Travis's Gift (Riley's Pride #3)- Sandra R Neeley Page 0,13

he suffered emotional trauma as well. He’s seen some shit. Maybe he had to fight all the battles within himself before he could be ready to be who you needed him to be,” Richie said.

Libby glared at Richie.

Richie grinned at her. “And now that he’s finally managed to find some balanced ground and become some semblance of who he used to be, you’ll never know that because you’re not strong enough to give him one more chance.”

Libby threw her soggy tissue at Richie and slammed her way into the bathroom to get away from him. She heard his laughter follow her into the bathroom.

“Just something to think about, Libs. Your life, your rules, you know?” he said, before returning to the kitchen.

~~~

Libby was back on the dining room floor — cleaning, serving, cooking, whatever was needed. At 3:25 P.M. she made no move to leave, so Richie made her go.

“Libby, you’re off the clock now,” he called out as soon as his mother walked through the door.

“That’s okay. I don’t have anywhere else to be,” she answered.

“Yeah, but I thought you’d be leaving at three like usual and promised Mom she could have a few extra hours this afternoon,” he explained.

“Oh. Okay,” she said, looking around.

“There’s nothing left for you to do. You’ve about polished the finish off the tables. We got it. You go take the afternoon off and relax or something,” Richie said.

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that,” Libby said, reaching behind her back and untying her apron. She walked into the break room and hung it on the hook they’d installed for just that purpose, and clocked out.

As she walked back through the kitchen, Richie spoke again. “You opening tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yeah. Same as usual,” she answered absentmindedly.

“See you then,” he answered.

Libby got in her jeep and sat there unsure of exactly where she should go. She would normally go to Lucas’s house, or to Maia’s and visit for a while, or head home and straighten up her own place. Maybe get something to eat, or relax with a glass of wine, but none of those things appealed to her at the moment.

She started the jeep and slowly pulled out of her spot before driving through the parking lot and out onto the highway. She headed toward town and allowed her mind to drift to the day Travis came home from overseas. She and Scotty had been so very excited. They’d waited at the bus station all morning. When the bus had finally arrived and he’d gotten off the bus, they’d rushed to hug him. It was then, in those first few seconds that she realized something wasn’t right. He hadn’t hugged them back, and he’d stepped back away from them. Her mind could see it as though she was living it all over again.

“You sure this is the bus, Libs?” Scotty asked.

“Yes, this is it. He’s probably letting everybody else get off before him,” Libby said, practically bouncing in place.

“Wait! I think I see him!” Scotty said.

“Where?” she asked.

“Right there!” Scotty said, pointing to the windows at the back of the bus.

“Yes! I see him!” Libby said, squealing a bit.

They moved to the front of the bus, and watched until finally, Travis came down the steps. He was a bit unsteady, but still, he came down the steps alone and made it on his own.

“Travis!” they both yelled and rushed him.

As they threw themselves at him and wrapped their arms around him, hugging him, happily babbling about how much they’d missed him, he patted Scotty’s back and took a step back, away from them.

Libby looked up at him as she slowly lowered her arms. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, fine. Just tired,” he said, offering her a stiff smile.

“Oh, of course! You must be exhausted. You should have let us pick you up from the airport. It would have been so much quicker for you,” Libby said.

Travis shook his head. “No reason for you to be any more inconvenienced than you already are.”

“I’m not inconvenienced,” Libby said, her senses going off telling her everything was not okay. “We’ve been busy cooking, and we’ve got some of all your favorites stored in the fridge at home. Or, if you prefer we can stop somewhere and get you something.”

“I’d like to get home, if you don’t mind. It’s been a rough trip,” he said, reaching down and kneading his upper thigh muscle distractedly.

“Sure, no problem. My jeep is right over here,” Libby said, pointing to the parking lot.