Not a Chance (15 page)

A frail looking pregnant woman waddled into the café. Arden recognized her at once, just from the descriptions she'd heard.

"Is that Travis's ex?" she asked.

Emma looked over her shoulder. "Yep. I met her yesterday. Excuse me." She stood and Shannon followed her.

Alice leaned forward. "You think that's Travis's baby?"

"No." Arden didn't just say it because she wanted it to be true. She knew Travis. He would marry her in a heartbeat if he found out it was his baby.

"What do you think he'll do about it?" Alice asked.

Arden shrugged. "He'll take care of her and the baby. They aren't his responsibility. But he'll do it anyway."

Alice nodded. She was going to ask another question but then Emma brought Tonya over. Shannon disappeared to the kitchen and came back with a plate of cucumber sandwiches. Tonya sat next to Alice and Emma pulled a chair up for herself. Emma introduced them all and Arden was surprised when Tonya didn't seem to recognize her. Maybe Travis didn't talk about her.

The four friends watched a few moments as Tonya inhaled two sandwiches and licked all the cream cheese off her fingers. She looked up and saw them all staring at her. "I haven't eaten all day," she said, her mouth crammed full.

Arden couldn't disguise her disgust. But she berated herself for not being more forgiving toward a woman who was that much pregnant. "So, Tonya," Arden said, "what brings you to town?"

"Well, I needed a place to go. My last man kicked me out and I couldn't think of anywhere to go."

"Don't you have any family?"

Tonya looked up and glared at her. "My mama lives over in Bixy. My aunt lives here. They ain't interested in taking me in."

"And Travis is?" Arden asked, lifting one condescending eyebrow.

Tonya glared harder. "I reckon that's my business and his."

Arden lifted her chin and looked down at her. Tonya dropped her gaze. Just then the bell over the front door jingled and heavy booted steps alerted them all to the presence of a man. Arden looked up and saw Travis entering the café. He was glancing around frantically until his eyes landed on their group. He seemed to exhale relief before darkening with anger. He marched towards them.

Tonya looked up at him and smiled.

"Ladies," Travis said by way of greeting. Then he turned to Tonya. "You should be at home resting. Let's go."

"I'm eating." She picked up another sandwich and shoved it in her face.

Emma grabbed another chair from a nearby table and shoved it at Travis. He took it reluctantly and sat down. He looked at Shannon. "Just tell me what I owe you for whatever she's eaten."

"Don't worry about it, Travis."

"No, I'll take care of it."

Shannon reached out and put her hand over his. She looked him sternly in the eye. "I said don't worry about it."

Arden watched his jaw tense. Then his gaze dropped. He nodded and murmured "thanks." Arden couldn't believe the nerve of this bitch putting Travis in such a horrible position. He would be running around town cleaning up after Tonya for however long she stayed. He was going to have to pay her hospital bills too. Arden wondered whether he'd gotten her a doctor yet.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Tonya asked, not looking at him.

"It's nine o'clock," he said. "I got off work at six. When I left you my car, I didn't dream you'd stay out all fucking day."

"Oh, relax."

"Relax?" Travis took a deep slow breath and lowered his voice. "I was worried sick. You could have been dead in a ditch somewhere."

Tonya barked a laugh. "You only care about your stupid car."

Arden straightened at this. She felt her nails digging into her palms and realized her fists were clenched. Her lips twitched with the effort not to snarl. She glanced at Travis and realized he was staring at her, his eyes dark and uncharacteristically weary.

Emma reached out and rubbed Travis's back. He gave her a grateful smile.

"Ems, how did your date with Dustin go the other night?" Shannon asked all of a sudden. They'd been approaching the subject right before Tonya had shown up. Arden saw Travis's expression brighten and realized just how wonderfully in tune to people's emotions Shannon could be.

"Oh, just as wonderful as could be," Emma said. "He's amazing."

Travis beamed like a proud father. "Amazing? I would have settled for mildly entertaining. He's boring as hell around me."

Emma got all starry-eyed. "Oh, he's not boring at all. We just had the best time. We talked and talked."

