“Where’s yours?” he asked when she sat down with only half a glass of juice.
She’d been so eager to see him eat that she hadn’t prepared anything for herself. “I’m not hungry.”
“You didn’t eat much last night.”
“I was too tired.”
“And now?”
“I ate earlier.”
He glanced around the kitchen, but said nothing about the lack of evidence.
She nodded toward his food. “Go ahead while it’s hot,” she said. Then she stood. “I’ll shower so we can drive to town when you’re finished.”
“I’d feel better if you’d eat.”
She couldn’t imagine why it would matter to him. “I’m fine,” she insisted, and felt his gaze follow her out.
* * *
Levi hadn’t felt much physical desire in the past year. He hadn’t cared whether he lived or died, let alone whether he satisfied his sexual appetite. After Behrukh, he’d figured he’d never want a woman again. He certainly didn’t deserve to go on without her, especially in that way.
But sitting in Callie’s house knowing she was standing naked under the shower, gave him his first erection—that wasn’t a dream—since Kandahar. He kept picturing the spray running between her full br**sts, cascading over her flat stomach to roll between her legs, where he wanted to touch her, to feel her slick, wet body close around him.
Listening to the whine of the pipes in the old house, he stopped chewing and put down his fork. His heart was pounding, and he was finding it difficult to breathe. Did such a sudden, unexpected rush of lust mean he was recovering? Or that he was an even worse person than he’d thought?
A phone rang. Callie’s cell phone. She’d left it on the kitchen counter.
To distract himself, he got up to see who it was. A picture of Kyle filled the screen. It was her boyfriend, or whatever she wanted to call him, no doubt checking in to see if she was okay.
Kyle’s intrusion reminded Levi that he had no business thinking about Callie in that way. He didn’t know her. And, other than her one throwaway statement about his being handsome and capable, she’d certainly given no indication that she’d welcome his advances. Why would she want to be touched by a vagrant? Someone who’d essentially abandoned any kind of normal life?
He couldn’t act on his desire, even if she extended an invitation. He’d feel far too guilty.
Taking a deep breath, he returned to the table, where he finished eating in slow, deliberate bites. From that moment on, he was extradiligent about keeping his mind blank, but it didn’t help. He was still rock-hard when the water went off, so he quickly cleaned up the kitchen and fled to the barn.
* * *
“Your boyfriend called while you were in the shower.”
Callie was driving. Levi sat in the passenger seat. She’d noticed the missed call when she’d picked up her phone, but she hadn’t wanted to speak to Kyle while she was with Levi. She knew he wouldn’t be happy about the encounter with Denny Seamans and Powell Barney. He’d say that Levi’s presence had compromised her safety. But it was Denny and Powell, and only Denny and Powell, who were to blame for what happened last night.
“You mean my friend,” she said. “I saw that.”
“You’re not going to call him back?”
“I will when I have a minute to focus.”
“You might want to do it sooner rather than later.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Because...”
“He’ll only come over if you don’t.”
“True.” He had an excellent point. Having these two men in the same room made her uncomfortable. She preferred to avoid that in future. But if she called Kyle while driving, she’d have to use her hands-free, which essentially put him on speakerphone, and she wasn’t about to let Levi hear their conversation. She had no idea what Kyle might say. So she waited until she pulled into the auto parts store.
“I’ll be right in,” she told Levi, and dialed Kyle’s number the second he got out.
“Hey,” she said when Kyle answered.
“Hey yourself,” he responded. “Where’ve you been?”
“Sorry I missed your call. I was in the shower.”
“All morning?”
“Levi and I were in a hurry to get to town.”
“So he’s with you?”
“Sort of. He’s in the auto parts store.”
“I see. And once he fixes that bike of his he’ll be leaving?”
She clenched her jaw. “After he’s painted the barn, Kyle. You know the deal.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he grumbled. “But I’m relieved you’re okay. He didn’t hurt you or do anything weird?”
“No.”
“The owner of the dogs who attacked Levi brought them to the vet yesterday.”
She slipped her keys into her purse. She could see Levi heading down an aisle inside the store. He wasn’t at the register yet, but she’d have to go in soon so she could pay for the parts he needed. “How do you know?”
“Cheyenne was there. Her dog has a sore foot.”
“Why didn’t she call me?”
“Why would she? She didn’t know you had anything to do with some vagrant getting bitten by pit bulls—until I told her.”
Great. Now Cheyenne knew? She was part of the group Callie and Kyle had grown up with. It was only a matter of time before the whole gang found out, which meant Callie would be hearing from more and more of them. “I still don’t get why she called you.”
“She wanted to tell me that she’d seen Noelle with another guy on her way home.”
Noelle had to be the most hated ex in all of Whiskey Creek. She hadn’t been particularly popular before marrying Kyle. Everyone had known he was making a terrible mistake. But, at the time, there’d been a baby involved and his sense of decency demanded he see it through. “That’s good news, right?”
“If she marries him. Then I won’t have to continue paying spousal maintenance.” He cursed under his breath. “I still can’t believe how much that judge ordered me to pay. He saw a pretty woman weeping in front of him and it didn’t matter what I said after that.”
“You could’ve fought harder.”
“It wasn’t worth it to me to drag the damn thing out. Money is only money, I guess. At least I don’t have to live with her anymore.”