Ten
Somehow, Pete offering him a place to live turned into a lively get-together that Levi couldn’t have anticipated. And hadn’t realized he’d been missing out on for years now. His life in Vermont was full and busy. He spent anywhere from fifty to seventy hours a week at work. He ran, planned meals, and every now and again, had a few beers with the kitchen staff. Whatever friendships he’d forged, however, had nothing on these ones. This. This was what he’d been missing; the kind of friendships where it didn’t matter if an hour or a year had passed, you easily fell back into the groove of what you’d always been. It’s what he’d come home for. His gaze lingered on the doorway where Jillian had disappeared to take a phone call a few minutes ago.
By dinnertime that night, Pete’s little above-the-garage apartment was nearly emptied out. The downstairs storage space was fairly open, so they’d put all of the possible museum items there for him and Jilly or Jilly and Gwen to go through. Gray had shown up at noon with sandwiches and a truck. Now, it was full of items to take to the dump in Mackinaw City.
Presley had shown up right when he was almost certain that Jillian was going to kiss him. Of course, Presley was too happy and eager to help to dwell on it. Beckett’s girlfriend was some sort of Tetris wizard when it came to seeing and sorting things into stacks, piles, and more efficient spots. She immediately started going through boxes that weren’t really museum worthy but might have sentimental value to Pete and Gwen.
Beckett joined them later in the afternoon with his “favorite sidekick, Ollie.”
“Bet Pete won’t mind you using this couch. Might as well,” Beckett said, a hand on the still-upright piece of furniture.
“Where will you sleep?” Ollie asked.
Levi looked over at the kid. She was pretty freaking cute. She was lying on the floor reading, but her legs were up against the wall, straight in the air, and she was using her backpack as a pillow.
“I’ll get a bed. Put it in the corner where you are now. Maybe a smaller couch so there’s more room.”
“You should live at the lodge,” Ollie said. “It’s the coolest.”
Levi smiled and continued scrubbing out the fridge. It had nothing in it but a funky smell he didn’t want to think too much about. Grayson walked over to his niece, bending at the waist to look at her upside down.
“It is the coolest, isn’t it?”
Ollie grinned up at him. “Yup. And I’m going to work there all summer.”
“If your mom says so,” Beckett added. He and Gray worked together to set the couch down, now that there was room.
“Uncle Gray already said I could,” Ollie said, lowering her legs to the side with a thump before rolling into a seated position.
Grayson came back, tapped her on the nose. “Mom’s the boss, kid.”
Levi tossed the cloth he was using into the sink as Jilly and Presley walked back into the apartment. Presley had three pizzas in her arms and Jilly had a smile so wide, it immediately brought out Levi’s.
Ollie scrambled to her feet. “Pizza!”
“Wash your hands,” Jilly said, glancing at Levi, causing a little glitch in his chest, before walking over to Grayson.
Helping Ollie reach the sink, Levi washed his own hands when she was done, listening to Jilly’s excitement.
“It’s a small fitness company based in Northern Michigan. They’re looking at two team-building retreats a year. Their other booking fell through, so if this works out, we could scoop them and have a steady client during the offseason. What do you think? We could offer the end of next week. It would be a perfect trial run.”
Grayson Keller was exactly as Levi remembered him. Steadfast, serious, thoughtful, and he loved his family. The guy was loyal, smart, and made him laugh. Levi was always closer with Becks because Gray was older, but he’d missed them both.
“What?” Jilly said, looking up at Gray as Beckett, Presley, and Ollie set the pizza on a few boxes and began to open the lids. “What aren’t you saying? I can go over tomorrow and do a virtual walk-through with them.”
“I have my field trip to the mainland tomorrow!” Ollie added. She’d been talking about it off and on for the entire afternoon. They were going to the Mackinaw Bridge Museum. Levi had chuckled along with the others because they’d gone on a similar trip back in their elementary school days. It was weird to him, how so much could change yet so much stayed the same.
Jilly was fidgeting with her hands, wringing one with the other, and he wondered why this phone call had her so nervous.
