I won’t survive losing him. I can’t even begin to imagine a life where I’m not with him.
Out of sheer desperation, I call his number again, and when it goes straight to voicemail once more, I wait for the beep.
“Levi, it’s me again. I don’t know if you’ll get this message, but if you do, please ...” My voice cracks and I have to swallow hard on the tears threatening to fall. “... please call me back.” My breaths start coming too fast. “Don’t ... just ...” A sob bursts from me as more fear pours into my chest, and a panic attack hits hard, making it next to impossible for me to get air into my lungs.
I end the call, and it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest as I get up and hurry to the kitchen. My vision blurs, and horrible, strangled sounds come from me every time I try to inhale.
Yanking open the cupboard, my fingers fumble with the box, and I drop it. Sinking down to my knees, my panic increases until I begin to see spots dancing in front of my eyes. Somehow, I manage to get a pill out, and with a trembling hand, I shove it into my mouth, swallowing it dry.
I move onto my butt and lean against the cupboards, shutting my eyes tightly while I desperately try to breathe.
Feeling woozy, I struggle to remain conscious until the medication finally starts taking effect. When I manage to take deeper breaths, I’m so worked up that I burst out in tears and sob my heart out.
I just want to talk to Levi.
Levi
After I’ve washed my hands, I stand back and glance over the bathroom. I tiled the walls, put in a shower, and installed a new toilet today.
I used timber panels on the wall by the tub and for the floor, and the other two walls are covered in light granite.
Loving the finished look, I smile as I walk to the front of the house.
Since I’ve started working on the place, I’ve gotten a lot done. I spend every day on the farm and only go back to the motel to sleep.
The sellers were very happy with my offer, and Tish is doing her best to push everything through as quickly as possible. She’s hopeful theland will be transferred over to me in the next month or so. It would’ve been sooner, but with the holidays, everything is delayed.
She’s sold my house in Verona, and she’s dealing with another agent to sell the property in Grand Rapids.
A court case has been opened against Colby, but God only knows what will happen there. Honestly, I have zero interest in the matter.
The only thing missing from my life is Kelcie, and I haven’t heard anything from her since she called two weeks ago. Every passing day, it gets harder not to reach out to her, but she asked for space, and I have no choice but to give it to her.
I pat my thigh for Lick to follow as I leave the house and lock up behind me.
We head to the truck I bought two weeks ago, because the sedan couldn’t handle the dirt road anymore. The snow is coming down hard, and I hurry to get Lick into the cab before I climb behind the steering wheel.
Lick shakes her body to get rid of the snowflakes and curls up on the seat while I start the engine and carefully steer the truck toward the road.
Midway to Paoli, where the motel is, my phone starts beeping like crazy. I dig the device out of my pocket, thinking the messages are from Tish.
Seeing Kelcie’s name, I’m so surprised, I almost steer the truck off the road. I quickly pull over and put on my hazards before opening the message and devouring the words, then my fingers move as fast as possible as I type out a reply.
Levi: It’s so good to hear from you. Let me know when works for you. I can come over, or we can meet somewhere.
Guiding the truck back onto the road, a smile spreads over my face while I check my voice messages.
‘Hi. It’s Kelcie. Um ... can you give me a call when you get this message? Ahh ... thanks.’
Jesus, hearing her voice is everything, and it has my smile widening as the next message begins to play.
‘Levi, it’s me again. I don’t know if you’ll get this message, but if you do, please ... please call me back.’The panic in Kelcie’s voice has me frowning, then her breathing speeds up, a clear indication that she’s having a panic attack.‘Don’t ... just ...’
“Fuck!”
When she begins to sob, I floor the gas and head for Verona. I exit my voice messages and quickly press dial on her number, then impatiently listen as the call connects.
“Levi!” Kelcie’s gasp comes over the line.
