by Brenda Novak
While several people chuckled, Cheyenne saw Callie put her hands on Kyle’s shoulders from behind the low-back chair in which he sat. When he glanced up at her wearing the hurt look he’d been trying so hard to hide, Callie bent down and pressed her cheek against his. Cheyenne couldn’t hear what was said, but she thought Callie whispered that she was sorry.
“Um, there’s been enough canoodling between the two of you,” Riley joked, and Callie blushed as she pulled away.
“That hasn’t changed the fact that I love him,” she said. “I’ll always love him.”
Cheyenne was afraid Kyle might start crying. She could almost see the relief that swept through him.
“I take full responsibility,” he said simply.
Callie ruffled his hair. “Nice try. I participated, too. But thanks for telling everyone.”
At the sarcasm in her voice, Kyle brought a hand to his chest. “That’s what I thought you wanted me to do! You said so once, on the phone. You think I wanted to do that?”
“No. I think we both screwed up on several counts. But we’re okay, the two of us, right?”
Relaxing into his chair, he smiled. “We’re okay.”
“Great.” With a nod of satisfaction, Callie motioned to Eve. “Come help me serve the cake.”
Cheyenne followed them into the kitchen. “You look great,” she told Callie. “Thinner than I’ve ever seen you, but...happy.”
Callie met her gaze. “Thanks.”
“So...you’re okay? Everything’s okay?”
“I feel...lucky.”
Cheyenne and Eve exchanged a glance. “In what way?”
“I have a lot of good friends.”
“You’re completely disarming us. You know that,” Eve said.
Callie slung an arm around them both. “Relax and have fun.”
“Where’s your...your new friend?” Eve asked.
“He’s taking a shower,” Callie said. “He’ll be right out.”
Relieved, Cheyenne carried plates of cake and cups of coffee into the living room. Everyone was talking and laughing as usual. The atmosphere was more upbeat than Fridays at Black Gold had been the past several weeks. Cheyenne was especially excited when Levi finally emerged from the bedroom. She liked him immediately. She liked the way he looked at Callie.
But then she caught a glimpse of her husband’s face and realized that something was wrong. He wasn’t saying anything. He was just sitting on the couch, glowering.
Slipping through the others who were returning their plates to the kitchen or getting more coffee, she sat down next to him.
“What’s wrong, Dyl?” she murmured. “You don’t seem happy.” She couldn’t imagine why. Like the other guys, he’d been hesitant to participate in Eve’s little “intervention,” but what he’d feared hadn’t come to pass. Callie hadn’t been offended; there’d been no arguing. They were all having a great time. Except him.
He nodded over at Levi, who was busy talking to Baxter and Noah. “I know that guy,” he said.
* * *
“What do you mean you know him?” Noah asked but only because he beat Baxter to it. Dylan was driving his Jeep. Cheyenne was in the passenger seat and Noah sat in the back with Baxter. Riley and Kyle had left with Eve in her 1994 Mercedes convertible, so they hadn’t heard the bomb Dylan had dropped just as they turned out of the farm’s driveway.
“I mean, his name’s not Levi McCloud.” Dylan glanced in his rearview mirror, but he was wearing sunglasses, so Baxter couldn’t tell if he was looking at him or Noah. “It’s Levi Pendleton.”
Cheyenne rested her head against the window. She was obviously listening, but she wasn’t looking at her husband. In the mirror attached to the sun visor, Baxter could see the frown that tugged at her lips as she watched the scenery pass by. She didn’t like what he was saying any more than they did.
“How do you know?” Baxter asked.
Dylan shifted into a higher gear. “Because he’s one of the best ultimate fighters I’ve ever seen.”
Cheyenne turned away from the window. “Callie seems so happy. Just the expression on her face when she looks at him tells me she’s in love. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
He placed a hand on her leg. “I’m positive.”
So many questions were going through Baxter’s mind he didn’t know which one to ask first. “Where did you see him before? And...and when was this?”
