Cowboy, Stay with Me

Chapter Forty-Two: Heartbreak Hill

Lucy didn't have the heart to tell Travis the truth quite yet. She simply told him that Sean had a lot of work to do, which was certainly true, and that she wanted to go home for a bit to stay with her grandparents in case she went into labor soon. Which was also true, but she had a feeling that Travis suspected something else was wrong.

Her family members and friends all instantly noticed that she was no longer wearing her engagement ring and bombarded her with questions as soon as Travy was out of the room.

"I really don't wanna talk about it, guys." She told them wearily.

"Well, is the wedding still on?" Paula persisted, clutching the wedding scrapbook that she had been obsessively working on since Lucy and Sean had gotten engaged.

"Paula." Lucy closed her eyes. "Please, can we just discuss it later? I need to go lie down, I think. If Sean calls, tell him I don't wanna talk."

Everyone exchanged acutely concerned glances as Lucy left the table, but they let her be for now.

###

Later that night, Travis brought Lucy a bowl of strawberry ice cream; her favorite. He had brought his own bowl of chocolate ice cream with him and they sat happily together upon her bed for a while, watching old cartoons on her bedroom television set.

"So are you and Sean still gonna get married or what?" Travis asked her presently, in that oddly shrewd way of his.

Lucy experienced a somewhat nasty jolt at the question, despite not being that surprised by it. Travis was a smart kid and he hadn't exactly been sheltered up to this point.

"Well, honey...see, sometimes adults, they don't always get along in all the ways they need to in order to make a good married couple. Sean and I did our best and we're both real sorry that it didn't work out between us, but it just hasn't, sweetie."

He looked up at her then with his big brown eyes all full of such innocent sadness that she found her heart breaking all over again. "That sucks." He said bluntly. "I liked Sean. I was looking forward to the wedding, I was gonna be ring bearer." He reminded her needlessly.

Her twins started kicking just then as if in sympathetic agitation with Travy. She settled her hand over her big belly, trying her best to soothe them. She ran her other hand over Travy's brown mess of curls.

"We both still love you, sweetie, and Sean's still gonna be in your life. I promise."

Travis had gone from being perfectly docile to being quite distraught, however. He leapt up off the bed and glared at her angrily with his little fists clenched at his sides. "I thought you understood, I thought you wouldn't do this to me."

"Travis, honey, what're you talking about?" She asked, alarmed. She sat up straighter, reaching out for him, but he only took a step back from her. He was being just a touch dramatic, perhaps from all the sugar, but it hurt her nonetheless.

"You lost your mom, too, didn't you? I thought you knew what it felt like to have your family all busted up, so why're you trying to ruin my new family?"

"Travy-"

But he stormed off in fine dramatic fashion. She sighed, sinking back against her pillows as she decided to let him go. At least he had a lot of potential to be an actor someday, she thought wryly to herself.

Her amusement swiftly died, however, and as she lapsed off into sleep, a single tract of tears was slipping out from beneath her lashes.

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