Chapter Fourteen
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TRAVIS WOKE UP a few hours later, still feeling like a zombie. Between the sore ribs, the hangover, and the thoughts running through his head all night, he’d gotten less than nothing as far as sleep went. Add to that the spat with Gemma this morning and he was definitely feeling crappy.
He’d been trying to find a way to resolve all their issues, but he hadn’t come up with anything that would make everyone happy.
Scenario number one was the first thought that had come to mind last night, when he was drunk and angry, but somehow he couldn’t imagine his son being happy if Travis sued for sole custody, so that was out.
The second had him taking Charlie every other weekend, but if he was on the road, he had a hard time imagining Gemma would be okay with that. Plus, how was he supposed to get to know his son amid concerts, interviews, and whatever else Big George scheduled for him? He had always been the yes guy, the one who would do anything, but now, with Charlie . . . well, they would have to make some changes.
The last idea had them all living under one roof, while he and Gemma worked on their temporary marriage and he got to know Charlie. If he was being honest, that was the one that had been pushing to the forefront. Whether they liked it or not, they had a child together, and right now they were married. They couldn’t spend the rest of their lives going back and forth about their mistakes; it wouldn’t be good for them or Charlie.
He walked out to his truck and drove through town, hoping to catch her during a slow time in the shop, maybe take her to lunch and talk like adults. As he parked in The Local Bean’s parking lot, he saw Mike march down the sidewalk and yank open the door to her shop in an obvious temper.
Wonder what in the hell she did to him.
GREAT. MAYBE I should start listening to Gracie’s advice.
“It’s not what you think,” Gemma started. Her hands were shaking so bad, she gripped the counter to steady herself, hoping it would make them stop.
“Oh, thank God, because for a minute there, I thought you’d spent all weekend with your ex and then married him, all without telling me. Oh, wait, that’s exactly what happened.”
“It was a mistake. We just got caught up and had a little too much to drink. I didn’t know he was going to come after me,” Gemma said.
Then Travis walked in, and Gemma wanted to crawl under the counter. Mike glanced back at him for a second before facing her again, his expression darker.
“Great, the gang’s all here,” he said sarcastically. “So, you just accidentally fell into bed with him?”
Gemma met Travis’s eyes, and he raised an eyebrow. She was completely mortified by the whole situation and, feeling cornered, snapped, “No, I meant to sleep with him.”
“You just accidentally married him? How do you accidentally marry someone? I don’t care how drunk you were, you knew what you were doing, even subconsciously, and I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“Michael . . .” Gemma reached out for her friend, the man who had stayed up with her during emergency-room visits and had taught Charlie how to fish. The man who had held her hand when her dad died. She never should have kept this from him.
I really am selfish.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, I kept your secret like an idiot, when I should have told Travis ten years ago,” Mike said.
“I agree. I really ought to kick your ass for that,” Travis said dryly.
“It wasn’t your secret to tell,” Gemma said, wishing she didn’t have to deal with both of them at once. “And it wasn’t even a real marriage, so I figured we’d get an annulment and no one would have to know.”
“But me, Gemma. Why wouldn’t you tell me? I’ve been there for you for everything!” Mike said.
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” she said helplessly.
“I’ve dealt with a lot from you, including when you started dating other men. I got the friend speech and I survived that. So why was it so hard to tell me this?” Mike asked.
She didn’t have a reason, at least not one she was willing to say out loud.
Because of the way Travis makes me feel.
“I’m so sick of being your little lapdog, doing everything you want and need without anything in return, even common f*cking courtesy. You know what, she’s all yours.” Mike backed away from her and rushed out of the shop, leaving Gemma alone with Travis.
Gemma started to go after him, but Travis stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Let him go.”
Biting her lip, she realized she did that a lot with the men she loved: Travis, her dad, and now Michael.
“THIS IS SUCH a mess,” Gemma said, dashing the tears from her cheeks.
“Yeah, it is,” Travis said, wondering how he could feel sorry for her. From what he’d caught of the conversation, she’d kept Michael in the dark about their marriage, and had taken him for granted. Anyone else and he’d have judged her harshly. But he still had a hard time believing Gemma would be deliberately cruel.
