Chapter Six
Retta tried not to grip Libby’s arm too tightly as she helped her down from the truck and into her wheelchair. She was grateful to the other woman for reaching out, offering her friendship, and bringing her to the bakery like this, but there was a little part of her that wished Travis were lifting her out of his truck – that she had his big, strong arms around her again.
When she was sitting in the wheelchair, Libby smiled. “There, we did it. I know I’m not Travis, but we did okay. Are you comfortable?”
“I’m great, thanks so much. I can’t wait till I’m back on my feet. Even if it’s with crutches, I want to be more independent. You’ve been great – and so’s Travis – but I hate to feel like a burden.”
“Then don’t – because you’re not. I don’t mind, and I think we both know that Trav doesn’t see helping you as a hardship. In fact, tell me to butt out if you like, but it seems to me that he’s enjoying being your knight in shining armor. Especially the part where he gets to carry you around.”
Retta dropped her gaze.
“Shit, sorry. Ignore me. I don’t mean to embarrass you. I just … I’ve known him since we were kids, and I love seeing him so smitten. Do you not feel the same way?”
Retta looked up at her. “I …”
Libby rolled her eyes. “I really am sorry. Seems I can’t help running my mouth, even when I know I should stop.”
Retta had to laugh. “It’s okay. I’m not mad at you, I’m just a little …”
“You’re not interested? If you’re not, you should let him down easy – and soon.”
“No! It’s not that I’m not interested. Well, I don’t know. I … of course, I find him attractive. And I enjoy spending time with him. He’s a great guy.”
“But?”
She blew out a sigh. “I don’t even know how to go about it. I … I swore off men a long time ago. I didn’t think I’d ever want to try a relationship again.”
“And Trav has you reconsidering that?”
She nodded slowly, and Libby grinned.
“Then just hang out with him and see how it goes. Trav’s the kind of guy who’ll sweep you along with him, if you want to go.”
“That’s the thing – go where?”
Libby shrugged. “Wherever the two of you want to take it. I have to tell you that when I heard that you’re going to stay here, I thought that it was because of him.”
She shrugged. “He helped me to see that it’s the right move – and he said that he’d like me to stay. But I wouldn’t say that it’s because of him, that he’s the reason.”
“No, obviously Callie’s the main reason, but …” Libby shrugged. “I don’t know, and I don’t mean to be so nosy. He’s a good guy, and he’s into you in a big way. I haven’t seen him like this before.”
Retta had to smile at that. “That reassures me. I haven’t seen me like this over a man before.”
“Then see where it goes. At the end of the day, that’s all any of us can ever do.”
“True.”
“Are we good to go inside then? I didn’t mean to keep you out here while I interrogate you.”
“I’m good to go – and it didn’t feel like an interrogation.”
“Good, because it wasn’t meant to be one.”
Libby pushed her across the parking lot and when they reached the door of the bakery, an older man in a cowboy hat held it open for them to go inside.
Retta was surprised to see how crowded the place was. Libby came around the chair so that she could see her.
“I should have thought about it before we got here. It’s not going to be easy getting you through the crowd without you getting jostled. Should I just park you here for a minute and go see if I can find one of the guys to clear a path for us?”
“Okay, thanks.” Retta wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of being parked by the door and left to sit by herself, but she didn’t see how else they could work it.
Libby maneuvered the chair so that it was to the side of the door and set back out of the way. “I’ll be back as quick as I can. You’ll be fine there.”
Retta looked around the crowded space. All the tables were full, and people were standing around in groups. She couldn’t see the counter, or the booths in the back. That was one of the many things about being in a wheelchair that she didn’t enjoy. She couldn’t see past people in the way that she could when she was standing. At five-four, she wasn’t exactly tall, but she still felt like she stood close to eye-level with most people. From her seat in the wheelchair, she felt as though she was more at butt-level, and instead of being able to see around people, she was staring into a dense forest of denim-clad legs.
She smiled to herself. At least down here she got to notice the variety of footwear people wore in a way that she never normally would. There were lots of dusty cowboy boots. A few sets of pretty-looking cowgirl boots that were obviously for show and not for work. There were a few pairs of sneakers, too. She was so engrossed in trying to guess who the feet belonged to that she forgot to feel self-conscious about being the woman in the wheelchair.
She soon discovered that new-looking, clean cowboy – or cowgirl – boots belonged to people who had to be tourists. The work-worn boots were usually matched by a work-worn looking cowboy. The sneakers were tourists. And … all her breath caught in her chest when she spotted a very familiar pair of cowboy boots making their way through the crowd.
