The Best Bride Part 7

"a week is seven days. this is day two. if i have to tie you up, i will, but won't that be hard to explain to the neighbors?"

elizabeth grinned and held up her hands in defeat."

"i give. just don't make me laugh. it hurts too much. if i promise to be good, can i at least sit here for a little while?"

i, louise looked stern. "for a few minutes. then i want you to go lie down until mandy gets home."

"yes, ma'am: '

louise took the seat next to her and finished pouring in the mix. "i remember when i was little my mama used to make cupcakes for me."

"mandy loves them."

"so do i: the older woman smiled. " i haven't baked anything in ages. i wonder if alfred would like some cake with his dinner. " she thought for a minute. " no, he's still trying to lose weight. " she leaned forward." alfred is a beagle and they tend to get a little heavy when they age."

elizabeth hoped louise was only kidding about making a cake for her dog, but she wasn't completely sure and she didn't want to ask.

louise stirred in the other ingredients, then started pouring the batter into the cupcake pan. "so, i heard you and travis fighting. you want to talk about it?"

"you aren't one to beat around the bush, are you?"

louise shrugged. "i'm pretty straightforward," she admitted' it would probably be easier if i'd just learn to keep my mouth shut. maybe i'll get it eventually. but you seem like a real nice lady. mandy is the sweetest little girl and i've found you can usually judge a mother by her children. travis haynes is one of my favorite people on earth. why, if i was five or six years younger, i might just risk my heart on him." she paused, then shook her head. " on second thought, i'll leave the haynes boys to the rest of you. i've already had my heart broken once by that family."

it was too much information to absarb, elizabeth thought, not knowing whether to laugh, cry, be insulted or flattered.

"he's a good man," louise said, carrying the full cupcake pans over to the oven and sliding them inside. "qoq"

"travis."

"i know that."

"he was just doing his job, asking all those questions, i mean." louise poured herself a cup of coffee. when she held up the pot, elizabeth shook her head. " of course any woman would know you're that girl's mother through and through. she's got your smile. her daddy must be some kind of looker."

"he is," elizabeth said. sam certainly was good-looking not nearly as handsome as travis, but attractive enough to make any woman look twice. she'd been so caught up by his face and body, the charm and easy smile, she'd never thought to question anything except her good fortune. imagine little elizabeth abbott catching someone like sam. only, she hadn't exactly caught him.

"so, you still mad at travis?"

"no. i understand that he had questions." but she wasn't willing to give him all his answers. still she couldn't blame him for asking. she'd expected him to wonder what her story was, but she hadn't expected him to come up with kidnapping! ' "i'm glad: louise sipped her coffee, then glanced at the clock over the stove. " looks like it's time for me to leave. travis and mandy should be back in an hour or so. you're not going to get out of control and start vacuuming, are you?"

"i promise i'll behave."

louise set down her cup. she picked up her purse from the counter, then crossed to the table, bent over and gave elizabeth a hug. "i'm here if you want to talk," she said. "i might not have any answers, but i'm a great listener."

elizabeth hugged her back. the other woman's perfume was a clingy oriental scent that somehow suited her perfectly louise stepped back and waved, then left the kitchen. the back door banged shut behind her and the kitchen was silent.

elizabeth stared around the empty room, wis.h.i.+ng the digital clock would tick so there would be some sound. she was completely and totally alone. she wasn't afraid to be on her own. it was the questions that came to her, making her wonder if she'd made the right decisions for herself, and more importantly, for mandy. had she had other options and not realized it? would she ever know how many clues she'd missed? she'd lsn worse than a fool.

the timer on the oven clicked down another minute. she thought about louise who had offered to be a friend. elizabeth knew that she needed to make some friends. she desperately needed someone to talk to and have fun with. louise was a little offbeat, but that didn't matter. the reason elizabeth couldn't reach out to her was because of herself, not because of the other woman. she couldn't dare be friends with anyone. she would always have to hold some part of herself back, be it from louise or travis.

thank G.o.d he hadn't guessed the truth. she leaned back in the chair and sighed. every time she thought she'd put it all behind her, something happened to remind her again.

