Stacked Up: Worth the Fight Series (14 page)

“Twavis!” Belle reached for Travis, and he instinctively took her.

“You okay, sweetheart?” he said to Belle, and she nodded. He then reached for Penny’s hand and helped her up. “No, momma. They’re not in here. They’re outside. We need to talk, though. And don’t leave the gate open again.”

“They can’t take her, Travis. I can’t lose her.” Her eyes watered. “And I don’t want to leave Tarpon Springs. Don’t tell them I’m here. You think they know?” She was having some sort of panic attack, he could tell, because her eyes were darting all over and she was shaking uncontrollably. It had been a long week, poor thing.

He stood with Belle on his hip, extended his arm, and pulled her to him. “Group hug.”

“Twavis
ug,
” Sarabelle giggled.

These two girls had grown to mean more to him than anyone else, and he felt a fierce need to protect them, a need so strong it overwhelmed him. But it was the moment to be strong for
them
and put aside his own feelings.

“Hey, Belle, you want to open all your new toys, since we couldn’t do it yesterday?” he asked, and the little girl began to wriggle happily in his arms. “I take that as a yes.

“Come on, momma.” He winked at Penny. “Let’s forget about things for a bit. Once you’ve taken a few deep breaths and calmed down a bit, we can talk.” He looked at Belle, then back at Penny. “Alone. Okay?”

He saw that her tears were falling fast, and she looked so fragile.

“Why don’t you go take a bath? I saw you eyeing my monster bathtub.” He pushed her gently. “Go, momma. I got this.”

She walked away hesitantly, looking completely defeated. He wasn’t sure how to comfort her while holding her daughter. He was scared that Belle would somehow understand and become traumatized by this whole fucked-up situation. She was an innocent bystander and didn’t deserve to have her childhood tainted because of it. So he hoped Penny could find comfort in a little time alone while he tried to distract Belle. Tonight, while Belle slept, he would do everything in his power to comfort Penny.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, kid.” Picking up all the bags with one hand, he took them into the living room.

It took Belle just five minutes to open all the toys and another four minutes to get bored of everything except a big ball that took Travis way too long to blow up. He looked out the window; Lawrence and Kip were gone, and the paparazzi that were still around were on the other side of the closed gate.

“Okay, one sec. Let me just go check up on your momma, okay?” She didn’t pay him any mind, instead pushing the ball around the living room, which Penny had childproofed. Quickly he jogged to his room and knocked on the bathroom door. “You okay in there?” He opened the door a little and popped his head inside.

She was under a small mountain of bubbles, her head back and her eyes closed. “Much better, thanks.”

“Okay. No rush. I’ll be in the backyard with Belle.”

“Thanks, Travis.”

“You’re welcome, momma.”

He jogged back to the living room and scooped Belle up in one arm, making an airplane noise as she dangled on his left side. “Twavis!” she said, laughing hard. With the other he picked up the giant inflatable ball.

For the next twenty minutes he played in the grass with Belle. She would use the ball as a support to help her stand, but when the ball, which was twice her size, would roll, she would fall and laugh. “Take a step with me,” he said, holding her hand, but she’d fall back down. He did this a dozen times. Every time she would stay standing a little longer, laugh, and then drop down onto her bottom. Eventually the ball flew into the pool, and when she tried to crawl after it, he decided it was time to end the game.

When he walked back in, Belle on his shoulders, Penny was in the kitchen. “You two have fun?”

“Twavis,” Belle said, as Travis set her down.

Penny kneeled down, her eyes on her daughter. “Say ‘Mama.’ ”

Belle laughed and said, “Ball.”

“Mama,” Penny repeated.

“Twavis.”

“Baby girl, my day has been pretty bad, but I’d feel a whole lot better if you just said ‘Mom.’ Or ‘Mama.’ Or ‘Mommy.’ Or ‘Mother.’ Anything,” Penny pleaded.

“Ball.”

Travis snorted out a laugh. He held his hand out and helped Penny up. “Face it. She likes me more than she likes you.” He had an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Mmm. You smell good, momma.”

“I feel a little better. Thanks for watching her. I think she does like you more than me. I’m kind of jealous about that. She just met you, for goodness’ sake.”

“What can I say? I have a way with the ladies,” he said with a smirk. “How about some pizza?”

