by Vicki Tharp
“Hello?” she said.
The line popped and cracked, but she heard the force of Levi’s exhaled breath. “You left.” Not a question. An accusation.
“My grandfather broke his arm. I had to get back. Someone had to take care of the animals and the rest of the ranch. He’s old and—”
“I ain’t so old I can’t hear you, missy,” her grandfather called out from the couch, as he attempted to read the newspaper with one hand.
Olivia didn’t respond to her grandfather, not that he would have expected her to. To Levi, she said, “I’m needed here. I came home.”
“Five minutes.” Levi’s accusatory tone had shifted to something softer. “The ranch could have survived you taking five extra minutes to come find Clementine to say goodbye to her. To me.”
“You’re mad.”
“Wouldn’t you be? If the situation was reversed? If after spending that night together, I’d vanished?”
“My leaving had nothing to do with that... that morning.” You sure about that? Can you say that and look at yourself in the mirror at the same time? “I was already coming home. I just left a day early.”
The pops and buzzing on the line filled the silence. She bumped her head against the upper cabinet, over and over again, hoping to knock sense into herself, because what she wanted to do was climb back into her truck and make the long drive back to East Texas.
“No,” Levi said at last. The single word came out so low, she had to strain to hear him over the line. “You ran.”
More pops. Hisses. The operator came on and demanded more money.
After the final coin dropped, he said, “What are you afraid of, Liv?”
8
What are you afraid of, Liv?
Levi never got an answer to his question. Instead, she’d muttered about it being late and her being beat and could they maybe talk about it another time.
Levi took it as the brush off that it was, blaming his little infatuation with Olivia as his brain’s tricky way of trying to come to terms with the emotions that had been rattling around in his head since Clementine had come roaring into his life.
No way had he developed genuine feelings for the woman in such a short time. It was the stress and the circumstances that had brought them together.
Levi led Chunk to his two-horse bumper pull trailer now attached to his truck. Clementine walked beside him. It was almost noon, and most of the competitors had already left for the next weekend’s rodeo in Oklahoma City. But it was an easy drive, one he could make in a day, even with a three-year-old in tow, so after he’d picked up Clementine early from a curious Ian and Cora, he’d decided they’d sleep in. As late as a man with a rambunctious little girl could.
If nothing else, Clementine had enjoyed the pony ride Chunk had given her as Levi led him around and around one of the outside arenas. For once, they hadn’t been in a mad rush to pack up and get on the road. Which wasn’t like him. Usually, he was one of the first guys out after the rodeo ended and one of the first guys at the next location, ready to practice. Ready to win.
Funny how your priorities shifted when you had little sticky fingers around your neck and those precocious blue eyes staring up at you each day.
Levi pinned open the rear doors of the trailer. “Stay right here,” he told Clementine as he stood her out of the way beside the far door. “Don’t move until I tell you to, okay?”
She nodded. But she was three, so he kept his eye on her as he tossed Chunk’s lead rope over his back and sent him into the trailer. He pinned the butt bar into place to keep Chunk from backing out and closed the half door behind his horse.
Then he turned to Clementine who’d for once, stayed where he’d put her. “Pix, you undo the latch, and we’ll close the other door.”
She scurried around the door, tugging on the latch, but it wouldn’t budge. He pointed to the latch release. “Push there, then pull up on the latch.”
Her tongue went to the corner of her mouth as she pushed on the spring-activated lever as hard as she could. He was about to give her a hand when it released, and the latch popped free.
“Me did it.”
“Good job, baby.” He held out his hand, and she gave it a slap before she used all her strength to push the door closed.
Levi secured the latch and gave both doors a little tug to make sure they were secure.
Someone cleared his throat behind Levi. “Are you Levi Banks?”
Levi turned to find a guy in a suit. Levi picked up Clementine and rested her on his hip. She gave the man her widest smile and her rodeo queen wave.
In Levi’s experience, suited strangers never approached with good news. He thought about saying, ‘who’s asking?’ but that would pretty much give him away. “I’m Banks.”
The man handed him a manila envelope. “You’ve been served.”
“What the hell is this?” Levi asked as he worked the sealed flap of the envelope.
“That’s a bad word, Lebi.”
“Sorry, Pix.”
He leveled his gaze at the stranger.
The guy said, “I deliver them. I don’t know what’s inside. Have a good day.”
Levi could only muster a grunt as he pulled the papers out. He put Clementine down and sat on the wheel well of his trailer while Clementine went around and around under the bridge his legs made.
He had to read the papers three times for the words to finally sink in and the anger to go from a slow simmer to a bubbling boil. He shoved the papers back into the envelope, got his spare change from the ashtray of the truck, and jogged with Clementine back to the pay phones by the rodeo office.
With shaking hands, it took him several tries to get the money in the slot. He kept his eye on Clementine as she climbed the first rung on the empty pen across from him. “Don’t go any higher.”
She tilted her head back, her weight on her outstretched arms as she looked at him upside down.
He’d better make the call quick or else she’d get bored and scramble to the top of the pen in no time. Whoever had said little girls were easier to handle than boys never had one.
