Love & Rodeo (4 page)

She blushed at how blunt he was and decided she liked him a little more for it. She tried to imagine what it would be like with him and found it hard. She’d never been with anyone before. Sure, she and Luke had come close a couple of times, but she had always stopped him. It never felt right with him. She exhaled, trying to catch her breath.

“
It’s nice to know I have the same effect on you.” Kallie smiled.

She peeled herself from the side of the trailer. They stood there for a moment looking at one another.

“
What are you thinking?” Levi asked her.

“
That I don’t want to be alone tonight, but I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”

She covered her mouth as soon as she said it.

“
What idea is that?”

“
That if I invite you in, we’re going to have sex.”

“
I understand.” Levi nodded.

“
Does that mean you want to come in?”

She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and nodded.

She pulled her keys from her pocket and unlocked the trailer. She opened the door and Levi followed her inside. She put her keys on the small table and turned to look at him as he stood inside the small kitchenette. His tall body looked out of place there and she laughed.

“
What?”

“
Nothing. You want the tour?” Kallie asked.

“
Sure.” He smiled as he started for her.

“
This is the kitchen-living area.”

They moved down the hall and she opened the door to the bathroom.

“
This is the bathroom,” she told him.

“
Wow. It’s tiny.”

“
Yeah, but it works for me.”

She turned off the light and went up the two steps into the goose neck part of the trailer where her bedroom was.

“
This is the bedroom.”

“
Well, at least the bed is big,” Levi joked.

Kallie laughed. The bed used to be her favorite part of the horse trailer too, until her parents died and now every time she lay in any bed, nightmares plagued her sleep.

“
I’m going to use the restroom,” she informed him.

Kallie squeezed by Levi and went to the restroom. She slipped on a pair of yoga pants and a new tank top before she brushed her teeth. She piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun and walked out into the kitchen expecting to see Levi, but he wasn’t there. She locked the trailer door, and walked up the steps to find Levi’s boots on the floor neatly beside each other. She looked at the bed where Levi was laying on his back with a pillow over his head. She smiled to herself, turned off the light and got under the covers beside him. She rolled over to face him and he rolled to his side.

“
I thought you were asleep,” Kallie told him.

“
I was just about.”

“
Don’t let me keep you. I’m tired too.”

“
Come here,” he said as he pulled her to him until her head rested on his chest.

He put his arm around her and tickled her back as she fell asleep to the sound of his beating heart.

Chapter Four

Kallie woke with Levi’s strong arms around her. It was daylight outside, and Levi’s phone was going off in his pocket. She stirred and he rolled over onto his back. She sat up and looked over at him. His messy hair had fallen into his face and he almost looked like a boy laying there, instead of the man she knew he was. She brushed his hair out of the way and he opened his eyes to look at her. She smiled.

“
Good morning,” he said as he pulled her to him.

“
Good morning to you.”

“
How’d you sleep?”

“
Surprisingly well. You?”

It was true. She hadn’t had one good night’s sleep without nightmares since her parents died. Last night was completely void of dreams.

“
I don’t want to get up if that tells you anything.”

She laughed.

“
Are you hungry?” Levi asked.

“
A little.”

“
How about this? I’ll go take a shower and meet you for breakfast in a half hour at that diner down the street.”

“
The Pancake House?” Kallie asked.

“
Yeah, that one.”

“
You got a deal.” Kallie kissed him lightly before jumping up.

Levi’s phone went off again.

“
Someone’s trying to get a hold of you,” Kallie told him as she watched him pull out his phone.

“
It’s probably just Travis.” He looked at it and nodded.

He answered and Kallie moved to the living room, wanting to give him some privacy. She thought about last night and all the things he’d made her feel. Since her parents died, she hadn’t been able to feel anything. She’d just been numb, but Levi made her feel something more than just her zombie self. She felt alive, and the blood that raced through her body last night was proof. A few minutes later, Levi appeared.

“
Is everything okay?”

“
It is,” Levi said coming up behind her and kissing her neck.

“
I can’t decide if you’re more beautiful this way, or the way you looked last night.”

Kallie laughed.

“
You’re too much!” she said as he kissed her neck one more time. “You better get going. I’ve got a lot to do before we have breakfast, and I’m pretty hungry.”

“
All right.”

She watched as he moved toward the door.

“
See you soon?” he asked.

She nodded and smiled at him.

Levi disappeared and she went to shower. She decided on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that hugged her body. She braided her long brown hair in a side braid before slipping on her boots and fetching Blaze from his stall. She made sure he had grain, water, and hay before she locked up the trailer and got into her truck. She would be heading toward Georgia today. It was a three-day drive, which would give her two days to rest up before the next rodeo. She started up her rig and drove toward the diner.

* * * *

Levi walked into the hotel room to find Travis lying on the bed, flipping through the channels.

“
There he is!” Cassidy came out of the bathroom.

“
Did you stay with Kallie?” Travis asked.

