by T. K. Chapin
Chapter 21 ~ Levi
“Thanks for the chat,” Levi said. Glancing over through the trees at the barn, Levi had one thing on his mind, Jess. Something must have happened with her plans with Clint, and he wanted to be there for her, even if he was agitated with her for blowing him off.
“Well, you best go get what you want, son,” Roy said, patting him on the shoulder.
“If it were only that easy… she’s so difficult!”
“Well, if she’s difficult and you still have a desire to know her better, that’s a sign she might be the one for you. God has a way of bringing opposites together.”
Levi nodded as he kept his sights on the barn. “I’m going.” In a dash of anticipation, he sprinted through the front yard and between the trees out to the barn. Slowing his pace as he entered the barn, he saw Jess leaning over Betsy’s stall.
Walking up beside her, Levi leaned against the stall and kept quiet. He knew she was upset, and speaking anything in that moment could upset her all the more. He didn’t want to do that; he just wanted to be there.
“Nothing to say… that’s new,” Jess said raising her head up from the railing of the stall. Her eyes kept fixated on the calf. “Does she need another feeding?” she asked, turning to Levi.
“She does. You want to do it?”
“Yes I would.” Jess went over to the fridge to grab the mix. As she began making up a batch, Levi jumped the stall and took a closer look at the momma and daughter.
Going back over to the edge of the stall, he watched as Jess stirred the mix. Levi imagined her in a set of dark blue jeans, flannel shirt, hair curled and a cowboy hat to top it off.
“A picture lasts longer,” Jess said walking back over to him with a bottle for Rose. He had been caught in a full-on stare, and felt embarrassed.
Rubbing his neck, he said, “I was just thinking.”
“Oh yeah?” Jess said handing him the bottle. “About what?”
“Going to cool off in the creek after this… Want to join me?”
Jess shook her head. “That’d be kinda nice with how hot it is… but my makeup would get all thrashed, and I just got ready.”
Levi shrugged. “You’re pretty whether you have the makeup on or not.” He handed her the bottle after she hopped the stall.
“You haven’t seen me without makeup…”
“It doesn’t matter. I can see it.” Jess blushed, but didn’t respond while she began feeding the calf.
“Do you not like being at your own house or something? You seem to be here a lot,” Jess asked moving the calf over to a bale so she could sit.
Levi took a seat next to her for a moment. “My house is fine, but my dad has my three other brothers to help him with the farm, and I really like helping your Grandpa. But today was a little different; I had some questions for him about God.”
Jess’s eyes widened. “What kind of questions?”
Levi proceeded delicately. “I don’t really wanna…”
“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t even realize how personal that was.” She seemed embarrassed that she had asked.
“It’s okay.”
“I kind of want to know though…” Jess laughed.
“You hate not knowing things, don’t you?” Levi asked.
“Kind of.”
“Well, let’s make a deal?”
“What kind of deal?”
Levi adjusted his seat on the bale of hay. “You tell me what happened with your mom and dad… and I’ll share my questions.”
Jess stood up angrily. “That’s way personal!”
“So is God.” Levi stood up and looked around. Jess went to leave the stall, and Levi jumped in front her. “What’s bothering you so much?”
“My parents split… That’s all that is going on with them… It’s really not even a big deal. Just a fact… I’m surprised my Grandpa didn’t tell you about that.” Jess walked past Levi and began to climb out of the stall.
Levi recalled his parents’ temporary split last year. “I was terrified they were going to get divorced.” Jess stopped and looked at Levi. “My mom moved into town for a few months to live with my aunt Carroll…”
“What ended up happening?” Jess asked.
“My mom moved back, and they are happy as ever.” Levi approached Jess and put his hand on hers. “Sometimes people just need a little break to get a better perspective.” Jess looked down and nodded.
“Maybe they’ll get back together?” Jess asked smiling.
“Maybe, I don’t know though.”
