Travis's Gift (Riley's Pride #3)- Sandra R Neeley Page 0,29

at his sofa and considered collapsing onto it, but he knew if he did, he likely wouldn’t move until tomorrow. “Need some food,” he muttered, as he started walking toward his bathroom, shucking his clothes and leaving them wherever they fell. Fifteen minutes later he was drying himself off, and pulling clean jeans and a sweatshirt from his closet to put on. He pulled on socks and slipped his feet back into his boots before grabbing his wallet and his keys and walking out his front door, the diner on his radar.

~~~

Richie looked up when the door opened. He smiled when he saw Roman walk in and meander over to his favorite table.

“Hey, man! Ya’ll finished up?” Richie called out.

“Yeah. ‘Til after Christmas unless some emergency comes up,” Roman answered.

“What cha want to eat?” Richie asked.

“T-Bone?” Roman said.

“Yep. We got ‘em. Coming right up,” Richie answered, turning the sausage he was grilling for the sausage and pepper poboy he was making for another customer.

“I’ll get the steak,” Constance said to Richie as she came back behind the counter. “Won’t be long,” she called out to Roman.

“Thank you, Ms. Constance,” he answered, fiddling with the napkins in the napkin holder.

Constance brought the steak and some steak fries to Richie from the cold storage pantry and then grabbed up some silverware and filled a cup with ice and sweet tea. On the way back into the dining room, she picked up a bottle of steak sauce and then delivered all the items to Roman’s table. “Here you go, sweetie. Can I get you anything else while you wait?”

“No, ma’am. Thank you, though,” Roman answered. “Hey, where’s Libby? Shouldn’t she be working?” he asked, finally getting out of his own head enough to look around and realize she was missing.

“She took a few days off to help Travis get the Christmas Tree Village off the ground in time for this weekend,” Constance explained.

“Really?!” Roman asked, surprised.

“Yeah, she did. She said there was no way he could get everything done on his own and she was going to help as much as she could. Seems they might be working things out,” Constance said. “At least I hope they are. They are both too stubborn to see how badly they need each other.”

“Yeah, they are. Hope they get it together,” Roman said.

Richie left the kitchen to bring him his steak and Roman sat quietly eating his lunch, thinking about Libby going to Travis’s aid when he needed her. But still, it would only be the two of them, and maybe Scotty after school, if Scotty didn’t have to work. He finished his lunch and got up, leaving enough money on the table for the meal and a handsome tip.

“Thanks for lunch,” Roman said.

“Roman!” Constance called out, holding up his money. “You know you don’t have to pay,” she said.

“’Course I do,” he said from the front door just before he stepped through it. “You cooked it and fed me. It’s only right that I pay. I’ll see ya’ll later,” he said, and flashed her a smile.

Constance turned around and looked at Richie. “I tell you, that boy has more morals and more values than just about any I’ve ever met. He’s a good person — heart and soul.”

“Yep, he sure is,” Richie agreed.

Roman walked back toward the trailer park and went straight to Lucas’s home. He knocked and waited a few minutes until Lucas finally answered the door with a beer in his hand. “Hey,” Lucas greeted.

“Hey. You gonna need the truck for a while?” he asked.

“No, man. You go ahead and take it. I don’t have anywhere to be and Richie’s working. It’s yours,” Lucas answered.

“Alright. If you need it before I come back, call and I’ll cut my trip short,” Roman said.

“No problem,” Lucas answered, before closing the door and going back inside his house.

Roman walked over to the work truck they all shared and got inside. He started the engine and turned the truck toward Travis’s house. Travis had been his friend long before he’d joined Riley’s Pride. And if Travis was under the gun from a deadline to have his place ready for Christmas tree buying people by the weekend, Roman was going to help. Besides, it would keep his mind off Talie, or so he hoped.

Chapter 10

Travis took his safety goggles off and hung them on the peg beside the table his scroll saw sat on. He looked around his work shop and smiled to himself. It was filled with