Chapter 4
4
B oots and Buckles was exactly what you’d expect from a small bar on the outskirts of town. Wood paneling lined the walls. Neon beer signs gave the place a little color. An actual sawdust dance floor made up the center of the place. A pit to the left of the door in the corner was cordoned off for bands to set up and play. Tables lined the dance floor, and a bar covered the back wall. Those sitting on the barstools had to turn around to see the dance floor. Some did. Others sat hunched over the bar in conversation with Jep as he made drinks. Most everyone wore jeans and boots. Tops were all over the place, from flannel to T-shirts to button-downs. A few of the ladies wore skirts or mini dresses. Chloe wore a miniskirt, black glasses, and braids. She’d received the advice a couple of years ago, tested the theory, and raked in almost double the tips in this getup. Go figure.
The night had been uneventful so far. Chloe had placed her travel mug inside the end of the bar and had made a point of drinking out of it a few times more than usual early on in her shift or when someone she didn’t recognize walked in the doors. Looking over her shoulder every single day would be a terrible way to live. She was fortunate to have others looking out for her.
From across a crowded room, she caught sight of a man entering the bar. The rim of his Stetson was down, hiding his face. Another peek revealed jeans that fit to perfection, along with well-worn boots. He was tall and muscled based on the ridges underneath his short-sleeved button-down shirt.
Chloe’s pulse kicked up a few notches, and it had nothing to do with fear. Warmth swirled low in her belly as an unseen force threatened to draw her right to him. She circled the back of the bar and took a deep breath. What was that all about? She hadn’t seen the man’s face. How could her heart beat so fast?
It had been a long, busy night. She tried to convince herself this was how exhaustion felt, except the nap she’d had earlier had reinvigorated her. Day four of a four-day straight work week meant achy feet and tired arms from slinging drinks. Tonight, she was very awake and aware.
Slowly, she blew out a long breath. Steeling her nerves, she stepped onto the floor again and made a beeline toward the Stetson-wearing man who’d taken a spot in the darkest corner.
With every forward step, her heart rate doubled.
Nothing prepared her for the reaction her body had when Stetson lifted his head and looked up. Travis?
Every voice inside her head screamed for her to turn around and run in the opposite direction before she gave away the attraction threatening to overwhelm her senses. Her cheeks flamed by the time she stood across the round table.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, praying he would assume the flush to her cheeks came with the job of running back and forth to the bar.
“Sparkling water with lime in a highball glass,” he said with a wink that threatened to shred all her defenses. The wink wasn’t flirting. Period. He was trying to get the message across that he wanted it to look like he was having a drink when, in reality, he was sober.
“Got it,” she said, hearing the embarrassing croak in her throat caused by a sudden dryness. What was she… sixteen?
“The lab results came back positive for trace amounts of ketamine,” he said, keeping his voice low enough that she had to lean in to hear. He was making certain no one else could. She got it. But this close, his all-male spicy scent filled her. “Thought you’d want to know.”
“I do.” She thanked him. It confirmed her fear that someone had been following her to capitalize on giving her the drug. Cold fingers closed around her spine. Someone had wanted her compliant. Why?
An involuntary shiver rocked her. Shaking it off to regain her perky, tip-making demeanor, she turned and walked away.
Chloe walked straight up to Jep and made the drink request, still trying to process that being followed had not been a mistake or figment of her imagination. They had a code phrase for drinks with no alcohol—heavy rocks. Jep gave a slight nod. He’d told her Travis had stopped by before the bar had opened. Jep had made it clear that he would drive her home himself if it would make her feel safer. She trusted Travis to do the job. He was serious about keeping folks safe in this county even though her heart had wished his promise had to do with caring for her.
He does care for you…and every other person who lives around here.
Once this entire situation was over, Chloe seriously needed to consider going on a date again. It had been too long since she’d had male company if she was weak at the knees for her brother’s friend. It was time to cast a net and see what was out there. Not everyone would let her down like her ex. She repeated those last words a couple of times so they would sink in.
She made the trek across the room with the filled highball glass on her tray. Halfway there, she had to give herself another pep talk so she wouldn’t turn around and run. Chloe seriously needed to get a grip. Trav represented safety when her world felt off balance. That was the reason for the overwhelming attraction and nothing else.
