Happy Trail (Park Ranger Book 1)
Page 25
I rolled my eyes.
"Hey, it's a woman's right to have as many names as she wants."
"I know, I know." I knew what her name was; Levi just liked to rub it in my face that I was, as he called it, Green Valley Lite. I knew people. Sort of. But even after five years of living here, I didn't know everyone by name. I didn't know their family trees or who lost their dog last week or who got pulled over after a jam session or whose daddy was in the Iron Wraiths.
"And the kitchen is fully accessible?" he asked.
"She told me it was. That’s why I’m working at this location and not the one downtown."
He scoffed. "And what does she know about accessible kitchens?"
"Oh, probably nothing," I drawled.
"Right?" Levi shook his head. "Because unless those openings have at least thirty-six inches of clearance, she's gonna have issues."
Now it was my turn to cut him a look. "You gonna bring your ruler in?"
"Maybe." He patted the front of his jeans and gave me an unapologetic grin. His stupid dimples popped on either side of his perpetually smiling mouth.
Really, we were a ridiculous pair.
Made all the more apparent when a tall, skinny brunette with a giant rack almost tripped over her espadrilles at the sight of a smiling Levi. He nodded at her, and she blushed prettily.
"Oh, for the love of," I mumbled, pushing harder again just so I didn't have to watch. If he wanted to sleep with half the population of Tennessee, I didn't care, but that didn't mean I wanted to witness it either.
Witnessing it was my own fault, honestly. It would've been easy enough to turn down his offer to accompany me, but since he'd finished his master's, he got bored too frequently between job searches, and I couldn't stand the thought of him moping around his apartment.
Now I wish I'd made his ass stay home.
I could be wheeling around naked, and I wouldn't get the same number of looks from the opposite sex as Levi did just by breathing.
"Wait up." He laughed.
I stopped the chair and pivoted the wheels in his direction. His hands braced on the armrests when I folded my hands in my lap. Levi narrowed his eyes as he peered down at me. With the sun facing him, they didn't look the normal greenish hazel. They were like amber, bright and streaked with yellow. It was fitting for him. The sun always seemed to shine bright on Levi Buchanan.
So annoying.
Good thing I loved him so damn much. Not like love love. Brotherly love. Annoying, want to punch him in the balls from time to time, I never worry about wearing a bra around him, makeup is wasted in his presence, I don't care that I've bawled my eyes out watching Old Yeller, or that I got rip-roaring drunk on the fourth anniversary of getting sick, then puked all over his bathroom in front of him kind of love.
"Jealous, Abernathy?"
I'm telling you I could not have stopped the eye roll if there had been a gun to my head. "Yes. Terribly." I tried to pull my chair back, but his grip tightened. "Buchanan, if you make me late for my first shift, I'll never forgive you."
"Relax. You still have ten minutes." There was something in those sun-changed amber eyes that made me twitchy. He was about to ask me something I didn't want to be asked. "Why are you taking this job again? Didn't Sylvia say her friend would be back in like four months?"
"My classes are done for the summer, and as much as I adore you," I said, reaching up to pat his face harder than necessary, "I can't just hang out in your man cave every day. I'll go insane."
How could I explain to him that the more free time I found myself with, the more I searched for something to do. I didn't do boredom well.
Hence, the reason I started baking in the first place.
When all you did was sit (because no matter how many exercises you did or sports you participated in, you're still sitting), all you could do was sit and it got really freaking old after a while. I loved working out, something Levi and I had in common, and I was starting with a new physical therapist to continue working on my leg strength so I could have intermittent use of a walker or arm braces. Intermittent being the key word.
I'd still always spend most of my time with my ass firmly planted in the chair.
Sitting around, no pun intended, made me want to gouge my eyes out.
I barely tolerated watching TV, and only the occasional movie held my interest. Audiobooks were about the only reading I could handle.
Even now, sitting still while he searched my face for an answer made my fingers tangle together, just to give them something to do.
"I need more in my life than what I have," was all I was willing to concede at the moment. "Plus, I make a kick-ass cheesecake. I might as well make some extra cash doing it."
His soon-to-be sister-in-law was the one who told me about the opening at Donner Bakery. A friend of hers was taking an extended maternity leave, and they needed an extra set of hands.
That was something I could provide. Yes, I came with a set of wheels too, but that hadn't been an issue in my interview. Once the manager tasted my strawberry lemonade cupcake, the job was mine.
His grin was slow, but I could tell he believed me. After five years, we could read each other pretty damn well. Occasionally, it was annoying, but it was also one of the constants in my life that I genuinely didn't think I could live without.
"Fair enough." Levi released my chair, and I spun to face the bakery. His hands landed on my shoulders and squeezed before he released me. "Go get 'em."
I took a deep breath.
"And be friendly, Sonic. It won't kill ya," he added.
My hands lifted and dropped in an exasperated heap. "Now why the hell did you have to say that? I'm friendly."
His eyebrow raised slowly.
"I'm sort of friendly," I muttered. Then I pointed an accusatory finger at him. "This is why I prefer to bring Nero with me instead of you. People love dogs, and they're less likely to notice when I don't smile at them."
His chin tilted skyward as he burst out laughing. "That dog looks like he'd rip your face off on a good day. You take him places so people won't talk to you."
At that, I grinned a little. My four-year-old Doberman did look like he would rip someone's face off, which was why Levi told me I had to complete one full shift without him waiting for me outside the bakery.
"Sonic," he said quietly.
"I hate that nickname."
"No, you don't. There's nothing more appropriate for you than a prickly little hedgehog who wheels around like a bat out of hell."
Pointedly, I glanced at my watch.
"You're not going to be late." Levi shoved at my shoulder. "Smile at them. Ask questions. Don't assume the worst, okay?"
My tummy knotted up. His smile was softer, more understanding.
My best friend didn't have to ask me why I was so nervous. This was the thing I hated most in the world. Maybe not as much as like terrorism or global warming or patriarchal infrastructures that inherently protected sexual predators, but I hated it a lot.
It was why I was Green Valley Lite
Why I completed high school online and slid right onto college in the same way. Because of moments like this right here.
The moment when I went from Jocelyn Abernathy, the new employee showing up for her first shift, to Jocelyn Abernathy, the girl in the wheelchair. I just had to hope that whoever was waiting for me inside Donner Bakery wasn't one of The Blinders or The Pitiers. Hopefully, they'd be like Levi. Be one of those people who met me and simply saw me.
Those were The Unicorns.
** End Sneak Peek **
Read Baking Me Crazy today!
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