His Every Move (5 page)

“I’m game,” Kallie said, and off they went.

It was strange, walking with someone who wasn’t Hunter. Levi had a totally different energy. He was light, engaging, witty, and she sensed none of the darkness that Hunter typically gave off. At the same time, she wondered about the chemistry—could Levi make her feel the kinds of things that Hunter had made her feel?

Stop overanalyzing, Kallie scolded herself. Just enjoy.

Once they got into the coffee shop, Levi walked with her to the register. The girl who worked there asked him for his order, smiling shyly.

“Large iced coffee, shot of vanilla. And my new friend here…” he turned and looked at her. “What do you want, Kallie?”

“I’ll just have a small cappuccino.”

“There you have it, small cappuccino,” he said.

The girl nodded and rang up the order. “I got this,” Levi said, before Kallie could reach for any money. And then he paid, tipping the girl two bucks on top of the order.

They went and sat down at a small table by the window.

Levi gazed out the window for a bit. Kallie watched him, wondering what he was thinking. For a brief moment, his expression changed and she wondered if she’d misjudged him. There was a hardness underneath the humor and lightness, she thought.

But then the feeling passed and he turned and smiled at her again. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

Kallie shook her head. “How can you tell?”

He shrugged. “You don’t have the accent, and you’re way too friendly.”

“Stop it,” she laughed.

“I’m serious. Striking up a conversation with a woman at the gym is like seeing Haley’s Comet.”

“Do you often try to strike up conversations with women at the gym?”

He pointed at her. “That’s a trick question. I object.”

“Overruled.”

“Iced coffee shot of vanilla, cappuccino,” the barista called out.

“That’s us,” he said, rising.

“How convenient,” Kallie said.

She watched him as he went and grabbed their coffees, making a quick comment that made the girl laugh behind the counter.

Kallie wondered whether Levi really was just one of those ultra gregarious people, or if he was truly interested in her.

He sat back down a moment later with their drinks.

She blew on her coffee, while he sipped his. “So,” he said. “Enough about my gym habits. Tell me about you, Kallie.” His dark eyes focused on her.

“Well, what do you want to know, exactly?”

“Surprise me. You know my deep secret love affair with the Kardashian clan. I think I’m only entitled to hear your deep secret in return.”

Kallie hesitated. For some reason, his comment about secrets made her think of Hunter’s basement. She suddenly had a vivid remembrance of herself, naked, tied to that pulley system. Sweat dripping down between her breasts, heat between her legs.

“Kallie?” he asked, waving a hand. “I think I lost you.”

She blinked. “Oh, sorry,” she said, feeling flustered. “I just realized that I actually need to leave in a minute or two. I’m a nanny, and…”

“Oh, a nanny. That’s cool.”

“Yeah. It’s a really good job. What do you do?”

“Right now I’m in grad school full-time, studying to be a Special Education teacher.”

“That’s amazing,” Kallie said.

Levi smiled. “Thanks. I’m really passionate about it.”

“Sorry about leaving so soon,” Kallie told him, getting up. She didn’t know what was wrong exactly, but she suddenly needed to get out of there.

“I’ll walk you back to your car.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

They walked back to the gym parking lot, Levi sipping his coffee and talking about grad school and the kind of work he was hoping to get when he graduated.

Kallie was finally starting to calm down after feeling so rattled back in the coffee shop. She decided that she actually liked Levi. How much, she wasn’t sure just yet. But he was nice and open and funny.

“This is my car,” Kallie said, stopping. “Actually, it’s my boss’s car.”

“Hey, well—I’d love to do this again,” Levi told her. “Can I get your number before you go?”

“Absolutely,” she said, surprised at his forwardness and happy all at once.

Levi pulled out his iPhone and took down her phone number. When he was done, he grinned. “Mind if I send you a quick text right now to test it out?”

She laughed. “Sure. Why not?”

He typed something and hit send. A moment later she received it. “I’ll read it when I get home,” she said.

“Okay. Bye, Kallie. It was really nice meeting you.” He waved as she got in her car and started it.

