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“No, ma’am, we didn’t. That’s why I’m here. Private First Class Porter asked me to personally deliver this to you,” he said, reaching inside his breast pocket for the letter that had traveled home with him.
Travis forced himself to continue. “He stressed that it was very important you receive it as soon as possible.”
The look of fear that crossed the woman’s face suddenly tore at his heartstrings as she took the envelope from his fingers, her own hand shaking ever so slightly. Her confused stare met his.
“There’s nothing wrong with him, is there?” she asked, a rise of distress spilling into her tone. “Damien’s okay, isn’t he?”
Travis nodded. “When I last saw him he was doing just fine.”
Tierra exhaled a deep sigh of relief, pulling the letter to her chest. “You scared me,” she said, her voice dropping a few octaves.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Travis responded. He took a step toward her, the move unconscious as he suddenly wanted to pull her into his arms to ease the nervous edge that had gripped her spirit. “I really didn’t mean to upset you.”
Tierra giggled softly, mildly embarrassed. “I’m fine,” she said, brushing her palm against his forearm. “I’m also very rude. I haven’t even offered you anything to drink. Can I get you something, Travis?”
“No, but thank you for offering. Unfortunately, I really have to be going,” the man said, moving back in the direction of the door. “My taxi is waiting for me downstairs.”
“But you’ll come back? Right?” Tierra asked, the words slipping past her full lips before she could stop them. She stammered ever so slightly. “I…I mean, when Damien gets here tomorrow. You’ll come back and have dinner with us, and you’ll come to the wedding, I hope?”
That brilliant smile washed over him a second time. Travis suddenly felt like a match had ignited him on fire. He would have given anything for a cool wave of air to still the heat that had rushed from his head to his feet. “Certainly,” he muttered softly, trying to ignore an obvious wave of jealousy that was washing over him. “I look forward to it,” he said, the polite fib rolling like butter off his tongue.
“Thank you for stopping by,” Tierra said. “I know Damien really appreciates everything you’ve done for him. And this—” She gestured with the sealed mailer. “This was truly above and beyond your call of duty.”
Nodding his head, Travis excused himself, then stepped into the hallway. As the door closed behind him, he suddenly couldn’t help but wonder what had been secured inside the envelope he’d just delivered.
Locking the door behind her unexpected guest, Tierra moved from her foyer to the large windows that looked out to the lighted ball atop Reunion Tower and the neighboring Bank of America building. The stunning views had been a key selling point when she had searched for her first home. But Damien hadn’t been impressed.
Damien hadn’t wanted her to invest any of the money she’d inherited from her late grandfather into a home. The man had had a million get-rich-quick schemes that he thought would be more fruitful. But Tierra had erred on the side of caution, seeking out her grandmother’s advice and advice from the attorney who’d been hired to oversee the small fortune she and her brother had been blessed with. The security of real estate had proven to be exactly what she’d needed, despite Damien not wanting to support her decision.
Sliding a manicured nail beneath the sealed flap, Tierra tore open the envelope, anxious to read what was inside. She smiled to herself, hoping the sweet words Damien had written to pave his way home would endear him to their friends and family.
Pulling the neatly printed note from inside, she read it once, twice and then a third time. An hour later she was still reading it over and over again, the first of many tears streaming over the curve of her high-boned cheeks as she tried to make sense of the words that tore at her soul.
Chapter 3
The taxi driver, still trying to make small talk about the political issues currently in the headlines, pulled his taxi past the gated entrance of Briscoe Ranch, maneuvering the circular driveway to the front entrance of the large home. With a quick nod of gratitude, Travis pressed two twenty-dollar bills into the man’s hand and made a quick escape from the backseat of the vehicle.
As Travis watched the car make its way back off the property, he turned around to take in his surroundings. Briscoe Ranch was well over eight hundred acres of working cattle ranch, an equestrian center and an entertainment complex that specialized in corporate and private client services. The ranch housed two 20,000 square-foot event barns and a country bed-and-breakfast. With the property being central to Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth, Briscoe Ranch had made quite a name for itself. Travis was duly impressed.
Turning back toward the steps and the front door, he grinned widely when it suddenly swung open and his cousins Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Stallion all came barreling down to greet him.
The noise and banter was reminiscent of when they’d all been under the age of ten racing from one end of their late grandparent’s home to the other. Each and every summer the cousins would come together and play until they were all exhausted. Those had been some of the best times in their young lives.
