Love & Rodeo (21 page)

“
About the same as Nora. She just got her license and is never at home. She’s driving Mama crazy.”

“
Jenna?”

“
Um…she’s getting married in a month.”

“
Really? Is she old enough to get married?”

“
She’s twenty-one and she thinks she knows everything, but her fiancé is nice enough.”

“
Good. That’s real good.”

They reached the porch and they each took a seat in a rocking chair.

“
So what? Do you have a house somewhere on your property for your Grams?”

Kallie offered a weak smile and exhaled. “Grams died last year. She had a heart attack and never recovered.”

Levi took her hand and squeezed. It buzzed under his touch. She pulled it away before she did something stupid.

“
So, now it’s just me and Nora. We used to have Luke, but now he has Sophie.”

They sat on the porch looking out over the ranch.

“
Levi? Really, are you happy?”

It took him a minute to respond. “I’m working on it.”

He looked at her and the right corner of his mouth lifted and so did her heart a little.

“
Well, I’m gonna go in and get ready for bed. Guests arrive around nine and breakfast is at eight.” Kallie stood and went inside. She turned off the kitchen light and climbed the steps to Nora’s room. She was already in bed with her door shut, so Kallie retreated back down the stairs to her room. She showered and lay down. As she lay in her large bed, she let her mind wander where she never let it. She wondered what her life would be like now if she and Levi would’ve stayed together. Would they own the Lazy K together instead of her and Luke? Would they have a two and half year old right now? Kallie shut her eyes tight, forcing the thought from her mind. She rested her hand on her stomach where their unborn child had once been. She exhaled and rolled to her side.

That night she dreamed of a little dark curly haired boy with crystal-blue eyes.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Levi waited until the house was quiet before he got up and went to his room. He undressed and climbed under the blanket. As he lay there, his thoughts went to Danielle and their last fight when she had ended it.

“
Levi, I can’t marry you. Not when you still love her.”

“
What are you talking about?”

“
I know you still love her. You say her name in your sleep.”

He didn’t know what to say. The closer he got to the wedding, the more he dreamed about her. He wouldn’t deny it to Danielle. His thoughts wandered to Kallie more and more often lately. He’d thought that he was over her. It had been years since they ended it, so why was she all of a sudden on his mind all the time?

“
But, I love you,” Levi remembered telling her halfheartedly.

“
I can’t marry a man who’s in love with me and someone else.” He watched as she turned and walked away from him.

“
Danielle!” he called to her.

She never came back and wouldn’t answer his calls. So what did he do? He called Travis and they went on a drinking binge. That was a month ago. They’d been out every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night since. Luke’s call had been Levi’s saving grace.

Levi rolled onto his back and thought about what Kallie had looked like on the front porch when he arrived. She rarely wore dresses and the yellow sundress hung loosely to her body. She was thinner than he remembered and she seemed older, wiser than before. She’d done what she told him she was going to do. She adopted Nora and they had a life here in Tonkawa. His chest ached a little as he remembered wanting to leave the world championships with her to start their life together. He remembered the last night they were together, and how she cried in his arms. He left the following morning and vowed to himself to never let her hurt him again. He planned on keeping that vow. It wasn’t going to be easy as he remembered the way her hips swayed under the thin fabric of that dress. He thrust a hand through his hair as he rolled over onto his side and tried to find sleep.

* * * *

Knock! Knock!

“
It’s seven! Time to get up!” he heard Nora yell to him through the door.

He sat up in his bed and threw his legs over the side, trying to wake up. The night had been a rough one. He tossed and turned most of the night, and Kallie had been in a better part of his dreams, haunting him like she always did.

He grabbed a change of clothes and then headed to the bathroom. He hurried to shower and met Nora and Kallie in the barn at seven fifteen. He hayed, while Kallie grained, and Nora watered the horses. Next they went to grain the bulls, while Kallie threw two bales of hay into the pasture. They worked together to spread the hay around while Nora went to feed the goat. A minute later Chip came running at Kallie.

“
What the? Nora!” Kallie yelled.

Nora came running behind him.

“
Why is he out?”

“
He was going crazy by the gate, and when I opened it he just stormed out.”

“
Nora, he’s tiny. You couldn’t stop him?”

The goat jumped into Kallie’s arms.

“
Looks like someone has a new mama”

Levi laughed.

Kallie looked at him with something that resembled hurt in her eyes. She quickly turned away as she kissed the goat on the head.

“
What should we do?” Nora asked.

“
Bring some grain up to the house. I guess he can hang out until the guests arrive.”

Kallie sat Chip on the ground and then started for the house with Levi in tow. Chip stayed on her heel the whole time.

Levi laughed behind her.

“
What’s so funny?”

“
I’ve never seen a goat do that.”

“
Do what?”

“
Follow a human like that. It’s funny.”

“
Well, I can’t help it.”

Levi shook his head and followed Kallie and Chip to the house. She walked inside and the goat followed her.

“
Nope! I am not cleaning up goat droppings. You have to stay outside.”

He watched Kallie pick up the miniature goat and set it outside. Once Chip was on the porch, and started on breakfast, he grabbed a cup of coffee and watched Kallie as she made eggs, sausage, and toast. About halfway through Nora walked in.

