by Liz Isaacson
“The best,” he said without looking at her.
She had a feeling everything Levi did or had was the best. Honestly, who had a private chef in Grape Seed Falls? Who even did that for a living and could pay their bills from the patrons in Grape Seed Falls? Her questions kept piling up, but she kept them to herself as Levi finally finished texting his sister.
He put the truck in drive and eased out of the parking garage. “What’s the last thing you’ve eaten?”
“Felicity brought German sausages and potatoes for lunch.” The idea of eating in front of him made her stomach recoil. She wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to let him take care of her. She wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing he was under the same roof, and she was already so, so tired.
“Juan Carlos left lasagna last night. He always leaves a lot, because he only comes every few days. I have lots of that leftover, if you like that kind of stuff.”
“Who doesn’t like lasagna?” Heather watched him, and he lifted one powerful shoulder into a shrug.
“I’m sure there are some people.”
“I like almost everything.”
“Tell me what you don’t like, and I’ll let Juan Carlos know.”
“That’s not necessary.” She wanted to fold her arms, but she couldn’t, so she just focused out the windshield. “What do you eat for breakfast? Lunch? He doesn’t come and cook every meal for you, does he?”
Levi chuckled, the sound rich and whole as it filled the cab. “We should probably swing by the grocery store before we go out to the orchard.”
“I knew it,” she said. “You’re bionic. That’s why you don’t eat breakfast or lunch.”
That got him to look at her, and amusement danced in those dark eyes. She wanted to dive into them and swim around. Instead, she laughed, thrilled to the core when he joined in. There was more to Levi Rhodes than good looks, she realized, and in that moment, she wanted to know every single thing about him, past, present, and what he hoped for in the future.
“What can I grab for today?” He pulled into Bart’s, one of two full-service grocery stores in town. “I’ll send Jessica for anything else we want.”
“Jessica?”
Levi shifted in his seat and pulled into a handicap parking spot. “She’s my housekeeper. I don’t, uh, actually do my own shopping.”
“Or cleaning, apparently.”
“That either.” He threw her a sheepish smile. “So? What’ll it be?”
“How long is it going to take you to find stuff in there?” She didn’t want to sit out here in this ridiculously huge truck, in the handicapped stall, where everyone could see her.
“I’ll enlist help. Ten minutes, tops.”
Heather sighed, seeing no other choice. She wanted chocolate, and a pain pill, and a dark room.
And Levi.
“Chocolate covered pretzels,” she said, her mouth suddenly dry. “Milk chocolate, not dark. And Diet Coke. I’ll need a lot of Diet Coke.” She leaned her head back against the leather headrest, but the position hurt her ribs and she straightened again.
“That’s all?”
“You know what else I like? Those cheap dollar pizzas. The three-meat kind.”
A flicker of disgust ran across his expression, but he said, “You got it. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
Heather couldn’t help watching him cross to the store and disappear inside. He oozed confidence, and she simply liked looking at him. As soon as he left her sight, though, a sense of dread descended. It pressed on her chest, smothered her heartbeat, and whispered the words, What are you thinking? What are you thinking?
Levi’s house was huge. And beautiful. And huge.
He’d carried her through the kitchen, which felt cavernous compared to what she cooked in. The living room itself was as big as Heather’s whole main level, with expensive furniture and the finest carpets and linens money could buy. Her throat tightened as he set her on the couch and said, “Be right back with the wheelchair.”
She wondered what he’d do if she requested he leave it in the back of the truck and carry her everywhere. Being so close to him excited and terrified her. The scent of his skin smelled so good, and Heather mentally told herself to calm down even as she brought the shirtsleeve that had been curled around the back of his neck to her nose.
Breathing in deep, she caught the musky notes that belonged to him. Her eyes drifted closed, and Heather couldn’t believe she was actually here, in Levi Rhodes’s house.
“All right.” He clicked the locks in place on the chair. “Want a tour?”
“I suppose.”
