Stacked Up: Worth the Fight Series (17 page)

“You’re a strange duck, Texas,” Darlene teased, motioning for them to get in the car.

“You jogged here? To get me? That makes no sense,” Penny said as she slid into the backseat.

“Went for a jog and just ended up here. I thought maybe we’d call a cab or Uber once you got out.”

Her brow was furrowed. “Couldn’t sleep?”

She knew him so well already, he realized. “Nope.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking sad for him.

“ ’S okay. Also wanted to talk to you when we got home.” When he saw her eyebrows knit together in concern, he added hastily, “No worries, momma.”

After Darlene stopped at Olivia’s so that Penny could pick up the sleeping Belle, she dropped them off at Travis’s house.

“Tell me,” Penny said as soon as they said their goodbyes to Darlene and stepped out of the car.

Travis had Belle asleep in one arm and was opening the front door with the other. “Shh. You’ll wake her. Let me put her in bed first.”

Travis laid Belle in the crib and turned on the sound machine and the night-light. Penny covered her and kissed her forehead.

“Come on, Travis. You’re making me nervous,” Penny said as soon as they walked out into the hallway.

“Before we talk, I want a kiss.”

She acquiesced, and they shared a sweet kiss. Then he led her into the bedroom, closed the door, and gestured for her to sit.

“I met with Lawrence,” he told her.

“What?”

“Yesterday, when I left, I met with him at the Pier. Well, he wasn’t expecting to meet with me, but I found out where he was.”

“I don’t understand. And why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Francesca’s law professor and attorney friend don’t think you have the best case if you end up in court involved in a custody suit,” he said.

She rose instantly.

“Sit, sugar.” He reached for her, but she pulled away and put her hands up defensively.

“Just…just tell me.”

He sighed. “You could lose, which is obviously the worst-case scenario. But even if you win, it’s not going to be easy or cheap.”

“So what happened with Lawrence? Why did you meet with him? I don’t understand.” She paced around. “I’ll leave. I’ll go somewhere no one will ever find us.”

“Not gonna happen, momma,” he said, picking her up and tossing her onto the bed, then lying down next to her and using his weight to stop her from getting up again. “You two mean too much to me. I’ll find you and bring you both back.”

Her eyes welled up. “Oh, Travis,” she sighed, stroking his cheek.

“Lawrence is a dick. A desperate dick. Which is good news for you, because he can be bought, as I discovered last night. He told me how much it would cost to get him to relinquish his parental rights, agree to never contact you or Belle again, and agree not to ever go to the media. I didn’t tell you earlier because I needed to make sure Francesca could make this all happen legally.”

“He will? He’ll sign it? How much?”

“Don’t worry ’bout it. It’s getting done.”

She pushed him off her and stood up again, hands on her hips. “How much, Travis?”

“More than you can afford right now, momma.”

“Is it more than
you
can afford, Travis?”

“No. I got it.”

“Travis, I need a number. I need to know.”

He ran his hand down his face. “One fifty.”

“Oh, God,” she sobbed. “Travis, you can’t do that. You can’t agree to that. There has to be another way.”

“There’s nothing you could say to me that’ll change the fact that I’m doing this,” he said, taking her hands in his. “And I don’t want you to worry. This isn’t a loan; it’s not something you need to feel you have to pay back. It is what it is. I’m doing it, and if tomorrow you don’t want to be with me, you still won’t have to worry about it.”

“What if
you
don’t want to be with
me
?”

“Not gonna happen, baby.” He got up from the bed and went over to her, holding her by the waist.

“ ‘Thank you’ seems insufficient, but it’s the only thing I can say. What you are doing for us…” She shook her head. “It’s something most people wouldn’t do.”

He lowered his head and kissed her.

“Well, most people aren’t me,” he said with a wink.

“That is true.” She couldn’t agree more.

“I’m starving,” he said, and dragged her out into the kitchen.

“Go sit,” she told him. “There’s leftovers. I’ll warm them up for you,” she said as she took out containers from the refrigerator.

“I love your cooking.”

“Is it my cooking, or are you just comparing it to those disgusting shakes?”

“No, it’s definitely your cooking. I love to eat, so I know good food.”

Once the food was on his plate and he had begun to eat, she said. “I’m going to go get ready for bed.”

“Okay, see you in a minute.”

Penny stepped out of the bathroom, wearing one of his T-shirts and with her hair loosely flowing down her back, just as Travis came into the bedroom.

“Whoa!” he said, catching her just before they collided.

