morrobay1990

Title: All Things Considered, 38
Author:

morrobay1990
Genre: mo!ennis
Word count: 1150
Disclaimer: Jack & Ennis are AP's.
♥ Jack

Look what the wind blew in...

This is about Ennis moving on...Ennis with a man other than Jack...Ennis in a loving relationship, but not with Jack...with someone else. He's learning to live with his past...and he loves another man. Now he’s accepting that he can be happy with Travis.

Previously, on All Things Considered...

By the time Ennis got to Mariah’s stall, John had her on her feet and was trying to get her to walk. She was fighting him, pulling her head back, neck rigid, eyes wide and rolling, obviously in distress.

“Good luck was with you today, Ennis…I think she’ll be ok...”

They walked back to the house, neither one ever realizing that Deborah had disappeared.

A Woman Scorned, Drawing by Carmel Jenkin.This painting is available directly from the artist. http://dailypainters.com/artists/artist_gallery/2526/Carmel-Jenkin

Deborah leaned forward and poured herself another glass of wine as she tried to get things straight in her mind.

What had she just seen? Had she just seen Travis standing between Ennis’s legs, with Ennis’s arms around him, kissing him? Is that what she’d seen?

Or was Travis merely standing in front of Ennis, talking, and the shadows of the night conspired to play tricks on her?

She took a big gulp of wine, put the glass on the table and debated calling Jennifer to come over and commiserate with her...and decided against it because she wouldn’t know what to tell her.

Travis....and Ennis Del Mar? No fucking way.

“Glad Mariah’s gonna be ok.”

They were lying on the bed on their backs, not touching, same thought galloping through their minds: what had Deborah seen?

Ennis, eyes closed, was playing the scene over and over in his mind…had they been kissing when she came running around the corner? Did he have his arms around Travis? Or had Travis simply been standing there in front of him…a little too close maybe, but it may have been too dark for her to see.

“Ennis.”

“What?”

“I said I’m glad Mariah’s gonna be ok.”

“Yeah.”

Travis hesitated. “Do you think Debor...”

“I don’t know! I don’t fuckin know...maybe there was nothin to see...you was just standin there...weren’t you?”

“I don’t know, I can’t remember exactly. I know I kissed you...”

“Shit.”

“...and then I was standing there...did you have your arms around me? I can’t remember. But she wouldn’t say anything.”

He rolled over on his side and looked at Ennis, “She’s not like that, doesn’t still hold a grudge against you...does she?”

“You know her better’n I do.” Ennis’s tone was strained and accusatory.

“What the hell does that mean?”

Travis felt he had more than made up for the mistakes he’d made with Deborah, thought that was all behind them, that there was no jealousy or bitterness on Ennis’s part...maybe he was wrong.

Ennis said, “She was your girlfriend, you tell me.” He turned over and sat on the edge of the bed away from Travis. “She gonna talk? ‘Cause if she does, we got a bad fuckin situation here.”

“You’re not bringing that up again. I told you...” Travis sighed, “Look, this isn’t gonna get us anywhere. How many times have we been over this?”

Then his anger was rising, along with his voice, “I never slept with her, it was a mistake, I’ve told you I’m sorry…when are you gonna get over it? You think I should still be paying for that? Jesus! What do you want me to do, cut a vein to make up for it?”

Ennis turned to look at him and they both started laughing, releasing the tension, and couldn’t stop…Travis eventually made his way over to Ennis, who put his arms around him, laughter subsiding, and held him close.

“Well, we gotta figure out something to do in case she did see something, and decides to talk it over with the whole ranch,” Ennis said, but as far as exactly what they were going to do, he had no idea.

If Deborah had said anything to anyone, it didn’t get back to Ennis or Travis.

Weeks went by and things seemed no different than before Mariah got sick. Both men had spoken to Deborah numerous times in the normal course of the workday, and she never gave any indication by word or look or tone of voice that she had seen them in a compromising situation.

Six weeks after the incident, Deborah walked into the tack room as Travis was cleaning his saddle.

“Hey.”

Travis looked up, “Hey, Deborah.”

There was silence for a few seconds, then,

“Haven’t talked to you in...”
“What’s goin on?”

They spoke at the same time, then stopped, then started talking at the same time again, then stopped, then laughed.

Travis said, “You first.”

“I was just saying that I haven’t talked to you in a while...wondered how you were doin.”

“You know, same shit, different day. Kids lessons keeping you busy?”

“Yeah, but I’m used to it...I like it.”

Deborah was feeling more and more ill at ease. She used to be able to talk to Travis like a friend, but this...something was wrong...she must be right about what she’d seen...or thought she’d seen, and figured they might as well have it out, get it out in the open once and for all.

“Look, Travis, about that night Mariah got sick...”

“Yeah...that was lucky for Ennis...” He wished he hadn’t mentioned Ennis’s name to her.

“Yeah, I know, but...when I came around to find Ennis, to tell him.,..when I went to the back of the house, you two were there...” She didn’t know where to go or how to get there, but she suddenly figured she’d just say it.

“Look. I saw you, ok. With Ennis. Kissing him...or hugging him...or something...I saw something.” She was probably wrong.

Travis didn’t look at her for a minute, just kept rubbing the saddle soap around in circles...the leather was never meant to be that clean.

Then he faced her, “I figured you did...I’ve been waiting for you to say something...didn’t know if I should say something...so I just let it go.”

Deborah wasn’t ready for the flood of emotions that suddenly surprised her…was embarrassed when quick tears sprang to her eyes...she looked away, and he moved to put a hand on her shoulder, rubbed it lightly.

“Deborah, I’m sorry. It’s nothing to do with you.”

She had missed the touch of his hand...even though they’d never moved past the few rough kisses the time they went to dinner and had ended up at her place, she had thought about him all this time, thought that maybe he would change his mind and come to her, as so many before him had done.

“Yeah. No. It’s...I know.” She struggled to pull herself together, all the while leaning into his hand on her shoulder, but he pulled away.

Travis didn’t know how much he should tell her…didn’t want to see her upset and crying, but wanted to protect as much of his and Ennis’s privacy as he could, so he kept it simple.

“I’m sorry.”

She wiped at her eyes, tossed the hair out of her face, walked away from him, putting distance between them, trying to pull herself together. She didn’t know what to do, this had never happened to her before...and he wasn’t getting away with breaking her heart that easy.

Suddenly Deborah was mad. How could he treat her like this? Nobody treated her like this. She was used to getting what she wanted, and she had wanted Travis...the fact that he had turned his back on her for some scrawny cowboy - for Ennis Del Mar, of all people! - was more than her inflated ego could stand.

“You should be. And you’ll be more sorry than you know.”