The problem was most of the women in Slippery Rock were taken—a hazard of small-town living. If he didn’t make the time to either meet someone from a nearby town who fit the bill of farmer’s wife or head to Little Rock or Tulsa to find someone to at least take the edge off his physical needs, though, this restless feeling he’d been trying to shake since the summer would keep bothering him. The daydreams about Camden were only the fruits of his too-long celibate streak.
Until he could fit one of those two plans of attack into his schedule, he would just keep himself busy in other ways. The less time he had free, the less time he’d have to brood over...things. Like his lack of a love life.
Like the pretty girl he remembered from childhood wandering back into town looking like a drop-dead-gorgeous woman, complete with a wedding dress.
Finished with the compost piles, Levi tossed the shovel into the truck bed and got behind the wheel. He’d go check on the old cows. His father, Bennett, would have already fed them today, but Levi could check the salt licks. Maybe make some notes for Savannah’s new project.
He pointed the truck to the rutted path that led to the fence between Walters property and the Harris farm.
Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine. He’d made the right choice to come back to Slippery Rock, to gracefully back out of football. This was just part of the adjustment period. So it had taken more than two years to get to the questioning phase—that didn’t make his decision wrong.
He wanted to be here. Here, he had a purpose. Plans for the future.
Camden Harris was just a distraction. One he would start ignoring right now.
CHAPTER FOUR
LEVI STOOD ON the crowded dock in the Slippery Rock Marina. Two remote broadcast trucks from Springfield news stations were parked on the road, their cameras trained on the Slippery Rock mayor, Thom Hall, as he made a speech at the makeshift podium.
Thom was going on about the resilience of Slippery Rock, how neighbors had pulled together this year and how that togetherness would make this the best holiday season in memory.
Levi shoved his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket, willing away the nip in the air. It didn’t work, but at least his fingers didn’t feel as if they would fall off now.
People he’d known all his life surrounded him. Buddies he’d grown up with, women he’d watched fall for those buddies. His parents were somewhere on the crowded dock, likely closer to the shore because his mother was afraid of water. It wouldn’t matter to her that this part of the lake was no more than eight feet deep, that she could actually swim or that she had spent time on a big ocean liner while in the Peace Corps.
“That’s why I invited you all here tonight, to celebrate the rejuvenation of Slippery Rock, and to kick off this wonderful season of giving,” Thom was saying.
Levi held back an eye roll.
Thom wasn’t exaggerating, but he could use a better speech writer. After a tornado had torn apart the downtown area, leaving several people wounded and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, the town had come together. Neighbors had put new roofs up, and locals had banded together to build the new grandstand area and rebuild the farmer’s market. Still, Thom was talking like some kind of character from It’s a Wonderful Life.
This was Slippery Rock, Missouri, not Bedford Falls, New York. This wasn’t a black-and-white movie. And he was freezing his butt off out here on the dock, where Thom had insisted everyone stand for the lighting ceremony of the inaugural Slippery Rock Holiday Festival.
He’d hired a carnival to come to town every weekend between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. There were street vendors, and live music would be in the grandstand that had been erected after the tornado.
The festival would definitely bring in crowds of tourists, and that was good, but if the man didn’t stop pontificating about the town, they were all going to freeze to these wooden dock boards.
“Is it just me, or does the temperature keep dropping despite the amount of hot air coming out of Thom’s mouth?” Collin whispered.
Savannah shushed them. Levi gave her the eye roll he’d been holding back.
“It’s sweet how he’s going on,” she insisted.
“All he has to do is throw a switch. We’ve been out here for thirty minutes while he talks about us like we’re living in some kind of cross between George Bailey’s Bedford Falls and Captain von Trapp’s prewar Austria.”
Savannah shot him a confused look. Levi shrugged.
“I was going for two heroic dudes.”
“And you didn’t think John Wayne or Denzel Washington?” Collin asked.
“I was going for heroic and Christmassy.”
“The Sound of Music isn’t a Christmas movie,” Savannah offered.
“Then why is it only shown on TV between Thanksgiving and Christmas?”
“Arnold Schwarzenegger was in a Christmas movie, remember? He beat up Sinbad over a children’s toy,” Collin offered.
Arnold Schwarzenegger probably would have been a better choice. But both Jimmy Stewart and Christopher Plummer had been on late-night TV in their iconic roles this week when he couldn’t sleep for the visions of Camden Harris dancing in his head. There had been no sign of Arnold on TV.
“So was Bruce Willis,” Savannah teased. She wound her arm around Collin’s as she spoke, snuggling closer to him. Levi would never have imagined his baby sister would fall for his best friend, but the two of them were perfect for each other.
Levi rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Why their perfection annoyed him he couldn’t figure out. But the more they snuggled and whispered, the more he wanted to toss them both into the lake. He’d leave them and join James, Slippery Rock’s recently elected sheriff, but James was canoodling with Mara at the other end of the dock. Same with Adam and Jenny, although they weren’t canoodling so much as looking as if, once they got their little boys back home and asleep, they’d start the canoodling.