“Sounds good. I’m going to feed her, bathe her, and put her to sleep first. Is that okay?”

“Works for me. I’ll take a shower while you do that.” He kissed her lips. “We’ll talk when she’s asleep, okay?” he said. “Don’t want you worryin’. I got this,” he said before he left the room.

Penny was tucking Belle into the gorgeous crib when Travis walked in.

“Twavis,” the little girl mumbled sleepily, and Travis leaned into the crib. She had her pacifier in her mouth, her arm around her ratty bear, and a fluffy blanket up to her neck. Her eyes were closing.

“Good night, sweetheart,” Travis whispered into the crib.

Belle extended her arms, and Travis furrowed his brow and then looked at Penny. Despite the lump in her throat, Penny tried hard to keep her composure. She didn’t want Belle to get too attached to Travis.
She
didn’t want to get too attached. But she feared she was already too late on both fronts. This man could rip both of their hearts out if he wanted to. She cleared her throat. “She wants a hug,” she said hoarsely.

“I’m good with hugs. I totally got this.” He leaned down a little farther, and Belle wrapped her arms around his neck. Penny was amazed by how natural it looked. “G’night, baby girl. Sweet dreams. I’ll catch you in the mornin’.”

“Ball,” she said sleepily.

“I think she’s thanking you for the ball,” Penny said.

“Or she wants to play with the ball.”

“Could be that too.”

“Thank you for helping me tuck her in.”

“Ain’t even a thing, momma.” He led her out of the room.

Travis learned that Penny had weird-ass taste in pizza. She liked mushrooms and green peppers on her pizza; luckily, one of Travis’s favorite things to do was eat and he could eat anything.

While they waited for the pizza delivery, she walked around his house examining it, as if it was the first time she’d seen it. “Everything looks so…new,” she said.

“That’s ’cause it is. I’m rarely home, so I haven’t really gotten around to using some of my new things.”

“Did you really need three televisions in your living room?” She looked up at the TVs hanging from the wall, which faced the big U-shaped couch that reclined. It made the room look like a sports bar.

“Probably not.” Truthfully, he hadn’t had a television growing up, so when he hired the decorator that was the first thing he had requested. The fact of the matter was, he’d only sat down twice to watch TV since moving in.

She kept walking around the room. “It’s not very warm, Travis. You need pictures and end tables and things like that.”

“I don’t know shit about any of that. I paid a decorator to do this.”

She scrunched her nose as if she’d eaten something sour. “A decorator did this?”

He laughed. “Thanks a lot. She cost a fortune, by the way.”

“I’m sorry. That was very rude of me. It’s not that it’s unattractive; it’s just very stiff and kind of cold. I don’t even see a dining room table.” She looked around as if it was hiding somewhere.

“Hmm? Never noticed, really. I use the island in the kitchen when I eat. It has four chairs.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, but this area right here, this is for a dining table. Heck, even a pool table would work. But it’s just…empty.”

“Maybe we can go shopping together one day and you can help me with that.”

She looked at him over her shoulder. “Yeah, maybe. Although all the toys you got Penny are taking up most of the space there.”

He walked to the kitchen and pulled out a beer. “You want one?”

“You have soda?”

“No. That shit’ll kill you.”

She laughed at his comment. He looked in his fridge to see what he had. “Got orange juice, water, and milk.”

“Milk, please.”

He furrowed his brow. “Okay.” He poured her a glass. “Don’t think I’ve ever served anyone milk before.” He laughed. “You want chocolate? I have a sweet tooth and I drink a lot of chocolate milk.”

Her eyes widened, and she nodded. He pulled out the chocolate powder and stirred a healthy amount into the glass. “You’re kind of weird, momma,” he said as he handed her the glass.

She stopped drinking and looked up. “Oh…uh…” She put her glass down shyly.

He chuckled when he looked at her. She looked sad, unsure, and cute as hell with a chocolate-milk mustache. “Relax. I didn’t mean strange as in bad. I meant it as a compliment.”

Sobering, he added, “We have to talk about what happened earlier with Kip, you know?”

“I know, but I don’t know if my heart can take one more thing.” She took a deep breath. “I heard most of it, like I told you.”

“So I’m thinking that you need to see an attorney as soon as possible.”

Her eyes welled up. “I know.”

“And you’re going to have to be strong and probably put up with a lot of shit before this is all resolved.”

