Chapter 16
16
T ravis parked and then stood outside his truck. He stared at Guy’s trailer, wishing the suspect would come outside. He could circle back. Right now, he wanted to pay a visit to the last known address for Beau’s mother and see if the landlord had a forwarding address or any idea as to her whereabouts.
Chloe parked next to her trailer before joining him.
“Ready to make the drive to investigate Beau’s mother?” he asked.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the next. “I’m having second thoughts about going with you.”
“Why is that?”
“Beau is my half-brother,” she said. “If his intentions are pure, I might be sending a bad signal by going behind his back to check up on his mother.”
He’d given that a half-second thought on the way from the gate to the trailer. “It’s a valid point.”
“Right,” she agreed. “Plus, I’d like to swing by the ranch and check on everyone. I’d get a better read on Annmarie in person than over the phone. And I’d like to see my son while I’m there.”
The ranch should be safe. It was broad daylight. He’d offer to drop her off if he thought she’d agree. “I’ll follow you up until I need to break off to head to the highway.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Chloe said.
The thought of being away from her even for a few hours struck hard, catching him off guard. If she was going anywhere but the ranch, he’d have an even more difficult time being apart. Kade would watch out for her.
“Will I see you at the ranch when you’re back?” she asked.
“Yes,” he confirmed before they both reclaimed their seats.
Travis followed Chloe until the turn-off toward the highway. He tapped his thumb on the steering wheel, focusing on the stretch of road in front of him. An ache formed in his chest. Going to Austin meant making progress on the investigation. If Beau’s mother was involved, Travis intended to find out.
The drive felt longer than usual. He managed to fight the temptation to call and check on Chloe. She would have reached out if anything had happened. His protective instincts had shifted into overdrive. He needed to take a chill pill.
And he was beginning to think he needed to have a conversation with Chloe once this case was over. Could he tell her that he had feelings for her?
Chloe banged a U-turn the minute Trav was out of sight. He would disapprove of her visit to Craig’s motel, and she needed to see if Blake was sober now. She needed an answer to the burning question as to whether or not he was working some kind of scheme to finagle his way into Grayson’s life. Or hers. However, Blake’s desire for her back was laughable even if he hadn’t broken her heart. The pain of losing him was nothing in comparison to the thought of having and losing Trav.
The thought caused her foot to shift to the brake pedal and hover over it.
Being with someone like Trav— really being with him and losing a love like that—would devastate her. She’d been in love with the idea of love, basically infatuated with Blake. But Trav was a real break-you-into-pieces-if-it-fell-apart kind of love.
Knowing he would be upset by the fact she hadn’t been completely honest with him about where she was headed was almost enough to make her turn around. Almost.
Since Craig was a creature of habit, it wasn’t hard for her to figure out where he would stay—the nicest place near the venue. That left two options, and she guessed the correct motel on the first try, confirming with one phone call. It hadn’t been difficult, considering she’d had a fifty-fifty chance to start with, and one place offered free breakfast. Craig would go for the free breakfast.
There was a strong chance Blake would be sleeping on the tour bus. Said bus could be parked in the lot, meaning she had a better than fifty-fifty chance of accidentally running into her ex. Those were odds she didn’t like so much. Cross that bridge when you come to it.
Less than thirty minutes later, she pulled into the motel parking lot. Sure enough, the tour bus was parked on the edge of the lot, curtains drawn. If any of the band members saw her, the jig would be up.
Logic said Blake had moved on years ago and couldn’t care less if she lived or died. Unless that small seed of goodness inside him had grown into a vine strong enough to choke out the bad and surface. Then, and only then, would he care.
And that was a longshot considering how deep he’d descended into his addictions.
Shame.
Chloe stood in front of motel room Number 4. She raised her fist to knock, then froze. Tingles in her stomach kept her hand in the air. For a split-second, she thought about changing her mind, turning around, getting in her car and the hell out of there. But she’d been raised to fear nothing.
