by Brenda Novak
“Do you think we should be worried?” Diana murmured to Boone. There’d been a lot of talking at first. Callie had a huge crowd waiting to hear how the surgery went. But in the past hour they’d all fallen silent. Of course, it was after six in the morning. Most of them, including Levi, had been up for twenty-four hours. That meant the doctor had been up a long time, too....
Was Dr. Yee alert enough to do the job? Was he almost finished?
Levi watched Boone put his arm around his wife, trying to comfort her. Callie’s father didn’t have any answers, but he kept telling her he was sure everything was all right.
Callie’s friends, too tired to talk anymore, lounged in chairs in the waiting room, most of them sitting close together. There was one woman named Sophia, however, who sat off by herself, while a guy named Ted shot surreptitious glances in her direction.
Levi wondered what was going on between them, but he was too concerned about Callie to think much about it. The news that they’d found a liver had changed everything in his mind, given him more hope than he probably should’ve allowed.
What if she died, anyway?
He had her necklace in one pocket, carrying it around like a good luck charm—the doctor had brought it to him before surgery, said it definitely wasn’t going in there with her. But Levi had never had a lot of luck when it came to the people he loved. He was afraid he couldn’t count on luck now.
“Okay, I have to ask.”
Everyone turned to look at Baxter, who was addressing Simon.
“Ask what?” Simon sat on one of the couches, his wife leaning against him.
Baxter slid forward. “Are you responsible for this?”
Simon seemed confused. “For what?”
“Did you make this happen? Pay someone or...or use your influence or whatever to get Callie a transplant?”
Gail lifted her head. “We tried, Bax,” she said. “The moment we learned of her situation we started calling everyone we know who might be able to help.”
“And?” The conversation had drawn Noah’s attention from the TV playing in one corner.
Gail shook her head. “They told us there was nothing we could do.”
“So it’s just a coincidence that she got a liver after you found out she needed one?” Baxter clarified.
Simon hid a yawn. “It’s just a coincidence.”
Raking a hand through his hair, Baxter sat back. “Good. When she comes out of this, she’ll be happy to hear it was legit.”
If she pulls through. Levi didn’t add that, but he was certainly thinking it. He didn’t know how she could endure such a long and intensive surgery. She’d been so sick this week.
Come on, babe. You can do it. Hang in there. For us.
They deserved a chance to explore what they felt for each other, didn’t they?
He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and examined the little bird pendant. “Thorn birds,” he muttered.
“What’d you say?”
This came from Dylan, who’d spoken less than anyone.
Levi shoved the necklace back in his pocket. “Nothing.” He walked out of the room to the vending machine in the hall and slipped a dollar into the slot. He needed a drink. For the first time in a long while, he wished he could drink something stronger than water but, other than an occasional glass of wine, he didn’t drink anymore—not since that night in Nevada.
A bottle fell to the bottom of the dispenser. As he retrieved it, he heard footsteps behind him.
Dylan had followed him. Thinking Cheyenne’s husband had also come for something from the vending machine, he stepped to one side, but Dylan stopped him before he could go back to the waiting room.
“I saw you fight once,” he said.
A burst of alarm shot through Levi. He understood what Dylan was trying to tell him. Dylan knew who he was. “Small world,” he said.
Dylan nodded. “No shit.”
“Did I win?”
His lips curved into a smile. “Didn’t you always?”
“Some things come easier to me than others.” He jerked his head toward the room. “Does everyone else know?”
“Not her parents. I told most of the others the day I recognized you at the farm.”
And yet no one had let on. That confirmed how worried they were about Callie. It also suggested that they might be willing to forgive his mistake. He found that hopeful.
“What did they say?”
“We told Callie but no one else.”
“Not Chief Stacy.”
“No.”
The condensation on the water bottle made his hand wet. “When will you do that?”
Dylan studied him for a second. “We’re going to leave that up to you.”
Levi remained in the hall as Dylan walked back to the waiting room. He might’ve interpreted Dylan’s words as a subtle threat that he had to turn himself in or they’d eventually come forward. But he knew that wasn’t the intent. Dylan was telling him that whatever he chose to do about that night—it truly was his decision.
After twisting off the cap, Levi took a long drink. He had to get through Callie’s operation before he could even think about any other problem, he told himself.
He was just heading back to join the others when he saw Callie’s doctor coming down the hall.
“How is she?” he asked, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.
“I think she’s going to be fine.” Dr. Yee gave him an exhausted smile. “All the signs are good. She came through it like a champ.”
* * *
It’d been several days since the surgery. Callie couldn’t believe how much better she felt. Already she was in a regular hospital room and her doctor was talking about letting her go home after the weekend. The difference a healthy liver could make was astonishing. She only hoped her body wouldn’t reject the transplant, but so far so good.
“What is it?” she murmured.
