Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Brooke
I can’t even begin to think about how happy and relieved I am right now. That was amazing sex. More divine than anything I’ve ever done with Levi, and we had some terrific sex before he was wounded. This was almost a spiritual experience it was so great. I felt my heart expanding to encompass Skyler as well as Levi. It was as if I was surrounded by love, and the love the two guys have for one another was also passing through me.
I am so happy for Levi. I know how awful he’s been feeling, and this has to have been an enormous hurdle for him to finally overcome.
“That was incredible, you guys,” I tell them.
“It was everything,” Levi agrees and yawns contentedly.
“Best ever. Good night,” Skyler adds, and we all drift off in a tangle of arms and legs.
I should feel crowded, but the sense of rightness fills me with so much joy, I drift off with what I’m sure is a goofy grin on my face.
An indeterminate length of time later, I realize that although Levi is still snuggled up to me, my other side is cool. Skyler either needed more space and moved way over, or he’s gone. I don’t give it a lot of thought before succumbing to sleep again.
But as the room fills with late morning light and I regain my wits, I turn around and see that Skyler has definitely gone somewhere else to sleep. This bums me out more than I would have expected. I hope he’s not upset or nervous about what we did. If we could maintain this kind of relationship permanently, I wouldn’t mind. This realization doesn’t even shock me, and that in itself is a surprise. I want him to be part of us. Levi and I will have to talk when he wakes up. But now, I desperately need the bathroom and crave some coffee in the worst way.
I head to the bathroom, and when I’m done with the necessities and brushing my teeth, I peek into Skyler’s room. I’m kind of shocked that he’s not there, and his bed is made. Huh. That seems odd. I return to our bedroom quietly, not wanting to disturb Levi who’s still softly snoring away. He’s so beautiful and looks completely at peace. No nightmares have plagued him since we got here to Skyler’s paradise in Honeybee Hollow. I quickly pull on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and head barefooted for the kitchen.
Now it’s getting to be even stranger. I felt certain Skyler would be sipping coffee and enjoying a pastry from Juni’s bakery. He keeps a good supply of her confections in the freezer at all times. But the coffeemaker is cold and empty, and he’s nowhere to be seen. I step outside to see if he’s somewhere out back. Nope. Nothing. I even look in the garage, deciding he went to buy something different for breakfast—not that we needed anything—but his car and the truck are both parked in there.
I decide he must have gone for a walk, so I return to the kitchen and set about making coffee. He’ll certainly show up soon. Won’t he?
I’ve just finished an excellent bran muffin and I’m starting on my second cup of coffee when my handsome, barefoot, pajama-bottom-clad husband joins me looking mussed and rumpled, but thoroughly satisfied. His hair is sticking up in all directions, and it makes me smile. I do notice, however, that he’s leaning on his cane a lot more than usual. “Mornin’, babe,” he says in a scratchy voice. “Where’s our man?” He grabs a mug of coffee and eases himself gingerly into the chair across from me with a giant grin.
“I can’t find him.”
Levi’s smile evaporates as he blinks and says, “What do you mean you can’t find him?”
“He got out of bed sometime in the wee hours of the morning—I’m guessing around two or three maybe—and I’ve looked for him, but he’s not around. He hasn’t had breakfast, and the cars are still here, but he’s not in bed or anywhere close by. I even wondered if he went fishing, so I checked, and the tackle is still here.”
“Did you try calling him?”
“No. His phone was charging in his bedroom when I looked in there.”
“Wow. That’s odd and completely out of character for him. Did you try upstairs?”
“No. Why would he be up there?”
“I dunno.” Levi scratched his chin. “But it’s one more place to look before we panic.”
“You think we have reason to panic?” Now I’m getting worried.
“Not yet, babe. He wouldn’t get lost or anything if he went for a run or a hike. He’ll be back. But he probably would have left a note and taken his phone…” Levi tries to look calm, but he’s not fooling me. Then he brightens and adds, “Oh! Maybe he’s up there changing bed linens after having my family visit.”