“If my mom was smart, she’d go back to him.” Jess looked up at Levi. “What questions were you asking my Grandpa?”
“Well I don’t believe in God…”
“Really? I thought you didn’t drink because of God.”
“No. I just don’t want to ruin my body and health. But anyway…”
“Sorry, go on.”
“My friends were poking fun of Christianity… I run into that a lot and I just… I wanted to know more about it… It seems strange that a man born over two thousand years ago could still be upsetting so many people. Then, toss in the fact the Bible’s age. Really though, your Grandpa has been dropping hints about God’s design and that kind of thing since I started working with him… he has a unique perspective on God.”
“Hmmmm….”
“What?”
“Most people don’t like him… He’s cheap and all.”
“So he doesn’t pay as much as other farmers, so what? He’s way better to work for than the other farmers who might pay a dollar or two more.” Levi admired Roy’s perseverance with the farm. When he saw Roy stand up at the Chattaroy town meeting, and ask for help, he couldn’t ignore the intense passion he saw in his eyes.
“Did you get the answers you were seeking from him?” Jess asked.
“I got some things to think about, that’s for sure.”
“Are your parents non-believers?”
“No, they believe in God. They used to go to church, years ago before the accident.” Levi realized he’d slipped and mentioned the accident; he hoped she didn’t catch it. His sister Emmie was a painful subject that he didn’t like to discuss with anyone.
“Accident?” Jess asked curiously.
She didn’t miss it; in fact, it seemed to be the only thing she caught in what he had said. Looking to the exit of the barn, Levi began to leave. “I have to go.”
“What? Wait.” Jess grabbed onto Levi’s shoulder to stop him, but he shrugged it off. I can’t tell her about my sister. She wouldn’t understand the loss. Nobody can.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Levi quickly walked down the driveway to leave. He had to get out of there if he was going to avoid talking about the accident.
“Wait, what about the creek? You were going to swim?” Jess shouted, walking after him as he crossed over the bridge.
“Not interested anymore. I need to go.” Levi kept walking and Jess stopped on the bridge. Glancing back as he walked up the road, he saw her shaking her head at his direction. He was fine with her being upset; he wasn’t willing to travel down the dark memory of the accident with Emmie.
Chapter 22 ~ Jess
Infuriated, Jess stormed from the bridge, and onto the path that led under the sloping willow tree, past the root cellar and up alongside the grassy hill to the front yard. Approaching the picnic table that her grandpa was sitting at, she slammed both hands down.
“What accident happened with Levi? He wouldn’t talk about it and just took off.”
“The one with Emmie?”
“Who’s that?” Jess asked, relaxing her shoulders as she took a seat.
“That’s his sister…” Roy looked at Jess and shook his head. “She died in a tractor accident a few years back…”
Jess covered her mouth and turned to look towards the road, as grief overwhelmed her. Suddenly every issue she had about her parents, Clint blowing her off and being stranded for the summer felt so small, so insignificant
. Levi had lost a sibling and she had complained about such menial things to him.
Jess thought about losing Henry. I don’t like him a whole heck of a lot, but I’d freak if I lost him. Looking up at her grandpa, she shook her head, “I had no idea…” She looked to the road again. “He must be hurting.”
“You can’t talk to him about it… I probably shouldn’t have said anything. Please don’t, Jess.”
Jess took off in a dead sprint back down the hill. She could hear her Grandpa shouting at her.
“Jess, don’t!” Roy hollered.
She wasn’t sure why she was chasing after him. Maybe it was the sparks she felt every time they touched, like out at Copper’s Cove; maybe it was the fact she and he were both going through something difficult at the same time; she wasn’t sure what it was, but she wasn’t going to let him just walk away from it.
Catching up to Levi alongside Elk Chattaroy Road, she grabbed at his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” He asked, agitated. “I thought I made it clear I didn’t want to talk.”
