Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (14 page)

“I wasn’t going to
fire you. This has nothing to do with your job.”

Relieved but now
confused, I replied, “Oh, I thought that was what was bothering you this
afternoon when I came to work. You seemed unhappy with me.”

Levi patted the spot
next to him, and I moved from my perch to sit beside him. Once settled, he
turned and faced me. “No, that’s not it. I’m not unhappy with you. I’m just
confused about something. You said you didn’t have a boyfriend, right?”

 Huh?
“Right,” I replied reluctantly.

 “Do you still talk
to your ex-boyfriend from back home?”

 
Where is this
coming from?
“What? No, never! Why are you asking me this stuff?”  

“Do you remember talking
to me on the phone last night? I called to check on you. You said you came home
and took your pain pills. You were pretty out of it.”

I swallowed back the
bile that had crept up my throat. I didn’t remember talking to him on the
phone. “What did I say?” I croaked out.

“Well, I know you
thought you were talking to someone else because you said you loved them,” he
replied, a serious look on his face.

Fear took ahold of
me, and I began to shake. Surely I hadn’t thought I was talking to Seth. “Is
that all?” I asked, not wanting to know but needing to.

“Who’s Asher?” he
asked, ignoring my question.

I jumped up from the
couch, almost hysterical. “Tell me what else I said right now, Levi,” I yelled.

He stood and gently
grabbed my shoulders. Looking into my eyes, he ordered. “Hey, calm down. You
said give Asher a kiss for me.”

My legs suddenly
felt like jelly, and I sagged against him. He wrapped his arms around me, holding
me upright.
He doesn’t know.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
It was obvious he was going to know something was up by the way I reacted, but
I couldn’t help that. I wasn’t going to tell him the truth now or ever. I
gathered my strength, squirming against his hold, and he released me from his
arms. A nervous sounding giggle escaped my lips and still shaking, I sat back
down. He looked at me expectantly, but when I didn’t say anything, he sighed
and sat down beside me.

“When I came home
from work, I took two pain pills and called my mom. I told her what was going
on with me, and she said she would make me a doctor’s appointment. Asher is my
brother. What I said to you is the same thing I always say to her before
getting off the phone. I guess I thought I was back on the phone with her. That's
weird, huh? Those drugs can be scary sometimes.” I laughed again and was
relieved it sounded normal.

He stared into my
eyes, his face stern. He obviously wasn’t buying it. “That doesn’t explain why
you got so upset.”

 I couldn’t give him
the real explanation so I racked my brain for another. Suddenly, it came to me.

“I was afraid I said
something about my ex. I don’t like anyone knowing how things were between us,”
I said and it wasn’t a lie.

“You didn’t. I’m
sorry I brought him up. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just had to be clear
before I moved forward.”

 “Move forward with
what?” I asked hesitantly.

He smiled. “Katie, I
know you might not what to hear this, but I have to say it. I have feelings for
you that go beyond friendship, and I would like to be in a relationship with
you.”

Oh no, that’s
what I thought he was going to say.
“Levi, I’ve already told you I’m not looking for a relationship. You are a
great guy, but I only want to be your friend. Can you please just be my friend?”

His smile slipped
for just a second. “Yeah, I can. So, I guess this means no more kisses, huh?”

I laughed, leaned
over and kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll see,” I replied.

We sat in silence
for a moment, each of us caught up in our own thoughts. He finally spoke, “Oh,
I forgot to ask how your date with Todd went.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

I swatted his arm
and laughed. “He took me to a Mexican restaurant.”

 Levi laughed
loudly. “No, he didn’t. “Well, that’s strike one for Todd. What else happened?”

“He is a nice guy
but you were right, he’s very shy. He didn’t even talk to me much. He would
just smile at me every once in a while between bites. Then, when I accidentally
touched his hand reaching for my glass, he jerked it back like I had stung him.
Bless his heart. He needs to be around women more. Maybe that would help with
his shyness.”

 Levi continued to
laugh. “That’s strike two and three for poor Todd. Sounds like he struck out.”

I tried to give him
a stern look but couldn’t hold it. “He asked me out again, but I turned him
down.”

“That was nice of
you to even go. I bet it made his day to spend some time with a woman as
beautiful as you. I know it does mine.”

I blushed and looked
down, but his comment made me want to know if that’s all he saw in me, like
most guys.

“Levi, why do you
even want to have a relationship with me?” I asked and bit my lip, dreading his
reply.

