Page 23 of Spar
“What’s wrong?” Chris answered into the phone, pulling his boxers and jeans on quickly.
“It’s Travis.”
“On my way.”
Chris hung up, pulled his shirt on over his head, and forced his feet into his boots. He thought about waking Tori, but decided to let her sleep. He scribbled out a note and left it on the counter. “Perfect timing as always, Travis,” Chris mumbled as he walked out into the brisk, early morning air.
CHAPTER TEN
Tori smiled inthe dark room, her eyes closed, reliving the night before in her mind. She reached across the large bed, feeling for Chris. She needed a tactile reminder of the man that she’d spent the night with. She remembered waking up sometime during the night and being wrapped around him in the most amazing way, skin-to-skin, their damp bodies clinging to one another.
Her hand found nothing but emptiness, and blankets bunched back as if they’d been tossed aside. She listened for the sounds of his breathing, but the still of the house mocked her, and her smile faded.
Tori opened her eyes and stared at the empty space next to her. He was gone. Tossed her aside, like he’d done the sheets. She should have expected as much. One night together wasn’t a promise for anything more.
She pushed down the feelings that threatened to bubble to the surface, namely anger. She would not allow him to see that she was angry. Any emotional outburst was a sign she had misunderstood last night and that he was in control of… whatever was going on between them.
She dressed for work, taking extra care with her makeup and hair, but doing so quietly. If she was lucky, she could escape the house without waking him. She tiptoed down the stairs, cursing the sound of her toes padding against the wooden steps and avoiding looking at the spot they’d christened. She needed to get out of here. The last thing she wanted this morning was an awkward conversation. She needed the day to build back the barrier she’d placed between them over the years.
She decided to skip coffee and food; she’d survive until she got to the gym. Keys in hand, Tori walked outside eager to flee the scene of the incident, only to find an empty driveway. Of course! Her car was still at Ryan’s. She took off up the hill at a quick pace. The soreness in her ankle hadn’t completely subsided, but her need to get away from Chris was stronger than her urge to stop. She was anxious to get out of sight. She knew Chris well enough to know that he wouldn’t like her traipsing off to Ryan’s by herself this early in the morning. Visibility wasn’t very good, and she’d be hard to spot in her black workout garb. It shouldn’t have made her more determined, but the thought of Chris disapproving made her hold her head high and continue up the hill with a smug smile.
“What’s up withyou?” Claire asked after the group of tired and sweaty women filed out of the classroom, leaving them alone.
Tori had struggled to get through her morning classes. She’d pushed her spinning class harder than ever, sprinting for long durations at high resistance. The result was a disengaged class, who was counting the seconds until they could escape her torture. Her yoga session hadn’t gone any better. Her flow was all off, and she couldn’t hold the poses long enough to get a good stretch. Every moment she wasn’t moving was a chance for her brain to remember the feel of Chris’ arms around her, the strength and tenderness of it.
Apparently, Claire had noticed. Probably everyone had noticed, but everyone else had been too nice to say anything. Claire wouldn’t let her get off that easily.
“Excuse me, I asked you a question.” Claire stood in front of her, arms crossed and toe tapping impatiently.
“Not here,” Tori said, motioning out of the room.
She entered her office, Claire on her heels, and surveyed the busy gym. No sign of Chris this morning. He’d missed his early-morning boxing session with Ryan and Jake. She’d nearly died when Ryan asked about Chris and why he wasn’t at the gym. She’d shrugged and ducked into her office to avoid further questioning.
“Okay, spill,” Claire said once they were safely inside Tori’s office.
“He did it again. The bastard did it again!” Tori said, pacing the room.
“Did what?” Claire asked tentatively.
“Left me. We spent the night together, and when I woke up? Poof! He was gone,” Tori said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I can’t believe I let this happen again.”
With her hands on Tori’s shoulders, Claire guided her to a chair and forced her to sit. “Okay, start from the beginning.”
Chris rubbed ahand over his chin and swallowed the last drop of cold, bitter coffee. Charlie and Travis were asleep, and he needed every drop of caffeine he could find to help him stay awake on the long drive home. How could the day have started so well and ended so terribly?
Travis was in rough shape. He’d been in deeper trouble than he or Charlie knew. He’d been beaten badly — broken nose, broken ribs, and black and blue everywhere in between. Travis hadn’t said much, but Chris could only assume based on the beating and his reluctance to go to the hospital, that he owed someone money.
Gambling had taken over his brother’s life years ago. He was lucky he’d gone this long without it coming to a head. Travis moved all over, chasing private poker games and any other gambling event he could find. Horse races, sporting events, cards — anything he could bet on. Always chasing the high of winning. Their parents’ deaths, Mom right after high school and their father a year later, had hit Travis the hardest. Chris had made peace with it, and Charlie seemed to have as well by moving to Chicago, away from the happy memories of their childhood.
Somehow Chris, the baby of the family, had been the only one to stay and keep the White family roots in Sweetbriar. Charlie was back; maybe this would be an opportunity to get Travis back as well and cleaned up in the process.
The community of Sweetbriar was a tough crowd to win back over once they’d been messed with. They were forgiving in some ways; they overlooked the foolishness of the kids and teenage pranks. He and Ryan were proof of that. They’d caused a hell of a lot of trouble as kids. But when it came to deceiving or endangering the people who lived there, that was where the people of Sweetbriar drew the line. Travis had a long line of White men to thank for the good name and history he had on his side. Now he needed to not screw it up — if Chris could even convince him to settle down in Sweetbriar.
“We almost there? I need to take a piss,” Travis grunted from the back seat.
The nap didn’t seem to have improved his shitty attitude.
“Twenty minutes. There’s nowhere to stop between here and home, so if you need to go, you’re doing it on the side of the road.”