Canoodling. What the hell was wrong with him? Levi Walters didn’t use words like canoodling. He didn’t watch sappy movies. He took care of his cattle. Played a little football every now and then with the guys. He threw darts and drank beer—all manly things.
So why was he so annoyed that Collin and Savannah were holding hands? That James had wrapped his arms and coat around Mara, holding her close to him? That Adam just kissed Jenny on her forehead when Thom said that line about the “best Christmas ever”? That Aiden and Julia were currently in a lip-lock, ignoring the speech and the crowd entirely?
He definitely needed to get started on either Plan A, find a local girl who’d fall for him, or Plan B, settle for a weekend of fun with a city girl. Maybe tonight.
The cattle weren’t in birthing season yet, and even if they were, his dad could handle a few deliveries. The cattle knew their routine, and the dairy was mostly mechanized now, anyway. Maybe he’d get in his truck once Thom stopped chattering on about Christmas and drive south until he hit the Gulf. Spend a few days with his toes in the sand.
Get away from Love Central and have a fling of his own. Carry around one of those souvenir cups filled with something highly alcoholic.
Someone jostled him.
“Excuse me, just trying to get a good shot of the lighting.” The woman, tall and slender, with her hair up in a ponytail that came out the back of her ball cap, pushed past Levi to stand closer to the edge of the dock. She had a camera up to her face, looking through the viewfinder as she moved around in the crowd, and she looked nothing like the woman who’d walked into the Slope the other night in a wedding dress. But this was definitely Camden. His heartbeat revved a little faster in his chest. Levi frowned. “Better,” she said, to no one in particular.
“So, let’s count it down, people,” Thom Hall said, raising his voice despite the microphone before him. Levi winced as th
e mic fed back through the speakers. “From five,” Thom called out.
Everyone on the dock joined in. “Five.”
Finally. They’d be off this dock and into the Slippery Slope in a few minutes, and maybe then he could feel his fingers again. Putting a few extra feet between his body and Camden’s wasn’t a bad idea, either. Levi’s entire body had clenched the moment she pushed past him, and he couldn’t get the muscles to release.
That settled it. He had to get out of Slippery Rock and into a fling of some sort. Pronto.
“Four,” Thom continued, leading the town through the chant.
Once the feeling returned to his fingers, Levi would make a list of things that needed to be done before he took that vacation.
“Three,” the town called out.
Savannah kissed Collin. Camden stepped a little closer to Levi, still apparently unaware that he was anywhere near her. Screw the list—he was just going to get in his truck and go.
“Two” rang out over the dock as the countdown continued. Collin and Savannah were still stuck in their lip-lock.
“One!”
Thom raised his arms like the flagger at a NASCAR race, and when he lowered them, a man on shore activated the lights. Streams of fairy lights crisscrossed the streets of downtown; more lights outlined the buildings and the grandstand. New flags had been hung on the street poles, and the school band struck up “Winter Wonderland” from inside the grandstand.
“Oh, it’s perfect,” Camden said, keeping her focus on the viewfinder on her camera rather than the people around her. “They’re going to love this,” she said, moving the camera from side to side.
Making a video, not taking stills, Levi realized. No wonder she was so focused on the camera’s viewfinder instead of where she was going. She stepped back, and so she wouldn’t land on him and lose her balance again, Levi moved back, too. He put his hands on her shoulders, letting her know he was there.
“Sorry,” she said, “I just want to get all the lights.” She tilted the camera, he supposed, to get the outlines of the buildings as well as the Main Street lights.
“No problem.”
The crowd began to move back to shore. Levi started to inch away from Camden, but when she took another little step back, he realized he couldn’t move. He was the only thing between her and the lake. The dock was sturdy, but this area was where the boats tied up, with no railings to stop anyone from diving—or falling—off the side.
He waved at Collin and Savannah as they started moving away. “I’ll catch up.”
“Playing hero?” Savannah teased.
Levi gave her another eye roll. “Protecting someone from catching cold by falling into the lake in November.”
Collin and Savannah continued back down the dock, along with the other town residents. He saw James and Mara start climbing the steps leading to the street. Adam and Jenny, along with their little boys, were nearly back to shore. He didn’t catch Aiden and Julia, but they’d probably already left the dock. Everyone watched the twinkling lights as they walked, and Levi had to admit the downtown area had taken on a bit of a fairy-tale quality.
Something he probably wouldn’t have noticed if AMC wasn’t in full-on holiday mode with the old movies this week. Old movies beat reruns of those daytime talk shows any day of the week.
Camden took another step back, her heels at the edge of the dock now. Levi reached for her arm.
“Watch your step,” he said, but she startled as he brushed her arm.
Camden pulled away from him, quickly, and the move threw her off balance. As if in slow motion, Levi reached for her as she tried to take another step back to regain her balance. But there was no place for her foot to make purchase. She flailed, and Levi surged forward, trying to catch her before her other foot left the dock.
And then they were both falling.
Frigid water splashed over Levi’s head, and he gasped, taking in a mouthful of lake water as he did. Levi kicked for the surface, sputtering and coughing when his head found the air.