The brown leather, square-toed boots were tracking from her left – from the counter, toward the booths in the back. Then they stopped moving. A warm feeling filled her chest when they changed direction and came toward her. When they stopped, she looked up with a big smile.
“Hi, Travis.”
He grinned. “Hello, darlin’. Two questions.”
“Ask away.”
“First, what are you doing sitting over here all by yourself?”
She shrugged. “There was no way we were going to attempt to get through the crowd with my chair, so Libby went to find someone to help.”
He grinned. “And here I am.”
She grinned back at him. “Here you are. But what was the other question?”
“How did you know it was me before you even looked up?”
She chuckled and pointed at his feet. “I’d know those boots anywhere.”
He shook his head with a smile. “Didn’t realize you’d even noticed them.”
“I wouldn’t have normally, but you get a whole different perspective on life when you’re sitting in a wheelchair.”
His smile faded and he squatted down so that he was at eye-level with her. “Shit, sorry. I keep forgetting that.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
He surprised her when he reached out and ran his fingers down her cheek. “Yeah, I do. I’m trying to understand how things must look to you. How can I do that when I’m not where you are, looking from the same place?”
It felt like he was talking about more than her being in the wheelchair. She wasn’t sure that she should ask.
He smiled and asked, “Want to come up here and see how things look from where I am?”
She gave him a puzzled smile.
“I mean, do you want me to carry you over to the booth? Most of the gang’s there already, and it’ll be easier for me to carry you than to try getting your chair up the steps.”
She thought about it. How would it look if he were to arrive with her in his arms? His smile disappeared.
“But it’s no big deal to get your chair up there. I just didn’t want you to get jostled, but yeah, you’re right. I …”
“Travis?”
“What, darlin’?”
She smiled. “Would you carry me, please?”
He grinned. “It’d be my pleasure.”
He got to his feet and then leaned in to pluck her out of the chair in the same way that he had so many times over the last few days. She settled against his broad chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“That’s right, you hang on to me,” he said with a smile.
She smiled back and said, “I think I will.”
He looked shocked by her words – she was a little shocked herself – but Libby reappeared at that moment with Trip behind her.
“Oh! You found her, then,” she said with a grin.
“Sure did,” said Travis. “Libb, would you walk ahead of us and clear people out of the way?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll bring the chair,” said Trip.
When they reached the booth where Travis’s friends, and some of Kolby’s family were sitting, Trip positioned the wheelchair so that Retta could sit at the head of the table.
Travis raised an eyebrow at her. “You going to be okay there?”
“I’ll be fine, thanks.”
Ty laughed. “I think what he really means is, can he keep you instead of putting you back in the wheelchair.”
“Oh.” She looked up at Travis, and he grinned.
“I wouldn’t have embarrassed either of us by asking, but since Ty went and said it, you might be more comfortable if we sit in the booth and prop your leg up.”
“Okay.”
It turned out to be far more awkward than sitting in the wheelchair would have been, but Retta wasn’t about to complain. The only way that she could sit with her leg up on the bench and still have something at her back to support her was to sit on Travis’s lap with him in the corner.
Once they were settled, she looked up at him, and his eyes twinkled as he smiled back at her.
“This worked out okay, huh?”
She chuckled. “I guess so.”
When she looked around, everyone was smiling at them. Libby winked and gave her a small nod.
She was grateful when Ace appeared, and everyone turned to greet him and his new lady. Retta had met Ace before, and she’d heard about Ari, but hadn’t met her yet. She watched as everyone greeted them. If she didn’t know differently, she would have guessed that Ari had known them all for as long as Libby had – a lifetime. She seemed to fit right in.
Ace grinned at Travis and said, “I see you’ve made yourself at home, then?”
Travis chuckled. “You know me. Retta, you met Ace before, didn’t you?”
“I did. Nice to see you again.”
“You too. I’m glad you’re here.” He wrapped his arm around Ari’s shoulders. “Ari, this is Retta – she’s Callie’s mom.”
Retta felt herself relax when Ari gave her a warm smile. She reminded her a little of some of the moms at school and for a moment she’d been worried that she might not be as welcoming as everyone else had been so far.
“Hey, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I know Callie’s thrilled that she finally got you out here – although not about the circumstances. How’s your leg?”
“As good as can be expected. It’s more of an inconvenience than anything else.”
Ari nodded. “I can imagine. It’ll just take time.” She gave Travis a knowing smile. “Although, I’m sure this guy’s doing all he can to keep you busy.”