Then she began driving home. But on the way, she got too distracted wondering what he’d texted her, so she pulled over and took out her phone.

He’d written two short sentences.

Between you and Kim K? I choose you every time.

***

Kallie felt like she’d turned a corner. But the happy times couldn’t last forever.

One morning a couple of days after meeting Levi, while Kallie was out on the veranda with Riley—Red came outside.

He smiled at the baby and cooed and did some goofy baby talk, which was funny because it was coming from Red Jameson.

Then he straightened up, folding his arms and staring out at his property.

Kallie thought he looked not just preoccupied—but rather haggard, as if he hadn’t been sleeping.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, gently rocking Riley as the baby gurgled and closed her eyes.

Red gave a noncommittal grunt. “It depends on how you look at it.”

“That’s mysterious.” Kallie glanced up at him.

“Well, things are going to be getting interesting around here.”

“Interesting? Like in what way?”

His smile faded. “I got an email from Kane Wright yesterday,” Red told her. He stared out at the grounds as he spoke. “It seems my mother’s been in touch with the tabloid that Kane owns. She’s trying to throw me under the bus yet again—publicly this time.”

“What did she tell them?” Kallie asked, her heart starting to race as she thought about what something like that would do to Nicole.

“She said she had a sex tape and was interested in negotiating price.” He snorted.

“My mother’s always been good at knowing how to hit me where it hurts. But I guess she’s not quite smart enough to realize that my friend owns the damn website.”

“Is he going to get it back for you?”

Red nodded. “Kane’s already paid her off to try and get her to send him what she has. I can only hope she doesn’t have copies shipping out to every other major tabloid as we speak.”

Kallie was stunned. “I’m sure she didn’t make copies,” she said. “I mean, she’s older and probably doesn’t know how easy it is to copy a DVD.” But remembering Erica Jameson and the crazy look of anger in her eyes, the predatory intelligence—Kallie suspected she might be crafty enough to keep at least one copy as insurance.

Red nodded, but Kallie didn’t think her words had given him much comfort.

“Anyway, the reason I’m telling you all of this is because I’ve invited my mother and father to the house tonight. It’s going to mean some extra work for you, since they’ll be staying a couple of days.”

Kallie squinted in confusion. “Wait. What?”

Red smiled at her puzzlement. “I know the timing is strange, but believe me—

there’s a reason for everything I do.”

“But you just said your mother’s trying to throw you under the bus—she’s blackmailing you. Why on earth would you bring her back into your house?”

“I suppose you’ve never read The Art of War by Sun Tzu,” he said. “But I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’”

Kallie shook her head. “I don’t know. That sounds like a dangerous way to live, if you ask me.”

“It is. But if you’re a fireman, sometimes you have to go into a burning house, be near the flames, smell the smoke, maybe even get burned—if you want to stop it.”

“What’s Nicole going to say about it?”

“She won’t like it, but she’ll trust me to take care of things. That’s what I do.”

Kallie nodded uncertainly. “Well, it seems like you’ve made your decision.”

“I have.” Red’s eyebrows lowered and his eyes hardened. “Remember, my mother has no idea that I know about that DVD. She doesn’t know Nicole told me about it, and she certainly doesn’t realize that I’m friends with Kane Wright.”

“But do you really want her in your house?”

“That’s not the question,” he replied. “The question is how well I know her, and I think I know her well enough to make the most of this opportunity.”

And with that enigmatic but vaguely threatening remark, he left the veranda and went back inside.

***

Later that day, Nicole and Red were clearly fighting.

Kallie was busy around the house, setting up for this bizarre family reunion. She hadn’t realized—until Nicole mentioned it—that Erica Jameson had been divorced from Red’s father for years and years. They’d separated when Red was three years old.

Kallie kept her mouth shut as she worked to get the house clean and in order, but she didn’t have a clue why Red would want to bring his divorced parents together under the same roof as his newborn baby. Especially since he was aware of the fact that his mother was actively trying to destroy his life.

Did he think that this would appease Erica in some way?

Was this some bizarre childhood dream of recreating a happy family that never really existed?

