Well Played by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 26
Presley
“Do you think you can run to Home Depot and pick up the bolts we need to hang the swing on the porch?”
Tanner’s forehead wrinkled. “The swing I put in the garage the other day?”
“Yes.”
“The bolts to hang it come with the swing. I read it on the box.”
I’d been afraid he might say that, so I’d snuck into the garage a half hour ago, opened the box, took out the bolts, and hid them in my dresser drawer.
I shook my head and reached into my pocket for the directions. “It says they’re supposed to be in the box, but they weren’t. I opened it earlier.” Unfolding the paper, I pointed to the picture of the bolts included with the parts descriptions. “This is the size we need.”
Tanner took the paper. “I’ll pick them up tomorrow. I have to go over to the college and do some paperwork. It’s right down the street from the Home Depot.”
I shook my head. “No. I need it hung tonight. The guy who revamped the website for the inn wants to add a video of it on the homepage before we officially open. Something about giving it movement to catch the eye.”
Tanner sighed. “Alright, fine.”
“Could you also stop at the grocery store and pick up some coffee beans?”
“There’s coffee in the cabinet.”
“Not anymore. I made an extra pot this afternoon and finished the last of it.” Or the can is sitting in my underwear drawer next to the swing bolts.
Tanner nodded. “Okay, sure.”
“And…would you mind taking my car and putting windshield wiper fluid in? Oh, and I told Alex he could stay over at his friend Kyle’s tonight, if you could also drop him on the way.”
Tanner’s brows rose. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s it.” But only because asking you to drive to Florida to get some fresh oranges might be a bit over the top.
Normally I felt bad asking people for favors, though today I’d been incapable of feeling bad for anyone but myself. This entire day had been absolute torture. Tanner hadn’t left the house, and I thought I might seriously burst if I didn’t get some alone time to talk to Levi. So I had no choice but to create a few chores to make it happen. Levi had been scarce all day, holed up in his room with the door closed, like he was right now. So once I got Alex and Tanner out of the house, I went straight to his bedroom and took a deep breath before knocking.
“Come in.”
I opened the door. A half-packed suitcase was laid out on the bed, and Levi held a stack of T-shirts in his hand. The look on his face made my heart twist in my chest. He looked as down and out as I felt. Without a word, I stepped into his room and shut the door behind me.
Levi looked over my shoulder at the door and then back at me.
“Don’t worry. I sent Tanner to run some errands. He won’t be back for at least an hour. And Alex is staying at his friend’s tonight, though I promised I’d pick him up by seven AM tomorrow, because he wants to spend every waking moment he can with you before you leave us.”
If it were possible, Levi’s long face grew even sadder. He raked a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry he’s upset about me leaving.”
I’d been on the verge of tears all day, but suddenly I felt a different emotion. Anger. I put my hands on my hips. “Really? Is it just him you’re sorry about hurting? Did you ever stop and think maybe someone else might be hurt by your sudden announcement?”
Levi blew out a jagged breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you one on one like I’d planned.”
My voice rose to slightly less than a shriek. “So what you’re sorry for is telling me the news in an inopportune way, not for leaving early?”
Levi just kept shaking his head with his eyes cast down. “I’m sorry. Work called, and I need to go back early.”
“Bullshit. I remember how these things go, Levi. I’m not an idiot. If your contract says you have to report at ten AM on July twenty-third, you guys show up no earlier than nine fifty-nine. And the players union doesn’t even want you to give the team that one extra minute. So this was a choice you made.”
He nodded. “You’re right. It was. I made a choice to go back a little earlier to help out the new receivers.”
I shook my head. Levi still wasn’t looking me in the eyes, so I closed the gap between us. “Look at me, Levi. And tell me why you’re really going back.”
His eyes raised and jumped back and forth between mine a moment before he closed them and took a deep breath. “I’m leaving because things between me and you need to end.”
Sadness wrapped around my heart and squeezed out all the anger. I did my best to blink back the sting of tears, but I knew I couldn’t keep them at bay too long. “Why? Why does it need to end?”
