Chapter Ten #2
The bell over the door chimed again. Gloria reentered, all bluster gone, her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to keep from splitting open. She didn’t sit right away, just hovered behind the empty chair and looked at Levi.
“I forgot something,” she said. “Please. Just another minute.”
Levi hesitated, then nodded. I squeezed his hand, but he didn’t look at me.
Gloria took her seat, folding her hands with care, like if she moved too quick she’d spook him.
“I’m sorry I lied,” she said, voice trembling just enough to pass. “But I really am sick. Stage four. Six months, maybe less. I know you don’t believe me, but it’s the truth.” She wiped at her face, smearing her mascara into smoky bruises under both eyes.
Levi stiffened, the bones of his hand turning white in my grip. I could see him working it out: part of him wanted to laugh in her face, but another, older part—the part that had spent years wishing she’d come back—wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Gloria reached for him again, this time with more care, palm up on the table, waiting. Levi swallowed, then let go of my hand and placed his own in hers. I hated the way she smiled at the contact, a triumphant little curl of lip like she’d just won the lottery.
“I’m alone,” she said, and her voice hit a new register, the one people use when they want something.
“Nobody to drive me to chemo, nobody to come home to at night. I know you don’t owe me anything, but—Levi, I just want to see you once a week.
Maybe we could get coffee, talk about old times.
You could tell me about your life, what you’re building here.
” She leaned in, her grip tightening on his hand. “Nobody else cares. You’re all I have.”
The room had gone silent again. Even Knox, back at our table, was holding his breath.
I saw the shift in Levi—his face went slack, eyes glimmering. He wanted to pull away, but he didn’t. He let her squeeze his hand, let her see the tears forming.
I felt the anger bloom in my chest, ugly and hot. She’d never loved him, not even as a kid. She’d used him for leverage, a pawn in her endless string of cons. And now she wanted him to mop up her mess, like he owed her for the accident of her DNA.
I said, low, “Convenient how you’re dying when there’s a payday, Gloria.”
She shot me a look, pure venom. “What would you know about it, McKenzie? You have a whole family. He’s got nobody.”
I braced a hand on Levi’s thigh under the table, steadying him. “He’s got me,” I said, and made sure she saw the ring of new ink peeking from his cuff. “And he always will.”
She smirked. “I heard about your little arrangement. Thought it was a phase, but I see it’s not.”
Levi’s head snapped up. “It’s not a phase.”
Gloria clucked her tongue. “Oh, honey. You’re so young. You don’t know what you want.” She patted his hand, her own shaking. “Nobody your age settles down for life. You’re going to wake up one morning and realize you threw it all away on someone who doesn’t even know how to love you.”
Levi’s lips parted, and for a second I thought he’d fold. But then he blinked, wiped his cheek, and squared his shoulders. He looked at her, not angry, not even sad. Just done.
“You don’t get to judge what I have,” he said, voice flat. “You lost that right when you left when I was six years old. Quiad’s never abandoned me. He’s never lied to me. He’s the only reason I even survived long enough to sit here now.”
Gloria’s hand trembled. “You think he loves you? He just wants to own you. That’s what people like him do.”
I snorted. “Better than selling him for cash every chance you got.”
She slammed her fist on the table, hard enough to rattle the forks. “Don’t you dare—”
But Levi cut her off. “You want me to sign the papers, I will. But after that, I’m done. You don’t call, you don’t visit, you don’t send letters or ask for money. You’re a stranger, Gloria. And that’s how it stays.”
She stared at him, the mask finally slipping, and for the first time I saw the fear under all the bluster. She was dying, sure, but not from cancer. She was dying from being utterly alone.
Knox cleared his throat, breaking the spell. “Sounds like a deal to me.”
Levi looked at me, searching my face for something. I nodded, and his whole body relaxed, shoulders dropping two inches at least.
Gloria stood, weaving a little, and grabbed her purse with both hands. She turned to me, eyes like razors. “You win, McKenzie. Hope you’re happy.”
“I am,” I said, letting her know exactly what I’d protect.
She left, slamming the door so hard it knocked a pie tin off the wall. The bakery exhaled as one, voices picking up, forks hitting plates, the world resuming.
Levi sagged against me, shaking all over.
“You did good,” I whispered, hand in his hair. “I’m proud of you.”
He let himself fold, forehead against my shoulder, and I let him.
I always would.
Knox poured him a fresh coffee. “On the house,” he said, sliding it over.
I held Levi’s hand, the one she’d tried to own, and ran my thumb over the fresh ink. The letters were clean and black, a brand nobody could take back.
“She’s not coming back,” I said, and I meant it.
He nodded, face still pressed to my shirt. “I know.”
But I kept watch on the street anyway, just in case the world decided to try again. I’d be ready.
The plan was to get Levi out of there, home and in bed, wrapped in blankets and anything else it took to keep the world off him.
But as soon as we stood to leave, the bell over Rosie's door chimed again, and Gloria was back for a third time, wild-eyed and red-nosed, the rawness of her performance barely disguised.
