Page 77 of Keeping Secrets

They walked arm in arm, enjoying the market. Keely felt perfectly content.

She definitely wasn’t thinking of Travis.

…much.

CHAPTER 24

Scot and Travis were quiet as they drove south along Highway One. The rolling coastal hills were lush and green from winter rains, and the brush along the roadside was covered in bright yellow flowers. The landscape shone dew-bright under the blue skies with a beauty that felt completely antithetical to Travis’s mood.

They had just left the bank in Half Moon Bay, where Scot had added Travis to his business accounts and given him the ability to sign checks for the bar. In addition to managing payroll, he would be responsible for managing vendors, bills, and all other expenses.

It felt like a solemn occasion.

Travis didn’t mind the added responsibility; if anything, he was happy to be able to take more work off Scot’s shoulders.

He still privately nursed the hope that Scot would heal and go back to managing the bar himself, but he had stopped voicing those thoughts out loud; they just made Scot angry. And deep down, he was grateful and honored that Scot wanted to leave the Bottlenose to him.

But eclipsing all of that was the sense that they had just signed away all hope of Scot’s recovery. And he hated that.

Weaving in and out of every moment were thoughts of Keely. He tried to occupy himself with the present, with the drive north and their business at the bank and the drive south, but through it all was the girl with copper hair and bright green eyes.

He couldn’t forget the way she had looked at him the last time that he’d seen her, the anger and hurt and betrayal that he had seen in her sweet face. The contrast between that and the complete trust in her eyes that day at the beach just about ripped his heart in two.

“What’s on your mind?” Scot asked after a while. “If you’re worried about the vendors, I can still–”

“No, it’s not that. I can manage that.”

“Well, if you’re moping about me getting old, no amount of resistance is going to turn back the hands of time.”

“You’re not old,” Travis protested.

“Some of us get old before others,” Scot said cryptically. “Believe me when I tell you, son. I’m old. And I’m getting older quicker than I’d like.”

The certainty in his voice made Travis wonder if the doctors had finally given him a diagnosis, but he held back the questions that rose up in his throat. He knew how much Scot hated them, and he was angry at himself for causing him more stress by fighting him every step of the way when all that he wanted to do was hand off the business that he had built over decades. It was a blessing, and to continue to treat it otherwise was an insult to the man that he loved like a father.

“I’m sorry for fighting you on this,” Travis said, his eyes on the road. “I thought that if I kept putting it off, you might… but I’m honored that you trust me with the Bottlenose. I’m ready to move forward and take the helm, if that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want.”

“I won’t let you down.”

“I know.” They were quiet for a moment, and Travis felt Scot’s eyes on him. Then Scot said, “There’s more on your mind than that. There has been for a while now.”

“Keely,” he said shortly. Just saying her name hurt. The sound of it felt wrenched from his chest.

“Nick’s little sister,” Scot said.

“Yeah.”

“I heard about the scene she made in the kitchen the other day.” Scot’s voice was grave with concern, but Travis could hear a hint of amusement there too.

“It was just a misunderstanding.”

“So you’ve cleared things up?”

“Not exactly.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

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