“What?” Was it surprising, how genuinely pleased she was? “That’s wonderful! What in?”
He glanced at Charley reading a Louis L’Amour novel as he ate his pie, then back at Val before leaning over and lowering his voice. “Being around Charley, remembering my time in the service... I want to help. Somehow. Because I know what they’ve been through, right?” He straightened. “But I need to know how to help them. Besides just listening, I mean. And since Uncle Sam’s good with paying my tuition...” He shrugged, then sighed. “Although it’s been ten years since I did homework. And I wasn’t exactly the best student. So it’s kind of scary, frankly.”
Val’s eyes stung. “You’ll do fine. Ohmigosh, I am so proud of you,” she said softly, and the look on his face... Oh, dear God. She could feel her resolve dissolving like sidewalk chalk in the rain. So good thing, then, he wouldn’t be around much.
“You’ll be living on campus, then?”
He frowned slightly. “Why? It’s less than an hour from here.”
“Not if you actually obey the speed limit, it isn’t,” she said, and he chuckled.
“I’m only on campus a couple days a week, two of my classes are online. So I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re...staying in Whispering Pines.”
The frown deepening, he looked at his folded hands, then back at her. “You know, when I got back home, I didn’t know what the hell I wanted. What I was supposed to do with my life. So, yeah, I toyed with the idea of looking for something—although God knows what—‘out there.’ Turns out everything I need is right here. So... I bought a house.”
“You what?” Clearly he wasn’t giving her a chance to think too hard about that “everything I need” business. “Where?”
“That little adobe that went up for sale a couple of months ago, not far from Tommy’s folks. Needs work, but I’m more than game.”
Val knew the place. One of the rare real adobe homes in town. Cozy, was Realtor-speak for it. Lots of trees. Big yard. And “needs work” was a gross understatement.
“I wasn’t, um, aware you were looking to buy a house.”
His lips curved. “Meaning, how was I able to buy a house.”
She blushed. “Well...yeah.”
Levi glanced out the window for a moment, then back at her. “When our grandmother passed, years ago, she left each of us kids little nest eggs we couldn’t touch until we were eighteen. Mr. Blake helped my father invest the money for us, in high-yield funds. What the others did with theirs, I have no idea. But I left mine alone. One of the few smart things I did back then, actually. Then I figured I might as well toss in a good chunk of my army wages, since it wasn’t like I needed to spend them on much else. So the nest egg grew.” He paused. “And I paid cash for the house.”
“Wow. You have grown up.”
Levi chuckled, then snapped his fingers. “Damn, don’t know where my head is...” He reached for the bag, which he handed to her. “Happened to see this when I was out with Zach and his boys—thought immediately of you. Didn’t have a clue about the size though, so I hope it’s okay.”
Giving him a puzzled look, Val removed the T-shirt from the bag and unfolded it, her eyes watering when she read what was on front.
I’m stronger than I thought.
The shirt was some hideous noncolor, and, yes, it was big enough to fit Levi, but...damn.
“Thank you,” she whispered, fingering the lettering, then meeting his gaze. And his grin cracked her heart.
“You’re welcome. Because it’s true. Always has been.” Then he got up, nudging the cooler toward her. “Enjoy the fish. Oh...and if you get a chance, maybe you could come by the house sometime, give me some ideas about what to do with it?”
“Me? You’re the one with all the mad skills.”
“Yeah, but I’m color-blind. Partially, anyway.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. So’s my dad. Josh dodged that particular bullet, but only because we’re not identical. Anyway. Let me know when Josie’s party is. I’ll be there.”
Val stayed in the booth after he left, clutching the soft shirt to her chest and staring at the cooler as if it were a crystal ball. Until Annie passed by and swatted her shoulder. “Customers,” she said, and Val shook herself out of her stupor and got to her feet, only to run smack into Annie when she turned. “Also,” her boss said, “you’re an idiot.”
