“I do enjoy it,” she said. “And I love having a couple of months off in the summer. It’s the perfect setup for me since I have weekends off with Kevin and during the school year, I have afternoons off with him too. I don’t have to put him in daycare and that’s a good thing. I took him away from home where his grandmothers would have been happy to share picking him up from school with each other so that they could take care of him while I finished work.”
“I guess that is a really good thing about being a teacher.” He glanced at her. “Maybe it’s none of my business, but why did you take him away? I know you said you felt smothered.”
She inhaled deeply and he glimpsed the strain on her face. “Because I think I mentioned I have a very strong-willed family. Well, it’s my father. It took me a long time, and with Adam’s help, for me to stand on my own feet and take control of my life. My father means well, but he has always been inclined to try to tell me what is best for me. To take over my life. And it was hard to get him to let go. I feared I was going to lose that independence that I’d fought so hard for. This job opening just reached out to me and I took it.”
Levi shot her an assuring glance. “You aren’t going to lose your independence. You have a determination about you that shows.” He laughed as he watched the road. “Maybe once you struggled, but not anymore.”
She laughed and he liked the sound of it. “I wish I was as certain as you sound.”
“Believe me, I saw the look in your eyes back there in the coffee shop. You know what you need and you’re standing firm. You’re going to be okay, Jessica. And so is Kevin.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Anytime.” He smiled and then turned onto a dirt road. It was in a remote area, overgrown, and the road was truly not much more than ruts but it was what Max wanted right now.
He looked away from the crowding greenery and saw her looking around skeptically. “Okay, I’ll warn you about Max’s place. It looks a little rough but it isn’t as bad as it looks. He likes his privacy and his place is a work in progress.”
“It looks very private.” Jessica looked around at nothing but palm trees and vegetation.
“Hang on. It looks better around the next curve.” He followed the curve and the clearing opened up before them.
There was a gate; Levi jumped out and unlocked it and then jogged back to the Jeep. “It’s private. And just as I said, a work in progress. But it suits Max.”
They were driving through the trees as he spoke and Jessica found herself anticipating what she would see.
“Max is great with his hands. He likes building things. He’s got a very small living space for now and is building his own home himself. It’s a slow go because Max is in and out. We never know if he’s going to be gone a week or three months.”
She gasped as they drove around another curve onto a very small beach.
He smiled. “Pretty, huh?”
“Oh, I can see why he lives here. It’s gorgeous.”
Levi took in the beauty that he’d gotten used to but understood what she was thinking, seeing it for the first time. The water surrounding the island was a beautiful topaz but here it seemed a little deeper and the pale-blue sailboat tied to an anchor just offshore added to the picturesque view. A few colorful beach chairs sat haphazardly in the sand from the last time he and his brothers had all gathered for a campfire on the beach a couple of weeks ago.
“Is that his house?” She pointed toward the edge of the trees, where a shack of sorts nestled beneath the palms.
“That’s it.”
The land behind the small shack rose up slightly. A trail wandered among the natural groundcover to an area where a larger structure was being built. “And up there, partly hidden, is his work in progress.”
“I love it,” she said with a laugh in her voice. “And you’re right—there’s not much to the little house.”
He parked and watched her study the shack. “It’s made from salvaged wood and windows.” It had a slanted roof and it, too, had been painted a faded blue. A standing paddleboard leaned against the wall, along with a surfboard, and to the side, a red kayak on a stand. A small table, chairs, and a barbecue pit were there also.
He enjoyed watching her and was glad he’d brought her out. He knew with every passing second, despite what she’d said about their incompatibility because of his job, that he wanted to get to know her. And spending time with her was the only way to do it.
Jessica was enjoying herself far too much as she got out of the truck and walked toward the perfect little shack. It looked like the perfect hideaway nestled into this tropical setting. Like a tiny shack one might see in a painting. Her imagination reeled with the romance of the place…okay, so she should haul her imagination away from some of those thoughts as her gaze drifted to Levi. He had walked ahead of her to the front door. If the man had looked good in his uniform, he looked even better in T-shirt and shorts.
She moved toward the side of the house to get a better look at the kayak and to put a little distance between her and Levi and hopefully her increasingly distracting thoughts about the man. A noise startled her. She stepped back and gasped when the underbrush rattled and shook. Suddenly, a wild pig burst through the underbrush. She screamed and stumbled back, and fell rump first into the sand.
The pig trotted straight to her and started to sniff her.
“Oh my goodness,” she managed, happy she wasn’t screaming from fright. And happy that it was soft sand she’d landed in.
“Are you all right?” Levi chuckled as he came to look down at her.
She stared up at him. “I’m fine. But is this pig safe?” It snorted as it pressed its black-whiskered nose against her ribs.
“Charlotte is safe. She’s just checking you out. You didn’t hurt yourself?”
“No, only my pride.”
He held a hand out to her. “Don’t let it be bruised on my behalf. Charlotte is some pig and getting away from her would be anyone’s natural reaction.”