Travis couldn’t help but note the deep family resemblance. The four brothers were the spitting image of his uncle, their father, David Stallion, and David’s brother Joseph, Travis’s father. All the men boasted imposing statures, black-coffee complexions, chiseled jaw lines and charismatic smiles. That striking family resemblance had skipped Travis, with him inheriting his mother’s café au lait complexion and her light hazel-green eyes. But even with their differences, side by side he and his kin looked like chocolate and vanilla reflections of each other.
“Yo, soldier boy!” Mark Stallion bellowed, wrapping the large man in a big bear hug.
Luke slapped his cousin’s palm. “Travis, my man!”
“Isn’t he pretty in his uniform.” Matthew laughed, his tone teasing as he embraced his cousin.
“Exceptionally!” John responded, he and Travis shaking hands as they bumped shoulders. “Welcome home, family!”
“It’s good to be back.” Travis grinned. “And look at you guys! I see this good life has been treating you four very well,” he said as he patted Mark’s abdomen.
John laughed. “That’s sympathy weight. Mark’s wife is expecting a baby, and for every pound she gains, Mark is gaining five.”
Mark flipped a finger at his older brother. “Maybe two, but definitely not five.”
“When did you get married?” Travis said, surprise showing on his face. “Weren’t you going to be a confirmed bachelor forever?”
The large black man laughed, his head shaking. “I was, but then I met Mitch. I just couldn’t help myself. The woman just took my breath away,” Mark exclaimed, joy shimmering in his eyes.
Travis nodded, the memory of his encounter with Tierra Braddy suddenly intruding on his thoughts. He could fully understand how a woman might take a man’s breath away, because Tierra had clearly left him gasping for air. He turned his focus back to the conversation and his cousins, who were regaling him with info about Mark’s mechanic wife and their whirlwind romance.
“My girl tamed this Stallion man big-time,” Mark said, his laugh a deep rumble that flowed from his midsection.
Matthew shook his head in agreement. “Brother finally had to turn in his little black book. But you know how Mark is,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Once John does something, he has to go and do it, too. Just like when we were kids.”
Travis locked eyes with John. “Your wife’s not pregnant, too, is she?”
John shook his head vehemently. “Oh, heck no!”
A soft voice called down from the top of the steps. “Why do you say it like that, John Stallion?” Marah Stallion asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared down at her husband and his brothers.
John’s wide smile gleamed back at her. “I was just saying that we weren’t pregnant, baby! I didn’t say it like it was anything bad!”
Marah laughed, a wry smirk filling her face. “I bet you didn’t! You better watch yourself, John Stallion. You know I don’t play like that!” She turned her attention to their arriving guest. “Hey, Travis! Just leave those jokesters standing right there and come on inside here. We’ve been cooking all afternoon. I hope you’re hungry.”
Travis laughed as he tossed his duffle bag into Luke’s arms. “I’m starved. How are you doing, Marah?” he queried as he made his way to the top of the steps, leaning to kiss the woman’s cheek.
“I’m doing just fine. I know you must be good and tired after your trip.”
“I am. A good meal, a hot shower and a few hours of sleep and I might actually feel normal again,” Travis said with a wide smile.
Marah patted his back. “I think we can take care of that for you,” she said. She glanced over her shoulder, her husband shaking his head.
“You better be on top of your game tonight, Mr. Stallion. I’m not going to forget that ‘heck no’ comment anytime soon.”
John pretended to groan, still grinning as he and his brothers made their way behind Travis and Marah. “Don’t be like that, baby,” he said, his voice a low whine. “You know I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Marah giggled. “I don’t know anything of the sort.”
John leaned to kiss his wife’s mouth as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. “Let me make it up to you,” he said, his voice dropping to a low whisper as he nuzzled his cheek against hers.
Travis laughed. “I can certainly see what marriage and this good life has done to you!”
The sumptuous midday meal had left Travis full and satisfied. Marah had piled his plate high with fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, corn bread and peach cobbler and had supplied freshly brewed and sweetened tea. He’d eaten well and was still stuffed from the experience.
He stepped out of the shower, wrapping his muscular body in an oversize, plush white towel. A stark contrast to the rough army towels he’d been using, the soft cotton fabric felt luxurious against his skin. Travis closed his eyes, relishing the sensation. An image of Tierra Braddy suddenly flitted through his mind, and he couldn’t help but imagine how she might feel in his arms, her body pressed tight against his naked flesh. The imagery sent a spark of heat straight to his southern hemisphere, causing every muscle in his body to tense with frustration.
