Chapter Eighteen
L evi stared at Asher. When was he going to get married and have kids? God, he wished he could. But the more he thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. “I’m not.”
“You’re not what? Getting married or having babies?”
“That’s right. Neither one.”
“If you’re going to tell me you’re not in love with Dana, forget it.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t love her. But that’s why we’re not getting married. It wouldn’t be fair to her, knowing I won’t have any kids.”
“Why not?” Asher appeared completely puzzled.
“Why won’t I have kids? You can ask me that after the childhood we had?” To Levi the answer to that question was pretty damn obvious.
“What does that have to do with anything? So our parents sucked. Big deal. Lots of people have fucked-up parents and they still have kids.”
“I’m not risking it. What if I—What if I turn out like him? I can’t take that chance. ”
“That,” Asher said, looking at him angrily, “is just bullshit. There’s no way you’d ever treat any kid, much less a kid of your own, like he treated us.”
“You can’t know that. If there’s even the slightest chance—”
“Goddamn it, Levi. There isn’t. Have you forgotten what you did for me? Because I sure as hell haven’t. I never will.”
“What I did for you? I failed you, Asher. I couldn’t protect you from him.”
“You did protect me from him. I remember every beating you ever took for me.”
“And those I missed?”
Asher shrugged. “You couldn’t be there every minute. I still caught a lot less shit than you did.”
“Maybe. But after he died I fucked up again.”
“How do you figure that?”
“I couldn’t get custody of you. If you’d been with me—”
“I’d have been the same.” Asher got up and walked over to where Levi stood, looking out the window. “I might even have been worse since I wouldn’t have paid any attention to you. My God, Levi, you were seventeen. At most you’d have been eighteen if they’d let you assume guardianship. Do you really think I’d have listened to you? That I wouldn’t have gotten in trouble if you’d had guardianship of me?”
“You would have had a better chance,” Levi insisted. “At least you’d have been with someone who cared. ”
“Caring wasn’t the problem. Not completely. All those foster homes? That was on me, Levi. I had a chip on my shoulder as big as Devil’s Rock. Nothing anyone did or said made a difference. The foster homes weren’t all bad. I was the problem.”
Levi had never really considered that Asher had been the problem. He’d always thought the system was at fault. He was also shocked that Asher didn’t, at least in some part, blame him. Could his brother really forgive him for being unable to take care of him? For leaving him in the system? That’s what it sounded like.
“I was on a bad road, Levi,” Asher continued. “I was a screwed-up kid looking for trouble. My fault, not yours. If I hadn’t gone into the army I’d probably be a drug addict. Or in jail. Or dead. But I’m not dead. My military service gave me a purpose. Something worthwhile. And now that I have a plan I think I can make a difference. I want to help the veterans who fall through the cracks. The ones who don’t qualify for a service animal, per se, but who need something to care about and to care for. A cat to love. Or a dog who’ll be loyal and loving and give them a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
“Yeah,” Levi agreed. “Because if you don’t get out of bed and take them out you’ll regret it.”
Asher laughed. “True. Look, I won’t be moving out right away. I don’t know how long it will take me to find the right place to live and get this thing going. But I thought you should know my eventual plans.”
“You’re right. I needed to know. Even if I don’t like it.” He opened the door and said, “Let’s go get a beer. Dana said she’d bring home something from the Diner.”
“Sounds good. And Levi?”
Levi held the door open and looked at him. “Yeah?”
“Don’t let the bastard ruin what you have with Dana.”
“I’ll think about it.”
*
A couple of weeks after Dana moved in with Levi the grand reopening celebration at the airport was held. The airport itself was closed to incoming and outgoing flights at five p.m. and for the remainder of the evening. The ribbon cutting ceremony was set to take place at five thirty and Zack, Travis and Levi were hosting an open house with hors d’oeuvres and drinks from six to eight that evening.
Not long after the open house started Levi was talking to Zack when a man Levi didn’t recognize came up to them and spoke to Zack.
“Zack Bannister, how the hell are you?”
“Billy Ward,” Zack said, shaking hands. “I’m good. Good to see you.” Zack introduced the two men then said, “What brings you to Whiskey River? Last I heard you were in New York, wheeling and dealing real estate.”
“I’m in Houston now.” He looked around at the terminal. “ Quite a change from what I remember. It looks like you’re doing well.”
