Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Travis nodded. “Yes. I mean every word.” She was his wife, and this woman was his family.
Despite all she did in the past, he couldn’t help but care for her.
He made a vow to love, honor, and cherish her.
And at that moment, this is what he was doing—or what he tried to do. “Whatever you need, Jo, I am here.”
Josie turned, picking up the letter again. “She left everything to me—the house, money, everything she owned.”
Travis’s eyes widened. He held onto the chair rail, careful not to lose his balance.
He knew Josie came from a wealthy family, but he never expected they’d face a great fortune in their marriage.
With the house, Josie could be a respectable widow and raise her baby without him.
But the thought of her leaving nearly left him sick.
Despite his words, telling her she was his family, he wasn’t sure how money fit into it all. Would she leave them? She married him for security, and now, she didn’t need him. The thought nearly tore him to shreds. Would she abandon it all, his children, the town—and him?
He gripped the wooden chair, his throat clenching. “Are you going to take it?”
Josie laid the letter down. “No.” Her fingers quivered, folded atop the white paper.
Travis’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t go back?
This woman must be mad. Money, an estate, and in a civilized area?
How could she not leave Montana behind? North Carolina would be safer than the wild, uncivilized frontier.
He wanted her to stay. The children needed her to stay. Yet, how could he hold her back?
“But the baby . . . it will have so much. You can give it a better life away from here.”
Josie’s eyes looked back at him, and to his surprise, he saw a fire raging in them. “I will never return there. Never.” She threw the letter across the table. “Someone else can have her money.”
Josie’s words were a relief, but something wasn’t sitting right with Travis. She was crazy not to accept the money. The fortune was more than Travis could ever imagine.
“But she left it to you. You can live as a comfortable widow, independent.” Travis choked on a swelling lump in his throat. “Don’t you want that?”
Josie looked down, rubbing her stomach. “I want to leave that life behind. North Carolina is full of the nightmares I try to forget. Being there will only remind me of the woman I used to be. Weak . . . pathetic . . . fragile.”
Josie’s words lit a fire within Travis’s core. His jaw hardened; his teeth clenched. Who was this man? Who would brainwash such a lovely woman and treat her like scum? He was glad the man was dead; that way he could never lay a finger on his wife again.
“What did he do to you, Jo?” Travis settled in the chair next to her, ready to hold her if needed. He wanted to shield her with his body, to keep the darts of darkness away from her. He wanted to set her free from that horror she lived. Each time she flinched, it hurt Travis more than pain itself.
Josie stayed silent, rubbing her thumbs together. She closed her eyes. “Too much to even put into words. Marcus was a monster. Being free of his grasp after seven years is more valuable than any money I could receive.”
Travis had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was careful not to bring up memories Josie wanted to forget. Seven years? She was so young. Travis thought about Ivy. Josie wouldn't have been much older when she married the man.
“I can’t imagine what you went through, but you won’t have that here.
Not with me. I can promise you that.” Travis placed his hand over his wife’s.
“We don’t have to talk about him anymore.
Forget about him. It’s you and me now, Jo.
And no one will ever touch you again. My body is your armory to be your protection.
My home is yours to manage and live in.” He rubbed his thumb over her silk, smooth skin.
“I vow, on my life and those before me, I’ll never ever raise a hand to you. God as my witness.”
Josie’s lips curved into a small smile. “You’re too good to me, Travis. I don’t deserve you.”
Travis leaned in closer, lifting her chin and peering into her tear clouded eyes.
All he wanted to do was dry them and prove how safe she was, more than by words of honor.
Looking down at her moist lips, he nearly lost his breath at the thought of kissing them.
What would they taste like? Perhaps strawberries—just as they looked.
Oh, what he’d give to press his lips to hers, just once, to satisfy this aching curiosity.
Before he could have his answer, Gideon’s cry pierced the quiet of the cabin, pulling Travis back to reality. Josie immediately pushed her chair back, her attention shifting to the source of the sound.
“I should see to him.”
Travis watched as Josie left the room, his heart thudding against his chest. He leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands threading through his hair. What was he doing? Why couldn’t he stick to his plan?
For the first time, he began to understand his wife. Josie wasn’t just a woman who used him to cover her child’s paternity—she was a frightened woman seeking sanctuary from a past that constantly tore her apart. Deceiving him was her choice, but her morals were clouded by desperation.
Travis hoped that, in time, he could help mend those broken pieces of her life, but first, he knew he needed to confront his own wounds.
And perhaps, if the Lord would allow it, he could push forward.
He could no longer hear Sophie’s voice. He’d tried for weeks to seek her presence, but each moment with Josie, she seemed to fade further and further away. Tears pricked in Travis’s eyes.
Why, God? Why must you torture me now?