And if she had to remind herself of that a dozen times a minute, she would.
Not a minute later, Harlan was on the microphone. The lead singer of the country and western cover band Broke Promises tapped on the mic.
“If I can get everyone’s attention for just a second,” Harlan said to the sound of groans. The small sawdust dance floor had been hopping all night. “I have an announcement to make.”
The crowd settled.
“Y’all know there’s an upcoming rodeo…” Harlan liked to think of himself as a master suspense builder. He was correct about the rodeo. She’d forgotten all about the event, but it was scheduled for next weekend.
A few hell yeahs sounded, energizing the crowd.
“I’m here to tell you the big news,” Harlan continued. “My band has been invited to open for the new musical act.”
Chloe stood with a full drink tray, tapping her toe, waiting for the “big” announcement so she could get back to earning a living. She’d heard the headliner had pulled out at the last minute, but, honestly, she hadn’t planned on going so it didn’t make a hill of beans difference for her.
“The new band is bigger than y’all realize,” Harlan said with a wide smile.
“Tell us already,” shouted someone from the dance floor.
Harlan picked up the whisky he’d requested to stay full, which sat atop a bar stool at the back of the postage-stamp-sized stage. He took a drink and made a face before lifting the microphone back to his mouth. “The band I’m talking about is the one, the only…Cactus Rose Outlaws.”
Chloe dropped the tray.
Travis immediately hopped into action, clearing the area so no one accidentally stepped on the shattered glass. Or, worse yet, tripped and landed on the shards.
After mumbling an apology, Chloe ran off toward the back room.
Once a perimeter was set, Jep came around the bar faster than a tick on a dog in the woods. He had a broom in one hand.
“Hold up, folks,” Harlan said. “We’ll have you back on the dance floor in ten minutes.”
The promise seemed to ease the grumbles as everyone scooted back a few more steps. Travis took note of the announcement’s effect on Chloe. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. Was it a blast from her hidden past? He had questions.
As promised, ten minutes later, the mess had been cleaned up, and the band started up again. As did the dancing. The blip did little to quell the enthusiasm for boot-scootin’ in the room. Not a minute later, the dance floor moved in a big circle, once again full of Texas Two-steppers.
Travis headed to the backroom to talk to Chloe.
“I’d ask if everything was okay in here, but I try not to ask bad questions,” he said when he found her sitting on top of a crate of whiskey.
She looked at him. That one look gave away her secret. Grayson’s father was one of the band members. The thought of the man showing up in town had rattled her.
“Instead, I’ll ask what I can do to help,” he said.
Chloe studied him for a long moment. “How obvious was I just now?”
She was asking if everyone in the bar had figured her out. “Most folks have been drinking enough to be clueless. Jep is another story.”
“Based on your answer and the fact you didn’t hesitate, you’ve figured out my secret.”
He nodded. “I put two and two together, which doesn’t mean I know specifics.”
“Blake Swindell,” she said and then sucked in a burst of air. “And you’re the only person I’ve ever said that name to.”
“Can I ask a personal question?”
She nodded.
“Does he know about Grayson?”
“Of course he does,” she said defensively.
Damn. He hadn’t meant to offend her. “I apologize for the question. It’s just that no one would blame you for not telling him, what with his troubles.”
“The drug use was the reason I left him when I found out I was pregnant,” she admitted. “Blake said he wouldn’t be any good to a kid, and his manager would cut a check if I wanted to walk.” The hurt in her eyes nearly leveled Travis. “Can you imagine someone thinking that I wanted a payoff? Or that my child could be bought off to make us go away?” She squared her shoulders. “Needless to say, I walked out and told him not to worry about us. We’d be fine. Haven’t heard a word from him or that sleaze of a manager since then.”
“Sounds like you made the best decision you could under the circumstances,” Travis said, and he meant every word. His fists clenched at the number of men who enjoyed the process of making a baby but shied away from the responsibility if a pregnancy occurred. A childhood accident meant he could never have children of his own. The last three women he’d been in relationships with had walked out the second they’d gotten serious and he’d told them that having a family the natural way would be out of the question if they stuck around. He’d never seen the door slam so fast behind Tawny. She’d left her favorite pair of boots at his place, along with more items, and had never looked back. The donation box sat in the back of his personal vehicle. As much as he didn’t feel right disposing of someone else’s belongings, Tawny hadn’t left him much of a choice. Six months had passed, and she hadn’t returned one of his texts or phone calls. It was time.
