The Promise of Rayne by Nicole Deese

Author:Nicole Deese [Deese, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503937703
Publisher: Waterfall Press
Published: 2016-10-31T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Levi replayed Rayne’s hurried departure a hundred times over in the next few days, their interactions limited to phone calls and predawn text messaging. Cal’s return and endless demands on Rayne had been met with ample frustration on his part—all of which could be summed up by a lack of face time with the only Shelby he cared about.

He kicked a pile of loose gravel and trudged up his front porch steps after a long day networking with his new vendors. His mind was everywhere but on the invoices and paperwork awaiting him inside.

A half step into his house, he stopped short.

Hauser’s ears perked up, his eyes playing a game of tennis between Levi and his master.

The smack of the screen door against the frame elicited no reaction from either of the visitors in his home.

“Sit, Hauser. Stay.” Ford laid a weathered hand on the shaggy dog’s head, his bony shoulders bowed as if an invisible fifty-pound weight had been strapped to his back.

Levi tossed his wallet and phone on the coffee table. “Didn’t you have a meeting in town with the Farmers Society this afternoon?”

“It ended early.”

Those meetings never ended early. “How come?”

Ford shifted a shiny object in his hands, continuing on as if Levi hadn’t asked the question at all. “Out of respect, I’ve tried not to notice the odd hours you’ve kept over the last week, your high spirits, your frequent phone calls. I’ve wanted to honor your privacy, refrain from asking too many questions.”

“I’ve been seeing someone.”

“I figured as much,” Ford said, his tone flat.

“And I figured you’d be happier about it. Weren’t you the one lecturing me last month about broadening my interests?”

Ford lifted his chin, steadied his no-nonsense gaze. “Les Jacobs told me he saw you with a woman a few days ago.”

“Where?”

Ford crinkled his brow. “Shouldn’t you be asking me who—who he claims to have seen you with?”

“No, I’m asking you where because we’ve been too careful to be seen within city limits together.”

Ford winced and dropped his head. He blew out a weary breath. “Tell me it’s not her, Levi. Tell me I didn’t defend you to a room full of trusted friends—”

Levi shifted his stance and leveled his gaze. He would own this. He probably should have owned it sooner. “I’m seeing Rayne Shelby.”

The air turned stale and the last of Ford’s optimism drained from his face.

“Where did Jacobs see us?”

“On a delivery upriver. Said he saw her waiting in your truck in a parking lot.”

Levi cursed under his breath. He’d taken her on a quick drop to one of Tom Hutchinson’s franchises last week, two towns over.

“I care for her, Ford. A lot.”

Ford’s gaze sharpened. “And I care for you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“Consequences aren’t always physical. Not the ones that hurt the most anyway.”

“You think she’ll break my heart?”

“I think she’s tied to a family who doesn’t care nearly as much about heart as they do about image.”

Ford’s life was testament enough to such a truth.

“You don’t know her.

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