He’d obviously just showered, his w

He’d obviously just showered, his wet hair nearly black. He’d changed into a pair of faded jeans and a black button-down shirt, its top two buttons open. As he approached the desk, she caught the clean, soapy scent of him.
“Sorry. I came downstairs to do a final check on the horses and saw the lights on in here. What’s that you’ve got there?”
Belatedly she realized she was gripping the journal to her chest. She laid it on the desk. “I don’t know. I found it in the drawer here when I was looking for the horses’ papers. I think it must have belonged to Nicole. I should probably give it to Jade. She’d like—”
“No, don’t.” The harshness of his voice surprised her.
“What do you mean, ‘don’t’?”
“Don’t give it to Jade. Don’t even read it, for God’s sake,” Travis ground out. “The woman’s dead. Let her have some privacy, let her rest in peace.”
Perhaps Travis was right and she shouldn’t necessarily hand over something that might have been private to Nicole to her teenage daughter. But something about his objection rang false. She looked up, suddenly noting the tensed wariness in his expression. Then their eyes met and what she saw in his turned her insides to ice.
Her fingers curled around the edges of the journal, blindly feeling for the satin ribbon. Slowly she opened the journal.
“Margot, don’t.” The guilt was there in his voice, too.
A terrible foreboding filled her. Ignoring Travis’s plea, she lowered her gaze to the open page. But this time when her eyes scanned the loopy cursive covering it, they were drawn like magnets to the two initials, so masculine and angular. So familiar and so very damning: TM.
Pain, as jagged as glass, sliced her heart as she read the entire paragraph.
It’s been a crazy week, but I managed to come up with an excuse to get out of the house to meet TM. These days I wonder what I would do without him. It’s as if he’s the only person I can be free with, absolutely myself, and know it’s all right. I almost didn’t want to leave afterward, but of course I had to. RJ might have become suspicious if I returned home too late.
The pain in her heart radiated outward, so intense she thought she might be sick. Of course, why hadn’t she figured it out earlier? Only one person on earth could have ever come between her father and Travis: Nicole.
She forced herself to look at the man who’d betrayed her father, the man her father had regarded as a friend, the man he’d treated almost as a son.
“You and Nicole were having an affair,” she said flatly. “How could you do it? How could you do that to Dad?” Yes, she was going to be sick, she realized, the nausea rising thickly, chokingly. Frantic to escape the office and the man whom she’d thought was everything, she pushed back the chair.
He grabbed her arm as she passed, hauling her around to face him. And she slapped him hard, once and then twice, and he let her.
An ugly red mark bloomed on his cheek as he said quietly, “I deserve that and more but not for the reason you think. I never touched Nicole and I have no idea who she was seeing, but it wasn’t me. I tried to tell RJ I wasn’t the one she was writing about in that diary but he wouldn’t listen. I’m telling the truth, Margot. I swear it.”
Her mind was racing backward, memories flooding her mind. “Nicole used to flirt with you.”
He laughed mirthlessly. “Sure, she did, when she got bored of reminding me that I wasn’t good enough to lick the soles of her boots. But Nicole could have wrapped herself in a pretty velvet bow and I wouldn’t have touched her. I would never have hurt RJ like that, not after all he did for me.”
She cringed inwardly, his words a painful reminder of how she had offered herself to him and been summarily rejected.
Stop it, Margot, this isn’t about you, she chided herself.
But imagining her father’s rage and the devastation he must have felt when he read those words in Nicole’s diary was equally distressing. “Dad didn’t believe you.”
Travis shook his head. “No. RJ was crazy with jealousy. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for not sticking around and making him see sense.” His voice was heavy with self-reproach. “If I hadn’t stormed out of here, pissed as hell, RJ wouldn’t have needed to fly to New Jersey to find a new trainer. He’d still be alive—he and Nicole would both still be alive. But I was too sore and angry to admit the actual truth to him.”
She frowned. “The actual truth?”
“Yeah. The actual, whole, unvarnished truth.” Travis’s mouth lifted in a bitter half-smile. “Of course, telling him would have had exactly the same result. RJ would have fired me the second he heard what I had to say.”
Margot shook her head in confusion. “That can’t be right. Dad would have forgiven you anything just to know that you hadn’t betrayed him with Nicole.”
“That so? You think RJ would have slapped me on the back and then offered me one of his fine Cubans when I explained exactly why I could never be interested in Nicole?”
“Of course. Nicole was everything to him.”
“Come on, can’t you think of anything that would enrage RJ as much as believing I was messing with Nicole? Nothing that would make him run straight for his shotgun?”
