Chapter Twelve
Levi
F ord and Levi lingered under the awning that protected the glazed glass doors of the law office’s entrance. Rain bounced in wave-like sheets off the street. Levi tried to think of a neutral topic to discuss while he waited for Dana and a break in the downpour.
He had to raise his voice to be heard over the rain’s ransacking of the heavy awning overhead. “Lovely weather we’re having.”
Ford’s expression, a tossup between natural-born killer and sociopath on a good day, didn’t warm. “Why don’t we meet up at the taproom so we can talk business in private?”
A midafternoon during the week, when the Grand Master Brewery and Taproom, where Ford worked, was closed, would be perfect—both public and private. They had a lot to discuss, so why not start now?
“Great idea.” Levi spoke for Dana, too, since he was her ride.
By the time she emerged, Ford was gone.
The short drive to the taproom was quiet, except for the rain lashing the windshield and the overworked wipers, with Levi and Dana lost in their thoughts.
He didn’t need to ask what she’d wanted to speak to George about. She wanted Tanoa. But six months saddled with Levi and Ford? He doubted that very much. The business wasn’t worth the aggravation to her.
He didn’t know how to salvage this mess. He was the only one of the three who had any idea of what Otto’s breeding strategies were—of what made an Otto Hart horse such a desired commodity—and this was an unforeseen opportunity to preserve his friend’s legacy.
Otto might have cared little about any legacy of his living on, but he’d cared about his horses. A lot. He’d known Levi and Ford would care for them, too. That part made sense. But why bring Dana into the mix? Was it really because of Tanner, as Ford seemed to think?
Because it wasn’t what Levi thought. He suspected the old man was trying to give him a chance to win Dana over.
Dana, however, didn’t want to be won. She wasn’t trying to avoid Ford and Tate to spare them a constant reminder of the brother they’d lost. She was avoiding them because they were a constant reminder to her. Until she figured that out, there was no chance for him, because he was another reminder.
Which made him an idiot. He might be sleeping with his best friend’s former girlfriend, but she was sleeping with her former boyfriend’s best friend. He had no idea what was going on in her head about that, but since she’d given him no reason to believe she was interested in anything serious it wasn’t anything good.
He pulled into a narrow driveway that led to the back of the Grand Master Brewery and Taproom, where Ford said to meet him.
Hannah Tucker, formerly Brand, had chosen well when she’d bought the old dairy her brewery called home. The neighborhood consisted of starter homes large enough for the first baby or two, equally sized for middle-income retirees who were intent on downsizing. The taproom made a great place to spend an affordable evening playing board games, and on weekends, children were welcome. It had the real feel of a community drop-in.
Ford let them in through the rear entrance. The brewery part of the business smelled like fermented yeast and some kind of cleanser. Stainless steel tanks stretched to the ceiling. Hoses connected to drains in the wet concrete floor. Two pairs of rubber boots stood by the door to the taproom, one set Ford-sized, the other most likely Hannah’s.
Between the brewery and the taproom was a small, entry-like space with a third door. The third door led to an apartment above the taproom where Hannah once lived. She and Dallas often spent nights there when he was on call at the hospital’s overworked emergency department.
Levi liked the taproom. It was rustic and homey. Hannah’s oldest brother was a metalworks artist in Sweetheart, Montana, and he’d gifted her with an iron cowboy riding a bucking horse that hung from the rafters. Shelves were stacked high with all kinds of board games. Slab wooden tables with tall barstools jutted out of the walls. The center of the room held square, scattered tables with lower and sturdier chairs. An enormous glass wall fronted the street.
To their left, as they entered from the back of the room, was the bar. It held an assortment of taps. The front had a brass rail along the bottom so people could stand while they ordered but discouraged them from pulling up chairs. It was a workspace and Ford’s private domain.
“Grab a table,” Ford said. He lifted the hinged counter. “I don’t know about you two, but I need a drink. I have a new blonde on tap as well as two reds and a stout. The stout is particularly popular with the Wednesday night ladies’ taster crowd. It’s got a strong maple finish.”
Levi’s mother and sister had attended more than one of Hannah’s tasters. Everyone chipped in for costs and there was usually some sort of theme. It was like a book club, except with beer instead of wine, and they skipped the book part entirely.
“My mom likes the maple,” Levi told Dana, who’d remained silent so far. A beer might loosen her up. They’d all been blindsided by Otto, and he could use a drink, too.
They settled on three of the dark, creamy stouts. Ford served them in giant snifters that he’d filled to the top. Levi considered warning Dana as to how strong the beer was but decided against it. One wouldn’t hurt her.
