Travis Comes Home. Patricia Thayer

the guest room. Someone else needed a start, too. What was Josie going to do if she didn’t get this job? How was she going to take care of her child?

      “Before I build a Web page, I’ll need some pictures of the valley. Have you had any other offers to do the brochure?”

      By the half-hidden smiles on his brothers’ faces, he knew they weren’t buying his innocent question. Cade spoke up. “Abby likes Josie’s photos. But I was hoping to get a look at the pictures she took of the valley.”

      “Why don’t I take the roll in tomorrow and have it developed, then you can decide?”

      “Sure. We’re going to have to move quickly on this. Abby wants to send the brochures out to some travel agents.”

      “I’ll talk to Josie.”

      “How is she feeling?” Hank asked, unable to hide his concern.

      “Her ankle hurts, but she’s too stubborn to admit it. She doesn’t like having to stay here.”

      Hank frowned. “Are you giving her the impression that we don’t want her to stay?”

      Travis shook his head. “No. I know now I was wrong to treat her like I did.”

      “It takes a big man to admit his mistakes.”

      “And to see that the woman is a real looker,” Chance added.

      Travis felt the heat rise to his face. “I bet Joy would love to hear how you feel.”

      Chance scooted his large frame lower in the chair. “My wife doesn’t have to worry, she knows exactly how I feel. But a man can’t help but admire beauty.”

      “Is that so, Mr. Randell?” Joy asked as she came through the door, carrying her sleeping six-month-old daughter.

      “I’m in big trouble,” Chance joked as he stood and went to his wife. He kissed her, then took the baby.

      His wife smiled up at him. “You can be saved if you take me home and convince me I’m the only woman in the world for you.”

      “My pleasure,” he said.

      Everyone wandered into the house, and saying their goodbyes, Cade gathered Abby, and their seven-year-old son, Brandon, and they all walked to the trucks. Hank, Ella and Travis waved them all off and returned to the house. Ella retired to her living quarters next to the kitchen while Hank and Travis headed for the stairs.

      “I’m glad you changed your attitude about Josie,” Hank said. “She seems nice. And with a baby on the way, she’s going to need friends.”

      Travis agreed, but just her presence here was going to be distracting for him. “She was worried what we’d think about her being pregnant.”

      Hank shook his head. “Assure her that she’s welcome to stay here as long as she needs to recover. After all, she was hurt on the property.”

      Travis nodded but didn’t know if it was a good idea that Josie stay here. Not when even he felt obligated to help her. He knew all too well about women in need. That had been how he’d met Lisa. She’d come to Private Access to answer an ad for a secretarial job about a year ago, and although she wasn’t qualified, he’d hired the pretty blonde. Now, looking back, he wondered if she’d planned to use him from the beginning. Travis had learned the hard way not to trust so easily…again.

      He stopped at Josie’s room and listened, then opened the door and stepped into darkness. With only the moonlight to light his way, he walked to the bed, telling himself he was there to check on her condition.

      He studied the pretty woman asleep on the pillow. She looked so peaceful he hated to wake her, but he leaned over and touched her shoulder. “Josie…” he whispered.

      She made a moaning sound, then opened her eyes and gasped. “Travis?”

      Her husky voice sent warm shivers through him. “I need to check your eyes.”

      “I’m fine.”

      He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Do you have to argue about everything?”

      “No,” she said as she sat up, then grimaced.

      “Your ankle still hurt?”

      “A little.”

      “Do you need something for the pain?”

      She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to take anything because of the baby.”

      “Of course,” he said and glanced down at her flat stomach. She didn’t look pregnant. Of course, she was only a few months along, but he couldn’t help but wonder how long before she started showing. What would she look like with a rounded belly?

      He quickly shook away the thought and picked up the penlight on the bedside table, leaned forward, and shone it in her eyes, and caught a whiff of her. A fragrance he couldn’t describe other than it was Josie. Somehow he managed to check to see if her pupils were dilated—they weren’t.

      “You’re fine. Do you need anything?” he asked.

      “I’m okay. Really,” she said as she rotated her neck.

      “Your neck sore?”

      “A little,” she admitted.

      Without thinking about the consequences, he placed his hands on her neck. A warmth shot through him as he silently worked the tight muscles in her neck. He didn’t want to think about the silky texture of her skin, or how close he was to her. But when she released a quiet whimper, he couldn’t take any more.

      “That should help,” he said and stood. “I’m close by if you need me, and I’ll be back in a few hours to check your eyes again.”

      She opened her mouth to argue, but this time he placed a finger over her lips. Another mistake. They were so soft, so warm. “I can be more stubborn than you, Josie. So accept the fact that we’re here to help you.”

      She sighed in resignation.

      He started to turn away. “I forgot. I was wondering if I could take your film in to be developed. Abby would like to see the pictures you took of the valley.”

      “Sure,” she said, and pointed to the dresser. “My camera is over there.”

      Travis retrieved the top-of-the-line 35mm camera and handed it to her. Josie hit the rewind button, then popped open the case, pulled out the roll of film and gave it to him.

      “I’ll take good care of it for you,” he promised.

      “Thank you.”

      “As Hank would say, ‘just being neighborly.’” He walked out of the room, his pulse still racing like a sprinter. Damn. He refused to let another woman get under his skin.

      Chapter Three

      A large yellow glow brightened the blue sky as the sun started to peek over the distant hills. Hank leaned against the porch railing, enjoying the incredible view. This had always been his favorite part of the day. Dawn.

      He took a hearty sip of Ella’s coffee. The woman couldn’t cook to save herself, but she did make the best brew around. He smiled, knowing that she was the happiest he’d seen her in years.

      That was because all the boys were home.

      Hank wasn’t feeling too bad about it, either. Although Chance, Cade and Travis weren’t really his, he always thought of them that way. Since the day he’d taken them in and given them a home, they’d been like his own boys. Although Cade and Travis had been gone for years, they were home now.

      And two of those supposedly wild Randell boys were settled now. Chance had a wife and a baby daughter. At first Hank thought the boy was just plain crazy agreeing to marry a woman he’d only known less than a week just so he could get ahold of some land. But it hadn’t taken long for Chance to fall