Camden surfaced just after him, coming up just a couple of yards from Levi, spluttering.
“You okay?”
“What the heck was that?” she asked angrily. The ball cap had come off under water, and long, dark, saturated hair hung over her face. She pushed a mass of it away, but the darkness hid her face from him.
She kicked toward the dock, and Levi followed. She was mad at him? “I was trying to keep us both dry,” he said, hauling himself up on the dock while she used the ladder.
“Nice job,” she said, and there was a note of sarcasm underlying the anger.
Well, she wasn’t the only one ending a chilly November night with a dunking in the lake. “What the hell were you doing watching your camera screen instead of watching your step?”
“I was taking a video of the lighting ceremony, thank you very much.” She made it to the top of the ladder, and Levi held out his hand to help her onto the dock. “Granddad and Grandmom stayed home, and I wanted them to see what the lights looked like from the docks.”
She ignored his hand and stepped onto the wood, water streaming off her clothes to puddle on the dock around them.
“I’ll never find my hat,” she mumbled as she gathered the hem of her shirt in her hands and squeezed out some of the water. The camera dangled from a string around her wrist.
Lights were strewn intermittently around the dock, and in the dim light, he could see her bottom lip tremble. Not in fear or hurt, but from the cold. Camden gathered her hair in her hands and wrung out the excess water. He should do something. Offer her his coat. Of course, it was soaking wet, along with everything else he wore.
“I have a blanket in my truck,” he said. He shrugged the soaked denim jacket off his shoulders and twisted it in his hands as water streamed onto the wooden slats at their feet, then hung it on a dock post and stripped his shirt over his head.
“What the—What are you doing, Levi?” A hint of panic edged into her voice.
“I’m wringing out my shirt. Don’t worry, the feminine virtue of a woman who wanders around strange towns in a wedding dress is safe with me.”
“I wasn’t wandering around town, I was getting directions. And I told you, the gown wasn’t exactly my choice.”
“And yet you were driving across Missouri wearing it.”
“I needed to clear my head.” She frowned.
“Looks like you finally found some nonwedding attire to wear.”
“I picked up a few things at Julia’s store on Thanksgiving. And thankfully ordered a few more things online, because these clothes are probably done for.” A tremor shook her body as she spoke.
Levi wadded the shirt in his hands until no more water dripped out, then held it by the hem, snapping it between his hands. He put it back on and shivered. He grabbed his soaked jacket from the post. “Come on, let’s get you somewhere warm and dry,” he said. Levi didn’t wait; he caught Camden’s elbow in his hand and led her toward downtown. For the first time, his skin didn’t tingle at her touch. Good—maybe the other night had just been a fluke and he wasn’t as hard up for sex as he’d imagined.
He slipped the damp shirt back over his head and shivered. He needed to get out of these clothes, pronto. Camden shivered beside him. So did she.
“A little cold water hasn’t hampered my ability to walk, thank you,” she said, pulling her arm from his grasp. But she continued walking beside him. After a moment, she blew out a breath. “Do you make a habit of knocking unsuspecting women into the lake so you can offer them a warm blanket?”
“It’s probably not much warmer than we are at the moment, but it’s dry. And I didn’t knock you into the lake, you stepped right off the dock.” They crossed from the dock to the main road, and Levi pointed. “My truck’s right over there.”
“Because you grabbed at me.” He hadn’t expected her to fall to her knees in gratitude, but this was a little much on the annoyance side of things. All he’d done was tell her to watch out and then try to keep her from falling. She was the one who overreacted to the situation.
She kicked her legs and stomped her feet as they walked, as if either would do much to get more of the water off her. Her tennis shoes made squishing sounds as they walked. So did his. Levi held back a grin. She looked ridiculous. He probably did, too.
“I grabbed at you because you were flailing around like a bass in the bottom of a boat.” He unlocked the truck and grabbed the blanket out of the back seat.
“I was just fine until you—”
“You’re welcome,” he interrupted, handing the soft throw to her.
She narrowed her gaze at him and didn’t take the blanket. “That wasn’t a thank-you.”
“It should have been.”
Streetlights threw a cozy glow on the downtown area, brightened even more by the Christmas lights around the buildings and in store windows. Only a few people were still outside; most had gone into the Slippery Slope or the grandstand, where a local band was playing holiday music. Camden pushed her hair out of her eyes, and Levi’s hands tightened into fists.
“And maybe you should have been more chivalrous.” She twisted her long hair around her hand, wringing more water from the mass and then leaving it to hang in a twisted mess down her back.
Since she wasn’t taking the blanket, he tossed it onto the back seat of the truck and shut the door. “I tried to help you out of the water,” he pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting.
“I meant by not knocking me into the lake in the first place,” she said through clenched but chattering teeth. “Is this some backward way of welcoming new people to town?”
“Only in the summer. In winter, we generally wait for people to get bored and leave on their own.”
She shot him a look and then froze.
“And you’re not exactly a new resident. You’re just visiting, remember?”
Christmas in a Small Town Page 6