“Love you, too,” Val said, stuffing Levi’s gifts under the counter before tromping over to table five to take their order, refusing to admit Annie might be right.
* * *
Josh’s almost black brows practically collided as he glowered at the kitchen. Not that Levi blamed him. In the past week he’d done some painting and ripped up the tatty gold carpet, still flummoxed that people would cover the pretty pine floors. But the kitchen—while big and sunny—made the one in Tommy’s grandmother’s house look top of the line in comparison.
“Would somebody please tell me,” his brother said, “how in the hell baby-poop green made it into the top ten colors of 1973?”
“Is that what color it is?” Levi said, reaching into the wobbly old fridge for a beer, handing one to his brother. “Green?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Shuddering, Josh popped the tab before his eyes cut to Levi. “Val has no idea you bought the house with her in mind, does she?”
“Do I look like a man with a death wish?”
“You tell me. The woman rejected you, Levi—”
“What she rejected was a whole lotta crap from her past.” He took a sip of his own beer. “Considering the mess I was? I can hardly blame her for that, can I?”
“I don’t know, bro. Wouldn’t it be better to just move on?”
“And why would I do that? When I’m right where I want to be?”
“Hoping some woman’s gonna change her mind? Yeah, good luck with that.”
He tilted the beer to his brother. “Hope’s what makes the world go round. Look,” he said when Josh shook his head, “the way I see it, my options are give up, press on or wait it out. So number three it is.”
“I still think you’re off your rocker.”
“And you’re entitled to your opinion. Doesn’t mean I have to pay it any mind.” Not that his brother was entirely wrong. Since even if he could eventually convince her he’d never walk out on her, he couldn’t exactly guarantee he’d never die.
However. First things first.
One hand in his jeans’ pocket, Levi shifted his weight against the counter. “Maybe I didn’t go into the army for the best reasons, but it sure as hell made me grow. Learned more about myself in those six years than I had in the whole twenty-two before. Yeah, I still had—have—some fine-tuning to do, but by the time I got out I was at least beginning to get a handle on who I was, even if I still wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Val never got that chance. She went from a borderline abusive situation into an early marriage, then became a mother soon after that...”
Frowning at the beer can, Levi huffed out a sigh. “The way I see it, this is her time to figure out who she is. What she really wants. So it’s up to me to figure out the balance between being there for her and the girls and not getting in her face.”
Josh crossed his arms. “Do you even know how she feels about you?”
He smirked. “Hell, I’m not even sure she knows how she feels about me. Not entirely. But I do know she’s scared.”
“Of what?”
“Best as I can figure out? Of letting herself be happy. Or at least, of trusting that it’ll last.”
“That’s crazy.”
“After what she’s been through? Not as much as you might think.”
“And do you really think she’s worth the risk?”
“Do I honestly know if I’m doing the right thing? Not hardly. Maybe I am barking up the wrong tree. Except you know what? Once before, I gave up because...well, because I’d convinced myself I wasn’t what she’d needed. Stake
s are a helluva lot higher now. But what kind of choice am I giving her if I remove myself entirely from the equation? Kinda hard to convince her she can count on me if I’m not around to prove it. So I have to be patient.”
“And I’m guessing she doesn’t know about that, does she? That you had a thing for her way back when?”
“No.”
“You think maybe you should tell her?”
“Why?”
His brother frowned at him for several seconds before blowing out a sigh. “I still don’t get—”
“You don’t see what I see, Josh. Yeah, she’s doing a pretty hard-core battle with one big-ass bogeyman right now, but when she’s not...” His jaw clenching, Levi glanced toward the kitchen window, then back at his brother. “You should see her with her kids. Tommy’s parents. Hear how she worries about Charley. Woman’s got a heart way too big for that little body. And if I could somehow get that heart to stop hurting...” He shrugged.
“And what if that never happens?”
Levi thought of that kiss. The look in her eyes when the kiss was over. When she spotted him in the diner the other day. Then again, he hadn’t heard a peep from her since then. But the only way to be patient was to, you know, actually be patient.
