Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, Travis made sure that Retta was all set downstairs with her coffee before he headed out early to take Bear back to the airport. She was still half-asleep, but that didn’t stop her from offering the big guy a hug before he left and telling him to come back soon.
Bear went outside first, and Travis came back for another quick kiss before he left. He rested his forehead against hers and looked down into her eyes. “You sure you’re going to be okay?”
“You know the answer to that. I’m going to enjoy some morning peace with my coffee.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Take your time. I’ll see you later.”
“I feel bad that you have to drive me back up there,” Bear told him when they were in the truck.
Travis grinned at him as he pulled out of the driveway onto East River Road. “I feel bad that I made you come home with us last night instead of taking you to the hotel like I said I would.”
Bear grinned back at him. “There’s no need. I think we were all of the same mind. Me coming home with you meant the only logical move for Shelly was to stay at Trip’s place.”
“Yup. I just hope that they didn’t mind us meddling like that.”
“I doubt it – you could practically see the air crackling between them. All they needed was a nudge in the right direction, and I think we gave them that.”
“I hope so. I’ll let you know how it works out. I expect I’ll hear from Trip today – either to thank us or to give me an earful.”
Bear laughed. “If he tries to give you a hard time, remind him that it wasn’t just you. I played my part, and Retta did, too.” His smile faded. “I feel bad about you leaving her by herself this morning as well.”
“There’s no need. She’s probably thanking you. She’s fed up with being in the wheelchair, but even more than that, I think she’s fed up with always having someone around to help her.”
Bear raised his eyebrows. “Are saying that you’ve been playing mother hen?”
He laughed. “No, well yeah, but not too much. It’s not that she’s sick of me – just that in the normal run of things, she’s pretty independent. I have no doubt that she’ll make the most of this morning to enjoy her coffee in peace and just being by herself.”
“I like her – she’s good for you.”
Travis grinned. “Thanks. I know.”
“Seems to me that you’re good for her, too. And I don’t just mean the way you’re taking care of her while she can’t get around by herself.”
“I’m trying to be.”
“I remember the first time we went to Georgia to bring her to Kolby and Callie’s wedding party. She was like a different person then. She was all closed off. Don’t get me wrong, she seemed nice enough even then, but it was like she had this wall around her, and she wasn’t letting anyone get close – not even her daughter.”
“Yeah, she’s come a long way. I’ve done my best to show her that she doesn’t need her walls anymore.” He chuckled. “Even to the point of telling her that she is a stubborn woman.”
Bear laughed with him. “Only you could get away with that and come out smelling like roses. Most guys would end up with a slap in the face – not with a woman who clearly adores him.”
“Everyone adores me, you know that.”
“You’re right, we do.”
They drove in silence for a while. Bear sipped his coffee and stared out at the mountains.
“Whatcha thinking?” Travis asked after a while.
“Just wondering if I’m going to end up living here, and what that’d be like.”
“You thinking it’s a possibility?”
“It’s looking that way. You know Cash is ready to come home.”
“Yeah, but what about Mav and Blane?”
“I think you might have done more than anyone else has in pushing Mav toward it.”
“How’s that?”
Bear blew out a sigh. “I shouldn’t say anything, should I?”
“You probably shouldn’t, but you can’t leave me hanging. I’ve been trying to get ahold of him for weeks, but he won’t return my calls.”
“Yeah, to say he was mad when he heard about Libby moving all the horses up to your new place doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
“I can imagine, but that wasn’t the original plan. She was only supposed to bring a few of them and still carry on with business as usual at Mav’s place. It’s just that when she saw the barn and the arena, she said it’d make more sense. And she’s right; it’s not just the vets and the equine therapy program; pretty much everyone she works with comes from town. My place is a lot easier to get to than the ranch.”
“I get it. So does Mav, but …”
Travis blew out a sigh. “If he doesn’t call me back soon, I might have to hitch a ride out there with you so I can talk to him face to face.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath on him calling you, and I don’t think coming to see him would be the best idea either. Like I said, I think Libby moving off the ranch finally has him considering coming back here.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Obviously nothing that he’s said to any of us, but …”
“Go on,” said Travis. “I’m not going to repeat anything you tell me.”
“I know I just … I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard him talking to Amelia. He was asking her about what it’d take to set up the kind of connectivity she needs.”
“I don’t get it.”
“I didn’t either at first, but it sounded as though he was asking if she’d be able to do what she does from the ranch. I don’t know enough about signals and connectivity to understand it all, but she said that she’d be able to set herself up with everything she needs – and what the team needs too.”
