Blue Autumn in the Bayou (Gumbo Love) (40 page)

Travis
started the symphony of alternated quick short strokes with long hard ones, until Autumn relented in his grip. He squeezed her against him until he reached his own climax. Instead of shrinking, he remained erect and hungry for more. Without breaking their bond, he moved her to the chaise near the window. With desperation, he resumed his loving with the same intensity. Autumn moaned as Travis moved her from one orgasm to the next, before he found the strength, he released her. “I have to lock up.”

“Hurry back.” She watched him leave the room. When he came back
, he joined Autumn in their bed, and picked up from where they left off, only this time they went much slower.

Autumn sat in the middle. “I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t play games, Autumn. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I promise to respect you and to give you space when you need it, but I won’t put up with bullshit.” He met her gaze head on. “We’re in this together, for the long haul, or not at all.”

Autumn didn’t shy from his sco
wl or his words. She knew that Travis insisted that they be straight up with one another, a lesson learned earlier. She understood well what he meant. She reached up and touched the hard angles in his face.

Travis clasped her hand in his and held it. “I mean it, Autumn.” He held her gaze.
“I’m in your corner, always. You have to trust me.”

She nodded. “I know.
I do trust you and I promise to be your partner, in everything, Travis. Even when I’m not sure how.”

“We have to work together.” He pulled her close. “You are my life now, Autumn. We are a team
, and we support one another, no matter what. Can we do that? Really I don’t expect things to be perfect. But I do expect to us to be a unit.”

“Yes.”

“That’s my girl. Now, I have to tell you about Clem, but first I need to call my office.”

* * * *

When all of Mer Drace’s children found out that Demarcus was at her house, they all marched there. She’d turned them away when they’d tried to go there individually. When they arrived, she asked, “Why are you people here?”

“‘You people’ are your children. Quit stalling and let us in Mer Drace,” Damon, the oldest, demanded.

Mer Drace had decided to let Demarcus tell his side of the story and had been in her house together since he showed up at her door. Now his children were there and wanted the same thing.

CHAPTER 41

Autumn could hardly believe that Tyler was a month old. The entire Brooks and Miles family all stood around waiting to be escorted into the sanctuary
for his christening. She held the active little bundle as he turned toward every voice calling his name. “Who are all of these smiling faces, little man? Look at all of your family.”

After the christening, the family gathered at Clem’s house. Open barbeque pits smoked with moist ribs, chicken, and sausages. Uncle Ted had two large vats over gas spits filled with crabs and crawfish. Children ran through the huge yard. A few swung from the swings Clem built especially for his great nieces and nephews.

The men gathered at one end of the yard smack-talking as usual. Clem’s thick jazzy tunes blasted from speakers near the area where the men stood. Travis glanced in Autumn’s direction as she chatted with some of his cousins. She wrapped her arms around Trish as they leaned against one of the huge trees draped with moss.

He summoned her to look his way, but she seemed preoccupied with the young ladies gathered around her. Just as he was about to bring his attention back to the group, she
glanced up. She smiled and everyone in her cluster giggled when they saw Travis.

When she looked back in Travis’s direction he still watched her. His thick brows drew a rigid line across his forehead, and his eyes smo
ldered with a darkness she recognized. Whenever he stressed or pondered something seriously important, he wore a far-away expression on his face. Her smile faltered and she pulled from Trish’s embrace.

Travis watched
the graceful way Autumn held her head and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Her eyes sparkled when she was happy, and from looking at her at that moment, he could tell she was exactly that: happy. He loved to hear her laugh. He loved the feel of her body in his embrace. He enjoyed their time together, but she planned to return to New York soon. The thought of her leaving didn’t set well with him. He’d become accustomed to having her next to him when he woke up in the morning. He loved the idea of making love to her whenever he wanted her, and lately his appetite for his wife was unyielding.

They talked about her coming back to New Orleans to help him
with the Boudreaux’s Center for Crescent City Youth, but he knew better than to ask her to give up her dreams, her career. He had no intentions of making her choose or sacrifice anything. She worked hard to get where she was and he respected her decision to continue if that’s what she wanted to do. The decision would be hers.

He
, too, pulled away from his crowd and met her near the path that led to Clem’s garden. Autumn walked straight into his opened arms. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, darling.”

“You promised that you would always be straight with me. So tell me what’s on your mind.” She reached up and kissed his chin.

Travis bent down and captured her lips. “I love you
, Autumn.”

She pulled back and looked into his smoky gaze. “I love you. Let’s walk so you can tell me what’s on your mind.” She
pulled completely from his arms and began to walk towards the garden.

Travis allowed her to lead him down the stone-laid path. “I’ve enjoy
ed you being at home, babe. I can’t lie. I wish you didn’t have to go back to New York.” Autumn stopped and looked up at him. “I know. You don’t need to say anything Autumn. I know your work is there and I would never ask you to give that up.”

Autumn glanced away. She knew this day was coming. She just didn’t expect it today, not here at their godchild’s reception. She
, too, thought about returning to New York and what it would do to the bond they’d managed to build. For the first time in years she loved being home. Everything about home felt right.  