“Then at least I’ll know I tried,” he said softly, before pushing himself away from the counter and out into the dining room, where all four walls were covered in nasty, peeling, Southwest geometric wallpaper that had nothing whatsoever to do with the baby-poop kitchen. He was guessing, anyway. “You any good at stripping wallpaper?”
“I have no idea.”
“That makes two of us, then,” Levi said, reaching up to tug at a curling corner. A whopping three inches came off in his hand.
“Let me guess,” Josh said. “This is gonna take longer than you figured.”
“Yeah, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
“You hope,” his brother muttered, and Levi was pretty sure they weren’t talking about wallpaper anymore.
* * *
After a week, Val realized if she waited any longer to return the cooler she’d come across as either a lamebrain or a coward. Although at least taking the girls with her would prevent random pheromone/hormone interminglings between her and Levi. Or so she thought. Because soon as he opened his door—shirtless, damn him—she realized...nope. Not by a long shot.
Especially when he gave her—and the girls, let’s be fair—one of those smiles that said there was nobody else he’d rather see.
“On our way to Connie and Pete’s for dinner,” Val said, her pulse banging in her throat. “Figured I might as well return the cooler while we’re out.”
“But you can come in for a minute? At least see the place?” This said while reaching for a babbly Risa with one hand, taking the cooler with the other.
“Um...sure. For a minute.”
Mugging for the baby, Levi stood aside to let them in. Place looked like a bomb had gone off.
“Excuse the mess,” he said, heading toward what she assumed was the kitchen. “Charley was over today helping me with the demo. We made real progress.” He clunked the cooler on top of the counter. Which, along with the rest of the kitchen—except for the chewed-up dark cabinets—was kind of a slime green. “Although I don’t suppose it looks like that to the casual observer. But the wall between the living and dining room? Had to go.”
Still holding the baby, Levi smiled down at Josie, her forehead crimped as she surveyed the kitchen. The huge kitchen. With a huge window. And a skylight—
“Hey, kiddo. How’s school?”
Her daughter grinned up at him. Her beaver-esque front teeth had finally finished their descent. Although at least they were straight. “It’s only been a couple of days. But it’s good. Second grade rocks. Mama says you’re coming to my birthday?”
Levi turned that smile on Val, making her shiver underneath her sleeveless top, before focusing again on Josie. “I sure am. I remember when I turned eight, thinking finally I wasn’t a little kid anymore.”
“I know, right?” Then she slung her arms around Levi’s waist to press her cheek into his stomach, her eyes squeezing shut. “I miss you, Levi.”
Cupping the back of Josie’s head with his free hand, Levi quietly said, “Miss you, too, little bit.”
Just kill her now.
“Why don’t you go check out the backyard?” he then said. “The previous owners left one of those play fort things.”
“Cool!” Josie said, taking off through the French doors—French doors!—before Val even had a chance to yell at her to be careful.
“I already made sure it was safe,” Levi said. “So my monkey nephews don’t bust their heads or anything—”
“Bah!” Risa said, struggling to get out of Levi’s arms.
“Nope, floor’s not clean,” Levi said, getting a firmer grip before pulling a box of graham crackers from a nearby cabinet. “This okay?”
“Go for it.”
He handed the baby a quarter of a cracker; she happily settled in the crook of his elbow, gnawing. Somehow, Val tore away her gaze. “This kitchen sure is...green.”
“See, I thought it was brown. So there you go.”
“Some of that stuff you showed me for the other house would look good in here, I think.”
“Actually, I was thinking of those Mexican tiles you liked. But you’d have to help me pick them so I don’t end up with a bunch of weird colors.”
“If it’s only you living here, not sure what difference it would make. Unless you’re thinking of resale value.”