“Sorry. I was coming to find you.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?” His hand was still on her waist, but his fingers dug into her skin as their bodies pressed together. His hardness pressed against her stomach, and he inhaled her feminine scent. He wanted her.

When she didn’t answer, he looked into her glazed eyes. “You still with me?” he asked, his voice thick and husky.

She shook her head. “Sorry. Uh…what was the question?”

“I forget,” he said with a laugh, running his hands up her thigh and hip to her waist, pushing the shirt up.

“I want you, Travis,” she whispered into his mouth.

“You’ve got me, sugar.”

She slid her hands into his shorts and found his cock. “I want you,” she repeated almost desperately.

He pulled his shorts off with one hand and kicked them aside, then drew the T-shirt over her head and threw it onto the floor. He kissed her jaw, her neck, the valley between her breasts. He undid her bra, leaving her tits exposed. He pinched one of her pink nipples with his fingers while he sucked and nipped at the other.

“Oh, that feels good,” she moaned, awkwardly trying to unbutton her shorts and pull them down.

“Tastes even better,” he said as he moved on to the other nipple. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Trying to take off my shorts,” she responded with a chuckle.

“May I?” He got on his knees and finished undressing her.

“You are so sexy, Travis.” She drew him to the bed and knelt on the mattress as she reached for his chest, touching him softly, going over his tattoos. He extended one arm over to the bedside table to get a condom, tore open the packet, and slid it on. He laid her on her back, shifting her legs open with his knees and placing all his weight on her.

“I hate almost all of my tattoos,” he admitted. “I’ve never told anyone that.”

She laid both hands on his face in the sweetest way. No one had ever been this soft with him—it overwhelmed him. But it also made him want to tell her about all the dark crevices of his heart, all the places he never dared go.

“Except for the puzzle piece, everything else has been a stupid decision. I was a young, angry kid in a gang. And you’re a classy girl from money, educated, with morals.”

She didn’t say anything, which made him nervous. The quieter she was, the more he felt he needed to talk to fill the silence.

Then she pushed him off her, which worried him for a moment, until she rolled him over onto his back and straddled him. “I’ve never done this before,” she confessed, holding his hardened cock in her hand and positioning him between her legs.

“I love that I’ve had most of your firsts,” he choked out as she slid down onto his length. He wrapped his hand around her hair and pulled her head back gently but firmly. Exposing her neck, he kissed down her throat.

She moved up and down on his shaft slowly. “It makes me sad that you’ve been through so much, Travis.” She placed a hand on his heart. “But I don’t see your tattoos as ugly. They’re part of what makes you who you are. Your life could’ve gone a completely different way. You could’ve chosen a different path, and no one could blame you, because you had no one to guide you. Which is what I want to teach Belle. That there’s a different life. One full of good people. People like you.”

“What are you doing to me? I feel cut open and exposed when you look at me like that, Penny.”

“Good. Someone should make you feel that way.” She smiled.

“This feel good, baby?” he asked, holding her waist and helping her move up and down.

“Yes,” she murmured, her eyes downcast.

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m not doing it right?”

“You are,” he said, looking at his girl. She was beautiful and innocent, but inside her was untapped desire that only he knew about. “You trust me, momma?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“You like it hard. You like it rough. That gets you off,” he said assuredly. He reached for her neck, his thumb against her pressure point and his forefinger on the other side. He only exerted a little pressure—it wasn’t as if he was choking her. But he could see that her reaction was intense.

“Harder,” she yelled as she moved up and down.

He flipped them over, then put one hand back on her neck, the other one pulling and pinching her nipple hard. She was flat on the bed, one knee pulled high and his full length against her, pushing roughly against her. “You’re my naughty girl and you like it hard, don’t you, momma?” he ground out as he pounded roughly.

“Fuck yes!” she cried as her orgasm hit them both hard, causing him to come right after.

He was completely breathless and spent; it felt like he’d run a marathon. “You cursed.”

She chuckled. “It was appropriate.”

“Yes, it was.” He kissed her on the lips and pulled out. “Shower?”

“Definitely.”

He pulled her up and threw her over his shoulder, causing her to yelp and then giggle. “Travis!”

He slapped her ass.

“Travis!” she yelped again.

“Let’s not pretend you don’t like it.” He bit her ass cheek before putting her down and turning on the shower.

“Is it strange that I like it rough? I didn’t know that that’s how I liked it, by the way.”

“Strange? No. Why would it be strange? We’re two consenting adults. Just a little pressure, a little spanking. Nothing crazy.”

“Maybe I want it a little more crazy, though,” she admitted.

