Page 19 of Theirs to Love

Travis and Em,

I need some time to think things through. Everything is moving so quickly; I feel like I can’t breathe. Please respect my decision and give me some space. I’ll be in touch when I feel that I can.

Be safe,

Jackson

Emily couldn’t help the sob that bubbled up from inside of her or the tears that now tracked down her face. She knew that something was wrong, Jackson wouldn’t just leave them like this, something felt off. She found her cell phone and dialed his number only to have her call go directly to voicemail. She softly swore and tried again, getting his message. Hearing his gravelly voice tell her to leave a message at the beep nearly tore her heart in two.

“Jackson, why are you doing this to us?” She sobbed into the phone. Connie had stopped doing dishes and watched her from the other side of the kitchen. Emily could see the concern onher face. She didn’t care, she needed to find out what the hell was going on with Jack and why he’d just walked away from everything that they were building. “Please call me, Jack. I love you,” her voice broke, and she ended the call.

“Oh, honey,” Connie crossed the kitchen pulling Emily into her arms and she willingly went. “Tell me what happened,” Connie soothed.

“He left,” Emily sobbed. “He just left us and with no explanation.” Emily handed Connie the note and she quickly read it.

“I’m so sorry Em but maybe it’s for the best. You had to have known that the three of you were going to face more struggles than a traditional relationship. Your guys have big personalities and are bound to have feelings of jealousy. Maybe he’s doing you and Travis a favor by leaving. Now you can try to have a normal relationship with just one man.” Emily stood back from Connie, not quite sure how to respond. She knew that Connie loved her and was concerned about her relationship being unconventional. When she and Connie got a few private moments together, her friend would ask her questions about how everything worked, always telling her that she would support her decision to be with two men at once but admitting that she didn’t understand the appeal. Now, Connie’s words felt like a slap across the face, and all she wanted to do was find Jackson and make him listen. She didn’t have time to convince her friend that what the three of them had was right for her or that losing either of her men didn’t feel like a valid option.

She nodded, “I get that you don’t approve of my relationship with Jackson and Travis but it’s what I want. It’s what we all want, and Jack just needs to be reminded of that.” Emily snatched up the paper from the kitchen countertop and left the room. She needed to wake Travis and give him the news that the other piece of their hearts left. She had a feeling that he wouldn’ttake Jackson’s decision lying down. It was time for her to stand up for what she wanted, and the first step was to pack her stuff and move her and Travis into her townhome. Out of the three of them, she had the biggest house, and it was time to plan for their future together—all three of them. Losing Jackson wasn’t a part of her plan and she’d be damned if she was going to just let him walk out of their lives. Jackson Saint was about to meet his match; her alpha man wouldn’t even know what hit him by the time she and Travis got done with him.

Travis

Two Months Later

Travis stooped over the engine of Jamison’s pickup and growled in frustration. His boss had taken fucking up the truck’s engine to new extremes. “I’ll have to take it down to the shop and throw it up on the blocks to take a look at it.”

Jamison’s smirk told him that he was enjoying the little game that they were playing. He thought his bosses would be pissed when he announced that he was buying a garage in town and starting his own business. It was Em’s idea. But, he had to admit that he didn’t hate being his own boss. He worked for Jamison and Ash in the early mornings, helping out around the ranch and keeping up with their equipment maintenance. But the afternoons, evenings, and weekends were spent building his little shop. At first, business was pretty damn slow. The locals seemed hesitant to trust that he was capable of the work based purely on the fact that he was bi. He tried not to let it bother him, but it did. Cash and some of the guys over at manholes had pitched in and sent him their vehicles to work on and he wasgrateful for the business. After about a month, he could finally say that he was in the black, which was an amazing feeling. He had his friends to thank for helping him to get there and Emily for her brilliant idea that launched the whole project.

“I’ll get you an answer by the afternoon on repairs. What the fuck did you do this time?” Jamison laughed, “I ran over a curb in town taking a little shortcut.”