She took a long breath before she released Travis’s hand and walked toward the fountain. She sat on the edge and looked down into the water. Travis followed her and sat facing the row of multicolored rose bushes. She looked up and touched
him, something they did a lot of when they were together. “I don’t want to go back, at least not without you. But I know that I have to for now. I have a commitment.”

Travis turned towards her. “I know. I would never ask you to go back on that commitment.”

“But—”

“No buts, Autumn. We’ve managed to see each other while we work in different cities. We’ll continue to do this until we come up with a plan.”

“You make it hard for me to leave you.”

“I certainly hope so. My ultimate goal is to
—”

Autumn captured his mouth before he finished his sentence. She didn’t want to hear him say the words. It was bad enough that a part of their time left together
included a trip to Grand Isle. She promised her mother and Mer Drace that they would come home. She wanted to spend the precious time left enjoying him.

Travis knew she didn’t want to talk about leaving. She didn’t want to spoil what time they had left together. So for
now, he would let her have her joy. He deepened the kiss, pulling her into his lap. 

* * * *

Several days later, Autumn brought in the mail and dropped it on the counter top. She hummed as she stirred the stew she whipped up from one of Mer Drace old recipes. She heard the garage door open and she placed the lid back on the pot and trotted to the door. She greeted Travis with open arms. “Good evening, husband.”

Travis smiled at her. “My, you’re in a good mood.” He kissed her lightly on her lips. “Are you glad to see me?”

Autumn hugged him briefly and pulled away. “Actually, I have this date sort of with this really good-looking man. Of course, he’s a Brooks man, sweet as honey, and is almost six weeks old.” She grinned from ear to ear.

Travis threw his head back and roared. “Oh, I see how it is. You had me going there for a minute. I thought for sure you were talking about your tall
, good-looking husband. But you put me down for a younger version. I see how it is.”

“Well, what can I say? I do like them young, especially this one. I think he’s a keeper.”

“Well, he can come over, but he damn sure can’t stay. And he can’t have any of this.” He grabbed her rump and squeezed it.

“I’m sure he doesn’t want any. He w
ill gladly leave those goodies for you.”

“He has no choice. Nephew, godson, whatever, I don’t share.” His hand slowed as he flipped through the mail. Travis looked at the envelope and the address in the left hand corner. It was Savannah’s handwriting. He didn’t recognize the address, but it was definitely her handwriting. He turned it over a couple of times.

Autumn noticed the frown on his face. “What’s up?”

“It’s from Savannah.” He handed the envelope to Autumn. She held up her hands and shook her head no. He used the letter opener and carefully opened it. The package itself was a little thick, so couldn’t imagine what was in it. He almost
thought twice about opening it; especially not knowing what state of mind Savannah was in when she sent it. The last thing he needed was for her to send something crazy to his house.

Her actions clearly made him
second-guess his judgment, their friendship. She’d filled a void when he needed it the most. She listened to him when he needed someone outside of his family to talk to. And the sex, well their sex life was a whole different story in itself. It lacked one thing though: love. He didn’t love her.

CHAPTER 42

“Maybe you shouldn’t open it Travis.”

But Travis had already done just that. He removed the folded sheets and when he opened them completely, his mouth dropped opened. Inside were crispy fifty and one hundred-dollar bills. Autumn walked up to him as he gawked down at the money. He removed them, placed them on the countertop, and handed the letter to Autumn.

Autumn looked at the stationery briefly before she accepted it. She read out loud. “Travis, you’ve always been a good friend, especially when I needed help the most. For that I’m grateful. I want to thank you for lending me the money when I didn’t have any place to go. I know you didn’t have to do that. And I know what kind of position it might have put you in with your wife. I must say the fact that you are married was shocking to me. But I knew you had it in you and just needed the right girl to make you want to settle down. All I want for you is happiness. So I hope that you are. Take care and again thanks for being my friend. Savannah. P.S. Sorry, I was really tripping when I showed up to your brother’s wedding and when I started popping in on you. I know you’re not like that. I hope you forgive me. Later.”

Autumn looked up from the paper and stared at Travis. He looked as astonished as she did. He took the letter from her hand and looked over the neatly scribbled words. She touched his hand and brought his attention to her face. She smiled weakly at him and he nodded. “Wow.”

“You’re a good friend, Travis Brooks.”

He shook his head again and hugged Autumn. A sigh of relief eased into his spirit. “I hope so, babe. I’ll always be your friend.”

“I like that idea a lot.”

* * * *

On the ride to Grand Isle, Autumn asked Travis to not be hard on Demarcus when he saw him again. Travis still hadn’t quite warmed up to her grandfather. And when they pulled up to Mer Drace’s house, she didn’t know what to expect. The conversations and getting to know one another had progressed far better than anyone thought after he’d shown up there. Her mother told her that Demarcus had gotten on his knees in front of her and her Uncle Damon, and had wept like a child; begging them to forgive him. He showed them the scars and gashes from the beatings intended to kill him the night he disappeared. Demarcus explained that his leaving was the only way he knew how to protect them, and that he’d tried to return for them, but had been thrown in a parish jail. The tattered leaf, his release papers, was pulled from his wallet and passed from one to the other. He’d kept it all these years. The smeared words were dampened by the tears of each person that held it, allowing healing to begin.