“We are,” Zack said. “We’re planning more expansion eventually but for now we think it’s large enough.”
“I’ve looked around and your architect has done a great job.”
“We’ve been very happy with her work.”
“To be honest, one of the reasons I’m here is to talk to her. How about introducing me to her?”
“Introduce you to Dana? Why?”
“I’ve got a proposition for her.”
“You have a what?” Levi said. “A proposition ?”
Ward laughed. “A professional proposition. I want her to come work for me.”
“Since Dana isn’t a Realtor I assume this is a new venture?” Zack said.
“Yes. I’m part owner of a construction company that has started building accessible housing. Homes, apartments, that sort of thing. I understand from Dana’s last employer that is a special interest of hers. In fact, he said she was working on making some billionaire’s place wheelchair accessible.” He laughed. “A billionaire in Whiskey River? One who isn’t any kin to the Kellys? I took it with a grain of salt, but since she was here I thought I’d fly in and see if I can convince her to come to Houston after her job here is done.”
As soon as the man mentioned a billionaire and “wheelchair accessible” Levi gave Zack the sign not to tell him that Levi was the billionaire in question. Zack raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. After some more talk, which Levi paid no attention to, Ward left to talk to Dana.
“What the hell, Levi?” Zack asked him. “You and Dana just moved in together. You know she’s going to turn him down.”
“Do I?” Levi asked. He didn’t elaborate, not wanting to get into a discussion about his and Dana’s past. But the minute Ward had begun talking about the job he planned to offer Dana Levi’s stomach had taken a nose dive. Because he honestly couldn’t say whether Dana would stay with him in Whiskey River, or take what sounded like her dream job. In Houston.
*
Dana had just spotted Levi talking to Zack and was headed their way when a dark-haired man with gray at the temples said her name. “Dana DeLong?”
A bit surprised since she didn’t know him, she answered, “Yes?”
“I’m Billy Ward,” he said, offering a hand. “I’ve been looking for you.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. Her confusion must have shown.
“Zack Bannister was going to introduce us, but he seems busy and here you are, so I took a chance. ”
A friend of Zack’s? She looked over at Zack, who gave her a thumbs-up signal. Levi, who was standing with him, looked…well, pissed, though she couldn’t imagine why. “What can I do for you, Mr. Ward?”
“I’d like to offer you a job. An architectural job.”
“Oh, do you live here?”
“No, I’m in Houston. But let me explain. Is there somewhere we can sit and talk a minute?”
Intrigued, though she didn’t want a job in Houston, she allowed him to lead her to one of the tables with chairs.
“I understand you have a special interest in accessible housing.” Dana nodded but didn’t speak. He continued, “I’d like for you to work with my construction company. It’s quite a large company. You might have heard of us.” He mentioned a well-known name in the industry. “If you accept you would be in charge of our accessible housing division.” He went on to extoll the company’s work and how well they had done financially and why they wanted to dip into the accessible housing market.
She tried—and failed—to interrupt him a time or two until finally she gave up and just listened. Once he took a breath she said, “I’m very flattered, Mr. Ward. Would this involve moving to Houston?”
“Yes. Why, is that a problem? We would wait until you finish your current project, of course.”
“I’m afraid I have to say no. It sounds like a wonderful company and a worthwhile plan, but I don’t want to move away from Whiskey River.”
He looked disappointed. “I’m prepared to offer you a substantial base salary and of course, you’d get a commission on any project you’re in charge of.” He named a number that made her blink. If it hadn’t been in Houston, she’d have been tempted.
“I’m sorry. But I really appreciate the offer.”
“It never hurts to try. Here’s my card,” he said, handing it to her. “Call me if you change your mind.”
She looked for Levi but he’d disappeared while she was talking to Billy Ward. That had been an interesting conversation. She planned to mention it to him later. But Houston was a huge city and Levi was firmly ensconced in Whiskey River. Even if she’d wanted, and she honestly didn’t, she was sure Levi wouldn’t move with her. And she wasn’t moving anywhere without him.
*
Levi and Dana didn’t leave until after nine. Acting as if nothing was wrong was one of the hardest things Levi had ever had to do, but he thought he managed it pretty well. They had come to the grand reopening in the same car. On the way home Levi didn’t talk much but Dana kept up a steady stream of comments. Nowhere did she mention the surprise job offer. He wished he could take comfort from that, but he didn’t .
