by Petrova, Em
The sharp blade ripped through the bark and a century’s worth of growth. Abe made an upward cut, taking a wedge out of the tree.
The forest seemed to go silent. Not a squirrel or chipmunk scurried in the underbrush and the birds didn’t make a cheep. The hair on Levi’s nape stood on end as he waited. His breath seared his lungs.
It had been years since he’d thought of praying, but now the comforting words from his childhood sprang to mind. A long moment passed in dizzying fear as Abe made the crucial cut. If it failed, they both might end up dead.
An ear-splitting crack sounded. The top broke free and the mass sailed in an arc toward the ground. Exactly where Abe intended.
Abe issued a victorious whoop and Levi’s blood started to circulate once more. His shoulders slumped.
While Abe cut the power to the saw, Levi walked around the side of the tree and considered the peril they’d been in. “That was fucking close.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to relive that anytime soon.”
“Is that the first time you’ve run into that situation?” Levi kicked the log with a steel-toed boot.
Abe crouched suddenly as if the adrenaline rush had vanished and left him weak- kneed. “Not the first, but this was the most precarious.” He glanced around the clearing. “I’m glad Chapel wasn’t here.”
“Me too. She’s been hanging around a lot lately.”
“Yeah, she’s carrying a load of worries like the rest of us.”
Levi sank to the log and fixed Abe in his gaze. “Your financial worries weighing on you?”
He heaved a sigh, plucked a leaf off the forest floor and began to shred it. “Yes,” he said matter-of-factly. “My loan payment is hefty. Which is why you staying with me helps. I’d like to pay the loan off as quickly as possible so I can marry Chapel.”
Levi tried not to suck in his breath, but that knowledge stung. Of course he’d known Abe and Chapel were close and obviously heading in that direction. And he never wanted to come between them. But she’d become part of his world too, dammit.
“I’m glad to help even in a small way. If you need more money for my share of the expenses, say the word. I’m not hurting, man.”
Abe shook his head. “I’m good.”
Levi considered Abe’s claim that Chapel was carrying a burden too. “What about your girl? Can I help her at all?”
Abe’s shoulders shook with a snort of laughter. “She does that to guys, you know? Makes them feel all protective and chivalrous. No, don’t get defensive. I see it and I’m glad you have her back too. But yeah, actually, we’re both going to help her.”
He straightened, awaiting more information.
Abe went on. “She hasn’t officially announced it yet, and we’re actually a bit behind the starting gate, but she negotiated a big-time deal. At the moment, she’s creating a crew to take on the challenge. And believe me, it will be a challenge. We have about five weeks left to knock down two square miles of forest.”
“Clear-cut?”
“No, select. They want the biggest and best woods. She worked a clause into the contract for a bonus for all of us if we meet the deadline. But she’s struggling to find people to take our spots here.”
“And I’m part of it?”
“Hell, yeah, man, you’re one of the best we’ve seen in these parts.”
Pride swelled in Levi’s chest. Many years had passed since anyone had spoken of him this way.
“When will Chapel let us loose on the forest?” he asked.
At that moment, the Jeep trundled into the clearing. She jerked to a hasty stop and leapt out, all honey with an apple-pie smile. But she was far from the girl next door. She was liquid sex poured into buffalo plaid, skinny jeans and high boots.
His cock stirred and he bit down on the low groan that threatened to escape him. Since her father was home from the hospital, she hadn’t been spending the night with them, but Levi had seen plenty of her. Enough to feed the fires of his desire.
He stopped mid-thought, realizing what had just run through his mind. Spend the night with us. As if he were part of the couple.
As she approached, her steps slowed. Her head swung left and right, taking in the fallen tree. Her lips firmed into a straight line. Unfortunately, she knew enough about logging to understand what had happened a few minutes before.
“Don’t give me that look, Abe Gardner. How close was it?” Her voice rang out across the clearing.
Levi’s heart flipped at the mere sound. Damn, he had it bad for her.