“
When is Cookie going to be here?” Nora asked.

“
She called earlier and told me that she’d be in for lunch. She just needed this morning off. Will you get out the serving dishes?”

Levi watched Nora pull out large serving trays and align them on the bar.

“
Can I help you with something?” Levi asked.

“
We’re good,” Nora said as she smiled at him.

He smiled back and then took his seat at the table and continued drinking his coffee. Fifteen minutes later, Kallie and Nora joined him and they all ate their breakfast while the remaining eggs, sausage, and toast stayed warm in the serving trays. After they ate, he helped set up a table on the front porch where Kallie set up a check-in station.

“
Nora, please make sure the guest suites are all in order. Also make sure the bathrooms are all stocked with the fresh goats’ milk soap.”

“
Goats’ milk soap?” Levi asked Kallie.

“
Oh, yeah. Um…we get all of our meat, dairy, and cleaning supplies from the local farmers. They have this huge Spring and Fall farmers’ market, kind of like the one in Nashville. We order a ton of it. You know? Help support local farms, but goats’ milk soap is really good for your skin.”

“
Wow. That’s smart.”

“
Thanks. Luke thought it was stupid at first, but then we started getting referrals from local farmers and well, then it wasn’t so stupid.”

Levi laughed. “You always had a way of putting people in their place.”

Kallie laughed and his heart warmed a little.

“
What time are we expecting everyone?”

“
About fifteen minutes. The bus shuttle from Tulsa is pretty precise.”

“
I bet your guests are going to be tired.”

“
I hope not. We have a full day planned.”

“
Didn’t they arrive early this morning?”

“
Oh no. We fly them in Sunday evening and put them up in the Wyndham in Tulsa for the night, and then they are shuttled in this morning. They’ll grab a bite to eat, while I get everyone checked-in and release forms signed. It takes about an hour, but its a nice ‘break the ice’ opportunity. Oh let me grab a paper copy of today’s schedule for you.”

Levi followed her in the house and up the stairs to the small office. He watched as she tried to reach a binder off the top shelf of a bookshelf. She stretched her small body but to no avail. He walked over and leaned over her.

“
This one?” Levi asked.

“
Yeah!”

He grabbed the binder and handed it to Kallie. They were close and she was looking up at him with those green eyes. The green eyes that at one time he swore could see into his soul. They held each other’s gaze for a moment before Nora called to them. Kallie stepped back from him and yelled to her sister.

“
Hands are here!” Nora called back.

“
Hands?” Levi asked.

“
Yeah you get three to help you and I get three.”

He watched as she turned her back to him and then fingered through the binder until she found what she was looking for. She pulled the paper out and made a copy before putting it back in the binder. She took the copy from the copier and handed it to him. Levi looked it over. It was a very detailed schedule of events for the day.

“
Just look it over while I’m getting everyone checked-in. If you have any questions, you can ask before we start activities.”

“
Okay.”

She left Levi in the office all to himself. He looked around. There were pictures of Kallie and Luke all over. There were pictures of Kallie and Nora and some with different groups of people. She had built a life for herself here.

A few minutes later, he heard a bus pull up. He took one last look at the people on her office walls and wondered if there was room anywhere for him. He headed back downstairs. When he reached the front porch, a group of about twenty people had gotten off of the bus and were gathering at the foot of the stairs.

“
Please, line your luggage up here. Breakfast is inside to your right. Go ahead and eat and I will start checking everyone in,” Kallie instructed them.

Levi led the group inside and watched as everyone shuffled to get a plate and fill it. Nora came in and took each person out one at a time. Once everyone was checked-in, Levi led the men to their bunkhouse, while Nora led the ladies to theirs, and Kallie cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Everyone was instructed to be back at the house by ten o’clock and they were.

At precisely ten o’clock, Kallie told everyone their activities for the day and they dispersed. Levi led his group toward the barrel bulls and started his three-hour session. There were a few guys who were decent, but the rest were city guys, looking for a couple weeks of fun. They hardly took it serious, but Levi didn’t care. His three hands didn’t seem to either. At one, they met for lunch. Cookie had prepared a heap of grilled cheese and tomato soup. The grill cheese wasn’t his mama’s, but it was still pretty good. After their fill, they moved to the next activity, which was strength training. They spent the afternoon lifting weights to help with upper body strength. By the end of the afternoon everyone was tired. Levi dismissed them a few minutes early and started for the house.

He went to his room and showered with the goats’ milk soap before heading down to help with dinner. When he got down there, Kallie was emerging from her room in a pair of tight blue jeans and a white tank top. The straps on her tank top were thin and exposed her tan shoulders. She turned and started down the hallway. Her wings on her back had faded a little but they were still there. He smiled to himself as he remembered the night they got their tattoos. Luke had been totally against it and freaked-out but she was cool, calm, and collected as always. He laughed to himself.

“
What’s so funny?” He heard her ask from behind him.

She was buttoning a sleeveless white shirt that went down to her hips.

“
I saw your wings and I was thinking about Luke the night you got them.”

Kallie laughed. “He was so worked up. We still talk about that.” She smiled as she shook her head.