Jess looked him in the eyes and could tell he had been crying as he walked. Instead of responding to his anger, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him warmly. He stood there for a moment before reciprocating the hug.
When he hugged her back, Jess felt all the pain, sadness and anger inside of her melt away. Her defenses lowered and a feeling a lot like love rushed through her entire body.
Breaking from the embrace, they both wiped their tears from their eyes. The silence they shared was brief, but comfortable. Then Levi broke the silence. “I’m sorry I took off… I just… I don’t…”
“What is it?” Jess asked softly, as she grabbed his hand.
“I like you Jess… and well, I’m scared of getting to close to you. I’m terrified of it. I haven’t told your Grandpa yet, but I’m flying out to Nashville for an audition.”
“An audition, for what?”
“Music. I play country music. I sold my car and have some money saved up from working for your Grandpa.”
Jess turned and looked across the road over at the fields. The breeze was swaying the stocks of corn back and forth. “Okay, well maybe just today, we can pretend like you aren’t leaving to Nashville, and I’m not going back home to Seattle.”
Levi seemed to ponder her proposal for a moment. Rubbing his chin, he agreed with a nod. “I guess I can do that… I don’t think it’ll cause any harm. Just promise me you won’t tell Roy about me leaving yet.”
“Promise.”
Walking back to the farm, they came across the bridge and spotted Jess’s grandpa up near the root cellar. It appeared he had been waiting for Jess’s return.
“I have something I want to give you,” Roy said. “Come with me.” Jess followed Roy into the root cellar, and Levi stayed outside.
“It’s dark in here… is there a light?” Jess asked. Roy reached past Jess and flipped on a light switch. The light hanging from the ceiling flickered as it came on. Looking across the room, Jess saw various pottery and stuff that appeared to have been sitting there for a long time, judging by the dirt and dust. Her eyes fell on a pink broken bike with a basket on the front. She recalled her mother telling her about it. She had ridden it to her friend Fay’s house up the road after school when she was ten-years-old. She would put her dolls in the basket and give them a ride to their friend’s house.
“That was my mom’s bike, wasn’t it?”
Roy turned to look at it. “Yep, it was.”
“What happened to it?”
Roy kept his eyes locked on the bike. “She outgrew it.”
“It’s busted though…”
Roy looked over at Jess as tears welled up in his eyes. “I did that. It was after Lucille had passed… I had to get away from all the people up at the farmhouse that were there for the wake after the funeral. I came down to the root cellar to hide, and that’s when it happened… I broke it out of anger.”
“You were angry so you broke her bike?”
“I was angry at God. Then after I thrashed the root cellar, I dropped to my knees and realized I needed God more than ever. That’s when I started coming here daily to pray.”
Then she saw Roy reach up to a shelf. Leaning over to one side of him, she watched as he pulled down an old and dusty fishing pole. Turning to Jess, he handed it to her.
“This was your Grandma’s pole.” Roy’s lips quivered for a moment, before tightly clasping together.
“But why are you giving it to me?” Jess asked, running her fingers along the pole down to the reel.
“Have a seat,” her grandpa said, taking a seat on a cement bench. Jess sat down and became nervous.
“What is it?” Jess asked, setting the pole down in her lap as she searched his face for clues to what was going on. “Tell me…”
“I want you to have it. Your grandma has been gone for a while now, and it’s better if it got some use instead of collecting dust.”
“So you’re okay? Like health-wise?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
A sense of relief rushed over Jess. She knew her mother would be in shambles if anything bad was going on with his health. With the whole split from Dad, her mother had been barely able to handle being out of creamer for her morning coffee, let alone something that would actually matter and impact her life.
“Well that’s good.” Jess brought the pole up to her eyes and she inspected the pole further. “It’s wood?”
Her grandpa nodded. “Bamboo was more common back when we picked that up for her.”
Setting the pole down next to her side, Jess wrapped her arms around her grandpa. She hadn’t realized how much Lucille’s passing still impacted him. She was only thirteen when she passed, and didn’t understand a lot. She just knew her mom had been sad about it.