“A shotgun? You’re exaggerating. What on earth could possibly anger him more than you sleeping with his wife?”
“How about my telling him that it was actually his daughter I wanted?”
“What?” Her heart quickened and began to race.
“You heard me,” he said in a low voice as his hands moved to clasp her shoulders. She stared up at him mutely, transfixed by the intensity of his gaze. “There’s only one Radcliffe woman I’ve ever wanted, and that’s you, Margot.” He paused, searching for something in her expression, and his mouth flattened in a grim line. “Jesus. You don’t believe me, do you?”
“How can I believe you?” she cried, torn between memory and desire.
Frustration made his voice rough. “Margot, listen. I spent years working for your father, nearly half my life. I respected him and admired him as a horseman, and I think he respected me—for that very same ability. But that’s a really far cry from his seeing me as someone who’d ever be good enough for his daughter. You’re a Radcliffe, born and bred. I’ll always be Red Maher’s son.” The bleakness in his voice made her want to weep. “So yeah, telling RJ that it was you I wanted would have pushed him right over the edge. But that doesn’t change the fact that I should have told him the truth and to hell with the consequences.” His broad shoulders rose and then fell in a heavy shrug. “You were right when you said back at Crestview that I owe your father an enormous amount. But even though he’ll probably curse me from the grave, this time I’m not giving you up, Margot.”
Doubt and desire warred in her. Could Travis be telling the truth? Had he really wanted her all this time? Uncertain, she hesitated.
“Right, I see you need something more than my words to convince you.” He took her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Come on, we need to get out of here and go where you and I can be alone, with no ghosts from the past to come between us.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Dia telah jelas hanya mandi, rambut basah hampir hitam. Ia telah mengubah ke sepasang pudar jeans dan kemeja hitam down, atas dua tombol Buka. Saat ia mendekati Meja, dia tertangkap bersih, sabun aroma kepadanya."Maaf. Aku datang bawah untuk melakukan pemeriksaan akhir pada kuda-kuda dan melihat lampu-lampu di di sini. Apa itu bahwa Anda punya ada?"Terlambat dia menyadari dia mencekam jurnal untuk dadanya. Ia meletakkannya di atas meja. "Saya tidak tahu. Aku menemukannya di dalam laci di sini ketika aku sedang mencari kertas kuda. Saya pikir ini harus milik Nicole. Aku mungkin harus memberikannya kepada Jade. Ia ingin — ""Tidak, tidak." Kerasnya suaranya terkejut padanya."Apa maksudmu, 'jangan'?""Jangan berikan kepada Jade. Tidak bahkan membaca itu, demi Tuhan,"Travis tanah. "Wanita 's mati. Biarkan dia memiliki beberapa privasi, biarkan dia beristirahat dalam damai."Mungkin Travis adalah benar dan dia seharusnya tidak selalu menyerahkan sesuatu yang mungkin telah pribadi untuk Nicole untuk remaja putri. Tapi sesuatu tentang keberatan nya berdering palsu. Dia mendongak, tiba-tiba mencatat kewaspadaan tegang dalam ekspresi. Kemudian bertemu dengan mata mereka dan apa yang dilihatnya dalam berubah nya bagian ke es.Jari-jarinya meringkuk di tepi jurnal, membabi buta perasaan untuk pita satin. Perlahan-lahan dia membuka jurnal."Margot, tidak." Rasa bersalah adalah ada dalam suaranya, juga.Hening mengerikan mengisi. Mengabaikan permohonan Travis, ia menurunkan pandangan matanya ke halaman terbuka. Tapi kali ini ketika matanya dipindai kursif gila yang menutupi itu, mereka yang tertarik seperti magnet inisial dua, jadi maskulin dan sudut. Begitu akrab dan jadi sangat memberatkan: TM.Rasa sakit, seperti bergerigi sebagai kaca, iris hatinya ketika dia membaca seluruh ayat.Sudah seminggu gila, tapi aku berhasil untuk datang dengan alasan untuk keluar dari rumah untuk memenuhi TM. Hari ini aku bertanya-tanya apa yang akan kulakukan tanpa dia. Ianya seolah-olah ia adalah satu-satunya orang yang dapat bebas dengan, benar-benar sendiri, dan tahu itu semua benar. Aku hampir tidak ingin meninggalkan sesudahnya, tapi tentu saja aku harus. RJ mungkin menjadi curiga jika aku pulang terlambat.Rasa sakit di hatinya memancarkan ke luar, sehingga intens dia pikir dia mungkin sakit. Tentu saja, mengapa tidak dia tahu itu sebelumnya? Hanya satu orang di bumi dapat pernah datang antara ayah dan Travis: Nicole.Dia memaksa dirinya untuk melihat orang yang telah mengkhianati ayahnya, laki-laki yang ayahnya telah dianggap sebagai teman, orang yang ia memperlakukan hampir sebagai seorang anak."Anda dan Nicole