He and Cassidy looked at him and he smiled.

“
Oh my gosh
!” Cassidy yelled.

“
Nothing happened.” Levi clarified.

“
Right!” Travis said as he hi-fived him.

Levi smiled as he thought about their mini make-out session, and how turned on he’d been just kissing her. He’d let them think what they wanted. He knew nothing happened, other than he got to hold the most beautiful woman he’d ever met in his arms all night long.

“
Hey, uh… Are you driving Cassidy’s rig?” Levi asked.

“
Yeah, why?”

“
I’m meeting Kallie for breakfast.”

Travis laughed.

“
Damn, it must have been good. You’re taking her to breakfast too?” he joked.

Levi shook his head, embarrassed by what his best friend had just said.

“
You never take me to breakfast Travis!” Cassidy told Travis.

“
See what you started? Now I’m going to have to take Cass to breakfast.”

Levi laughed.

“
Well, if you’re driving the truck, then we’re going to head out. Can you check out?” Travis asked him.

“
Yeah. I got it. See you in Georgia?”

“
See you in Georgia,” Travis confirmed as he grabbed his and Cassidy’s bag and walked out the door.

“
See ya, Levi!” Cassidy called behind her.

Levi showered and gathered his clothes before he checked out. Climbing into the truck, he drove to the small diner and waited.

A half hour went by before she pulled in. Anxious to see her, he hurried to her truck.

“
I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“
Getting Blaze together took a little longer than I thought.”

“
You look great,” Levi told her as he eyed the way her shirt hugged her breasts, and the way her jeans fixed to her hips.

“
Thank you.”

Levi shut her door and she locked it. Grabbing her hand, he entwined his fingers with hers, his large hand swallowing her tiny one.

They ate breakfast quickly, anxious to get the three-day drive behind them.

“
So are you going straight to Georgia?” Levi asked her as they walked to her truck.

“
Yeah. Three days in a trailer is a lot for Blaze.”

“
Do you care if I follow you?”

She smiled at him and his heart warmed.

“
I guess that would be all right.”

He picked up her phone from the table and put his number in. He dialed it and then hung up once he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He handed it back to her.

“
This way, if you get lonely, you can call me.” Levi smiled at her and she shook her head.

“
If I get lonely? Don’t you mean, if you get lonely?”

“
Maybe.”

She laughed.

Chapter Five

They spent the next three days talking to one another on the phone and stopping occasionally for meals. At night they stopped at rest stops and Levi slept with Kallie, always on top of the blanket and her under. One night she woke crying. He didn’t ask questions. He just hugged her tight and tickled her back until she fell asleep. While they were driving, they talked about anything and everything, getting to know one another more personally.

They arrived at the arena late Wednesday night, and while Levi helped Kallie get Blaze to his stall, they ran into Luke and Deuce.

“
What are you doing here so late?” Luke asked.

“
We just got in.”

“
So what? You’re traveling with him now?” Luke asked with disdain dripping from his lips.

“
Yeah, is that a problem?” Kallie asked.

His eyes pierced hers with agony in them.

“
I guess not.”

“
All right, it’s late. I’m tired. I’ll see you guys around?” Kallie asked, watching Luke trudge off.

“
Night, Kallie. Night, Levi,” Deuce called to them.

Levi fell in beside Kallie and put his arm around her waist.

“
He still loves you. You know that, right?” Levi asked.

“
No he doesn’t. We’re just friends.”

“
Maybe he’s your friend, but you’re more than a friend to him.”

“
Whatever! I don’t really want to talk about this,” Kallie said, a little agitated at the situation. “I’m sorry. Can we just go to bed? I’m tired,” Kallie asked.

“
Sure.”

They walked toward her trailer. Once they were inside, they went to the bedroom and Levi fell onto the bed, while Kallie readied herself in the bathroom. He lay there looking at the ceiling. He’d been a gentleman all week. He only held her at night like she asked. He wanted more from her, but how did he ask? How did he tell her that he wanted to get to know her better in more than just a talking way? He heard the door to the bathroom open and Kallie walked in, wearing a tank top and a pair of boyshort panties. His mouth fell open as he got a good look at her tanned legs.

“
New pajamas?” he asked.

“
This is how I normally sleep. I’ve been wearing the yoga pants, but it’s too hot for that. I don’t care that you’re bunking with me, but I think we should get a little more comfortable, don’t you?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“
These jeans
are
uncomfortable.”

“
Then take them off,” Kallie told him, shrugging her shoulders.

He looked at her to make sure she was serious.

“
All right, you asked for it,” Levi said, and she laughed.

He unbuttoned his pants and watched as she tugged on them until they were off. She smiled at him as she threw them to the floor. Kallie crawled up the bed while he took off his T-shirt and threw it to the foot of the bed. She pulled back the covers and welcomed him under them. He’d never been so happy to be between the sheets. He missed how they felt against his skin. He got comfortable, while she rolled on her side to face him.