means paying a fine. The case the decision was based on was Fryer versus Roberts. I looked it up after she and I spoke and read the entire judgment.”

  “So in plain English for this lay person, please?”

  “It doesn’t matter that you and Caroline didn’t return the license. You had one. You took vows in front of a person recognized by the state to perform weddings. You all signed it. Plus, you had witnesses.”

  “What we’re trying to tell you is that you’re legally married to Caroline, big brother,” Jason interjected into the conversation.

  Almost three weeks had passed since Caroline had arrived in Key West. The promised housing was a third level one-bedroom oceanfront condo with a balcony overlooking the water. Her transportation was miniature Smart car. As promised, KC had shipped her clothes. KC had made sure that her Rolls, the Shadow, was secured inside the Whispering Springs rental house garage and promised to check on it often.

  The sun dropping beneath the horizon made her adjust her sunglasses to block the glare. Picking up the glass beside her, she took a long drink of her non-alcoholic Flamingo Travis had taught her to make. It was silly, but when she made one each evening, she felt closer to him.

  Pressing the palm of her hand against her stomach, she felt the elation as it rolled through her. One in a million chance. She laughed. Those damn fertility masks her parents had sent must have worked. Holy cow. She’d almost fainted when she saw the double pink lines on the urine test. No surprise when the blood test confirmed her pregnancy.

  She wished Mamie was still alive. This would have thrilled her. On the other hand, maybe Mamie had twisted a few heavenly arms. She chuckled at the mental picture of her grandmother twisting arms to help Caroline get pregnant.

  But pregnant and not married would not have set well with her conservative relative.

  And Travis. What in the world would he say? She had to tell him, of course. God. He’d probably think she did this on purpose.

  She rubbed at the twitch at the corner of her left eye. Poor guy had been sucked into situations he’d never agreed to. Noah. The public outing of their marriage ceremony. And now a baby he hadn’t bargained for. She didn’t even know if he wanted children. After Noah’s outrageous behavior, he’d probably be concerned about her gene pool.

  But a baby changed everything, didn’t it? She couldn’t continue this nomad existence. A child deserved a home. Roots. A set of friends. A family.

  A father.

  Where to plant those roots was the immediate question. Lydia had made her a standing offer to return to Whispering Springs Medical Clinic, regardless of her situation with Travis. After all, Lydia had reminded her that she still had the rental house there in town. And Whispering Springs would be a great place for Noah to grow up. He knew so many of the teenagers there now. He seemed to like it.

  The big question was how would Travis take her moving back?

  Her doorbell chimed, startling her. She didn’t know anyone in Key West. Heck, she hadn’t even met the neighbors. With this assignment, she was on twelve and off twelve.

  “Coming,” she shouted through the open sliding glass door. She hurried through the small condo and flung open the door. Her heart dropped into her stomach. The breath left her lungs in a rush.

  “Travis. What’s wrong? Has something happened to Noah?”

  “Noah is fine. In fact, he’s doing great. Can I come in?”

  She stepped back on shaky legs. “Sure. Of course.”

  The living room, which never seemed large to begin with, shrank to a tiny box when he walked in. She should have been able to smell the cherry from the plug-in air freshener. Instead, Travis’s woodsy cologne scent filled the air. Her gaze traveled from the top of his silver hair down to the tips of his polished boots. Her heart climbed from her gut, lodging like a boulder in her throat.

  “Nice place,” he said, looking around. “Kind of small.”
He walked to the opened glass doors and looked back at her. “Beautiful view.”

  Quivering legs carried her across the room to stand beside him. “If you like oceans.”

  “Don’t you?”

  She shrugged. “Why are you here?”

  “I’ve been having chest pains.” Travis pointed to the middle of his chest. “It’s right here. Do you want me to open my shirt so you can see?” He jerked the snap shirt and it popped open.

  Caroline licked her lips. “I always did love a snap shirt,” she muttered. Talking over her racing heart, she said, “Seriously. What are you doing here? There are lots of doctors between Texas and Florida.”

  He smiled, deepening those crinkles around his eyes she loved so much. “Well, Doc, you see, I don’t need any doctor. Only a specialist will do.”

  Caroline looked up at him with a lift of her eyebrow. “A specialist? What kind of specialist?”

  “One for my heart. It’s broken, Dr. Graham. Totally in pieces. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. All my guys tell me I’m an ass and they’re going to go to work for someone else if I don’t get it fixed.”

  “Really?” A tornado twisted inside her gut.

  “Really.” Travis grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. “Come home, Caroline. Back to where you belong. With me. My bed’s too big. Nobody laughs at my jokes like you do. I need you. Come back.”

  “You need me?”

  He brushed a kiss across her lips. “That’s right. I need you. Come home.”

  His kiss scrambled her ability to think rationally, so she pulled out of his hold and turned away. “No, Travis. Need isn’t enough.”

  “How about this then? I love you.”

  Fat, heavy tears began to fill her eyes. Her heart swelled so large it made breathing difficult.

  “You love me?”

  “I do. I swore I’d never love again,” he said, his voice so quiet she could barely hear him. “I didn’t want to fall in love with you.” She turned to face him. “I liked you. Hell, you drove me crazy just by walking in the room. The sex was unbelievable. I found myself wanting to be with you all the time. When I wasn’t with you, I was thinking about being with you.” He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. “Somewhere I got in my mind that if I fell in love with you, then I was being unfaithful to Susan and what we had. I know that sounds nuts, but…”