“I know.”

“And I think Belle needs to stay away from as much of the shit as possible.”

“I’m so overwhelmed. I feel like I’m drowning, Travis.”

“You’re not drowning. You’re going through some tough shit, but you’ll come out stronger for it.”

“What if I don’t? What if I lose Belle?”

“You won’t.” A tear fell from her eye, and he swiped it away with his thumb.

“How could you be so sure? I don’t even know how I’ll pay for an attorney. I don’t see how this isn’t going to end badly. This is the first time since I found out I was pregnant that I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.” She put her face in her hands.

“C’mere, momma.” He put one hand behind her knees and the other around her back, lifted her, and set her on his lap. “I think I told you once that I don’t let people screw over my people. You and Belle are my girls, and I’m not going to let anything harm you. I got a shit ton of money now.”

“Trav—”

“Shh. I do. I’ve never had it before, and I’ve also never had people I cared about before. I don’t have anything to spend it on, and I can’t think of anything better than to spend it on helping you guys. Plus, Francesca’s almost done with law school, and we’re like family, so I’m sure she’ll help too. That’s the first thing we’ll do tomorrow—we’ll go talk to her, and she’ll help point us in the right direction.”

She sobbed into his neck.

“Why’re you crying even more?” he asked, befuddled.

“Because you’re so sweet and caring, and I feel like I give nothing and just take. We just met.”

“It’s been over a year.”

“I know, but this is just too much.”

“It’s not. It’s fine. You think I can just stand by and let this shit storm hit you and not do something? Even if we weren’t together, even if we were just friends, I’d still help. Plus, you’re not just taking. Having you here has been good for me. I don’t know how exactly to explain it, but it has.”

“I feel so stupid, Travis. Why didn’t I get something signed from Lawrence relinquishing paternity? Why didn’t that occur to me?”

“You were eighteen years old. What he did was wrong.” His hand gently rubbed her back.

“Thank you, Travis. If it wasn’t for Belle, I’d turn down your generous offer and figure it out myself. But because of her, I need it. I need you. One day, somehow I’ll repay you.”

“Ain’t even a thing, momma.” He kissed her gently on the cheek and helped her up.

“Can I get you another beer?” she asked as she headed back to the kitchen, brushing away the last few remaining tears.

“Nah, I’m good.” He watched her grab a paper towel and wipe the counter clean. “If we’re being realistic, I don’t think you’ll be able to go home for a while. So I want you to feel at home while you’re here, okay? No more trying to take care of me. It’s not necessary. I want you here. That’s the end of it. I don’t need a maid.” He took the paper towel out of her hand.

“Fine.” She sighed and drank the rest of her chocolate milk, then leaned her forearms on the kitchen island.

He chuckled. “You mind?” He tipped his chin toward her face.

“Huh?”

“You have a milk mustache again.”

“Oh.” She went to wipe it, but he stopped her hand and leaned across the countertop, her big brown eyes locked on his, to lick the top of her lip. “Mmm.” And then he licked his own lips. Her eyes were wide, and when he began to pull away she grabbed the back of his neck and drew him to her.

The kiss was not slow. In fact, it was frantic, like she was starved. Without breaking the kiss he walked around the island, turning her as he went so that her back was to the island. She parted her legs and he caged her in with his arms. God, the woman could kiss. She bit his lip, and he fisted her hair. “Travis, make today better. Help me forget. Please,” she moaned into his mouth. He ran his palm down her body and then roughly cupped her sex through her shorts. She put her hand over his and pushed his hand more firmly against her pussy.

“You’re a naughty girl.” He undid the buttons of her shorts and pushed them down, then lifted her onto the island. “You’ve had a bad day. You sure you’re up for this?”

“It’s the only thing I need right now.”

“You in my bed tonight?”

“I’d love that.”

“Good. Then spread your legs for me, momma.” She only hesitated for a second before complying.

“Bet you’re sweet everywhere,” he said, getting down on his knees and moving closer. “Been wanting to taste you since that night.”

“I’ve never done this before,” she admitted.

He looked up at her and saw that her eyes were closed. “Well, then, you better open those eyes and look down. You’re goin’ to want to get the whole experience.” He parted her lips with his fingers, exposing her fully. “Fuckin’ beautiful,” he breathed as he looked into her pink wet pussy, and then he began to lick up and down her wet slit.