With a sharp sigh, she knocked.
“Hold on,” came the familiar voice. She wondered how much, if anything, had changed about Craig in the years since she’d seen him last.
The door swung open several seconds later.
“What the hell?” Craig’s eyes widened with shock. Was it really so surprising to see her again? Didn’t he know she was from Saddle Junction? He cleared his throat and lowered his voice, “I mean, how the hell are you?”
Craig stepped into the door frame, blocking her view of his room. Panic struck at the thought Blake might be inside. Craig had always been tall and large but had put on more weight. The term “big-boned” came to mind. He had on jeans and a plain white sweater. A heavy gold chain hung around his neck with an oversized gold cross dangling from it.
“Who is it?” came the whisky-soaked female voice from inside the room.
“Nice necklace,” Chloe said with a smile. “May I come in?” Standing in front of his door where Blake or one of the bandmates could see her was a bad idea. She was reasonably certain only two people were occupying the motel room, Craig and a woman.
“I’ll be right back,” he said out of the side of his mouth. His hair was a mess, and his belt was undone. The top snap of his jeans was open, and he had red lipstick smeared on his face. He turned his full attention to Chloe. “Not in here. Let’s take a walk instead.”
Since she wasn’t the one calling the shots, she gave a curt nod. With luck, Craig would be the only person she saw today. Or, better yet, who saw her.
“I didn’t realize you were from around these parts,” Craig said after stepping outside and closing the door behind him. Stress cracks showed his age. Or, more accurately, had aged him ten years.
Why didn’t she believe him?
“Well, I am,” she said. “How did this stop come about on the tour?”
“They needed us,” Craig said. His bloodshot eyes and the general smell of booze had her wondering if he’d fallen off the wagon along with Blake. Did she dare ask about her ex?
Only if you can handle the answer.
Deciding she could, she pushed ahead, gathering courage with each question. “How’s the band doing?”
“Good,” Craig answered quickly. Too quickly?
What was he hiding?
“And Blake?” she asked.
“Fifteen months of sobriety,” Craig said with a hollow forcefulness.
“That’s good to hear.”
“Yeah, it’s been good on the road,” Craig continued. “Blake’s never been better at the mic. The band is good. Everyone is doing great. And you?”
“Same,” she said. “No problems here.”
“And the boy of yours?” Craig asked. “He doing all right?”
“Yes,” she said, purposely not offering up a name. She took note of the fact she hadn’t mentioned having a boy. “In fact, I was just making sure this stop on the tour didn’t have anything to do with me or my kid.”
“Nope,” Craig insisted. “Fact is, I didn’t even realize you were from around here.”
Since she was already feeling guilty about not being honest with Trav about this visit, she figured she better wrap this conversation up. Craig was lying. A muscle under his eye kept twitching, which had always been his tell. He didn’t appear ready or willing to be honest with her, so this was a waste of time.
“Thanks for seeing me,” she said, stopping. She turned toward her vehicle. “I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d stop by.” She held out her hand. “Good seeing you again.”
Craig faced her and then took the offering. His hand felt clammy in hers. Why did he feel like a sleazy salesman? “Are you planning on paying Blake a visit?”
“Why would I do that?” she asked, realizing she’d wrinkled her face in disgust.
“It’s probably for the best if you don’t,” Craig said. “Even though he’s clean and all, it might set him back if he sees you again.”
“Because…?” she asked, wondering how he’d arrived at that conclusion.
“Past love and all that,” he said by way of explanation. “Might take him back to the place when he was a mess.” Craig took in a sharp breath. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s doing good and all.” The man was repeating himself. She got it. Blake was fine. “But you know how fragile these things can be.”
Actually, she didn’t. She didn’t have any idea how that worked because she wasn’t built to break others down like Blake had done her.
“I’ll be off now,” she said.
