Texas Whirlwind Read online

  ****

  Lucy stared out into the night as her friend Patty drove along the road. The staccato of her fingertips on the dashboard matched the restless tapping of her sandaled feet. Hitting a few parties with her friend to forget her suspicions hadn’t helped.

  For some reason Lucy didn’t buy Travis’s excuse of a medical emergency. Of course when she married him, she’d have to get used to that—unless she could convince him to come work in her father’s big clinic in Houston. There, he’d have a lighter workload and more of a chance for advancement. In Galveston, he’d remain the kind of doctor clingy people would call for every little thing. She scowled into the darkness.

  “Hey,” Patty said. “Isn’t that Travis’s truck?”

  Lucy swung around as Patty slowed her car and stopped. Across the road, she saw a black Ford pickup—and recognized the license plate. Feeling a slow burn creep up her face, she jumped out of the car. She marched across the road, stomped up the steps of the house, and banged on the door.

  After a moment, the door opened to reveal a diminutive, disheveled blonde woman. Lucy didn’t waste time on her. What grabbed her attention was the sight of Travis just behind her...buttoning up his shirt.

  ****

  “Not a word, buster,” Lucy said through gritted teeth as they drove away from Emma’s house. “Not a word until we get to my apartment.”

  Travis gripped the steering wheel with one hand and raked through his hair with the other. “I already told you it wasn’t what it looked like.”

  He glanced over at Lucy and saw she’d crossed her arms over her chest. He completed the drive to her place in resigned silence, wondering why he felt so angry. Being at Emma’s might look suspicious, but it rankled him that Lucy didn’t trust him.

  He thought back to when he’d seen Lucy for the first time. He’d met her at a medical conference she’d attended with her father. She’d stayed by his side for the rest of that day. After that, she called to ask him out.

  At first, he’d been flattered. It was nice avoiding the little games people played. Lucy was someone who saw what she wanted and took it. They’d dated on and off for a few months now, but she had grand plans for the future, and Travis found himself hesitant to really open his heart. Tonight didn’t help matters any.

  After parking his truck, he followed Lucy into her apartment. She flicked on some low lights and spun around with her hands on her hips. “Some medical emergency, huh?”

  He leaned against the door. “I was doing a favor for a friend.”

  “A favor! Why were you putting your clothes back on?”

  Travis rolled his eyes. “You know good and well I wasn’t doing anything immoral. When I helped Emma, I got smeared with vomit, if you must know.”

  “Your shirt looks clean to me.”

  “That’s because she washed it so I could wear it home.”

  Lucy’s green eyes burned in her face, making her even more beautiful, but at the moment, Travis only felt disgust for the conversation. He was tired and wanted to go home.

  Lucy removed her coat and tossed it onto the back of a curved couch, revealing a red dress he hadn’t seen before. “So, who is this Emma person?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Someone I knew in high school. I haven’t seen her since then. She was frantic about her kids being sick. I decided I would see her personally since her girls have just come from a third world country.”

  Lucy’s color receded somewhat. She turned and walked toward the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink?”

  “No thanks. I’ve had a tiring night taking care of two sick kids, and I’d like to go home.”

  Turning around, Lucy softened her tone. “If we’d gone out as planned, we’d still be going strong.” She approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Can you blame me for being jealous?” she whispered.

  His arms automatically went around her waist. Travis reminded himself what a great girl she was—smart, witty, beautiful. He dipped his head and kissed her, disappointed when his feelings didn’t match his thoughts.

  She smiled when he released her, apparently mollified. “You know, if you joined Dad’s practice, you wouldn’t feel compelled to run around making house calls. You could have a life.”

  He frowned. “We’ve been through this before. Maybe someday when my career is burning out I’ll want a cushy job like that. Right now I enjoy working with the people I grew up with.” He looked her in the eye. “Please stop asking me.”

