Luring Levi (Tarnished Saints Series Book 2) (7 page)

He looked in the rear view mirror and spoke to the kids. “You heard your mother,” he said. “Get those seat belts on.”

He almost laughed when he saw the surprised look on her face when they hurriedly put on the seat belts themselves.

“What’s going on here?” she asked suspiciously.

“We’re just in the midst of a little competition,” he told her.

“What kind of competition?”

He drove with one hand and held up the key with the other. “Whichever of them is quiet all the way home and does everything I say til the end of the day will get to watch over the key of the town for the night. That’s a big responsibility you know.”

“Well, I know now,” she said. She looked out the window when she spoke. “You’re just trying to lure them into your web like you did to me in the town square today
, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He knew damned well, but pretended not to.

“You tricked me into agreeing to bring
Sliced
to Sweet Water.”

“You agreed in front of the entire town, no different than the way I was rooked into being mayor.”

“If you don’t want the position, then why don’t you just tell them?”

“I do want it. Now. Tho not at first. And I would never go back once I’d given my word, no matter what the circumstances.”

“Well, I don’t know if I can promise you anything from my network. They don’t usually do things like this.”

“But you can talk them into it, can’t you?”

“I don’t know how.”

“Well, try to think of something. This town is desperate.
”

“So I’ve noticed.” By the tone of her voice Levi knew she wasn’t talking about the town, but about him instead.

He pulled up to the cabin and shut off the engine. Thomas’s kids were all there, waiting to play with Valentine and Vance.

“C’mon,” said Zeke, crawling up the side of the car. “We’re going to the barn to see the horses.”

Neither of the kids moved, they just looked at Levi with wide eyes.

“Go ahead,” he said with a laugh, getting out of the car. “You are both tied
in the contest right now, so we’ll see how well you listen when it’s time for supper. And you can talk now,” he added, noticing them motioning with their fingers to their mouths.

“What’s going on, Uncle Levi?” asked Jake, adjusting his favorite coonskin cap atop his head.

“Valentine and Vance are both being quiet and listening to me because they want a chance to watch over this for the night.” Levi held the key up in the air and toyed with them by waving it in their faces.

They knew what he was trying to do and it didn’t take long before little Eli cried out, “pig pile!”

Sam was the first to bring Levi to the ground, not letting his bad leg stop him from running and diving right toward him. Levi hit the ground hard, laughing, still waving the key and keeping it out of Sam’s reach.

“Come on, let’s get him,” said Josh, th
e other twin. He didn’t have to ask twice as Vance was out of the car and diving atop Levi even before the other boys got there. Levi laughed and rolled around in the dirt in his white shirt, playing with the kids.

Candace watched in admiration as Levi played and laughed with the boys. He kept hiding the key under his shirt and they grabbed at it and pushed each other out of the way trying to get it. It did her heart good to see Vance play with the other boys. Her kids didn’t have many friends at home, and spent their days at school and their afternoons at the day care as she didn’t usually get there after work much before six.

This is what
her kids needed. To play. To roughhouse. That is, with their father. She felt guilty for not telling Levi the kids were his. She also felt like she was denying her kids their own father. She didn’t know what to do, and was almost happy when Angel walked up through the woods with a bag in her hand and her daughter Gabby by her side.

“Hi,” said Angel. “What’s going on?”

“Pig pile,” said little Valentine from the back seat of the car, sounding a sad that she wasn’t in on the fun.

“Why aren’t you pl
aying?” asked Angel’s daughter, Gabby.

“Cuz
that’s for boys.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m a girl.”

“So am I, but I like to pig pile too. Come on, you’
re missing out on all the fun.”

Gabby ran over to the pile and jumped on top of the boys. Candace could no longer even see Levi,
only a bunch of arms and legs flying everywhere. The kids all laughed and shouted.

“Can I go too, mother?” asked Valentine.

“I don’t know, it looks dangerous,” said Candace.

“Valentine, get over here now and join the fun,” called out Levi.

She looked up at Candace with wide eyes. “If I don’t listen to him I won’t get to watch over the key tonight.”

“Then go, but be careful,” she told her. The little girl squealed and ran over to join the others.

“What’s in the bag?” asked Candace.

“Oh, these are some clothes for Levi
that Thomas doesn’t want anymore. I thought since they wear the same size, he could have them.” She reached over the side of the convertible and laid the bag on the seat.

“Well, I’ll tell him if I ever see him again,” said Candace with a smile.

“So,” said Angel. “Thomas told me you two . . . seemed to know each other.”

“Word travels fast in a small town,” she answered, knowing she was talking about the kiss Levi had given her right in front of Thomas. Then looking over to Levi, she called out, “I need the keys for the trunk to get the groceries.”

Out of the depths of the massive pile came a set of flying keys. They landed on the ground by her feet. She picked them up and opened the trunk.

“Did you date at one time?” Angel persisted with her questions.

“No, not really.” Candace grabbed one bag and Angel reached for the other.

“Here, let me help you bring this in the house.”
Angel followed Candace up the stairs and into the cabin. Candace started putting the groceries away, but didn’t offer any more information.

“Are you goi
ng to tell him the kids are his?”

Cand
ace was putting a jar of jelly in the fridge and almost dropped it when she heard what Angel said. She held on to the door of the fridge for support as her knees almost buckled beneath her.

“Who told you?” she asked.

Angel flashed a small smile and reached over and closed the door to the fridge. She pulled out a chair from the table. “Sit down,” she said. “I think we should talk.”