He looked into my eyes
and smiled sweetly. “When I look at you, I see a woman who is kind and caring.
You have a big heart, but you’re just too afraid to share it. I look into your
sad eyes and they tug at something inside of me, right here,” He pointed at his
chest, over his heart. “I want to take that sadness away, and have wanted to
since the first time I saw you in the café.”

I sat in stunned
silence. I replayed his words in my head. I realized he really was the man of my
dreams, and I wanted more than anything to be in a relationship with him. I
couldn’t stop the tears that fell from my eyes.

“Oh, baby don’t
cry,” he said as he pulled me to him.

I rested my face
against his chest, letting his scent, and his warmth ease my broken heart for
just a moment. I pulled away, looked up into his dark blue eyes, and grinned. “So
it wasn’t my freaky eyes, huh?”

He chuckled as he rubbed
his thumb under one of my eyes. “No. It wasn’t your
gorgeous
eyes.”

I blushed and turned
away from his touch. I didn’t know how long I could resist this amazing man,
but I knew I had to- no matter how much my heart ached for him.

He released me but
never took his eyes from my face. “I better get going. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
We stood, and I followed him to the door. He turned, leaned down, and kissed me
on the forehead. “Sleep well, my angel,” he said and gave me a beautiful smile
before walking away to his truck.

I closed the door,
my heart feeling heavy, and whispered, “I’m no angel.”

A few days later, Levi
invited me to his house after work, so I followed him home. He pulled into a
driveway and parked in front of a beautiful, white, cottage-style house. A
large front porch ran the length of it. As I climbed the steps of the porch, I
saw a set of rocking chairs flanking a table covered with pots filled with
colorful pansies. At the end of the porch, a wicker swing with a bright red
cushion hung on chains. As I looked at the swing, I could almost see Levi
sitting in it, gently swinging back and forth as he listened to the sounds of
nature all around him. The sweet image made my heart ache. I wanted more than
anything to be a part of that. I wanted to sit beside him and share the simple
moments like that together, but I knew it was nothing more than a fantasy. I
erased the image from my mind and looked up at him as he opened the door. “This
is beautiful.”

He smiled proudly.
“Thanks. It was a sad little house when I found it. It needed a little work,
but I saw something in it I liked. I just knew this was the one.” He gave me a
wink, and I smiled as butterflies danced in my belly with the realization that
he wasn’t only talking about his house.

He held the door
open, and I stepped inside. It didn’t surprise me that the inside looked just
as charming as the outside. It had a warm, inviting feel to it, and I loved it.
He gave me a quick tour before leading me to a sliding glass door and out onto
a deck overlooking the expansive back yard. I looked over the rail in awe. The
yard sloped down smoothly to a large lake where a small dock led out onto the
water.

Mesmerized at the
beauty of it all, I whispered, “This is amazing.” He smiled, looking pleased
that I thought so. “Do you swim out here?” I asked as he led me down to the end
of the dock.

“No, but I do fish.
Do you like to fish?”

I shrugged my
shoulders. “I’ve never tried it.”

He seemed lost for a
moment, like he was unable to comprehend what I’d said. “You’ve never been
fishing?”

 “Nope. My dad was
more of a golfer. I have done that.”

He chuckled. “Well,
that skill won’t help you much in fishing. It’s too cold right now, but when it
warms up, will you let me take you?”

 I cringed at the
thought of having to touch a slimy, smelly fish. “Do I have to touch them?”

“Yes. You have to
touch them. That’s part of the experience,” he said and laughed.

I smiled tightly.
“Uh, that sounds like a lot of fun.”

Levi shook his head and
laughed louder. “I think you’ll love fishing but if not, that’s all right. It’s
no big deal, okay?”

“Okay.”  I could try
it once- for him.

 We made our way back
into the house where he headed straight to the kitchen. I watched as he pulled
a package from the fridge and several cans and spices from the cabinet.
“Whatcha making?” I asked as he began chopping an onion.

 “Chili,” he
replied, scraping the onion pieces into a pot. He unwrapped the package from
the fridge. It contained some type of ground meat, but it didn’t look like
beef. “Uh, what’s that?” I asked, as he added it to the pot.

 He mixed it all
together with a wooden spoon. “It’s deer meat.”

Horrified, I took a
step back. “What? We’re eating Bambi?”

