Stranger in the Moonlight (Edilean 7)

“You do that,” Travis said as he flung back the sheet. “I’d like to see that.”

She leaned back on her arms to watch Travis stride across the room naked. “So what do you think he wants to give you?”

“Us. Give to us.” Travis pulled up his faded jeans. “My hope is that it’s freedom. To agree to give Mom an easy divorce.”

“You’re worried about her and Joe in a courtroom, aren’t you? Will your father have half a dozen lawyers at his table?”

“More like twenty, and each one will have a different ethnic origin and race. It will be a global rainbow.”

Kim laughed. “My money is on Mr. Layton. I think he can handle anything, and from the way he and your mom were dancing at Jecca’s wedding—” She broke off at Travis’s look. “All right. No stories of parents and the S word.”

“Let’s go to breakfast and see who else has been invited to this shindig.”

Downstairs in the dining room, people had seemed to settle on which tables they were to sit at, so there were two empty seats by Russell and Mrs. Pendergast.

“Oh, how lovely!” Mrs. Pendergast said as she stared at Kim’s ring.

Russell was smiling because his mother was looking at Travis in shock.

“You didn’t think he could do something like that all by himself, did you? But he did,” Russell said. “He even punched the buttons on the phone without any help from anyone. I was amazed.”

“I think little brothers should mind their manners,” Travis said, a sentence that silenced the table.

Kim looked at Penny and shrugged. “He figured it out.”

Penny’s eyes were on Travis and they were asking how he felt about all this. Travis put his hand over hers. “Dad should have divorced Mom and given us our freedom and married you,” he said softly. “That he didn’t shows that he has no common sense.”

For a moment there were tears of gratitude in Penny’s eyes, then she moved her hand away. “That’s enough of that nonsense. What do you think Randall is up to now with this surprise gift of his?”

“I’m hoping he shows up with a sister,” Russell said, and everyone laughed.

All through the meal, Kim noticed Russell and Travis sneaking looks at each other. There were so many new relationships being established! There were the usual—she was going to have to get to know his parents, and he hers. But Travis was getting the worst of it. He had a half brother who’d shown great hostility toward him, and a future brother-in-law who didn’t want Travis to marry his sister.

Travis seemed to know what Kim was thinking. He looked across the table and winked at her, as though to say that he could handle anything that was thrown at him.

She smiled, letting him know that whatever happened, she would be there with him.

“You two cut it out!” Russell said. “You’re fogging the glassware.”

Kim looked away in embarrassment, but Travis just laughed as he clapped Russell hard on the back. “Someday it may happen to you,” Travis said.

When Russ didn’t reply, Kim said, “For all we know, Russell may have a wife and three children.”

When Russell looked at her but made no reply, Kim turned to Mrs. Pendergast.

Penny put her hands up in surrender. “I have been sworn to secrecy.”

“More like privacy,” Russell said, and for the first time since Kim had met him he wasn’t wearing his usual look of amusement. That his merriment had always been at Travis’s expense didn’t keep Kim from laughing.

Abruptly, Russell said, “If you’ll excuse me,” and left the table.

“But he didn’t eat,” Kim said as she started to go after him, but Mrs. Pendergast caught her arm.

“My son has his own demons to fight,” she said, “and it’s best to leave him alone.”

Kim sat back down, but she looked at Travis. His eyes said he agreed with Kim. Without so much as a look at Penny, he followed Russell out of the room, but he was back in minutes. “Russ took the Jeep. I don’t know where he’s gone. Should we worry?” he asked Penny.

“I should, but not you,” she answered. “Who wants to try the peach pancakes?”