“Thanks,” she said. “But I had to work and then help Mary Alice at Shady Pines. No time for fun, I guess.”
“Well I hope that changes soon,” he told her. “I was hoping to join you for the spring carnival next weekend.”
“Oh yeah,” Kassidy mumbled at the mention of the annual event. Pinewood Grove set it up in mid-May every year, just in time for the college students getting home each summer. It used to be that everyone went, though attendance had dwindled some over the years, but going with Paul would make it clear to everyone that they were dating again. It was an idea that Kassidy did not want anyone to start to imagine.
“I’m not sure if I’m going,” Kassidy lied. “My, um, my mom has a big cake order that day that she needs my help with and I don’t know if I’ll have time.”
“Ah,” Paul said, and Kassidy was about to hope she was off the hook, but then he said, “I see the issue. A few too many eavesdroppers. How about we head outside and talk?”
Part of Kassidy thought that was a good idea. Get the people staring at them to give them a moment alone, but on the other hand, talking to Paul alone might give him the wrong idea.
But being alone meant being away from prying eyes and she decided it was for the best. Better to turn him down without anyone watching. She was sick of her over-percolated cup of coffee anyway and she set it down before she followed Paul outside into the early afternoon sun.
The sun was bright in her eyes and it took a moment for the swirling red and black to fade as her vision adjusted, but when it did she forgot all about Paul.
Up ahead, leaning on the church’s sign announcing service times, was a familiar man wearing dark jeans, a black t-shirt, aviator sunglasses, and a baseball cap.
If she hadn’t met Levi before, she never would have guessed it was him. The hat and shades did enough to make him look like just another guy, but she knew the truth.
Paul called after her as she walked over to Levi, but she ignored his voice. She knew his pride was too big to follow her and she’d be left alone to talk to the man she would much rather spend her time with.
“Hey,” she greeted him and he took his sunglasses off when she approached.
“Hey,” he replied as he shifted his back to the people who were starting to come out of the church. “You look really nice.”
“Thanks,” she said with a swish of her skirt. “It’s my favorite color.”
“With good reason,” he said, careful to keep his voice down.
“Oh,” she giggled, her cheeks warming again. She struggled to keep her involuntary reaction under control and cleared her throat in an attempt to make her brain stop being so flustered.
“So are you free now?” he asked. “I thought maybe we could go and do something together.”
“Sure,” Kassidy said, but when she looked behind him she saw people watching them and realised that continuing their conversation there was a bad idea. Even her parents were outside now and the look of disappointment was obvious on their faces. “I know where we can go.”
She knew it meant a lecture when she got home, but she needed to live her own life and be her own person. This was what she wanted, and no one was going to respect her if she kept doing whatever everyone else said was best for her.
Not far up the street from the church, the sidewalk ended and the trees encroached upon the sides of the road. Kassidy wasn’t wearing the right shoes for their adventure, but she tried to ignore the blisters that were already forming on her toes as she led Levi down a hidden pathway.
“Where are we going?” he asked her as he reached past her shoulder and pushed a low hanging branch out of her way.
“Nowhere special,” she told him, though that was a bit of a lie. As a girl, she and her friends would head down to the path all the time and play pretend down by the little creek that ran along the edge of town.
The path had gone too long without attention now that the kids spent their time at ShopMart and playing video games, but she still knew the way and Levi followed behind her until they reached a clearing in the brush where the creek widened. There were some fallen logs to serve as benches and hollowed out tree trunks where the kids used to hide snacks and other treasures.
“This doesn’t look like nowhere special,” Levi said as he walked passed her and sat on one of the logs.
“We used to play here as kids,” she said. “It’s a nice, private place.”
“Won’t the kids come down here now?” he asked as he tucked his sunglasses away. “They’re probably itching to have some fun after church.”
“Nah,” she assured him. “They’ll all head to ShopMart or go home to their Xboxes. No one really comes out here anymore. Anyone old enough drives up to the state park where there’s a real beach and fire pits and stuff.”
“Gotcha,” Levi said and Kassidy took a seat behind him on the moss covered log. It wouldn’t be good for her dress, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to be close to him.
“Any word from Murph?” Kassidy asked as she fumbled with her fingers. Her gloves were suddenly too hot, too constricting on her fingers, and she took them off and shoved them in her pocket.
“Not yet,” he told her with a shrug. “So how was bingo last night?”
To her own surprise, Kassidy laughed at that. “It was good,” she told him. “Only one fight broke out.”
“A fight?” Levi asked, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.
“Don’t think like some sort of fist fight,” she laughed back. “But there is always someone who accuses someone else of cheating. To be fair, Mr. Grant does cheat a fair bit. They normally just accuse each other of it and then yell across the room until Mary Alice puts her foot down. Once someone even threw a dabber at someone else.”
“And the retirement home still lets you guys do bingo?” he asked her.
“Of course,” Kassidy told him. “Honestly, they love it. The fighting is the best part. They need some excitement in that place and we give it to them. To be honest, Mary Alice riles them up on purpose.”
