Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Everly
I tried to silence my racing thoughts as I pulled into the apartment complex parking lot. I went toe-to-toe with prosecutors twice my age all the time. There was no reason I couldn’t keep my cool talking to a few landlords with Levi.
When I got dressed this morning, I’d considered wearing a suit, just to keep me in a professional state of mind.
Unfortunately, I wanted to look approachable to the people we visited.
I settled on a button-down shirt with jeans and the ugliest underwear I owned.
Despite Maddie’s teasing, I knew whatever panties I wore weren’t coming off with Levi, no matter how sexy he looked.
The massive granny panties did make me feel a little frumpy.
And frumpy was good when I’d be in close proximity to a man who could turn me on with just a look.
I was surprised he’d suggested meeting at this particular complex.
It was a collection of four-unit buildings, all brick and well maintained.
Not the nicest in town, but it was far from the worst. Maddie and I had even considered it before deciding on a place closer to the hospital.
I pulled into a spot outside the small building with an “Office” sign over the door.
I was fifteen minutes early, yet Levi stood next to a Jeep parked a few spaces from me.
When I climbed out of my car, his green eyes landed on me with so much force my stomach flipped.
Damn it. My body didn’t care what underwear I had on.
It didn’t help that the jacket he wore against the morning chill brought out the color in his eyes.
A lot of women found men in police uniforms sexy. It did the opposite for me. On a purely physical level, I got it. Those uniforms hugged muscles in the best way, but for me, they were a visual reminder that the guy was off limits. And boy did I need that reminder with Levi.
“Morning,” he said with a small smile as we walked toward each other.
“Hi,” I said. “Ready to get started?”
The smile slipped from his face, and I felt terrible. Levi wasn’t someone who smiled often. Each one felt like a gift, and I’d basically thrown it back in his face by jumping right into work.
“I don’t think anyone is in yet,” he said.
I frowned at the darkened windows. Fantastic. I should have been late for once in my life. Now I had to spend however long alone with Levi. “I guess we’re a little early.”
“I don’t mind waiting if you don’t. We can go through the list and divide it up. I already marked all the places I’d like to go with you.” He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and scanned it. “And a couple I’d rather handle alone. I figured we could split the rest.”
“I’m not afraid to go anywhere,” I said, slipping into my lawyer voice.
“I know,” he said simply.
I held out my hand, and he passed me the list. The current complex was highlighted in green, so I quickly found the other places Levi wanted to visit together.
There were far more than I expected, but at least only two were highlighted yellow, which I took to be the ones he didn’t want me to visit at all.
One was a creepy antique store/pawn shop on the edge of town that I didn’t mind skipping.
The other business seemed an odd choice.
“What’s wrong with Paradise Unlimited?” I asked.
“I’m in there all the time, so it’s no trouble for me to talk to them.”
“I forgot they sold pig food.”
His eyebrows shot up, and I realized my mistake.
“You know about Sherly?” he asked.
“Small town,” I said. I’d been a little cold without a jacket, but the heat rolling through me now could fry an egg.
“People talk about my pet pig?” He sounded amused, which did a lot to ease my embarrassment at admitting something I shouldn’t have known about him.
“People will talk about us visiting apartment complexes together,” I said, nodding toward a window where an older lady was clearly watching us.
Levi glanced at her and back at me. “So, we definitely shouldn’t visit the motel by the highway together.”
“Probably not,” I said and laughed. Laughing was a great distraction from imagining us alone in a motel room.
The smile he gave me in return, however, was not.
“I can take that one. I went to high school with the owner’s son.
I’m sure they already rent to some people we’re trying to help, but they might have jobs available. ”
He frowned. “We get a lot of call-outs there.”
“Is that how you determined which of these to mark?” I asked, holding up the list.
He nodded.
“You know, I’ve gone to plenty of these places alone before.”
He nodded again.
“Well?” I asked.
His silence frustrated me as well as the assumption that I couldn’t go places alone in a town with very little criminal activity.
The crime was so low that most of my clients came from nearby Jericho instead of Peace Falls.
Even so, I wasn’t complacent. I tried to be aware of my surroundings and avoided putting myself in situations that seemed risky.
It was slightly insulting that Levi didn’t think I could handle myself.
Unfortunately, it was also a big turn on.