Moving to the sink, Travis turned on the faucet and splashed his face with cold water. This was getting out of control. He had only met the woman for a brief moment, and here he was starting to fantasize about her. Besides that, she had a man, and chasing another man’s woman was not something he would ever contemplate. It had just been way too long since he’d enjoyed some female companionship on an intimate level. He was suddenly acting as if he were fifteen again, when raging hormones controlled his male impulses. He needed to regain some serious control.
Moving back into the immaculately decorated guest bedroom, he dropped down onto the bed and lay his body back against the padded mattress. Before sleep quickly consumed him, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the woman. And he couldn’t help but wonder if, just maybe, Tierra Braddy might be thinking of him, as well.
“I’ll bet he got himself a good laugh out of it,” Tierra exclaimed loudly as she paced the floor from wall to wall. “I can just imagine what a fool he thought I was, me going on and on about the wedding and the whole time Damien wasn’t planning to show up.”
Tierra brushed her tears away with the back of her hand, smearing her mascara and the blush that highlighted her cheeks. The magnitude of her situation blanketed her spirit. “How could he do this to me!” she moaned sadly, dejection masking her face.
Eden Waller and her younger sister, Marla Baron, both shook their heads, clucking their tongues in sympathy. Eden leaned forward in her seat, meeting Tierra’s teary gaze as she passed the yellow sheet of lined note paper back to her friend.
“Tea, sweetie, you know better than anyone how Damien is. He’s hurt you before. You know he was capable of doing that to you and worse. The guy is scum.”
Tierra tossed her hands up in frustration. “Not Damien!” she wailed. “His sergeant… How could the man just drop news like that in my lap and walk away? He seemed so sweet. How could he do that to me?”
Eden stole a quick glance toward her sister, the two women exchanging a confused look between them.
“Are you sure he knew?” Marla asked. “I mean, do you think he read the letter?”
Tierra stomped to the other side of the room. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. I’m sure he knew. I just find it hard to believe Damien didn’t tell him what he was up to. You know how men are. They put their business out there more than women do.”
Both Eden and Marla took a deep inhale of air at the same time, the two women sensing that nothing they could say would give their friend any comfort. Neither of them had been surprised when a hysterical Tierra had shown up at the ranch devastated by the Dear John letter her beloved fiancé had sent to her. No one expected much of anything from Damien. They’d tried for too many years to get Tierra to see that the love of her life wasn’t a man worthy of her heart. Eden had said it best: men like Damien Porter were what bad sperm produced.
Marla rose from her seat, offering Tierra a tissue for her runny nose. She shook her head. “What can we do to help you, Tea?”
Tierra finally collapsed into a chair, the hurt of it all weighing her down. She, too, shook her head. She couldn’t begin to fathom how anyone could do anything to make any of this well ever again. “I guess I won’t be needing that chapel now,” she muttered softly.
Eden tapped a comforting palm against Tierra’s knee. “Why don’t you stay here at the ranch with us for a few days? Take some time away from your normal routine to get some perspective. Next week you might actually see that this was for the best. Better it happened now than later, Tierra.”
Tierra briefly closed her eyes, tears pooling behind her eyelids. “You sound like my grandmother,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “She said the same thing.”
Tierra’s grandmother, Deloriann Braddy, had never been a woman who bit her tongue. Mama Dee had been saying loudly, and often, how she didn’t support Tierra’s decision to marry Damien. She also hadn’t bit back her glee in learning the wedding was off. It was just as the old woman had predicted would happen. Damien had betrayed her.
Tierra nodded her head. “Are you sure it won’t be any inconvenience? I just don’t want to be alone in my apartment, and I’d rather live out of my car than go to my granny’s and have her and Tingin say they told me so one more time.”
Marla nodded. “It’s no problem at all. You know we have a ton of space here, and right now the only other guest we have is John’s cousin visiting for the month.”
“John?” Tierra queried
“Our sister Marah’s husband. I don’t think you’ve met Marah yet, have you?” Marla responded.
Tierra shook her head. “Not yet.” There was a moment of pause while Tierra contemplated what she should do. Finally, she answered, “Well, if you’re sure it won’t be a problem.”
Eden wrapped her arms around Tierra’s shoulders. “We are. Come on. I’ll show you where your room will be.”