“It’s been years, back when I was fighting myself.”
“But you met a lot of fighters back then.” Cheyenne still seemed to hope she could create some doubt so she wouldn’t have to accept what her husband was saying.
Dylan’s mouth was a straight slash beneath those mirrored glasses. “Like I said. He was one of the best. We all watched him. Carefully.”
“Sounds to me like he has a lot to be proud of,” Noah said. “So why would he say his name is McCloud? And why would he be wandering around without a home or family or friends?”
Dylan hesitated as if he didn’t want to respond. But he eventually came out with it. “Because he’s wanted for assaulting a couple of police officers in Nevada.”
“Shit,” Noah said. “How do you know that?”
“Everyone in the MMA world heard about it. It happened a couple of years ago. He put those two officers in the hospital.” His voice dropped. “One with fairly severe injuries.”
“And he got away with it?” Baxter asked.
“Far as I know, he was never caught.”
Noah slumped in his seat. “I can’t believe this. Callie finally falls for someone, and he’s lying to her. Kyle was worried about that guy from the beginning. He’s going to freak out.”
Baxter knew more than any of them just how much Levi meant to Callie. “What was Levi doing with those cops, anyway? Were they trying to take him in for something else?”
“Seems like he was drunk and causing trouble. But I’m not sure exactly what went down before the fight broke out.”
“Why didn’t the policemen use their guns?” Noah asked.
“He disarmed them before they could get a shot off,” Dylan replied.
Baxter didn’t like boxing, let alone ultimate fighting. He didn’t care for sports in general. If he’d heard about this incident he hadn’t paid enough attention to remember it. “This happened two years ago?”
“I think it was the summer before last. He hadn’t been fighting for a while—it’d been six or seven years since his last fight and a bit longer than that since I saw him—but it was still news.”
Noah shoved Dylan’s shoulder. “Did you ever fight him, Dyl?”
“No,” he replied. “I’m glad I never had to. I started cage fighting with very little training. Desperation—that was all I had on my side. I had to make some money or Child Protective Services would come in and take my brothers away. He grew up being groomed for the sport.”
“Come on, don’t you think you could’ve taken him?” Noah asked.
“In all honesty, he probably would’ve kicked my ass,” Dylan said. “He rarely lost a fight. Trust me, he was something special.”
“So instead of being able to feel Callie’s okay, we’re back to worrying about her,” Cheyenne said. “What are we going to do now?”
“We have to confront her,” Noah replied. “We can’t let her go on thinking she’s found Mr. Right. He’s wanted by the police. Assaulting an officer is serious. He could go to prison.”
Baxter wanted to speak up, to tell them they shouldn’t say anything. If Levi left town like Callie expected, he wouldn’t have to know about her, and she wouldn’t have to know about him. As far as he was concerned, that was fair and a blessing to them both. But he had to think of some kind of logic to back up his opinion, since they didn’t have any idea about Callie’s illness.
Dylan shoved a hand through his hair. “That may be true, but I don’t want to narc on him.”
“Even to protect one of our best friends?” Cheyenne seemed surprised, a
nd that made Dylan shift uncomfortably in his seat.
“I don’t want anything bad to happen to Callie. That’s why I’m telling you guys. But I can’t turn him in. Maybe that would be the right thing to do, but...maybe not. It’s just not in me to decide his fate like that. I’ve been in trouble too many times myself, and only a fraction of them were really my fault.”
Baxter liked where he was going with this. With luck, he wouldn’t have to talk them out of telling—if Dylan did that for him. “So what are you saying?”
He lowered the volume on the radio. “I’m saying we don’t know what happened that night with those two cops. We weren’t there.”
“Um, hello?” Noah said. “They were cops. Doesn’t that make them right? Sounds to me like they were trying to enforce the law, maybe take him in for drunk-and-disorderly, and he handed their asses to them instead of going peacefully.”
“Not necessarily,” Dylan grumbled. “Wearing a badge doesn’t make you perfect.”
