Not a Chance(61)

Travis shrugged. "You're going to marry her anyway, aren't you?"

"Marry her? We've only been dating a couple of weeks."

Travis furrowed his brow in confusion. "So...you're not going to marry her?"

"Am I supposed to decide right now?"

"Don't you just...know?"

"No! Am I supposed to? I thought I had some time. You're freaking me the hell out, Travis!"

"Calm down," Travis said. "I guess you don't have to decide now. I'm sorry I brought it up. It's just...it's Emma. She's the kind of girl you marry. I figured that's what you had in mind."

Dustin looked terrified and lost. "I just want to be with her. I can't think about marriage now. It's too soon."

"Okay, man. Relax."

Dustin looked at him and shook his head. "I don't understand you, Travis."

"I don't understand you either," Travis said. Then he laughed. "Just relax and pretend this conversation never happened. Have a good evening with your girl."

Dustin smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

Travis went to his room where Tonya was watching TV and helped her to her feet. He called Duane, since he hadn't seen him in a while. The three of them went down to the diner to eat.





Arden hadn't slept with Nick since Sunday. She'd felt so empty inside afterwards that she couldn't bring herself to do it again. Tonight he'd called and she'd pleaded a headache again. Then he said something really nasty about how he might as well fuck a marble statue...it would be warmer and show more appreciation. After which she'd called him every bad name she could think of and hung up.

She wiped tears out of her eyes as she drove down the hill toward the café. She couldn't understand it. She never used to cry this much. When she arrived, she was told that Shannon had left Tara to close up. So Arden drove over to Shannon's house. Alice's car was parked there.

Arden climbed out and knocked on the door. She heard Shannon shout, "Come in!" She went in and followed the smell into the kitchen. She perched on the bar stool next to Alice.

Shannon turned to her and smiled.

Arden couldn't help but notice she looked a little worn. She glanced around and saw that the table had been set with candles that were no longer lit. Shannon was also wearing a very sexy dress. Arden's eyes widened. "Oh, Shannon. I'm so sorry. I forgot about your anniversary."

Shannon turned back to the dishes. There was an array of uneaten food in serving dishes on the counter. "It's alright. I shouldn't expect you two to step outside of yourselves and think of someone else for a change."

Arden felt like she'd just been slapped. "I'm so sorry. I'll go."

"No, wait," Shannon said. She braced her palms against the counter edge and closed her eyes. Her hair was immaculately done with little tendrils of red curls framing her face and neck. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have lashed out like that. Please stay. This food should be enjoyed by someone. Truth be told, even before Alice got here the evening hadn't been going that well."

Arden looked at Alice who was staring blankly into a half-empty glass of wine.

"What happened, Shannon?" she asked.

"I should have waited until I'd fed him before bringing up the baby thing."

"You're pregnant?" Arden shrieked.

"No. I was going to push him...make him say yes to me. But he was being stubborn. And then Alice came by and Russ yelled at her and stormed out. I guess he's at Rowdy's. It doesn't matter. Let's eat. Alice, you too. I don't care how you feel...you're going to wither up and blow away, you're so frail."

Alice did look frail. Her skin, always fair, was paler than ever. Dark circles shaded her eyes. She went to the table and sat down. Arden helped serve the dinner.

After a few minutes, when they were well into their dinner, Shannon seemed to recover some of her good hostess demeanor. "So," she said. "It appears we are all in the midst of relationship dramas. Alice, let's start with you. Do you have anything new to share with us? Or is it just the same old thing?"

Alice glared up at her. "He didn't come home last night. Is that new enough for you?"

Shannon's smart-ass smirk was replaced with concern. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah. He says he slept in his truck."

"But you think he was with another woman?"

"Normally I would. But he showed up early this morning and his lips were blue and he was shivering. I dumped a bunch of coffee down him and put him in a hot bath. He slept the rest of the day."

"But that's good, right?" Arden said. "He wasn't cheating on you."

"What's good about knowing your husband would rather nearly freeze to death in a cramped pickup cab than to spend the night under the same roof as you?"