Levi leaned his forehead against mine. “I’m not right for you. You moved back to Beaufort to give you and your son the life you deserve. That life is here for the taking, and it doesn’t include me.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks. “But you said we could find a way to work it out.”
“We got caught up in the heat of the moment. I care about you, Presley. I really do. And Alex, too. But what happened between us should’ve never happened. It was a mistake.”
It felt like someone had slapped me across the face. Saying it had to end was one thing, but regretting it and calling it a mistake was another altogether. I took two steps back. “A mistake? How can you say that? You told me once that you’d never regret us.”
“You should give your family a chance, Presley. Alex deserves to have his father in his life, and you deserve to have someone who can be by your side day in, day out.”
“But I don’t want to be with Tanner. I want to be with you. I know it’s confusing and people will get hurt, but we can figure it out. I know we can. That’s what you said all along. You made me believe it could work.”
Levi squeezed his eyes shut. He was quiet for a long time. Eventually he looked up and swallowed. “I don’t want to work it out, Presley.”
It felt like someone knocked the wind out of me.
Levi shook his head. “I’m sorry if I led you on and took things too far. I will be there for Alex—that, I promise. But you and me? It was never going to last. We live two very different lives, and I don’t want to be tied down while I’m on the road.”
My lips trembled. “I see.”
He looked down again. “I’m sorry, Presley. I really am.”
Levi stepped forward with his arms out, like he was going to console me. But no way could I let him do that. As it was, I was on the verge of breaking down. I just needed to get the hell out of here. So I put my hand on his chest and shoved to stop him. “Don’t. I’ll be fine.” I lifted my chin, even though tears were already dripping from it. “Goodbye, Levi.”
***
I had to put ice packs on my eyes the next morning to reduce the swelling enough so I could drive to pick up Alex. Last night had been brutal. I kept replaying the months Levi and I had shared over and over in my head to see what I’d missed. There must have been signs that things between us were only a fling to him, signs that I missed because of my growing feelings. People don’t just wake up one day and randomly decide a relationship isn’t worth fighting for. But no matter how hard I thought back and dissected our time together, I just couldn’t see what was coming.
And that scared the hell out of me. I’d been blindsided once before by love—by Tanner—and I’d thought I’d learned from that experience and grown as a woman. Falling for another man, only to be discarded like yesterday’s trash again, wasn’t just heartbreaking; it made me feel like a complete idiot.
Luckily, one of the benefits of being a mom was that you didn’t get much time to wallow in self-pity. The minute I picked up Alex from his friend’s house, he started rambling on and on about his Uncle Levi, and I had no choice but to suck it up.
“Grandma told me Uncle Levi’s team is retiring Grandpa’s football jersey this year. The whole family is going to a big ceremony in September. It’s in Denver, so Uncle Levi will be there, too. Do you think we can go with them, Mom? Grandma said we could if you said it was okay.”
“I’m not sure, sweetie. Things might be busy here. Why don’t we talk about it when it gets closer.”
“It’s in fifty-one days. I looked it up. I’m going to ask Uncle Levi about it this morning.”
I didn’t have the heart or the energy to tell Alex his uncle likely wouldn’t want us to come visit. So instead, I just nodded and forced a smile.
“Next summer, do you think Uncle Levi will come back to The Palm? Maybe he could help coach my summer camp.”
It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. “I’m not sure what Uncle Levi will have planned for next summer. That’s almost a year away.”
“Three-hundred-and-forty-three days.”
My real smile couldn’t help but peek out. I reached over and mussed my son’s hair. “Someone found a calendar.”
When we pulled up at the inn, Tanner was sitting outside on the swing with his coffee. I hadn’t come out of my room after talking to Levi last night to see if Tanner had installed it once he got back from the wild goose chase I’d sent him on.