“Even though he’s sober now, he would’ve messed the kid up,” Craig murmured with a look of apology.
Did he need to keep mentioning that Blake was sober now? Or that he was doing better as far away from her and his son as possible?
“Got it,” she said, thinking it was a mistake coming here.
Chloe couldn’t get back to her car fast enough. She couldn’t believe she’d risked damaging Trav’s trust over this. Guilt had her wanting to call him the minute she hopped back in the driver’s seat and left the parking lot.
Telling him would have to wait. Chloe intended to tell him about the visit and the reason she’d felt compelled to go alone. Hopefully, he would understand. Either way, she didn’t want any secrets between them. Secrets destroyed trust, and her relationship with Trav meant more to her than she was ready to acknowledge.
As she exited the lot, she glanced in the rearview mirror. Lo and behold, Blake came stumbling out of the tour bus, shirtless and looking just like she remembered…drunk.
Craig was a liar.
Why lie to her?
Travis’s trip to Austin yielded zero results. Beau’s mother was either being protected by those close to her or off the grid, as they all claimed. It was getting dark outside by the time Travis turned onto the ranch property. Chloe had texted hours ago that she was fine and would meet him there. Maybe he could ask Beau outright if he had contact information for his mother. Beau might not give it, but you never knew until you asked.
He parked. Chloe came outside, her stride purposeful.
“What’s going on?” he asked as she approached, her face pinched.
“I have to tell you something,” she said, stopping a couple of feet in front of him, her fingers twisted together.
His immediate thought went to something being wrong with her child. “Is Grayson okay?”
“What?” She shook her head. “Yes, he’s fine. That’s not what I want to talk about.”
“Then, what?” he asked, confused.
She dropped her gaze to the ground. Not a good sign.
“I took a detour before coming to the ranch,” she said with a sharp sigh.
“Where did you go?”
“To see my ex’s manager,” she said. “I figured he was in town and knew his habits well enough to narrow the motel down to two. A quick call was all it took to find him.”
“Was your ex there?”
“Yes, but—”
He put a hand up to stop her. Better to be disappointed now before he fell for Chloe than later when the loss would gut-punch him. “What did the manager say?”
“Craig.” Her gaze bore into his. “That’s his name. He played like he didn’t know I lived here, which is hard to believe.” Her fingers tangled even more. “We might not have been close, but he has a remarkable memory, so it caught me off guard because I remember talking about my hometown and my upbringing in the early days on the tour bus. But that’s not even the point of why I’m telling you this.”
“Then, what is?” His irritation levels were rising. He caught himself flexing and releasing his fingers to relieve some of the stress.
“I wasn’t honest with you, and I wanted to clear the air,” she said.
“You did,” he said, his guard up. “Is that all?”
Chloe stood there and blinked at him for a few seconds. “I guess so.” She sucked in a breath. “And I wanted to apologize.”
“For which part?” he quipped. “The part where you put yourself in danger? Or the part where you lied to me? And why? What did you have to gain?”
“I thought Craig would talk to me if I was alone,” she said. “And I wanted to see if this gig was a cover for Blake to find me and Grayson.” She placed a fisted hand on her hip. “And, to be honest, I didn’t think you’d want me to go by myself.”
The question he wanted to ask died on his tongue. Asking about what she’d said to her ex when she saw him would only rub salt in an open wound. Travis’s feelings were getting out in front of him when it came to Chloe. Best to nip it in the bud. An annoying voice in the back of his mind said it was a little too late for that.
He ignored it. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to go by yourself for reasons that should be obvious, considering everything you’ve been through,” he stated, biting back his anger.
Chloe met his glare for a long moment. And then she turned and walked away before he could calm down enough to apologize.
Her admission of ditching him to be alone with her ex cut to the quick. Funny, because he had begun to think they could spend more time together. Maybe see where things could go.
Now?
He couldn’t risk it.
Could he?
Should he give her space or ask her to talk it out?