  Lucy lowered her gaze and stepped from his arms. “I admire your dedication, Travis, I really do. But you know what happened to my brother. He got over-committed and it destroyed his marriage. I don’t want that to happen to us.”

  Travis averted his gaze to hide a flash of anger. They’d never spoken of marriage—their relationship had always been casual—and he didn’t like feeling of being cornered one bit. “I need to go,” he said, unable to keep the chill out of his voice. He knew his tone stung by the way her eyes widened. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Before she could respond, Travis strode from the apartment and firmly closed the door.

  4

  Gives plaintive ditties to the

  heedless wind.

  —William Wordsworth

  Emma peeked in the girls’ bedroom the next morning and rejoiced when she found them playing on the bed with stuffed animals. She gathered them in her arms and held them tight.

  Katrina lifted her big brown gaze to Emma’s and touched her face. “Mwen grangou.”

  Emma smiled. “Hunger is a good sign, I think. Let’s get you dressed and then we’ll see about breakfast.”

  She dressed the girls in tank tops and shorts, glad for the time she’d spent in Haiti. Otherwise she might not understand what they were saying. Their language of Creole, or Kreyol, was a curious mix of French with an African influence, and took some getting used to. At the orphanage, teachers held classes to teach the children English, helping their transition to American homes.

  She lifted the girls, one on each hip, and made her way to the kitchen. The room held a corner nook as well as a bar with stools, which looked out over the living room. Pale cantaloupe-colored walls and lemon-checked curtains made the space bright in the morning light.

  The twins waited patiently at the nook table while she retrieved a bottle of fruit flavored electrolyte drink from the refrigerator. After pouring a small amount into two tippee cups, she capped them and handed them to the girls.

  Katrina and Kendra both drained their cups, and looked at her as if hoping for more.

  “That’s all for now, I’m afraid. If you can keep that down, I’ll give you a little bit of banana later.”

  The girls gazed at her with solemn expressions. Emma smiled sadly. She almost wished they’d throw a nice, healthy temper tantrum at not getting their way. Instead, they seemed to have low expectations.

  Sighing, she brought the girls into the living room and settled them onto the couch on either side of her. From a haphazard stack of books on the coffee table, she picked one with bright photographs of animals and began to read, hoping to distract them a little from their hunger.

  And maybe it will distract me from thoughts of Travis. Emma doubted it. She’d had a terrible night trying to sleep—her mind incessantly replaying the moments when that woman had arrived at the door. Her first thought had been one of reluctant admiration. The woman, obviously Travis’s date, was not only beautiful, but had a smooth, coiffed look that denoted money and social standing. Looking down at her for-comfort attire, Emma felt even more diminished by comparison. How could she, pale and insignificant, measure up to such radiance in looks and personality?

  No competition.

  Of course, I’m not competing!

  A knock on the door made her jump. Leaving the girls on the couch, Emma got up to answer it. She took an involuntary step back when she saw Travis on the other side of the screen.

  His hair, peeping out from under the ubiqui
tous black Stetson, looked damp as if he’d recently showered. He wore a snug pair of blue jeans with a denim shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, along with black boots. He held the bag he’d brought the night before.

  Not knowing what to say, Emma pushed open the screen door. As he stepped inside, she wished she’d spent more time on her appearance. Barefoot, with a flowered blouse, cut-offs, and her hair fastened in a sloppy twist, she felt self-conscious. She inwardly shrugged. Travis was unavailable—and she was uninterested—so her appearance shouldn’t matter at all.

  “I didn’t expect to see you after last night.” Emma bit her lip, wishing she could take back the inopportune words.

  Travis’s face flushed. “I wanted to stop by and check on the girls. How are they doing this morning?”

  She attempted a smile. “They didn’t throw up anymore and were hungry when they woke up.”

  He spotted Kendra and Katrina on the couch and walked over to where they sat. After taking their temperatures, looking at their throats, and listening to their lungs, he smiled. “They look good, Emma. Have they eaten anything this morning?”