Ford got straight to business. “I understand that Otto wanted to do the right thing by leaving you Tanner’s share, and I have no argument with that, but this doesn’t have to impact you or your rodeo schedule,” he said to Dana. “Levi and I can look after things. I’m not sure what Otto thought you could do to help, anyway.”
“Thank you,” Dana said.
Levi had to take a slow drink to keep his smile under control. She wasn’t thanking Ford for his thoughtfulness and understanding.
Ford, if he sensed sarcasm from her, didn’t care. “The business needs you,” he said to Levi. “But I’d be willing to buy Dana out at the end of six months.”
Dana nodded, as if understanding completely, which it turned out she did. “Giving you sixty-seven percent,” she inserted. Controlling interest.
Again, Levi had to drown one of his smiles. As a bar manager, one might assume Ford would be better at reading a room. Levi sat back, stretching his legs under Dana’s side of the table, and waited to see how this played out.
“I’ll pay a fair price for it,” Ford assured her. “With Ryan as the executor, you won’t be allowed to give it away.”
“What if I want to sell my share to Levi?” She met his eyes with that calm fearlessness Levi admired. “You said the business needs him. Does it need you?”
Ouch. Levi jumped in on that. “It absolutely needs Ford. These are show horses. He trains them for the purposes they’re bred for.”
Dana nodded again. She played with her glass. Her whole demeanor read thoughtful, not anxious, and Levi waited for the point she planned to make. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Now that we’ve established who the unnecessary partner is, let’s discuss the way forward. George suggested I hire someone to take on my responsibilities, which would fulfill my terms. What if I hire you both, then in six months, I sell my third to you so you each own fifty percent?” she suggested.
Ford raised the question Levi wanted to ask. “What about Tanoa? She still belongs to the estate.”
“I’d need Ryan’s permission to take her now. George said I’d also likely have to pay the estate some sort of compensation. If Ryan doesn’t agree to it, then I’ll have to wait six months, which I don’t want to do, because as it is, I might not qualify for the FNR Open. I’ve had to pull out of too many rodeos because of Lady’s health. I’m anxious to get Tanoa home to Billings and start working with her so she’ll be ready for next year.”
A frown settled inside Levi’s chest. It shook hands with the one in his gut. Together, they set off alarm bells in his head.
“We should sleep on this for a few days rather than make hasty decisions,” he said. “We can’t leave Otto’s horses unattended for more than a few hours at a time. There’s that to consider.”
“I work evenings. You work days. We’ve got it covered.” Ford lifted his glass. “Cheers.”
Levi raised his glass in return, but his heart wasn’t in it. They’d resolved only one part of this mess. He wasn’t sure what to do about the other—the one most important to him. Dana was leaving.
And if she took Tanoa with her, she wouldn’t be back.
*
Dana
She’d survived a conversation with Tanner’s frightening older brother, mostly because they’d agreed on what was best for the business. She didn’t think she’d survive six months of having to do business with him. Ford had the same determined streak as his brother, except Ford was more open about it. Thank heavens for George, who’d anticipated opposition to Otto’s terms, and done his research on every possible solution to any potential objection.
By the time they left the taproom, the rain had slowed from an ark-worthy torrent to a pipe-tightening leak. Her head spun a little. She hadn’t expected a beer with maple flavoring to have so much kick.
“Mind if we make a quick stop at my parents’ so I can get rid of this suit?” Levi asked.
She had no urge to meet his parents, who were probably as decent as he was, when she was doing indecent things with their son. But he’d been quiet since they’d reached their agreement with Ford, and right now, riding the high of extracting herself from the will—with Ryan O’Connell’s approval, which George had assured her would happen—she raised no objections.
“I don’t mind. I’ll wait in the truck,” she said.
He parked in front of a square, two-story house. “You can’t stay in the truck. You don’t know my mother. She’ll come out and wait with you, and believe me, that’s not what you want.”
For some reason, Dana was irritated by that. “Not what I want, or what you want? Are you afraid she’ll figure out how we spend our spare time?”
If she’d thought to annoy him in return, he disabused her by laughing. “She teaches high school. Biology, I might add. She had that figured out as soon as she heard a beautiful woman was staying at Otto’s with me.”
“Beautiful, hmm?”
She longed to strip the suit off him right there for that comment. If they weren’t parked on the street, she’d have put the thought into action. She hadn’t minded the distance they’d maintained between them all day for the sake of appearances, because she’d never enjoyed public displays of affection. But now that the long day was finally over, a private display would be welcome. The gorgeous lawyer had shaken her confidence where he was concerned.