Sniffling, she grabbed a box of tissue off the desk. “Apparently, I have issues being honest with people I care about. God, I am such an a*shole,” she said.
Travis didn’t argue, since he’d pretty much been cursing her all night, but for some reason, even if it wasn’t directed at him, Gemma’s remorse made him a little less angry with her.
“Mike obviously cared a lot about you to keep Charlie a secret. Why didn’t you ever give him a chance?” Travis asked, curious.
Moving behind the desk to close her laptop, she said, “I knew it wouldn’t work.”
He wondered if there really was someone else she was holding a torch for; not Michael, of course, but had her hesitations in Vegas really all been about Charlie?
“What about someone else? You must have dated other men.”
“I’ve had a few dates, but no one ever fit in with our life,” she said.
There was no way she had lived like a nun, though. “So, no one serious?”
“I said no.” She sounded impatient, and he smiled. He had told himself he didn’t want to fight, but he kind of liked Gemma when she was bristly and irritable. Her cheeks got rosy and her mossy eyes darkened to the color of pond water when she snapped. It was hot.
I need to stop thinking with my cock or she’s never going to go for this.
“Good, I’m glad you aren’t seeing anyone,” he said, before adding, “That makes my proposition less awkward.”
“Proposition?” Her tone was suspicious, and he bit back a smile.
He’d had no idea he was going to bring up his harebrained scheme until a few seconds earlier, but he really did think it was their best option for keeping the peace. He just hoped she would be smart enough to realize it.
“I’ve been thinking about our situation and it seems to me the best option for everyone may be if I move in with you and Charlie. At least for the duration of my stay,” he said, and from the red hue of her face he could tell she was about to explode.
“You can’t be serious. You can’t live with us. It’s just going to make things worse with everyone in town and confuse Charlie,” Gemma said.
“We are married, and everyone in town will know it by tonight, so that’s a weak point. As for Charlie, I thought you were going to tell him about our marriage anyway?”
Or were you going to try to hide that, too?
“I did, and he was so excited, even though I told him it was only temporary. It’ll break his heart if you move in and we get his hopes up. Why don’t we—”
Travis cut her off. “This is how it’s going to be. You had your way for ten years, but for the next two weeks, we’re doing things my way. Or I can call my lawyer and start custody proceedings today.”
Her flushed face paled. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll give you as much time as you want with Charlie, but that doesn’t mean you have to move in.”
Knowing he was being cruel, he said, “Forgive me if your word isn’t enough.”
The quiet in the shop was deafening. Travis thought she was gearing up for a new argument, but she surprised him when she said, “You’ll sleep in the guest bedroom downstairs.”
“That’s perfect. Trust me, sex with you is the last thing I want.” He saw her wince and almost apologized, but part of him wanted her to feel bad, even though he was lying through his teeth. She was beautiful, and he couldn’t stop his reaction to her every time she was near, but if making her think he wasn’t interested would get him what he wanted, then so be it.
“Where is Charlie, by the way?” Travis asked, looking toward the back of the store.
“He’s at his friend Evan’s. I’m picking him up after work.”
“I could do it,” Travis said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “I told him I would spend the day with him anyway, and the day is half gone.”
“Oh, that’s okay, I—”
“Gemma,” he said, trying to sound patient, “I don’t want to disappoint him.”
Her face fell, and before he could stop himself, he reached out to squeeze her hand. “It will be okay.”
She sighed and pulled her hand from his. “I’ll call them, and give you the address.”
TRAVIS WENT AND checked out of the motel, tossed his duffel bag in the back, and drove to Charlie’s friend Evan’s house. He shook hands with his parents as Charlie bounced around like a rubber ball, clearly excited to see him. They climbed up into the truck, and Charlie hadn’t stopped talking the whole way to Gemma’s house.
“Did you get into a fight?” Charlie asked, studying the left side of his face, where Wayne had gotten in a lucky shot. The kid didn’t even give him a chance to answer before he added, “I got into a fight yesterday. Teddy Hook kept picking on a couple of kids at camp, and when I told him to leave them alone, he punched me. So I hit him back, and that’s why Mom had to come get me.”
Travis had noticed his son’s shiner but had been too wrapped up in other things to mention it. Not a sign of excellent parenting skills. Shit, how was he going to be a dad to a nine-year-old kid when he’d never even known his own father?