“How did you know?” asked Candace, glancing toward the window to see Levi now throwing a football through the air and all the kids running after it.

“I didn’t know,” she admitted. “I told you it is my nature to be suspicious from the line of work I used to do. I just guessed, but now I see my assumption was right.”

“Oh, Angel, please don’t tell Levi. And don’t say anything to Thomas.”

“You need to tell Levi,” she said. “You see how much he loves kids. Do you really think it’s fair that you keep the fact from him that he has two of his own?”

“Do you think it was fair that he considered me a one-night-stand and then left me pregnant and all along to raise his kids while he spent seven years in prison?”

“Did he know you were pregnant?” she asked.

“No. He was already in prison whe
n I found out. I could have gone to visit him and tell him, but what good would it have done? Besides, I don’t even know why he was there. If he’s some sort of murderer, I don’t know if I want him near the kids.” She looked out the window and saw Levi riding a horse out of the barn with Vance sitting in front of him. Levi’s arms were wrapped around the boy protectively. She’d never seen her son smile so much in his life. Neither had she ever seen Levi smile so much either. They certainly did look like father and son atop the horse together.

“He was arrested for tax evasion,” Angel told her. “Turned in by his own brother, Judas.”

“Oh, how awful. And that’s how he lost the restaurant?”

“Yes. And if you know anything at all about Levi, you’ll know that he was one hell of a cook.
Food was his passion. Or at least that’s what Thomas tells me.”

“I know. I reviewed his restaurant. He got the highest food rating in the entire state.”

“I hope someday he has the chance for another restaurant,” Angel told her. “That would really bring back his confidence and help him live his dream.”

“You mean he’s not cooking any more?”

“Not really. It seems that being locked away for so long has not only killed his confidence but made him lose his passion. Not just for cooking – for life in general. Thomas is really worried about him. That’s why he suggested we kick him out of the house to force him to make a life of his own and start living again.”

“So
that wasn’t your idea?”

“No,
it wasn’t mine. And Thomas didn’t have the heart to tell him that his own brother wouldn’t let him stay with us. I really didn’t mind.”

“Did you two have anything to
do with the fact he was elected mayor by any chance?”

Angel smiled and nodded. “Mrs. Durnsby really didn’t w
ant the position anymore and couldn’t get anyone to take it. She’d been trying for years. So I suggested we make Levi mayor. Tricked him into it actually, but I see a change in him already.” Angel got up from the table and turned to leave. “Well, I better get the kids home for dinner.” She put her hand on the door but stopped and turned around. “I won’t tell Levi your secret if you don’t tell him what I did either.”

“It’s a deal,” said Candace getting to her feet.

“But you need to think about what I said, Candace. Levi deserves to know the kids are his, and I think it would really help him to get his act together if he knew. He’s thirty-seven years old and has nothing to show for it. He’s lost everything and also lost seven years of his life behind bars. He’s not a bad guy, not really. He just needs some fine tuning, that’s all. Think about it,” she said, and walked out the door.

* * *

Candace was just starting dinner when the door burst open and Levi ran in followed by Valentine and Vance. They were laughing and having fun and Levi picked up Valentine and held her over his head. She started screaming instantly. Hurriedly, he put her down.

“What’d I do?” he asked innocently.

Candace ran to her daughter and tried to comfort her. “Valentine doesn’t like heights,” she explained.

“She’s a baby,” said Vance.

“No I’m not,” she shouted and it was all Candace could do to calm her down.

“All right you two, go and get washed up for dinner,” said Levi.

Vance ran to the bathroom without a second thought. Then Valentine wiped her tears and followed at a slower pace. Once they were in the bathroom arguing over who gets to use the step stool under the sink, Candace turned to Levi.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” he asked, rolling up his sleeves. His white shirt was now a muddy tone of grey.

“For making them laugh.”

“Uh, if you haven’t noticed, Val was crying.”

She liked the way he’d called her daughter Val. No one had ever done that before. He always made things special with his little pet names.

“Levi . . . I need to talk to you.”

He looked up and his eyes opened wide.
“Whoa! Fire in the hold,” he said rushing to the stove and pulling a burning pan off the stove. He threw it in the sink and turned on the water. “Flambéing so early in the evening?” he asked.

“No. That was
going to be fried potatoes, because the kids love them. Let me open the door for some air,” she said.

Once the door was open the kids ran in
from the washroom and settled themselves at the table.

“So what’d you want to talk to me about?” asked Levi.

Well, she couldn’t tell him now. Not with the kids sitting right there. She had to think up something fast.

“I wanted to ask you . . . if you wanted to stay for dinner.”

He looked over at the smoking pan in the sink and then back to her. “Sure. Smells great! I’m game.”

She laughed at that, and walked over and hit him playfully on the arm. “It’s been a long day,” she said. “I’m really tired and don’t feel like cooking. Is there any way – is there any way you can cook dinner?”

Levi didn’t buy Candace
’s excuse. Not for one blasted moment. He saw Angel in the house talking to her earlier and he would bet his bottom dollar she was behind all this. True, he’d fallen into a slump lately and didn’t even want to cook, but he knew what a control freak Candace was and that she’d never just hand over the kitchen and cooking for her kids.

Or maybe, he told himself, she was just a control
freak in the bedroom. He’d shown her his skills with food in magical, alluring ways then, so he’d do it again since she asked. But this time, in the kitchen, showing her what he could do with food that kids liked to eat.