Miss Me; When I'm Gone (editing)

CHAPTER 7 (Travis)

Family life couldn't be all fucking roses, the way this bunch made it appear.

"You just haven't met her yet," Dean said, as he looked at Jessica.

"When you do, it doesn't matter what you think now. She'll be all you want in life."

I was sure he felt that way, but I worked on a ranch with horses all day. Not much time for women or interactions with females. I was too busy making a living and building on my own land.

Sure, I had needs. I am a man. But I had a fiend who handled those needs, no strings attached. It worked for us. Celleste had lived at the next ranch over for most of my life. She and I understood each other.

"Oh, Dean, she's perfect. I think I want a girl. I'm not sure how much longer I can wait." Jessica said, as she kissed Adelia Jane's nose.

"Baby, when you're ready for another, I'll make it my number one goal in life to make that happen." He said, with a wink at his wife.

Jessica's cheeks turned pink, and she tried to frown at him but failed.

"Well, looky who they gave me today. I figured it must be VIPs, since I was given the job," a male voice said.

I turned to see him smiling at Jessica. He bent over Adelia Jane.

"Hey, sweetness. You don't have your stingy daddy here today. I might get a urn holding you." He said.

"Hey, Owen," Sammy called out, and waved."

Then he held out his little hand in a fist. Owen knew the drill and blew it up with him.

"You want a vanilla Coke, bro?" He asked Sammy, who nodded.

"What can I get for the rest of you?" Owen asked.

He walked back to Jessica, took her drink order, and made his way around the table.

When he turned to leave, Karleah called out.
"Owen, you're friends with Blair, right?"

I snapped my attention to my sister to see what she was about to say. She'd asked me about Blair casually, and I knew she had been digging for the reason behind my helping Blair. But I had ended that. Or so I thought.

Owen grinned brightly.
"She's my neighbour and my new Prison Break watching buddy."

"Isn't that the person you mentioned tome about cleaning the house?" Jessica asked.

"Yep, that's the one," he replied.
Karleah looked at Jessica.

"She's wonderful. You'll be really pleased with her."

Then my sister looked back at Owen.

"I was wondering about her hand. Is she doing OK?"

Owen's smile fell.
"She's doing good. She did go to work today, though. I could've beat her sexy ass. But she's a stubborn one. I don't think she has any family at all. Hell, I don't think she has friends. She told me I was her first girlfriend a couple of weeks ago. But then we were sharing a bottle of Chardonnay, so it could have been the wine talking. Regardless, she's a good girl. A sweet thing. I can't figure out why she's single. God knows, every hot man in our building has made a pass at her. Even the married ones." He shook his head in disgust.

"That's so bad," Jessica said, looking crest fallen.

"Being alone isn't easy, I'm glad she has you." Owen winked at Jessica before turning and walking out of the room.

There was a heavy feeling in my chest. I tried to shrug it off and focus on the conversation around me. But the thought of Blair being alone with no family bothered me. No one but Owen was checking up on her.

How was that possible? The woman could stop traffic without trying. Hell, she had married men hitting on her. I would wonder if she was more into girls, but I'd seen her look at my bare chest. I knew better. She hadn't wanted to look, but she'd looked anyway.

When Owen came to clean our plates away, I saw Karleah's mind working. She was worrying about Blair, too.

"Do you know how Blair is getting home today after work? Are you driving her?" Karleah asked Owen.

He frowned and stacked another plate in his arms.

"No. She had a smaller house today. She's probably finished by now and heading home."

Karleah turned to look at me.
"Would you go find her and give her a ride? Adelia Jane and I can stay here and have desert."

I was already standing before she had finished asking.
"Blair ain't real good with men. They make her nervous. It's sweet of you to send Travis, but she won't just climb into the car with him." Owen said, looking at me warily.

"It's okay. She knows Travis. He took her to get her hand stitched up, and he took her home the other day from my house, too." Karleah assured him.

I watched Owen's face as he swung his gaze up to me. His eyes widened, and he grinned.

"Well, at least she's got good taste. About damn time." He mumbled.

"Ignore Owen. He's a romantic. He will make something out of nothing. Just go give her a ride. Please." Karleah begged.

She was worried that I wouldn't go because of Owen's comment. I grinned at Owen.

"I wanted to talk to you about her walking. That needs to stop. Drive her to her houses. Don't make her walk from the club."

Owen's eyes got big, but I didn't wait around for a response. I knew the rest of them had heard me, and I knew what they were all thinking. But I didn't care. It was going to take more than that to keep me from going to see Blair again. She needed me. Hell, she just needed somebody. And fuck if I didn't want to be there to help her. This was my mother's fault. She raised me to be this way. That was the only excuse I had.