  Emma glanced at the kitchen clock. “They each had three ounces of Pedialyte about a half an hour ago.”

  Travis crouched down next to the girls and drew a couple of frozen pops from a paper sack inside his bag. He looked over at her and grinned. “I thought these might be better than lollipops.”

  While he opened the treats and handed them to the twins, Emma furrowed her brow. “Is sugar good for them after last night?”

  “These are made from an electrolyte solution, and being frozen makes them go down a little easier.” He gave a shudder. “Have you ever tasted the stuff? Ugh.”

  Emma laughed. “Do you always taste your own medicines? Besides, it doesn’t look like Kendra and Katrina mind the flavor.” While she watched the girls enjoy their treats, she noticed red streams running down their little arms from the quickly melting pops. “Uh oh.”

  Emma hustled the girls to the nook table, and got out bibs and bowls. Her mother wouldn’t appreciate stains on her couch.

  Travis followed, his smile crooked. “Sorry. I didn’t think.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m still new at this myself.” She brushed a lock of hair from her face. “It was very thoughtful of you to stop by.”

  He came and stood next to her. “I’m sorry about what happened last night. Lucy got the wrong idea of why I was here, I’m afraid.”

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me,” she said quickly. After an awkward pause, Emma couldn’t help but ask the next question. “Is Lucy...your girlfriend?”

  Travis put his hands in his pockets and didn’t answer right away. “Yeah.”

  Turning her gaze to the girls, Emma struggled to sort through her feelings. Disappointment that he was taken—relief he wasn’t available—which made him somehow seem safer, and a touch of anger at his wishy-washiness about a girl who obviously had very strong feelings for him. Travis, his chin down, eyes averted, seemed ill at ease.

  He cleared his throat. “So, what are your plans for the day?”

  Emma studied his expression. “Now that the girls seem to be on the mend, I might be able to get a couple of things done.”

  “Like?”

  Emma wondered why he was being so nosy. “Well, they need a stroller and I need a car. Wheels all around.”

  Travis smiled. “Would you like some company?”

  Leaning against the nook bench, she composed her features, not wanting to reveal the sudden flip-flop of her heart. “I didn’t know doctors had whole days off at a time.”

  He smiled. “My partner is on call for the weekend. We switch with another clinic so we can all have regular breaks.”

  Emma regarded him with trepidation. Then she glanced over at the twins. “After last night, maybe I shouldn’t take them out.”

  “If you had a doctor along, would you feel more comfortable?”

  She didn’t know what to say. A part of her wanted to spend the day with a handsome man like Travis, and maybe even relive some of the forgotten feelings of years past. Another part saw red flags all over the place.

  Her shoulders drooped. She had enough on her plate without adding emotional intrigue to the mix. “Are you sure that’s wise, Travis? I wouldn’t want, um, Lucy to feel funny about this.”

  He gave her a steady look. “Consider this a follow-up appointment for the girls. This way I can keep an eye on them and help you shop in the process.” He blew out a breath. “I talked to Lucy this morning and I told her I’d be checking on the girls. I’m not going behind her back, Emma.”

  His gaze implored her. She wanted to believe him. But after her stormy breakup with Stephen, she’d succumbed to a new wariness regarding men. Her reservation didn’t last long, however when she thought of his offer. “I’ll go change if you wouldn’t mind watching the twins for a minute.”

  Travis grinned. “Sure ‘nuff.”

  Emma shook her head in chagrin before going to her bedroom. She changed into a pale blue sundress with a coral pink pattern of tulips, French-braided her wispy hair, and put on a little make-up, all the while trying to ignore the traitorous surge of her pulse.

  Returning to the kitchen to clean up the girls, she found Travis sat at the table making funny faces at them. Their shy smiles tugged at her heart. He looked up at her, the warmth of his gaze making her suddenly nervous.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded, drawing in a nervous breath. While Travis loaded up the girls into their car seats, Emma stuffed the diaper bag with everything she could think of, including several changes of clothes, diapers, wipes, cups, the electrolyte drink, little lidded bowls of Cheerios, bananas, and a couple of stuffed teddy bears for good measure. She double-checked the contents of the bag. Do I have everything? She finally zipped the bag closed. I sure have a long way to go before I’ll feel confident with this motherhood thing.

