Chapter Four
Levi
“Let me, let me, let me!” Krystal hops up and down like a little kid in front of me with a comb, a pair of scissors, and an electric shaver. The site is horrifying, especially since this is the third room in our home I’ve attempted to escape into, and now she’s got me cornered in the bathroom.
“Baby, you are not a hairdresser,” I tell her slowly, backing up until my back hits the marble sink.
Damn.
A devious smile creeps across her innocent face, so wide that it makes me laugh.
“Come onnnnnnnnnnn.” She bats her eyelashes. “How hard can it be? It’s not like you’re going to care if I mess up. You don’t care what anyone thinks. Besides, I’m the one who has to look at it.” She lowers her chin and raises a brow as if challenging me to tell her otherwise.
I laugh, a breathless wheeze, each inhale catching in my throat. As my laughter subsides, I take in a deep breath, and a feeling of pure contentment settles over me. It’s the way she’s always made me feel. Since the moment I saw her, I knew she was the peace I’d been chasing my whole life. Also, she has a point, and by the look on her face now, she already knows she’s won.
“Fine.” I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling.
I can’t ever tell her no. She’s my Achilles heel. If we ever have a daughter and there are two of them, I’m in serious trouble. I pull my shirt off over my head, and her gaze drops with hunger and delight.
“Are you sure you’d rather cut my hair? I can think of something else we could be doing with our time that’s way more fun.”
She giggles, tucking her long brown hair behind her ears as her tan cheeks warm to a deep shade of pink. The sound brings an easy smile to my face as she reaches out and traces the new robin tattoo that I got after she agreed to marry me. I still can’t believe she said yes, but I’ve learned not to question good things.
“I love you,” she says softly before kissing my lips and sitting me down so she can start what will hopefully not be the worst haircut of my life. “We don’t want the team in Shasta Ridge thinking you’re some kind of neanderthal.”
With every snip of the scissors, I feel her absence, like a part of her is leaving me all over again. The barber tries to make small talk, but with a few pointed looks, he quickly catches on that I’m not in the mood. By the time the cape comes off, all I feel is numb. Krystal’s words ring in my head as I step out of the barbershop, hair freshly cut and beard trimmed for the first time since the love of my life did it herself.
I hop back into the passenger seat of Tom’s truck when he arrives, images of Krystal smiling as she stood behind me in the mirror, proud of her work, flitting through my head. I try to remember her, every detail, as best as I can. Perhaps some part of me believes that maybe if I get the image of her just right, I’ll be able to conjure her beside me.
I reach to remember the way her lips were always tilted up with a small smile, how her big brown eyes looked like the canyons we visited a few years back and how they swirled with shades of brown and mahogany, or how the beating of her heart felt against my chest when the world was quiet and we’d wake up wrapped in each other before our day began. As if he knows I’m not all here, Tom doesn’tsay a word. We head to the house in silence, where Callie and Sunny are waiting for us.
We pull up the winding road, and as we crest the hill, Tom’s A-frame style home comes into view. It’s tucked snugly into the forest, sleek and modern with dark wood siding and blacked-out windows. It blends into the Adirondack wilderness that surrounds it perfectly. A lot of blood and sweat went into building this home. I should know, it’s also my blood and sweat forever embedded into those floorboards. The land belongs to his sister and her family, who live up the road. She thought we were crazy for doing it ourselves, but when it was all done, no one could deny that the man had a vision.
“Your room is all set up and ready for you.” Tom puts the truck in park and hops out. Callie greets him at the door with Sunny in her arms, and the image is suddenly all too much. My heart aches something bad. How is it possible to be so happy for someone while, at the same time, being so incredibly jealous? They look good together, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted for my best friend, mybrother, but damn it.
I miss her.
I wantedthiswith her.
Breathing out roughly, I get out of the truck. Callie’s face lights up when she sees me, and she hands Sunny off to Tom. She skips down the steps and throws her arms around me in another hug. From over her shoulder, Tom tilts his head to the side and smiles apologetically, but also with a look that says, “Don’t be a jerk.”
“Stop, I’m obsessed.” She backs up and takes in the new haircut and beard trim. “Levi, you look so handsome.”
“Yeah,” I say flatly.
Tom’s eyes drop, so I continue in an attempt not to let my bad mood rub off on them.
“That’s me. Devilishly handsome thanks to the one and only, Miss Callie DuPonce.”
Callie laughs and takes a bow, pretending to wave to onlookers that aren’t there. “Thank you, thank you. You’re all so welcome. My contribution to society has been made.” She turns her attention back to me, smirking and with an eyebrow raised. “Now that you look pretty, maybe we can work on that dazzling personality.”
I forget how Callie doesn’t miss a thing, but she’s always quick to remind me.
“Good luck,” I mumble.
She knows better than anyone just howdazzlingmy personality has always been. Like a disco ball with knives sticking out of it. Shiny, but will probably stab your eyes out. Though now it’s a little less on the shiny side and more on the stabby one.
She hums before turning back toward the house, and I follow behind her. When she reaches Tom, she places a kiss on his cheek.