Following behind her friend, Tierra swiped at the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes for the umpteenth time. She hated that she couldn’t stop crying, but it hurt to admit that she had been wrong. It hurt even more to think that after all this time Damien hadn’t really cared about her at all.
At the top of the stairwell, Tierra turned to her friend and gave a sincere smile. “Eden, I really appreciate this.”
Eden grinned. “Everything’s going to be all right, Tea. Just keep believing that.”
As Tierra turned back toward the hallway, she wasn’t prepared for the large man who suddenly bounded from behind a closed door, stepping directly in front of her path. The duo slammed harshly into each other.
Instinctively, Travis reached out to grab the woman he’d just bowled over, intent on keeping her from falling to the floor. “I am so sorry,” the man exclaimed, his voice echoing loudly around them.
“Ouch,” Tierra muttered at the same time, gripping tight to the large arms that held her firmly by the shoulders. “Excuse me.” She looked up into the man’s face, recognition washing over her. “You!”
Travis’s eyes widened with surprise. “Ms. Braddy!”
The couple stood staring for just a brief moment, then before she could stop herself, Tierra balled up a tight fist and slammed it hard into Travis Stallion’s abdomen.
Chapter 4
Travis was still rubbing at his sore stomach muscles. Had he been expecting the slam into his solar plexus, it probably wouldn’t have bothered him at all. But Tierra’s punch had caught him completely off guard, and truth be told, for a little woman she packed one heck of a punch.
He still didn’t have a clue what he had done to deserve being punched but figured by the way Tierra had run back down the length of stairs and out the front door that it had to have something to do with the letter he delivered.
Eden had only shrugged her shoulders before turning an about-face to go after the woman. The expression on her face was as shocked as his.
Making his way downstairs, Travis’s curiosity was piqued. He was even more interested in knowing how Tierra had even known to find him there. Question after question raced through his thoughts as he stepped out onto the large porch.
The two women stood in front of the porch swing, Tierra sobbing uncontrollably. Her tears unnerved Travis and his usual steady and calm demeanor was suddenly anxious. Pushing both hands into the deep pockets of his jeans, Travis’s steps forward were tentative, the man not wanting to intrude where he might not be wanted.
Eden acknowledged him first, her head shaking with concern. She patted Tierra gently on the shoulder, leaning to give her friend a quick hug before making a polite exit. As Eden moved past Travis, she leaned up to whisper into his ear.
“Go easy on her. She just had her heart broken.”
Travis nodded ever so slightly. He took a quick glance over his shoulder as Eden stepped through the home’s front door. The woman’s stare back was equally curious as she looked from him to Tierra and back. She tossed him a quick smile of encouragement before disappearing inside. Turning his gaze toward Tierra, Travis didn’t have a clue what to say or do. The woman’s distress had knocked him completely off center.
Consumed with grief, Tierra didn’t bother to acknowledge him. Dropping down onto the swing’s cushioned seat, she dropped her head into her hands, swiping at the tears that didn’t look like they’d be stopping anytime soon.
Travis took a deep breath, blowing warm air back out slowly. He moved to Tierra’s side and took the seat beside her. Neither one said a word as they settled shoulder to shoulder against each other. Travis fought the urge to wrap his arms around her torso, sensing the gesture wouldn’t be appreciated. He heaved another deep sigh.
Staring out over the landscape, Travis watched the comings and goings of the ranch hands as they went about their morning chores. Having forgotten his wristwatch in his room, he had no idea how long they’d been sitting there, but when the horses were being corralled to another pasture and his stomach was rumbling loudly for a morning meal, he figured it was as good a time as any to initiate a conversation. Tierra’s sobs had finally slowed to a low sniffle, then suddenly she had a bad case of the hiccups.
Travis smiled sweetly. “Hold your breath. That might help.”
Tierra cut a quick glance in his direction. “That never—” hic “—works,” she muttered harshly.
There was a moment of pause before Travis said anything else. “Would you like me to get you a large glass of water?” he asked.
“I just want—” hic “—you to—” hic “—leave me alone,” Tierra answered.
Travis moved to get up from his seat, but Tierra’s next comment stopped him cold.
“I thought you—” hic “—were nice. Why—” hic “—would you do that—” hic “—to me? How—” hic “—could you?”
A look of confusion dropped over the man. Gripping her by her shoulders, Travis moved Tierra to face him. “How could I do what? I don’t know what it is you’re talking about, Tierra.”
