"I'm not doing it here," he said. "There's the baby."
"She's just a baby. It's okay."
Travis didn't answer. But there was no way he was doing it in front of the baby. He buried his face in Arden's neck.
"Let's go to the bedroom, then. She'll be fine."
He sat up on his elbows and grinned down at her. "You make me happy," he said.
"Okay," she said, smiling. "Let's go, then."
"No. She's already starting to get fussy. We can't leave her in here alone."
She grabbed the front of his shirt. "It won't take long," she whispered dramatically.
Travis glanced at the baby. She was just kicking and grunting a bit. He looked back to Arden. "How long?"
Arden answered by arching her back and moaning.
"Okay," Travis said. "Not long. Let's go." He hopped off of her and pulled her to her feet.
But then the sound of tires on gravel interrupted them. Travis leaned forward and peeked out the blinds. Then he dashed to the front door and opened it. Dustin stumbled in, followed by Russell Murphy. Travis caught hold of Dustin's arms and stared at him. "Are you drunk?" he asked.
Dustin gently nudged Travis out of the way and then stumbled through the living room and swerved down the hall.
Travis turned to Russell. Russell shrugged. "I don't know," Russell said. "I was having a drink with Vince at Rowdy's and he was already up there about to fall off the barstool. So I dragged him on home."
"Thanks, Russ," Travis said.
Russell nodded and then left. Travis turned to find Arden sitting on the edge of the couch with her cell phone pressed to her ear.
"I know, honey...I don't know...I'm so sorry...it'll be okay...," she said intermittently. Arden glanced up at Travis and shrugged.
Travis checked to make sure the baby was still happy and then went down the hall to Dustin's room. Dustin was face down on his bed, sort of diagonal like, his feet hanging off the edge. He still had on his boots and coat.
Travis bumped the edge of the bed with his knees. Dustin wobbled but didn't move. Travis reached down and shook him, which produced a low groan of protest. "Hey!" Travis said loudly. "What happened?"
Dustin mumbled something incoherent. Travis shook him again and this time he only snored. So Travis turned off his lamp and left him there.
Arden was in Travis's room getting dressed and re-packing her overnight bag. "Whoa," Travis said. "Where you going?"
"I'm sorry, baby," she said. "Emma's a mess. Dustin broke up with her, I guess he told you."
"No. He's out cold."
"Well, anyway." She finished buttoning up her shirt and swung around to face him. "I don't know any details yet. But she asked if I'd come over. I guess I'll probably spend the night."
Travis held back his disappointment. "Of course," he said. "When he wakes up I'll kick his ass real good."
Arden grinned at him. "Wait and hear him out. He may have a good reason."
"To break up with Emma? There's no good reason for that."
She kissed him and he grabbed her to him for a moment, keeping her lips on his as long as possible.
She pulled back. "I'll miss you," she said.
"I'll miss you more," he said.
"I'll miss you the absolute most," she said.
"I'll miss you way more than that."
She laughed and kissed him again. "Someday we won't be this silly," she said.
"It's not silly," he said softly. He ran his fingers through her hair. "I love you, Arden."
Her eyes sparkled. She let her hands slide down his chest to his waist, seeming to enjoy the feel of him. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"You bet," he said. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and he would be spending the evening with her family. She kissed him one more time and then he walked her out to her car and waved as she drove away.
Emma was sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow when Arden arrived. She went in to Emma's bedroom and closed the door behind her. She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Emma's back.
"If it helps any," Arden said, "Russell had to drive him home. He was hammered drunk."
Emma just sobbed louder. Arden rolled her eyes and waited patiently. When finally Emma calmed enough to talk, she said, "I just really thought he was the one, you know?"
"I know," Arden said, still rubbing her back.
Emma sat up and grabbed a box of tissues off her nightstand. "He just wasn't making any sense. I mean, one minute he says he loves me and the next he says he doesn't want to get married."
Arden pushed some hair out of Emma's face. It was sticking to her tear-soaked cheeks. "You were talking about marriage already? After only a few weeks?"