“I fucking love that my well-bred, well-educated, pedigreed girl wants it nasty and hard and I’m the only one who gets to feel how fucking beautiful you look riding my cock, my hand on your neck, my teeth on your nipple. I never ever thought hearing the word
fuck
would make me come. But coming from your mouth—damn, woman, it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”

When they got out of the shower, Travis was too wired to sleep, even though it was very late. Plus, he was starved. She made them sandwiches, and then they sat down to watch a movie on television.

He had a full belly, a woman in his arms, and all her problems would soon be resolved. That was the last thought he had as he drifted off to sleep before the movie even began.

Something silky soft was on his face. He opened one eye and then the other, feeling every muscle in his body protest. Last thing he remembered was sitting on the couch with Penny.

He sat up and a small satin-edged blanket fell off him. From somewhere near his ear came a fit of giggles. “Pee boo,” the little girl said, and covered her own face with the blanket.

He couldn’t help but laugh right back. “Peek-a-boo, you mean?”

“Pee boo,” she repeated.

He took the blanket and hid his face, then removed it. “Peek-a-boo.”

She giggled so hard she fell on her little behind.

“Belle! Did you wake Travis up?”

“ ’S okay, darlin’,” Travis said, reaching for Belle, swinging her up in the air, and blowing a raspberry on her belly.

“You fell asleep. I figured you were uncomfortable on that couch, but I thought that if I woke you, you might not have been able to go back to sleep.”

Strange how he seemed to always fall right asleep and sleep restfully when she was around. He smiled and disappeared into the bathroom.

“Do I smell bacon?” he called.

“Yep,” she said, smiling. “Come eat.”

“Going to shower real quick.”

A couple of minutes later he jogged to the kitchen, pulled Penny away from the stove, surprising her, and kissed her hard, making her back arch. “Good morning, momma.”

She giggled. “Good morning, Travis.”

“Twavis!” Belle crawled to him and pulled his leg. He lifted her up.

“Good morning, darlin’.” He gave her a loud popping kiss on the cheek, causing her to giggle just like her mom. “Here, hold this,” he joked, handing Belle over to Penny. Both mother and daughter laughed.

“Someone’s in a great mood this morning,” he heard Penny say as he went over to the coffee table to check his phone.

Reading a text, he called out to her, “Baby, we need to go over to the lawyer’s office tomorrow. Frances just texted. Everything’s ready. I’ll call Lawrence today. Are you working tomorrow?”

“No,” she said, and sighed. “Travis, is this still okay with you?”

“I was okay with it last night, I’m okay with it this morning, and in fifty years I’ll still be okay with it.”

“I’ll see if Olivia can babysit. I don’t want Belle to come with us. I don’t want Lawrence around her.”

“Good idea,” he agreed as he finished dressing.

“Can you check out my apartment today on your way to the Academy, please?”

“Sure. You know that after today, Kip will have to just be pissed. He may make a scene, he may go to the media, but there won’t be anything he can legally do. If he just disappears quietly, the paparazzi will probably leave you alone; if he doesn’t, then the paps will still be hanging out.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m so embarrassed about all the trouble I’ve brought to Ruby’s.”

“Nah. Don’t sweat it. Ruby’s is now the best-known strip club in Florida, what with all the free publicity it’s been getting. I just worry that the media might be hounding you too much at work—I want you to be safe. Hopefully this will all be behind us after tomorrow, though,” he said as he took a bite of his breakfast.

Shortly afterward, he left for the Academy to train. She spent the morning working on Patsy’s accounting and was finished by lunchtime. Lunch made her think of Travis and his always-empty stomach. She decided to make a big chicken salad, and she packed it all up with homemade biscuits and a slice of the cake she’d made that morning. Then she gathered up all the food and Belle and took the bus to the Academy.

Cain was the first person she saw. “Hello, Penny.”

“Hi, Cain. How are you? How’s Violet?”

“We’re good, thank you. Travis is in the cage,” he said, pointing.

“Thank you.”

The Academy was relatively empty, and the only sounds were the background music coming from the speakers, heavy breathing, and gloved hands connecting with flesh.

Maybe this hadn’t been a great idea, she thought. She hadn’t seen Travis fight before, and watching as Tony threw punch after punch at her sweet cowboy made her cringe.

Travis was so intent on sparring with Tony that he didn’t notice Penny come in. But the sound of Belle’s voice broke his concentration.

“Twavis!” she cried.

He looked over to see Penny and Belle, tears welling in the young girl’s eyes. “Twavis hurt,” she cried, trying to wriggle out of her mother’s grip.