  Since Travis knew the town better than she, Emma let him drive. She leaned her head back, enjoying the temporary help. Although she’d only had the girls on her own for the last weeks, the adoption process itself had taken months of applications, legal forms, money transfers and waiting, waiting, waiting. It had been non-stop stress. And despite her angst with her parents, she was thankful for the generous inheritance she received a few years ago. Now, living off the interest alone, she had the luxury of being able to stay home with the girls.

  “Galveston has changed a bit since you left,” Travis said, interrupting her reverie.

  Emma looked out her window and gazed at the baked blue enamel color of the Texas sky, along with Galveston’s old Mission, Mediterranean, and Victorian architecture. Images super-imposed over the views flickered through her mind—times she and Travis spent downtown or on the beach, under a starlit sky—

  She closed her eyes for a moment, struggling to stop the flow of memories. He pulled into a parking space in front of a store called Baby Boutique.

  “First item of the day. A stroller.”

  Glad for a respite from her inner thoughts, she smiled. “I’ve hardly gone anywhere because it’s so difficult taking the girls without one.”

  Travis opened the side door of the car and pulled Katrina from her seat, handing her to Emma. Next, he got Kendra. She wrapped her thin arms around his neck. “After we get the stroller, we can let them have a bite to eat. I think their stomachs have settled down enough.”

  He seemed relaxed with the girls. Emma had worried what people’s response might be to a mixed-race family. She should’ve known Travis would never treat anyone differently.

  Inside the store, which was filled to overflowing with weekend shoppers, he led the charge to a large display of strollers. There were three double strollers to choose from. Emma was inclined just to take the cheapest, but Travis put the salesman through his paces, asking detailed questions and scrutinizing all the features of each stroller.

  Finally he crouched down to where the twins st
ood next to him. “Which do you like best, little ladies?”

  Kendra put her fingers in her mouth. Katrina simply held out her arms to be picked up. Emma scooped her up and kissed her cheek.

  “Well, Emma, what’s the verdict?”

  She shrugged. “I like the pink one. It’s prettiest.”

  “But likely to show the dirt faster. Don’t you think the navy blue one with the little white flower print would look better longer?”

  “I guess so. Why don’t you choose for me.”

  “You’re the one who’ll be using it.”

  “The blue one then. It’s about the same price.”

  Travis smiled. “You’re making this way too easy. Lucy would be in here all day unable to make a decision.”

  Emma bit her lip and looked away, but not before she caught the flash of regret on Travis’s face.

  “Emma, I’m sorry—”

  She held up her hand. “Since she’s your girlfriend, it’s natural she’d come up in conversation. But I’d still appreciate it if you didn’t make comparisons.”

  “The blue one, please,” Travis quickly told the salesman.

  The salesman nodded, picked up one of the boxes behind the display model, and led the way to the cash register.

  ****

  Travis trailed miserably behind Emma, wondering why he kept blowing it with her. She was right. He shouldn’t be comparing her to Lucy. He couldn’t seem to help it. His attraction to Emma should’ve died out a long time ago—and he thought it had, but spending time with her resurrected long-buried feelings. Where did that leave Lucy? Where did that leave him?

  After Emma paid for the stroller, Travis hoisted the box onto a shopping cart and they made their way outside. At the car, he opened the box. Perhaps if he assembled the stroller, he could redeem himself in Emma’s eyes.

  It took about fifteen minutes of re-reading the directions and making several mistakes, but he finally set it up. He reached for Kendra and put her in. Next came her twin. The girls looked up at him from the brand new, stylish, more-equipped-than-a-Winnebago stroller—and burst into tears.