Page 41 of Ice, Ice… Maybe?

“Oh hooo! The gloves are coming off, in real life, right here in the den!” Matthew uttered with glee, rubbing his hands together, anticipating a fight. Luke was grinning wildly, looking between the two men, as Jason simply put his cup of iced tea down and got to his feet – and Travis did the same, staring down the man.

“Fine, Golden Boy – bring it.”

“I am – since you are thinking the worst of me. I respect your sister.”

“You have a reputation.”

“I used to, yes. Then I turned my life around – and you didn’t answer my question.”

“Becca needs to be home with her family.”

“I agree. Everyone needs family around them and a support network.”

“You’re darn right, and you should…wait, what?”Jason balked, looking at him in shock. “You agree?”

“Uh, well, I didn’t expect that,” Matthew muttered quietly to Luke, who responded quickly – sounding stunned.

“Neither did I.”

“Becca wants to be her own person, to be in control of something,” Travis elaborated, defending Becca before this man so she didn’t have to. He also wanted a chance to show what he was made of and earn their respect. If her oldest brother thought he was going to be a pushover, then Jason was completely wrong.

“We all pitch in to keep this place running, and she’ll have plenty of control doing chores if…” Jason began, and Travis cut him off.

“Becca also doesn’t want to see her oldest brother ,who she loves and respects, having a heart attack from the stress because he won’t let four other adults help him with the farm.”

“He’s got a point, Jason,” Luke volunteered in a quiet voice.

“I agree,” Matthew spoke up as well, causing Jason to look at them instead of glaring at Travis.

“You two don’t need to take his side – and no one has complained before.”

“I’m just saying that if you give a little, you’ll get so much more in return. Did you know Becca would like to run a bed and breakfast out this way?” Travis blurted out, hoping he wasn’t ruining her secret or betraying her trust. “She’s incredibly smart and business savvy – if you’d let her handle some of the workload, it would make her feel valued and important.”

“All of us,” Luke muttered under his breath, looking away as Matthew sat there unmoving, almost like a statue and looking at the floor.

“You think that too?” Jason asked bluntly, staring at his brothers in disbelief.

“It would give you a secondary income and diversify,” Travis volunteered openly. He had his funds tied up in several different places, different portfolios, because if something happened and he couldn’t skate? He wanted to ensure that he would never have to work again.

“You need to advertise,” Matthew interrupted.

“There’s not enough money to pay for…” Jason snarled at him, obviously feeling threatened.

“Then give up the ledgers and let me look at them,” Luke said solemnly, seeing Jason’s head whip around again in complete shock.

Travis sucked in his breath painfully. This was not what he intended when the discussion had started to turn. The conversation was going downhill fast, and he didn’t really want to be responsible for destroying a family that had some underlying bitterness and unresolved issues.

“Look, I’m not here to start World War Three with Becca’s family – she loves you, and I just want to see her happy. Let’s just have a nice dinner and talk like a couple of guys.”

“Wearetalking.”

“Jason, let her have an enjoyable weekend at home with her family – and then give her a chance to show you all her thoughts regarding the farm in a few weeks.”

“Why?” Jason said skeptically, looking at him. Luke and Matthew’s eyes swung toward him as well putting him on the spot again. “Why would you want Becca to find her footing here if she lives two hours away and closer to DFW? Why support her in this manner?”

Travis drew in a deep breath, not backing down as he met Jason’s eyes.

“Because I love her.”

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