Chapter 28
The kitchen at the Bottlenose was empty, clean, and peaceful.
Travis had never been in this early in the morning. There had been the occasional summer night in the early days that saw him stumbling home at dawn, but he had never gotten up at first light and walked to work. Until today.
Maybe it was melodramatic, but he couldn’t stop thinking about everything that he would miss when he went away. Even in the most hopeful possible scenario, he expected to be arrested today. Jail, if not prison. And, having been to jail before, he knew full well just how much he would miss the simple things.
Things like silence. Having a room, any room, to himself.
The simple privilege of cooking delicious, healthy food.
And so, before he turned himself in, he cooked one last meal. His kitchen at home was basically empty, but the kitchen at the Bottlenose was always well stocked.
He seared two burger patties, then slathered a bun with butter and toasted that as well. He melted two slices of sharp cheddar cheese onto the hamburgers, then piled them with all of the fresh veggies available. Before setting the top bun onto the tower of food, he added a heavy spoonful of the jam that Juan made with bacon and sun-dried tomatoes.
It was a good last meal.
He washed it down with a beer, because why not? He would miss those too.
After he’d eaten, he made himself an Italian soda with their house syrup. Raspberry and kiwi. It was a muddy mixture not fit for the menu, but it tasted phenomenal.
He was killing time. Delaying the inevitable.
Well, who could blame him?
As he sipped the sweet drink, he wrote a letter to Scot. Not a particularly long letter, but more than a note. In it, he explained what he had done, and why. He apologized for not being there when Scot needed him and urged him to lean on Nick. Then he put the letter into the top drawer of Scot’s desk, locked it, and pocketed the key.
Scot had the only other copy. And with Travis gone, he would have to come into the office sooner than later to take care of business.
He could handle it, Travis assured himself as he washed his glass and locked up. His ankle was healing well, and there was nothing wrong with his mind. Whatever else was going on, well, maybe he would recover. He was still a young man, after all. Too young to be old, at least.
Wanting to stretch out his last moments of freedom as long as he could, Travis walked across town to the police station. He relished the warm sun and cool air in a way that he never had before. At least, not since being released from jail as a teenager.
How had he forgotten?
He had taken his freedom for granted, after a while. He supposed everyone did, at least until they were on the verge of losing it.
Well, life would be that much sweeter if he came through this without a harsh sentence. He still nursed some hope of that. He could get manslaughter again and serve a short sentence, then come back to work at the Bottlenose. He had been defending Rachel, after all, and he felt certain that she would show up and testify on his behalf. Assuming the guys Adam was involved with didn’t come for him, he’d still have a shot at a good life.
Possibly it was that hope that gave him the courage to do what he was about to do and finally turn himself in.
When he reached the police station, he paused in the shade of a tree and pulled out his phone. He texted his parents to say that he loved them, even though they hadn’t spoken to each other in ages. He texted Nick, telling him to live a good life and look after the people they both loved.
And then he texted Keely.
I’m sorry for not being fully honest with you sooner. I should have picked one side or another, either stayed away from you or come clean from the start. I wasn’t strong enough to do either. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I’m going to do my best to make things right. I swear I won’t say a word about Nick. What I want most is for you to put this mess behind you and live a good life.
He typed out I love you, then chickened out and erased it.
What good would it do her for him to send those words now? Getting them off of his chest wasn’t worth causing her any additional pain.
He hesitated, then sent the rest.
Still stalling, he turned his phone off and stuck it in his pocket.
Then he summoned his courage and walked to the police station.
He stumbled to a stop when Keely walked out, hair shining like polished copper in the sunshine. She was so gorgeous and bright and shining that for a split second, he thought that he was imagining her. What’s more, she was smiling.
Then she saw him, and her smile disappeared. There was a flash of confusion on her face followed by horror. She knew what he was here to do, or at least she guessed.
But why was she here?
“Can I help you?” asked the police officer who was holding the door open for Keely. He looked down the steps at Travis with a scowl.
“He’s my boyfriend,” Keely said quickly, flashing the young officer a beautiful smile. “He’s just picking me up.”
“Oh.” The guy was visibly disappointed. “Okay. Well, have a good one.”
He walked inside, and the door swung shut behind him.
