Luring Levi (Tarnished Saints Series Book 2) (2 page)

“Oh, all right, if it’ll help Thomas I’ll do it.”

“So you accept your position on the council board?” asked Mrs. Durnsby.

Levi thought it odd a pickle-taster would be a
n actual position and also qualify as board member, but hell, this town was small and had all sorts of strange policies and procedures, so he didn’t question it.

“Sure, I’ll do it, why not?” He reached out, still leaning back in his chair and shook the old woman’s hand. A smile came over her face and everyone clapped and cheered. Then she did the oddest thing – she handed him the pickle
-scooping spoon.

“What’s this for?” he asked, amused, turning it over to look at it.

“Well, you may need it in your new position,” she explained.

“
For tasting pickles?” Everyone laughed and he had a feeling he’d missed out on the joke.

“No, Mr. Taylor, for taking over my position. I’m too old for it, and everyone sees how you can command a crowd.
That was something I could never achieve. You will be an excellent leader, so congratulations – as of today you will take my place.”

“Wonderful,” he said, n
ot knowing what she was talking about. Everyone was making such a big deal out of tasting homemade, second-rate food. Hell, this town was crazier than he’d thought. “And I promise you all, I’ll take my position seriously and no pickle will hold me back.”

“You are such a jokester,” said Mrs. Durnsby with a laugh. “And I think you will be the best this town has ever had, Mr. Taylor. Or should I say – Mr. Mayor?”

“What?” Levi moved so suddenly that the legs of the chair slipped out from under him, and with a clank of metal against the ground, he landed on his back looking up into the smiling faces of a dozen happy council members staring down at him. The damned pickle spoon had hit him in the head, and the pounding in his brain just got louder.

Hell, i
f he’d known giving Angel a ride to the meeting was going to land him the position of Sweet Water’s mayor, he never would have showed his face here today. Suddenly, tasting kerosene pickles didn’t seem so bad after all.

Chapter 2

“You’re what?” asked Thomas Taylor, his head under the hood of the 1964 Ford Mustang he was restoring for the big car show coming up right here in Sweet Water next month. Levi heard him chuckle, and knew his brother just wanted him to say it again.

“You heard me,” growled Levi
, settling himself comfortably on Thomas’s swivel desk chair and leaning back with his hands behind his head. “Your wife tricked me into accepting the title of Sweet Water’s new mayor.”

“I did no such thing.” Angel appeared at the door of the pole barn with two mugs of coffee in her hands. “If you hadn’t been sleeping through the meeting, you would have heard them nominate you for mayor, so it’s your own fault.” She
walked over and handed him the coffee, then held out the other one to her husband.

“Thanks, swee
theart.” Thomas wiped his hands in a rag and reached over and kissed her on the lips, taking the mug. “But maybe my little brother should have both cups of coffee to help sober him up so next time he agrees to something he’ll know what the hell he’s accepting.”

“I thought I was agreeing to tasting pickles, not run
ning the damn town,” said Levi, blowing on his coffee to cool it. “And since when did the widow Durnsby start acting as mayor of Sweet Water anyway? I didn’t even know Sweet Water had a mayor.”

“
Never did until eight years ago when Mabel Durnsby decided the town needed one,” said Thomas. “You would have known that if you hadn’t gotten yourself thrown in the slammer.”

“I was only in for seven
. And two of them were for the prison riot I got caught up in, or I would have been out in five on good behavior.”

“True, but don’t forget you were trying to escape Sweet Water and that’s why you ran to the big apple in the first place.”

“I was not trying to escape and I didn’t run anywhere. I was working in New York. And in case you forgot, I did come back to Michigan and moved up north and opened my own damned restaurant.”

“Right,” said Thomas. “And we see how well that worked out for you,
and where it got you.”

“No, it was my crooked accountant
skimming the books that got me doing time.”

“And you had nothing to do with it?” he asked.

“All right, so I screwed up in more ways than one. It no longer matters. I paid up and did my time as well, so you can stop reminding me of my faults.”

“Al
l right you two, enough already,” said Angel, her long blond pony tail bobbing up and down as she stepped between them and held up her hands. “All that matters is that you’re both together again.”

“That’s true,” said Thomas. “Levi, you are the only one who came back to Sweet Water ou
t of all the rest of our brothers.”

“Did the detective you hired ever find the rest of them to tell them Ma died?” asked Levi.

“He managed to contact Judas and Zeb,” said Thomas. “But he’s still working on finding the rest. Maybe if Judas or Zeb show up we can ask them if they know where the rest are.”

“My goodness,” said Angel. “It seems to me the Taylor men all have some sort of issues and if they don’t want to be found, they won’t be.”

“Well, I’ll say one thing,” said Levi, “I promise you if Judas shows his ass anywhere around here I’ll give him an issue alright.”

“Levi, that’s a harsh way to talk about your own brother,” said Angel.

“You don’t know him.” Levi took a sip of coffee and then continued. “Because of him betraying me and turning me in, I just spent nineteen percent of my life so far behind bars.”

“Funny how fast you figured out those numbers but you couldn’t seem to figure out how much you owed in taxes,” said Thomas with a smile.

“Well, I’m going to get going before you two start duking it out,” said Angel. “I’ve got to take the boys to town for hair-cuts.”

“The boys?” asked Thomas pushing a dark strand of hair from his eyes.
“Do you mean all six of them?”

“Yes. I figured we’d do it all at once and get it over with.”

“I usually cut their hair,” Thomas told her. “No need to spend money on that.”

“Now Thomas,” said Angel. “You are no longer poor and when we close on the sale of my house next week we’ll have more money than we know what to do with. A decent haircut in town will not only help out the town’s revenue
, but get people to know and accept the boys.