“It’s okay, Belle,” Penny said, trying to soothe her. “He’s just pretending.”

Travis spit his mouth guard out and ran out of the cage. He took a knee, as he always did when speaking with Belle, his face eye level to her. “It’s okay, Belle. Look.” He whistled behind him for Tony, even as Belle continued to wail. “Look, this is Tony. He’s my friend. Isn’t that right, Tony?”

“Yes,
cariño.
I’m his friend. We were just playing around.”

“My Twavis!”

“Baby, it’s okay, Travis is okay,” Penny murmured, trying to console her daughter.

“Look, he’s okay,” Tony repeated, sounding upset. “He’s my friend. We’re friends.” The burly Cuban pulled Travis into a bear hug. “See? We’re buddies.”

“Get your damn hands off me,” Travis protested, pushing him off.

As concerned as Penny was about her daughter, she couldn’t help but snort out a laugh. The two of them were ridiculous.

Travis threw off his gloves and picked up Belle. “Don’t cry, Belle. Please.” He lifted her up and swung her around. “I’m okay, see?” Soon he had her laughing and giggling.

Penny hadn’t even noticed that Francesca, Violet, Jessica, and Chrissy were all there watching from the yoga mats. “Seriously, guys?” Chrissy said.

“You guys are afraid of a one-year-old kid?” Francesca added, laughing.

“No, we’re afraid of crying females. Age is of little importance,” Tony said.

“So ridiculous,” Jessica snorted.

“Shut it,” Travis shot back, Belle on his hip. “Come,” he said, leading Penny and Belle to the front, where there were chairs. “Please tell me that you didn’t come all the way here in a bus.”

“We’ve been taking the bus for over a year,” Penny protested.

“Yeah, but you didn’t have two crazy men tryin’ to take you and your kid, and you didn’t know if I would be filming today.”

It had never occurred to her that he wouldn’t like it if she came by. “You’re mad?”

He exhaled loudly and swiped at his face. “Penny. Your lunatic ex wants to drag you back to Oklahoma because if he does, your lunatic stepfather will give him fifty thousand dollars. There’s a shitload of cameras outside your apartment. People know we’re dating and have been itching to get a statement from you. You’re lucky that there aren’t any media types here today. Plus, if they’d scheduled filming for today, that would be another set of issues.”

“Sorry. I didn’t realize about your filming. Regarding Kip and Lawrence, you’re right. I was stupid in thinking that everything was okay just because he knows he’ll be cashing in. I guess I’ve just felt so safe with you that it didn’t occur to me.” She extended her hand with the bag. “Just wanted you to have a nice lunch and maybe see you for a few minutes. I’ve never seen you fight. Obviously, that was also a bad idea.” She gestured to Belle. “I’ll go.” She picked up her daughter and turned to go.

“Damn it,” he cursed, and grabbed her forearm. “I’m sorry for being short. I worry, is all. Of course I don’t mind you coming to watch. It’s new to me, all this—you, Belle. For a long time the only person I’ve had to worry about has been myself. Well, myself and JL. But this is different. I’ll probably screw up, a lot.”

“It’s new to me too. If I overstep or you feel suffocated, please just tell me. I don’t really know what I’m doing here.”

“C’mere, baby.” He pulled her close into a hug.

“My Twavis,” Belle piped up.

Travis laughed and wrapped his arms around both of them. “How ’bout a group hug?”

“Twavis, Mama, Belle,” Belle said, and all three laughed.

After they pulled apart, Travis set Belle down and looked into her eyes. “Will you come see me play-fight with Tony? I promise it’s pretend.”

“No!” Belle yelled.

“Okay, then come watch me hit the bag.”

“I don’t want to be in your way. We can just leave,” Penny said as he ushered them to the back.

“No way. Let me grab you a towel so you can sit on the yoga mats.”

“Travis, don’t worry about the mats.”

“They’re full of germs and sweat,” he said, then ran into the locker room and came back with two towels and a big bottle of hand sanitizer. “Don’t touch anything, Belle.”

“Travis, we just rode a public bus. This place looks a hundred times cleaner.”

“Yeah, but she’s just a little girl.” He spread out the towels and then crouched down to look Belle in the eye. “You’re my good girl, right, Belle?”

“My Twavis.”

Penny rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face.

“My Belle.” He winked. “My Belle will keep her hands on her lap, right?”

“Wite.”

Travis looked puzzled.

“She means ‘right,’ ” Penny translated.

“Oh, yeah, okay.” He smiled. “That’s my good girl.”