By the time they reached home, Levi was wondering if she intended to tell him at all. Or would she pull the same number she had last time? No, he knew she wouldn’t because this time she knew there was no way Levi could follow her. Even if he’d wanted to, which he didn’t. Houston? Talk about a big city. No, Whiskey River was the place for him, and he knew it.
But was it the place for Dana?
“Levi, is something wrong?”
Ignoring the question, he opened the door to the kitchen and let Dana walk in ahead of him. Asher wasn’t around so Levi assumed he was in his room. Levi had tried to convince his brother to come to the open house but he’d said he didn’t feel up to it yet. Levi resisted the urge to push him. Asher had to do things in his own time. And since he began caring for Maggie and her puppies, he’d come out of his shell a lot. Even more so since he’d decided to start his nonprofit organization uniting veterans and shelter dogs.
In this case, though, Levi was glad Asher wasn’t around.
He and Dana went up to his bedroom. The moment the door shut behind them, Dana said, “All right. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Shoe’s on the other foot.” He took his keys, wallet and other items out of his pockets and set them on the dresser top.
“What does that mean?”
He paced away from her then turned to face her. “When were you going to tell me?”
Her forehead wrinkled and she looked confused. “Tell you what?”
“When you’re leaving.”
“Leaving where? I don’t understand.”
Enough of the innocent act. “Just say it, Dana. When do you plan to move out?”
“Move out? You mean from here? I just moved in. Why in the hell would I move out?”
“The new job is in Houston. And you can cut the confused act.”
“The new…” Her brow cleared. “You must be talking about Billy Ward. How did you know he offered me a job?”
“He told me. Not that he knew I was the person whose house he wanted to see.”
“Did he tell you I took the job?”
“No. He didn’t have to.”
“What does that mean?” she snapped.
“It sounded like your dream job. I figured you took it.” He shrugged and added, “After all, you did it before.”
She stared at him and he could see her getting madder and madder. “You,” she said in a deadly quiet voice, “are a fool.”
Levi started to get an inkling that he might have misread the situation. Nevertheless, he plowed on. “I’m a fool because I confronted you before you decided to tell me?”
“You’re not only a fool. You’re an ass as well.” She walked up to him and poked her finger into his chest. “I turned down the job offer.” She twisted her finger, still poking his chest. “Which you’d have known if you’d waited five minutes for me to tell you instead of jumping to the wrong conclusion and attacking me about it.” She punctuated her last four words jabbing her finger hard into his chest at each one.
“If I was wrong—”
“ If you were wrong? That tears it.” She walked over to the dresser, picked up a tray and heaved it at him.
“Hey! You almost hit—Damn, Dana!” He ducked as his keys came sailing at him, his wallet following right after. “Calm down.”
She yanked open the bedroom door, stalked out and slammed it behind her. Thank God he hadn’t had his fingers in the door.
He went after her, saying, “Dana, wait. Where are you going?”
Already at the bottom of the stairs she turned and shouted, “Away from you.”
Shit. Damn. Fuck. Obviously, he’d been wrong. Even he, the fool and the ass, could figure that out. “Don’t go. We should talk about this.” She’d picked up her purse from the counter and strode to the door. He tried to halt her, putting his hand on her arm just before she reached the back door.
She turned and glared at him. He could see tears glistening in her eyes but they didn’t spill. He didn’t make the mistake of thinking she was simply upset. No, Dana was furious.
“I don’t want to talk to you. In fact, I don’t even want to see you. Now let go of me.”
He let go but said, “Are you coming back?”
Her answer to that was to slam the door behind her. Seconds later he heard her car start up and the garage door open.
Levi heard clapping and turned to see Asher and Maggie standing in the kitchen doorway. “Congrats,” Asher said. “Looks like you really screwed up.”
“How do you know it was me?” he snarled. “How do you know it wasn’t Dana who screwed up?”
“Call it a hunch. Am I right?” Maggie stood beside him, placidly wagging her tail.
“Yeah, you’re right. Asshole.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who ran off his girlfriend by committing some dumbass move.”
Levi started to ask how Asher knew that he’d committed a “dumbass move” but decided it wasn’t worth it. “It was a simple misunderstanding. She’ll be back.” He hoped.
“If you say so, Bro. But she looked pretty mad to me. Come on, Maggie,” he said, turning to leave. “Let’s go see those puppies.”