Abe grabbed Chapel and pulled her onto tiptoe to kiss her. Levi watched his mouth slant roughly over hers and heard her answering sigh. It should drive him wild with jealousy, but he only felt aroused.
She pulled free and glared at her boyfriend. “You think you can make me forget with a few kisses? Well—”
He cut her off, delving his tongue deep into her mouth. For a moment Levi absorbed the erotic sight, and then he tore his gaze away.
She delivered a hard punch to Abe’s midsection, but he only laughed into her mouth. When she tried again, he caught her fist and drew it around his neck. She flipped off his hardhat. It dropped to the ground with a quiet thud.
Levi started to walk away to retrieve his saw when she called him back. “You can’t lie to me. Tell me what went on here.”
He met her warm gaze. How did she know he wouldn’t lie? She barely knew him. Yet she was right. He wouldn’t dream of giving her a falsehood. Even if she asked about his past. He’d tell her every bit—the death, the second degree assault charge and the seven years spent behind bars.
All of a sudden, the words welled in his mouth. The urge to confess—to let someone know his true self—burned bright.
Abe spoke up. “It was me, Chapel.”
She planted a hand on her hip and faced him. “I know it was you. You’re the faller. But I can see you ran into some trouble here and didn’t go for help.” She purposely gazed around the clearing. “Hmm. No equipment in sight.”
“I took care of it, baby. No problems at all, right, Levi?” Before he could be dragged further into it, Chapel exploded.
She forked her fingers into her hair and her eyes glittered. “Oh, hell no, there’s nothing wrong at all! Only a two-thousand-pound tree obviously kicked back at you, and you decided to keep cutting it without even winching it off and guiding the direction of its fall!”
He had the decency to appear remorseful, but he didn’t let the argument go. “I’m trained to handle things like that, sweetheart.”
“You can’t sugarcoat it, Abe. You can’t play with your life that way. Or Levi’s.” As she said this, she fixed Levi in her stare.
His heart thumped at the bald fear he read there. Before he knew what he was doing, he took a step toward her. “We’re okay, darlin’.”
Abe looked at him hard. Levi returned his gaze, and in that moment, they united forces.
His heart tripped out of control. All Levi could think about was the fact that his friend didn’t mind him calling her “darlin’.”
Levi wanted nothing more than to gather her into his arms, crush her against his chest, bow his face to her hair and inhale her delicious scent. Abe might not mind if you use an endearment, but he’ll sure as fuck care if you make a move on her.
Her lower lip trembled and she bit into it ruthlessly. The plump tissue swelled around her square white teeth. A spike of lust struck Levi’s groin. His balls drew up tight against his body.
“Don’t you guys realize how I’d feel if something happened out here?”
Levi’s heart bled at the break in her voice. Abe swept her up and smoothed a palm over her spine.
“Sweetness, I know. I don’t take risks.” “That was a risk.”
“All right, it was, but I knew I could get out of it and stay on schedule. Isn’t time a factor right now?”
“Of course it is. I’d like to pull you off this job by midweek. But I can’t put dead loggers on a job.”
Levi kicked the stump, thrashing himself for not stopping Abe. Chapel was right, and he should have fought Abe on the issue.
“Why don’t we break? I could use a bite to eat, and we could all take a few to calm down.”
Levi agreed and strode off toward his truck. In the back he located the small cooler filled with drinks and the few sandwiches he and Abe whipped up that morning. There was plenty for Chapel too. In fact, he’d found himself adding her favorite soft drink to the cooler. More often than not she was there. If she had time, she brought them a huge spread of her delicious home-cooked meals—pulled pork or steak sandwiches, potato salad and macaroni and cheese. Food that stuck to a hardworking man’s ribs and got him through the day.
For Levi, it was the sight of Chapel that was getting him through the days.
Fuck, you’re in deeper than you thought.
