A Beautiful Funeral (The Maddox Brothers #5) - Jamie McGuire Page 0,60
they could possibly imagine?
“I’ll be right there with you,” Travis said.
It took a long time for me to speak. We were already passing through the airport gate by the time I could take hold of my emotions long enough to get the words out. “They won’t forgive me,” I said. Just those few words created a tightness in my throat.
“Yes, they will. They’ll forgive us both.” I’d known Travis long enough to hear when the calm in his voice was contrived. Abby was the better actress, but Travis had honed his poker face over the years. His wife was a good teacher.
“I don’t know if I can do this. My emotions have been all over the place,” I said.
Travis turned to face me. “You just had a baby, Liis. You went from a new family to a single mother in a day. Cut yourself some slack.”
I glared at him, resenting his bluntness. As much as I wanted to hate what he said, it was true. “I’m still the same person. I’m not weak.”
“Fuck no, you’re not. Mothers are damn strong, anyway. And you, Liis? I’ve never seen anything like you.”
I shifted in my seat. His response surprised me. “Besides Abby.”
“It’s not a competition,” he said, offering a small smile.
My shoulders relaxed. Travis had a way of always making me feel safe, just like Thomas. As frightening as traveling with a newborn was, knowing I was going to be with the Maddoxes soon had been a significant comfort. “How are you doing?”
He cleared his throat, putting on the truck’s blinker. “It’s been rough. I’m not looking forward to this any more than you are.”
“Where’s Abby?”
“At the hospital with everyone else.”
“The hospital? Why?” I asked, alarmed.
“The baby came last night.”
Val and I both gasped. Abby was nowhere near her due date. I immediately felt ashamed. Years ago, I’d filled Abby in on the details of Travis’s agreement with the FBI. She already had an idea, and I chose to spare Travis the burden of being the one to breach his agreement. I wouldn’t go to prison if I told her, but Travis could have. In the end, it saved their marriage. She understood why he was so secretive and leaving so often, but the truth was a burden. From the moment you become aware of a secret, the inevitable question arises: what price will you pay to keep it?
“Are they okay?” I asked.
“Abby’s doing great. Carter will be fine.”
Carter. That’s who he said made Stella look like a giant. She wasn’t yet seven pounds. Carter must have been tiny.
“That’s good to hear,” Val said, sincere. It was her way of apologizing for giving him a hard time earlier.
“Is Abby alone at the hospital?” I asked, startled.
“The whole family is there with a half dozen agents, including Agent Davies.”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “She is the best …”
“I know. You won’t have luck explaining that to Falyn, though.”
“So … they know?”
“They’d figured most of it out. They put two and two together when Agent Davies picked them up from the airport.”
I settled back into my seat, looking at Stella’s peaceful, sleeping face. She was the perfect combination of Thomas and me. She was already on a schedule, sleeping and eating at the same times. She changed every day, and Thomas was missing it.
My eyes felt wet, and I had just reached into Stella’s bag for a tissue when Travis reached back with one.
“It’s going to be okay, Liis. I promise.”
I dabbed beneath my eyes and sniffed. “It damn well better be, or the director will answer to me for a change.”
“Yes, he will. And he knows it, too.”
We drove from the outer edges of Eakins into town. It hadn’t changed much. Only businesses like oil and industrial, gas stations, boutiques, tanning salons, and fast-food chains were thriving. Anything else was pretty much abandoned.
“Is that it?” Val asked as the taller buildings of the college came into view, reaching above the tree line.
“Yeah,” Travis said, unhappy about the reminder. “Yeah, that’s it.”
The burned bricks of Keaton Hall had long since faded and the damage repaired. In the few minutes it took us to pass, Travis didn’t look in the direction of the tiny college once. I assumed it was too much of a reminder of the strange direction his life had taken because of one night—the last time he’d participate in The Circle, Eastern State’s underground fight ring. He looked away from the memories of the fire, of the night he’d nearly lost Abby.