Travis laughed.

"You talked?" Tonya asked. "With Dustin?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "I mean, I have to ask a lot of questions because he's afraid I'll be bored if he talks too much, but once he gets going, it's really nice. I think next week we'll have dinner with my parents. I'm anxious for them to get to know him."

Travis grabbed her around the shoulders in a side hug. "I am so happy for you two."

"So?" Emma said, looking up at him. "Has he said anything about me?"

"Ah, that's privileged information," Travis said, grinning.

"Uh-huh. Like you're not going to go back home and tell him what I said just now?"

"I'm sorry, babe. That's how it works. He needs the ego-boost worse than you do. Plus, my first loyalty must always be to my brother."

Emma rolled her eyes, but she kept on smiling.

Arden loved seeing how proud Travis was of Dustin. He was genuinely happy for him and not envious at all.

Tonya finally finished eating and Travis walked her out to the car. He'd walked from his house, so he would drive them both back. Arden jumped up and followed them out. She caught up to Travis before he got in his car. She grabbed his sleeve and he turned to face her, automatically smiling when he saw her.

"Can I have a moment?" she asked.

"Sure." Travis tossed the keys to Tonya and then closed the door. Tonya started up the car and Travis and Arden stepped inside the front door of the café.

Arden stepped close to him and looked up at him. "What can I do to help?" She'd half expected him to reject her altogether or be insulted. She watched patiently as a wealth of emotions played across his face and finally he met her eyes.

"You can take her shopping," he said, his voice low and quiet.

Arden nodded. "Absolutely. I can take her tomorrow after school."

Travis nodded and looked away. "I'll give you money. She needs clothes and woman stuff...you know, soap and hairbrushes and whatever the hell else there is."

Arden laughed. "We women do like to practice good hygiene."

His lips turned up in that cute, half-grin of his.

"What else does she need?"

Travis shrugged and looked away again. "I don't really know yet. I'm taking her to the doctor Friday morning. I guess she's going to need baby stuff, but I can't be any more specific than that never having had a baby in the house before."

"I'll get some things. How long will she be staying with you?"

Travis looked at her, then, with such a heart-wrenching expression of despair that she wanted to take him in her arms and rock him like a baby. "I don't know," he said, his voice cracking slightly with emotion.

"Oh, Travis," Arden whispered. She took hold of the front of his jacket, stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, lingering for a few seconds. She felt him catch his breath and lean ever-so-slightly into her kiss, so that when she pulled away, he followed her and rested his forehead against hers. He took her hands in his.

"I'm so tired," he said.

"I know, sweetheart," she whispered. She gave his hands a squeeze and prayed he wouldn't ask more of her right now because she wouldn't have been able to tell him no even if she'd wanted to.

He didn't. He held her hands for a few more moments. Then he kissed her on the forehead and walked away.

Arden leaned back against the wall and waited for her heart rate to return to normal.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Arden glanced at the woman sitting next to her. Tonya really didn't have a care in the world. They drove down the highway toward Bixy and she just watched out the window like a happy puppy going for a ride. Travis had handed Arden more cash than could possibly be comfortable for him to lose. All he asked was that she try to get the most for her dollar...shop the sale racks whenever possible. He'd thanked her and waved as she drove off.

She didn't want to spend any of his money. She could get Tonya an entire wardrobe without approaching the spending limit on her credit card. But she was fairly certain if she'd offered, Travis wouldn't have taken it well.

They got to the mall and Arden walked around to help Tonya out of the car. It took her a couple of rocks back and forth to heft her large belly out and up, but she finally managed it. "Now if you get tired," Arden said, "you just say so and we'll take a break."

Tonya thanked her. They went first to the only maternity store in the mall. Tonya headed straight for the clothes in the window display, but Arden coaxed her over to the clearance racks. She was only going to be pregnant for another week or two. What she really needed were clothes for after the baby came. They walked out of the store with three maternity outfits and several pairs of stretchy pants and matching tops for after the baby was born. She also got some underwear and a couple of nightgowns for the hospital stay.