she tried to think about nothing more complicated than whether or not she had the strength to frost the cupcakes. in the end, she decided she didn't and pulled the m.u.f.fin pans from the oven and left them to cool. she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, but she couldn't escape her past even there. so she tried thinking about other things. about the kiss.

her eyes flew open. not that. but now that she'd remembered it, she found it hard to forget the soft brush of his lips on hers yesterday. today, when he'd sat next to her on the sofa and they'd shaken hands, for a moment she'd thought he might kiss her. softly, tenderly, holding her close in those strong arms.

he carried her so easily, but that was an impersonal gesture made to aid an invalid. she wanted to be held close by a man who needed to hold a woman. she wanted to know if travis could make her feel safe and secure in his embrace, if he could loan her a little of his strength and confidence foolish dreams. she hadn't answered all his questions. they both knew that. he might believe that she hadn't broken any laws, but she'd seen the look in his eyes. he was reserving judgment on her until he knew the truth. imagine what he would think of her then.

the back door opened and she heard mandy's laughter as she came into the kitchen."

"mommy, mommy, where are you?"

"in here," she called, sitting up slowly and leaning against the headboard.

mandy flew into the room. she had several papers in one hand and her bear in the other.

"how was your first day of school?" elizabeth asked, holding out her arms.

her daughter scrambled onto the bed and threw herself into her embrace. elizabeth held her close. even the pain in her side didn't matter, she thought, as she stroked her daughter's hair.

mandy leaned back and knelt on the bed. "i had fun." "

"did you?"

mandy nodded. "miss. brickman says we're going to learn to read."

elizabeth touched mandy's paint-smudged cheek. her dress was wrinkled, her ribbons loose and coming undone, but there was a bright glow of happiness in her child's eyes that made her heart lighten. maybe she had made the right decision after all.

"you already know how to read."

"i know." mandy grinned. "she said she'd help me learn better. and we're going to do counting, too. here." she thrust out her papers. "i did these."

elizabeth looked at the drawing of what she was pretty sure was supposed to be this large house, a sheet with mandy's name painstakingly spelled out in a childish scrawl, and a note from miss. brickman outlining the homework schedule for the first half of the year.

"you're supposed to sign this one," mandy said, pointing at the note from the teacher. "we're going to have homework, just like the big kids." she sounded delighted. elizabeth wondered how long that would last.

"someone's been busy."

she looked up and saw travis standing in the doorway. he held a tray containing a plate with several chocolate cupcakes and two gla.s.ses of milk.

mandy's blue eyes got big. "mommy, you made cupcakes for me."

"i thought you weren't supposed to get out of bed," travis said."

"louise did all the work."

"why don't i believe that?"

"don't ask me, because she did: '

"sure." he put the tray down on her nightstand, then pulled mandy off the bed. "maybe you should change into play clothes before you get crumbs all over that dress. what do you think?"

mandy looked at her mother, who nodded, then sighed. "okay, but don't eat all the cupcakes before i get back."

"we won't," elizabeth said and watched her daughter scamper out of the room. she glanced at the cupcakes and saw they'd been iced. "thank you," she said. "i meant to get back to that, but i must have dozed off."

"hey, i opened a can. how hard could it be?" he perched on the edge of the bed. "you're not overdoing it, are you?"

exhaustion overwhelmed her with all the subtlety of being hit by a large truck. she tried to smile, but suddenly she was too tired. "maybe just a little."

he leaned forward. for a second she thought he was going to kiss her. she found out she had just enough energy left to get excited by the thought, then was disappointed when all he did was lay his hand against her forehead.

"no fever," he said, "but you should stay in bed for the rest of the day. the last thing you need is to land yourself back in the hospital."

"i know." she picked at the bed cover, then looked at him. he'd shaved that moroing, but the shadowy darkness of his beard highlighted his strong jaw. he had dark eyes framed by thick lashes. a firm mouth that was threatening to curve into a smile. nothing in his expression reminded her of the questions he'd asked that morning. yet that conversation sat in the room like a rather large intrusive elephant.

"i'm sorry," she said.

his expression hardened, and his mouth pulled into a straight line"you don't have to aqologize."

"i want to. you've been very kind to me."