“Shane asked for the week off. He’s taking Louis on a surprise trip before the summer season kicks into gear,” Grayson said.
“Oh, I highly recommend that. Mine worked out perfectly,” Presley said, leaning over the box to kiss Beckett. They shared a sweet smile; Levi needed to ask about that story later.
For now, he was confused as to why Shane being away impacted Jilly’s plans, and who the hell Shane was.
Jilly frowned, tapping her chin with her finger. “If they come midweek to the weekend next week, maybe we could do premade foods? It’s only a trial run.”
“Could work with Mrs. Angelo. She’d be able to do breakfast and lunch easily. Maybe some Costco lasagnas or something for dinners? It’s what? Less than ten people for two days?” Beckett pulled at the cheese on his slice to detach it from the rest, then handed Ollie a napkin.
“Sorry, can I jump in and ask who Shane is?” It couldn’t be someone Jilly was interested in. Someone who was interested in her?
Everyone looked his way, intensifying his out-of-the-loop feelings.
“Shane’s the lodge chef. He made plans because he knows the summer is packed. He’s cut back his hours because his husband retired last year—you know Louis, Mo’s brother. He taught us PE. We’ve worked around it for the new schedule with some help from Mrs. Angelo. You remember her? Actually, you probably remember her niece, Katara. Didn’t you date for a couple weeks one summer?” Grayson’s smile broadened as he shared all that information.
Okay. No reason for his face to heat. He’d been sixteen, but he didn’t miss the way Jillian’s brows arched or her lips twitched. Redirect.
“Barely. Okay, so, you need a chef.” He pursed his lips, put his hands on his hips. “If only there was someone you guys knew who not only is a kick-as—butt chef—”
“Uncle Becks says ‘ass’ all the time. It’s okay,” Ollie said.
Beckett threw a napkin at his niece, making her giggle, while Jillian reminded her, quietly, to watch her words.
“As I was saying, too bad you don’t know a chef who has time on his hands who could help out.”
Jillian turned her body toward him. She felt too far away. When she was in the same room, he wanted some part of his body, any part, to be touching hers. A pinkie finger, his hand, his thigh. His mouth.
Grayson moved around his sister and grabbed a slice of pizza. Levi did the same, pretending that nerves weren’t percolating in his stomach. He could do this. He could help out, spend some time with Jilly, and maybe feel useful while he got things figured out and settled. It was the time-with-Jillian thing that was making bubbles of excitement pop inside of him.
Grayson passed Jilly a piece of pizza. Being with all of them reminded Levi how close they were. He wanted Jillian. More than he’d anticipated. But he needed to move slow. Now that he was home, there was no way he’d risk his friendships with any of them. These people made him feel home.
“He’s cooking for us at the lodge this weekend. We can make sure he knows what he’s doing,” Beckett teased, starting in on his second piece.
“Can I help?” Ollie said around a bite of food. “Chef Shane lets me help. I’m a really good sous-chef.”
Levi laughed, locking eyes with the kid and nodding even though he didn’t have Jillian’s “yes” yet.
“You’re in the middle of all of this, Levi,” Jilly said, gesturing with her arms and losing a piece of pepperoni from her slice.
Gray reached down and grabbed it, then walked it over to the garbage. “What’s wrong with that, Jill? That would be awesome, Levi. If you’re sure you have time. Aren’t you helping out your dad?”
Levi shrugged, still irked at his dad’s refusal to let him pitch in. “Maybe. But not much even if he lets me. I can cook for you guys. It sounds cool. I’ll come with you tomorrow and check out the kitchen setup.”
Grayson and Jilly shared a look and Levi wondered if her brother picked up on the subtle hum of nerves shimmering around her. She wanted this but was thinking about being alone with Levi. Grayson was looking at it like an answer to a problem.
“Problem solved,” Levi said, catching Jilly’s gaze with a smile.
Gray squeezed her shoulder and looked at Levi. “Make a list of what items you need once you talk to Jilly about the menu, and I’ll grab everything.”
