Chapter 10
Chapter ten
Everly
I opened the door to the apartment to find my sister perched on the edge of the sofa, staring at me.
“Damn it. I thought you were the delivery guy,” she said, slumping. “I ordered us Chinese.”
“Not Chinese,” I said, holding up the convenience store bag in my hand, “but I figured we could both use a little junk food tonight.”
I’d be putting in at least four to six hours on Theo’s case before I went to bed, and depending on Maddie’s test schedule, she could work even later.
Saturday night work sessions were the only way I could take off Sunday afternoons to spend time with my family, and if Maddie was home, she’d be working beside me.
“You’re the best sister ever,” Maddie said, running to me. She stuck her hand into the bag and pulled out the package of chocolate caramels. My stomach sank. I really wanted those. “Got anything salty?” she asked with a frown.
I pulled out the bag of salt and vinegar potato chips I’d also grabbed, and we switched treats.
“You sure you don’t mind?” she asked as she ripped into the chips. “I can share.”
“I thought I wanted the chips, but I really wanted the caramel,” I said, unwrapping one and letting the sweet, sticky candy melt on my tongue.
Maddie laughed. “I probably would have wanted the caramel if I’d pulled the chips.”
“I should just buy two of everything,” I said, unwrapping another sweet.
“Where’s the thrill in that?” Maddie said. “Half the fun is not knowing what you’re getting, even if you buy it.” The doorbell rang, and she clamped the bag of chips between her teeth and bolted past me to answer it.
“Hold on,” I said around a mouthful of caramel as I dug in my purse.
Maddie glared at me and opened the door. The young man at the entrance gaped at her and held out a cardboard box full of containers that smelled like heaven.
“Thanks,” she said, still with the bag of chips in her mouth. She took the box from him and kicked the door closed in his face.
“Where’s your manners?” I said, pulling out my wallet. “Did you even tip him?”
She dropped the chips into the box and huffed. “When I ordered. Like most people.”
“You shut the door in his face,” I said, following her to the barstools.
“He prefers it that way,” she said with a shrug. “Last time I waited for him to say something, and he turned beet red then ran away. I felt bad for the guy, so now I just take the food and shut the door.”
As beautiful as my sister was on the outside, it was nothing compared with her inner beauty.
She cared deeply for people, whether they were her friend of twenty years or someone she just met.
No doubt the poor guy really preferred having the door closed in his face to snap him out of his Maddie-induced fog in private.
“Too bad he’s so shy. He was kind of cute,” I said, pulling out a waxy bag of egg rolls.
“Seems sweet, too,” Maddie said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, that type never wants to talk to me. All I get are the cocky assholes.”
“There’s nothing stopping you from asking that delivery guy out,” I said before taking a bite of egg roll. It was so hot it burned my tongue, yet that didn’t stop me from taking a second bite.
Maddie shook her head and popped a piece of sesame chicken into her mouth. “He’d probably fall in love with me,” she said around her food. “I’ll stick with the hookup apps.”
To anyone else, she’d sound arrogant. Unfortunately, I’d had a front-row seat for all the hearts Maddie had broken since middle school. Her concern was genuine. “Probably wise,” I said, opening one of the many containers Maddie had spread across the counter. “How are we going to eat all this?”
“It’s all our meals for the next three days. I barely have enough time to sleep, let alone cook.”
I nodded. Maddie was always busy, and sometimes her schedule bordered on unhealthy. “I’d offer to cook, but—”
“Neither of us needs food poisoning?”
“Hey,” I said, waving my half-eaten egg roll at her. “I was going to say I’m swamped.” Though after a failed chicken casserole, I avoided the kitchen for both our sakes.
“Heavy caseload?” Maddie asked, opening a container before scrunching her nose and handing it to me.
“Yes,” I said, digging into the green beans.
I don’t know what the restaurant put on them or how they cooked them, but I’d never had a vegetable so delicious.
“Plus, I’m trying to get more businesses and rental places involved with the Springboard event.
Speaking of, I should probably try to meet Levi tomorrow to visit a few places since we don’t have a lot of time. ”
“Officer Studly?” Maddie asked, her eyes widening.
“Stop calling him that,” I said, pulling my phone from my pocket. The email from Max with the list of prospects came in an hour ago while Theo and I were practicing his testimony for the hearing.
