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I shake my head as I whisper, “He’s never said so.”
He takes a deep breath, and then lets out a long and controlled exhale through his pursed lips. He nods as if he's agreeing with himself, and then softly speaks, “Travis is the type of guy who’s more about letting his actions speak louder than words, you know? He’s got a few skeletons in his closet, and he has a hard time opening that door of vulnerability.” Then he eyes me cautiously. “Do you love him?”
The question catches me off guard, and I find myself nervously looking away. He lets go of my hand and captures my chin in a light grasp, reestablishing eye contact. No matter how personal a question, I can tell he’s not going to let me get out of this one. He raises a brow in question when I hesitate.
“I believe I fell in love with another man, Quinn. One who doesn’t really exist.”
His lips thin as he shakes his head at me. “No, you didn’t. Travis is the same man as he was yesterday, that he is today, and will be tomorrow.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” I whisper. “He’s left me confused as to who the real Travis is. Every time I turn around, I catch him in a web of lies.”
“Don’t judge him so harshly, Jules,” he states pointedly. “Everything he’s done has been to protect you, and I might add, he still is.”
I can’t seem to argue with that particular fact, other than there might be an ulterior motive I’m not privy to. A large part of me wishes I never got my memory back and we were still at the cabin, continuing to fall in love. A headache has developed behind my eyes, and it’s getting worse, most likely from all the crying and stress. Without thinking, I start massaging my temple.
“You’re getting a headache, aren’t you?” he asks, narrowing his eyes in concern. I look away, and he quickly steers my chin back toward him. His beautiful eyes flick back and forth over mine as he asses me. “I’ll get up in a second and get you some Tylenol and water,” he says in a soft, low voice, being mindful of my headache.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For taking care of me, and for telling me the truth.”
“Jules,” he starts off speaking emphatically, “you’ve got to know you’re everything to Travis, and because of that, you’ve become part of our family here. We take care of each other.”
I lay my head back down against his big, burly chest in resignation as I snuggle against his warmth and let out a loud sigh. I’m literally exhausted. The crazy roller coaster of emotions I’ve been on over the past few days is pulling my sanity’s strings. I just want to crawl in a hole somewhere and sleep for a week. I close my eyes and pretend he’s Jake with his big, brotherly, protective arms wrapped around me.
“Since you guys know so much about my previous life, can you tell me if you know anything about my dad and Jake? How have they been, and are they still looking for me?” I ask as my voice fades along with my hope.
“Babe, I don’t know about any of that. I’m sorry. I was just told to investigate Adam, and make sure…” He trails off, not finishing his sentence.
I open my eyes. “Make sure of what?”
“Nothing…sorry.”
I bite my lower lip hard, forcing myself to be quiet. I know he’s hiding confidential stuff I’m not supposed to know, and maybe at this point it’s best I don’t know. What I do know is these guys are not a dog and pony show. They’ve done some homework, and I’m sure someone knows something about my dad and Jake. I know Quinn wouldn’t tell me anyway; he’s the kind of guy who only tells people things on a need-to-know basis. Every single one of these men are a vault with their secrets, and they must have a mass collection of them running ten-miles deep.
Travis
I’m sitting outside on the front porch swing in the cool of the evening with a tall glass of ice tea as I talk to Stryker. I’d prefer to be nursing something stronger in my glass, but I promised myself I wouldn’t drink myself into a stupor like I did last night.
“She’s in a high level of shock, and you won’t be doing her any favors if you step in and force yourself on her,” Stryker warns. I lay my head back, resting it against the swing, and close my eyes as Stryker continues drilling into me all of his psychobabble bullshit of why I should do things his way in regards to getting Jules to come around.
“I feel like I’m in a no-win situation here, and it’s driving me nuts. If I give her space to breathe, Stryker, I just know she’s going to run the other way.”