Retta felt the heat in her cheeks. It dawned on her for the first time how it must look. She’d grown so comfortable with Travis that she hadn’t thought twice about sitting on his lap – it was only a case of getting comfortable and accommodating her cast.
She looked up at him, and he winked. “They all know that I have a thing for you,” he explained. “And that Callie’s not the only one who’s happy to finally get you here.”
He held her gaze, and she couldn’t have looked away if she wanted to. His arm tightened around her waist, and she leaned a little closer against him.
By the time she remembered that Ari had been talking to her and looked up, the conversation had moved on. Deacon had arrived, and Tyler’s fiancée, Shayna, was there, too. Rocket, who worked here and was married to one of Kolby’s sisters, was moving a table over – pushing it up against theirs so that there’d be room for all of them.
Travis gave her a squeeze and grinned when she turned back to him. Her heart skittered in her chest when he said, “I could get used to this.”
When he raised his eyebrows, she nodded slowly. There was no point in denying it – she could too.
~ ~ ~
Travis tensed when he spotted Kolby and Callie making their way through the crowd toward them. They both knew about his interest in Retta – he’d been upfront about how he felt since the first time he laid eyes on her. He didn’t know how they’d feel about him having Retta on his lap like this. Yes, it was a way for her to sit at the table and not off to the side by herself in the wheelchair – but it was an opportunistic move on his part, and he was sure that everyone knew it.
He felt Retta tense, too, when Callie reached the table and exclaimed, “Mama!”
He held his breath. The last thing he wanted to do was cause any friction between mother and daughter.
“Hey, baby girl.”
He was impressed by how calm Retta sounded – it was a total contrast to the tension that he could feel humming through her.
It seemed like everyone held their breath while they waited to see how Callie would react – and then let out a collective exhale when she laughed and pointed a finger at Travis.
“I should have known.”
“Known what, honey?” he asked innocently.
“That every time you plonked me on your lap and told Kolby that you weren’t after his woman, you were just getting in practice for when my mama arrived.”
He shrugged happily. “I thought you did know. I told you both every single time I did it that the only reason I did was because you were as close as I could get to your mama.” He smiled down at Retta. “And now I’ve got you.”
She shook her head with a laugh. “It would appear so.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You have any complaints about that?”
She didn’t even hesitate. She shook her head. “I don’t.”
He grinned at her, then at Callie and Kolby. “Then I guess we’re all good, huh?”
Callie nodded happily, and Kolby smirked at him.
“Err, excuse me, but we’re not all good,” said Libby. “We want some time with our new friend, too, right?” She looked at Ari, who nodded enthusiastically.
“We do, and as soon as Candy gets out here, she’s going to want some girl time, too.”
Travis shrugged. “You ladies can all gather around and supply me with some earplugs – then you can chatter to your hearts’ content.”
Libby reached over and slapped the back of his head. “Nope. You’re not invited in on the girl talk, Trav.”
“But we could relent and allow you to play chauffeur for Retta when we set up our next get together,” Ari told him.
He looked at Retta, and she shrugged.
“Sorry,” said Ari. “I don’t mean to decide anything for you – but you should be aware that you’ll need to make your own rules, or these guys will walk all over you. In the nicest possible way,” she added hurriedly when Travis and Ace both frowned at her.
“Oh, don’t look so affronted. You know I’m right. You guys try so hard to do what’s best for us that you forget to ask what our idea of best might be.”
Travis had to laugh at Ace’s slightly disgruntled expression. Ari just patted his cheek. “This isn’t about you, Mr. Zielinski. This is about Retta.” She smiled at her. “Are you free for dinner on Tuesday?”
Travis could see that Ari might be right – he might need to watch himself and not try to take over too much. Retta looked up at him and then over at Callie before she spoke. She was so busy considering others, that it wouldn’t occur to her to put herself first.
Callie smiled at her, and said, “You know I’d love to see you making friends here.”
“And I hope you know that I’m happy to be your chauffeur if you want me,” said Travis.
She gave him a grateful smile before turning back to Ari. “It looks like I am – and thank you, I’ll look forward to it.”
“So will I,” said Libby.
Deacon smirked at Travis. “You still drinking yellow jackets?”
“Yup. Why?”
“Because it looks like I’ll need to get more in for the three of us on Tuesday. Ace comes to hang out at my place when the girls get together. Sounds like you’ll be joining us.”
Travis smiled at his friend. “Be happy to.” He’d been ready to come home to the valley for a long time, but he hadn’t had a clear idea of what his life would look like when he got here. He hadn’t seen himself hanging out with his buddies while their women went out but … damn, he loved the idea.