He got very quiet. The kind of quiet that makes a girl’s heart pound. And makes her turn to watch her child playing outside. “Didn’t buy the place to flip it,” he said behind her. “Not planning on being the only one living here, either. Not forever, anyway. But in the meantime, seems to me this could be a real good setup for your pie business.”
Val whipped around. Levi calmly handed the baby another piece of cracker.
“What?”
“Part of the reason I bought the house. Because of the kitchen. And don’t worry, I already checked—got a list, in fact, of what we need to do in order to get it approved. Not easy, but definitely doable. Best news is, there’s no limit on how much you can sell.” He pointed to a space beside the sink. “Or how easy cleanup’ll be with the top-of-the-line dishwasher that’ll be right there. There’s even plenty of room for AJ’s stove, if you want. Or double ovens. Whatever would work best for you.”
In the center of the room—right where, say, a good-size island might go—sat a pathetic Formica table and a couple of mismatched chairs. Onto one of these Val now sank, her emotions more tangled than Josie’s hair after a restless night.
“Val? Look at me.”
She finally did, sure that thunderbolts must be shooting out of her eyes.
“All I’m offering,” he said gently, “is my kitchen. Since it seems a shame to waste such a big space on me maybe boiling a hot dog now and then. Making some toast—”
“Levi, I don’t need—”
“You need a kitchen. I can give you a kitchen. Heck, maybe that’s the only thing I can give you, to say...thanks.”
“For what?”
He glanced out the window over the sink, then turned back to her. “You know the real reason Tommy joined the army?”
“Yes. Because he wanted me to feel proud of him.”
“Yeah, but...it was more than that. Because he wanted to feel like he mattered, too. Like he had a purpose. I couldn’t talk him out of it, no. But he told me that if you’d said no, he wouldn’t’ve gone.”
Her eyes filled. “And what right did I have to do that?”
Still holding the baby, Levi came closer to crouch in front of her; still gumming her cracker, the baby threw herself into Val’s arms. “The truth?” he said gently. “You had every right. I’m not sure he ever knew how scared you were. Because you never let him see it, did you?”
Unable to speak, she
wagged her head again. Levi smiled. “Of the two of you,” he said softly, “I’m gonna say you were the braver one. So don’t tell me you don’t deserve something for that.”
What the hell makes you think you deserve anything, little girl? Like you’re somebody special. Like you’re better than your mama? Well, here’s a news flash—you’re not...
Nausea roiled as the words oozed through her, oily and hot. Words she’d thought couldn’t affect her anymore. As though trying to shake herself free from her mother’s voice, Val shifted the baby to heave herself out of the chair.
“Meaning a kitchen?” she said, realizing looking at Levi made the nausea worse.
“Meaning a future,” he said, standing as well to slug his fingers into his pockets. “One of your own making, finally. And maybe a little peace to go along with it?”
Peace? As if. Because when Val looked into those eyes, sure as hell peaceful was the last thing she felt.
Because sure as hell he was still offering a lot more than a kitchen.
And sure as hell she still wasn’t sure which frightened her more—turning that offer down, or accepting it.
No, what scared the bejesus out of her was how much she wanted to accept it.
“Can I think about it?” she said, annoyed at how small her voice sounded.
“Absolutely. No rush.” Levi touched her shoulder, forcing her to meet his gaze. “And no pressure, I swear. Totally up to you.”
Nodding, she opened the glass-paned door, called Josie. “We’re leaving, sweetie.”
The kid came bouncing inside, out of breath and grinning. “C’n I come here again?”
“Anytime you like,” Levi said.
Of course he would walk them outside, watching while Val strapped Risa into her stroller, then as they walked away, a hopping/skipping/bouncing Josie wriggling around to give him a last wave when they reached the sidewalk. Val, however, refused to look back, to see all those questions she couldn’t answer in those kind, sexy eyes.
She was pretty sure she’d never be able to breathe properly again.
* * *
Levi slammed his hand against the gross laminate counter with enough force to make the coffeemaker rattle.
A Soldier's Promise Page 17