“Good thinking! I’m going upstairs then. Have a scone or a muffin or something. The bran ones are yummy.” I scoot off and make myself not take the stairs two at a time. Levi must be right. Only…I don’t hear any movement, and he’s been gone for an awfully long time to be making beds.
I’ve never bothered to come up here, so I have no idea what to expect. It’s as silent as a tomb. There is a long hallway with several open doors. I take a look in each one and see that they’re all nicely appointed bedrooms, and Skyler isn’t in any of them. I’m getting pretty frustrated. At the end of the hall, there is an ell that leads to a closed door, so I decide to take a look. Nothing to lose , I tell myself. There’s a crack of light beneath it. I open the door and realize it’s a stairway to the attic. Up I go, and when I get to the top, my heart almost stops. Oh my .
The attic is huge, and I never realized from the outside of the house that it has two large skylights that let in wonderful natural light on the backside of the sloped roof. There are also three lovely dormer windows facing the front, making this the brightest, cheeriest attic I’ve ever seen. Between the windows are cabinets, cubbies, and shelves full of things I can’t begin to take in. I see jars, cans, tubes, brushes, tools, and all sorts of art supplies. At the far end, there is a large utility sink and a kitchenette next to a door that leads to what looks like a bathroom. One could easily spend hours up here comfortably. But it’s what is in the middle of the space that has my curiosity. There is a large tarp protecting the floor, and on it stands an easel. The space has a stool and a table holding a scatter of brushes in canisters, palette knives, and paints. I can’t see what’s on the canvas because it’s facing away from me. Beyond the canvas and art supplies is a cot over by the wall where Skyler is sound asleep. He’s bare-chested; the quilt that covers him has slipped down. Even with the windows open, it’s warm up here, so that’s understandable.
He looks delightfully peaceful, and I don’t want to disturb him, but my curiosity gets the better of me, so I stride toward the easel to take a look. The wooden floor gives a loud creak at the same time as I take in the subject matter of the painting, and I gasp. The combined noises startle Skyler who sits up and croaks, “What? Who? Oh, Brooke, hi.”
“Skyler, this is amazing! Did you do this last night?”
“Oh…um…yeah. I kind of passed out in your bed for a couple of hours, and then I was so fired up, I needed to get some of my feelings down on canvas. I couldn’t help it.”
I can’t take my eyes off his work. It’s Levi. Obviously, the painting isn’t finished yet, but I can clearly see that Skyler is a huge talent.
“I’m calling it Hero ,” he tells me.
“That makes sense. You’ve captured his likeness and his attitude so incredibly well. I love this, Skyler!”
“Well, it’s rough, but…”
“No! Not rough. It’s expressive and bold. It’s fantastic.” My beloved Levi has a faraway look on his face and seems to be standing at attention. He’s shirtless, wearing camo pants and dog tags. He’s obviously a soldier, but also strong and committed to a cause. You can read it in his eyes. I finally tear my attention away from this beautiful piece and go to Skyler, who has now sat up on the edge of the cot and is wearing gym shorts. I sit down next to him and notice he has paint all over himself. His chest is a colorful mess of acrylic splatters, but there’s a beauty to it.
“What a wonderful tribute to our man, Skyler. Thank you for painting it. How did you know you could do this? You were so worried before.”
Skyler blushes and looks down. “I’ve thought a lot about the stories you hear of amputees relearning to do things with their mouths or their feet because they’re so committed to making art, and I figured all I had to deal with was some lack of coordination and potential aches and pains. I still have both hands, so I was beginning to feel like a big baby about it.”