“So the kitchen’s back there. I don’t really use it.” His face darkened for a moment. “I don’t really use a whole lot of the house, actually.”
Heather sensed something more beneath the surface, but he wiped the disconcernation from his face and lifted her into the chair. “The master wing is on this side of the house. You can go anywhere you want, but not the master wing!”
She twisted to look up at him, though it hurt her ribs. He wore such a smile of teasing that she didn’t know how to classify it.
“I’m kidding, of course,” he said. “I’m not the Beast. If you need me, come get me anytime. I have an office down there. Bathroom. Bedroom. Sitting room. It’s all quite boring.”
“I didn’t know you could kid,” Heather said, her tone a bit awed.
Levi’s step faltered, and Heather regretted saying anything. But seriously, she’d never seen Levi more animated than a tree trunk. He rarely smiled, rarely left his boarding stable, and rarely interacted with anyone.
He cleared his throat. “There are three bedrooms on this side of the house. I had Jessica get the biggest one ready for you.” He pushed her down a hall wide enough for the chair—her parents’ house on Bartlett Street wouldn’t have had that, nor would the homestead on the ranch.
Delicate artwork hung on the walls, and the ceilings stretched at least fifteen feet tall. The smell of powder hung in the air, not something she’d ever associate with Levi.
“There’s a bathroom here,” he said, passing one with luxury tile on the floor. She wouldn’t be surprised if she could flip a switch and the tiles would heat. Levi had some serious money.
“You can get to it from your room too.” He pushed her into a bedroom with brown carpet, a queen bed, a loveseat, and a writing table. The room was light, bright, and airy. The lavender bedspread seemed perfect, as did the puffy, white pillows.
He helped her out of the chair and onto the loveseat. “I’m supposed to drug you up and let you sleep.” He flashed a bone-melting grin. “Be right back.”
Heather felt half-numb as she watched him wrestle the chair into its folded form, leave it in the hall right outside the door, and disappear around the corner. His bootsteps echoed against the high ceilings, and it only took him thirty seconds to return with a bottle of purified water and her pain medication.
He watched her take the pills, and then he took the bottle from her and put it on the writing table. “Do you have a phone?”
“Yeah…somewhere.” She glanced around as if her phone could jump up and announce its location. “My purse, I think. I left it in the truck.”
“I’ll put my number in it, and then I’ll let you get settled.” He left again, and Heather couldn’t quite wrap her head around her reality. Get settled? What did she need to get settled? She couldn’t even change her clothes.
Levi returned with her purse and her phone, both of which he put on the nightstand. “Do you want to lie down?”
She did, and she didn’t. Her brain felt foggy and her movements slow when she tried to wave him off. He didn’t wait for her to answer. He swept her into his arms and laid her on the soft bed before kneeling next to her.
“Anything you need,” he whispered, brushing her hair off her forehead in an intimate gesture that made her heartstrings pull and pull and pull. “I’m here.”
As quickly as he’d picked her up, he left the room, b
ringing the door closed behind him with hardly a click. Heather lay on the bed, in quite a state of disbelief—and quite a pool of desire.
Chapter Six
Levi made it down the hall without breathing. He rounded the corner and pressed his back into the wall, and sucked at the air. Again, and then again.
Because there was something seriously wrong with him. He hadn’t spoken that tenderly to anyone in years. Fine, maybe Genie, just last week when he’d discovered she wasn’t well.
He shook his head. A goat was not a beautiful woman.
Whoa. His brow furrowed as he backtracked to the modifier he’d thought to describe Heather.
Beautiful.
She was, that couldn’t be denied. He’d just never thought it before. Why was he now?
He had no idea, but his emotions had been all over the place since last night’s accident. He couldn’t believe so much had happened in only twenty-four hours, and he felt off-kilter, like he’d led his horse into a field full of snakes and couldn’t get out.
Lasagna would help. He’d skipped breakfast and lunch, because well, he normally was out working or training and he didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. As the microwave rotated, his thoughts went with it.
