Breaking Travis (The West Series Book 5) Read Online Free

anger.
    “He had such wonderful plans for you, for the town.” She took another step towards him. “He’d talked a lot in his last few weeks about you coming home.”
    He turned to go without another word.
    “We weren’t lovers.” She knew he’d been thinking it since the first night. “Your parents were my godparents.” She waited for his response, but he just continued to walk out. “You’re going to have to talk to me sometime,” she called after him.
    He stopped on the stairs and looked up at her. “I’ll stay to finish my father’s projects, and then I’m putting everything on the market and getting the hell out of this damn town.” He turned and continued walking down the stairs.
    She didn’t know what forced her to follow. Maybe it was the lost look in his eyes when she’d talked about his dad. He’d disappeared into the dark garage through the side door and when she pulled open the door, the darkness was almost blinding. She stumbled a little and almost fell down the small step just inside the door. Strong arms grabbed her by the waist and held her steady.
    “Thanks,” she mumbled, just before he pushed her back against the closed door of the garage.
    “Why are you here?” It sounded like a growl.
    Her heart skipped a beat. She’d always thought of him like a bear, even more so since he’d returned home. Now he was a caged one. She wondered why she’d willingly walked into a dark place, knowing he was in there.
    “You know why.” She threw her chin up, daring him to challenge her again. She’d held her own last night, and he had the shiner to prove it.
    He looked down at her in the darkness. She could see his dark eyes boring into her and something in her told her not to blink or look away.
    Finally, he dropped his arms from her shoulders and stepped back. “Leave me alone.” He turned and flipped on the overhead lights, which popped on with a loud hum.
    When he began looking through the pile of boxes against the back wall, she walked over and watched. “If you tell me what you’re looking for, maybe I can help.”
    He turned and glared at her. “Go away.” He threw a box in the pile he’d already gone through.
    She put her hands on her hips and frowned. Fine, if he didn’t want to be neighborly, that was okay with her. She turned to go, but then stopped to peek under the sheet that was covering an old car. Seeing what was underneath, she gasped and yanked at the cover.
    “Leave that alone,” he barked and reached for the cover.
    “It’s beautiful,” she said, tossing the car cover aside. “Why is it sitting in the garage, collecting dust?” She walked up and down the cherry red 1967 Mustang convertible. There were thick black stripes running down the front hood. As she walked around it, she trailed her finger along the glossy paint job. The interior was black leather and looked like it had recently been redone. The wheels were chrome and looked new. She bent and looked at a small dent in the fender and made a disapproving sound. “Too bad.” She shook her head.
    “Where did that dent come from?” he said right behind her, causing her to jump a little. She looked over her shoulder.
    “Is this yours?” She nodded towards the car.
    “No.” He frowned.
    “Your father’s?” she asked. When he shook his head no, she asked, “Your mother’s, then?” When he nodded this time, she understood. “Did your dad fix it up for her?”
    He nodded. “We spent almost six years rebuilding it for her. It was a surprise for their twenty-fifth anniversary.” He walked around the car and sighed. “So many hours locked up in the garage downtown that he’d rented. Just the two of us.” She watched him walk around the car as he talked about his time with his father, his eyes sad and downcast. “When we finally pulled it into the driveway”—he closed his eyes—“it was the most exciting thing in the world.”
    “Did your mother love it?” She smiled, looking at the car.