The Best Bride. Сьюзен Мэллери

trying to set up drills for the kids. It wasn’t working. Travis thought about volunteering his services, but he was already committed to a pint-size football team. In a couple of weeks the practices would overlap.

      Mandy continued to run back and forth, laughing as she tried to kick the ball. Her smile made him think of her mother.

      Life wasn’t fair. Amber was ready to get involved in an affair. She would understand it for what it was and not expect more of him. He hadn’t had a woman in months, so he should have been tempted. But Amber didn’t do a thing for him. Not to mention the fact that she was married. He shrugged. He had a bad feeling that even if Amber had been single, he wouldn’t have been interested.

      Elizabeth, on the other hand, could turn him on in a heartbeat. She was single but not available, and certainly not the type a man played around with. If it wasn’t for that damned feeling he got when he was around her—the sense of belonging—he could put her out of his mind.

      But instead of trying to not think about her, he recalled their kiss. Hot and perfect. She’d gone all soft in his arms, holding on, kissing him back. His chest still burned where her breasts had pressed against him. She’d tasted sweet and ready. God knows he’d been ready. Even thinking about it made his jeans uncomfortable. He shifted on the bench and glanced at the kids still playing. Think about something else, Haynes, he told himself.

      I’m not who you think I am. Her words haunted him. What could they mean? She said she wasn’t married, and he didn’t think she was a liar. So what was it? Damn. He should have made her tell him. Barring that, he should have kissed her again, kissed her until neither of them cared about her mystery, or anything but the feelings they generated when they were together.

      A white sheriff’s car pulled up, distracting him. He stood and stretched, then walked over to the vehicle. Kyle stepped out and walked around the car.

      “What’s up?” Travis asked.

      Kyle shook his head. “Nothing’s up. I called the house and Elizabeth said you were here.” Kyle grinned. “Is she as pretty as she sounds?”

      “What happened to Lisa?”

      Kyle leaned against the car and folded his arms over his chest. “We broke up.”

      “You dumped her.”

      “Yeah. I guess.”

      Travis studied his twenty-eight-year-old brother. He’d been the one hardest hit by their mother’s leaving. He was six-two, lean, with the Haynes dark hair, eyes and good looks. Girls, women and old ladies loved him. He dumped them all before they could dump him.

      “What happened this time?” Travis asked.

      “You know, same old thing. She wasn’t right. So tell me about Elizabeth. I heard from Louise that she’s really pretty. And about my age.”

      “Don’t even think about it,” Travis growled.

      Kyle grinned. “Jealous, old man? That’s a first.”

      “I’m not jealous. Elizabeth is going through some things right now and she doesn’t need to get involved with a Romeo like you.”

      Kyle leaned forward and mockingly punched him in the stomach. Travis feinted right and shot back a jab of his own.

      “You’ve got it bad, big brother. The lady has you hogtied with luvvvv.”

      “It’s been less than two weeks. We’re just…friends.”

      Kyle dropped his arms to his side. “Sell it somewhere else. I recognize the signs. You’ll be parking your slippers under her bed by the end of the month.”

      Travis shoved his hands into his jeans front pockets. “It’s not what you think, Kyle. I like her.” How long had it been since he’d admitted that to himself or anyone else?

      Kyle’s good humor faded. His mouth pulled straight and his eyes darkened with sadness. “I guess that means you’re going to stay away from her, huh?”

      “I don’t have much choice.”

      “The Haynes curse.” Kyle turned and braced his forearms on the top of the marked sedan. “We’re all pretty bright. You’d think we’d have figured out a way to break the thing.”

      “You keep trying.”

      “Not anymore. I’m giving up on women.”

      “That’ll last about a minute.” He looked out at the field and watched Mandy play. She saw him and waved then went back to her game. “We make a sorry group, Kyle.”

      “That we do. And we’re contagious. Austin was probably normal before we got ahold of him.”

      Travis shook his head. “I don’t think so. Austin had trouble before he ever got to Glenwood. Maybe the five of us should start a twelve-step program. Hi, my name is Travis, and I don’t know how to make a relationship work.”

      Kyle pushed off the car and stepped into the street. “Let me know if it helps. Are we on for the game this Sunday?”

      Kyle, Austin and whichever of his other two brothers were around usually came over to watch football in the fall. He’d canceled last week because of Elizabeth.

      “Sure. She’s feeling better.”

      “So I will get to meet her.” Kyle’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

      “Yeah, but watch yourself.”

      “I will.”

      Travis watched his brother open his car door. Before he stepped inside, Travis called, “Wait a minute.” He walked around the hood of the vehicle and hesitated. “Can you run a name for me?”

      “Sure. Who?”

      He shouldn’t do this. If Elizabeth found out, she would be furious. Worse, she would be hurt. She’d said she hadn’t done anything illegal, but what if she’d been lying? He didn’t want to think that of her, but there was obviously something she wasn’t telling him.

      He pulled a pad of paper out of his back pocket and borrowed Kyle’s pen. He vacillated another second, then wrote the name “Sam Proctor” down and handed Kyle the sheet.

      “Call me if you find anything. And keep it under your hat.”

      Kyle studied the name. “No problem. See you Sunday.”

      Travis watched the car pull away from the curb. What would Elizabeth think when she’d found out what he’d done? What would he think if he learned her secret?

      * * *

      Mandy licked her ice-cream cone frantically, but the drips were faster. “Travis, help,” she called, holding out her hand.

      He grabbed two napkins and wiped her clean. By the time he was done with that hand, the other one was a mess.

      “You’ve got to learn to eat them quicker, honey.”

      Mandy giggled. She had several grass stains on her shirt and shorts from the soccer practice. There was a smudge of dirt on her cheek and chocolate ice cream on her chin. She was adorable.

      “I’m done.” She gave him the half-finished cone, which proceeded to drip all over his hand.

      “Great. Thanks.” He licked it a couple of times, then tossed it in the plastic-lined trash container in the ice-cream shop. He wiped both their hands, then collected their packages. Mandy slid off her stool and followed him out onto the street.

      “Hold this,” he said, handing her one of the bags. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out the list Elizabeth had made. “Okay, we bought T-shirts.”

      “Three of them,” Mandy said helpfully.

      “Yes, three. And shoes. We got underwear.”

      “With pink bunnies.”

      “The