stop himself from thinking about the woman. And he couldn’t help but wonder if, just maybe, Tierra Braddy might be thinking of him, as well.
“I’ll bet he got himself a good laugh out of it,” Tierra exclaimed loudly as she paced the floor from wall to wall. “I can just imagine what a fool he thought I was, me going on and on about the wedding and the whole time Damien wasn’t planning to show up.”
Tierra brushed her tears away with the back of her hand, smearing her mascara and the blush that highlighted her cheeks. The magnitude of her situation blanketed her spirit. “How could he do this to me!” she moaned sadly, dejection masking her face.
Eden Waller and her younger sister, Marla Baron, both shook their heads, clucking their tongues in sympathy. Eden leaned forward in her seat, meeting Tierra’s teary gaze as she passed the yellow sheet of lined note paper back to her friend.
“Tea, sweetie, you know better than anyone how Damien is. He’s hurt you before. You know he was capable of doing that to you and worse. The guy is scum.”
Tierra tossed her hands up in frustration. “Not Damien!” she wailed. “His sergeant… How could the man just drop news like that in my lap and walk away? He seemed so sweet. How could he do that to me?”
Eden stole a quick glance toward her sister, the two women exchanging a confused look between them.
“Are you sure he knew?” Marla asked. “I mean, do you think he read the letter?”
Tierra stomped to the other side of the room. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. I’m sure he knew. I just find it hard to believe Damien didn’t tell him what he was up to. You know how men are. They put their business out there more than women do.”
Both Eden and Marla took a deep inhale of air at the same time, the two women sensing that nothing they could say would give their friend any comfort. Neither of them had been surprised when a hysterical Tierra had shown up at the ranch devastated by the Dear John letter her beloved fiancé had sent to her. No one expected much of anything from Damien. They’d tried for too many years to get Tierra to see that the love of her life wasn’t a man worthy of her heart. Eden had said it best: men like Damien Porter were what bad sperm produced.
Marla rose from her seat, offering Tierra a tissue for her runny nose. She shook her head. “What can we do to help you, Tea?”
Tierra finally collapsed into a chair, the hurt of it all weighing her down. She, too, shook her head. She couldn’t begin to fathom how anyone could do anything to make any of this well ever again. “I guess I won’t be needing that chapel now,” she muttered softly.
Eden tapped a comforting palm against Tierra’s knee. “Why don’t you stay here at the ranch with us for a few days? Take some time away from your normal routine to get some perspective. Next week you might actually see that this was for the best. Better it happened now than later, Tierra.”
Tierra briefly closed her eyes, tears pooling behind her eyelids. “You sound like my grandmother,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “She said the same thing.”
Tierra’s grandmother, Deloriann Braddy, had never been a woman who bit her tongue. Mama Dee had been saying loudly, and often, how she didn’t support Tierra’s decision to marry Damien. She also hadn’t bit back her glee in learning the wedding was off. It was just as the old woman had predicted would happen. Damien had betrayed her.
Tierra nodded her head. “Are you sure it won’t be any inconvenience? I just don’t want to be alone in my apartment, and I’d rather live out of my car than go to my granny’s and have her and Tingin say they told me so one more time.”
Marla nodded. “It’s no problem at all. You know we have a ton of space here, and right now the only other guest we have is John’s cousin visiting for the month.”
“John?” Tierra queried
“Our sister Marah’s husband. I don’t think you’ve met Marah yet, have you?” Marla responded.
Tierra shook her head. “Not yet.” There was a moment of pause while Tierra contemplated what she should do. Finally, she answered, “Well, if you’re sure it won’t be a problem.”
Eden wrapped her arms around Tierra’s shoulders. “We are. Come on. I’ll show you where your room will be.”
Following behind her friend, Tierra swiped at the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes for the umpteenth time. She hated that she couldn’t stop crying, but it hurt to admit that she had been wrong. It hurt even more to think that after all this time Damien hadn’t really cared about her at all.
At the top of the stairwell, Tierra turned to her friend and gave a sincere smile. “Eden, I really appreciate this.”
Eden grinned. “Everything’s going to be all right, Tea. Just keep believing that.”
As Tierra turned back toward the hallway, she wasn’t prepared for the large man who suddenly bounded from behind a closed door, stepping directly in front of her path. The duo slammed harshly into each other.
Instinctively, Travis reached out to grab the woman he’d just bowled over, intent on keeping her from falling to the floor. “I am so sorry,” the man exclaimed, his voice echoing loudly around them.
“Ouch,” Tierra muttered at the same time, gripping tight to the large arms that held her firmly by the shoulders. “Excuse me.” She looked up into the man’s face, recognition washing over her. “You!”
Travis’s eyes widened with surprise. “Ms. Braddy!”
The couple stood staring for just a brief moment, then before she could stop herself, Tierra balled up a tight fist and slammed it hard into Travis Stallion’s abdomen.
Chapter 4
Travis was still rubbing at his sore stomach muscles. Had he been expecting the slam into his solar plexus, it probably wouldn’t have bothered him at all. But Tierra’s punch had caught him completely off guard, and truth be told, for a little woman she packed one heck of a punch.
He still didn’t have a clue what he had done to deserve being punched but figured by the way Tierra had run back down the length of stairs and out the front door that it had to have something to do with the letter he delivered.
Eden had only shrugged her shoulders before turning an about-face to go after the woman. The expression on her face was as shocked as his.
Making his way downstairs, Travis’s curiosity was piqued. He was even more interested in knowing how Tierra had even known to find him there. Question after question raced through his thoughts as he stepped out onto the large porch.
The two women stood in front of the porch swing, Tierra sobbing uncontrollably. Her tears unnerved Travis and his usual steady and calm demeanor was suddenly anxious. Pushing both hands into the deep pockets of his jeans, Travis’s steps forward were tentative, the man not wanting to intrude where he might not be wanted.
Eden acknowledged him first, her head shaking with concern. She patted Tierra gently on the shoulder, leaning to give her friend a quick hug before making a polite exit. As Eden moved past Travis, she leaned up to whisper into his ear.
“Go easy
