Kaden barked. “Let it go.”
He glared at his brother. “What?’
“You heard me. Let it go for tonight. Don’t let it get to you. Not yet.”
A little fucking late for that.
Keegan’s temper had always had a flash point, and it appeared Bristol Newton knew exactly how to set it off.
But he managed a deep breath, reminded himself that this was new for Bristol. If she needed a little time, he could give it to her. Not much, but a little.
Chapter Nineteen
On Monday afternoon, Travis had managed to steal a few minutes alone in his office at the resort. He’d spent the better part of the morning dealing with a personnel issue. Evidently, the new sous chef at the hotel’s restaurant was beginning to wreak havoc on the head chef, the two of them going nose to nose once every couple of days. Having grown tired of the bickering, Travis sat the two men down and basically told them to cool their shit or they were both out on their asses.
He didn’t have time for petty bullshit, and he didn’t have any qualms letting them know that.
Now as he sat at his desk, he was reviewing the updated RSVPs for the New Year’s Bash. Sawyer was keeping him apprised of the changes as they came in.
His office door opened, drawing his attention.
“Someone mentioned Brantley was here,” Gage said when he stormed into the room. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Travis looked up, studied his husband’s face. It wasn’t the words he’d said that had his hackles rising but the way he said them. As though the thought of him talking to Brantley left a bad taste in his mouth.
“He was givin’ me an update on the investigation,” Travis told him, leaning back in his chair and getting a grip on his temper. “You got a problem with that?”
Gage walked over, planted his palms on Travis’s desk, and leaned toward him. That stony expression remained firmly in place. “We agreed we’d let the FBI deal with this.”
“No,” he countered, “you agreed.”
“Goddammit.” Gage stood tall. “This shit has to stop, Travis. This obsession with findin’ her … it’s got to stop. We’ve got a family to take care of. A family you’ve played no part in since the day Kate came home.”
“Excuse me?” Travis felt his face heat, his ire rising. He fisted his hands. “I’m home every goddamn night, I tuck my kids into bed, see them when they wake up. Kate spends much of her day up here with me, right here in this office. Don’t you fucking dare tell me I’m not doin’ my part.”
“Yeah? And what about me and Kylie? You opposed to sleepin’ in our bed now?”
Travis gritted his teeth, glared back at Gage.
His husband had him there. Initially they’d been alternating in their bed because of Kate. As time had crept by, Travis found himself putting distance between them. Mainly because of shit like this. The tension that was growing made it impossible for Travis to sleep, so he’d reverted to staying at work late, then spending the nights in the recliner or on the couch.
“I get it,” Gage continued. “Not a minute goes by that I don’t think about those horrifying days when we didn’t know where Kate was, when we feared the worst. It pisses me off, too, that the woman responsible for upending our lives got away and no one’s any closer to finding her. But our kids, our wife, they deserve our full attention, not for us to be distracted and distant.”
“They?” Travis crossed his arms over his chest. “A second ago it was about you and Kylie. Which is it, Gage? Am I ignorin’ my kids or am I ignorin’ you? Because I damn sure don’t hear Kylie complainin’.”
“Because you’re not there,” Gage shouted. “You don’t see it.”
Travis launched to his feet. “See what?”
“The way she cries herself to sleep,” Gage bit out. “Terrified that you’re gonna do somethin’ stupid, that you’re gonna end up behind bars for the rest of your fuckin’ life.”
“So what if I do?” he shot back. “At least y’all will be safe. No one’ll have to look over their fuckin’ shoulder. We won’t have to keep the kids locked in the goddamn house. She’s still a threat, Gage.”
“No, she’s not. Not to us.”
“You’re fuckin’ delusional if you believe that. Fuckin’ delusional.”
A knock sounded and they both turned to the door to see Kaleb standing there, staring back at them.
“Everything okay?”
“Fuckin’ peachy,” Travis snapped.
“Oh, yeah. Just fuckin’ peachy,” Gage grumbled