He just wanted to help Heather because he felt guilty she’d been injured at his stable. That was all. He’d do the same for anyone else.
But as he pictured Sammy, he knew that wasn’t true. He’d have offered to pay her medical bills and perhaps pay someone to stay with her. He would not have brought her to his home, set up a room for her, and then held her close to his chest as he carried her to the bed.
He groaned as he realized what he’d done. No wonder Heather had looked one breath away from absolute turmoil. She’d looked groggy too, so Levi had helped her to the bed. That was all.
He pulled his overheated lasagna from the microwave, wondering how many more times he was going to tell himself that was all.
Levi stood in the kitchen when his sister walked in from the garage. “Your double-door is open,” Ellory said in a singsongy voice. “I know you hate that, so I closed it.”
She lifted two plastic bags of groceries onto the counter and grinned at him. He smiled back at the brunette who looked so much like him it was remarkable they were so far apart in age.
“Hey, Elle.”
“So.” She glanced around. “Where is she?”
“In the bedroom.” Levi hadn’t heard from Heather in a few hours now, and he wasn’t going to go back in there for fear of what he might say or do. Dwayne’s words had turned in his head until he’d finally deleted them from his phone.
You have to promise not to hurt her.
Levi might act stupid, might pretend like he didn’t know his open riding lesson wasn’t full of single women, but he wasn’t actually an idiot. And it had only taken a few playful conversations and a couple of hours to see that Heather harbored feelings for him.
How had he missed them before? How deep were they? How old?
And what would he have done had he known?
“Levi.” Elle had a special way of lengthening his name when she found him frustrating.
“What?”
“You can’t just leave her in there alone.” Elle shook her head and started toward the living room.
“Why not? She’s probably asleep.”
“I doubt it.” She turned back and gave him a winning smile. “Her bag is in my car. Go put yourself to good use.”
Levi practically ran to the mouth of the hallway, sure his nosy, teenage sister would be wrong. That Heather would be sound asleep. But Elle’s voice floated back to him, and then Heather’s.
Consternation coiled in him, and he stomped out the front door to retrieve Heather’s bag. Elle met him on the fancy tile his interior designer had chosen for him, one eyebrow raised. “I’m not going to let her stay here if you aren’t going to talk to her.”
He glared at her and dropped the bag. “I thought. She was taking a nap.” He gave extra emphasis to the T on thought, and the P on nap.
“Well, she’s not.”
“Maybe she was.”
Elle picked up the bag. “She’s hungry.”
“I’ll heat up some lasagna right now.” He moved away from his sister, and she took the bag down the hall and joined him in the kitchen a few minutes later.
“She’s going to shower, and then she’ll come out.” Elle settled herself at the bar, unconcerned about Levi’s dark mood. “Do you want me to stay? I can tell her about the cute boy I’m dating.” Her eyes sparkled like topaz, and Levi squinted at her.
“Cute boy you’re dating?”
“Oh, I’m not going to tell it twice.” She giggled. “You’ll have to wait until Heather comes out.” She turned her attention to her phone and moved to the more comfortable couch. The microwave finished, and Levi pulled the door open so it wouldn’t beep a reminder at him every sixty seconds. He’d grown up with Serenity, and Johanna—
The thought stalled on the name he hadn’t allowed into his mind in seven long years. He let the name roll around in his brain when he normally pushed it out. Away. The way she’d done to him after the tragedies in their lives.
For the first time in forever, he didn’t feel the soul-crushing anguish that normally came. “Excuse me,” he said to his sister, who didn’t even glance up. He hurried down the hall and into the master bedroom, locking the door behind him. Waiting for the debilitating emotions and ready to drop to his knees, he relived the last time he’d seen his wife.
She’d been crying, but she still had plenty of energy and anger to say, “You’ve never loved me the way I needed to be loved, Levi.” And then she walked out of the house they’d shared in Kentucky, filed for divorce, and disappeared from his life as quickly as she’d entered it.