“Oh, Skyler…”
He raises his gaze and looks directly into my eyes. “That’s not all. Last night, what we experienced was beautiful. And perfect. And even if we never do it again, I’ll always cherish the memory. I felt in some ways like I was creating something with my hands and my body that was like the feeling I get when I paint. It was liberating and exhilarating. I don’t know if this makes any sense at all to anyone else. I woke up and realized that even if I can’t control the brush exactly like I used to, I can still use my hands to make something beautiful—the same way I made you and Levi beautiful in your ecstasy. I just knew I could do this, and the image of Levi looking like he was willing to sacrifice everything to save the people he loves was stuck in my head. I was so full of ideas, I couldn’t hold still, so I had to come up here. Stepping into the studio again was like coming home after being held captive. I let my fears fall away and just let myself go. I painted for hours until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. This bed is up here because I’ve always gotten lost in painting, and sometimes I forget to sleep and eat.”
I take his hand, not caring that it’s covered in dried splatters. “Are you ready to come downstairs and have some breakfast? Levi and I were worried when I couldn’t find you anywhere. He sent me upstairs to investigate because I’d already exhausted everywhere else I could think of. I’m so relieved to have found you, but we’re keeping Levi in suspense down there, and I don’t want him to worry. Come have something to eat, and you can get back to your work after that. And Skyler? I am so proud of you. This is perfect. You’re perfect.” I lean over and kiss him. The kiss feels pretty perfect too, and I’m a little curious about why I feel not one single shred of guilt about doing it without Levi around. I pull back and say, “Come on. Let’s tell our man what you’ve been up to.”
“I like that, Brooke.”
“What?”
“‘Our man.’ Like you’ll share him with me, and he’s mine too.”
I smile at him. He has a sweet, vulnerable look on his face, so I say, “There was never a doubt. I know you love each other. Come on. You must be starving. It’s almost noon.” We stand and I take his hand again, saying, “Oh, and he also refers to you as ‘our man.’”
We head down the two sets of stairs, and as we hit the ground floor, something occurs to me. “How does your shoulder feel after all of that work you did?”
He rolls it carefully and admits, “It hurts like a sonofabitch. I don’t care though! I’ll grab something for the pain after I eat breakfast.”
We walk into the kitchen to a delighted Levi who lights up like a Christmas tree. “There you are! Where did you take off to?”
I can’t help gushing, so I butt in before Skyler can get all modest. “Levi, you should see the studio Skyler has in the attic! It’s wonderful, and he’s been painting! His artwork is amazing.” I don’t want to tell him yet what Skyler is working on in case he wants to reveal it himself, but I also can’t resist putting my arm around Skyler’s waist and giving him a squeeze.
“That’s fantastic! What are you painting?”
“Oh, I’m just playing around with…uh…technique so far. It’s kind of a study. I’ll show you after it’s all finished. Right now, it’s a rough work in progress.”
Apparently, I was right not to spill the beans. He might be ready to paint, but not ready to talk about it much or show it off. I look him in the eye and give him a smile. He gives me a nearly imperceptible nod as if to say he’s thankful. “Do you guys need more coffee?” I ask so I can give myself something to do. I grab the pot and start filling mugs. “Looks like we’ll need some more.” I understand the creative mind even though I wasn’t particularly blessed with one. Levi is also quite protective of his music until he’s absolutely ready to share it.
Skyler nukes himself a couple of muffins and sits down next to Levi saying, “I’m going to call my physical therapist in a little while. I think I did a bit too much and need some relief. Would you like me to make you an appointment with him? He’s a veteran, and he’s terrific. The practice is right here in town next to the hospital.”
“Oh, uh…sure, I guess. Can’t hurt, right?”
Skyler chuckles. “Yeah, right. Sometimes it hurts plenty, but he never goes too far.”
I grin at Levi and ask, “Now that Skyler is making beautiful art again, do you think you’re ready to make some music? Apparently, you and I have been quite the inspiration. I can just imagine the kinds of songs you could write about us.”
The guys give each other cheesy, lascivious looks and then crack up.
“Those potential songs may not be for everyone,” Levi says with a snort. “But the idea is tempting. How do you like the name ‘Bi-Bi, Baby?’ Spelled with an I , of course. Or another possible hit…‘Butt, I Love You.’”
“Uh…sure, honey.” I hope he’s joking.