Blue Autumn in the Bayou (Gumbo Love) (21 page)

CHAPTER 22

Autumn calmed down. She laid her head onto Travis’s chest, with her eyes squeezed shut to hold the tears at bay. Even though she knew her heart and her desire, she also knew that Travis would never betray his word. “What about you, Travis? Let me take care of you.”

“I’ll be fine, sweetheart.” He tried not to let her see how
uncomfortable he was. He captured her wandering hand headed straight for the object of his agony. “Just stay here with me for a minute. Would you do that for me?” He looked down into her face.

She could see the passion smo
ldering in his dark gaze, but she also saw something else. He closed his eyes before she could discover what it was. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Positive.”
Again, in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but think about the stunt Savannah pulled and how hurt Autumn would be if they ran into each other, or God forbid, if Savannah showed up when he and Autumn were together. He had to tell her.

Autumn stilled as she listened to his rapid heartbeat
, but it didn’t take long before she fidgeted within his embrace. The heat of his body, and the heady aroma, which until then she’d not noticed, kept her aroused. He owned more restraint that she ever could. Autumn knew then that Mer Drace had been correct. Travis would give up himself to give her what he thought she needed. She finally rested her head against his chest and fell asleep.

Travis
, on the other hand, suffered through Autumn’s squirming. Not until she finally settled down was he able to get a moment of peace. Since she couldn’t manage to be still, he remained motionless until he felt her steady breathing. He meticulously peeled her body off of him and slipped from the bed. He pulled the throw at the foot of the bed over her and headed to the guest room shower.

* * * *

By the time Autumn woke up, she fumbled in the tangled covers, trying to remember where she was. The room was completely dark and she was in bed alone. Travis had thrown a blanket over her. She felt her way toward the end of Travis’s bed and swung her legs over the side.

She groaned as she stood. She remembered the interlude with Travis and how obviously
uncomfortable he was because he got no release. She’d not helped the situation much. One of them had to be in control and she was thankful it was Travis. Her body still ached with need, and taking a cold shower would help, so she shuffled to the bathroom and flipped on a switch. She immediately covered her eyes to adjust to the light.

Once she was done, she went to search for Travis. She found him on back deck in a recliner. The patio lamps glowed softly above his head. He clenched a cold
, wet bottle of beer in one hand while he thumbed through his BlackBerry with the other. He paused and looked up when she slid the door open. He put down both the beer and the phone, and opened his arms to her. Autumn slipped down into the chair with Travis. “Hi, baby. Did you rest well?” He inhaled the fresh scent of his shower gel on her body.

Autumn eased into Travis’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I guess I did. I didn’t realize how tired I was.” She pecked his lips and stared into his face. She keenly
remembered his manly scent. It would be forever seared into her senses.

“You’ve had a long day. So it’s understandable that you were tired. Are you hungry? I made you something to eat when you’re ready for it.”

“Right now, I just want to be with you.”

Travis shifted his body to accommodate her and they snuggled together and watched the stars. “So
, what do you have planned for me this weekend, Sir Brooks?”

“Well, we were supposed to go over to my parents’ house tonight.”

“What?” She sat up in his lap. “Why didn’t you wake me? Oh, Travis, I’m sorry. Is it too late to go over now? I can change quickly.” She pulled at his T-shirt she found in the drawers in the bathroom.

“It’s okay. They understood. We can swing by tomorrow before we meet Trae, Reggie, Michael, and Denise. We’re headed over to the carnival for a couple of hours. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to one. We used to go all the time.”

“Sounds like fun. It’s been a while since I’ve been.” She smiled.

“Good. We’ll have fun.”

“Okay.” Then her expression turned serious. “Travis, about this afternoon. I’m sorry.”

“What for, sweetheart
? What are you sorry for?”

“I started…”

Travis pressed his fingers against her lips halting anything she’d planned to say. He replaced the fingers with his lips. He kissed her with all the love he had in his heart. He put the passion on pause because he didn’t want her to regret anything they did together; that included making love to her. But it was that moment he decided he needed to come clean with her, about Savannah. “Babe, I have something to tell you, and I know you’re not going to be happy to hear it.”

Autumn examined the serious expression on his face. “Okay.”

“It’s about Savannah.”

“What about her?” The quiver in her voice gave away the anxiety at hearing the woman’s name.

“Come on, let’s go inside and talk.”

She reluctantly followed him inside. Neither had mentioned Savannah since the episode at the airport.

Travis took a minute before he spoke. “Right after we talked about your run-in at the airport, She came back to see me. Not right away, but a week or so afterwards. And… I’ve seen her on a couple of occasions since.”

Autumn recoiled, like he’d slapped her, hard. She was about to run for the door, but Travis must have sensed that she would attempt to escape, which is why he held on her arms. “Wait, baby, let me explain.”

She pulled her arms in his grip, but he added slight pressure to keep her in place. Suddenly, his touch felt like pins and she didn’t want anything to do with it. “Why? What is there to explain? Let me go, Travis.”

“First of all, I promised to be straight with you.”

“Sure, and so when were you going to tell me? Wait, is she here now?”

“If you mean by here in New Orleans, yes.”

Autumn jerked her arms from his grasp and that time, he let her go, but followed her closely as she headed for the bedroom.

“Autumn, listen to me. I’m not interested in Savannah or anyone else. I’ve committed to you and I don’t want you to think—”

“What? That while I’m in New York, you’re out having a good time with an old fling? Really Travis?” Autumn picked up her bag and started jamming stuff into it. Her body shook uncontrollably, but she would not reveal just how unnerving Travis’s news made her.