It was the middle of the night. Her parents and friends had gone home much earlier, leaving her and Levi alone.
“I’m just thinking.” He stood over by the window, looking out into a moonlit courtyard.
“About what?”
He came back toward the bed. “The future.”
“What about it?” she asked.
“Dylan knows who I am.”
She felt a measure of concern. She wasn’t sure she wanted to discuss what he’d done in Nevada; she didn’t see how that could offer any solutions. If he didn’t turn himself in, he’d be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life. But if he did, he’d probably go to prison. “Yes.”
“I’m thinking of turning myself in.”
“No!”
“I don’t have any other choice. If I don’t, that night in Nevada will always stand between us.”
She knew in her heart he was right. But could she face the alternative? She’d just reclaimed her future, wanted to spend it with him. “But they could put you away for...years.”
“That’s true. There’ll be a trial. And a punishment.”
“Prison, like I said.”
“Most likely.”
She swallowed hard. “Are you prepared to deal with that?”
“If that’s what it takes to be the kind of man I should be, I am.”
When she reached for him, he moved closer. “But prison, Levi?”
“I can’t live under a false identity forever. What if we have kids? What if this comes back to haunt us at an even worse time?”
Her hand automatically went to the necklace he’d given her, which he’d put back on her the day after the transplant. “You want to handle it now.”
“I think so.” He bent over her, kissed her forehead. “Will you wait for me if I do? Will you be patient until I can get my life in order so we can have a future together?”
They hadn’t talked about marriage. But that was exactly what Callie wanted. The long hours they’d spent getting to know each other in her hospital room, when they could do nothing of a sexual
nature, had convinced her that she felt far more for Levi than lust.
She touched his face, saw the uncertainty in his eyes. He’d lost so much in his life that he had a difficult time trusting anyone or anything to be there for him, but she planned to show him that he could trust her. “How about if we get married first?”
He rubbed his cheek against hers. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait until you see how I’m going to come out of it? Now that you’re healthy, Chief Stacy might come back into the picture. He has that pension and all.”
She smiled at his teasing. “Chief Stacy wasn’t an option even before I learned about Nevada.”
“I know, but you might be committing your life to someone who could be locked away for several years.”
She captured his face between her hands and stared into his eyes. “I’d wait for you forever.”
He kissed her lips. “Then I’m going to do it,” he said. “I’m going to turn myself in. But, for your sake, we’ll marry after that.”
* * *
Callie had wanted Levi to pick her up from the hospital on his bike. But he’d insisted on bringing her SUV instead. He said she had too much medication to bring home—she’d be taking nineteen pills a day until her doctor changed her regimen. But she knew there was more to his reasoning. He felt it was too soon for her to be on the bike. He was almost too protective of her.
Still, the day she returned to the farm was one of the best of her life. She’d never thought she’d see it again, never thought she’d see Rifle, either. When her dog came bounding down the lane to greet her, barking in excitement, tears immediately welled up. She’d made it through the past few weeks. Somehow she was going to survive the summer—and maybe many more years. She found it a bittersweet thing to realize that her life had been spared while someone else’s had been lost. That sometimes created mixed emotions. But the generosity of the gift a stranger from Southern California had given her brought such overwhelming gratitude. Her parents and friends didn’t talk about that aspect, at least not to her. She knew they didn’t want to point out the obvious for fear it would make her sad. But there were times, when she was alone in the hospital, that she’d raised her gown just to see the stitches and to marvel at the difference in how she felt and her excitement about her future, which was now restored because of the magnitude of this gift.
“I love it here,” she murmured.
“I’m glad.” Levi threaded his fingers through hers with one hand while steering with the other. “Because...I have some good news.”
She turned to look at him. “What kind of good news?”
“Your parents are going to let us buy it from them.”
She grinned. “I was hoping.”
“I talked to them about it while you were in the hospital. I can make a living, Callie. I’m capable enough. If you can just hang on until...until I clear up my past, we’ll be able to afford this place. We can stay here as long as you like.”
“We’ll be okay,” she assured him. “I still have my photography studio.”
“Is it making enough that you can get by without me? Even while you recover? Or should I wait to—”
“No, we already discussed this. We need to put a definitive end to that part of your life so we can move on with ours.”
“Okay.” He stopped to let Rifle in the car, but held him back so he couldn’t be too aggressive with her.
“She’s a little fragile right now, bud,” he told her dog. “Take it easy.”
Rifle made an effort to calm down. He whined, as if it was a challenge because he was so excited, but he settled for licking her face.
“That’s a good dog. We’re all home,” she said. “We’re all home together.” She sent Levi another smile. “Where we belong.”
* * *
Three weeks later, once Callie got clearance from her doctor to take a week-long trip, they left for Reno. Levi asked Baxter to come with them. In case they arrested him on the spot, he wanted someone to be able to drive her home.