A trickle of sadness filtered past the warm glow of the beer. Another day or two, after George spoke to Ryan, and these days with Levi would be over. She’d miss him. She’d miss Otto’s small ranch and his horses. She’d miss the solitude and peace.
She wouldn’t miss Tanner’s hometown. There seemed to be nowhere in Grand she could go to escape being identified with him, as if she had none of her own. It was worse than the circuit.
“Come on,” Levi said, and she followed, because she had a sudden desire to know more about him, and no desire whatsoever to sit alone in the truck.
Noise filled the garage, even before they entered a combined kitchen and family room crammed with all sizes and ages of people. No solitude and peace to be found here. It appeared to be some sort of family reunion, judging by the ratio of adults to children, and the huge platters of food overwhelming the round kitchen table. She’d known Levi had brothers and sisters. Tanner had talked about them. She hadn’t imagined there were so many. Every car parked on the street had to belong to the family.
Conversation didn’t come to a complete stop, not right away, but Dana felt the surge of curiosity as heads turned their way. She pressed against Levi, then realized how it must look, and started to renew the distance between them, but he dropped an arm over her shoulders.
“Hey, everyone. This is Dana. Be nice to her while I go change my clothes,” he announced into the sudden silence, then loped off for a set of stairs on the far side of the room, abandoning her.
She’d kill him for this.
“What an ass,” a cheerful, petite blonde said at her elbow. “Hi. I’m Gloria, his favorite sister. Let me introduce you around.”
“We aren’t staying long,” Dana began, but she was wasting her breath.
“You’re the pretty young lady Tanner Shannahan couldn’t stop bragging about,” Levi’s father said when Gloria introduced him to her. He got off his hands and knees, where he’d been giving bronco rides to the under-five crowd. “I’m sorry for your loss. Such a shame. He was like a part of the family.”
And this, Dana realized, was the family Tanner had wanted so much for himself. She’d met his parents. Not much wonder he’d been so jealous of Levi.
Freddie Harrington, gray-haired and slightly stooped, might or might not have been Levi’s father, but she had no trouble at all picking his mother out of the crowd. The resemblance was unmistakable. He had her eyes. And lips, nose, and mouth. Height, too.
“Hi, I’m Wren.” She offered Dana her hand. Her expression clearly stated that Levi was right, she knew exactly how they spent their spare time, and the jury was out as to whether she’d extend her approval.
At first, Levi’s parents seemed to have very little in common. Wren was a teacher and appeared to be the one who ran the household, judging by the way she handed out orders and brought control to the chaos happening right now in her home. Freddie worked at a tractor dealership and on a few of the ranches, including the Endeavour. He had the good-natured, roll-with-it demeanor of a man who believed kids should be kids, and so what if a few things got broken?
But then Dana caught a few of the looks that passed between them, as if they exchanged thoughts as easily as words, which expressed their contentment with each other as well as their family. Having grown up with happily married parents herself, and whose love extended to her, she could see how attractive the senior Harringtons would be to someone like Tanner, who’d had to earn his parents’ affection.
Someone—either another sister or a sister-in-law, she couldn’t say which—pressed a plate of food into her hands, meaning they were staying longer than planned, because she could hardly stash it somewhere and run.
Levi jogged down the stairs, wearing jeans and an old college sweatshirt, leaving her overdressed and again out of place. He spotted the plate she was holding. “Good. Somebody fed you. I don’t suppose anyone fixed one for me?”
He looked so hopeful and charming, Dana decided she wouldn’t kill him—just hurt him a little.
“She’s company. You’re not,” Gloria said.
“I’m your favorite brother.”
“No, I’m your favorite sister. Big difference, pal.”
They stayed for a few hours. After the initial shock of being thrust into such a large, friendly crowd, Dana enjoyed herself, even if she felt like a fraud. His family assumed there was more between them than there was.
Because while Levi was friendly enough with his family, he remained as politely distant with her as he’d been all day. She didn’t like it. Where was the warmth she’d grown used to? The quiet charm? Was he angry with her for wanting to be rid of an inheritance that should never have been hers?
Would this become their first fight? Fighting meant the end was in sight. She’d expected it, but not quite so soon. She’d planned to be gone long before it could happen.
Now it was here, and she couldn’t ignore it.
She confronted him in the truck on the drive back to Otto’s, hoping that maybe she’d misread him and was worried about nothing. “You’re quiet. Have I done something wrong?”
Wet pavement hummed under the tires. He drummed both thumbs on the wheel, as if thinking it over, and an old, almost-but-not-quite forgotten ache formed in her stomach.
“Why me?” he finally asked.