Her Renegade Cowboy by Lora Leigh

Author:Lora Leigh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Chapter Eighteen

Lily’s heart ached for Levi. The isolation he must’ve felt had to have been difficult. She could relate to a certain extent. She’d isolated herself from friends and loved ones after leaving school without an explanation. Even a little over a year later, Lily separated herself. She’d put up walls of her own and Levi was slowly making her realize that it might be okay to bring them down.

“My regiment was like family, though.” Levi’s rich voice cut a swath through the quiet. “You have to be able to trust the members of your team with your life. They were my brothers for eight years.”

“Why did you leave the military?” Despite having to be up early the next morning, Lily didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to stay up all night and learn everything about him.

“I felt as though I’d served my country and my purpose. It was time to move on.”

The warmth of his voice stirred something in Lily’s chest. Her heart felt as though it would burst from emotion. There was a depth to Levi she’d never known existed. And why would she? She’d never given him a chance to show her any other side of himself.

“Do you feel like you made the right decision?”

“I do,” he answered without hesitation.

She couldn’t imagine what the transition had been like for him, going from being a member of an elite military organization to picking up odd jobs at ranches here and there. But his being in Deer Haven made so much more sense now that she knew a little more about him. Jacob had been in the military as well and had worked for an elite government agency. He’d left that behind—well, mostly behind—for the life of a cattle rancher. Jacob tended to surround himself with men like him. Smart, resourceful, dedicated, and in some instances deadly. It was obvious why she’d always felt so safe with Levi. He’d been trained to protect. And she had no doubt that Levi could be equally deadly.

“I, um…” Lily didn’t know if she could be as honest with Levi as he’d been with her. Her wounds were still so fresh and her fear still ruled so much of her life. But she wanted to let her guard down with him. Even if all she could offer him were half-truths. “I’m pretty good at keeping people at arm’s length too. I had a bad experience when I was at college and I had a hard time dealing with the trauma. I left school and came home. Finished my classes online and made arrangements to do my student teaching in Deer Haven. I didn’t open up to anyone about it for a long time. I don’t trust easily.”

The breath she’d taken lodged somewhere between Lily’s sternum and lungs. She’d hit Levi with a lot of pretty vague information quickly. She braced herself, ready for the questions, not sure if she’d be able to answer them or not.

“Were you hurt?” Levi’s voice went low, tentative as though he shouldn’t ask but wanted to know just the same.

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