Keely closed the distance between them, took Travis’s arm in a vise grip, and dragged him down the steps.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“Get in the car.” She shoved him toward the passenger-side door of her car and then looped around.
He was silent as she started the car and drove him away from the police station. He felt lightheaded with relief but also confused. Keely seemed unsteady herself. She only drove a few blocks away from the station before pulling to the side of a quiet street and turning the engine off again.
“You were going to turn yourself in,” she accused.
“Well, yeah,” he admitted. In this moment, sitting so close to Keely and looking into her bottle-green eyes, he couldn’t imagine what he had been thinking.
“You idiot.” She hit him in the shoulder, then fisted his jacket in her hand and pulled him in for a kiss. His mind went blissfully blank for a moment, and then she shoved him away again. “What if you had gotten there before me? You weren’t even going to talk to us first?”
“We talked yesterday. I didn’t see another way out.”
“So you just gave up?” She shoved his arm so hard that he bumped into the door.
“I was trying to protect Nick.”
“So was I! But I was doing it without any of us having to go to jail.”
“What did you do?”
“I got a name. It’s one of the guys who was there that night, I’m sure of it. I recognized his voice from the tapes, even though I only met him a couple of times, and I wasn’t exactly–” she paused, shook her head, and continued, “I went to one of Adam’s friends this morning and got the guy’s real name. I took it to Detective Riegler, and he was stoked. The guy is on all kinds of lists, and me identifying him was enough for them to go after him.”
“And Nick?”
“I told the detective that he has food poisoning. With luck, they’ll be so busy chasing this mafia guy and his buddies that they won’t even want to talk to Nick.”
A tentative hope bloomed in his chest. He struggled to get a breath in. Keely seemed to see something in his face because she started her car and started to drive.
Not to his house, but toward hers.
“We’ll go back to my place and talk.” There was a heavy annoyance in her voice, but something else too. Relief? Affection? Maybe more. “I’ll warm up a couple of pieces of apple pie.”
* * *
Ten minutes later, they were in her house, facing off in front of two steaming mugs. Keely sipped lightly from hers, still too nauseous to stomach the pie.
“I can’t believe you were about to confess,” she said for what felt like the dozenth time.
“It felt like the only option at the time,” he said, “but obviously I was wrong.”
“But without talking it over with me?” Her fingernails dug into her palm as she sucked in a calming breath, desperately trying not to think of what could’ve been if she hadn’t caught him in the nick of time. “Did you even think about the people you’d be leaving behind?”
He stared at her for so long, she almost wondered if he wasn’t going to answer. Then, he slowly shook his head. “That’s all I thought about, Keely. It seemed like the only way to prevent you and Nick from getting even more wrapped up in it all. I didn’t want either of you to pay for my sins.”
“And what about what we wanted? Do we not get a say? Does Scot not get a say?” She let out a puff of air, then took a big pull from her coffee. “Look, Travis, after the type of relationship I was in with Adam, what I need most is someone I can count on. Someone who isn’t keeping a bunch of secrets and making life-changing decisions behind my back. I need to know that what I see is what I’m getting.”
He glanced toward the window, taking another long pause before responding. “You’re right. I should’ve discussed it with you and Nick first. And I should’ve told you what was going on sooner than I did.”
Keely nodded, her eyes stinging. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words didn’t come.
Travis tugged her hand lightly from her mug, holding it in his. “I love you, Keely, and I always have. You’re right to be upset with me right now, and I’m going to do the work to re-earn your trust.”
The tears burst free, and she didn’t fight them. “I love you too, Travis. So much. And I know you were doing what you did out of love, even though I disagree with how you went about things.”
He stood from his chair and joined her on the couch, pulling her close. “I’m sure it’s really hard right now, but we’re going to work through this together.”
She nodded, leaning into him. They stayed that way in silence for a long time, and the tears had nearly dried by the time she spoke. “You’re a hero for saving that woman, you know.”
“You’re my hero for saving yourself from Adam. I know how hard it must’ve been, and how hard it must be even now, and I’m so proud of you.”
“I don’t feel like a hero, but I really like that you think I am.” She chuckled softly as the tears came back. “No more secrets, okay?”
He nodded, his own eyes suspiciously shiny. “No more secrets. Not ever.”