The Journey Collection (15 page)

Chapter Nine

Austin Bound

“Mom!” Max whined, stomping his foot. “We’ve got to go!”

“Okay, okay; hold your horses,” Penelope muttered as she came down the hallway, dragging her suitcase. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us, little man, so you’d best calm down before I call the whole trip off.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes before he pushed open the screen door and walked outside.

Travis tried not to laugh, but it was hard not to. Max had been nagging them about leaving for the past two hours, and in his opinion, Penelope was being extraordinarily slow. Sliding his arm around her waist, Travis pulled her up against him and kissed her.

“You’d better stop before the boy comes back in,” Penelope giggled against his lips.

“I don’t want to,” Travis growled. “But I will, because when the boy gets upset, he’s a little scary.”

“He is,” Penelope agreed.

“Here, let me take that for you,” Travis said, sliding his hand down her arms and wrapping his fingers around the handle of her suitcase. “Are you ready? Have everything?”

“Yep, I’m all ready and raring to go!” Penelope cheered.

Travis threw his head back and laughed. “I almost believe you, baby.”

“Eight hours in the car is not my idea of a good time, but I have to admit that I’m excited. Been a long time since I’ve been to a state championship game.”

Travis smiled. “Ten years, and a lot of life.”

“Mom!” Max yelled from outside.

Penelope sighed before she pushed open the screen door. “Dude, I heard ya already. Calm down!”

Travis followed her out, pulling the door closed behind him and making sure it was locked. Max, Russ, and Nadine were standing next to his new, black Chevrolet Suburban. Cal had managed to sell Travis’s Hyundai two weeks after he left Miami, and the moment the money hit his account, he had gone in search of a family vehicle. Penelope had tried to insist that he didn’t need something so big, but Travis had told her, “Max is getting bigger and will becoming more involved in extra-curricular activities, so the extra room will come in handy. Besides, maybe we’ll have another baby.”

At the time he hadn’t meant to insinuate that they’d have more kids. The shocked look on Penelope’s face had made him backtrack fast, but the more he thought about it, the more Travis realized that he did want another baby with her. He wanted a chance to watch her belly swell, to hold her hand while she labored, and the opportunity to watch his child come into the world. Everything that he’d missed out on with Max.

A hearty laugh drew Travis’s attention over to Russ, who was standing with his arm around Nadine. Two days after they’d returned from Miami, Russ had called Travis in a panic. He’d invited Nadine out to the house for dinner and had suddenly lost all ability to make a decision on what to cook, wear, or even talk to her about. Travis had managed to keep his laughter at bay long enough to give him directions, but his father was acting like a teenager again. It was both endearing and frightening.

“Okay, everyone’s gone to the bathroom, right? Because we are not stopping for a while,” Penelope said, looking at Max.

However, it was Russ who sighed, grabbed Travis’s keys, and headed up to the house.

“Russ!”

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m an old man,” he said. “Besides, you asked.”

“So I did.” She shook her head. “Okay, while we wait for the elderly to potty, the rest of us can load up.”

When Russ came back out of the house five minutes later, Travis and Penelope were in the front and Max was tucked away in the third seat. Nadine was in the middle, though Penelope had tried to insist that she take the front. The older woman had smiled and refused, and Travis had the sickening feeling that it had more to do with her wanting to be closer to Russ that anything else. He didn’t need to think about his father’s sex life.

Since he had already filled the tank up with gas, once Russ had his seatbelt on, Travis pulled out of the driveway and headed to Austin. For the first time in ten years, the Clarendon Broncos had made it to the state championship game, having narrowly avoided elimination on both the area and regional levels. A mere field goal had prevented them from losing to the Wildcats during the area game. The decision to go for the two-point conversion rather than just kicking for the extra point after a touchdown had made them regional champions and secured them a place in the state finals.

