Chapter Thirteen – Emeline
Emeline
I was positive that once we got back to the barn, everyone would know Levi and I had kissed. Hell, my lips still tingled, and my heart rate hadn’t returned to normal.
As we rode up, Levi looked my way and winked. I couldn’t help but smile back at him.
Marshall approached us, along with Caden and Lilibeth. When my eyes met hers, she attempted not to grin but lost the battle.
“Trail okay?” Caden asked as Levi dismounted.
Levi nodded to Marshall as he took the horse’s reins. “Thank you, Marshall.”
“Everything was fine,” I replied, sliding off and quickly walking my horse toward the wash station.
“We can take care of the horses, Emeline,” Marshall said with a smile. “I’ve got Tommy here to help out.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I asked.
Marshall chuckled. “It is my job.”
I squeezed his arm. “Thank you, Marshall.” Turning to face everyone, I couldn’t help but notice how Caden was glaring at Lilibeth. “Is everything okay?”
Lilibeth grinned. “It is. We had a bit of a situation earlier, but everything’s fine now.”
Caden made a grunting sound.
I took in my brother…and noticed he was soaking wet. “Caden, why are you wet?”
He shot a look toward Lilibeth, who covered her mouth with a hand to hide her smile, and that seemed to make Caden even angrier.
“She,” he dramatically pointed toward Lilibeth, “made me look like an utter fool.”
“You did that all on your own, cowboy,” Lilibeth retorted, hands now on her hips.
Levi glanced between the two of them. “What happened?”
Caden shot Lilibeth yet another dirty look.
She motioned for him to tell the story. “Please, do tell them what happened. I don’t think I could do it justice.”
Caden rolled his eyes, then sighed. “One of the kids got stuck.”
“Stuck?” I asked. I knew it wasn’t anything bad because Lilibeth’s shoulders were bouncing in her sad attempt to keep from laughing. “Stuck in what?”
Now the corners of Caden’s mouth twitched as he fought not to smile. “A flowerpot.”
Levi and I both said at the same time, “A flowerpot?”
Lilibeth burst into laughter and turned her back on us, walking away some.
Caden cleared his throat. “He thought it would be fun to try to sit inside that big terracotta pot that Grams has had for years.”
“He?” Levi asked. “Please tell me it wasn’t Rhett.”
This time, Caden covered his mouth…and turned away slightly.
“For fuck’s sake,” Levi muttered. “Did my kid get stuck in a damn pot?”
Caden nodded. “He did. But I got him out.”
Lilibeth was bent over, crossing her legs. “I’m going to pee!” she cried out as she fell into another fit of laughter. I couldn’t help but giggle, and I wasn’t even sure why. Although the picture of little Rhett stuck in the flowerpot was kind of funny.
Caden lost the battle to stay mad and finally chuckled.
“All right, so if he got out and he’s okay, what’s so funny? And, Caden, that doesn’t explain why you’re wet and why you seem pissed at Lilibeth?” I asked.
As if remembering he was supposed to be angry, Caden stopped laughing and glared at Lilibeth again. “Because I had it all under control, and she was trying to micromanage the situation.”
“The situation of my son being stuck in a pot?” Levi clarified.
“Yes. I knew how to get him out.”
It was Levi’s turn to smile. “Because you have experience with being stuck in pots?”
Lilibeth positively screamed in laughter. “I said the same thing!”
“No, I just knew how to get him out, and this one started to argue with me in front of Rhett’s entire cabin, and then…well…it doesn’t matter. I got Rhett out.”
“He tried pulling Rhett out. But he lost his grip, stumbled backward, and landed in the water trough!”
My hand flew to my mouth, and I started to laugh. “That explains why you’re wet.”
“I would’ve been fine if Lilibeth hadn’t been trying to ‘help’,” he finger-quoted. “She tripped me.”
Lilibeth gasped. “I did not trip you! You stumbled back, then tripped over a bucket. I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Caden glared at her again, which only made her laugh harder.
“But Rhett’s definitely okay?” Levi asked.
“He’s fine. I’m going back to my side of the ranch now,” Caden said before turning on his heels and stomping away.
Lilibeth looked at me and shrugged as another small giggle slipped free.
Levi shook his head at Caden’s retreating back, then turned his focus on me. A smile spread on his face, and for a moment, I totally forgot that Lilibeth was even there.
“Thank you, Levi, for joining me on the ride.”
“It was my pleasure.” He walked up, kissed me on the cheek, then turned to my friend. “See you around, Lilibeth.”
We both watched silently as he walked in the same direction as Caden.
When he was out of sight, Lilibeth turned and grabbed my hands. “Okay, what happened between the two of you?”