“I’m not surprised,” Levi laughed at that. “She’s a fun old bird.”
“Well, she had nothing but nice things to say about you,” Kassidy told him.
“Oh?” Levi asked, the laughter stopping.
“Yeah, she thinks you’re pretty okay,” Kassidy told him. In truth, Mary Alice thought Levi was a lot more than okay. While they ran the bingo game, she’d made it clear that she thought very highly of the rock star who was sleeping under her roof. She was the only woman in town who would tell Kassidy that she would be a fool not to go for him, which only made Kassidy love her more.
“Well, tell her I think she’s pretty okay, too,” Levi said. “And so are you.”
“Sorry?” Kassidy asked, though she knew exactly what he meant. Nerves flared up in her belly and she was paralyzed. Even as Levi put his hand on hers, she couldn’t move even though she’d been dreaming about what she knew was about to happen since she first laid eyes on him.
Her heart was pumping hard in her chest as Levi leaned in closer to her. His brown eyes, soft and beautiful, met hers and she so badly wanted what he was about to do. She’d imagined his lips on hers half a hundred times already, but now that it was about to happen, she didn’t know what to do.
The moment was perfect. The babbling creek beside them, the shade of the trees above. The little grove was one of her favorite places in town and she was showing it to someone she truly felt that spark with. He felt it too, that much was clear, and he wanted to kiss her.
But she couldn’t do it. As Levi leaned in, his perfect lips so close to hers, Kassidy forced herself to turn away.
“Is something wrong?” Levi asked, backing off immediately when she moved away from him.
“No,” she lied. “Yes. I don’t know. Levi, I... I want to, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t want to get attached only to have you leave in a few days when your bike gets fixed.”
“I understand,” h
e said. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he let it go again. “How about I walk you home?”
“Okay,” she said with a nod, but the excited nerves in her belly were already transforming into something else, something darker. Regret and worry filled her as Levi walked with her out of the brush and back toward the bakery.
Luckily, the roads were mostly clear as they walked and he was still wearing his hat. He’d put his sunglasses back on when they reached the road and they walked in awkward quiet until they reached Main Street.
They parted ways when they reached the front door of the bakery and without much more than a, “See you later,” Levi made his way – alone – back toward Mary Alice’s house.
While she knew she’d made the right choice in turning him down, Kassidy couldn’t help but let the regret in her belly bubble up. She’d wanted to kiss him, but she’d used her head and now it was her heart that was suffering.
Chapter Nine
It had been hard for Kassidy to act like herself the last few days. Disappointment ran through her veins and she was convinced that she had lost her chance with Levi after brushing off his attempt to kiss her.
Despite how much it upset her to realise that, she refused to let herself regret what had happened between them. She’d made a choice and she knew it was the right one. If they had kissed, she would have only let herself fall for the guy and instead of disappointed, she would be heartbroken when he eventually left town to return to his real life.
At least Murph had been giving her updates about the bike. He’d put the new muffler on it on Wednesday, but he still had some things that needed some tuning, at least, that was the case as of two days ago. He hadn’t been back to the bakery since, and part of her was tempted to bring him another loaf of rye bread as a bribe for more information, but she’d thought better of it.
Word had been getting around that a famous rock star was in town, and Kassidy wanted to believe that a part of the reason she hadn’t seen Levi since they’d gone their separate ways on Sunday was that he was laying low. He obviously didn’t want the attention that he was sure to bring once people knew where he was, and she wanted to respect his wishes and keep it that way.
At least Mary Alice was good at keeping her mouth shut about her latest tenant. Levi was the only one staying at her boarding house, so they needn’t worry about another person informing everyone where he was staying, which would only make things worse. The only issue was her neighbors finding out that she had someone staying with her again.
But deep down, Kassidy knew that wasn’t the only reason he was laying low. She had shot him down and she had known what the consequences of that would be. She’d turned guys down before, only to have them never want to speak to her again. Really, the only man she’d ever said no to that still tried to talk to her was Paul, but she was certain that was only his pride making him want to try again.
Kassidy tried to avoid thinking about Levi, but she couldn’t help it. Every thought that drifted through her mind somehow found its way back to him and only made her heart ache more. The littlest thing brought her back to him and she knew she couldn’t fight it on her own.
She had begged her parents to let her do work in the back, but there wasn’t anything to do. Instead, she was sitting at the cash register, rarely seeing a customer, and her mind was too active for her own good.
Another wave of sadness overtook her and she knew she needed some fresh air before she broke down and started to cry. Not once in the last five days had she let herself cry over him, but she was getting too close to it and she grabbed a Panini out of the display case, warned her parents she was going outside for lunch, and stepped outside just before the first tear could tumble over her lower lashes.
The fresh air was exactly what she needed to get her emotions in check. A light breeze flowed down Main Street and cooled the heat in her face and a bite of her lunch helped her swallow the knot in her throat. Her heart still hurt, but at least she’d gotten control of her symptoms once more.
