AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He didn’t.
“Hey, man.”
There was a brief pause and then, Trey blew out a startled breath. “Well, I’ll be damned. I was starting to think you forgothowto answer a phone.”
“Ah, well. Maybe I did.”
There was an awkward silence, followed by the both of them clearing their throats. Then they both laughed.
Trey was the one to break the uneasy tension. “Something’s going on with you these days. And not just the guitar.”
“Ah ... yeah, sort of.” He glanced out the window in the direction of Isabel’s house. Brooklyn was out in the sideyard with Storm, who held the baby Travis had only met a time or two. Brooklyn had one of her princess outfits on and was attempting to dribble a basketball while Storm bounced the baby on her hip, a big grin on her pretty face. Looking at the kids, especially Brooklyn, caused his heart to clench in his chest.
“What’s that?” Trey demanded just seconds later and Travis knew his twin had felt that savage pull of emotion.
Travis dragged a hand down his face. “I don’t have time for this right now.”
“You never have time,” Trey said sourly. “I’m surprised you even bothered to answer the damn phone. Fine. You go ahead and brush me off. I’ll talk—”
“It’s a woman,” he blurted, the guilt grabbing him by the throat and choking him. He’d hurt his twin, hisfamily, so much over the years with this mission he’d put before himself. And it had to stop.Hehad to stop.
Trey went silent.
Travis heaved out a ragged breath. “I can’t talk things right now ... we’re having dinner, and beyond that, it’s ... complicated. I mean,reallycomplicated. And I’m not saying that because I’m trying to avoid talking to you.”It’s the girl I fell in love with, remember her? You should. There’s only been the one. But I can’t mention her name, because she’s in witness protection and that’s just one of the secrets I’ll have to keep from you, brother.“I just ...can’ttalk about it yet.”
Seconds ticked away.
“Huh.”
A bubble of nervous laughter escaped Travis. “That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“Not sure what else to say, man.” Trey blew out a breath. “But that’s the most honest you’ve been with me in ... well, a long time. Are you dating?”
“No. It’s ... well, like I said, complicated.” Would dating evenworkbetween them? He’d like to take her out on a date—a hundred of them, make up for all the things they hadn’t had.
In the background, a young, high-pitched squeal was interrupted by a series of yips and Trey groaned. “Aw, fuck. I gotta go. Damned dog.”
“I didn’t know you had a dog.”
“Wedidn’t,” he said. “Until this morning. Listen, we’re not done with this conversation.”
“No.” Travis considered it and wondered what more he could say. But there was more, even if it wasn’t about Isabel. “I guess not. I’ll talk to you later. Hug the kids and Ressa for me.”
The line went dead but instead of slipping the phone back into his pocket, he went online and logged into a secure cloud account, input the complicated password and opened the photo album. He found a picture of Trey and opened it.
For a long moment, he stared at his twin, his throat tight.
Then, before he could consider the thoughts circling in his head, he opened the encrypted message app and sent a text to Miles.
I think I want my face back. My real face. Can we make that happen since I’m getting out?
Then, closing the app, he grabbed the bottle of wine and headed for the door.
It was time for dinner.
“You look nice.”
Isabel jerked her head up from the salad she’d tossed together and found Aaron standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a wide grin on his narrow face.
