Chapter 5 Levi #2
“And your family?” she asks.
My eyes lift to hers, and I shake my head. “No contact.”
She looks at me for a little while before she glances at the trees again.
Shit, I suck at being social. I wish I was an extrovert and I could say something to cheer her up, but instead, we sit in silence.
Lick comes out of the house and goes about her routine of finding a spot to pee. When she’s done, she picks up her ball and comes over.
I indicate to her that we won’t be playing, seeing as she’s just eaten, and she drops the ball. I pat my leg, and she comes to sit between the chairs.
Kelcie glances at me and Lick, then asks, “You taught her sign language?”
“Our own kind.” I pause before adding, “I’m not much of a talker.”
“I’m not much of a talker myself these days.”
“It’s overrated.”
We both watch as Lick cleans her paws, and when someone suddenly comes around the side of the house, my eyes instantly snap to the man.
In a split second, I take in his dark blond hair and blue eyes. I notice the possessive expression on his face as he glances between Kelcie and me.
“What’s going on here?” he asks.
When Kelcie startles, I’m hit with regret for not warning her about the unexpected visitor.
“Oh, hi, Colby,” she greets the man.
He comes to stand beside her chair and places his hand on her shoulder. Leaning down, he kisses the side of her head as if he’s trying to show me she belongs to him.
I’ve seen him around. I think the couple across the street are his parents, but I don’t know for sure.
Kelcie gestures at me. “This is Levi. He’s my neighbor.” She waves at Colby. “This is Colby. He’s a friend from school.”
I might be mistaken, but it sounds like she’s putting emphasis on friend.
Like always, my tone is brisk. “Hi.”
Colby gives me a chin lift, then he turns his attention to Kelcie. “Want to have dinner with my folks and me?”
She starts shaking her head before he’s even done asking. “No, thanks. It’s been a long day, and I want to relax out here.” When it looks like he is going to argue, she adds, “Besides, people brought food over, and I have enough to last me a week.”
She glances at his hand on her shoulder, giving me the impression that it bothers her.
My skin begins to crawl on her behalf, and I have to bite back the words when the urge to tell him to get his hand off her surges through me.
Kelcie turns her head to me, giving me a pleading look. “You’re staying for dinner, right?”
Without thinking twice, I nod.
She glances at Colby again. “Say hi to your parents for me.”
He reluctantly pulls his hand away from her, and with a scowl on his face, he mutters, “I’ll come by to check on you tomorrow when you’re not busy.”
“Jill is coming over tomorrow.” The words burst from Kelcie as she gives him an apologetic look. “You don’t have to check on me. I’m fine.”
A tense smile forms on his face. “I just want to make sure my favorite girl is okay. I know it’s a difficult time for you.”
Anguish flashes over Kelcie’s features, and I grind my molars to keep from telling Colby to take a hike.
Having had enough, I signal to Lick to take an attacking stance, and my dog doesn’t let me down. She darts to her feet and begins to growl threateningly.
Colby glares at her, then mutters, “You should put a leash on that dog.”
“Usually, she loves people. It’s the first time she’s reacting like this.” Knowing she won’t listen, I say, “Down, Lick.” She intensifies her growling, and I lean over to take hold of the thick fur around her neck before glancing at Colby again. “You better go.”
“I’ll call you later when you don’t have company, Kelcie,” Colby spits out before finally walking away.
I pat Lick’s head and gesture for her to sit. She instantly obeys and pants happily.
Kelcie leans over and brushes her hand over Lick’s head and neck. “I wonder why she reacted like that to Colby.”
“She probably senses he was agitated with my being here.”
Kelcie lets out a sigh. “He means well.”
Right.
Keeping her gaze locked on my dog, she continues, “Colby had a crush on me in school, and he’s been trying to get me to go out with him the past six years.
” Her shoulders slump, making me think she’s exhausted with his advances.
“He’s a good guy, and he has been there for me . . . during hard times.”
“Doesn’t mean you owe him a date.” I give my opinion.
“Yeah.” She lets out a half-hearted chuckle. “I still feel bad, though.”
Wanting to divert her attention away from Colby, I say, “You mentioned dinner?”
She glances over her shoulder at the house. “The townsfolk dropped off enough food to feed a small army. Want to see what there is, then you can choose what you’d like to eat?”
“Sure.”
She looks at the half-empty bottle of wine and our glasses. “You don’t have to drink it. I have sweet tea and sodas.”
“Sweet tea would be great.” I smile as I climb to my feet and pick up the glasses. “I’m not much of a wine drinker.”
“Me too. Jill left the bottle here.” When she sees I don’t recognize the name, she explains, “Jill and her daughter, Holly, live over there.” She points to the light blue painted house to our right.
“I’ve seen them around,” I mention.
When we walk to the back door, I begin to feel a little antsy. Everything I’ve done today is far out of my comfort zone.
We step into the kitchen, and I place the glasses in the sink before looking at Kelcie.
She waves her hand over six dishes sitting on the counter. “Pick one.”
I move closer, and when I’m standing beside her, I realize she’s much shorter than me. The top of her head barely reaches the middle of my chest.
She smells like flowers.
She opens all the containers, and I gesture at the cheesy chicken casserole.
“Good choice,” she says. “I love cheese.”
Suddenly, there’s a flash of extreme pain on her face, and when her breath hitches and speeds up, I don’t hesitate and place my hand on her lower back.
I keep my tone as gentle as possible as I murmur, “Just breathe through it.”
She closes her eyes, and while a thin layer of sweat beads over her forehead, her lips move as she silently counts until the wave of grief passes.
As soon as she’s regained control over her breathing, she whispers, “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
She moves away from me and takes two plates from one of the cupboards.
Only then do I realize I touched her and felt no disgust. Shock ripples through me, and I look down at my palm and fingers, thinking how warm and fragile she felt.
When I met my ex-wife, touching her didn’t fill me with disgust but instead only made me uncomfortable. It was something I could live with.
But that’s not the case with Kelcie.
My palm itches with a need to touch her again, to see if it will feel the same. It’s unnerving as fuck for reasons I can’t quite fathom.
“Shoot. You touched me,” Kelcie says. My gaze flicks to hers. “I overheard you telling Jordan you don’t touch people. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
She just had a panic attack, and not even seconds later, she’s more worried about me than herself?
When I keep staring at the woman who’s having the weirdest effect on me, her features tense with more concern.
“Levi?”
I shake my head and clear my throat before I reply, “I’m okay.”
“I won’t take offense if you need to wash your hands.”
God, she’s so sweet.
The corner of my mouth lifts. “I don’t need to do that.”
“Okay.” She grabs a serving spoon, and while she dishes some of the casserole onto the two plates, I take in every movement she makes.
There’s no urge to run back to my house. There’s no annoyance of being overstimulated. There’s zero disgust.
Instead, the attraction I felt earlier has grown, and it makes me curious to know everything about Kelcie.
But even if she felt attracted to me, there could never be anything romantic between us. I just plan to hang around until I’m sure she’s okay, then I’m heading back to Grand Rapids.
There’s no way she’ll tolerate having me in her life when she finds out who I really am.