I gave an innocent shrug. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she blinked a few times. “Don’t even try to do that to me, Emeline Wilde! Your cheeks were flushed when you two rode up, and you had a look about you.”
I laughed. “A look about me?”
“Yes! And he kissed you on the cheek just now, but I swear he almost went for your mouth.”
“He’s done that before.”
She tilted her head, and I could see the frustration slowly building.
“Okay, fine—we kissed.”
Lilibeth blinked again, this time in confusion. “That’s all you’re going to give me? You kissed? Was it a peck? Did tongues meet? Was it good or was it average? Are you going to kiss again? I need this information, Emeline!”
I laughed and wrapped my arm around hers and headed back through the barn. “Let’s go to my office. I don’t want anyone to overhear.”
Once inside my office, Lilibeth grabbed the bag of Swedish Fish that I always had on my desk and took a few out. She sat down and bit the head off of one. “Go on, I’m listening.”
Sitting across from her, I grinned. “The kiss was beyond amazing. It was passionate, yet sweet. Levi didn’t hold anything back. And his touch…oh my gosh, his touch lit my body on fire.”
Lilibeth danced around in her seat like a five-year-old. “Oh my gosh! Are you going to see each other tonight?”
I shook my head. “Not with the camp and everything going on. We’re planning to go on a date, though, once this first camp session is over.”
Her smile slowly faded. “Why don’t you sound more excited?”
Leaning back in my seat, I said, “I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
“Why not? Emeline, I’ve seen the way Levi looks at you, and trust me when I say, he isn’t thinking about how he wants to be just friends.”
I let out a sigh. “The fact that he said he wasn’t looking to get into a relationship. What if that kiss didn’t mean the same to him as it did to me? What if Rhett isn’t ready to see his father date someone? Not to mention Caroline.”
Lilibeth leaned forward and pointed a Swedish Fish at me. “Trust me. When I saw the two of you at the perfumery, it was obvious Levi had more than friendship feelings for you. Even Caden said so.”
My brows shot up. “He did?”
Nodding, she replied, “He did, indeed. And Rhett only wants to see his father happy. As far as Caroline goes, I don’t know her at all. I don’t know the story behind why they are divorcing, but it sounds like she doesn’t want much to do with Levi or Rhett, sad to say.”
“You’re right, I know you are. I’m just…
” I sighed. “If I’m being honest with you, I’m scared that this is too good to be true, Lilibeth.
I mean, I’ve had feelings for Levi for so long, and I’ve tried to move on from what I thought was a childhood crush, but there’s never been another guy who even comes close.
And I’m not talking about just his looks.
He’s a great father and an amazing friend.
Since he came back to town, the more time I spend with him, the more I realized this was far more than a crush. ”
“You’re in love with him,” she said softly.
I nodded. “Yes. And I told him I was. I figured the best thing to do was to be honest with him.”
Her eyes widened. “What did he say?”
“He was honest back. Told me he wasn’t in love with me, but that he felt more than friendship.”
Lilibeth smiled. “Then you take it slow and see how things go.”
I exhaled and nodded. “I’m just afraid my heart is going to end up being broken.”
“No,” she said, flashing me that bright smile of hers. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Can you guarantee that?” I teased.
She laughed. “I cannot. But I have a feeling things aren’t going to go as slow as you think.”
Frowning, I asked, “Why do you say that?”
“You know how I said I could tell something happened when you rode up?”
“Yeah.”
She winked. “Levi had the same expression. I think that kiss affected him just as much as it did you, and don’t go saying it’s just because he’s a man. There’s something between the two of you, Emeline, and I cannot wait to see how this goes!”
Reaching over, I took a Swedish Fish. Before I popped it into my mouth, I smiled and said, “You and me both.”
The first camp session was always the craziest. If something was going to go wrong, it’s usually that first week when we get all the kinks worked out. Things had been going pretty smoothly, though, and I was waiting for the floor to fall out.
Rhett ran up to me with a massive smile on his face. “Ms. Emeline! I got a fish today!”
“You did?” I asked, bending down to look at him. “Did you have fun fishing at the lake?”
He nodded. “So much fun! And we’re getting ready to go do archery!”
I glanced past him to see Lynn, one of the volunteer counselors, guiding the rest of Rhett’s cabin to the meeting spot. “You’d better go join your cabinmates, so you don’t get left behind.”
He turned, saw everyone lining up, and took off running. He stopped and looked back at me. “Are you riding with us later?”
“I sure am. It’s the River Falls Summer Camp’s famous dinner ride, I can’t miss it!” I called back.
Rhett fist-pumped then ran over to his group.