37. Travis
37
TRAVIS
T ravis pulled up in front of Bella’s cabin and parked beside Nathan’s truck. The man stood from his usual spot in a rocking chair on the front porch and stretched his arms above his head.
“How’s it going?” Travis asked as he extended a hand.
Nathan shook it. “Quiet.”
“That’s how I like it.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Nathan said as he headed to his truck.
Finally. Travis jerked open the door and stormed inside.
“Bella!”
She stepped out of the bathroom with her hands in her hair, piling it into a high ponytail. That gorgeous smile lit up her face as he closed the distance between them.
“Hey, handsome.”
She barely got the words out before Travis’s hands found her waist and lifted her up. Her hair tumbled down over her shoulders. Her arms and legs wound around him as he pressed her back to the wall.
Sliding his arms behind her, he kissed her with all the fire that had been building over his forty-eight-hour shift. Surrounded by Bella, he couldn’t tell which way was up, but it didn’t matter.
His hands slid around to her sides, and he broke the kiss. “You’re bigger.”
“Thanks. I’ve been working hard these last two days.”
“Wow. It’s happening so fast.” The miracle of life was more than he could comprehend most days when he saw the changes in Bella.
She scraped her fingertips down both sides of his beard sending sparks radiating from his jaw to his toes. “I missed you so much.”
A deep rumble crept up Travis’s throat. “You have no idea how much I missed you. Two days is too long.”
“Have you had breakfast? I can make us some omelettes.”
“Omelette sounds good to me. I just remembered I left something in the truck.”
Bella chuckled. “Your overnight bag, maybe?” She patted her hands on his chest. “Have I told you how much I like it when you wear this uniform?”
“No, you haven’t mentioned it, but now I don’t want to change out of it.”
“Oh, but you have to. The Bensons want us to report to the stables as soon as you get a shower.” She patted his chest again, signaling for him to lower her to her feet. “But don’t worry. I like you just as much in jeans and boots.”
When she was back on the ground and steady, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Actually, I have dinner in the truck too. We’re having steak tonight.”
“Ooh. That’ll be yummy.”
Yummy and good for Bella and the baby. He’d been reading a book about pregnancy when things were quiet on his shift. If she needed plenty of iron and protein, he’d make sure she got it.
Grabbing the steaks and his overnight bag from the truck, he trudged back inside. After putting the steaks in the refrigerator, he grabbed the eggs, cheese, and ham.
He’d just started mixing the ingredients when Bella walked into the kitchen. She slid her arms around him and rested her cheek against his back.
“Thanks for starting breakfast. I can take it from here.”
“I’ve got this. You need to rest.”
Bella chuckled. “I just woke up, and I haven’t done anything yet.”
Travis turned around to face her. “What’s your point?”
“That I’m fine. I’m pregnant but not bedridden.”
Travis pointed the spatula at the table. “Have a seat, and tell me what you want to drink.”
Bella rolled her eyes, but a smile lifted her lips. “Fine. I’ll have water.” She sat in front of an open book and flipped a page.
“What’s that?” Travis asked.
“New journal.”
She’d been writing down things she remembered for weeks now, and she let Travis read them whenever they talked about her memories. The fact that she’d filled up a whole journal already should have been a good thing, but he knew some of the things she wrote about, and it was enough to give anyone nightmares.
Travis turned back to the stove. “What did you remember?”
“I’m trying to remember leaving. I still don’t know how I got out of there or why I even tried it. I don’t remember preparing to leave or making any kind of plan. It doesn’t make sense. Something is missing.”
Travis rested the spatula beside the pan and walked over to where Bella sat at the table. Watching her struggle with her own mind knowing he couldn’t help left him with a gaping hole in his chest. His hands rested on her small shoulders, praying for any way to comfort her as she struggled. “It’ll come in time.”
Bella placed her hand on top of his. “I know. It’s just frustrating.”
“How are you handling the new memories?”
She turned to look up at him. “Better than before. It’s easier to remind myself that it’s the past now.”
Travis squatted beside her chair and rested a hand on her knee. If only he could show her the extent of his love and protection. “He can’t hurt you here,” Travis promised.
She smiled down at him before jerking her head toward the stove. “The omelettes are going to burn.”
“You’re more important. I’ll make another one.”
Taking his hand, she tugged him to his feet. “I’m fine, but if you burn our breakfast, we’ll both be hungry.”
Travis pressed a kiss to her soft hair before taking his place in front of the stove. “I can’t let my girls go hungry.”
“Travis,” she whispered behind him.
He turned just as she closed the journal and slid it away from her. “I trust you.”
Bella had plenty of reasons to put up walls and shut people out, and the value of her trust wasn’t lost on him. She’d changed his own views of loyalty. When others had left him, she proved over and over again that love was still worth the risk.