Travis blew out a low whistle. “He’s thinking about moving home base to the ranch?”
“It sounded that way to me.”
“Cash didn’t mention anything about it.”
“I don’t think he knows. From the way Mav was talking, he didn’t want anyone to know.”
“That sounds like Mav. He does his homework and makes sure he’s covered all the angles before he makes a proposal.” Travis had to laugh. “Or at least he does when it suits him. If he decides that’s what he wants to do, he’ll be more than ready for any arguments.”
“That’s it, though – do you think he’d get any?”
“Maybe. We both know that Cash would be glad to come home, but …” Travis shook his head. “I don’t know. There are a lot of guys to consider these days. Most of them spend more time out on jobs than at base but … I can’t even fathom it.” He smiled. “And lucky for me, I don’t need to. I’ll just wait and see.”
Bear laughed. “Do me a favor and act surprised if and when they start talking about it. I felt bad when I overheard. I feel even worse telling you when it’s not my business to share.”
“Nah. It’s all good. I won’t say a word to anyone. All you were doing was reassuring me that I might not have screwed things up too badly by letting Libby move her operations to my place.”
“We know that, but the last thing I want to do is to piss him off.”
“I think you’re safe. He needs you more than he needs the rest of us. He can’t fly anywhere without you. Is he the reason you don’t drink, even when you’re off duty?”
Bear gave him a rueful smile. “You know the answer to that. Can you imagine if he called me in a panic needing to get back here – to Libby – for some reason or another and I told him I couldn’t fly?”
“I don’t want to imagine how he’d react if that happened but damn, Bear. It doesn’t seem right to me. I love him to pieces, but …”
Bear laughed. “It’s fine. I never was much of a drinker anyway. If it bothered me, I’d do something about it, but after everything Mav’s done for me, being on standby for him seems like a small price to pay. And to be honest, it keeps me kind of hopeful. I like to think that the day he comes to his senses, I’ll be able to play a part in bringing him back to her.”
Travis chuckled. “Aww, are you a closet romantic?”
Bear made a noise that could only be described as a grunt. “I’ve never been accused of that before. It’s not so much about romance as …” He shrugged. “Mav and Libby not being together is like … like something’s not right with the world, you know? It’s as though the sun suddenly started rising in the west and setting in the east. Sure, we might have all gotten used to it over time, but we still know that it’s not right, it’s not the natural order of things.”
“Yeah. That’s a good description. I just hope that something will happen at some point to put things back as they should be.”
“We all do,” said Bear.
Travis stopped the truck in front of the FBO building and gave his friend a rueful smile. “Is there anything I can do? You need help with anything?”
“I’m good, thanks, bud. I’ll do my preflight, check the weather, and file my flight plan.”
“You have any idea when you’ll be back?”
“Cash said that he’ll want to come home again soon. He hasn’t said when yet though.”
“You know, if you want to use one of the cabins whenever you’re here, you’re welcome to.”
Bear smiled. “Thanks, I might just do that.”
“I hope you will.”
“Say thanks again to Retta for me.”
“Will do.”
Bear climbed out of the truck, and Travis waved as he drove away. He was tempted to call Cash and see if he had any clue about what Mav was up to. He was tempted, but he wouldn’t do it. If he started asking questions, Cash would no doubt want to know why, and the last thing Travis wanted to do was let slip what Bear had told him. He wasn’t good at being patient, but he wasn’t about to go sticking his nose in his friends’ lives just to satisfy his own curiosity.
~ ~ ~
Retta sipped her coffee on the front porch on Friday morning. For once, she wasn’t sitting there lost in the view. The mountain was as beautiful as always, but what she was seeing in her mind’s eye was the interior of the cabin she was working on.
Boxes and parcels had started arriving on Monday, and it had felt like the run up to Christmas all week. Even though the deliveries weren’t gifts for her, she got a thrill out of opening them. She could picture the vets in the cabins – taking a nap on the sofa with the blanket she’d ordered tucked around their shoulders. Sitting out on the little front deck in the rocking chairs, sipping their own coffee from the mugs she’d chosen. She hoped she’d managed to create the right feeling. Everything she ordered was robust, but not industrial or impersonal feeling. She wanted the vets who came to feel at home, to feel like they were in a cozy space but not one where they needed to tread carefully.
She’d misspoken in the beginning. She’d told Travis that she was trying to create a masculine atmosphere for the men who would stay there. He’d pointed out that not all vets were men. Of course, she knew that, but it made her realize that she’d slipped into a generalization. Travis had been sweet about it, saying that statistically, there were nowhere near as many women as men. But he wanted to make sure that the women weren’t forgotten.