He chuckled and
rolled his eyes. “No. We’re not eating Bambi. We’re eating his daddy. Woman,
how is it you’re from Tennessee and have never fished or ate deer meat?”

I shrugged my shoulders.
“I don’t know. My dad worked a lot at his business and didn’t have a lot of
free time when I was younger.”

“What about in the
summer times? Did you go on vacations?” he asked as he continued preparing our
dinner.

I smiled,
remembering some great trips we had taken together. “Sure, just about every
summer. We went to the beach, pro baseball games, amusement parks, and zoos. We
weren’t really an outdoorsy type of family.”

He looked a little
disappointed at my answer. “Levi, I know that’s the type of guy you are, and I
promise you I’m not some city girl who’s afraid to get dirty. I’ve just never
had the chance to experience any of that.”

He reached over, took
my hand and squeezed it. “Well, you will with me,” he said with a grin.

He let go of my hand
and stirred the pot. I had to admit the chili smelled delicious. I was about to
tell him so when my cell phone rang. I slipped it out of my pocket and saw that
it was my mom. I glanced up at Levi. He smiled and pulled a chair out for me.
“Hello,” I answered, sinking into the chair. “Tomorrow? No, I can’t. I have to
work...No, I don’t want to ask off. Can you change it to a Monday?...Okay, hold
on. I’ll ask him...No, I’m off work....I’m at his house having dinner...Hold on,
Mom.”

 I looked up at
Levi. He was leaned against the counter watching me with a grin on his face.

“She’s made a
doctor’s appointment for me tomorrow at one. Is it okay if I’m a little late to
work?”

 “Of course. It’s
fine.”

I mouthed “thank
you” as she kept talking in my ear. “Okay, tomorrow is fine..... No. We’re just
friends...Yes, I know he’s older.” I heard Levi chuckle, he was enjoying this.
“Uh huh...No...No, Mom, don’t put Dad on.....Hey, Daddy. I’m fine.”

Levi covered his
mouth, but his shoulders shook from the laughter he was trying to hold back. I
rolled my eyes at him.

“No, Daddy, we’re
just friends....He’s nice...Okay, hold on.” I handed the phone to him and
groaned. “My dad wants to talk to you.”

I wasn’t expecting
Levi’s reaction. He looked like he actually wanted to talk to my dad. He took
my phone. “Mr. Crane, this is Levi Phillips....Yes, sir.....Well, I’d like to
date her, but she keeps insisting that we can only be friends....Yes sir, a
little....I understand....A small Baptist church in town...Yes, sir, every
Sunday...Thank you...Okay, here she is.”

He grinned as he
held the phone out to me. I took it and listened to Dad’s opinion of Levi. “I
know, Daddy. He’s a good guy....I like him too...Okay, I love you too...Bye.”

 I hung up the phone
and laid my head down on the table. I felt like I had been run over. I couldn’t
believe he would do that to me again. It was bad enough with Seth in high
school, but I was in college now.

I felt his hand
brush down my hair but didn’t look up. I heard the chair beside me scrape
against the floor. I raised my head and looked at his handsome face now beside
me and blew out a weary breath. “I’m so sorry. My dad can go too far sometimes.
My parents are just very protective of me.”

  “Hey, it’s okay. I
understand. They want to make sure you’re safe, that I won’t hurt you, and you
know I never would.”

“I know that, and I
hope they do too now. What did he say?” I asked hesitantly. I wasn’t sure I
really wanted to know.

“He wanted to know
my intentions towards you and if you’d told me about your ex-boyfriend. He also
wanted to know where I went to church and how often I went,” he said with a
smile.

“Thank you for being
so nice about it.” I reached over and squeezed his hand.

He gave me a cocky
grin. “No problem, pumpkin.”

I groaned and closed
my eyes. “I guess I’ll never outgrow that name.”

“I hope not. I think
it’s cute. Now, is this doctor appointment about your cramps?”

“Yes,” I whined,
embarrassed to be discussing this once again with him.

“I’m glad. You
needed to go. Just come to work when you’re done.”

My stomach growled
loudly, reminding me I hadn’t eaten in a while. “Sounds like somebody’s
hungry,” he said and pulled me up from the table. “I promise you’ll like my
chili. If you can’t get the image of Bambi out of your head, you could always try
and think of it as Elsie the Cow instead.”

 “You’re terrible! I
hadn’t thought of that. Now I’ll have her sweet cow face in my head every time
I eat beef,” I replied, a teasing smile on my lips.