She grasped his hand and felt the shiver of awareness travel through her as he pulled her to a standing position. Her heart pounded as she found herself brushing up against him as she stood.
“He didn’t get very creative when he named her,” Levi said, softly, as they stood there.
She felt breathless and pulled her gaze from his to study the pig in the same manner that the pig was studying her. “You’re sure she’s not going to bite me?”
“No, she’s a good pig but they make great watchdogs. Pigs are very territorial and though she’s not alerting anybody that you’re here, she knows there’s no one here to alert. But when Max is home, if he’s up there working on the house or if he’s inside the house and someone comes on the property, Charlotte lets him know.”
Why did Max need such privacy and need to be alerted if someone was on his property? She was curious but not sure whether she should ask or not.
“Come on inside. I need to feed her and just check on things real quick and then we can leave.”
He grabbed a key from under a rock near the side of the house. He unlocked the door and walked inside, and then stuck his head back out the door and looked at her. “It’s okay. Come on in. You might find this interesting.”
She followed him in. Charlotte trotted in beside her, nearly knocking her over in her haste to get inside the house. Jessica laughed watching the pig trot from the first room into another room at the back of the shack. The pig was snorting and grunting the whole time.
Levi grinned at her. “She’s making sure everything is in its place and she’s looking for Max.”
“I can tell. Does he leave her often?”
“When he needs to, he has to. I try to get out here and check on her every few days, you know, for some food—but that’s the thing about Charlotte. If I don’t make it out every day, she can fend for herself. She eats fruits and there’s plenty of food here for her to eat; she just has to forage for that. So it’s not like he has a cat or dog an
d has to worry that if I get tied up or one of his other brothers gets tied up and nobody can make it out here, which has happened, that she’s okay.”
As he spoke, she studied the room. The furniture was handcrafted, it looked like. She walked over to the couch and studied the wood. It shone and was smooth to the touch, with brightly colored cushions forming the softer areas of the seating arrangement.
“This is beautiful.”
“Max likes to do things with his hands. He’s very talented.”
She studied the bar that separated the small living room from what was a tiny, but well-equipped kitchen. It was as cozy as she’d imagined but cuter. The countertop was made of what looked like a huge piece of driftwood that had been sanded and lacquered for the flat surface. The underside was still the rough, interesting driftwood. The wall holding up the piece was painted a deep burgundy that was almost black and matched the tones in the kitchen area cabinets. The counters in the kitchen were made of stainless steel, it looked like, which made it a very functioning but low maintenance area. But the view of the beach from the old windows made it all perfect. “This is amazing.”
“Yeah, it is. My brother is very talented and very much a minimalist when it comes to what he needs in his life. But it stands to reason since he’s trained to live off the land and to survive on what’s in his backpack.”
“I get it.”
“When he started building the home up the hill, I was surprised because it’s pretty good-sized compared to this. But it still remains minimalistic when it comes to what most people in the States want in a home. Still, I think he’s anticipating settling down one day. And so the house is probably more for that special someone he wants in his life. Though he’s told me it’s not any time soon.”
“I am very impressed. Your brother sounds very interesting.”
“Yes, he is.” Levi lifted the lid of a metal trash can, pulled a bucket from it and filled it with feed. Charlotte hustled over to him, snorting and oinking excitedly. “But maybe I shouldn’t have brought you out here to get impressed by my brother.”
Levi hitched a dark brow at her and his lip hitched upward as he walked by.
She chuckled. “I’m impressed with you too,” she added, despite the danger of letting herself act on the attraction she felt for him. She trailed him and Charlotte outside and watched as he poured the bucket of food into a carved-out wooden trough on the other side of the barbecue pit. Immediately, Charlotte began to eat.
He set the bucket down and stared at her. Instantly, the attraction that simmered very near the surface between them reignited and she was breathless. He took two steps to her and looked into her eyes. Her chest suddenly ached and a lump formed in her throat. He was taller than her but not too tall; if she walked into his arms right now, her head would fit nicely against his shoulder. She shook the thought away; she swallowed the sudden longing and refused to let herself look away as he lifted his hand and touched his thumb to her cheek.
Sudden tears ached in her chest at his gentle touch.
And as his thumb brushed slowly along her cheek line, she couldn’t move.
“You had some sand on your cheek.”
Butterflies cascaded through her and all she could do was nod. He swallowed hard; his Adam’s apple bobbed—Adam. Her husband’s face flashed across her memory as Levi let his hand drop and he quickly reentered the house. She just stood there, unable to move, as her world seemed to collide in so many directions.
She heard him lift the metal trash can lid and heard the bucket hit the feed as he dropped it inside, followed by the metal on metal as he replaced the lid. Her heart hammered as confusion and longing rolled through her.
She was still unstable when he came back outside and locked the door. She watched him replace the key under the rock and then turned to look at her. He seemed perfectly fine.
But she knew that she wasn’t. Something about Levi Sinclair got to her.
He stood a good five feet from her and he had rammed his fingertips into the pockets of his shorts and looked restrained.
“I guess we’ll head back.” But he made no move to leave or to come closer to her.