After he’d returned to Grape Seed Falls, he realized the truthfulness of her words. In fact, he’d admitted only to himself that he’d never loved Johanna at all. He loved the idea of her. The idea of being with a Southern socialite. The idea of being a father.
Someone knocked on the door, and Levi jumped away from it. “Coming,” he called through the thick wood.
“Heather’s out of the shower.” Elle’s voice barely met his ears, and he took a moment to smooth his shirt down and gather enough oxygen into his lungs to endure a conversation he wasn’t prepared for.
Once confident he wouldn’t appear to have almost suffered a nervous breakdown, he went into the kitchen, reset the microwave door, and got the machine doing its job again.
“You didn’t nap?” he asked.
“I tried.” Heather looked tired next to Elle on the couch. She’d put a pillow on the coffee table and her ankle rested on that. “Thank you for putting that shower seat in the tub.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Levi turned away so she wouldn’t see the surprise on his face. He’d had no idea there was a shower seat in the tub.
“Jessica did that,” Elle said without any inflection in her voice.
“Elle, I don’t think there’s enough lasagna for you.” Levi placed his palms on the countertop and leaned into them. “I’m sure Mom has something at the house.”
That got her to look up, the shock on her face this time. “Juan Carlos always brings enough for days.”
Then shut up, Levi thought, trying to shoot the words into her thick skull with only his eyes. He was very aware of the way Heather observed the conversation without looking like she was eavesdropping. But the woman didn’t miss much. She never had.
Elle stood and came toward him, her eyes searching his. “I can heat up my own,” she said, now blocking his view of Heather.
“Yeah, come see if there’s enough,” Levi said, trying to draw her further into the kitchen, further out of Heather’s earshot.
“What is going on?” she whispered when she’d pulled open the fridge to reveal more lasagna than Levi would ever eat.
“Can you stop making me look like a loser?” He pulled out the foil pan and spoke
louder when he said, “Looks like there’s plenty. I guess you can stay.”
Elle closed the fridge, her eyes wide and still locked on him. Sudden understanding dawned, and she giggled. “Oh, I get it.”
Levi didn’t know what there was to get. He just didn’t want Heather to think him completely incapable of taking care of her. That was all.
It wasn’t that the thought of her choosing to stay somewhere else bothered him.
Yes, that’s it! his heart cried.
He ignored the vital organ as he set about scooping his sister a bowl of lasagna.
“You like her,” Elle whispered as Levi reached for the microwave door handle.
The bowl clattered to the floor. “I do not,” he whispered furiously.
“You so do.” Elle laughed then, not even bothering to keep her voice down. Levi threw a look in Heather’s direction and found her staring.
“Everything okay in there?” she asked.
“Fine.” Levi ducked down below the kitchen island, embarrassment heating his face the way the microwave did the food. Elle joined him with a wet washcloth.
“So how long have you liked her?” She mopped up the spilled lasagna and put it in the bowl.
“I don’t like her.”
“So it’s recent. Does anyone else know?”
Levi didn’t even know how he felt. He sighed and stilled his fingers. He couldn't believe he was going to tell Elle anything. The girl was seventeen years old. But he’d worked hard to have a relationship with her once he’d returned to Texas, and he trusted her explicitly.
“I just feel…overprotective of her. Like it’s my fault she’s hurt, and I want to fix everything for her.”
Elle nodded and wiped up the last of the sauce that had splattered the impeccable cabinetry. “So you wouldn’t like her if she hadn’t gotten hurt.” She looked right at him, somehow slicing right through the heart of the problem.
“I…don’t know,” Levi admitted. In all honesty, he’d never looked Heather’s way. She was like his little sister, because she was his best friend’s little sister. “I grew up with her, you know? And we’re just…friends.” That was all. Those were the feelings he had. The same over-protective, brotherly feelings Dwayne had for Heather.