Nine hours later, Travis pulled up in front of their hotel in Austin. Climbing out from behind the wheel, he stretched. They’d only stopped once eat lunch, use the restroom, and get gas. Max had fallen asleep within five minutes of driving away from the house, and Russ and Nadine had whispered to each other — a lot. While Travis was glad his father had found someone who made him happy, he didn’t enjoy having to watch them mooning over each other.

Turning back to his open door, he said, “I’m gonna get our rooms. Be right back.”

“I’ll come with you,” Russ offered, climbing out from the backseat before Travis could say anything.

The two of them walked inside and got in line. With all the games scheduled for the weekend, good rooms had been hard to find, but Travis had been able to reserve three. He just hoped they’d be close to each other. After waiting for a few minutes, it was their turn. They stepped up to the counter.

“Hi,” Travis started. “I have reservations under McCoy.”

“I know who you are, sir,” the young Hispanic man said. His nametag said his name was Craig. “I’ve been a huge fan of yours since you were here at UT.”

“Oh, okay,” Travis murmured.

“I have you down for three rooms, all non-smoking.” Craig looked up at him. “Is that correct?”

“Yes,” he said at the same time that Russ mumbled, “No.”

“Dad?” Travis asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Russ developed a sudden interest in something on the floor, but Travis heard him mutter, “Nadine and I will share a room.”

He smirked. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”

Russ huffed and looked up at him. “You damn well did hear me, but let me repeat myself. Nadine and I will be sharing a room, boy.”

“Okay.” Travis laughed and turned back to Craig. “Make that two rooms.”

“Yes, sir,” Craig snickered.

Ten minutes later, Russ and Travis walked out of the hotel with their room keys and climbed back inside the Suburban. Travis drove it around to the rear of the building, finding a parking space. They stumbled out and began pulling out their luggage from the back. With their arms loaded, they headed inside and down to the elevator, taking it up to the third floor to find their rooms, which were next to each other. Penelope gave Travis a look when Russ and Nadine went into the same room together.

“Don’t ask,” Travis muttered and motioned to Max.

“Okay,” Penelope said.

Max dropped his bags in the doorway and jumped onto one of the beds.

“Yo, little man, move this stuff!”

“Fine,” Max grumbled, hopping off the bed and moving everything. “Can we go swimming?”

“Don’t you want to lie down and rest?” Penelope sighed, propping her suitcase against the wall and sprawling out on the other bed.

“Um, no,” Max scoffed. “Please, can we go swimming? Pretty, pretty please?”

“Fine.” Penelope sat up. “But for the record, I’m not a fan of the whining or the begging. It’d be nice not to hear it anymore.”

“I can’t make any promises,” Max teased.

“Ha-ha. Maybe I should reconsider my decision to go swimming, then.”

“Okay, I’ll stop whining,” Max grumbled.

Travis laughed. “That’ll be the day.”

“A woman can dream,” Penelope tittered and stood up. “Okay, let’s go to the pool!”

Max cheered before grabbing his suitcase, digging inside for his swimming suit, and then running into the bathroom to change. He emerged a couple minutes later wearing a pair of red and black trunks, and Travis smiled. Red and black had been the Sharks’ team colors. Grabbing his own suit, he changed inside the bathroom, and then he and Max waited for Penelope to emerge. While they waited, Travis called over to Russ’s room to see if they wanted to join them. He had barely gotten the question out before Russ said no and hung up the phone. Something told Travis he didn’t want to know what his father was doing in the room next to his.

Once Penelope had emerged from the bathroom, they grabbed their room key and headed down to the pool. Max ran through the gate and jumped into the deep end, causing both Travis and Penelope to yell, “Don’t run!”

Of course, seeing as he was already in the water, Travis knew it wouldn’t do any good. He and Penelope chose a table in the corner, setting the key card under their towels. Travis looked over at Max while he pulled his shirt off, laughing when he saw the boy trying to sneak around the edge of the pool. Turning back to warn Penelope to watch out, Travis’s eyes bugged out when he found her standing in front of him in a red bikini that fit her like a glove. He’d seen her naked plenty of times in the last couple of months since he’d moved back to Clarendon, but the way her ivory skin contrasted with the deep, rich red of her suit had him salivating. For a moment, he considered trying to find a corner or supply closet and having his way with her, but when he felt a spray of water hit him in the back of the head, he diverted his attention to his son.