I might be a ball buster in court, but in my private life, I loved when men were protective.
It made me feel cared for, cherished even.
“Could you at least go to the motel in the daytime,” Levi said gently. “Maybe take your sister or someone with you?”
His concern sounded genuine, which squelched most of the fight from me. My dad and Aiden would have asked the same, and I’d have agreed to not cause them unnecessary worry. It didn’t mean I had to be happy about it.
“Fine,” I said as a car with a dented bumper pulled into the parking lot. A man rushed out, still buttoning his dingy white shirt, but halted when he spotted Levi and me. Thank the heavens. I needed a break from my alone time with Officer Studly.
“Officer Stafford,” the man said, walking toward us. “Is there something I can help you with?”
The man’s eyes darted from Levi to me and back. Since Levi wasn’t in uniform, the fact the man called him Officer Stafford suggested they’d met while Levi was on duty. Perhaps more than once.
“I hope so,” Levi said, holding out his hand to the man. “Frank, right? This is Everly Hendricks.”
Frank turned to me and a slow smile spread across his face. “Everly,” he said. The hand he curled around mine was as limp as seaweed and just as moist. I plastered a smile on my face and fought the urge to yank my hand back.
“Frank,” I said, pulling away as soon as politely possible. “Do you have five minutes for us to speak with you about an upcoming community event?”
“What kind of event?” he asked, looking between us.
“An organization called Springboard hosts a fair of sorts in Centennial Park every year and—” Levi began.
“Isn’t that the group run by an ex-con?” Frank asked, frowning. “Big guy covered in tats.”
“Max,” I said. “His name is Max.”
Frank narrowed his eyes at my sharp tone.
“Yes, that’s the group,” Levi said evenly, pulling the man’s attention back to him. “The event matches people who need a second chance with housing and job opportunities. We hope you’d consider having a booth and—”
“No,” Frank said. “I don’t need trash like that here.”
I opened my mouth to rip him another one, but Levi ended the conversation by saying, “OK. Have a good morning, Frank.”
“Have a nice day,” I said in the same tone I’d have said “Bless your heart,” aka “Screw you.”
I glared up at Levi as Frank made his way into the office. “What the heck was that?” I asked once we were alone. “You didn’t even try to convince him.”
“Do you honestly think that was someone you could convince?” he asked.
“I could have tried,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
“That guy’s an asshole,” Levi said. “He delivers eviction notices if tenants are one day late on rent and starts court proceedings after five. He literally pays court fees instead of giving someone a couple extra days. I’ve served more eviction notices here than anywhere in town.”
I frowned at him. “Then why come here at all?”
He cleared his throat. “It was on Max’s list.”
Bullshit. He knew it. I knew it. And based on the apologetic look on his face, he knew I knew it. “Why are we both here? This place isn’t dangerous.”
He blew out a breath. “It isn’t. I shouldn’t have wasted your time, but I figured I could practice and get your feedback.”
“Practice?”
“This was a definite no, but I thought it could help me figure out what to say to get other people involved.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. The fact he wanted to practice was kind of adorable, yet something still felt off. “Frank didn’t exactly give you a chance to say anything, and you didn’t push him.”
“No, I didn’t,” Levi said with a frown. “I guess pitching this isn’t coming naturally to me.”
“Why are you here then?” I asked. “Be honest. I’m sure there’re dozens of things you’d rather be doing.”
“Not dozens,” he said with a grin that made that fizzy feeling bubble up inside me again. “But you’re right, talking with guys like Frank all morning wouldn’t be my first choice. Chief Fitzwilliam wants me involved in the community. More than that. He wants me to fit in.”
“He said that?” I asked, my stomach dropping. “That seems harsh.”
Levi shrugged. “It’s the truth.” He studied me a moment and took a step closer, which made my stomach dip for another reason. “Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know?”
If that wasn’t a loaded question. How many hours do you work out in a week to have that body? Do you taste as good as you smell? How big is your — “I’m not sure what you mean,” I said, yanking myself back from my inappropriate thoughts.
“You want to know why I don’t think the event is worthwhile,” he said, rescuing me from myself.
Talk about perceptive. I’d wanted to ask him that since I found out he hadn’t volunteered to help. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” I said.
“I’m sure you believe that,” he said quietly.
“And you don’t?”