Page 28 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

“I noticed.” She sipped at her coffee and watched him over the edge of her cup. “You don’t say much at all about yourself,” she continued. “It’s kind of hard to get to know you if you don’t say anything.”

“Maybe that’s the point.”

He regretted the words the moment they came out of his mouth. Especially when he saw the way the smile slipped off her face. He hadn’t meant to be so rude and shut her down so quickly. Not at all. He was actually enjoying himself with her, just talking. And he couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

Both the talking and the enjoyment with a woman that hadn’t been all about sex.

Maybe thisfriendsthing wasn’t so bad after all?

“Sorry,” Travis added. “Reflex.”

“Reflex?”

“You’re right.” He shrugged. “I don’t talk about myself very often. I’ve kind of made a point not to.”

Her pretty face shifted into a mask of concern. She put her mug down and leaned forward. “Will you tell me?”

“About myself?”

She nodded.

Travis took in a breath and let it fill his lungs for a moment before exhaling slowly as he nodded. “I was raised mostly by my grandfather.” He started with the easy detail and before he could chicken out, followed up with the harder detail. “My mom left pretty much right after I was born and my dad, well, he kind of tapped out. Especially after my grandfather died.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. My grandfather was amazing. A really solid guy, and I learned a lot from him. He passed away when I was twelve.” Travis looked down at his hands, the memory of his grandfather’s death rushing back. It wasn’t a day he thought about often. Even so, he remembered every detail of returning home from school. He’d been so excited to tell him that he’d made the basketball team, Travis had run through the house and out to the backyard, but his grandfather wasn’t in his usual chair on the back deck, or in the shed where he’d sharpen knives for a little extra money. He wasn’t in the living room either, or the kitchen tying his flies for fishing. And that’s when a twelve-year-old Travis knew something was wrong. Even at that young age, he’d felt it. The sense of dread that crawled up your spine, wrapped around you and went straight to your heart, where it squeezed all the life and love out of you.

He’d found his grandfather in bed.

He’d passed away from a heart attack. The paramedics, and his neighbor, Delores, had told him he’d beenluckyand he’d gone in his sleep during his afternoon nap. Quick and easy. Travis couldn’t find anything lucky about it at all. They were supposed to go fishing that weekend. Up to Lynx Creek and the cabin they’d always rented.

There was nothing lucky about dying right before a fishing trip.

“That’s terrible,” Stephanie said when Travis was done recounting the story he’d never told anyone else in such detail. “Where did you go?” she asked. “What about your dad?”

“He wasn’t really equipped to be a dad,” Travis said simply. “He tried for a week or two, but…it was too much for him. Especially on his own. So, he took off. A few years later, I got word that he’d died in a car crash.”

Stephanie’s hand fluttered to her mouth, but he didn’t want her sympathy. Especially because he didn’t really have any strong feelings either way for what had happened. He missed his grandfather.But his parents…

“Who raised you? Were you adopted, like—”

“Like you?” She nodded, but Travis shook his head. “Turns out there’s not a very hot market for a twelve-year-old orphan.” He shrugged. “I moved around from foster home to foster home, and really, it wasn’t all bad.”

Except that every time he got attached to someone—a foster parent, or another foster sibling—they left. Or he was pulled from that house. It was hard to get attached to anyone when no one stuck around. He’d learned early on that it was just better to rely on yourself. Everyone else should be kept at arm’s length. It was easier that way.

“When I turned eighteen, I found out my grandfather left me a pretty large inheritance, but by then I was already working and I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do with my life, so I never went to school or anything. I just stayed in town.” He shrugged, finished with his story. To his surprise, Stephanie didn’t look as if she were about to run away screaming now that she knew more about him. In fact, she looked…interested.

“Is that how you bought the property on the other side of the river?” she asked. “With the inheritance?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you buy Lynx Creek?”

The question surprised him and he blinked hard. “What do you mean? Why would you think—”

“Lynx Creek has special memories for you,” she interrupted. “Am I wrong?”

For a minute, he thought about lying. For whatever reason, this little detail felt more personal than the rest. It had been one thing to share so much with her, but this was different. It wastoopersonal. Was this what being friends was all about? It was a whole new level of intimacy. So much more than the kisses they’d shared. Even more than all the things he’d fantasized about doing with her.

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