“Fuck, Jamison. You can’t just go and make your own roads. You have to follow the rules, like everyone else.” Jamison laughed and slapped Travis on the back.

“We don’t follow the rules man, we march to our own drum. You know that better than anyone.” Travis nodded, not quite able to talk around the lump in his throat. Jamison was right he didn’t put much stock into what everyone else told him he should be doing. Since Travis disappeared two months ago, he felt like he and Em were living a complete lie.

After Emily had woken him to tell him about Jack’s letter, saying that he was leaving them, they packed their shit and headed down to the station. Jackson’s partner told them that he had been in before dawn, to hand in his resignation and pack up his desk. Jack left town, not telling anyone where he was going, and it nearly destroyed Emily. Hell, it almost destroyed him.

Emily asked him to move into her townhome and he did. Travis gave up his apartment lease and moved in with her trying to find a new normal, but it felt like a piece of his fucking heart was missing. He and Em hired a private investigator to try to find Jack but that was like trying to track down a ghost. It was as if he had completely disappeared off the face of the earth. Travis decided to give up looking, and although it took some time to convince Emily that they were fighting a losing battle, they eventually called off the PI and tried to settle into a relationship with just the two of them.

“So, I take it you’ve heard nothing from Jackson?” Travis fumbled with the wrench that he was holding not wanting to discuss Jack.

“No,” he barked. He cleaned up his tools and lowered the hood back down on Jamison’s truck. “We called off the PI last week. If Jack doesn’t want to be found then we won’t look for him.” He felt a fresh wave of anger about the whole situation. Having to hold Emily while she sobbed every night was becoming unbearable. Hell, he wanted to do the same, but he needed to be strong for them both.

“I’m sorry man. Maybe he’ll figure his shit out and just come back.” Travis knew that Jamison meant well but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Wanting Jackson was ripping Emily and him apart. The thought of losing her plagued him daily. At first, he wasn’t sure if she would even want him without Jack. That’s why when she asked him to move into her place, he jumped at the chance. Travis didn’t waste any time moving his stuff over and cementing their relationship. But as time went on, he realized that without Jackson they were just going through the motions, and he was afraid that Emily would decide that he wasn’t enough to make her happy.

Travis jumped into his truck, “I’ll swing by the house and pick up Em, she’s checking on Regan right now. The tow truck will be by soon to pick up your truck. You want a ride back to the main house?” Jamison nodded and got into the passenger side of Travis’s truck.

Watching Jamison and Ash getting ready to have another baby with the woman that they loved made him long for something that would never happen now for him. Two months ago, he let himself dream that Jack, Em, and he would have what his bosses had—a family with lots of kids. He still wanted that, but the dream felt empty without Jack. Hell, he didn’t even know how Emily felt about the whole subject of marriage or kids. Theyhadn’t talked about their future since Jack left them. He was afraid to bring it up for fear that Emily would tell him that she didn’t see one with him.

They pulled up to the main house and went in through the back door where he found Regan and Emily playing with little Star. Regan’s belly was growing so fast, reminding him that time marches on despite the pain of each passing day.

“Hey ladies,” Jamison turned on the charm making Em’s cheeks turn pink. Emily had become part of their little group, and he was so thankful for the friendship that had developed between her and Regan. Emily needed friends even more now and he loved the way that Regan had given her so much support these past two months. Mercy tried to join in as much as she could, but she had to pick up extra shifts at the hospital lately, trying to make ends meet. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on with Em’s friend, but he knew that Emily was worried about Mercy.

“You about ready to head out, baby?” Travis wrapped his arms around Emily pulling her into his body. He wanted to touch her, hold her every chance he got.

“Yes.” She nodded and grabbed her bags, handing them to him. They said their goodbyes and both kissed Star’s little head making her giggle and clap.

“You two are so good with her. When are you going to have a little one of your own, Em?” Regan’s question seemed to knock Emily a little off kilter. She smiled at her friend, but Travis could tell that it was forced.

“Maybe someday, who knows?” Emily shrugged, waved over her shoulder to everyone, and headed out of the back door.

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