"Are any of them girls single?" I point out.
"So what if they're not? Are you telling me that there's a law against a man having a friendship with a woman, just because she's single?" I've learned to read body language very well, and I can tell that Levi isn't being argumentative. His eyes are still soft, he's not raising his voice, and this angle is more like he's just reasoning with me.
"I just wouldn't want to be the cause of any trouble between you and Shelly is all."
"I'll see to it that it's not. Okay?" He reaches over and touches my face, searching my eyes. I could melt right here.
"Okay." I swallow, taking in the warm feel of his touch. Except for my daddy, no man has ever touched my face before. His lips look so soft and warm, too. I've never really wanted to kiss a man before. Not like this. I know that he can never know that I'm attracted to him. It's easy to keep it a secret. It's all I've everknown. I'd give anything to be able to just lean forward and kiss those lips of his, but I know that he's not mine, and I can never have him. He's having a baby, and whether or not he loves Shelly is irrelevant and none of my business. I'll just take in all of him that I can while I can. After tonight, after my words of unselfish wisdom, he may heed my advice and keep his distance. I really wish that he wouldn't, but it's the right thing to do.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, interrupting the moment. Thank God for that. "Sorry, I just need to check this." I explain, knowing that I'm only using my phone as an excuse to break the spell. I see that it's my friend Trisha, offering to meet me at my house after she finishes work. "I should go. I have all the footage I need."
He looks disappointed. "Sure. I'll take you back. It's getting pitch dark out, anyway. I bet it gets difficult for you to read lips once it's dark out."
"Not really. My eyes adjust."
"So, what they say about people that have a lessened sense, that they have a heightened sense to compensate, that's true?"
"I guess it is. My vision is incredible. Night vision, too."
"That's a given, considering the eye you have for what you do."
"That's a good point."
He carefully places my equipment in the side pockets while I fold up the blanket, and then he helps me back on to Digger. As his hands grasp my waist, I get a tickle in my belly and in my private area, and I have to clear my throat to stifle the gasp. Levi climbs on the horse and I suddenly feel his body against mine from the front. And going to meet Trisha becomes very important. I'm absolutely dying to tell her about Levi and my latest crush. She's been listening to my stories for years and this one is going to hurt. I allow myself a touch of the back of his shirt as we ride back to the ranch. The sky is inky black now, and the air is chillier. "Should I take you back to the store or home?"
Visions of Trisha drooling, watching me pull up in Levi's truck, and watching him walk me to my front door, are just too good to resist. And since Buddy and I carpooled together today in his car, it's the perfect opportunity to watch the look on Trisha's face when I arrive home, having been in Levi's four-wheel-drive chariot. "You can just drive me home, if it's all the same to you."
"Sure."
And it's priceless.
Chapter 7
Levi
"Was that the girl from the photography studio?" Nash asks, poking me teasingly.
Turner, one of our newer ranch hands, sticks his head out from the kitchen area in the ranch house. "The hot blonde?"
My fist balls up. "Watch it, Turner."
It's bad enough that Lennie's friend Trisha was there when I brought her home. Lennie had to stifle the questions, forcing her friend back inside the house after introducing me to her. My only hope is that Trisha doesn't have a big mouth, and thatword doesn't get around Copper Cove that me and Lennie are an item. Regardless of whether or not Shelly lives here, she's likely coming for the town Hoedown next weekend, and she might find out.
"Yes. It looks like my little brother has a crush on her." Nash adds to the fire.
"Who wouldn't." Turner says. "She's a hot little number."
"How the hell do you know." I whine. "Since when do you hang out there?"
"Since word got around town that the hot little blonde is running it."
"She's been there for a while. Are you telling me that you've been chasing her for that long and did nothing about it?"
"Well, she's got a thing, see." Turner explains carefully.
"She's deaf. Yeah, I know." I bark. "What's your point?"
Turner lifts his hands in defense, and he backs off.
