Page 96 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

Travis grinned and heaved a big sigh of relief. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but Mav’s silence since Libby had moved her horses to Travis’s place had been weighing heavy on him.

Travis: I’m glad you’re not mad at me. Don’t like the sound of the rest of it though – what’s going on?

Mav: As if you don’t know what I mean.

Travis: Libby?

Mav: Yup.

Travis: You know the only way to fix it is to come home.

Mav: Tried that last time. It didn’t work then – made things worse.

Travis: But has staying away made things any better?

Mav: No, but we can’t antagonize each other from this distance.

Travis: You can’t fix anything either.

Mav: There’s no saying that it can be fixed.

Travis: I know two things for sure – it’ll never get fixed if you don’t try, and you can’t try until you come home.

Mav: Gotta go.

Travis: I’ll call tomorrow at three.

He waited but Mav didn’t reply.

Travis: And you’re going to pick up and talk to me when I do, right? I want to tell you about Retta and me.

Mav: Right. I like her. I reckon she’s a good match for you.

Travis: She is.

Mav: You can tell me all about it tomorrow.

Travis grinned as he put his phone back in his pocket. Talking to Mav could be like pulling teeth, but he usually managed to win him over. He looked up as Trip approached.

“What are you smiling to yourself about?”

“I just talked to Mav.”

“And you’re smiling? Wow! Is that the first time you’ve managed to get through to him since the deal with Libby moving the horses?”

“Yeah. I guess I just caught him at the right moment with a text. I’m going to call him tomorrow. But enough about him, what about you? Are you mad at me, too?”

Trip laughed. “When have I ever been mad at you? And what have you done, anyway?”

“I mean about Shelly. First, we barged in on you guys the other weekend with Bear, and kind of set you guys up so that her only choice was to stay at your place. And now …” He jerked his chin toward the restaurant. “… We left you with no choice again about bringing her out tonight – and landed you with chauffeuring Libby as well.”

Trip shrugged. “I’m not mad about it – any of it.”

Travis waggled his eyebrows. “Want to tell me what’s going on, then?”

“I would if there was anything to tell.”

“You mean you’re not …?”

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