The phone buzzed and buzzed and buzzed until finally, someone answered.
“Hello?” It was Olivia.
“It’s me,” he said without preamble. “I need help. June and Clive are suing me for custody.”
“They’re what?”
“They’re suing for custody. I got served papers in the parking lot of the rodeo grounds. How the hell did that happen so fast? They were just here on Saturday.”
“Clive is good friends with one of the deacons at their church. He’s a pretty powerful, well-connected lawyer in these parts. Lawyers can move fast when they want to.”
Levi caught movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced up. “Stop right there, young lady.” Clementine had almost climbed her way to the top. “Hang on a minute,” he said to Olivia. “I gotta get Clementine before she falls and cracks her skull open. Wouldn’t that be great ammunition to present to the judge?”
When he returned to the phone with his daughter on his shoulders, Olivia said, “Come to the ranch. Clive isn’t the only one who has lawyers for friends.”
“Olivia, I don’t have that kind of money. I’ve got a little bit put away, but—”
“Come to the ranch,” she repeated. She had that no-nonsense, take-charge tone that he’d always found so damn sexy. “We’ll talk to our own lawyer and we’ll figure out what we need to do from there.”
There she was again, using ‘we’ and ‘our’ like they were in this mess together. He had to remember one thing... she’d been the one who’d run.
“I guess I’ve got a few days I can spare. I could leave early Friday morning for Oklahoma City and still make the go for that night, if it takes a few days to get things sorted.”
He had to shove in more quarters to keep the connection open long enough for Olivia to give him directions to the ranch. He scribbled the address on the back of someone’s fli
er pinned to the bulletin board. He found concentrating difficult while Clementine used the top of his head as a bongo drum. He read the instructions back to Olivia.
“That’s it,” she said, “The dirt road we’re off can be hard to find. If you hit the Llano river, turn around, you’ve gone too far.”
“Okay. I think I’ve got it.”
“I guess I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Yeah. And Liv? Clementine really missed you this morning.” Clearly, something about the direction their relationship had turned had freaked her out. He wasn’t going to make the situation worse by telling Olivia he’d missed her, too.
“Same here.”
Before she could hang up, he added, “One more thing.”
There was a hesitation on her end, and her voice softened when she said, “What’s that?”
“I appreciate the help. Before. And now. I’m starting to wonder what I’d do without you.”
* * *
“They’re here,” Olivia’s grandfather said, as he walked out onto the front porch, the rickety screen door slapping against the jamb behind him. One of these days, Olivia would get around to tightening the hinge screws and putting in the new screen that had been sitting in the barn unopened for the past six months.
Olivia finished washing the dirt and grease off her fingers from changing the oil in the old tractor and dried her hands on her jeans as she walked to the front door. She glanced in the mirror and snatched the errant piece of hay out of her messy ponytail. A smudge of grease sat above her right eye that spit and a rub with her thumb couldn’t erase. But the hell with it. She had no one she was trying to impress.
Not that she would impress anybody in her old work boots, a tattered pair of jeans, and one of her grandfather’s old western shirts tied at the waist over a T-shirt to protect it from oil stains.
She leaned on the porch rail and waited as Levi followed the drive past the house and brought his rig to a stop near the barn. Olivia trotted down the steps after him. Her grandfather on her heels.
Levi climbed out, and her grandfather went for the passenger door. “Let me get Clementine out,” Olivia said. “I don’t want you to hurt your arm.”
Her grandfather cut her a look. “I think I can handle a door latch without re-injuring myself.”
“Fine.” She held her hands up in surrender and turned her attention to Levi. “How was the drive?”
He plunked his hat on his head and stretched his back. “We’re getting the hang of this road trip thing. Only had to stop three times to pee. Two were false alarms.”
“Grampy Joe.” Clementine’s grin stretched across her face, showing off two rows of bright white baby teeth. Olivia’s grandfather held her hand as she jumped out of the truck.
Levi came around the hood and held his hand out to Olivia’s grandfather. “Levi Banks. I appreciate you putting us up for a few days, Mr. Marsh.”
“Call me Joe,” her grandfather said. “And we’re happy to help.”
Clementine stood with one foot on her grampy’s boot, leaning back as far as she could with one hand in his, swinging back and forth.
“I didn’t realize you and Clementine had met.”
“Despite the rift in the family, Mae and Clementine were always welcome, and Olivia did her fair share of babysitting over the years to help first Mae, and then Randy, out.”
“I appreciate you watching out for my girls.”
Mae and Clementine?
Then he caught Olivia’s eye over her grandfather’s shoulder.
Had he included her?
Did he consider her one of his girls?
Or was that wishful thinking?
As good as her grandfather’s ears were, his eyes were just as good, catching the brief look they’d shared. “Dinner’s ready in fifteen. You kids put the horse up. I’ll get Clem cleaned up for dinner.”
The way Levi eyed her, she wasn’t certain she wanted to be alone with him. A spark of that anger she’d heard in his voice last night when he’d confronted her about the way she’d left was still in his eyes. But what spooked her the most was the hurt deeper in those depths.
