Page 21 of Theirs to Love

“Yeah, I’m here.” Travis looked around the area and saw nothing out of place but that didn’t help with the gnawing feeling that they were still being watched.

“Listen Sharp, you and Miss Jude need to find a safe place for the next twenty-four hours. Can you do that?” Travis agreed. “Great. Text me your location when you find a safe place and I’ll forward it to Saint. He’s on his way back to town.” Travis wished that he hadn’t put the call on speaker. Emily’s gasp told him that she was just as shaken at the news of Jackson’s return as he was.

“What the fuck do you mean? Jackson’s coming back? Where the hell has he been?” A million questions ran through his mind, the one screaming the loudest was “Why”.

“I’m sure he’ll explain everything when he gets back, for now, I need for the two of you to drive as far as you can and find a little hotel to stay at for the night. Don’t stop unless you have to and don’t go back to your house, they’re likely waiting for you.” Travis agreed and ended the call. He pulled out into traffic and took the only road that headed out of town, checking often to make sure they weren’t being followed. They rode in silence for what felt like an eternity. He didn’t want to push Emily totalk about Jackson if she wasn’t ready. He wasn’t sure that he was ready to talk about him either but sooner or later they were going to have to come to some understanding about what they both wanted, should Jack truly return to them.

After what felt like an eternity Emily cleared her throat, and he knew that his silent reprieve was over. “So, Jackson’s coming back?” Emily’s whisper nearly broke him. He tried to be strong for her but the thought of seeing Jack again made him hope for something that he had been afraid to hope for over the past two months. He wanted Jack to be a part of their lives again and he wondered if Emily wished for the same thing.

“I guess so. Where the hell has he been?” Travis wasn’t asking Emily. She had no more idea of Jack’s whereabouts than he had.

Emily shrugged, “I don’t know,” she whispered. “Do you think he’ll want to see us?” Travis thought that maybe he heard a bit of hope in her voice, and he smiled over at her.

“I don’t know baby but at least we’ll have a chance to fight for him now. Jack took that with him when he left us without a word.” Travis wasn’t sure how either of them would survive Jackson’s rejection again, but they were strong enough to make it through the last time and they would make it through again, together.

They drovenorth for about five hours before Travis’s eyelids felt so heavy that he knew he had to find a place to stop for the night. Emily slept fitfully in the passenger seat, and he wished he could hold her and soothe away all her demons.

He found a hotel and woke her, “Em, we’re here, baby.”

She woke and stretched, “Were we followed, Travis?” She yawned and looked around as if searching for the white truck that had trailed them earlier.

“I don’t think so, honey,” he whispered. “I found us a hotel for the night, we’re about five hours north of home.”

Emily gasped, “How will Jackson find us if we are so far from home?” Her panic gave way to crying and he didn’t know which was worse.

“I’ll text his Captain where we are and I guess he’ll get word to Jack,” Travis shrugged.

“Do you want for him to find us, Travis?” The way that she looked at him was almost accusatory.

“What kind of fucking question is that Em?” He waited her out, hoping to give himself time to calm down. They were both walking on eggshells, trying to navigate their way through the mess that Jackson had left for them to clean up. Sure, he was mad that Jack so easily left them but that didn’t mean that he didn’t miss him every fucking day. When Emily didn’t speak he gave up waiting, knowing that she was holding out for him to say more.

“Listen Em, I’m pissed that Jack left. But I want him with every fiber of my being. He’s a part of us and I’m hoping that if he comes back he will be in this for the long haul. Otherwise, I don’t see how we can move forward as the three of us.” Emily nodded as if carefully considering his words.

“I’m angry at Jack too, Travis. What happens to you and me if he doesn’t want us back? Can we move forward if Jackson chooses to walk away again? I can’t lose you both,” she whispered. Her voice cracked with emotion, nearly tearing his heart in two.

“Oh baby, you will never lose me, don’t you know that? Every day since Jack left I have tried to show you how much I love you. I guess I’m doing a shitty job of it if you think I could so easilygive you up. That will never happen. I want a future with you and if Jack wants to be a part of that future, I say we let him in. If not, you and I will try to find a way forward.” Emily nodded again and Travis pulled her hand up to his mouth to gently kiss her knuckles.

“I need you Em, it’s just that simple. In just a few short months you have become my whole world. I won’t lose you, I can’t.” Emily leaned across the center console and kissed his mouth.

“Thank you for that, Travis. I don’t know what I would have done these past couple of months without you. I love you so much, but I love Jackson too. I feel like you each hold half of my heart and I’m afraid that without him, my heart will never be whole again.” Emily wiped her tears from her face and smiled at him. “I can’t lose you, Travis, it would break me.”

Travis thumbed away the last of her tears, “Well, we will just have to make Jack listen to reason even if we have to tie him to the bed until he concedes.” Emily laughed at Travis’s suggestion of how to subdue Jackson. The idea of seeing Jack again made him feel giddy and that was dangerous. He didn’t want to get his or Em’s hopes up worried about what would happen if Jack chose to leave and this time, never return. If they were going to remind Jack just how good they were together they were going to have to come up with one damn good plan.

Emily

After they got settled into the little hotel that Travis found for them Emily decided that she needed a shower. They didn’t even have time to go home to pack a bag, so she was at the mercy of the hotel’s little store in the lobby. Luckily, they had toiletries available in the room and she was thrilled to find those white fluffy robes on the bed. Hopefully, they would be able to find a store in the morning to buy some clothes.

Travis texted their location to Jackson’s boss. He told her that he didn’t want her to get her hopes up, but she had to admit she had already. The thought of seeing Jackson again made her heart race and scared the crap out of her. When Jackson walked away with nothing more than a note she was afraid of what was going to come next. For days, she tiptoed around Travis waiting for him to take off too. She worried that her relationship with Travis was too new to stand up to what the three of them shared. But it had and she was so thankful.

They left her parent’s house, and she hadn’t talked to them since. Her father had tried to call her a few times, but she let her voicemail deal with him. Her mother sent her a text telling her that she was acting like a child. She needed to put some much-needed space between her and her family. Her father’s messages usually consisted of his disapproval of her choice of men and his willingness to help her find a suitable mate. Like she was a panda at the zoo, and he was looking for another panda to breed her with. The idea made her laugh, but she knew that it was no laughing matter. The truth was that her father would like the idea of having complete control over her life and she would never allow that again. She was a fool for running home when things got tough, she thought that her safety would take precedence over his need to control her every move, but she was wrong.

She and Travis tried to move on with their daily lives, but each day was more challenging than the next. She could tell that Travis worried about what he could and couldn’t say, often not bringing up any mention of Jackson and God, she wanted to talk about him. She missed him so much, she ached. Talking to Travis about the man that they both loved might have helped them both to heal and be able to move past the resentment that they were both dealing with.

She saw the way Travis was with little Star, and she longed for a baby of her own, but she didn’t dare bring it up for fear that he’d turn her down flat. A part of her worried that Travis was just killing time until the next best thing came along. She also worried that without Jackson, Travis would get bored with her, and she’d find out the hard way that she wasn’t enough for him. Emily knew that the relationship between the three of them checked off all the boxes for Jackson and Travis, but she worried that she didn’t offer him enough of what he needed. The thought of losing Travis kept her up most nights and filled her days with so much worry that she was barely able to function at work.

Hearing Travis tell her that he wasn’t going anywhere tonight gave her strength to hope for so much more with him and honestly, with Jack. That they would at least have a shot to pleadtheir case with him made her heart feel like it was doing flip-flops in her chest.

“Hey,” Travis whispered startling her, causing her to yelp. “Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

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