The admission was almost too much to bear. In prison, he’d dreamt of finding a girl of his own. “Of his own” being the operative phrase. What the hell was he going to do? Abe was his best friend, and their bond had been strengthened by the things they’d shared today.
Levi stared at the couple wrapped in each other’s arms. Abe’s head was bent to Chapel’s and he was quietly talking. The sight of their intimate pose wounded Levi, and he couldn’t deny it. Those two belonged together, and he cared about them enough to help them reach their goal of making a life as husband and wife.
Yeah, for Chapel’s sake, he should have stopped Abe from cutting down that tree without assistance. He prayed there wouldn’t be a next time, but if so, he was prepared to force Abe to walk away. He’d do it for their friendship, and for Chapel.
He’d do anything for her. Tell her about Bryan Keer and how he’d survived the penitentiary.
But he couldn’t tell her he’d fallen in love with her.
Chapter Five
“Chapel Caldwell, you get your buns in here right now!” Jay’s roar drowned the hum of the fan over the range.
She stopped peeling potatoes for supper and came to the door of the living room. She scanned the empty room. Where had he gone? He still moved gingerly with his broken ribs, but lately he’d escaped the sickroom more and more.
As long as he didn’t go into the small home office—
Her stomach sank as she realized that’s exactly where his bellow had come from. He was in the office, and her desk was loaded with half-finished charts and maps of the area contracted by KeerSaw.
Buck up, Chapel. You’re a big girl.
But she was still Daddy’s girl no matter what, and she would always seek his approval. When she was six, she’d tried to be the best ballet dancer at the recital for him. At ten, she’d hoped to earn his respect at her first fiddle contest. But he’d just dropped her off and driven away to inspect a job, leaving her to compete without a single fan in the audience.
She steeled her spine. She wasn’t a kid, and she wouldn’t let him treat her like an imbecile.
“I see you found the KeerSaw contract,” she said from the doorway.
Blood pooled in her father’s face, making his already ruddy complexion purple. “What the hell is this?”
She sailed into the room, determined to keep her cool—act the part even if her knees were water.
“Right before you had the accident, KeerSaw contacted me for some work.” “I can read. And you accepted without my knowledge?”
“Yep,” she said, popping her p. “I negotiated it, signed it, and I’m working on putting together a crew to start Wednesday.”
Jay rifled through the papers. “Says here we have six weeks to meet a deadline of…” He suddenly paled. “Are you out of your effin’ mind, girl?” He poked the paper with one blunt fingertip where it said how much they were to timber in order to receive full payment.
She flinched.
“How do you expect to pull down that many trees in so few weeks? Chapel, what have you done to us?”
For the first time since she made the deal, her heart sank. Maybe she’d been hasty and overly eager to prove her worth to her father.
He continued to rage. “You’re basically telling me you haven’t gotten a single man on this job?”
“Not yet,” she said, carefully schooling her features. If she crumbled in front of him, she’d never forgive herself.
“What kind of crew are you putting together?”
She spewed the names she’d compiled—their fastest, most hardworking boys.
Her father hurled the papers to the desk top. “I can’t believe your gall. You can’t just pull those guys away from the jobs that actually pay us!”
“This will pay us. I swear we’ll make the deadline, and then we’ll not only be paid a bonus, but more contracts will be sitting in our inbox. Do you realize what this means for Blue Jay? For the men in our area who need work?”
“So your plan was to provide work for the fathers so the youngsters can eat? What about our welfare, Chapel?”
She gulped at the blazing expression in his eyes. Ten years ago she’d have burst into tears. Not now. Dammit, she was going to stiffen her spine and take every bit of his tongue-lashing. Because she was going to prove him wrong.
“I’ll make it happen.”
His eyes bugged and the vein in his neck bulged. “How?”
She blinked at the force of his yell. “I’ve got the workers assembled. We’re going to haul ass and haul logs.”
“And what if you fail?”
She stared at him for a long minute. Part of her understood where he was coming from. He was protecting the business because it was all they had. But part of her hated him too.
