Page 91 of Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars (Rock Canyon, Idaho 2)

Travis was starting to lose patience with George’s hostility. “Good thing you aren’t me, then. I’m not taking my son from his mother and I’m done with this discussion. You know what I want. Make it happen.”

“All right, and Chelsey Cooper? How do you want to handle her?”

When George had discovered the leak about Gemma’s name had come from his opener, Travis had been livid, wanting her head on a figurative plate.

“I’ll take care of her. You just handle the rest.”

GEMMA STOPPED OFF at the mailbox and found a small rectangular package mixed in with her bills. Looking at the return address, her hand shook. It was their wedding video.

I’m not going to watch it. What good would it do?

Gemma wasn’t sure, but as she walked through the door, she was reluctant to set the package down. Clutching it to her chest, she could hear her mother singing along to Alan Jackson, off-key and loud. Setting the groceries and the rest of the mail on the counter, she asked, “How is he?”

Her mother turned around, her light brown eyes amused. “Stubborn, like his mama.”

“So he still won’t talk to me?”

“The minute I started to give him my opinion, he shut down tighter than a clam and wouldn’t talk about it. Best thing I can tell you, sweetheart, is to go up there and try. He loves you; he just needs to realize that even you make mistakes,” her mother said, frowning. “Then I want you to call my son-in-law and tell him to get his ass back here pronto.”

“Mom, I don’t think—”

“That’s your problem, sweetheart, you don’t really think. You’re impulsive and you let your emotions run away with you until they’re so big you can’t see the truth. The truth is you should have told Travis about Charlie the minute you realized you were pregnant. I know you’ve convinced yourself that you were just protecting Charlie, but that’s not the real truth. There’s no shame in being afraid

to take a chance, honey. But it’s when you spend your life running away from the hard things that you miss out on the good stuff. Just like you panicked again when those reporters showed up. Instead of sticking with your husband and solving the problem together, you took the easy way out,” her mother said.

Gemma’s eyes filled with tears. “You think it was easy telling Travis I didn’t care? It wasn’t.”

“You used to do the same thing when your father got angry with you. This look used to come over your face, like you were in a daze and far, far away.”

“That’s because I was. After a while it was easier to tune him out,” Gemma said.

“I know your father was a stubborn, loudmouthed jackass, but he wasn’t all bad. You two had your good times, too. The problem was that when he wouldn’t bend, you broke instead,” she said, shaking her head. “You held onto all that anger and resentment, and it’s been eating at you. You gotta learn to pick your battles and decide when you should be bending instead.”

“You’re wrong, Mom. I forgave him. It was Dad who wouldn’t let go and admit he was wrong.”

“No, he wouldn’t, but he wasn’t the only thing in your life that made you distance yourself from love, Gemma. You forget, I was the one who held you after school when one person after another bullied you and took a little more of your strength. Until one day you stopped crying. That worried me more than anything. It was like you shut down your emotions, tuning out the hurt and pain until you were like a shell. I kept telling your father to go easy on you, but of all you kids, you were the one he couldn’t get a handle on. James, Dawn, and Drew; I love them to death, but they never tried to color outside the lines like you did. They were easy because they decided early on that it was better not to make waves. And then you came along, and you were vibrant, independent, and such a dreamer that it made your father crazy. He wasn’t much for things he couldn’t understand.”

Her mother reached out and brushed her hair back from her face as she continued. “But don’t ever think he didn’t love you, Gemma. He didn’t have the best role model of what a father should be, and that handicapped him from really getting close to you. I know we’ve been over it, and you don’t like me to make excuses, but you need to forgive him for everything, and not just the last few years. If you don’t let go of all that anger, you’ll never be able to let your guard down and be happy with anyone, let alone someone who pushes you like Travis. And you deserve to be happy, honey.”

Gemma processed her mother’s words and whispered, “Travis never had a dad, and his mom was a junkie. He was sent to eight different foster homes, but he’s a wonderful dad.”

Her mother laughed softly. “I’m sure he is, but none of us are perfect, Gemma. Travis is going to make his own mistakes with Charlie, just like you have. The thing about people is we’re flawed; we’re going to mess up, and it’s up to those around us to get us back on track.”

Gemma’s eyes stung as she thought about how mad Charlie was with her now and wished her mother didn’t make so much sense.

For some reason, she still couldn’t let go of the video and, clearing her throat, she asked, “Will you excuse me, Mom? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Before her mother could stop her, she practically ran down the hall to the guest room, shutting the door behind her. She hadn’t gotten around to cleaning it yet, and the room still held the spicy scent of Travis’s cologne. With desperate, jerky motions, she opened the package, knowing she had to watch the video, no matter what it showed her. Finally, she took a deep breath and sat on the end of the bed, holding onto the remote for dear life.

The words Travis and Gemma’s Ceremony popped up on the screen, and with shaking hands, Gemma pressed play.

The sound of soft organ music began as the picture came into focus. Seamus stood under an arbor, yelling at the person behind the camera, and a red-haired woman Gemma remembered as his wife came to stand next to him, flicking his ear. The view moved slightly to the right and Travis came into view, moving up to join Seamus. Gemma’s vision blurred as she watched his attention shift and his handsome face split into a wide grin. The camera turned slowly and she saw herself in that cream ball gown, walking up the aisle with a goofy smile, her eyes glued on Travis, smiling under the arbor. The camera followed her until she almost reached Travis and then zoomed in on his face. Travis’s blue eyes sparkled like crystals, and she could have sworn she saw tears in them before he reached out and pulled her to him. As she watched, she remembered that feeling of Travis kissing her, clinging to his hard biceps as he told her without words that he wanted this. He wanted her.

In the video, Seamus cleared his throat and hissed, “Hey now, boyo, there’ll be plenty of time for that after.”

Gemma watched the couple pull apart. Now she couldn’t see her own face, but she could see Travis’s. It was filled with joy and . . . warmth. Love.

As Seamus went through the vows, the camera moved. Gemma, her face flushed with color, repeated after him without looking away from Travis.

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