After a tasty dinner
filled with relaxing conversation, I helped him clean up the kitchen. I had
homework waiting to be done, and told him I needed to head on home. We didn’t
speak as we walked along the walkway. As we reached my car, he turned to face me.
“I know we’re just friends, but I’d really like to kiss you. Is that okay?”

I nodded my head and
sucked in a breath as he leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. It was a
short, gentle kiss, but I felt it all the way to my toes. He reached over and
tucked my hair behind my ear, letting his fingers trail down my neck. Chill
bumps erupted on my arms, and my heart rate increased. His fingers continued their
gentle journey over my shoulder and down my arm. He’d never touched me like
this before, and I was lost in the feeling. An owl hooted loudly overhead,
startling both of us. Levi cleared his throat and took a step back. The moment
was over but my heart continued to feel as if it would pound out of my chest at
any second. I reached up and placed a hand over it, trying to make sure it
didn’t. His eyes drifted to my hand then back to my face. “I can look at you right
now and know you feel more for me than just friendship,” he said, his voice
sounding husky.

“I do, but it
doesn’t change anything. I can’t be more to you.” I whispered.

“Why not?” he asked,
and I heard the pain in his voice.

 With tears in my
eyes, I told him the truth for once. “Because I’ll break your heart.”

He watched in
silence as I got in my car, and was still standing there as I pulled onto the
road. I cried all the way home for what I wanted but could never have.

***

     The next day, I
walked into the front office and found Levi behind the counter. I tensed,
unsure of how things were between us now. He looked up from the computer and smiled.
It seemed like he was going to pretend our scene by my car hadn’t happened, and
that was fine with me.

“What are you doing
out here?” I asked, confused to see him in my work area.

“I’m covering for
you.”

I frowned. “Levi,
you’re the boss. You shouldn’t be out here doing my job. You should have called
me. I would have rescheduled my appointment.”

 “No way, you needed
to go. I don’t care that I had to work the counter. I did it for years growing
up. Now what did the doctor say?”

“He said everything
was fine,” I said casually and looked away.

  “Uh uh. Tell me
what he said- all of it.” I whipped my head back around and seeing the scowl on
his face, knew he wasn’t going to let it go.

Giving in to his
demand, I went around the counter so our conversation would be a little more
private. “He really did say I was okay right now. He wants me to take some
medication every day to see if it helps, and if not, I could have a small
surgery done.” I watched as he swallowed before running his hand down his face.
“Levi, stop it. It’s nothing serious. I would tell you if it was, okay?” I
said, placing my hand on his muscular forearm.

He let out a deep
breath. “Okay. It’s just the word surgery makes me nervous.”

“It’s minor surgery.
More like a procedure really, and he doesn’t think I’ll end up needing it. He
thinks this medication will work.”

My words sinking in,
he finally smiled, and I watched as his whole body relaxed. “Did you get your
prescription filled yet?”

“No. I didn’t get a
chance to.”

He held out his hand.
“I’m going right past the pharmacy on College Street to check a job sight. I’ll
drop it off for you then pick it up on my way back. I probably won’t be done
until after five, so I’ll just bring it to you at your apartment. Do you want
me to bring some burgers too?” he asked and wiggled his brow.

I laughed. He wasn’t
very subtle. “That would be awesome. Thank you.”

I dug the
prescription out of my purse and handed it over. He looked down at it. “What
does this even say?”

I shrugged. “I have
no idea. I don’t remember what he said it was, just to take it every day.”

He left, and I
waited on several customers that had come in. The rest of the afternoon went
smoothly, and I headed home thinking of burgers and Levi. He had sent me a text
asking what I wanted, and I couldn’t wait to taste my bacon, mushroom burger. I
had a thing for hamburgers, though I didn’t eat them very often.

He came through the
apartment door carrying a paper sack from the local burger place in one hand
and a pharmacy bag in the other. He set the food down on the kitchen table and
dug my prescription sack from the pharmacy bag. He handed it over and I checked
the receipt. I pulled my wallet from my purse and tried to hand him some money,
but he brushed my hand away. Tossing the money and the unopened prescription
sack on the counter, I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him. “Why do
you have to be so stubborn?” I asked, trying to sound firm but seeing the cute
grin on his face made it nearly impossible.

He closed the distance
between us and grasped my arms, uncrossing them. “You know you love it. Now
come on, let’s eat. I’m wasting away here.”