He stood as we approached. “What’s up, killer?” He held a fist out to Alex and the two bumped. “How was your night? You didn’t sneak out of Kyle’s house to meet up with girls and smoke cigarettes and drink whiskey, did you?”
Alex laughed. “Girls are gross, Dad.”
Tanner winked at me. “Just girls? Not booze and smokes?”
“Daaad…you’re so not even funny.”
Tanner chuckled. He nodded toward the house. “Why don’t you go inside and get washed up for breakfast? I picked up chocolate chips when I was at the supermarket last night so I could make us double chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I’m gonna start making them in a few because I have to drive Uncle Levi to the airport this morning.”
“Okay!”
Tanner looked at me after Alex ran into the house. “How do you like your swing?”
“It looks great. Thanks for doing that.”
“I knocked on your door last night to tell you it was done, but you didn’t answer.”
“I guess I conked out pretty early.”
Tanner nodded. He seemed to study my face for a minute. “You okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
He held my eyes. “You look a little swollen…like you’ve been crying or something.”
I looked away. “My allergies are just bad. Actually, I’m going to take a shower right now. The hot water and steam usually do a lot to help my sinuses.”
“Make it quick. I’m making those chocolate chip pancakes for all of us. They’re not just our boy’s favorite, they’re my big bro’s favorite, too.”
I tried in earnest not to frown, but gravity had my lips reaching for the floor. “I’m not really hungry. So don’t wait for me to eat.” I walked toward the door and looked back. “Thanks again for hanging the swing.”
Tanner winked. “My pleasure, sweetheart.”
***
Today it was apparently my turn to stay in my room. I guess maybe it was only fair considering Levi had done it all day yesterday. I’d seen his flight paperwork on the kitchen table when I’d grabbed coffee earlier, so I knew it wouldn’t be much longer before he would be heading to the airport. It was going to kill me not to say goodbye, but I couldn’t imagine how I could do that in front of everyone without bursting into tears. We’d made it this far without Tanner knowing anything had happened between us, so there was no reason to blow it now with an overly emotional goodbye. I just needed to keep to myself for a little while longer, and then it would all be over.
Well, it wouldn’t be over. Not in my heart anyway. Because you can’t just flip a switch and turn love off. But at least the risk of Tanner finding out would be minimal once Levi was gone.
I sat in my room and counted down the minutes with my heart ricocheting in my chest. Then my bedroom door suddenly burst open.
I jumped up from where I sat on the bed, and my hand covered my heart. “Alex, you scared the wits out of me! Remember our rule? We knock on any closed door, especially here at the inn.”
“Sorry, Mom. I just wanted to ask if it was okay if I went with Dad to drop Uncle Levi at the airport. Dad said I had to check with you to make sure you didn’t have anything else going on.”
I sighed. “That’s fine. Go ahead.”
Just like Tanner had done earlier, my son searched my face before his little one wrinkled. “Are you okay, Mommy?”
I smiled sadly. I hated lying to my son, even when it was for his own good. “I’m fine, honey. My allergies are just bothering me.”
He walked over and took my hand. “I’m sad Uncle Levi is leaving, too.”
I blinked a few times. “What?”
“When your allergies are bothering you, you sneeze all the time. I think you’re just sad like me that Uncle Levi is leaving. He’s fun to have around.”
I stroked my son’s cheek. He was such a perceptive little boy. “How about you and I take a ride to the beach tomorrow? Maybe we can get a hotel room for the night and spend two days surfing the waves in Myrtle Beach?”
My son fist pumped. “Can I get a new boogie board before we go?”
I smiled. “Of course.”
“Okay!” Alex squeezed my hand. He then started for the door, but stopped when he realized I wasn’t following. “Come on. Uncle Levi is packing the car. You need to say goodbye.”
“Ummm...” I couldn’t think of a way to avoid doing it, so I reluctantly nodded. “Okay.”
Out in the kitchen, Levi was putting his laptop into a backpack when we walked in. He looked up and, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he was in as much pain as I was.
