Annette Broadrick - Megan's Marriage

“I know. Sometimes life just works out different from what we plan…what we want.” Straightening her shoulders, Megan turned away from Butch and headed toward the house, where Travis stood waiting.

Megan was aware of Travis watching her as she crossed between the barn and the house. She was well aware of what he saw—a skinny blond with a mop haircut, a plain face with a mouth too wide and, from the feel of it, a glowing, sunburned nose covered with a smattering of freckles.

Her coveralls were old, faded and wearing thin in some places, while her work boots were too scuffed to be able to tell their original color.

A regular fashion plate, that’s what she was. She was also exhausted and totally out of sorts.

“So what are you hanging around for?” she demanded as she approached him. “What do you want?”

He slowly straightened in his lazy, loose-limbed way. “I told you. I want to talk to you.”

She fought to control her impatience. She couldn’t think of anything that this man could say to her that she would want to hear, unless he planned to announce that he was moving away from Agua Verde County and determined never to return.

Megan came to a stop a couple of feet in front of him and folded her arms across her chest. “What about?”

He glanced toward the house. “Couldn’t we go inside and talk? This may take a while.”

She didn’t want to invite him inside. She didn’t want Travis Kane anywhere around her, the house, or the ranch. Unfortunately, at the moment, she couldn’t think of a single reason he would accept for asking him to leave.

There was no help for it. She’d just have to put up with him and the uncomfortable, itchy way she always felt whenever she had to be around him.

Megan stepped around him and led the way up the steps to the wide porch that led into the kitchen. “C’mon in. Mollie’s probably got some tea made.”

She walked into the large room that was the heart of the house. The kitchen doubled for the family conference room, the homework room, the problem-solving room, or for whatever reason the three O’Brien sisters needed to gain help and support from each other.

The place looked worn and frayed, now that she was looking at it through the eyes of a visitor. Any spare cash she managed to accumulate went back into the running of the ranch, unless it provided necessities for a sixteen-and eighteen-year-old to finish their high school educations.

She found the pitcher of tea, filled two glasses full of ice, poured the tea, then set the glasses on the round table situated in the middle of the room.

Megan waited until Travis sat down before she picked a chair across the table from him and carefully lowered herself. Lordy, Lordy, but she was tired. Not only was she not sleeping well at night, but she was also pushing herself harder with each passing day as though through sheer force of will she could turn the ranch’s fortunes around.

Her body ached with every movement. She longed for a long soak in the tub and promised herself that particular reward for tonight in exchange for having to deal with Travis now.

Travis Kane had always caused problems in her life since she was a kid riding on the school bus. Why should anything be different now?

“So when did you get into town?” she asked, not really caring, but determined to curb her impatience and make a stab at being polite.

“Wednesday night.”

“Mmm,” she responded as noncommittally as possible. She picked up her glass and took a long; refreshing swallow of iced tea.

Travis waited until she looked at him before he leaned forward, his weight on his forearms resting on the table, and said, “I happened to run into Maribeth at the post office this morning.”

She eyed him for a moment, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, she prompted him with, “Did you?”

“She said y’all are having some problems.”

She made a mental note to have a long discussion with her youngest sister about not discussing private family matters with outsiders. Striving for nonchalance, Megan shrugged and studied the ice cubes floating in the amber liquid. “No more than anyone else around these parts. Looks like the drought’s about to do the whole county in.”

Megan made herself look at Travis, only then noticing that he’d removed his hat. Up close, his unusual eyes were even more noticeable, if possible, what with the stark contrast between their bright color and his tanned face.

“Megan—” he began, then paused, as though searching for words.

Megan knew that Travis had always had a way with words, so his hesitation surprised her. “What?” she finally asked.

“Maribeth says that since the new management took over at the bank, you don’t think they’re going to be willing to work with you on the mortgage payments anymore.”

She could feel her jaw tighten at more evidence of her sister’s loose-lipped ways. She took another drink of her tea before responding. “Maribeth has a big mouth,” she finally muttered through clenched teeth.

He placed his glass between his palms and rotated it around and around in a circle. “Megan, I know you have no use for me. I’m not certain why, exactly. I mean, I know I used to give you a bad time when we were kids, but that was all part of growing up. I never meant anything bad by my teasing. I always thought of us as friends, even if we haven’t seen much of each other in the past few years. I always thought that, if you ever needed anything, you’d know that I’d help you out in any way I could.”

She shot out of her chair, knocking it over on the floor. “Is that why you’re here? You think we’re some kind of neighborhood charity case? Is that it? Well, you couldn’t be-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he said, coming to his feet, his hands held out in front of him. “Damn, woman, do you have to go off like that over every little thing? What’s the matter with you, anyway? Why would you take offense at an honest offer of help?”

She could feel her face flaming, which didn’t help her temper in the slightest. “We don’t need your help. We’re doing just fine,” she muttered, picking up her chair and replacing it on its legs. She sank into the chair and grabbed her glass with both hands.

“C’mon, Megan, it’s me you’re talking to. Needing help isn’t anything to be ashamed of. We all need help at one time or the other.”

She looked up at him and knew she was making a complete fool of herself. Why didn’t that surprise her? She had never learned to act naturally around this man, not even when they were kids. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I’m just tired, that’s all. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

He sat down once again. “I know this is a tough time for you. I think you’ve done a hell of a job holding this family together. I just want you to know that I’m here to help you, if you’ll let me. I’ve got money just sitting in the bank, drawing interest. I figure you could use it to help get over this bump in the road. Let’s face it, we’re bound to get some rain sometime. Cattle prices will be coming up. I figure you could be using the money since I don’t need it right away.”

Megan couldn’t sit there any longer, facing him. She got up from the table and walked over to the counter, her back to him. Never had her temper made her so ashamed. It didn’t matter what Travis had done in the past, or how uncomfortable she felt around him. He had driven all the way out here to offer her a helping hand. And what had she done? Ignored him, left him standing in her dust, been rude and unsociable for no good reason.

It wasn’t his fault that his good looks had seemed to make his life so much easier, that his irresistible grin had made all the girls carry on about him in school, or that she had received a great deal of teasing because they lived near each other.