Page 67 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

“I … I love the idea of having dinner with you guys, but I’m not in any position to invite you over just yet. You know me – the best I’d be able to offer you is frozen pizza and a bag of salad. Cooking isn’t my thing. And from what she says, and what I’ve seen so far, Retta’s a damn good cook, but I don’t think she should be on her feet that long, so …”

He trailed off when he realized Deacon was grinning at him.

“What?”

“You don’t have the hang of it yet, do you?”

“Of what?”

“It’s not a tit for tat kind of thing. It’s not ‘take turns inviting each other.’ And it sure as hell isn’t judging each other for what’s on the menu. You’ll learn soon enough – it took me a while. Hanging out with each other as couples is no different from hanging out with each other as the guys. Anything goes. All that matters is spending time together.”

Travis held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “Damn. I guess I have some catching up to do.”

Deacon laughed. “You do – and I don’t mind telling you that I like it that I’m the one to help you see it. I never thought I’d want to do any of the coupley shit again, but I love every minute of it with Candy. Ace and Ari are a law unto themselves. And you … you’ll get comfortable with it in no time, but you care so much – about everyone – that you’ll try to get itrightfor a while. If ever you’re worried about getting it wrong, give me a shout. I’ll set you straight.”

“Thanks, Chief.”

“Not a problem. But go on. You don’t want to leave Retta alone with Trip for too long, she might decide she’d be better off with the good doctor.”

He laughed as he left – he wasn’t worried in the least.

Chapter Fourteen

Retta looked out of the window eagerly as Travis turned off the road when they reached the airport on Friday afternoon.

“I’m still blown away by the whole private jet thing.”

Travis laughed. “I was for the longest time, too. It seemed so strange to me – still does when I stop and think about it – that the bunch of kids we used to be now fly around the country at the drop of a hat in the company jet.”

She glanced over at him. “You don’t talk much about what life was like for you growing up. You’ve told me that you and Trip were best friends since kindergarten, and that the whole group of you were friends but …”

He smiled. “I’ll have to start telling you the stories, then. There are plenty of them.”

He didn’t understand the look she gave him.

“Go on – you have a question, what is it?”

“I just … You told me that you lived in a trailer park and Trip lived in his big house. I know the MacFarlands have the big ranch, so that’s how Cash grew up. And Mav lived on his family ranch. I was just wondering if you were the odd one out. I … It makes me feel a little closer to you. That you understand what it’s like to be …”

He smiled. “I do. I know what you mean. You’re right in some ways. Trip’s family was loaded. Cash might have grown up on the ranch, but he had it tough. There’s not as much money in ranching as you might think, but more than that, his dad was an evil bastard. Same for Mav – his dad was just as bad. Ace’sfamily had a little place just outside of town. Emmett’s family lived in town. I guess Deacon and I were the poor relations.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He always had a chip on his shoulder about it. His dad was the town drunk, and his grandfather before that. The Wallis name was as good as dirt. Deacon vowed that he’d change that, and he has.”

“Wow, I would never have guessed.”

Travis parked the truck outside the FBO building. “Apart from Trip, none of us came from money. We didn’t think we’d end up with much either. But after we got out of the Navy, Cash and Mav wanted to set up the company. We all knew that we could do a better job of providing security than most of the private contractors we ran into.” He shrugged. “It turned out to be a very successful, and lucrative operation.”

“But the two of them own it?”

He chuckled. “We all do – they set it up so that we all have shares. I wouldn’t have been able to buy my place if it weren’t for them. Money’s never been much of a motivator for me, but I like being able to use it for good.

“But yeah, back to the jet, it’s still strange to be able to just hop on it and go when we need to, but it ended up being an asset to the business. It was Mav’s idea – even though he rarely uses it for the reason he wanted it.”

Retta raised her eyebrows and asked, “Libby?”

“Yeah. One day I’ll fill you in on their history. I didn’t want to because I know that she’s becoming a friend to you. I don’t want to wade in where it’s none of my business.”

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