“I’ll get you for that, little man!” Travis threatened, jumping into the pool.

Max’s boyish laughter echoed around them as his father picked him up and tossed him a few feet away.

Penelope wrapped her arms around Travis; he hadn’t even heard or seen her jump in. “Gotcha.”

He turned in her embrace and pulled her as close to him as he could. “What are you going to do with me now that you’ve got me?”

“Love you forever?” she asked with a smile.

“Good enough for me.” Travis leaned down and kissed her, moaning when she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

“Get a room,” Max laughed, leaping onto his back. “I’m a young, innocent boy!”

“Pssh,” Penelope scoffed. “You may be young and a boy, but you are not innocent.”

“Am too,” Max muttered, trying his hardest to dunk Travis under the water. “I’ve almost got you.”

Travis turned, grabbed Max, and pushed him under the water. Max came back up, coughing and laughing at the same time.

“You’re such a cheater!” he claimed.

Travis swooped Max up in his arms. “A cheater? I’m not a cheater,” he chuckled, tickling his son’s sides and making him laugh even harder.

“Stop!” Max pleaded, breathless.

“Not until you admit that I’m not a cheater,” he said.

“Fine, whatever!” Max gasped for air when Travis stopped tickling him. Leaping from his father’s arms, he began to swim away from him. “Maybe you’re not a cheater, but you don’t play fair.”

Travis looked at Penelope and winked before he said, “Never said I did, little man.”

~*~*~*~

Just after eleven o’clock the next morning, Travis, Penelope, Max, Russ, and Nadine walked through the Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. Max was trembling with excitement and had the same sparkle in his eye that Travis had once had. Travis led them toward their seats, having used his influence to get them seats behind the team and right on the fifty yard line. Being a University of Texas alumnus came in handy every once in a while. Travis didn’t want Max to miss one second of the game.

“This is so cool!” the boy exclaimed, leaning over the barrier that separated their seats from the field. Travis reached out and grabbed the waistband of his jeans, pulling him back before he could fall over. A fall wouldn’t hurt him since it was just a couple of feet to the ground, but he didn’t want Max to miss the game because of a bump on the head or a hurt arm.

“When Gramps brought me here for my first game,” Travis said, turning and gesturing to a section of seats to his left and about halfway up, “we sat up there. It was cold, and a light rain had been falling all night. Gramps and I wrapped ourselves up in our blankets, took small sips of hot cocoa, and tried everything we could think of to stay warm.”

“Almost ended up with pneumonia,” Russ added from his seat on Max’s other side. “Your grandmother was so upset with us when we got home and we were sniffling all over the place. Your dad ended up missing almost a week of school, and the doc threatened to put him in the hospital.”

“But it was worth it,” Travis said, shifting his eyes up to Russ. “This is where I was when I began to love the game. Right here, in this stadium, watching the Broncos win the title with my dad.”

“Just like me,” Max murmured. Travis looked down at him. “The first time you were here was with your dad. And now, the first time I’m here is with my dad. It’s a family tradition, isn’t it?”

Travis nodded. “That’s right.”

Max smiled, turned back to the field, and watched the Broncos warming up. Placing his hand on Max’s shoulder, Travis tried to blink back the tears that were burning the corners of his eyes. To think, he’d almost missed being here with his son. Just the thought caused his heart to ache.

Penelope slipped her arm in with Travis’s, pulling his attention over to her. “The last time I was here was when you won your state title.” She gestured to where the cheerleaders were gathered. “My skirt was a little longer, and nowhere near as tight as theirs, but I remember being so excited to get to see you play. Do you remember how we celebrated that night?”