Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars(55)

But Charlie had been well cared for not just by Gemma but by Mike and Gracie, too. No doubt the rest of Rock Canyon had had a hand in raising his son as well.

“Hey, girl. How you doing?” Charlie’s soft coo brought him out of his musings, and he smiled as the dog licked Charlie’s hand and he giggled.

Dolly poked her head in and smiled. “I was wondering if you would notice our newest addition.”

“Can we take Annie into the play yard?” Charlie asked, bouncing from foot to foot. Travis saw that the woman didn’t seem surprised and wondered how many afternoons his son spent here.

“Sure. Let me get a leash.” Dolly grabbed a red leash off the peg. “She’s a trained hunting dog. Her owner died and his daughter couldn’t keep her, so she turned her over to us. She won’t be here long once people find out about her.”

Dolly went inside and slipped the leash over the dog’s neck, leading her out of the kennel. Annie went straight for Charlie, automatically sitting in front of him, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth.

Charlie wrapped his arms around her neck, and seeing the look of pure happiness on his face, Travis was lost. He’d missed out on so much, but he could do this.

Taking the leash from Dolly, he said, “We’ll take her, too.”

Charlie pulled back, his eyes shining. “You mean it?”

“You heard Dolly. She’s a special girl. And she likes cats, so your mom will like her, too.” And be less likely to kill me.

With a whoop, Charlie released Annie’s neck and launched himself at Travis. Squeezing his waist hard, he said, “I love you, Dad.”

Travis eyes burned with tears as he held Charlie close. “I love you, too.”





Chapter Seventeen




* * *





GEMMA STOPPED OFF at Hall’s Market to get a few groceries on her way home and walked past the row of magazines on her way to check out. Stopping, she backed up and pulled Talking Nashville out of its holder. It was the first time she’d seen the image up close; the grainy quality of the photo of Travis leading her into the chapel made it hard to make out their faces. She glimpsed the article and read: An eyewitness says the couple left a little after three in the morning, and the mystery woman was sporting quite a rock on her hand.

Gemma wanted to gather up every copy and destroy them, but what good would it do? If someone decided to call up a magazine and tell them who she was, there was nothing she could do to stop it. The thought of someone she knew betraying her and Charlie made her sick to her stomach, but anyone was susceptible for the right price.

How could she protect Charlie from the locusts that would eventually find them? It would be bad enough to have him see what they wrote about his dad and her, but if they followed him to school . . .

No. No one was going to harass her son and disrupt their peace. If anyone tried, they’d be in for it. Her family and friends didn’t call her Mama Bear for nothing.

“Gemma, you gonna put down roots or you want me to ring ya up?” Nancy teased from the check stand.

“Sorry,” Gemma said, blushing as she pushed her cart forward and started unloading.

“Everyone’s talking about Travis and you tying the knot. I gotta say, he’s quite a looker. And that voice of his is enough to make me wish I was twenty years younger,” Nancy said, giving Gemma a wink.

Gemma gave Nancy a polite smile. She liked her a lot, but if one more person mentioned how lucky she was, or how good Travis looked, she was going to melt down in a bad way. The man was like a walking hormone inducer, with those deep blue eyes and the way he filled out his T-shirt, and she didn’t need to be reminded that all that sexiness was living under her roof ten times a day. At least Nancy wasn’t being crude, unlike Michelle Benson, who’d prodded Gemma about whether there was any correlation between Travis’s height and his penis size. Appalled, Gemma had asked her how big her own husband was, and walked away from the red-faced hussy.

“He is nice to look at,” Gemma said.

“I bet he looks even better in formal wear. Everyone’s talking about your reception, even Marcie Andrews, and that woman never gets excited about anything,” Nancy said, scanning the last item and totaling her out.

“So I’ve been told,” Gemma said and ran her debit card. “But I don’t know if we’re going to have a reception. We’re already married, and it just seems like we’re being greedy, taking up everyone’s time.”

“Nonsense; that’s crazy talk! Any excuse to throw a party, that’s all I’m saying. Plus we’re all just so proud of you finally hog-tying that boy,” Nancy said.

What was she? A desperate man chaser finally having browbeaten Travis into marrying her?

“Have a good one, Nancy,” Gemma said as she gathered up her bags, knowing her voice sounded testy but not caring anymore. Did no one in this town ever think before they spoke?

“You, too, Gemma. Oh, and don’t worry about the rolls for the reception. We’re going to supply some of those fancy ones that Kimmi makes at Christmas,” Nancy said, obviously missing the fact that she’d put her foot so far back in her mouth she was deep-throating it.

Gemma left the store, loaded her groceries, and climbed into the car. The minute the door slammed shut, she let out an ear-piercing scream of frustration. Sadly, it didn’t make her feel any better.