Arden didn't even want to think about what that was going to cost Travis. She highly doubted Tonya had insurance.

After the maternity store, they went to one of the department stores to buy some onesies and receiving blankets for the baby. Arden honestly couldn't think of what else would be needed, but she figured while Tonya was in the hospital she could come back and pick up anything they missed. Then she could give it to Tonya as a gift and save Travis some money.

They'd been shopping for two and a half hours and Tonya's pace had slowed considerably. They stopped and ate at an italian restaurant at the far end of the mall. Tonya looked around like she'd never been in such a fancy place. Arden would have considered this on a par with fast food. But even though Tonya seemed impress, she was still the most ungrateful person Arden had ever met. She never once asked who was paying for all of this stuff. She never once apologized for being such a burden to Travis. She just floated around on the sea of other people's generosity.

"So are you and Travis sleeping together?" Tonya asked all of a sudden, her mouth stuffed full of spaghetti.

Arden nibbled at her caesar salad. "No," she replied.

Tonya looked up at her, one brow lifted in skepticism. "Why are you taking me shopping, then?"

Arden struggled to keep her expression passive. "Because he's my friend."

Tonya scoffed. "So whose ring is that?" she asked, nodding to Arden's left hand.

"I'm engaged to Nick Wheeler. Do you know him?"

Tonya shook her head. "I know who is old man is, though. If Nick looks anything like him, you're a lucky woman."

"He does. And I am."

Tonya shoveled another forkful of pasta into her mouth. Her plate was nearly empty. Arden felt a sudden pang of compassion. This woman was starving.

"Do you want me to order more?" she asked.

"Maybe something different this time."

Arden signaled the nearest waitress and Tonya asked for chicken parmigiana.

"So how did you and Travis meet?" Tonya asked after the waitress had left.

"We were stranded together for a few days. I've only known him since last week." Wow, she thought. So short an acquaintance and yet it seemed like she'd known him forever. Like they were soul-mates.

Arden quashed the thought in an instant. It was ridiculous.

"Well," said Tonya, "you must have slept with him then. You can't spend that much time with Travis and not want to jump him."

Arden rolled her eyes. "I did not sleep with him. I'm engaged."

Tonya shrugged, although she clearly doubted Arden's word. Her dinner came and she went back to eating. Arden pushed her plate away and leaned back in the booth seat.

"Why did you leave him, anyway?" Arden asked, not caring whether the subject was sensitive or not.

Tonya didn't even look up. "I fell in love with someone else. Travis had changed. He wasn't the man I married. Which is actually probably a good thing because the man I married drank and got angry and fought all the time. Unfortunately, he just lost his sex appeal when he started getting himself straightened out. For me anyway."

If Travis had lost his sex appeal, Arden was glad she hadn't met him back then. He was damn near irresistible without it.

After they ate they did a little more shopping and then headed home. It was seven-thirty when Arden dropped Tonya off at Travis's house. She got out to help her carry her bags in and Travis greeted them at the door. Tonya waddled in and paused to take off her coat and shoes.

"Did you get everything you need?" Travis asked.

Tonya stood and stretched, putting her hands on her lower back. "Yeah. I need a hot bath."

Travis gestured toward the bathroom and Tonya disappeared down the hall.

Arden looked at him. "She's an ungrateful one, isn't she?" she said quietly.

Travis shrugged. "Did you get yourself anything?"

"Bought a new purse," she said, smiling.

"Did you need a new purse?"

Arden laughed. "No. But so what? I wanted one."

Travis frowned in thought and nodded. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard the bathroom door close and the water turn on. He turned back to Arden. "Thank you..."

Arden held up her hand. "Don't even worry about it. Shopping is like breathing to me. I was happy to do it."

"I don't like asking for help."

"No one does. But I want to help. She's going to be a handful. I wish she'd never come."

Travis grunted. "You and me both."

She smiled up at him, but he wasn't smiling. He was searching her eyes, her face. She bolstered herself, keeping her expression neutral. His gaze dropped to her lips and she could tell he wanted to kiss her. "I have to go, Travis."