They stared at each other. So many thoughts ran through her mind, thoughts she hadn’t had in so long. She realized she should feel guilty but at the moment guilt wasn’t what she was feeling.
Chapter Nine
What was he doing? Levi had asked himself that question from the moment he had entered the coffee shop and saw her there. Had asked himself that question again every mile he had driven out toward Max’s place. And now he knew he was in trouble. They hadn’t had that many conversations. They hadn’t spent that much time together. And yet there was no denying that something he had never felt before gripped him when he was near Jessica, not only just when he thought of her. And when he looked at her, it was undeniable what feelings swamped him. He wanted her. Physically, oh yeah, but more…he wanted her in his life. He’d never, ever felt anything like the emotion that had roared through him and now clasped him in its tight grasp.
He needed to hold her. To touch her. He needed to take the burdens she felt and place them on his own shoulders. He needed her…needed to be the man she needed.
He sank chest-deep in trouble.
He cleared his throat. “I guess we better get back. Kevin will be waiting.”
“Yes,” she said and he heard the crack in her words. They came gruff, slightly hoarse.
His chest tightened and nothing on earth could stop him as he took a step toward her. Then, he stopped and forced himself to turn toward the truck.
She was off-limits.
She had sorrow to overcome and a life to get in order and had made it perfectly clear that she was not looking for romantic entanglements.
His problem was he was already entangled.
Chapter Ten
They talked about Roscoe and Jaco all the way back to the coffee shop where her car was parked. She noticed and was just as careful as he was to make sure that they talked only about the dogs. Even Kevin wasn’t a safe conversation for them considering he was the instigator of this whole troubled web.
If she let herself, there was so much that she could want from Levi.
But it had only been two years since Adam’s death and until she met Levi, she’d believed that hadn’t been long enough for her to want a relationship. This was too soon. How could she even feel anything remotely near what she was feeling?
Levi parked the truck behind her car. She fumbled to unbuckle her seat belt as the truck was still rolling. The moment it came to a stop, she opened her door. “Thanks,” she said. “It was fun.”
Her feet touched the pavement as she spoke but his hand wrapped around her arm, stopping her.
“Wait.”
She looked back at him, felt his touch burning into her skin. “Okay,” she managed.
“My mom’s birthday is Saturday and the whole family is getting together. Would you and Kevin like to come with me? Everyone would like to meet you.”
Her skin where his hand touched was on fire and her stomach had slipped to her toes. She felt unsteady as she started to shake her head.
“Come,” he urged her, his voice gruff as his gaze bore into hers.
Despite everything telling her to run, she could not look away. She could not run.
And instead, she nodded. “What time?” What was she doing?
Friday after school, Lana and Jessica were cleaning up in the classroom while Kevin played on the playground with one of the other teacher’s sons. Jessica straightened up the papers on her desk and glanced out the window every few moments to make sure that Kevin was where he was supposed to be playing on the swings and the slide.
Jessica had told Lana about her trip out to Max’s place with Levi. And to her surprise, although Lana told her she was glad that she was stepping out, she also cautioned her to be careful.
“So are you ready for tomorrow?” Lana stood, arms crossed, and with a serious expres
sion as she studied Jessica.
“No. I am a nervous wreck. Why did I agree to this? I didn’t need this in my life, Lana. I was just getting my life straight. And now…” She shook her head, thinking. “What am I doing?”
“You’ve been nervous all week. That’s why I haven’t been saying much. I’ve been trying to stay out of your life. I’ve been trying to let you think this out. And have some space. But I can’t stand it. I feel like I’m the one who pushed you to do this and now I’m worried I pushed too soon.” Lana gave a shaky laugh. “My daddy has a saying—I’m sending you out to a rodeo and you ain’t ready to ride the bull yet.”
Jessica laughed despite the turmoil inside her. “Your daddy must be a hoot.”
Lana rolled her eyes. “My daddy and all my brothers—or stinkers is what they are. Hard-riding cattlemen who are stubborn and irritating as a burr in my saddle. But I still love them and honestly, I miss them. Sometimes they had words of wisdom that are so true, like this statement. I can’t tell you how many times my daddy said that to me over the years. You know, my mama died early and my daddy raised me as best he could, but being a man and with the houseful of guys, he never felt like he knew what to do with me. He always felt like he was sending me out to the world unprepared. And I kind of feel like that’s what I’m doing to you right now. I want you to find love again, Jessica, but I sure hope I’m not pushing you to do something too soon.”
Jessica watched Kevin climb to the top of the ladder on the playground and then he slid down with a huge grin plastered across his face. She could tell he was happy.
Happy was an understatement. He had been overjoyed when she had told him they were going to go with Levi to a party tomorrow.
“I keep telling myself that these feelings that I feel toward Levi are just normal. It’s because I haven’t let myself even think about anything that has to do with romance or falling in love again since Adam died. But there’s the whole issue of why Levi? And he’s a police officer. It’s too dangerous.”
With This Ring (Windswept Bay Book 6) Page 6
