“So, I’ve got a question for you,” Jessie said sweetly as she nodded her head toward the coffee pot. “Looks like your java’s done.”

Thank God. Caffeine before questions. That should always be the rule. Hoping her sister would hold off, Kylie lunged for the coffee pot, wishing she used cream or sugar so she could make the process last a little longer.

“Want some?” Kylie peered over her shoulder, looking for Jessie’s response.

“You’re procrastinating.”

Yeah, so what. “I’ll take that as a no.” Kylie lifted her mug to her lips, keeping her back to her sister and inhaled the delicious aroma before taking a tentative sip. “Mmmm.”

“Get over here,” Jessie laughed. “I’m not going to bed until you answer my questions.”

“Going to bed? You mean you haven’t been to sleep yet?” Kylie squared her shoulders, stiffened her spine and then turned to face her sister.

“Not yet. Let’s just say we were a little too preoccupied to sleep.”

Ok, now usually Kylie would ask her sister for details. They were so close, more like best friends than sisters, and they shared everything. Unfortunately, this was one of those times Kylie was hesitant to ask because she knew she’d be on the other side of the interrogation table in due time.

“So, tell me this, sister mine,” Jessie said and there wasn’t an ounce of humor on her pretty face. “How old were you when you got married?”

Kylie literally spewed coffee all over the counter – from her mouth and her nose. Ow, ow, ow. That actually hurt. Setting her cup down clumsily and sloshing the hot, dark liquid everywhere, Kylie stood there choking. Surprisingly, Jess didn’t change her expression or seem concerned in the least. Her only reaction was for one, perfectly shaped brow to lift toward the sky as she waited for a response.

Choking to death had never seemed more appropriate than right then and there. Unfortunately, Kylie got herself under control minutes later, but not enough time had spanned in order for Jessie to forget that she was waiting for an answer.

“And spare me the question on how I know. It’s irrelevant.”

And unnecessary, Kylie thought to herself. Obviously, if Jessie was spending time with Travis’ brother, the answer was brilliantly clear. After all, according to Travis, all of his brothers had been at the house Gage had taken her to. Which meant they probably bombarded him for information as soon as she stormed out.

After wiping up the spill with a paper towel, Kylie proceeded to fill her cup once more, breathing long and deep. She wasn’t getting out of this. No matter how much she wanted to, it was time she faced the music. Considering she’d spent years wanting to tell her sister because she needed someone to be on her side, to understand her pain, she should’ve been better prepared for this.

“I met Travis when I was eighteen. He was in the Army, stationed at Fort Hood. We dated for about a year and then we got married shortly after my nineteenth birthday. The marriage lasted all of three weeks before we went our separate ways.”

“Is it true that you’re still married?” Jess asked, but this time there was no judgment in her tone, only sincere curiosity.

“Yes. But only because I couldn’t afford to get a divorce,” she lied.

“See, here I was thinking you were going to be honest with me,” Jess said with a small smile. “Spill it, sis.”

Resigning herself to having to relive the sad details, Kylie took her coffee cup and retreated to the living room, Jessie’s bare feet padding through the room behind her. Once they were comfortable on the sofas, she looked at her sister and let the words flow.

♂♀

Travis felt like he’d been run over by a Mack truck. Rolling over onto his back, he peered through one eye and realized he was not at home. Could’ve been the pale yellow walls that clued him in, but something else caught his attention first. The smell of coffee wafted in from the kitchen and his caffeine antenna must have been triggered, hence the reason his eyes were now open. At home, coffee wasn’t made for him. In fact, coffee wasn’t made at all unless he went to the office.

Turning his head to one side, he saw that Gage was still asleep, his head resting peacefully against one of Kylie’s frilly pillows. If the man didn’t look so out of place against that yellow and white, flowery thing, he didn’t know what did. Staring back up at the ceiling, Travis propped his arm over his eyes and tried to block out the world a little longer.

Funny, he’d had very little alcohol last night, but he felt like he had the world’s worst hangover. Only this one wasn’t physical, it was emotional. And that was the worst kind.

