A Fallow Heart (Tommy Creek #2)(14)

“What was Gerhardt doing at your place?” He turned his car off the beaten path and down an abandoned road with a strip of grass growing through the center of the gravel, showing how often it wasn’t used.

“Cooper?” She shrugged. “I have no idea. He probably stopped by to see Emma Leigh.”

But now that Travis mentioned it, Cooper had looked particularly troubled. Maybe he’d come over to unload some personal problem on Emma Leigh. Cooper and her twin were terribly close. Em had loads of close acquaintances. If Jo Ellen didn’t love her sister so dearly, she’d be insanely jealous of Em’s ability to make friends. She was so fun and uninhibited; people simply flocked to her.

Jo Ellen only wished she could be so sure of herself, so confident. She tended to stick to the sidelines; afraid she’d do something or say something embarrassing if she ever truly let herself go. But what would people think of her if she slipped up and did something awful?

“I bet he’s trying to get into her panties,” Travis mused aloud. “Dumb idiot. Like a Rawlings would ever have anything to do with him…well, unless your sister just wants to have a bit of temporary fun in the slums.”

Jo Ellen gasped. “Travis Marianne Untermeyer,” she scolded, knowing full well how much he loathed his middle name. “That is an awful thing to say. About both Cooper and my sister. Emma Leigh would never—”

“I know, I know.” Travis rolled his eyes and reached across the center console to grasp her fingers. “Your sister’s a pure, white virgin.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Unlike you.”

Jo Ellen snapped her hand back. “Yes, she is,” she bit out, irrationally hurt he had to go and mention how chaste her sister was and she wasn’t. She hated remembering she was no longer pure or clean. It made her feel dirty. Used. “And Cooper Gerhardt is probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met,” she added, moving past her own pain to defend the absent Cooper since he wasn’t around to defend himself.

“Nice?” Travis snorted and made a face. “Yeah right.”

“He is nice,” Jo Ellen insisted. “And I don’t understand why you hate him so much. He’s the most considerate person—”

“Oh, gimme a break. He’s trash, Jo Ellen. Poor white trash who lowers the value of Tommy Creek because his family lives here, polluting it with their filthy presence.”

Jo Ellen saw red. “Oh my God! I cannot believe you don’t like him just because his family’s humble. His parents are the most selfless people on earth. They’d donate an organ to a complete stranger if need be. Your parents certainly wouldn’t do that.”

With her arms folded tightly over her chest, Jo Ellen risked a sideways glance at him. She knew she probably shouldn’t have made that last crack. But it was true. His parents were the biggest pair of snobs she knew, which made no sense. The Untermeyers didn’t possess even a quarter of the wealth the Rawlings family did. Where did they get off?

Travis’s jaw had hardened. He parked next to a thick row of evergreens, which tucked his Miata neatly out of sight from the main road and gave them privacy. Remaining quiet until he killed the engine, he slowly turned to face her.

He looked calm as he asked, “Is that what this is about then? You’re still in a tiff because Mom didn’t invite you to the country club with us last night?”

Jo Ellen bit the inside of her lip, hating the word tiff and hoping he didn’t see a change in her expression. But, dang it, yes, of course she was hurt his family had put on such a spectacle about celebrating his father’s birthday—right in front of her—and made no mention whatsoever to include her. She’d been dating Travis for almost two years, and he’d even promised he’d buy her a ring once they graduated high school. To her, they were as good as married.

But after dropping enough hints to Travis for him to understand what she wanted, he’d come right out and told her his mom didn’t want her there. That hurt more than she could express. Why didn’t Mrs. Untermeyer like her? And why hadn’t her boyfriend fought harder to get her an invite?

Didn’t he consider them as good as married too? He certainly ought to since he insisted on other marriage rights from her as well.

Becoming abruptly fascinated with cleaning the invisible gunk out from under her fingernails, Jo Ellen muttered, “This has absolutely nothing to do with that. I just don’t think you should treat poor Cooper so bad. He doesn’t deserve it. And that joke you made about him at the house wasn’t even funny.”

“You laughed,” Travis reminded her on a sneer.

She winced. Yes, she had. But no one else was going to, and if she hadn’t, she would’ve placed her loyalties away from Travis. Studying him with a solemn expression, she said, “I have to laugh at your jokes. You’re my boyfriend.” Pretty much already her husband.

“Yes, I am.” His voice grew steely soft as he leaned close, looking intent about getting a kiss. “I’m your boyfriend. Not Gerhardt. And I don’t appreciate you taking his side over mine.”

“I didn’t—” Jo Ellen started, only to have his mouth cut her off. She reared backward to continue her argument, but he grasped the back of her neck to hold her still.

Irritated by his pompous, caveman tactics, she struggled before she realized he wasn’t going to let go until she kissed him back. Stonily, she fell still and let him press his tongue into her mouth.