Coming back outside from the root cellar, she realized Levi was beaming as he saw the pole in her hands. She handed it to him.
“Wow…” Levi said inspecting the reel. “This pole is in great condition.”
“Yep, she read most the time when we went fishing, so it didn’t get a whole lot of use,” Roy replied.
Chapter 23 ~ Levi
Walking with Jess and Roy, they headed back towards the farmhouse. While Roy walked up the hill back to the house, Jess and Levi went down to the creek.
Watching her grandpa go back up the hill, Jess turned to Levi with a smile. “He’s a pretty good guy. I think I was wrong about him.”
“Yeah, he’s an inspiration. And that love he had and still has for Lucille… It’s like the kind of love you hope for in life.” Levi went up to the edge, where the grass dropped off and the creek began.
“I used to play in this creek all the time with my cousins.”
“Oh yeah? I’m sure it was a blast. It’s shallow enough to not be dangerous.” Levi kicked his boots off and removed his socks and shirt. As he sat at the edge of the water, rolling up his jean pant legs, he noticed Jess’s eyes as she kept stealing glances of him. “Haha… You like what you see?”
“I don’t hate it,” Jess smiled.
“Come get in with me,” Levi said stepping into the creek. “Oh wow! So cold!” he said, short of breath as he went deeper into the creek.
Jess stood at the bank and shook her head. “You see I’m in a nice white dress, right?”
“It’s dirty… you were feeding a calf in it. Just hop in!”
“No way,” Jess replied.
Suddenly Levi dropped under the water and began struggling underneath. Grabbing onto a root under the water, near the bank, he held himself down and kicked up above the surface.
He could hear Jess scream from the bank, but the words were unrecognizable. Then suddenly she jumped into the water and pulled on him. Releasing the branch he came up to the surface.
“Are you okay?” Jess asked, inspecting his face only a few inches away. She was soaking wet, and her makeup was running down her face.
Levi smiled. “It’
s only waist deep… I was holding myself down.”
Jess smacked him and started back for the bank, but Levi pulled her back into the water and spun her around. “You’re a jerk!” she shouted, but smiled.
Levi grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in close. Pushing the wet hair back from her eyes, he kissed her.
She pulled away quickly from his kiss and slapped him, before making the decision to kiss him again. Levi picked her up and carried her to the bank as they continued to kiss.
Laying her down in the grass on the creek’s bank, Levi continued kissing her. Moving from her lips, he journeyed down her neckline and to her shoulder. Smiling, he stopped and looked her in the eyes, then kissed her softly on the lips before returning to her shoulder. He felt every fiber of his being inflamed with passion, and desire for Jess. Then, in an instant, he stopped as he remembered he would be leaving.
“What’s wrong?” Jess asked, sitting up.
Levi looked back at her and shook his head. “I’m going away, I’m going to Nashville for this audition and you’re leaving after the summer is over. I can’t… We can’t do this.”
“Don’t over-think it Levi, just let us enjoy this time today…”
Levi wanted every part of Jess, not just for the day, but forever. He figured it was just his hormones taking over. They, whoever they are, say that when you’re young, everything is intensified, but this felt different. It was like someone or something crafted Jess for him, and him for her. She challenged him, she moved him, and she made him want her more than anything he’d ever wanted before.
“Just today…”
“Yeah,” Jess replied, still a little breathless from their kisses.
“We should go over to my friend Bo’s then, he’s having a barbeque and a bunch of people over. There won’t be drinking, either.”
“When?”
“Right now? We can just take your truck.”
“Okay,” Jess replied. “Let’s go.” Levi smiled as he noticed she hadn’t stopped smiling since their kisses in the creek. She was the happiest he had seen her since she arrived in Chattaroy and he felt proud it was him who could make her so happy. He wanted that moment to last forever.