The Best Bride

Kyle’s good humor faded. His mouth pulled straight and his eyes darkened with sadness. “I guess that means you’re going to stay away from her, huh?”

“I don’t have much choice.”

“The Haynes curse.” Kyle turned and braced his forearms on the top of the marked sedan. “We’re all pretty bright. You’d think we’d have figured out a way to break the thing.”

“You keep trying.”

“Not anymore. I’m giving up on women.”

“That’ll last about a minute.” He looked out at the field and watched Mandy play. She saw him and waved then went back to her game. “We make a sorry group, Kyle.”

“That we do. And we’re contagious. Austin was probably normal before we got ahold of him.”

Travis shook his head. “I don’t think so. Austin had trouble before he ever got to Glenwood. Maybe the five of us should start a twelve-step program. Hi, my name is Travis, and I don’t know how to make a relationship work.”

Kyle pushed off the car and stepped into the street. “Let me know if it helps. Are we on for the game this Sunday?”

Kyle, Austin and whichever of his other two brothers were around usually came over to watch football in the fall. He’d canceled last week because of Elizabeth.

“Sure. She’s feeling better.”

“So I will get to meet her.” Kyle’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Yeah, but watch yourself.”

“I will.”

Travis watched his brother open his car door. Before he stepped inside, Travis called, “Wait a minute.” He walked around the hood of the vehicle and hesitated. “Can you run a name for me?”

“Sure. Who?”

He shouldn’t do this. If Elizabeth found out, she would be furious. Worse, she would be hurt. She’d said she hadn’t done anything illegal, but what if she’d been lying? He didn’t want to think that of her, but there was obviously something she wasn’t telling him.

He pulled a pad of paper out of his back pocket and borrowed Kyle’s pen. He vacillated another second, then wrote the name “Sam Proctor” down and handed Kyle the sheet.

“Call me if you find anything. And keep it under your hat.”

Kyle studied the name. “No problem. See you Sunday.”

Travis watched the car pull away from the curb. What would Elizabeth think when she’d found out what he’d done? What would he think if he learned her secret?

* * *

Mandy licked her ice-cream cone frantically, but the drips were faster. “Travis, help,” she called, holding out her hand.

He grabbed two napkins and wiped her clean. By the time he was done with that hand, the other one was a mess.

“You’ve got to learn to eat them quicker, honey.”

Mandy giggled. She had several grass stains on her shirt and shorts from the soccer practice. There was a smudge of dirt on her cheek and chocolate ice cream on her chin. She was adorable.

“I’m done.” She gave him the half-finished cone, which proceeded to drip all over his hand.

“Great. Thanks.” He licked it a couple of times, then tossed it in the plastic-lined trash container in the ice-cream shop. He wiped both their hands, then collected their packages. Mandy slid off her stool and followed him out onto the street.

“Hold this,” he said, handing her one of the bags. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out the list Elizabeth had made. “Okay, we bought T-shirts.”

“Three of them,” Mandy said helpfully.

“Yes, three. And shoes. We got underwear.”

“With pink bunnies.”

“The bunnies are nice.” It had been tough deciding between bunnies, a popular female cartoon figure and flowers. He’d picked out female lingerie before, but not cotton panties for a six-year-old. He hoped Elizabeth approved of the bunnies. He scanned the list. “That’s it, kid. We just have to go by the post office and collect your mom’s mail. Then we’ll head home.”

“Okay.” She started down the sidewalk.

“Mandy?” he called.

“What?”

“It’s that way.” He pointed in the other direction.

She smiled. “Okay.” The bag was light, but almost as big as she was. He reached down and took it from her.

“I didn’t mean for you to carry that, sweetie. I’ll take it.”

“But I want to help.”

He sorted through the other packages. “Here. Take this one.”

“Mommy’s present?” She looked in the small gift store bag and smiled. “Mommy will like it.”

“I hope so.” It had been an impulsive purchase. A small yellow stuffed duck. She wouldn’t get the joke, but seeing it would remind him not to try to be other than he was.

Mandy walked at his side chatting about school and soccer practice. He liked the sound of her voice and her stories. He liked how she looked up at him and simply assumed he would keep her safe. She accepted him with the tacit trust of a child raised in a house full of love and security. So where was the girl’s father?

Thinking of Sam Proctor sent a shiver of guilt slipping down his spine. As they crossed the street and he saw a restaurant up ahead, he had the urge to step inside and use the phone to call Kyle at the station. It would be easy enough to tell his brother to back off. Why did it matter who Sam Proctor was? But he passed the restaurant without making the call.

They reached the post office. There was a short line. Mandy stood patiently, humming softly under her breath. He glanced down at her pretty face and beautiful blue eyes. Eyes she had to have inherited from her father. He smiled at her. She grinned in return and reached for his hand. The trusting gesture twisted his heart. A stab of loneliness caught him off balance. It was going to be hell when Elizabeth and Mandy moved into their own place.

When it was their turn, he approached the counter and collected Elizabeth’s mail. She was having her forwarded correspondence held until she had her own place. He resisted the temptation to flip through the stack of envelopes. Checking on Sam Proctor was one thing, reading her mail quite another.

“Ready to go home?” he asked.

She nodded. “I had the best time, Travis. I like doing things with you. My old friends did stuff with their daddies but mine was always busy. I like soccer, too.”

The slightly confused speech gave him the in he’d been hoping for. As they approached the car, he dug in his front jeans pocket for his keys.