When Life Happened by Jewel E. Ann
Chapter Twenty-Two
After only three hours of having Rags, Levi questioned how the dog would fit in at his place in Scottsdale. For an eight-year-old dog, he had the energy of a puppy. It worked fine at the house in the country with a doggy door and huge, fenced-in yard, but Levi had neither to offer him in Arizona.
“He sure does bark a lot.” Joe, Levi’s dad, said as he carried another box down the stairs. “Your neighbors won’t be too thrilled.”
Levi took the box and carried it the rest of the way to the garage where they were sorting things to be sold, things to donate, and things family members wanted to keep. “Yeah, that same thought has crossed my mind. The barking seems excessive, and he keeps jumping on the fence and digging a hole by it like he’s trying to escape.”
Joe took a black permanent marker and wrote “donate” on the box. “I think he likes the neighbor better than you.”
“Can’t blame him.” Levi grinned, looking out at the spastic dog.
“Down boy.” Joe looked over his shoulder with a matching grin. “Your stay here is temporary.”
“Just an observation. That’s all. How’s Mom coming along?”
“She’s still sitting on the floor of the closet folding all of Sabrina’s clothes, hugging them, sniffing them, staining them with her tears … basically breaking my goddamn heart. I’ve been able to fix a lot in her life, but this…” he shrugged, swallowing back his own emotion “ …I don’t know if she’ll ever be the same.”
“She seemed to be better when Tess was here.”
Gus’s parents had loaded up the back of their vehicle with things they wanted to keep and said they would be back later.
“Rags!” Levi whistled, tired of listening to the nonstop barking.
“Sabrina won’t know if you don’t keep him,” Joe said.
“I’ll know.”
“Looks like you’re going to get some help.” Joe nodded to Parker walking toward the gate. “I’ll be upstairs. Don’t say anything stupid.” He chuckled.
“Me? Never.” Levi continued packing things from Gus’s workbench that Gerald said to donate, enjoying a reprieve from the barking, thanks to Parker on her way to save the day.
“Excuse me, sir, your dog is barking excessively.”
He liked how she joked and the way she said as much with her squints, winks, and rapid blinking as she did with her words. Levi had never seen such expressive eyes.
“Sorry. It’s been brought to my attention that he may like the neighbor better than he likes me. Which is crazy. I’m very likable.” He focused on her hand where Rags was eating something out of it. “What’s that?”
“Turkey jerky. He loves it.”
“Clearly. You didn’t mention that in your bag of tricks earlier.”
“I’ll hook you up with some before you go.”
“I’d be forever indebted if it keeps him quiet.” Levi took in her tan, sexy legs, curvy hips, narrow waist, and perky breasts. When his eyes met hers, she gave him a knowing look. He prayed she didn’t ask him if he’d been checking her out or staring at her boobs.
“How’s the packing going?”
“Um…” he returned his attention to the tools in the drawers “ …good. For only two people, they sure did accumulate a lot of stuff.”
“I was just thinking the same thing about my sister and her husband. They’re moving ‘a small amount’ of their stuff in as we speak. I needed some fresh air. Although, I’m not sure the air is fresh here. It’s weird being here.”
“It’s weird going through their stuff. I feel like I’m invading their privacy. Then there’s the part of me that worries we’ll come across something they don’t want anyone to see.”
Parker chuckled. Levi liked the innocence in her laugh as much as he liked how the resting position on her face was always a slight smile. Kind. Warm. Welcoming.
“You thinking drugs or sex tapes?”
He also liked how she read his mind, yet didn’t seem to judge him.
“Both. And it won’t be me who finds it. My mom or Tess will find it.”
“My mom would not survive finding a sex tape of me. Drugs? Yes. But not sex. She has an aversion to it. It’s a miracle my sister and I are here. If I’m honest, I think she’s the Virgin Mary reincarnated. It might explain why we look nothing like our dad.”
Levi laughed at her candor. “By the way, my mom is going through all of the stuff in Sabrina’s closet. If we can tear her away from clinging to everything that smells like Sabrina, you’re more than welcome to take any of her clothes or shoes. They’re just going to be donated.”
Parker stiffened, her natural smile pulled into a slight frown. “I’m … uh … good. Her clothes are too small for me. I’m certain everything is a petite size. Not fitting for my height. And I know her shoes are three sizes smaller than my tens. But thanks for offering.”
“No problem.”
Pulling out another stick of turkey jerky, she bit off a piece then tossed the rest to Rags.
“What are your job plans? Have you had a chance to think about it?” Levi asked.
“I have a degree in communications. I’d like to use it, so I think I’m going to submit my résumé to the local radio and television stations. If they’re not hiring right now, I’ll have to get another temp job, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.”
“What kind of position are you hoping for?” Levi taped another box shut and moved it to the pile.
She rocked back and forth on her heels, hands interlaced behind her back. “Sports reporter.”
