Page 39 of Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars (Rock Canyon, Idaho 2)

Until now.

He came up to Mike’s computer shop and thought about the tension he’d felt radiating off his former best friend. If he was going to stick around, they needed to clear up a few things

, mainly what he’d done to get under Mike’s skin. He pulled over and parked, thinking he might just invite him out to lunch, or maybe to have a beer tomorrow. Having a heart-to-heart in Mike’s store probably wouldn’t be the best idea. Lord knew it hadn’t worked with Gemma earlier.

He got out of the truck and went inside. Mike’s dark head was bent over a laptop, and he called out, “Be with you in a second.”

“Hey, Mike,” Travis said.

Mike’s head flew up, his expression suddenly wary. “Hey, Travis. What’s up?”

“I was coming by to see if you wanted to grab lunch.”

Mike hesitated. “You know, I’ve got a lot of stuff going on—”

Travis held up his hand to stop Mike’s excuse. “Look, I know I stepped in something between Gemma and you, but I was hoping we could just put that aside and catch up.”

Mike’s lips kicked up in a small smile. “There’s nothing going on with us. I’ve been into her for years, but she’s never felt that way about me.”

Travis breathed a sigh of relief. “Fine, then how about we do lunch and talk about anything but Gemma?”

The tension in Mike’s shoulders eased, and this time his smile was genuine. “Okay, just let me get my coat.”

Travis waited, picking up a picture frame on Mike’s desk. He turned it around and saw Mike smiling, holding up several lines of fish, his arm around a little boy flashing a gap-toothed grin. The kid looked a little familiar, but for the life of him, Travis couldn’t figure out why.

“All set.” Travis looked up to find Mike shrugging into his coat.

“Great.” Travis set down the picture and asked, “Who’s the kid?”

“Charlie.” Mike’s voice sounded clipped, which only made Travis more curious.

“Is it a mentor thing or something?”

“Something like that,” Mike said as he opened the door and waved Travis through.

JUST BEFORE SEVEN, Gemma paced the bookshop, trying to think of the best way to tell Travis.

“So, hey, Travis, we have a son; his name is Charlie and he looks just like you.”

He’d said three dates, but she didn’t trust someone not to tell him about Charlie in the meantime. She had to pick Charlie up next Sunday, and she wanted this dating business over with before then.

If tonight went as planned, she’d get a better idea of where Travis stood about having kids of his own and, depending on his answer, she might be able to cull the second and third date. Getting caught up in lust and romantic notions was fine for Vegas, but being back in Rock Canyon . . . well, she couldn’t think only of her own desires.

However he reacted to Charlie’s existence, she hoped if Travis backed out on his idea to make their marriage work, Charlie wouldn’t have to know. If Travis found out about him and didn’t pony up . . . well, she would protect her son. She always had.

She shook her head and wished, not for the first time, she could just take off and run, but she’d been doing that forever. Running and hiding. From bullies, from her dad, and, finally, from Travis and the truth.

The only time she’d ever stood her ground on anything was during that last fight with her father. She’d come home from Phoenix but waited another month to tell her parents about her pregnancy. Her mom had been quiet, sitting on the couch with her hands clasped in her lap, while her dad had exploded.

“You little fool, how could you let this happen? Of all the things you’ve been, stupid was never one of them. You’re supposed to be so smart, and yet here you are, about to make the biggest mistake of your life,” he’d yelled a foot from her face.

She hadn’t been able to stop sobbing and had looked toward her mom. “Mommy . . . please . . .”

“Don’t try to bring your mother onto your side; she’s as appalled as I am. If you think I’m going to let you live here for free after a stunt like this, you are out of your goddamn mind!”

Those were her father’s parting words to her and the last time they’d ever spoken. After that, Gemma had packed a bag, ignoring her parents’ raised voices as they started in on each other. She’d left for Gracie’s that night and stayed for a week, applying everywhere in town until Miss Addie had offered her a job and a place to stay in the empty studio above the bookshop.

Her father hadn’t spoken to her for the next five years. Her mother occasionally called or stopped by with groceries and a little money, but there was never a word from him. So many times Gemma had tried to bridge the gap between them, but he wouldn’t budge. When he’d died, she’d been so angry at him for never meeting his grandson, she almost hadn’t gone to his service. It was Michael who had convinced her that she needed to go for her own sake, not her father’s.

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