Seeing his opening, Baxter spoke quickly. “If he’s on the run, then he won’t be staying here for long. Why not just...let it go? Let Callie enjoy her love affair while it lasts?”
Cheyenne twisted around in her seat. “Are you kidding me? You have no way of knowing how long he might stay or how that might affect Callie! He might have anger management issues. Maybe they haven’t come out yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t.”
With a sigh, Baxter rubbed his jaw. The way Noah was looking at him, he’d guessed something was up. That wasn’t really a surprise. Noah knew him better than anyone. Well, in some respects. In others, Noah didn’t know him at all—or he just didn’t want to see what was right in front of him. As long as they didn’t talk about Baxter’s sexual orientation, as long as they didn’t acknowledge that he felt more than he should, their relationship could go on as it always had.
Loosening his seat belt so he could lean forward, Noah arched his eyebrows expectantly. “Well?”
“Well, what?” Baxter said.
“Come on. Out with it. You’re hiding something.”
That was true. He was hiding the fact that if Callie didn’t get a liver transplant, it wouldn’t matter who Levi McCloud was. She wouldn’t be around to see him go to prison. And what he’d heard her doctor say last week at the hospital led him to believe she didn’t have long.
“What is it?” Noah asked. “What aren’t you telling us, Bax?”
It was time they learned the truth. All of them. But Baxter couldn’t divulge Callie’s secret. It wasn’t his place to tell them she was dying.
“Call her,” he said. “Call her and tell her about Levi and see what she says.”
25
When Kyle called, Callie was happy to hear his voice. The past few weeks had been rough as far as “they” were concerned. She knew he’d been worried about her, that he’d blamed himself for her odd behavior. But this morning they’d gotten past all that. She hoped they’d now be able to resume their friendship. When he was at the house a few hours ago, he hadn’t seemed to mind Levi’s presence. As a matter of fact, he’d been friendly.
So she was surprised by the gravity in his voice when he said, “Can you go someplace where we can talk? In private?”
She glanced over at Levi, who was busy making dinner. He wanted to try his hand at a Mexican dish a friend of his father’s had introduced him to. He was slicing up the meat he’d been marinating while she sliced the onions he planned to grill with it.
When she hesitated, he nudged her elbow. “Who is it?”
“Kyle. He, um, wants to talk about something that’s going on with Eve. I’ll be right back.”
She was pretty sure Levi watched her leave, but he didn’t follow. As soon as she reached the living room, she said, “Okay, I’m alone. What’s wrong?”
“There’s something you need to know,” Kyle replied.
She swallowed a sigh. What now?
“Are you sitting down?”
“Is it that bad?” she asked.
“It’s not good.”
“Then why didn’t you speak up this morning, when you were here?”
“I didn’t know. None of us did.”
Us. That had to refer to the rest of her friends. What could they possibly have found out since leaving her place? Had Baxter told them?
“What is it?” She wanted to get back to the kitchen. She’d been enjoying herself. Not only had she and Levi been cooking, they’d been talking and laughing and savoring their last night together. His bag sitting by the door made the “last night” part all too clear. So did the fact that Joe had called earlier to see if he could work the coming week, and he’d said he wouldn’t be available. She hated the thought of goodbye. And yet...she was relieved at the same time. She didn’t want Levi to endure something that would set him back. What if she didn’t get a transplant? Her doctor hadn’t called with any promising news so far, meaning she had to face that probability. And Levi had made such progress. She preferred to see him continue to heal. She wanted that even more than she wanted to keep him with her.
Once she reached her bedroom, she closed the door behind her but not before Rifle squeezed inside. “So tell me.”
“Hang on,” Kyle said. “I’m going to put you on speakerphone. Eve, Baxter, Noah, Dylan, Chey and Riley are with me.”
“You’re putting them all on?”
“I am. I don’t want to be the one to break this to you.”
He was going to break something to her? But she was the one with the secret....
“Baxter, what’s going on?” she demanded when she could hear the others.
