Chapter Thirteen
Levi
“Well, I’ll be damned. If I didn’t see this for myself, I’d never believe it,” Billy calls out to Mark as the boat cuts back toward the DuPonce’s private beach, the lake stretching endlessly around us after a day well spent out on the lake.
“What’s that?” Mark asks.
Billy tips his chin in my direction, a slick grin pulling at his mouth. “Looks like Levi’s face is tryin’ to smile.”
“That’s a smile?” Mark shoots back.
“The closest damn thing I’ve ever seen to one.”
I give Billy the side eye, and he chuckles.
“Too bad you had to ruin it by opening that big mouth of yours.”
His chuckle breaks into full-on laughter, and Mark joins in. I roll my eyes as they carry on, clamping my lips together so they won’t notice my amusement.
“Careful, looks like you’re starting to make friends,” Tom says, shoving me while cracking a grin.
I look at the two goons in the seat across from me who are now tossing cheese puffs into each other’s mouths. They are absolute goofballs, but after all the time I’ve spent with them, I can also say that they’re good men.
“I could do worse,” is all I say back to Tom.
He grins like he knows he’s right and that I’m finally planting some roots here. It’s one thing to work somewhere, but when I start making friends, when people start to matter to me? That’s whenit’s real and goes from only being a place to call home to being somewhere I feel I belong.
Caiden eases the throttle as we enter the bay and hit the no-wake zone. At five miles an hour, with no other boats stirring the water, the lake smooths out until it looks like glass. The sun sinks low behind the mountains, throwing streaks of orange and gold across the surface, the light stretching and fading like it’s in no hurry to leave.
Caiden cuts the engine, and the boat drifts the rest of the way in, nudging softly against the dock. Tom and I hop out, grab the lines, and tie them off before we all grab our things and head back to the trucks.
“Birthday bonfire and hamburgers?” Callie asks us all, wiggling her eyebrows and wrapping her arms around Tom.
“Is a birthday bonfire any different than a regular bonfire?” Emma mumbles playfully.
“I’m down.”
“Same. If there’s food, count me in.”
With Mark and Billy’s enthusiastic approval, they all turn toward me.
I look at Caiden and Della.
“We don’t mind hosting.” Della smiles softly as Caiden kisses her head.
“Sweet.” Billy high-fives Mark. “I’m gonna invite Ainsley and Rory if that’s cool. Their shift should be over by now.”
“And Tris,” I add, still watching Caiden and Della like I’m in a trance. Ellie’s tail wags beside me at the mention of Tri’s name, and I don’t realize I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth until I see everyone’s faces.
Billy is frozen, phone hanging haphazardly in his hands, his eyes darting from face to face as he searches for a cue on what to do. The rest of their movements mimic one another. Hesitationspreads like a ripple with a mix of brows knitting together, creasing foreheads, lips pressed thin or slightly parted like they have a question that’s right on their tongue, but they’re afraid to ask. As they shift their weight from foot to foot, I look around for a cue of my own, not understanding the issue here. Silence stretches as they subtly lean toward Della and Callie. Callie seems to be the only one willing to make eye contact with me, so I tilt my head to the side and focus my attention on her.
“What? Is that not okay?” I ask, not fully understanding the issue.
She looks to Della, an unspoken conversation exchanged through their eyes.
“She apologized to Caiden and me last week. Something to do with Rory’s“12-step program”of how to be a better person,” she says to Callie, putting quotations around 12-Step. With a glance toward Caiden, she shrugs. “That’s fine with us.”
Callie smirks as she looks between Billy and me. “Alright, then. And Tris.”