She made a beeline for Levi, intercepting us halfway between table and exit. I tried to put myself between them, but she reached out, both hands clutching at his sleeve.
“Levi, don’t go,” she begged, her voice loud enough for the whole bakery to hear. “Please—please, I can’t do this alone. Don’t let me die like this. Not after everything I’ve been through to find you.”
He froze, head ducked, but she kept talking, desperate and high-pitched, turning her panic into a show for the gallery of onlookers.
“Just one week, that’s all I’m asking. Just a little time before I—before—” She broke into sobs, face crumpling, but there was nothing behind the tears. Not for him, anyway.
It would have been easy to pity her, if you didn’t know her. But I saw the old grift in her eyes, the calculation that ran under every word.
“Let’s talk outside,” I said, keeping my hand at the small of Levi’s back. “Now.”
She let us herd her out, still weeping, past the tables of silent witnesses, all of them pretending to check their phones or stare into empty mugs.
Outside, the cold air hit hard, cutting through the bakery warmth.
Gloria shivered, and for a second, I saw the girl she must’ve been before she learned to weaponize her own fragility.
Knox was waiting by the truck, arms folded, face grim. He didn’t look at Levi or me—his attention was all for Gloria.
“Got something for you, ma’am,” he said, voice flat. “You’ve been busy since you left town.”
She straightened, snot wiped away with the back of her hand. “Excuse me?”
Knox pulled a folded sheet of paper from his breast pocket, the kind with a courthouse watermark that even I recognized from a distance. “You wanna tell us why there’s three bench warrants for your arrest in two states? Fraud, theft, and a couple more for good measure.”
Levi’s breath caught. I felt the shock ripple through him, a physical thing.
Gloria didn’t even try to lie. She just laughed, sharp and bitter. “You think you’re so smart, digging up the past. I was desperate, okay? They told me if I didn’t pay, they’d kill me. I did what I had to do.”
Knox didn’t budge. “Nobody’s after you. We called. You’re running a long con, and you thought you could score one more payout before heading south.”
She looked at Levi, all mask gone now, just a mean glitter to her eyes. “I needed you to believe, Levi. You always were soft. Always so desperate to belong. I figured McKenzie’s checkbook would be worth a shot.”
He said nothing, just stared at the ground, face blank.
Knox looked at me, then at Levi. “You wanna go or you need more proof?”
I shook my head. “We’re done.”
Levi was shaking again, but this time I could tell it wasn’t fear. It was rage—hot and clean, burning off everything she’d tried to pin on him.
Gloria spat on the sidewalk, then staggered off, her gait turning shambolic as she made for the motel up the street. We watched her go, none of us saying a word until she was just a blonde smear against the horizon.
Knox slid the paper into my hand, then gave Levi a look I’d never seen from him—something close to respect, maybe even pride. “You good?”
Levi nodded. “Yeah. I’m good.”
I got him into the truck, belted him in, and waited until Knox was out of earshot. Then I just held him, both hands cupping his face, thumbs tracing over the places her words had tried to wound him.
He didn’t cry, not right away. But after a minute, his whole body buckled, and I pulled him in, letting him shake against my chest. He made no sound—just silent, wracking sobs that left him gasping and limp.
“I almost fell for it,” he whispered. “All over again.”
I pressed my lips to his hair, breathing him in, the weight of his pain and the strange relief mixing in my lungs. “It’s not your fault,” I said, voice rough. “You want to see the best in people. That’s not a weakness, Levi. Not ever.”
He let me hold him, and when he finally looked up, his eyes were clear. “You sure about that?”
I nodded. “Yeah. And you know what else? She doesn’t get to have you. Not now, not ever again.”
His mouth twisted, then broke into a smile that was more relief than happiness. “You promise?”
I grinned, just a little. “Mine to protect, remember?”
He laughed, weak but genuine, and slumped against me, letting his whole body rest there.
The drive back to the farm was quiet. He stared out the window, watching the valley roll by, the color coming back into his face inch by inch. Every now and then, he’d glance at me, a quick flick of blue that said more than words ever could.
I kept my eyes on the road, but my mind was spinning. Gloria was gone, for now, but I knew she’d be back. She’d seen the size of the prize—the land, the house, the family Levi had built from nothing. She wouldn’t give up until she’d tried every angle. But that was fine. Let her try.
I reached over and took his hand, squeezing it hard enough to remind him that I was here, and that I’d never let go.
As the farm came into view, the old barn and the new skeleton of our house outlined against the sky, I felt something settle in my chest. Not relief, exactly, but certainty. This was the battle. And I was made for it.
Inside the loft, I got him onto the couch, wrapped him in a blanket, and sat close enough that he could lean on me whenever he wanted.
“Sunshine?” I said.
He looked up, eyes wide.
“You did good today. I mean it.”
He nodded, and for the first time since morning, he looked like he believed me.
We sat there, the sun setting slow and gold over the fields, until the house was dark and the only sound was the creek outside. I watched the horizon, waiting for the first sign of trouble. Let the world come.
I was ready.