“I think it’s time, Cal,” he replied. “I’m sorry.”
Time to be honest. That was what he had to mean. For the most part, she felt the same. But this scenario wasn’t playing out the way she’d expected. “All right. So...what is it that Kyle has to say?”
She heard Eve’s voice next. “Callie, when we were there earlier...”
“Yes?”
“Dylan recognized Levi.”
Callie sank onto the bed. “He what?”
“He’s seen Levi before, Cal. He just didn’t realize it until we came over this morning.”
Absently, she petted her dog, who was resting his snout on her lap. “Where? Where has he seen him before?”
“At a tournament in Arizona about eight years ago.”
She jumped up so fast Rifle darted away. “So? That’s no surprise. I know Levi used to fight.”
There was an awkward silence. Then Eve tried again. “Did you also know his name isn’t Levi McCloud?”
Yes! She knew that, too. But it made her nervous that her friends did. They wouldn’t like the idea that he’d been using a fake name. No one would. Did they also know why?
As she wondered how to respond, Dylan spoke up, brisk and to the point.
“Callie, his name is Levi Pendleton. He’s wanted by the police for assaulting two officers in Nevada.”
Assaulting two officers? That was even worse than she’d imagined, worse than the far more innocuous scenarios she’d come up with to justify his use of a false name. “How bad...how badly did he hurt them?” she asked.
“One ended up in the hospital with a broken jaw. If several guys hadn’t pulled Levi off, I don’t know how things would’ve gone. The other cop was out cold.”
She couldn’t picture Levi acting out to that extent. He wasn’t a violent person. Although she hadn’t known him long, he’d been so kind, so gentle. “When was this?” she asked.
“Two years ago.”
He’d just returned from Afghanistan. She knew what kind of shape he must’ve been in, knew that had to account for what’d happened. She wanted to tell them, to explain the degree of his loss and what his childhood had been like. But why bother? He’d be gone tomorrow. She just hoped the authorities would take the extenuating circumstances into consideration when they caught him.
“Thanks for telling me,” she said softly.
“That’s it?” Kyle said. “Callie, he could be dangerous, like I’ve been saying you all along. He could—”
“Kyle!” she broke in.
Out of patience, he came right back at her. “What?”
“It doesn’t matter!”
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” Eve sounded even more scandalized. “You want a family, don’t you? What kind of life can you build with a man who’s wanted for a violent crime? Who might get violent again? What about any children you might have? What about your parents, who’d be heartbroken to see anything happen to you? What about the rest of us who care—”
She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to block out the words that seemed to be hitting her like bullets from a machine gun. “Stop! I can’t build a life with anyone.”
Dead silence.
“What are you talking about?” Noah asked. “You’re a beautiful, smart, funny woman. You’ll find the right guy. Don’t settle for this one.”
She drew a deep breath. “Noah, Kyle, Eve...all of you.”
“What is it?”
That was Cheyenne’s voice. Callie recognized the fear in it. She’d had such a hard life. Callie hated that what she was about to say would only add to what was already a long list for Cheyenne. And not just her. They all knew something terrible was coming.
“Baxter can confirm what I’m about to tell you, because he was at the hospital with me earlier this week.”
“The hospital?” Kyle echoed.
“Yes.” She prayed her voice wouldn’t crack even though she could feel the threat of tears. “My liver’s failing. If I don’t get a transplant in the next few weeks, I’ll be dead before the end of summer.”
* * *
Levi dropped his hand. He’d been about to knock so he could tell Callie that dinner was ready. But he’d paused to see if he’d be interrupting something important and heard her say she’d been in the hospital earlier this week. That Baxter had been with her. That she was dying.
At first, the words floating to him through the door sounded so preposterous he almost laughed. There had to be some mistake. She was young, beautiful, perfect. She’d been functioning as well as he had. He would’ve noticed if there was something wrong, wouldn’t he? They’d just been laughing with each other in a beautiful mountain creek this morning.