A smile hovered on his lips as Jillian stared at him, silent messages passing between them. He liked the restlessness inside of him; the anticipation of what could come. Both with cooking and with the lodge.
He’d been home almost a week and finally felt useful to people who mattered to him. Not the ones he planned, but he was okay with that. It’d been a hell of a day. A new apartment, reuniting with friends, pizza, and beer. He’d hoped to end it knowing exactly how it felt to kiss Jillian Keller, but he could wait on that. For the first time in a long time, neither of them were going anywhere.
He was up early the next morning in hopes that the idea he had would put Jillian at ease. There was the old adage that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Levi was flipping that narrative and hoping if he wowed her with a delicious lunch—maybe they could even picnic by the water—Jillian’s guard would drop a bit further. He kept telling himself that it wasn’t a race. But when Levi was sure about something, he dove in, headfirst and determined.
Levi stirred the barbecue sauce once more before bringing a taste to his lips.
“Mmm. Perfect,” he said, tossing the spoon in the sink of his parents’ kitchen.
His dad walked into the room as he was coating the chicken he’d baked with the sauce. He slipped it into the oven to caramelize it. His old man was moving slow and, surprisingly, hadn’t been pushing himself too hard. Levi had a feeling his mother was behind that.
“Smells good in here,” he said, grabbing a mug from the cupboard to pour himself a coffee.
He hated the way his shoulders tensed just from being in the same room with his dad. He loved his dad. Respected the hell out of him. He just didn’t understand why he was so mad at Levi.
“Thanks. I’m heading over to the Keller lodge with Jilly today. Have you been there since Gray took over?”
His dad grabbed the milk from the fridge while Levi dug through his mom’s Tupperware drawer for containers.
“I haven’t. I haven’t been over there since you were a kid. I’m not even sure who owned it way back then.” His dad took a seat on one of the stools they kept tucked into the island, leaving the milk out.
Putting the milk away, Levi started transferring the potato salad from the bowl he’d chilled it in to a container. He’d been up early baking blueberry muffins with streusel topping. He’d also put together some homemade granola that he liked to have on hand for quick snacks. For lunch, they’d have barbecue-glazed baked chicken, potato salad, and biscuits, along with veggies and a lemon-dill dip. He’d used his mom’s short mason jars as serving containers for the strawberry custard dessert he’d made the night before.
“That look on your face worries me,” his dad said, setting his coffee down.
Levi bit back a sigh. “Happiness?” He huffed out a laugh and started cleaning up. Jilly was picking him up in a half hour, which should be just enough time to pack everything up. “My happiness worries you?”
“We’ve known the Kellers a long time. Not sure that’s a road you should travel down.”
Irritation pricked his skin. He closed the lid on the salad, put it in the fridge. His parents had a couple of coolers in the garage. “Jillian’s not a road, Dad. She’s a smart, beautiful, funny woman I’ve been intrigued by since I was a teenager.”
His dad grabbed one of the blueberry muffins that sat cooling on a rack, broke off a piece, and shoved it in his mouth. If nothing else, at least he was eating healthier with Levi home.
Levi went about cleaning, hoping the chore would keep him from telling his dad to mind his own business.
“You’ve been gone a long time. You say you’re back for good, but right now you have no plans other than pitching in with my crew. Jilly’s not the kind of woman you date and drop.”
Levi’s hands tightened around the sponge he was holding. Lifting his head, he stared at his dad across the counter.
“I’m not sure what’s bothering me more,” he said, deciding that bed or no bed, this was his last morning waking up in his parents’ home. “Your low opinion of me in regards to Jillian or your attitude about me being home.”
Setting the muffin down, his father brushed his hands together, sprinkling crumbs. “I don’t have a low opinion of you. Stop being dramatic. You might be older, but you obviously still jump into whatever you want with your eyes closed. I’m just saying, the Kellers are our friends. Upstanding members of the community. And Jillian came home five years ago a shell of her former self. Acting on whatever—” His dad paused, then gestured toward Levi with his hand. “—spur-of-the-moment urges you’ve got, can only end poorly for everyone.”
