19. Travis
19
TRAVIS
T ravis’s heel tapped quickly against the hardwood floor. The baseball game on TV wasn’t enough of a distraction.
He checked his phone again. No missed calls or messages. It had been over twenty-four hours since Bella’s appointment, and she hadn’t called him after like she’d promised. In fact, she hadn’t reached out to him or responded to his calls and messages since, and the unease in his gut was twisting into a painful knot.
She was probably tired. She could have gone somewhere with Anna. Maybe her phone battery died and she forgot to charge it.
But what if she got a bad report from the doctor and she was avoiding him? Bella had retreated into her shell a few times since they met, and most of those instances followed a bout of overwhelm or the revelation of some new obstacle she hadn’t expected.
He wanted to be there for her, but he couldn’t help her if she wasn’t ready to let him in.
What was he even thinking? Did he want her to let him in? Did he want to get caught up in a relationship with a woman who might leave him as soon as she realized who she’d been before her injury?
He shouldn’t want to get involved with her, but his logic had little say when stupid feelings took the lead.
Turning up the volume on the game, Travis sat back on the couch. Why was it so difficult to focus on anything other than Bella?
The roar of an engine neared the house, and Gage opened the front door a minute later. Keys jingled as he tossed them into the junk bowl by the entrance.
Gage let out a deep sigh as he dragged his feet into the living room and fell into the recliner beside the couch. “What are you up to?”
Travis pointed to the TV. “Watching the game.”
Gage quirked one brow up. “Couldn’t find anything to do this afternoon?”
“Nah. I got in late from my shift this morning.”
“So you’ve been sitting here? All day?” Gage asked.
Travis picked up his phone and checked the time. It was after seven in the evening. “I guess so.”
Gage leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. “You’ve been sitting here for almost twelve hours?”
“No,” Travis barked back at the accusation. It sounded really pathetic when Gage put it that way. “I’ve gotten up for stuff.”
“Like what? To walk to the bathroom to take a leak, and to the kitchen to eat junk food? What’s the matter? Are you sick?”
Was he sick? Maybe he was coming down with something. That would explain his lack of motivation to do anything. “I don’t know.”
Gage tilted his head to the side. “Does this have something to do with Bella? Did she break up with you?”
“We’re not together,” Travis clarified.
“You spend all of your time together. Kinda the same thing.”
“No, it’s not. This isn’t a relationship. I’m just helping her. She just got a job, but she doesn’t have a ride to work.”
“Then why didn’t you go to work today?”
“It’s my day off.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never had a true off day. You work for the Bensons when you’re not at the fire station. What gives?”
“They usually give me a day to recover after I work at the fire department.”
Travis was young, so it wasn’t too difficult to slip back into his life. Some of the older men really struggled. Being away from your family for forty-eight hours straight was tough. Add in a lack of sleep and the nature of some of the calls they responded to, and the mental toll did a number on most of them.
“Didn’t Bella need to work?” Gage asked.
Travis stared at the TV, but the picture on the screen wasn’t registering. “She didn’t call.”
“Oh, so that’s what this is about. She didn’t call.”
“Or answer my messages,” Travis added.
Gage hung his head for a few seconds before raising it again. “Maybe she needs some space.”
Travis groaned. “Spare me. I’m getting the message loud and clear.”
“Try not to sit around moping.”
“Like you didn’t walk around like a lost puppy when you and Hadley were trying to figure things out. You told her you didn’t date, then you told her she was your girlfriend.”
Gage sat up straight. “You make me sound terrible.”
Travis chuckled. “You’re not terrible. Just not a relationship expert either.”
“That’s fair. Still, you need to find something to do to get your mind off her.”
Travis rolled the remote in his hands. Nothing had worked so far, but he did need to find a way to get her out of his head. “Maybe I needed this reminder.”
Gage huffed. “Is this because of that witch?”
“Nope. We’re not talking about that. I’d rather eat rocks.”
“Why can’t you talk about her? She’s the reason you’re scared to get close to Bella. They’re two different people, and whatever Bella’s reason is for not answering your calls, it’s not the same as what Vanessa did.”
“Yeah, but Bella doesn’t even know who she is. How am I supposed to know if we’re right for each other?”
Gage shrugged. “Time will tell, I guess.”
Maybe Gage was right. Travis hadn’t been patient at all, and rushing things to fit his timing wasn’t working for anyone. “Okay, wise one. I’ll back off.”
“Good.” Gage slapped his hands on his knees and got to his feet. “Now, get up. We’re going to Barn Sour. I’m starving, and I want some totchos.”
Travis’s stomach growled at the mention of tater tots covered in half a dozen toppings. “I could eat.”
Gage pointed toward the bathroom. “Shower first. You smell like you’ve been wallowing in your sorrows all day.”
“Thanks, man. You’ve been at work all day, so you don’t smell like roses either.”
“I don’t need to be convinced to get clean. You go first. I’m going to find out if Beau wants to come with us.”
Travis stopped on his way to the bathroom. “Hadley isn’t coming?”
“Nah. I figured you need a guys night. We’ll pig out on greasy food and listen to Asher and Hunter play.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’m in.” He’d barely gotten the words out of his mouth when his phone dinged with a text.
Anna: Hey. Bella needs to work tomorrow. Could you drive her?
The message was clear and concise, but the context said a lot more. If Anna was reaching out to him instead of Bella, there was definitely something wrong.
Travis: Sure.
He’d barely taken another step when the reply came.
Anna: Can you get here a little early? I think she needs to talk to you.
Yeah, if she wanted to talk, she would have answered one of his calls or texts. If Anna was the middle-man, he had to trust that she had Bella’s best interest at heart.
Travis: Okay.
His mood had just started to look up, but not even a night at Barn Sour with his friends could help him now.