"this is a full-service community."

she chuckled, then clutched her side. "travis, don't make me laugh. it still hurts: ' "

"okay, i'll be serious."

he leaned closer, bracing one hand on the far side of her body. she wanted to reach up and puli him close. ahe settled on inhaling the soent of his body. he smelled like a fall day, with a hint of musk thrown in for temptation."

"tell me your secret," he said softly.

when she'd first met sam she'd thought she'd loved him with her whole heart and soul. he only had to look at her to make her want to be with him, next to him, touched by him. she'd learned later that her feelings for sam proctor were more about the newness of a physical relations.h.i.+p than anything else. but it had already been too late. she'd committed the ultimate foolish act and fallen in love with him.

nothing about sam's practiced charm had prepared her for travis's lethal combination of strength and concern. it would be so easy to lean on those shoulders she admired, to tell him everything. but to what end? once he knew the truth- she couldn't even bear to think about it.

"i can't." she met his gaze and held it."

"you won't."

"yes. i won't. please don't ask me again. i don't want to have to lie to you. i haven't done anything illegal. it's a silly little secret, but it's mine to keep. if telling you everything about my past is the price for staying, then i have to leave."

he studied her a long time. his gaze swept over her face, stopping at her mouth before dipping to her throat and returning he reached up and touched her cheek, much as she'd touched mandy's. but his caress was anything but maternal. her stomach tightened and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s tingled in response.

before she could say anything, or think about touching him back, he reached down for the comforter folded up at the foot of the bed. he pulled it over her and smoothed it in place. then he leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead.

"go to sleep, darling'," he said, and stood up.

she watched him leave the raom and close the door quietly behind him. her eyes burned with unshed tears. it would be so easy to let travis into her world, she thought sadly. so easy to try to believe again. if she had the strength and the words, she would explain that it wasn't so much about him. sure, she couldn't risk trusting a man again, but worse, she couldn't trust herself.

chapter six.

cc you're nervous," travis said, taking off his stetson and sending it across the family room. it landed neatly in the center of a writing desk on the left side of the window.

elizabeth sank into the leather sofa and rolled her eyes. "number one, if you keep doing that hat toss trick to impress me, i'm immune."

"liar," he said as he crossed the room.

his khaki uniform, slightly wrinkled from his day at work, made his shoulders look broader and his legs longer. his wide black belt emphasized his trim waist. and yes, she had been lying. the nightly toss of the stetson got her heart racing as if she'd just climbed three flights of stairs.

he settled on the sofa and grinned. "what's number two?" , "number two is i have nothing to be nervous about: '

"double liar." he leaned closer, resting his weight on his elbow. his perfectly trimmed mustache outlined the teasing curve of his mouth. "i've made tougher women than you swoon with my cowboy hat, and while there's no reason to be nervous about having dinner with rebecca, you are. i can see it in your eyes."

she opened her mouth to deny his statement, then closed it. he was right; she was nervous. "okay, just a little."

he sat up straight, then leaned over and patted her bare leg. "don't be. reberca's a sweetheart." he kept his warm hand on her knee. she told herself she should move away, but she liked it when he touched her.

she raised her eyebrows."

"do you realize that every time a female citizen of glenwood is mentioned, you've dated her?"

"only if they're between twenty-five and forty."

she reached behind her for one of the throw pillows and batted his hand away. "what's wrong with you?"

"i'm one of the haynes boys. what else am i supposed to do?"

she'd been in travis's house for six days. louise had filled her head with enough stories to tell her what being a"haynes boy" meant. "settle down with one woman. try monogamy for a change. there is something to be said for quality rather than quant.i.ty."

his good humor faded quickly. "i tried that, remember?" '

"oh: she did recall him mentioning a divorce. " sorry. " she was silent for a moment. " so what happened?"

he turned his head until he was looking at her. the lines around his eyes crinkled when he smiled. "you've been hanging around with louise a little too much, don't you think? you could have been a bit more subtle with that question."

"probably," she admitted shamelessly. "so what happened? or don't you want to talk about it?"

"there's nothing to say. it just didn't work. i'm sure some of it was her fault, but i have to take most of the blame." he held his hands out in front of him, palms up. "it's a little difficult to get past who i am."

"so that's why you know rebecca is a sweetheart?"

"want to know a secret?"