The muscles in his neck tightened. Holy fuck. His dad wasn’t just mad at him. He didn’t think Levi was good enough for Jilly.
Levi tossed the sponge in the sink. “I do jump in. I’ll give you that. But I’m not an idiot and I’m not careless with other people’s feelings.”
His dad let out an exaggerated breath that was clearly a disagreement.
“I’ve been cooking since I was a kid. It used to make you proud. I’m truly sorry if I let you down by not joining Bright Builds. But going to school wasn’t a whim. It was my dream.”
How could his dad, who’d built his own dream right here in Smile, not get that?
“And yet, here you are, walking away from that dream as fast as you ran toward it. What happens when you get tired of being home? It’ll be hard enough on your mother to have you move away again. What about Jillian? She doesn’t need another man she can’t count on.”
His dad’s words felt like an uppercut to the ribs. He’d drastically underestimated the amount of resentment his dad held toward him and his decision to leave.
Levi shook his head, like maybe that would clear up the myriad of thoughts ricocheting inside of his brain. The timer on the stove went, so Levi turned, took the chicken out, and set it on top. His movements were deliberate and slow because he felt like tossing the dish into the sink and asking his dad what the hell he was talking about. Instead, he removed the oven mitt he’d donned and turned to face the man who’d raised him. The man he’d looked up to and admired.
“I’m almost thirty-two years old. Running a kitchen was my dream. I went for it, and I appreciate that you sacrificed things to make that happen. I truly do. It’s a lonely life, the one I was living. And I’m getting older and so are you and Mom. So sue the hell out of me for wanting to come home and start a new phase. I didn’t run away from my dream. I lived it for almost fifteen years, and it changed, morphed into something else. I’m sorry you don’t think I’m good enough for Jillian Keller, but fortunately, the only person whose opinion matters on that is hers. I need to get ready to go. I’ll have my stuff out tonight. Thanks for your hospitality, Dad. And for opening my eyes so I could understand how you really feel about me.”
“Levi? Steven? What’s going on?” His mother came into the kitchen as he and his dad stared at each other across the island countertop.
Pulling on every Zen meditation technique he’d learned at a team-building event he’d attended a few years ago, he forced a smile when he looked at his mom.
“Nothing. I’m headed out with Jillian today. I’m helping the Kellers out with something.” He glanced at his dad, hoped the message because they actually trust me got through. “If you’re not busy Saturday, I’m making everyone a big meal at the lodge. I’d love if you came—I’m sure you could boat over with Jilly’s parents. I’m taking my stuff. I’ve got my own place behind Pete’s now.”
His mom gripped his hand. She might have missed the conversation, but the tension was a presence in the room as real and tangible as the three of them.
“You don’t have to go. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
Levi leaned down, kissed her cheek. “I won’t be far. I love you.”
She squeezed his hand. “I love you.”
It was like ripping a Band-Aid off an open wound to hear the sorrow in her voice.
He heard her whispered voice behind him. “What the heck did you do?”
Nothing. His dad hadn’t done anything other than lay his cards on the table and show his hand. He was disappointed in Levi for leaving, for choosing something other than the family business, and for coming back.
Upstairs, he tossed the few things he had in his duffel bag. He’d had his few belongings—mostly kitchen items, some framed posters, photographs, and odds and ends—shipped to a storage facility in Mackinaw City. He wouldn’t need anything other than what he had here for a while yet.
Making the bed, Levi thought about the day he’d left. He knew his dad wasn’t happy with his choice, but maybe he’d been too caught up in his own desires to really absorb how upset his dad had been.
No, he hadn’t come home for Christmas or holidays, because once he started his life, he’d been sucked all the way in. The couple of years he’d tried, his parents had gone on a cruise. They talked on the phone, but now that he thought about it, Levi mostly talked to his mom. He’d known his dad was hurt by his choice, but figured time and success would smooth things over. It hadn’t. He’d been able to ignore that for a long damn time. Now he was home and he knew, even if his dad wasn’t right about everything, he wouldn’t feel entirely settled, like he was once again part of Smile, until things were okay with his dad. He just had no idea where to start.