own hand, then rose back to the woman’s smiling face. The moment was strangely surreal, feeling as though it were playing out in slow motion. His tongue suddenly felt too big for his mouth, words caught deep in his chest.
So focused on her own rising anxiety, Tierra didn’t seem to notice Travis’s sudden discomfort. Fighting to stay focused, she eagerly pulled him inside, closing the door tightly behind them as she chatted nonstop.
“This is such a surprise. Damien didn’t tell me you were coming stateside. Where is he? Did you two travel back together? I’m so excited to meet you!”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Ms. Braddy,” he finally managed to mutter, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears. “Please, call me Travis.”
She repeated her questions.
“No, ma’am, we didn’t. That’s why I’m here. Private First Class Porter asked me to personally deliver this to you,” he said, reaching inside his breast pocket for the letter that had traveled home with him.
Travis forced himself to continue. “He stressed that it was very important you receive it as soon as possible.”
The look of fear that crossed the woman’s face suddenly tore at his heartstrings as she took the envelope from his fingers, her own hand shaking ever so slightly. Her confused stare met his.
“There’s nothing wrong with him, is there?” she asked, a rise of distress spilling into her tone. “Damien’s okay, isn’t he?”
Travis nodded. “When I last saw him he was doing just fine.”
Tierra exhaled a deep sigh of relief, pulling the letter to her chest. “You scared me,” she said, her voice dropping a few octaves.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Travis responded. He took a step toward her, the move unconscious as he suddenly wanted to pull her into his arms to ease the nervous edge that had gripped her spirit. “I really didn’t mean to upset you.”
Tierra giggled softly, mildly embarrassed. “I’m fine,” she said, brushing her palm against his forearm. “I’m also very rude. I haven’t even offered you anything to drink. Can I get you something, Travis?”
“No, but thank you for offering. Unfortunately, I really have to be going,” the man said, moving back in the direction of the door. “My taxi is waiting for me downstairs.”
“But you’ll come back? Right?” Tierra asked, the words slipping past her full lips before she could stop them. She stammered ever so slightly. “I…I mean, when Damien gets here tomorrow. You’ll come back and have dinner with us, and you’ll come to the wedding, I hope?”
That brilliant smile washed over him a second time. Travis suddenly felt like a match had ignited him on fire. He would have given anything for a cool wave of air to still the heat that had rushed from his head to his feet. “Certainly,” he muttered softly, trying to ignore an obvious wave of jealousy that was washing over him. “I look forward to it,” he said, the polite fib rolling like butter off his tongue.
“Thank you for stopping by,” Tierra said. “I know Damien really appreciates everything you’ve done for him. And this—” She gestured with the sealed mailer. “This was truly above and beyond your call of duty.”
Nodding his head, Travis excused himself, then stepped into the hallway. As the door closed behind him, he suddenly couldn’t help but wonder what had been secured inside the envelope he’d just delivered.
Locking the door behind her unexpected guest, Tierra moved from her foyer to the large windows that looked out to the lighted ball atop Reunion Tower and the neighboring Bank of America building. The stunning views had been a key selling point when she had searched for her first home. But Damien hadn’t been impressed.
Damien hadn’t wanted her to invest any of the money she’d inherited from her late grandfather into a home. The man had had a million get-rich-quick schemes that he thought would be more fruitful. But Tierra had erred on the side of caution, seeking out her grandmother’s advice and advice from the attorney who’d been hired to oversee the small fortune she and her brother had been blessed with. The security of real estate had proven to be exactly what she’d needed, despite Damien not wanting to support her decision.
Sliding a manicured nail beneath the sealed flap, Tierra tore open the envelope, anxious to read what was inside. She smiled to herself, hoping the sweet words Damien had written to pave his way home would endear him to their friends and family.
Pulling the neatly printed note from inside, she read it once, twice and then a third time. An hour later she was still reading it over and over again, the first of many tears streaming over the curve of her high-boned cheeks as she tried to make sense of the words that tore at her soul.
Chapter 3
The taxi driver, still trying to make small talk about the political issues currently in the headlines, pulled his taxi past the gated entrance of Briscoe Ranch, maneuvering the circular driveway to the front entrance of the large home. With a quick nod of gratitude, Travis pressed two twenty-dollar bills into the man’s hand and made a quick escape from the backseat of the vehicle.
As Travis watched the car make its way back off the property, he turned around to take in his surroundings. Briscoe Ranch was well over eight hundred acres of working cattle ranch, an equestrian center and an entertainment complex that specialized in corporate and private client services. The ranch housed two 20,000 square-foot event barns and a country bed-and-breakfast. With the property being central to Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth, Briscoe Ranch had made quite a name for itself. Travis was duly impressed.
Turning back toward the steps and the front door, he grinned widely when it suddenly swung open and his cousins Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Stallion all came barreling down to greet him.
The noise and banter was reminiscent of when they’d all been under the age of ten racing from one end of their late grandparent’s home to the other. Each and every summer the cousins would come together and play until they were all exhausted. Those had been some of the best times in their young lives.
Travis couldn’t help but note the deep family resemblance. The four brothers were the spitting image of his uncle, their father, David Stallion, and David’s brother Joseph, Travis’s father. All the men boasted imposing statures, black-coffee complexions, chiseled jaw lines and charismatic smiles. That striking family resemblance had skipped Travis, with him inheriting his mother’s café au lait complexion and her light hazel-green eyes. But even with their differences, side by side he and his kin looked like chocolate and vanilla reflections of each other.
“Yo, soldier boy!” Mark Stallion bellowed, wrapping the large man in a big bear hug.
Luke slapped his cousin’s palm. “Travis, my man!”
“Isn’t he pretty in his uniform.” Matthew laughed, his tone teasing as he embraced his cousin.
“Exceptionally!” John responded, he and Travis shaking hands as they bumped shoulders. “Welcome home, family!”
“It’s good to be back.” Travis grinned. “And look at you guys! I see this good life has been treating you four very well,” he said as he patted Mark’s abdomen.
John laughed. “That’s sympathy weight. Mark’s wife is expecting a baby, and for every pound she gains, Mark is gaining five.”
Mark flipped a finger at his older brother. “Maybe two, but definitely not five.”
“When did you get married?” Travis said, surprise showing on his face. “Weren’t you going to be a confirmed bachelor forever?”
The large black man laughed, his head shaking. “I was, but then I met Mitch. I just couldn’t help myself. The woman just took my breath away,” Mark exclaimed, joy shimmering in his eyes.
Travis nodded, the memory of his encounter with Tierra Braddy suddenly