When he parked at the police station, he looked over at her. She could tell he was nervous. She was nervous, too. The thought of not seeing him for months, possibly years, had her so worked up she could feel her heart beating in her throat.
“Let me go in with you,” she said.
He gave her a halfhearted grin that did little to hide his true feelings. “And what are you going to do? Tell them I’m a good guy?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t think they’re going to take your word for it. Anyway, there’s too many germs in there. You know you have to be careful.”
“I’ll go in,” Baxter said.
Levi twisted around to address him. “I’d rather you stayed here. Take care of her, okay? They should allow me one call. I’ll let you know if...if you need to leave without me.”
When he leaned over to kiss her, she clung to him. “We should’ve gotten married first.”
“It’ll be better when I don’t have this hanging over my head. Just stay well until I can get out. Then I’ll come back to you.”
Forcing herself to let him go, she nodded. Then she watched him get out and walk through the station doors.
“We should’ve stayed in Whiskey Creek,” she told Baxter. “Of course they’re going to put him in jail! There’s a warrant out for his arrest.”
“He’s got balls. I’ll say that for him.”
She blew out a shaky breath. As if the past few months hadn’t been hard enough, now she had to deal with possibly losing the man she loved for an undetermined length of time. It was so easy to understand how Levi had done what he’d done, but she didn’t expect the police to see it that way.
Baxter reached over the seat to squeeze her shoulder. “You going to be okay?”
“No.”
“Come on, don’t talk like that.”
“My liver’s working fine. It’s my heart I’m worried about.”
“You’ll get through this just like you did the surgery.”
She shifted so she could see him. “That reminds me.”
“Of what?”
“You said you’d tell Noah how you feel about him if I made it.”
His eyes slid away from hers. “No way.”
“So now you’re reneging?”
“I can already tell you how it would go, Callie.”
She didn’t argue with him, because she suspected he was right. Noah had been dating more than ever, going from one girl to the next. “He’s out of control.”
“I think he’s reacting to what he knows but doesn’t want to face.”
“Where does that leave you?” she asked.
“I’m trying to get over him.”
“Meaning you’re dating other people?”
“When I’m in the city.”
“You don’t spend many weekends in the city.”
“Yeah, well, I said I was trying. I didn’t say it was working.”
They fell silent. Callie knew he’d have to be committed to whatever he chose to do and didn’t want to interfere too much. But she wasn’t sure what else to talk about. She was too nervous to make small talk.
Baxter made an effort to keep her focused on other things. “Levi told me that before your operation, Chief Stacy tried to strong-arm him into leaving town.”
She wrung her hands as she watched people—other people and not Levi—walking out of the police station. “Can you believe it?”
“Not really. He can be an egotistical ass, but cops can be that way.”
“Once I get past this, I’m going to file a complaint.”
“Do you think it’ll do any good?”
“Maybe not. He has a lot of friends in Whiskey Creek, but I want to let him know he can’t push people around without some sort of resistance.”
Baxter propped his hands behind his head and scooted lower in the seat. “He can’t be all bad. He did get rid of Denny and Powell.”
“But the way he went about it was wrong.”
&
nbsp; He arched his eyebrows at her. “So are you going to complain about that, too?”
She thought about the relief she felt to have Denny and Powell and Spike—whom they’d reclaimed before hurrying off—gone, and managed to smile. “No.”
“Nothing will happen to Stacy.”
“I know.”
For the next thirty minutes, she watched the entrance to the police station, hoping she’d see Levi walk out. When he didn’t come and he didn’t come, she started to fidget. “I’m going inside,” she said. “I have to find out what’s happening.”
Baxter got out when she did. “No, Callie. He said he’d call us. Give him a chance to deal with this.”
Feeling torn, she rubbed her hands over her face. But before she could get back in the car, Levi emerged from the station and hurried toward them.
“How did it go?” she asked.
He grinned. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What?”
“The cop I beat? The one I put in the hospital?”
“Yes?”
“He was fired for misconduct six months ago. Apparently, after what I did, several people came forward to say he got physical with them, too—with no provocation. Even the rookie he was training, the other guy I hit to keep him from drawing on me, testified against him.”
Callie glanced at Baxter to see if he was hearing the same thing she was. “So what does that mean?” she asked Levi.
“It means the chances of the district attorney prosecuting me for that incident are slim. He knows I’d have a great case. Other than that, my record is clean. I was honorably discharged from the army. A good attorney could probably get me off with probation and a little community service.”
“You’re kidding.” He was right; Callie couldn’t believe it. This was the last thing she’d expected.
“I’m not kidding. I actually spoke to the rookie who was there that night. He said he’d tell the truth, tell the D.A. that Officer Howton kicked me twice before I reacted.”
