Nicole Edwards - Travis

He hadn’t expected any of his brothers to be at Moonshiners, but he’d seen Zane’s truck in the parking lot before he came in. He’d like to think that’s why he stopped. He didn’t want to admit that he’d been looking to drown his thoughts in alcohol or anything crazy like that.

“Who’s winning?” he asked just to make conversation.

“Well, it sure as shit ain’t me,” Zane laughed, his eyes tracking the beautiful brunette currently sweeping the pool table clean as she took shot after shot, dropping balls into pockets left and right.

“Hey, V,” Travis greeted Zane’s fiancé once she finished.

“Hey, Trav. You look like hell,” she told him.

Damn, the woman had gotten pretty fucking mouthy in the last few months. Not that he could say anything to her because Zane was an overprotective mother fucker. Travis might enjoy giving his brothers a rash of shit, but he knew better than to pull their women into the fray. Not that he would. Travis liked to think his father had raised him well. He might’ve pulled some stupid stunts in his day, but he always put women first, ensured they were respected and all that.

“Thanks,” he said, tipping his glass toward her before downing what was left.

“You wanna play her?” Zane asked, knowing good and damn well Travis wasn’t going to say no.

“Lady breaks,” he muttered as he set his empty glass on the table, signaled for the waitress and then took the extra pool stick from Zane’s hand.

“Good luck,” his brother whispered loudly.

“Right. Like I’ve got a chance in hell.” Travis knew better than to think he was going to beat Vanessa Carmichael. He’d seen her wipe the table clean one too many times, including against his brother Brendon who, up until V shamed his ass, had been the reigning billiards champ in their neck of the woods.

Ten minutes later, Travis was resuming his position at the table, taking his fresh drink in hand and watching as Zane gave it another shot. Rather than watch a repeat of what just happened, he spent a few minutes just observing others in the place.

“You looking for company tonight?” the sultry drawl came from behind him, but Travis didn’t turn to look. He knew the voice, also knew he wasn’t interested. Just like he wasn’t interested when she came onto him a little while ago.

“Have I ever said yes to that question?” he asked, keeping his back to her.

That didn’t last long because Ellie Franklin eased her way around to his side, pressing her large, fake tits against his arm. Yeah, he was so not interested. Considering she’d been with at least two of his brothers over the years, maybe more, and half of the rest of the male population, Travis wasn’t going to touch her with a ten foot pole.

Much to his relief, Zane chose that moment to saunter up beside him, pretending he didn’t notice that the waitress was practically dry humping Travis’ leg. “Can we get another couple of beers over here?”

Ellie frowned, but apparently the woman knew she had a job to do and she disappeared. Travis thought about leaving, knowing she’d be back any second with the beers and probably an offer for a hand job in the bathroom. As much as he needed a release, he’d prefer to stick with his own hand, thank you very much. At least he knew where his had been.

“What brings you in here tonight?” Zane questioned as V came to stand beside him, tucking herself perfectly against Zane’s body as though they were made for one another.

And from the looks of it, they actually were.

Travis thought about Kylie and the way she would fit just as easily against his body, her soft gentle curves pressed so intimately against his chest, his stomach, his... Then, like a sucker punch to the solar plexus, another image appeared, overriding the censored version. This one included Gage, and he was opposite Kylie, sandwiching her between them.

Oh, shit.

“Hey, E.” Zane’s voice jarred the image from his mind, and Travis glanced up to see their brother Ethan walking toward them. Beside him was the guy who’d taken Zane’s place as the mechanic for Walker Demolition.

“Slummin’ again, Trav?” Ethan joked, slapping Travis on the back as he moved around, squeezing between V and Zane. If Travis didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn Ethan was trying to get as far away from Blake as he possibly could.

Considering the rumor Travis had heard, he would have expected the two men to be all over each other. Then again, Ethan was a private person, much like Travis, never hinting at his relationships – current or former – so it made sense that he was trying to put some distance between them.

Didn’t mean Travis liked the idea of his little brother hiding.

Fuck. Like he had room to talk. He was a damn hypocrite is what he was.

“How’s it going, Blake?” Travis asked, not wanting to chat, but figuring it was the polite thing to do and much better than letting his own thoughts take over. Since Blake was technically employed by Walker Demolition, he sort of had no choice. Besides, if he didn’t, Ethan would rip him a new asshole as soon as the opportunity arose.

“It’s goin’,” Blake answered. “What brings you down here?”

Shit, what was with everyone and their questions? It wasn’t like Travis didn’t hang out at Moonshiners at least once a week, sometimes more. Granted, he’d been avoiding the place for the last few weeks because he’d preferred to brood in privacy.

“Just checkin’ on the young’n.”

Zane obviously knew Travis was referring to him, which earned him a one finger salute. Of course, he returned it with a grin.

“All right, boys,” V said, grinning as all four of them looked her way. “Who’s my next victim?”

Travis settled in for the duration. No sense in going to the house. It was empty. No one waiting for him there. In fact, the only thing that might possibly greet him were the divorce papers he was avoiding like the plague.

“I’m in,” Travis barked, downing the rest of his second Scotch before heading for the pool table.

♂

Gage picked up his cell phone.

Put it down.

Picked it up again.

Fuck.

As he pushed his truck up to eighty, Gage forced himself to keep his eyes on the road, to ignore the inner voice telling him to call Kylie. He was just a few minutes outside of Killeen, and it would be so easy to just veer off at the next exit and head her way. If only he had a valid reason to show up on her doorstep one more time. Since she hadn’t called him one single time in the two months after he’d walked out of her house with his heart in his throat, he didn’t think it would go over well.

But Gage wanted to talk to her. Hear her voice. See her smile and listen to the sweet southern cadence of her voice. God, he missed her so much, and he knew he had absolutely no right to. He just couldn’t get his mind off of her. No matter how hard he tried. He didn’t expect to see or hear from Kylie again, but he couldn’t help but wish something would happen that would give him one more opportunity to try and make it up to her. Despite his better judgment, hope still sprang eternal in his fucking chest when it came to her. Hell, if he didn’t know better, he’d think he had actually fallen for the woman.

But she wasn’t the only person he’d been thinking about. And as much as it pissed him off, Gage wanted to see Travis, to hear his voice and know that the man might harbor some sort of feelings for him, even if it was hatred. Feeling ultimately alone in the world, Gage was more than willing to believe someone was thinking about him, wishing that he was there.

Only he didn’t believe it.

Nor did he deserve it.

He should’ve been worried about facing the music and explaining himself to those who knew him best. The very same people he’d lied to all these years about who he really was. At this point, his secret life had been shattered and he had nothing else to hide from anyone. Not only was Chance Reed officially dead and gone, his separate life as a cop had also been revealed after he apprehended Jake Sanders months ago. And he couldn’t even blame Travis for that one. If he had to make the choice all over again, although he hadn’t been given much of one at the time, he’d have stepped in to ensure Zane was protected the same as he had before. Only this time, he wouldn’t need Travis to threaten him with bodily harm.