To top it off, Travis was on unstable ground at the moment, and his feet hadn’t even hit carpet yet. Waking up in an unfamiliar bed was not Travis’ M.O. He wasn’t prone to spending the night with anyone. At least not if sleeping was involved, but last night, what little sleep they had gotten, was the soundless he’d slept in years. When he told Kylie he didn’t sleep at night, he hadn’t been lying.

Unwilling to go through this mental dog and pony show first thing in the morning, Travis decided it was time to get up and get moving. As he rolled to a sitting position, dropping his feet to the plush carpet at his feet, he took his time checking out his surroundings.

Nice room.

Kinda girly, but nice.

The pale yellow walls had some sort of wallpaper border along the top, little white flowers – he had no idea what kind because… well, because he’d never given a shit before. Not his style, but he could certainly see Kylie sleeping in here. The furniture looked to be antique, brass headboard and all. The same headboard Kylie’d been restrained to the night before by her own willpower. Damn that had been hot as fucking hell, and Travis had only heard Gage’s instruction, hadn’t received the pleasure of seeing it.

Ok, someone else was up now.

Glancing down between his legs, he gave a silent good morning to the guy who’d kept him up all night. Turning his attention back to Kylie’s bedroom, he took in the few other things in residence. A small night table, a worn wooden dresser that, although having seen many years of use was still in decent shape. On top of the dresser there were three pictures, and he got up to see what they were.

There, in three silver frames were pictures of Kylie, her sister, and a guy Travis assumed was her dad. One picture was of Kylie and the man, the other of her and her sister and the last was all three of them together. Apparently mom wasn’t in the picture anymore… obvious because she wasn’t. In the picture.

Interesting. Travis wanted to hear that story because back when they’d dated, from what he remembered, Kylie’s mom and dad had been together.

Glancing around, Travis noticed an open door and what appeared to be a bathroom. Yep, that’s where he was headed. Trying not to wake Gage he moved around the bed and shut himself in the small white tiled bathroom. He had to admit, the woman had an uncanny ability to keep with the times on the house because it reflected the era it was probably built in. Not that he knew what that was or even when, but he knew it looked nothing like the modern shit they were building these days.

After relieving himself and running through a three minute shower, Travis came out of the bathroom smelling like fucking lavender and vanilla. He preferred the smell on Kylie over him. Grabbing his jeans off of the floor, he pulled them on. Since his shirt was missing, he knew he’d have to go ask Kylie if she’d seen it.

Gage appeared to be asleep and either the guy was exhausted and could sleep through anything, or he was doing a damn good job faking it. Either way, the scent of coffee was calling him, so Travis exited the room.

Just as he was about to step into the living room, the sound of voices stopped him. One was Kylie. The other didn’t sound familiar, but Travis figured her sister was there chatting it up.

Christ it was early.

Now that he was stuck, unsure whether Kylie wanted her sister to know that he was there, he stood in the hallway for a minute, listening to what they were talking about. As the conversation progressed, Travis leaned against the wall, realizing exactly what they were talking about. As the girls continued talking, he closed his eyes and relived the moments exactly as Kylie was telling them.

“Like I said before, we dated for about a year and I was head over heels in love with him. From the moment I saw him practically. Needless to say, when Travis asked me to marry him, I nearly burst. Of course I said yes. There was no long engagement, and since he was still in the Army and I was about to start my second year of college, we chose to go to the Justice of the Peace.

“It was quite nice, actually. See, Travis never was the romantic kind. At least not in ways some men are. He didn’t have to be though because when he looked at me, I knew. I knew he loved me, and I knew he’d go to the ends of the earth to make me happy.”

There was a slight pause and Travis opened his eyes, silently willing her to continue.

“Well, anyway. We went through the customary seventy-two hour waiting period for the marriage license, and once we got it, we headed straight to the Justice of the Peace. In less time than it took us to drive there, we were officially married. Rings and all.”

“I never saw a ring,” Jess interjected.

“That’s because I didn’t wear it. He never introduced me to his family, and I didn’t introduce him to mine. It was sort of a whirlwind, and I wanted to keep him all to myself for a little while. As soon as I was ready to shout the happy news to the world, he walked out on me.”