“Good choice. Not weather girl?”
“No way. I suck at geography, therefore I have no business pointing to a map on live television.”
“I loved geography.”
“Yeah?” She shrugged, looking around the garage with a slight grimace as if something caused her pain. “Then maybe you should be a weather girl. But … I have to go. It’s very weird being here with their stuff, his van … just everything. I don’t know how you’re doing it.”
Levi leaned his backside against the work bench. “I’m not sure the day will come where it’s easy. I just want to be done. Go home. And try to adjust to life without them. Sabrina and I didn’t see each other as much since she took over the firm, but I still texted her every day. Sometimes it was nothing more than a gif of some guy’s hairy ass, or a picture of me on the golf course bragging about taking the day off—on a Tuesday.” He laughed.
Parker grinned, the kind of grin that made him want to do funny dances, tell his best jokes, and master the art of making her smile. Maybe he didn’t want to be done. Maybe seeing her made enduring the house of memories a little longer worth it.
“I’m sure you know what I mean. I’d imagine you and Piper probably talk every day as much if not more than Sabrina and I did.”
Her eyebrows gathered as she chewed on her lower lip. “Actually, we had a falling-out a couple years ago. They just moved back here from Kansas City. After two years, we’re talking again, but things are still a bit … rough.”
“Really?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You haven’t talked to your sister in years?”
Parker nodded, nose wrinkled.
“Must have been something pretty bad. You’re twins so she couldn’t have stolen your boyfriend, so—” Levi’s eyes shot open wide as Parker’s cringe revealed that was what had happened. “No. Not possible.” He shook his head a half dozen times.
“Yeah.”
“But that’s not who she marri—” He bent forward as Parker’s cringe intensified. “Oh, ouch! Who does that?”
“My sister, apparently.”
“Your ex-boyfriend aka brother-in-law and your pregnant sister are going to be living with you for several months?”
“So you see it too? It’s weird and wrong, and just … well … wrong.”
“You two seemed fine this morning.”
“Given the events of the past few days, I’m too emotionally drained to deal with her. That, and you were there offering to help move my stuff from my room to the smaller bedroom. You helped kick me out.”
Levi fisted his hand at his mouth and snickered. “Oh shit. I had no idea. Why didn’t you say something?”
“And put you in the middle? Were you going to take my side?”
“Probably not at the time. I would have slithered out the back door with Rags before the claws came out. But had I known the story then, yes, I would have marched up the stairs and nailed you to your, or …” he closed his eyes and shook his head “…nailed your bed to the floor.” Levi blew out a breath of how-the-hell-did-I-say-that? “Your dresser too, but of course not … you.” His voice was barely a whisper by that point.
Parker pinched her lips together, wide eyes fixed on him.
Levi held out his hand. “It’s been a pleasure knowing you. I wish the circumstances had been better. Now, I think it’s best if we part ways before my twisted words cause me any more humiliation.”
He blamed his sister’s and Gus’s deaths on the jumbled state of his brain. Lack of sleep and not having taken the opportunity himself to properly grieve also played large roles in Levi’s Lewd Comments Show.
“Thank you. It has been an unexpected pleasure and relief from … everything. And your offer to nail things was quite flattering, but the wood floors were recently refinished, and my bed is new so … no nailing.”
His temperature rose a good ten degrees around her. He tugged on his shirt to pull it away from his sweaty body and circulate some air before he overheated.
“Here.” She dug into her pocket and handed him several more jerky sticks. “For the trip home.”
He took them and set them on the bench. “Thank you.”
“Don’t eat them.” She squinted one eye with her head turned a fraction to the side. “Because they are so good and if you try one, you’ll eat all of them, and then you won’t have any when you need them for Rags.”
He made a criss-cross over his heart. “Promise. I’ll stay out.”
“Take care, Levi Paige. And …” The happiness on her lips wilted. “Again, I’m very sorry for your loss.”
It still didn’t feel real. He figured the first time he went to text Sabrina then it would feel real and knock him on his ass. “Thank you, Parker. And … if you’re ever in the Scottsdale area, look me up.”
He wasn’t listed in any phone book or directory. How would she look him up? It felt like the right thing to say at the moment, and part of him, hell, all of him meant it.
“Job first. I don’t have the funds to travel anytime soon. But if I hit the Powerball, I’ll definitely stop by on my way to California.”
“What’s in California?”
“The ocean. I’ve never seen it.”
“You’ve never seen the ocean. How old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
“How is that possible?”
“Iowa is in the middle. No ocean.”
“And you’ve never left Iowa?”
“No. I’ve ventured to a few other states, but those are in the middle too.” She waved. “Tell your parents I said bye and safe travels.”
He nodded slowly as he tried to comprehend her lack of travel for someone her age. High school. College. Where did she go for spring break? Summer vacations?