As she ate – each bite calming her down more and more – a deep rumble began to fill the air. On their way to the state park, Kassidy thought as she listened to the noise swell around her. On a beautiful day in May, it was a common sight to see people on their bikes headed toward the campground for the weekend.
It wasn’t until she saw the motorcycle that she realised it wasn’t just some biker on his way through town. It was too familiar and her heart clenched as she realised it was Levi that was about to go right by her.
It was easy to convince herself that he was going to drive right past her. That he would ride out of town and out of her life for good. She’d gotten her chance and wasted it, and now he was headed back to his real life.
But she was wrong. He didn’t just keep riding down the street and off into the horizon. Instead, he pulled over to the side of the road, not five feet from where she sat eating her lunch, and turned off the heavy machine.
“Hey,” he said as he pulled off his helmet. His dark brown hair fell almost too easily back into place and his dark brown eyes met hers.
“Um, hi,” she said while she tried not to get her hopes up.
“You okay?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he looked at her.
“Fine,” she insisted once she swallowed the bite she was working on. “What’s up?” It was a struggle for her to appear like she didn’t care, and at least she could blame her choked voice on the sandwich.
“Well,” he told her as he got off the bike. “I got you something.”
“Oh?” she asked, too nervous to stand. If she got to her feet, her knees would be shaking and she didn’t want him to see just how nervous she really was.
He didn’t answer her attempt at a question. Instead, he went into one of the saddlebags of his bike and pulled out a shiny, robin’s egg blue dome. It was only when he handed it to her that Kassidy realised it was a motorcycle helmet.
“Oh!” she mumbled, suddenly a little more relieved.
“So you want to go for a ride?” he asked as he held out his hand to her.
She barely even let herself think of it before she said, “Yes.”
The bakery wasn’t busy and her parents could handle it. This was what she wanted and she wasn’t going to turn him down again.
It was harder than she expected to get on the back of his bike, and as he kicked it to life, her fingers instinctively dug into his waist. She’d never been on the back of a bike – she hadn’t even been comfortable riding a bicycle as a kid – and her fingers only dug in harder as they began to move back down Main Street.
By time they made it out of town and onto the highway, she wasn’t even scared anymore. Her fingers still dug into Levi’s waist, but it wasn’t because she was afraid. The thrill of being on the bike with him was unlike anything she’d ever known and she loved every second of it.
The highway flew by through the shaded visor of her new helmet. Thrill and joy overwhelmed her, but a new thought wiggled its way into her mind. If the bike was fixed, that meant that Levi would be going back on the road soon. He would promise to write or something, but that would be the end of it and she needed to be prepared to say good-bye.
By time they pulled over to the side of the road at a rest stop, that little thought had become a big worry and Kassidy didn’t want to take her helmet off for fear of him seeing all her emotions on her face.
Still, she took the beautiful gift off and let her long hair flow freely behind her. She wanted to get back on that bike and ride with him forever, but she had a feeling he’d taken her out there to say their good-byes.
“That was fun,” she said as she leaned on a guard rail. The rest stop overlooked the edge of the state park twenty feet below them and she kept her eyes on that to avoid looking at Levi.
“I’m glad you liked it,” he told her as he moved to her side.
“So,” she said, trying to force her voice to a calm stillness. “Now that your bike is fixed I assume you’ll be leavi
ng.”
“I never said that,” he told her. “In fact, I haven’t really decided what I want to do.”
“Oh,” Kassidy said, finally looking at him. She wanted to find answers on his face, but there were none there for her to see.
“I need more time to think about it,” he explained. “I’m sorry I haven’t come by in the last few days, but I’ve spent just about all my time on the phone with my manager and the record company, and every moment I haven’t, I’ve been in no mood to see anyone. I didn’t want anyone to see me that pissed off. Especially you.”
“So what does that mean?” Kassidy asked, trying not to get too excited about the answer.
“It means I’m going to stay in Pinewood Grove for a while,” he told her. “I don’t know for how long, but as long as they don’t know I’m here, or at least where here is, it’ll give me time to figure out just what I want to do.”
“That sounds nice,” Kassidy told him. He still hadn’t mentioned how she played into his thoughts on the future, but she didn’t want to ask only to be let down by the answer.
“I like this place,” he continued. “There’s something about this town that I think can really help me get back to my roots. To help me decide what I really want to do next. I know my band is pretty upset, and the label is furious, but I don’t care. This is what I want right now.”
“And you should do what makes you happy,” Kassidy agreed while she fought back her own emotions. He was staying and she was overjoyed, and yet there was a melancholy that she couldn’t fight. He was staying for him, and she knew that was the best thing for Levi, but she couldn’t help but think of her own desires.
“You make me happy,” he said, his words cutting through her fears like a saber. “Kass, I hope it’s obvious, but you’re the biggest part of why I want to stay here. I can’t promise that I can stay forever, and I know that means you may not want to be with me, but at least as long as we can be friends...”
Melodies of the Heart: A Pinewood Grove Sweet Romance Page 6