“How come you got in trouble for fighting back?” Travis asked.
“’Cause the counselor said I should have just gotten an adult. No tolerance for violence, she said.”
Travis thought that was a stupid reason for sending a kid home from summer camp, especially when he was just trying to do the right thing, but kept his mouth shut. He’d had experienced very few truly good role models and had no right to criticize the camp director.
Still, a little glimmer of pride spread through his chest as he considered Charlie. Eric was right that Gemma had raised him well. It took a special person of any age to stand up for others.
They pulled up outside Gemma’s house, and Charlie hopped out of the truck. When Travis went to grab his duffel bag out of the back, he turned to find his son staring at him with wide eyes.
“Are you staying here?”
Travis wanted to kick his own ass. He had assumed Gemma had told him. “Yeah. Is that okay with you? I’m just going to bunk in the guest room while I’m here, so you and I can get to know each other.”
“Awesome!” Charlie whooped and raced inside. When Travis finally caught up to him, Charlie asked, “Wanna see my room?”
“Sure, buddy, lead the way,” Travis said, dropping his bag in the doorway and following Charlie up the stairs and past the first door.
“That’s Mom’s room. She has her own bathroom with this huge claw-foot tub she spends hours in. I don’t know how anyone could take a bath for that long; it weirds me out when my fingers get pruney,” Charlie said, opening up the next door and pointing inside. “And this is my bathroom. Mom let me decorate it with Avengers stuff.”
Travis looked around at the shower curtain and toothbrush holder with a smile. “Awesome. I love Iron Man myself.”
Charlie made a face. “Really? I like Thor. He’s a god.”
“But Iron Man is rich,” Travis said, smiling.
Charlie shook his head as he walked away and opened the door to his room. “But he doesn’t have any real powers.”
Travis’s heart stopped as he took in Charlie’s room. For the most part, posters of comics and superheroes covered the walls, but on the same wall his bed was pushed against were posters of Travis. His first album cover. Performing live at one of his concerts. Facing Charlie, he asked, “So, you’ve known about me for a long time, huh?”
“Yeah, Mom told me about you when I was five. Even made me a scrapbook.” Charlie ran to his nightstand and opened a drawer, pulling out a leather-bound book. Travis sat down on the bed, and Charlie hopped up next to him, handing him the book.
Travis opened it to find his Rock Canyon High School ID card and his football picture on the first page. I wonder how she got that.
“The next couple of pages are of you performing, and then there are some photos of you and Uncle Mike at the river. My favorite pages are toward the end, though.” Charlie reached over him and flipped the pages until he reached the one he wanted. “There. These are of you and Mom.”
Sure enough, there were pictures of Gemma and him hugging in the quad at school, making weird faces for the camera. The next page held their prom pictures and a couple of snapshots from that night. There were pictures from Stephanie and Jared Brown’s wedding that summer, and their photo-booth pictures from the fair. After that, though, it was just clippings from magazines following his career. Travis was touched, tears pricking his eyes as he turned the last few pages.
How could she take so much time making sure his son knew everything about him without giving Charlie the chance to really know him?
Closing the scrapbook with a slap, he tried to smile through the pain. “So, why don’t you show me where I’m sleeping?”
Charlie jumped up readily. “Sure, follow me. It used to be Mom’s room when she was a kid.”
Travis let Charlie lead him back downstairs, even though he knew the way well. He’d spent the better part of two years in that room. Around the base of the stairs and through the kitchen, Gemma’s old room was at the end of a narrow hallway. Opening the door, Charlie stepped back and spread his arms with the flourish of an entertainer.
“Here it is,” Charlie said.
The furniture was made of cherry and tasteful. When Gemma had slept here, there had been an iron bed frame and a white vanity dresser with stars painted along the side. Gone were the posters of *NSYNC, wall-to-wall bookshelves filled with books, and the bright purple butterfly bedspread. A simple navy comforter with several blue-and-white-striped pillows adorned the bed, and there was a nightstand and dresser, but nothing else.
“Wanna set your stuff down and grab an ice cream bar?”
Turning to his son, who was practically hopping from foot to foot, he said, “Sure. Ice cream sounds awesome.”