She didn’t want to admit she had the power to hurt him, because if she had that kind of power, that meant they had a relationship. And if they had a relationship… then he had the power to hurt her, too.
“I can take Clementine,” she offered.
“I’ve got her,” her grandfather insisted as he took Clementine’s hand and started for the house.
Levi passed by her on his way to the rear of the trailer. “Nice try, boss.”
“I’m not your boss,” she grumbled. But not too loud because she kind of liked the rough, gruff way it rolled off his tongue.
She opened the second door and stepped into the empty stall and untied Chunk’s lead rope while Levi opened the other door and unhooked the butt bar.
“You can throw the end of the rope over his back,” Levi said.
When she did, Levi clucked, and Chunk cautiously backed out. After his front feet hit the ground, Chunk sniffed the air and whinnied. One of the horses in the barn answered back as Levi gathered up the lead rope and headed toward the barn.
Olivia pointed to a paddock behind the barn. “We can put him in there. He can have it to himself and meet the other horses over the fence line. There’s plenty of grass and room for him to run and stretch his legs.”
“Sounds good.”
They walked side by side, but the tension between them made the muscles between her shoulder blades knot and the saliva dry up in her mouth.
He didn’t say anything while he released Chunk into the paddock, or while they checked water troughs, or while they placed a few flakes of hay in the feeder.
She couldn’t take it any longer. She closed the paddock gate and caught his arm. “Look, Levi, about yesterday...”
He turned, his expression both a little sad and thoughtful. “Tell you what. I’m tired, and hungry, and doing my best to keep my shit together considering that envelope of papers sitting on the dashboard of my truck. As much as I want to have this conversation and the explanation, can we wait until after Clementine has gone to bed? Until then, truce?”
She could do that. She owed him that much. “Truce.”
His expression softened, and that twitch at the corners of his lips might have been a fractional smile. Levi backed her up against the fence post, his fingers linking behind her neck, his thumbs brushing across her pulse points. He bent his head to hers, their lips almost touching. “I’m going to kiss you, Olivia Marsh.”
He waited a fraction of a second, time enough for her to tell him no. But she didn’t want to refuse him. She rose on her toes and closed the gap. He made a sound, part surprise, part desire, all sexy.
Her hands went to his chest, to the thump of his heart against her palms. As she angled her head, opening her mouth to his, emotion poured in, in the angry way his tongue danced with hers, in the hurt in the light nip to her bottom lip, in the uncertain way his fingers traced down the sides of her face, in the trepidation when he pulled back and tentatively went back for more.
When their breathing got heavy, he broke the kiss, touching his forehead to hers. “I missed those lips.” His voice went gruff and he swallowed hard as if he had something difficult to say, but the words never came.
He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “Come on. We don’t want to keep dinner waiting.”
They walked back to the house, two fingers loosely linked. By the time they got inside, her grandfather had the table set and had placed the salad and potatoes in the center of the table.
“I need a hand getting the pot roast out of the oven,” her grandfather said. “Then we’ll be ready to eat.”
“I’ll get it.” Levi washed up at the sink. “The three of you sit down.”
There wasn’t much room in the eat-in breakfast area. Olivia put Clementine in a booster seat she had bought for those times when Clementine had stayed at the ranch. Her gra
ndfather sat across from her at the four-seater square table. Olivia served the potatoes and salad and took her own seat. Levi plopped the pot roast he’d sliced onto the table.
Clementine grabbed a slice of meat from the platter he’d set too close to her and slid it onto her plate.
“Let your daddy cut that, Clem,” Olivia’s grandfather said.
Levi stilled, his fork dropping to his plate.
Olivia said, “Uh, oh.”
“Mommy and daddy are in heaben. I have Lebi.”
Levi turned a light shade of green. “Mae told her I was dead?”
“Clementine doesn’t know you’re her father?” Her grandfather whispered, but Clementine’s ears were even better than his.
“Grampy,” Olivia said, through gritted teeth.
Clementine glanced at Levi, then around the rest of the table, knowing something was up but way too young to fully understand.
To her grandfather, Levi said, “I figured she had enough to adjust to in the beginning without throwing that tidbit into the mix, so if you could just—”
“Lebi my daddy?”
Levi closed his eyes a pained moment. When he opened them, he looked straight at Olivia, and she was sure that the word on the tip of his tongue was an emphatic fuuuck. Slowly, carefully, Levi wiped his hands on his napkin even though he’d yet had a chance to touch his food.
“Yes, Pix. I’m your daddy. Is that okay with you?” The forced levity wasn’t lost on his daughter. Clementine cocked her head as he gave her a reassuring smile. Levi picked up his knife and fork and started slicing her meat into finger-sized bites.
Olivia had expected Clementine to clap or smile or even let loose with an excited ‘yippee’—a word Clementine had started using the week before—but Clementine picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, the wheels still churning in her head.
“Yes? No?” Levi prompted his daughter.
Clementine nodded. She didn’t look sad, or happy. Just… thoughtful.
Levi glanced over at Olivia. She shrugged, not knowing what to make of his daughter’s reaction either.