He started off with the jump rope. Belle tried to stand and go over to him, but fell.

“You want to jump rope?”

She reached for the rope.

“You know what? Screw this. Let’s go to our park.”

“Travis, no! I didn’t come here to disturb you.”

“Come on, it’s fine. Maybe in the grass, with other kids, she’ll be able to put a few steps together without falling.”

He pulled her by her arm, Belle on his hip. “See y’all tomorrow,” he yelled to Tony and the others, and walked out.

Penny laughed. “Travis, I didn’t even say goodbye.”

“It’s cool,” he said, helping them into the truck.

A few minutes later they were in the park, which was fairly quiet except for a few bigger kids swinging from the monkey bars. Travis carried Belle to the sandy beach, where he spread out a towel he’d snatched from the Academy and laid out lunch.

Then he shifted a giggling Belle under his arm, swinging her as he walked. “Little girl, it’s time you walked. Calhouns don’t like lazy. Plus, I saw a piece of cake in the bag. Come and get it.”

He put her on the sand, kissed her cheek, and then ran the ten feet back to Penny and sat down. “Come on, baby girl,” he called.

“You do know that she’s not a dog, cowboy?”

“I know that. But let’s give her some incentive, no?” He began to dig into the chicken salad, but Belle had lost all interest and was sitting in the sand playing. “You think she’ll do it?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

“Don’t know,” she said with a laugh. “You like the food, cowboy?” she added, looking into the empty container.

“Oh, uh…hell yeah. It was great.”

“Really? What was it?”

He looked back down and licked the fork. “Fucking great food is what it was.”

She shook her head and laughed. Then she lay down on her back. “This is nice,” she sighed, looking up at the cloudless sky. The sun was warm, but a light ocean breeze cooled things off.

“It is, baby.” He leaned over and kissed her lips. “Olivia watching Belle tonight?”

“Violet isn’t available, and Olivia got called in to work. A while ago Darlene volunteered to babysit, and I may take her up on it.”

He whipped his head around to look at her. “Darlene? No fucking way. She works as a topless waitress.”

“That’s not very nice of you, Travis. She’s a very kind person. She lives with her sisters and she’s training to be a phlebotomist. Waiting tables there is just a means to an end.”

“I don’t know what a phleboto-whatever-the-fuck is and I don’t care. I’ve seen her tits and so has half the town. No way.”

“Olivia used to strip too.”

“Didn’t know that.”

“So what? Now she can’t watch Belle? Since when are you that guy? This isn’t you, Travis. Let’s not forget that when I went to Ruby’s for my interview, you were there.”

“I’m a grown man. This is a little girl. And now that there is a little girl involved, the stakes have changed.”

“You’ve known Darlene for a long time. Olivia too. Longer than you’ve known me. They’re good people.”

“The best. But not good enough to watch Belle.”

“So what exactly do you propose? I can’t take her to Ms. Hannigan’s over at the apartment complex yet—there are still too many photographers around.”

“No, you can’t. Or ever again. She’s as old as Tarpon Springs.”

She snorted. “Anyone else who’s off-limits?”

“Yeah, my sister. Unless it’s truly an emergency.”

“JL? Are you crazy? She was the first person I got close to in this town. And
she’s
not qualified now?”

“No, she’s not, if I’m being honest. She has two kids of her own now. She won’t be able to give Belle the necessary attention.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Travis,” she said, tapping the brim of his baseball cap. “What am I supposed to do, then? Quit?”

He adjusted the cap and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m absolutely not going to quit my job, Travis.”

“Why not? You’re so good at accounting. I bet if I spoke with Joe—”

“Slow down, cowboy! You will not be talking to Joe, and you will not tell me to quit my job. For a year I had no one, not one person, and I managed. If you leave, I don’t want to find myself homeless and penniless. It’s a great job. I like it. So that’s a hard no.”

“Okay, okay, calm down. Then I’ll watch Belle tonight.”

“Yeah, no,” she snorted. “I don’t think so.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Let’s start with the fact that you once said you don’t like children. And by once I mean many times, and only a few weeks ago.”

“Never said that.”

“Actually, you said that specifically. On more than one occasion.”

“I’ve since changed my mind.” When she looked at him as if he was nuts, he clarified, “Okay, no, I haven’t changed my mind. But this isn’t just some random kid—this is Belle. I’m her Twavis! I really don’t mind. And Belle and I seem to be doing quite well together, don’t you think? We watched
Barney
for an hour this morning.”

“There’s also the issue that you don’t know the first thing about kids.”