She didn’t know, but she wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing the results of Red’s experiment.

And Nicole wasn’t either. Kallie hadn’t been around for the conversation when Red had explained his plan to her, but it couldn’t have gone very well, judging by the results.

All day long, Nicole was unnaturally quiet—sullen and sarcastic.

She wasn’t even being very nice to Kallie.

Everyone in the house seemed to be on edge, and it only got worse as the sun started to set and it got closer and closer to the time when the “guests” would be arriving.

At around five-thirty, there was a call from the front gate.

“Dad’s on his way,” Red announced.

“Great,” Nicole said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s roll out the red carpet.”

“Nicole, take it easy,” Red said.

“Don’t tell me what to do. Not tonight.”

He sighed in frustration. Then he looked to Kallie. “I’m going to be depending on you the next day or two. Don’t get rattled, no matter what happens.”

“I’ll do my best,” Kallie replied.

“We’ll all be good little soldiers, don’t you worry,” Nicole said.

Red looked at both of them, ignoring Nicole’s sarcasm. “Dad can be a little strange,” he said. “Just a word of warning. I haven’t seen him in years, but if he’s anything like he was the last time I saw him…well…let’s just say that he can be a bit eccentric.”

As if in response to his warning, the doorbell chimed loudly. Kallie went to answer the door, but Red stopped her. “I’ll get it,” he said. He walked to the front door and she heard him answering it.

She expected the usual sounds of a son and father reuniting after time apart. Loud voices, laughter, remarks about how the other looked. But there was nothing, just some low guttural grunting exchanges. And then Red led his father into the kitchen for introductions.

His father was shorter than Red, with dark, curly hair, and a big, rather unkempt beard. He was like the polar opposite of Red, Kallie decided. As much as Red was slick and put together, his dad seemed to have just woken up and thrown on some dirty looking clothes, not bothering to shave or even comb his hair.

He wasn’t particularly fit, although he had a certain brute strength to his appearance. He wore patched jeans and a denim jacket that couldn’t have been made any later than 1995. A green army duffel bag was slung over one shoulder.

He nodded at Kallie. “You must be Nicole,” he said, coming toward her with his hand out. “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.”

Kallie blushed and shook her head. “No, no—“

Red grimaced. “Dad, that’s our nanny, Kallie. Nicole is right here.”

His father made a face. “A nanny? What do you need one of those for?”

Nicole came around the counter to shake hands with Red’s dad. “So nice to finally meet you Mister Jameson,” she said.

“Call me Ray,” he said, shaking her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Nicole.”

And then silence descended on the room. It was as if they’d been conversing for hours and hours, and finally run out of interesting topics. Only, they’d all just met seconds ago. The awkwardness was palpable.

“Did you drive in?” Kallie said, just to break the tension.

Ray spun and nodded. “I did. I drove from my farm in Vermont. It’s about five and a half hours. Not too bad, actually.”

“Oh, you live on a farm?” Kallie said. “That must be beautiful.”

He nodded. “It’s no mansion in Connecticut, but it does me just fine.”

She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, so Kallie just smiled.

“Dad, want to bring your bag to your bedroom?” Red asked.

“Sure. I was figuring I’d sleep in one bedroom and I could go number two in another room entirely. I mean, why else have two dozen rooms if you can’t shit in a different bathroom each day, right?”

“You can have as many rooms as you require,” Red replied, and escorted him down the hallway.

When they were gone, Nicole looked at Kallie and made a face. “I keep telling myself it’s only going to be a couple of days.”

Just then, Kallie felt a buzz in her pocket. She took out her cell phone. It was a text from Levi.

Watching Keeping up with the Kardashians and thinking of u. what r u up to?

Kallie smiled as she read it.

“Hunter?” Nicole asked, and then caught herself. “Sorry. None of my business.”

Kallie put the phone back in her pocket. “No, it’s…just my brother. Something silly.”

Nicole nodded, and raised her eyebrows, as if that explained everything.

***

Over the next few hours, Ray had gotten a tour of the entire house. He and Red had done the walk of the property by themselves, and it had taken well over an hour and a half.