Retta didn’t want to forget them either. She had a whole lot of respect for anyone who served their country. If she could do her little bit toward providing them with a place of respite for a while, she wanted to do the very best she could.
Travis stuck his head out the door. “You doing okay, darlin’?”
“I’m great, thanks. You don’t need to worry about me, Trav – I promise I won’t get up to any mischief.”
He chuckled and came outside to squat down in front of her chair. “I always worry about you; you should know that by now.”
“I do – I’m just saying that you don’t need to. I can stay here for the morning and just see you at lunchtime.”
He made a face. “You can, but I’ve been thinking about it. I know you want to carry on with cabin number seven. You shouldn’t have to stop what you’re doing just because I’m playing mother hen.”
She laughed. “I’d never call you that.”
“Good, but you know what I mean.”
“Oh, I do.”
He rolled his eyes. “And the way you said that convinces me that I should at least offer.”
“Offer what?”
“I was thinking that I could drop you off there so that you can keep working on the interior. I checked, and Ty’s at the restaurant, and Shay’s over at the barn this morning. Either of them could get to you in under ten minutes if you need them. So…”
She grinned. “I’d love to keep working on it, if you’re sure you’ll be okay. I’ll worry about you worrying.”
He laughed. “Then you’ll get a taste of how I feel.”
“I think I’ll survive.”
He popped up and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I think I will, too. I need to get used to you doing your own thing, don’t I? Otherwise, when you get that cast off, you might run and never look back.”
She rested her hand on top of his. “I won’t. If I do any running, it’ll be to you not from you. But yes, I would enjoy a little more independence. And I really would love to spend the morning carrying on with it.”
“Okay then. How long do you need to get ready?”
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
“I’ll just go and get my things together then, and we can be on our way.”
When they got to the cabin, she waited in the truck while he carried her wheelchair and crutches inside. When he came back for her, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her out.
“I feel like I should start walking more – you know, maybe you could put your arm around me for support instead of carrying me.”
She loved the way he held her a little closer to his chest. “You’re probably right, but … I don’t wanna.”
She smiled happily. “Okay. I don’t mind choosing my battles, and I’m not sure this is one I want to win anyway.”
His eyes twinkled as he smiled down at her. “Good. Even when you’re back on your feet and all healed and everything, it’s going to be hard for me to break the habit of just picking you up when I want to and carrying you around.”
She pecked his lips. “It’s not a habit that I want to break either. I kind of wonder how long it would have taken for us to get this close if you weren’t carrying me around all the time.”
He chuckled. “It might have taken you a little longer to defrost, but I would have gotten there.”
“I was never frosty toward you.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Maybe not frosty, but you weren’t exactly warm in the beginning.”
“I wasn’t? I thought I was friendly enough.”
“Yeah, but there’s a difference between just friendly and the kind of warm I’m talking about - the kind of warm that’s going to get hot enough to light a fire.”
She tightened her arms around his neck. “The fire’s already burning.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Too damn right it is. As soon as that cast’s gone …”
She nodded eagerly. She couldn’t wait. She was tempted to say if not sooner . She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it the last few nights. Sleeping next to him was wonderful. He was so big and warm, and so gentle – and so damn sexy. Her frustration was growing by the day, but she hadn’t felt like she could bring it up.
He was holding her gaze, and it was easy to see the desire in his eyes.
“I … do you think …”
He made her laugh as he hurried her to the wheelchair and deposited her in it. “Don’t say it, darlin’. Don’t suggest that we could … nope. I’ve been a good boy because I kept telling myself that we had no choice. If you give me hope, my horny little mind won’t stop until we find a way.”
“Would it be so terrible if we …”
He blew out an exaggerated sigh. “It won’t be terrible, darlin’. It’ll be magical, but I don’t want to screw up by rushing it.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I know.”
He chuckled. “I kind of hoped you might put up more of an argument.”
“I’m still tempted to.”
“So am I.” He checked his watch. “But I have to run.” He took a step backward. “I’ll call you as soon as I can. You call Ty or Shay if you need anything. They both said they’ll stop in to …”
“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I promise I’ll call them if something comes up, but I don’t expect it to. You’d better go, or you’ll be late.”
“Yeah.” He took another step back. “And if you’re up to it, we’ll go to the bakery this afternoon.”
“We will. Go on.”
He laughed and hurried back to kiss her one more time before he left. “See ya later, darlin.”
“Bye.”