No wonder you don’t need me to give you release… you’re getting plenty from Savannah. Just when
I thought…

“Look, I didn’t have to tell you anything, Autumn. But I owe it to you to tell you the truth. I don’t have feelings for Savannah.”

Autumn stopped in her tracks. The cosmetic bag in her hand was headed for the empty spot in her suitcase when she turned. “Was Savannah at your office last night, Travis?” She narrowed her eyes as she watched all the color drain from his face. And when he didn’t answer right away, she said. “Exactly!”

“No, wait.” He recovered. “I mean, yes, but I—”

“So, this woman is at your job, late at night. And she had the nerve to try and disguise her voice when she answered your private line.” She added inflection to the word “private.” “What do you have to say about that? Do you take me for a fool?” She slammed the bag into her suitcase.

Autumn’s comments sent his mind swirling.

Savannah had answered my phone.

He instantly went from shock to rage. “What did you say?” He stepped into Autumn’s space. He lowered his face to only inches away from hers. “Autumn?”

“You heard me. I thought you didn’t play these games, Travis. You could have fooled me.” She turned to leave the room.

He followed closely behind her. “For your information, I didn’t know you’d called because I was not in my office, and yes, she came by, but I sent her away.”

She headed to the front door and with one hand on the handle, she turned it, but it didn’t give. She fumbled with the bolt lock. “I’m out of here.” Her hands shook and the tremors traveled through her entire body.

“Where are you going Autumn? And how? We really need to talk about this, baby, please.” He didn’t try to touch her. He could only imagine what state of mind she was in and he didn’t want to inflame the situation.

She swung around, hitting his leg with her bag. “Can I borrow your truck?” She dared to meet his gaze. “I’ll make sure you get it back.” She acted extremely calm given the circumstances. She just needed to get the hell out before she lost her composure.

Travis’s hand went for the suitcase. “The alarms are set.”
He knew she would not be able to release the front locks. He’d already set the alarm and the release procedures required him to key them in.

Autumn pulled at the luggage. If he didn’t release her soon, she couldn’t promise to be responsible for her actions. Just when she thought she had a promising start, here she was again, getting a reality check. “Please, Travis. I want to leave.”

“Give me a chance to explain, and if you want to leave afterwards, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, I promise.”

Autumn released the suitcase and stomped off, “As if your promises mean anything.” She sat on a stool at the breakfast bar. Her heart ached and her mind raced a million miles a minute. Still she fought to hold her emotions in check.

Travis took a seat across from her. “How about I start from the beginning?” He took a long breath.

* * * *

An hour of telling his truth didn’t gain him much with Autumn, at first. However, determined to make her understand, he poured his heart out to her. In the end he said, “I was protecting you, Autumn.”

“I don’t need you to protect me. I’m capable of taking care of myself” she interrupted.

He touched her arm, the first time since their conversation began. “I would never do anything intentional to hurt you. Never.” He touched her face next, but she pulled back from his hand. Still he persistently continued on. “Not many things in my life frighten me, but the thought of losing you scares the hell of me.”

Even though she struggled with what he revealed, his last comment touched her heart.
She pulled her hand down one side of his unshaven jaw until her fingers cupped his chin and lifted his face. She watched him, looking for any shreds of doubt or any lie that might reveal itself in his gaze.

“Please forgive me, Autumn. I will not allow Savannah to come between us, again.”

Autumn didn’t give in at first. It took another lengthy conversation to make her reevaluate exactly who she was dealing with. “How can I trust you to protect this heart of mine?” She jabbed her finger in her chest.

“You know, that since meeting me, I’ve never lied to you. My word, my family is everything. I also believe that your heart is big enough to give me a chance to show you how much I love you. And Autumn, I love you. When you hurt, I hurt.” He knelt next to her.

“I’ve waited all my life for you, and now here you are, Travis.” She did what she promised to do when they first started: take the leap. “What took you so long to find me?” she whispered.

“You’ll have to talk to the maker, my love. I’m just happy that I found you. Now you’re mine.
I will never let you go.”

“I like the sound of that. I’m yours
. You’re mine.”

* * * *

Reggie glowed when Autumn finally saw her the next morning. She possessed all the appearances of a happy mother-to-be. Autumn and Travis picked up the newlyweds and stopped by their parents’ house. They laughed and talked before the siblings headed to the fairgrounds. Reggie nibbled on a corndog; the others watched.

“Come on, let’s do the bungee jump.” Travis pulled Autumn toward the gated area where onlookers gathered to watch brave fair-goers take th
e plunge.

“I’m in.” Trae lifted his hand.

“So am I.” Michael added.

“Don’t look at me.” Autumn shook her head defiantly. She had no desire to strap up to a contraption
, and then leap toward the ground until the bungee cord whipped her up and down with no control. The idea frightened her even more when Travis decided to do it. Even as Travis pulled her toward the bungee area, she feared something bad would happen.

So when Travis peeled her fingers from his arm, she looked up at his wide
-toothed grin. “It’ll be fun, babe. Come on, you should try.” He raised her fingers to his mouth and pressed his full lips on her knuckles.

All she could do was shake her head until the lump in her
throat passed. “No, Travis. Maybe you guys shouldn’t.” A chill ran through her body. Something about the idea didn’t feel right. She didn’t want to spoil their fun, but her gut said it was a bad decision. “Travis, baby, please. Why don’t we do something else?”