After all, you’ve had them living like recluses hidden away out here
in the woods for so long that the only one of them who has any friends is Daniel.” She started out of the barn without waiting for an answer. “I’m taking Gabby too, and we’re all stopping for ice cream afterwards, bye.”

“By the time s
he gets done, I’ll have financed the whole town,” mumbled Thomas. He leaned his back against the car and took a sip of coffee. “So, when does this new position of mayor start and what does it entail?”

“Immediately and hell if I know.” Levi took a swig of coffee, feeling the hot brew burn the back of his throat – or maybe it was still burnt from the pickles.

“Well, you know this is a small town, Levi, not a city. I sincerely doubt mayor is even a paying position. And don’t fool yourself if you think for one minute that you’re getting an office. That’s why the meetings are held in the basement of the church, because there’s no money to build a town hall.”

“Yeah, well,
I think it was because when Pa was alive, he just wanted to get more people into the church, so I wouldn’t doubt that he fought the idea of building a town hall.”

Levi’s fa
ther, Webster Thomas Taylor was a Protestant minister who turned Sweet Water’s church into a non-denominational religion hoping to have all people of any faith coming together to worship. He was a man who’d always wanted lots of sons – his apostles, as he’d called Levi and his eleven brothers. They’d all been named after the apostles, but not a damned one of them lived up to their father’s expectations. Matter of fact, every one of the Taylor boys was nothing but trouble.

“So what are you going to do?” asked Thomas. “Try to get out of it?”

Levi looked at his brother and just shook his head. “No, I can’t do that. I already accepted, even though I was tricked into it. And your wife gave me misleading information by not telling me the whole of what I was agreeing to.”

“You know Angel just meant to help you. She does things that don’t seem like help at the time, but you’ll th
ank her in the end. I’m living proof.”

“Yeah, well, I really can’t see what good is going to come of all this.”

“Well, it’s not like you have anything else to do,” said Thomas. “Besides, maybe you’ll end up liking your new job.”

“I’d like a job that actually paid,” he said. “And I want to tell you, I appreciate you letting me stay at the house and all.”

Thomas finished off his coffee, and set the mug down on the ground. “Uh, Levi, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Actually, though our new house is big, Angel just wants
us
living there. You understand. Since we are a new family and all, right? Don’t take it personally.”

“Sure, no problem,” he said, not meaning it, and feeling a little put out. “How about I just stay at the cabin then? After all, you’re not using it any
more.”

“Can’t
do that.” He stuck his head back under the hood.

“Why not? Getting tired of me already?”

“No, it’s just that I figured since it’s empty I’m going to rent it out for the summer for a little extra cash. I’m trying to save up for Sam’s operation on his leg.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine.” He knew his nephew who was born with a lame leg would someday agree to an operation, and he couldn’t really blame Thomas for renting out the cabin
to try to make money for the costly procedure. “Well, how about I just live in one of the cabins on the lake from the properties that Ma and Pa left us in the will?”

“You know my hands are tied on that one, Levi. It’s in the will that you all have to be married in order to get your piece of the pie. Besides, all the cabins on the prop
erties are rented right now anyway because of the fair coming up. I’m using the money for that to pay for upkeep and repairs until you and the others finally get around to getting married and claim your stake.”

“Fine. But since I plan on being the most eligible bachelor for the rest of my life, you ca
n just sell off my piece of the pie right now.”

“You certainly are doing your best at staying away from the altar. I’m surprised no woman has lured you into marrying her by now.”

“Believe me, big brother there is no lure big enough to hook me and reel me in. Now, how bout I just stay at your cabin til you rent it?” he asked, hopefully. “Once it’s rented, I’ll move right out.”

“Actually Angie
already rented it. My wife is a very efficient person, and I’m not sure how I survived without her. Some woman and a couple of kids are going to be staying in the cabin for a few weeks. She should be here sometime – oh damned.”

He stood up so fast he almost hit his head on the hood of the
car. “I forgot to tell Angie the woman called this morning while you were out. She is coming in on the train and wanted someone to pick her and her kids up at the depot. She’ll be here in an hour. Angie has the car full with the kids - and all those haircuts will take a while.” Thomas glanced at his wristwatch, surprising Levi that he even wore one. His new wife was changing him quickly, and Levi just hoped he didn’t get henpecked in the process. Levi would never be caught dead wearing a wristwatch. That was for people who actually gave a damn what time it was. Not him.

“Well, you’d better get a move on,” sa
id Levi, pushing up from the chair, planning on going back to bed while the house was empty.

“I have to get this car running
and painted before the show next month and as it is I’m already behind  - having to cook breakfast this morning.” He looked directly at him when he said it, and a wave of guilt washed through Levi. “I really don’t have time to be playing taxi.”

Levi sidled toward the door, hoping he could make it out of the barn before Thomas looked in his direction
again, but it was too late.

“Here’s the keys for Dan’s convertible,” said Thomas, pulling them from his pocket. “I need you to pick her up.”

“Now just a minute,” said Levi, raising his hands, ready to protest the fact he still had a hangover and wasn’t done sleeping yet for the day. Too late. Thomas threw the car keys. Levi tried to move out of the way but not fast enough, since he was moving a little slowly today. He managed to get hit in the head, only adding to his pain.

“Thanks, Levi
,” said Thomas sticking his head back under the hood. “And since I’m such a good, thoughtful brother, I already put in a good word for you with Gus at the gas station. He has that extra room above the station he’s just using as storage. He’s agreed to let you stay there for free for awhile until you can find a job.”