telah berselingkuh," katanya tegas. "Bagaimana bisa Anda melakukannya? Bagaimana bisa Anda melakukannya dengan ayah?" Ya, dia akan menjadi sakit, ia menyadari, mual naik tebal, chokingly. Panik melarikan diri kantor dan manusia yang dia pikir adalah segalanya, dia mendorong kembali kursi.He grabbed her arm as she passed, hauling her around to face him. And she slapped him hard, once and then twice, and he let her.An ugly red mark bloomed on his cheek as he said quietly, “I deserve that and more but not for the reason you think. I never touched Nicole and I have no idea who she was seeing, but it wasn’t me. I tried to tell RJ I wasn’t the one she was writing about in that diary but he wouldn’t listen. I’m telling the truth, Margot. I swear it.”Her mind was racing backward, memories flooding her mind. “Nicole used to flirt with you.”He laughed mirthlessly. “Sure, she did, when she got bored of reminding me that I wasn’t good enough to lick the soles of her boots. But Nicole could have wrapped herself in a pretty velvet bow and I wouldn’t have touched her. I would never have hurt RJ like that, not after all he did for me.”She cringed inwardly, his words a painful reminder of how she had offered herself to him and been summarily rejected.Stop it, Margot, this isn’t about you, she chided herself.But imagining her father’s rage and the devastation he must have felt when he read those words in Nicole’s diary was equally distressing. “Dad didn’t believe you.”Travis shook his head. “No. RJ was crazy with jealousy. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for not sticking around and making him see sense.” His voice was heavy with self-reproach. “If I hadn’t stormed out of here, pissed as hell, RJ wouldn’t have needed to fly to New Jersey to find a new trainer. He’d still be alive—he and Nicole would both still be alive. But I was too sore and angry to admit the actual truth to him.”She frowned. “The actual truth?”“Yeah. The actual, whole, unvarnished truth.” Travis’s mouth lifted in a bitter half-smile. “Of course, telling him would have had exactly the same result. RJ would have fired me the second he heard what I had to say.”Margot shook her head in confusion. “That can’t be right. Dad would have forgiven you anything just to know that you hadn’t betrayed him with Nicole.”“That so? You think RJ would have slapped me on the back and then offered me one of his fine Cubans when I explained exactly why I could never be interested in Nicole?”“Of course. Nicole was everything to him.”“Come on, can’t you think of anything that would enrage RJ as much as believing I was messing with Nicole? Nothing that would make him run straight for his shotgun?”“A shotgun? You’re exaggerating. What on earth could possibly anger him more than you sleeping with his wife?”“How about my telling him that it was actually his daughter I wanted?”“What?” Her heart quickened and began to race.“You heard me,” he said in a low voice as his hands moved to clasp her shoulders. She stared up at him mutely, transfixed by the intensity of his gaze. “There’s only one Radcliffe woman I’ve ever wanted, and that’s you, Margot.” He paused, searching for something in her expression, and his mouth flattened in a grim line. “Jesus. You don’t believe me, do you?”“How can I believe you?” she cried, torn between memory and desire.Frustration made his voice rough. “Margot, listen. I spent years working for your father, nearly half my life. I respected him and admired him as a horseman, and I think he respected me—for that very same ability. But that’s a really far cry from his seeing me as someone who’d ever be good enough for his daughter. You’re a Radcliffe, born and bred. I’ll always be Red Maher’s son.” The bleakness in his voice made her want to weep. “So yeah, telling RJ that it was you I wanted would have pushed him right over the edge. But that doesn’t change the fact that I should have told him the truth and to hell with the consequences.” His broad shoulders rose and then fell in a heavy shrug. “You were right when you said back at Crestview that I owe your father an enormous amount. But even though he’ll probably curse me from the grave, this time I’m not giving you up, Margot.”Doubt and desire warred in her. Could Travis be telling the truth? Had he really wanted her all this time? Uncertain, she hesitated.“Right, I see you need something more than my words to convince you.” He took her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Come on, we need to get out of here and go where you and I can be alone, with no ghosts from the past to come between us.