31. Travis
31
TRAVIS
T ravis tightened the spark plugs with the ratchet and reconnected the coil pack. With one more thing checked off his list, he stood from where he’d been bent under the hood of the car and stretched his back.
Beau walked over and tossed a grease rag at Travis. “What’s next?”
Travis wiped his hands. “Change the air filter. New tires.”
“Complete interior overhaul,” Gage shouted from the next bay.
“Not a complete overhaul, but it could use a shampoo. The old owner must have been a smoker,” Travis said.
Beau crossed his arms and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’d let Hudson Jett take care of the interior. He works full time for Grady now, but the kid’s always looking for something to do.”
“Good idea.” Not only did that take about five things off Travis’s plate, but it freed up more of his time to spend with Bella.
He hadn’t left her side in two days, then Anna ran him off when Dean showed up. She claimed Travis needed to shower and shave at his own house, and she hadn’t relented despite his protests.
He didn’t want to leave Bella. He hadn’t wanted to say anything, but Dean was a poor excuse for security. The guy barely looked up and noticed his own fiancée.
Thankfully, Anna’s kitchen sink clogged up last night. Travis had planned to fix it this morning, and after getting run off, he had a perfect excuse to send his friend Asa over to help with it.
Problem solved. Anna was getting her sink unclogged, and Travis was at peace knowing Bella had someone to look out for her.
“How long until it’s up and running?” Beau asked.
“Three days or so,” Travis guessed.
Hadley walked in carrying big bags filled with to-go boxes. “Dinner is here!”
Gage stood and wiped his hands. “Show time, boys.”
Beau slapped a hand on Travis’s shoulder. “Come on. I’ll help you out after we eat.”
“Nah. I think I’m going to work a little longer.”
Beau’s grip on Travis’s shoulder tightened. “Come on. We’ll knock it out in no time.”
“I really need to get this done.” Travis jerked a thumb toward the car.
Beau shook his head. “Fine. I’ll help. What’s next?”
“Let’s get these tires changed.”
Olivia came in through the garage wearing scrubs and power walking toward Beau. The siblings were as different as night and day, yet they somehow managed to get along most of the time.
“Ugh. Dean is on my last nerve,” Olivia groaned.
“Tell me something we don’t already know,” Beau said.
Olivia propped her hands on her hips. “You want to know what he did this time?”
“No,” Beau said as he walked away. “I’m going to get the tires.”
Olivia turned her frustration toward Travis. “I have to tell someone.”
Travis walked past her to get the jack set in place. “I’m listening.”
“Anna had booked a couples kayaking trip for them down the Snake River, and Dean decided to stay in San Antonio a few extra days.” Olivia raised her arms before letting them flop back down to her sides. “Isn’t that awful? It was non-refundable. I mean, Anna has plenty of money, but no one likes to just throw it away.”
“Dean was at Anna’s this morning,” Travis pointed out.
“Yeah. Anna said she forgave him, but I don’t know how she could.”
“Did he know about the trip?” Travis asked.
“Of course.”
“Did he have to stay longer because of work?”
Olivia huffed. “No. He said his friend invited him to go out on the Riverwalk, and it would be rude to say no.”
Travis lined up the jack under the axle. “It’s rude to back out on plans you made with your fiancée too.”
“Exactly!” Olivia said.
Beau walked up and put two tires down on the driver’s side of the car.
“Don’t you think so?” she asked Beau.
Her brother turned around and headed back to get the other tires. “I’m not listening.”
“Ugh.” Olivia crossed her arms over her chest. “He is too. He hears everything. He just doesn’t say what he thinks.”
Travis pumped the jack, and the car slowly rose. “He probably thinks Dean is too ridiculous to waste time grumbling about.”
“But this is Anna we’re talking about. I hate seeing my friend so upset.”
That was something Olivia and Travis could agree on. He’d been spending more time around Anna and Dean since Bella was living with Anna, and the relationship seemed very one-sided. It didn’t matter what he thought though. Anna was capable of making her own decisions.
When Travis didn’t respond, Olivia leaned over to see what he was doing. “Are you working here now?”
He loosened the first lug nut. “No. I bought this car last week, and Beau said I could use this bay to get it fixed up.”
“You bought a car? Why? You already have a truck.”
“It’s for Bella,” Travis said as he moved on to the next lug nut.
Olivia clasped her hands at her chest. “Oh my goodness. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard!”