“That means a lot to hear you say that, Trav.” Chloe’s response broke through his momentary reverie.
“It’s true,” he responded. If she expected him to judge her, she would be wrong. In his book, she was nothing but strong, intelligent, and capable. Everyone made mistakes. Most didn’t require a lifetime commitment. Not that Travis saw Grayson as a mistake other than tough timing. Chloe was an amazing mother and had a terrific kid. Travis thought the world of both of them. He also saw the other side of her exhaustion from the schedule she kept in order to spend more time with her son. “And you couldn’t have asked for a better kid.”
Chloe blinked a couple of times. Tears?
Hell’s bells, he hadn’t meant to make her cry. Now what?
“And you’re a helluva lot smarter than your no-good older brother,” Travis quipped, hoping the joke struck the right chord.
She laughed.
“That’s not a very high bar,” she shot back. Some of the spark returned to those incredible crystal clear, Caribbean-blue eyes.
“My bad,” Travis said, putting his hands up, palms out.
“I accept your surrender,” she cracked as she stood up and took a deep breath. “I better get back out there and make some money.”
“Go get ’em,” he said, returning her smile.
She paused long enough to say, “Thanks, Trav. It’s nice to have a real friend.”
Why did that last word strike like a bullet to his heart?
“Any time,” he responded. And he meant that, too. The more he got to know Chloe, the more he wanted to understand her. He was damn certain the mold had been broken after it made her.
As she lifted her hand to push the door open, he added, “I’ll be following you home tonight at a very safe distance.”
“Okay,” she said, not turning to look at him.
“I didn’t want to freak you out if you realized someone was behind you,” he said. “Though, I’ll be doing my damnedest to ensure you don’t know I’m there.”
“Makes sense,” she said, her hand frozen at the door. “Thank you for that. I can count on one hand the number of people I can depend on. I’m glad you’re one of them.”
With that, she shoved the door open and walked out.
Since her shift ended in an hour and a half, he figured this would be a good time to slip out for coffee. It would also allow him to snap a picture of the license plates in the parking lot. He had no reason to run the plates at this point, but it would make his life a lot easier if the perp who’d followed Chloe home the other day returned for a repeat performance.
It occurred to Travis that the perp who might have tried to follow her home could have been the father of her child. The bastard might be curious about his son. Want to see where Chloe lived so he could get a peek at the boy. Was he clean now and wanted to worm his way back into Chloe’s life?
Why did the thought of Grayson’s father returning to be part of his life cause a knot to form in Travis’s chest? Because it meant the guy would be part of Chloe’s life again. He was someone she’d been in love with at one point in time.
Would those old feelings resurface?
Travis walked through the lot once to make sure no one sat in their vehicle, waiting. There was a couple getting hot and heavy in a truck. Rather than embarrass them, Travis tapped on the back of the truck. Suddenly, they sat up, the engine started, and they pulled out of the lot. Travis took a snap of the license just in case, even though he highly doubted they were responsible for targeting Chloe.
When it came to protecting her, he would take no chances and leave nothing for granted. His diligence made him good at his job. Though to be fair, his biggest bust until recently had involved a meth lab in a trailer on the outskirts of his county.
The county had been relatively free of serious crime until the serial killer that had stalked Bree, Kade’s now wife.
Travis was reminded of the story about the first human to run a four-minute mile. His name had been Roger-something. Once he’d smashed through the record, others soon followed. Roger’s story was a positive one about breaking new ground and how that showed others what was possible.
Was Saddle Junction kicking off a sinister version of the same story?
Now that his old boss, the sheriff, turned out to be a dangerous criminal had stalked Bree, was the town on the map for someone else to do something similar to Chloe?
Was the person who’d followed her planning to finish the work that the Reaper had started? Or was this personal?
Travis intended to figure it out. He needed to continue throwing theories into the theoretical box and shaking it to make pieces fall out. At some point, the pieces would snap together. He made a second pass through the lot, this time snapping pics of plates one by one.
And then he saw something that caught his eye a second before an object slammed into the back of his head.