“If I fail, I’ll walk.” “Leave Blue Jay?”
She nodded. “Leave Blue Jay and your house. All of it. I’ll make a living somewhere else.”
He pressed his lips together. “You know I’d never ask that, Chapel. You’re as much a part of this business as I am.”
“Yeah, but I took a risk. If it doesn’t pay off, then I don’t deserve to be here.” “I can’t agree to those terms.”
“Well, I can.” She stuck out her hand for him to shake. When he didn’t budge, she grabbed his wrist and lifted it herself, taking hold of his rough fingers.
He twisted away. “I don’t like this.”
“I know. That’s why I’m going to bear the weight of the operation for KeerSaw. It’s my baby. You’ve got to trust me with it.”
He dropped his head and refused to meet her gaze. She felt the familiar burn of tears rise up in her throat and choked them down. Not now, dammit. Not when you’ve come so far.
Reluctantly he nodded. “I’ll trust you, girl, because I don’t have a choice.”
She grabbed her keys and her purse from the wall peg and crossed to the door. “Food’s on the stove.” Without a backward glance, she escaped the house. Escaped her father’s disapproving blue gaze.
But she couldn’t escape his words. He’d said he’d trust her because he didn’t have a choice. Not that he’d trust her because she was his daughter and she had his best interest in mind.
***
Abe’s head jerked up at the sound of tires on gravel.
“That’s Chapel,” Levi said, sitting upright on the sofa where he was lounging with a beer and a bag of beef jerky.
Abe leapt to his feet and opened the door in time to catch his precious lover. She hurled herself into his arms. With a grunt, he enfolded her tightly against him, but not before he saw her state of distress. Her beautiful face was red from crying, her eyes swollen and her nose red.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Is it your father?” Levi’s voice sounded over his shoulder. Fleetingly, Abe considered the strangeness of the situation—two men handling her with the same amount of care. The only thing missing between Chapel and Levi was the intimacy of a physical relationship.
She shook her head. Her voice was raspy from her tears. “Do you have room for me tonight?”
Abe moaned. “Of course, darlin’. Why
would you ask that?” He scooped her off her feet and carried her into the house. Levi stood so close, they brushed him as they passed.
He carried her to the living room and settled her on his lap. She curled up like a despondent child. Damn, he hated seeing her in this state. In the past few weeks, he’d seen more tears from her than in the entire two years of their relationship. It wasn’t like her.
Levi disappeared into the bathroom and emerged with a damp cloth. He placed it into her hands. She thanked him in a whisper before pressing the cold compress to her eyes.
He and Abe exchanged a look over her head. Abe clearly saw the concern on his friend’s face, but it didn’t upset him. In fact, he was thrilled to have someone to back him up in this emotional time.
“Can I get you a drink?” Levi asked.
She nodded. From the depths of the cloth she said, “Water, please?”
“Sure, honey.”
Abe slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He kissed her temple and forehead. The fine chestnut hairs clung to his beard scruff, but he ignored them. “Tell me what happened.”
“Daddy found out about the contract.”
An instant shot of anger rang through Abe’s core. Fuck, he knew it. And he hated that man for the obnoxious, hurtful things he had most likely said to her. She always claimed her father just had a rough exterior and on the inside he was a marshmallow, but at this moment Abe didn’t buy it. He thought he was just an asshole with a heart of solid ice.
Levi returned with the water. Chapel took it and drank half of it in one breath. Then she gave a shuddering sigh that threatened to tear Abe’s heart out.
“What happened?” Levi asked.
“Jay found out about the new contract that Chapel negotiated without his knowledge.”
A crease appeared between Levi’s long brows. “That’s a problem? I’d think any business owner would be happy an employee took the initiative. And a father should be proud of his daughter’s accomplishments.”
At this she broke into noisy tears. Levi’s face reflected his horror. Obviously he didn’t know enough about Chapel’s relationship with her father.