Levi had bolted as soon as he sent me his number. Though he was focused and insightful during our conversation, he’d clearly been uncomfortable, and I was left wondering if it was Max, me, or the work itself that had him on edge. “It’s weird enough.”
Maddie studied my face for a moment and frowned. “Define weird.”
“I don’t know. The fact that I’m calling him Levi instead of Officer Stafford is strange. There’s been this odd tension between us since that night at Church. Now we’re volunteering together, and I don’t even have Max as a buffer because he’s focused on other things for the event.”
“I don’t see the problem,” Maddie said, breaking a set of chopsticks apart. It made me realize we’d been attacking the food with our hands like we hadn’t eaten in days. “Calling the guy Levi is tame compared to Officer Studly,” Maddie added.
“You’re half the problem,” I said, separating a pair of chopsticks for myself. “I can’t believe you told him I called him that.”
“Technically, I just called him Officer Studly. I didn’t say where the name came from.”
I thought back to the conversation at Church and my stomach dropped. “You told him I was avoiding him.” No wonder he’d been off. He probably thought he made me uncomfortable. He did make me uncomfortable, but it wasn’t his fault I found him so attractive.
“Well, weren’t you?”
“Yes, and now I can’t, and that’s a real problem. Every time we talk, that stoic mask of his keeps slipping, which makes me want to know him more. And then there’s how he smells. Why is it such a turn on? Does he douse himself in pheromones?”
“Don’t forget those forearms,” Maddie said, grabbing a pile of lo mein noodles with her chopsticks. “Those should be registered weapons.”
There was no point denying it to myself or Maddie any longer. “I’m really attracted to him.”
“Duh,” Maddie said. “What’s the problem?”
“Today he called me beautiful. Not in a creepy way, more like he just tossed it out as an argument for why I shouldn’t go to some places in town without him, but it was—”
“Hot AF,” Maddie said, laughing. “Admit it. You like when guys are protective, and how could you not. It’s the core love language of every man in our lives.”
“He’s a cop. Investigating one of my clients, no less.”
“Don’t see what that has to do with your vagina,” Maddie said with a shrug.
“Are you even listening? I can’t be attracted to him. It’s unethical.”
“You can be attracted to him,” she said, dropping half her noodles as she pointed her chopsticks at me.
“It’s biological. Just don’t act on it, and you’re fine.
Focus on what you dislike about him. There has to be something.
” Having made her point, Maddie grabbed the lo mein that had fallen onto the counter with her hands and shoved it into her mouth.
“After the last interview we had together, he did kind of give me a hard time for how I defended my client. I shut it down fast.”
Maddie’s expression went from blasé to thunderous in seconds. “What a jerk. That’s your job.”
“We clearly have different points of view within the criminal justice system. That doesn’t make him a jerk. I’m sure he’s had a lot of negative experiences with his job. He made it pretty clear today that he’s skeptical of Springboard’s value.”
“Sounds like you shouldn’t have a problem keeping your panties on,” Maddie said.
“Of course I won’t. I’m a professional.”
“So text him already,” she said.
I typed with one hand while I ate, writing and then erasing the text several times. Finally, I settled on a message with a professional tone and a bit of warmth, in case he actually believed I was avoiding him because of something he did.
Last minute, but do you think you could meet me tomorrow and visit some of the apartment complexes on Max’s list?
My phone buzzed with his reply before I could put it down.
Sure. What time?
What time works for you?
I’m wide open.
His answer made me sad. My Sundays were filled with family and friends.
Apart from the night at Church, Levi had been alone every time I saw him out of uniform.
Perhaps Ms. Joyce was right, and he was lonely.
Having lived in Peace Falls my entire life, I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to move here with no family or friends.
How about 10?
Let’s meet at the complex on Tanner Street.
I’ll see you then.
“You know,” Maddie said, tapping her chin. I hadn’t even noticed that she’d leaned closer to read the text exchange. “Maybe you should give me Levi’s number. Even if he’s an asshole, he’s hot and there’s no ethical issue with me banging him.”
Something a little too close to jealousy made the muscles in my shoulders tighten.
“Never mind,” Maddie said, laughing. “Just remember to keep your panties on tomorrow.”