Don’t Fall For Her (Seasons in Montana: Fall #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Felicity

I spend a lot of my time dreaming about a man I’ve only seen in person twice.

I mean, we talk or video chat every day.

But it’s just not the same as having someone physically with you.

I met Levi Anderson six months ago, and knew from the moment I saw him that I wanted to be with him.

The problem is distance…and it’s a huge distance.

He’s a Marine, currently stationed in Japan.

We met when he and some of his family were on a spontaneous road trip.

And somehow they stopped here in my little town of Wintervale.

I told him it had to be fate. Most people come here for the skiing in the winter.

But they stopped because they liked the town name.

That weekend we were having the five-year memorial for our parents.

They died in an avalanche on the mountain.

I miss them so much. But I’m lucky to have my three older brothers.

When we lost our parents, the four of us made a pact to keep the general store they owned open.

My oldest brother, Lukas, is basically the one that takes care of everything.

And he makes flavored popcorn, we’re getting pretty famous for it.

Paxton is a carpenter and runs the hardware part of our store.

Rhett is a pharmacist. All of my brothers are now married and have babies.

I love all my sisters-in-law, and my nieces and nephews.

“So how are things with Levi?” Emmanuelle asks, breaking me out of my daydreaming.

“It’s good. But it’s also really hard because he’s so far away.”

“Have you thought about going to visit him?”

“I’m pretty sure my brothers would be against that.” I sigh. “Plus, I’ve never travelled that far alone.”

“I’ll go with you. I’m sure Emiko and Piper will too. We could make it a girls trip.”

“What am I doing?” Emiko asks as she walks over to where I’m arranging the new books.

Piper is married to Paxton and she’s an author. So we have a section just for her books. I make sure that the displays are perfect, and her books are front and center.

“Going on a trip to Japan so that Lissy can visit Levi.”

“Hell yes! Count me in, and Piper too. I haven’t been back to Japan in so long. My parents are always saying how we all need to plan a trip.”

“Who’s going to Japan?” Paxton asks as he comes over.

“We are. Girls only. No guys allowed.” Emiko smiles.

“Um, what? No. Lukas agreed to this?” He squints at her.

“I don’t need permission from my husband.” She squints back at him.

I laugh at them. I wonder what Levi would say if I were to show up in Japan. We’ve never really talked about me going there. It’s always him coming here.

“You’re planning a trip to Japan?” Paxton asks, looking over at Emiko.

“It’s not for me. I’m just going because I love my sisters.”

“Wait. You better not be going just so Felicity can see that Levi guy.” Paxton frowns.

I look up at my brother and give him the most innocent look I can come up with.

“Oh fuck no,” Rhett says as he comes over to us.

“Wait. So if Emiko wanted to go to Japan, it’s okay. But if I want to go and see Levi, it’s not?” I snap at my brothers.

“Why are you being mean to Lissy?” Piper smacks Paxton as she joins us.

“You don’t even know what we’re talking about,” he says to Piper as he rubs his arm.

“Well I heard ‘Japan’ and ‘Levi’ and a ‘fuck no.’ So I made an educated guess.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Paxton pouts.

“For most things, yes. But when it comes to Lissy and her happiness? I’m on her side.”

“Fine, then,” Paxton huffs as he holds his wife.

“We don’t even know him,” Rhett says to all of us.

“Well I do, and I’ve repeatedly asked each of you to try. But do you listen to me? No.” I roll my eyes and continue working.

I do my best to ignore my brothers and eventually they walk away.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see Levi soon. Let’s start planning our trip and we’ll see when we can go. I think we can swing it within the month,” Emmanuelle says as she hugs me.

“But what if he doesn’t want to see me?”

“I saw the way he looked at you. That boy wants you just as much as you want him.”

I hope she’s right, I’ve never liked a guy as much as I like Levi. And he does text me first most days. So that has to mean something, right?

Levi

When I was fourteen, I made the decision to join the Marines.

My father was a mean drunk and I had to watch him beat my older twin sisters, Lynton and Leighton.

I was small and scrawny at the time, and I hated it.

So I started working out. I tried out for football and bulked up as fast as I could.

After two years, I was bigger than my father.

But my sisters didn’t want me to step in.

He still never put a hand on me, but I wanted to defend my sisters.

We made a pact that when I turned eighteen, we would all leave and never come back.

I never told my sisters about joining the Marines.

I decided to do that because I didn’t want them to have to support me.

This way I could go to college if I wanted to, and if not, I’d at least learn a skill while I was in.

I didn’t have a plan as to how long I’d stay in the Marines.

When I finally turned eighteen, I was ready to go.

I needed to get my sisters away from our father.

If we didn’t leave soon, I was going to kill him.

When I told my sisters that I had enlisted, they were upset.

Not because I enlisted, but because they were scared about me leaving.

We’ve never been away from each other. I was sent to MCRDSD which is the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego for my training.

That was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

Not the training, but being away from my sisters.

I’ve now been in the Marines for two and a half years and I’m stationed at Iwakuni Air Station, on Honshu.

I love it here, but I miss my sisters. They’ve come to visit me a few times since I’ve been stationed here.

I haven’t decided what I want to do. Do I want to re-enlist?

Or do I want to go into the reserves? Either way, I need to figure it out soon.

Last year, my sister Leighton lost her best friend, Kayla, in a car accident.

Kayla had a little boy, Davis. She left Davis in the care of my sister.

It was a hard time for everyone. Not only was Kayla Leighton’s best friend, she was like a sister to all of us.

Now Leighton, Davis and Lynton live in Lake Renegade, Illinois.

Leighton’s married to Valentino Marconi, he’s an enforcer for the Cimaruta MC.

And they just had their second baby, Theodore.

I haven’t gotten to meet him yet, but we use Script to video chat once a week.

Six months ago, a group of us were traveling through Wintervale, Montana.

There was a memorial for five people who had lost their lives on the mountain five years ago.

Two of them were Adam and Molly Vandenberg.

That weekend, I met Felicity Vandenberg.

And ever since I met her and got to spend some time with her, she’s all I can think about.

She’s making it hard for me to stay in the military.

I’ve been hesitating on asking her to come and live with me in Japan.

Felicity and her brothers, Lukas, Rhett and Paxton are really close.

Maybe even closer than I am to my sisters.

When they lost their parents, Felicity was sixteen.

Lukas stepped up and took care of all three of his siblings.

I think that’s a big reason Felicity and I got close so fast. Both of us had older siblings that were willing to drop everything to take care of us.

And while I didn’t lose my parents, the way our life went, it’s feels like we did.

We just don’t have the good memories that Felicity and her brothers have.

I’m headed back to the States this weekend. First I’ll stop in Lake Renegade to meet my new nephew and to see the rest of my family. Then I get to see my girl. She doesn’t know I’m coming, I’m trying to surprise her.