Buying Bella a car had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now that she’d remembered a little about her past, Travis didn’t want her going anywhere alone.
Beau reappeared with the other two tires and set them down on the passenger side of the car. “Hadley is in the break room if you want to trash talk Dean some more.”
“Oh, good.” She turned back to Travis. “Tell Bella I’ll come by after work to hang out.”
When Olivia was out of sight, Beau breathed a long sigh. “Don’t get me wrong, I love it when she stops by. I just can’t handle the constant Anna and Dean drama.”
“I get it,” Travis said. “They’re hot and cold all the time. You think they’ll make it to the wedding?”
Beau huffed. “I don’t spend my time worrying about them.”
Gage walked up still chewing on the last of his dinner. “I had to get out of there.”
“This is a no drama zone,” Beau said.
Gage grabbed an impact wrench and started on the opposite front tire. “Good. Does the Travis and Bella will-they won’t-they count as drama?”
“Yes,” Beau said.
Gage shrugged and started zipping out lug nuts. He was Travis’s roommate, so he knew about Bella’s recent memories and why he’d been staying at Anna’s so much.
No one had brought up the question Travis had been pushing to the side all week. Now that they knew some guy wasn’t out there waiting for his girlfriend and unborn child to come home, did Travis and Bella have a chance to be together?
Every feeling since the moment he met Bella had been tempered by the unknown. He’d had plenty of reasons to push away feelings for her and tell himself it wasn’t possible.
Now, the main obstacle standing between them was gone, and Travis still had to hold back like a dog on a leash.
Did Bella even want a relationship? She still had plenty of other things going on that were more important. Did she even feel the same way about him?
“Hadley is dying to know what you’re going to do,” Gage said.
Beau groaned. “I thought we said we weren’t talking about it.”
“No, you said we weren’t talking about it. Hadley is going to want the details now that she knows Travis was here all day.”
“Does she think we just sit around and chitchat all the time?” Beau asked.
“No, but she knows we talk,” Gage said as he pulled off the tire.
Beau lowered the four-way wrench he’d been using. “Do you tell her everything we say?”
“We never talk about anything interesting to her, but sometimes she wants to know certain things, like why you’re so grumpy all the time.”
“I’m not grumpy,” Beau said.
Travis huffed. “You can say it all you want, but it doesn’t make it true.”
“Whatever.” Beau shook his head and went back to work.
“So, what’s it gonna be?” Gage asked.
Travis slid the first tire into place and gathered the lug nuts. “I don’t know. I haven’t brought it up yet. She’s got a lot going on.”
Gage lowered the impact wrench and glanced at the doorway leading to the break room. “If you want my advice, I say go for it.”
“Nobody asked you,” Beau said without looking up.
Gage kept his attention on Travis. “I’m not a romantic or anything, but I’d kick myself every day if I would have let Hadley get away.” He cleared his throat and squatted back beside the tire. “That’s all I have to say about it.”
“Are we done now?” Beau asked.
Travis turned to Beau. “What’s your take on it?”
Beau glared up at Travis. “You’re seriously asking me for relationship advice? I don’t think I’ve ever had a girlfriend. Ever.”
“That’s because you look like you want to rip somebody’s head off all the time,” Gage said.
Beau stood and pointed the wrench at Gage. “Why does anyone care what I look like?”
Gage lifted his hands. “I don’t.”
“Last chance. What do you think I should do?” Travis asked.
Beau looked down at the four-way wrench in his greasy hands. “I hope it works out for you. Just don’t get your hopes up.”
That was the problem. Every time Travis thought of Bella, his hopes went haywire. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
A door banged closed down the hallway, and Olivia walked into the garage bay. “I gotta run.”
Gage wiped his hands on a grease rag and shoved it in his back pocket. “I’ll be back. Gotta say bye to Hadley.”
Beau slid the last tire into place. “I need to get back to bay two.”
“Go on. I’ll finish this up and head out,” Travis said as he squatted with the impact wrench beside the last tire.
“Listen, man. I do wish you and Bella the best,” Beau said.
“Thanks.”
“No need to call me and tell me how it goes. I’ll hear it through the grapevine.”
Travis chuckled and tightened the first lug nut. “Noted.”
Beau left without another word, and Travis knew what to do. Talking about it with his friends wasn’t the answer. He needed to talk to Bella and let her know he’d stand beside her through anything, even if she didn’t feel the same way about him as he did for her.