He smiled sadly. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
Tanner strolled into the room, swinging around a set of keys dangling from a lanyard. He smiled. “You ready to go, superstar?”
Levi’s eyes jumped to meet mine again before he looked down to zip his backpack. “Yep.”
“Let’s hit the road then.”
Again, Levi’s eyes met mine. Of course, my plan had been to avoid saying goodbye, but now it would seem weird if we didn’t at least hug or something. So I took a deep breath and walked over. “Goodbye, Levi. Good luck this season.” The hug was awkward, but when I went to pull away, Levi’s grip on me tightened.
He whispered in my ear, “Good luck with this place. My grandfather was a wise man.”
When he released me and I took a step back, there were tears in his eyes. Levi coughed and turned away. “Let’s go. I don’t want to miss my flight.”
I followed them to the door, completely numb. Levi never looked back as he got into Tanner’s SUV and buckled. Alex climbed into the back and the engine started, but at the last second, Tanner opened the driver’s side door and jogged up to the porch where I stood. He kissed my cheek and pulled me in for a hug.
“I forgot to say goodbye.”
Tanner and I had put a lot of the hard feelings behind us, and we were friendly these days, but we weren’t in a place where we hugged and kissed goodbye, so I thought it was odd. Until I looked up and saw Levi watching from the car. That had been Tanner’s point. Apparently my son wasn’t the only perceptive one in the house, and Tanner wanted to leave his brother with a lasting memory.
***
I allowed myself a solid hour of crying, and then I took a second shower. I’d considered calling Harper to talk through everything, but that would have inevitably led to more tears, and I didn’t want to be red faced and swollen when my son arrived back home. So instead, I put the kettle on and made a cup of chamomile tea. As I steeped the bag and stared into space, someone knocked at the front door. More and more people had been stopping by to inquire about renting a room lately. While that was a good thing, I was glad there was still another week until the grand opening, because I couldn’t imagine having to smile and welcome strangers right now.
But when I opened the door, it wasn’t a stranger on the other side at all.
Tanner’s mother took one look at my face and frowned. “Can I come in?”
The last thing I wanted was to discuss anything about either of her sons, but I also couldn’t turn her away. So I nodded and stepped aside for her to enter.
She walked into the kitchen and looked at my teacup sitting on the counter. “Mind if I join you?”
Yes. “No, of course not. I’ll make you a cup.”
We were both quiet as I prepped a second cup. Setting it down in front of her, I took the seat on the other side of the table.
Shelby wrapped her hands around the mug. “I know you’re hurting right now. But sometimes the hardest decisions we have to make end up being the right ones.”
I swallowed. “Nothing feels right at the moment.”
Shelby reached across the table and took my hand. “In life, there are so many different paths we can take. Often we feel compelled to cross one bridge over another to get to a new place. So we don’t really give the bridge to the place we’ve been any true consideration, unless the other bridge is burned, and we have no choice. Right now, you’re probably feeling like you lost your way. But I promise you, everything happens for a reason. Just because you’re forced to take a different bridge, doesn’t mean you can’t find happiness on the other side, Presley.”
I’d told myself I wasn’t going to cry anymore today, but a tear escaped and slid down my cheek. I wiped it away. “I’m not ready to talk about this, Shelby. But I appreciate you trying to make me feel better.”
She patted my hand. “It’s going to take time. But if you want to talk at any point, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like me to take Alex for a few days?”
I shook my head. “I think we’re actually going to go down to the beach for a day or two.”
Shelby smiled and nodded. “That’s a good idea. You know the old saying: Saltwater cures everything.”
She finished her tea and brought her cup to the sink before gathering her purse. Unzipping it, she took out an envelope and extended it to me. “I almost forgot. Levi asked me to give this to you.”
My heart, which had felt deflated, suddenly started to pump again. “What is it?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t open it, and he didn’t say.”
I took the envelope. “Okay, thank you.”
Shelby was barely out the door when I tore the envelope open. I don’t know what I’d been expecting; I guess I’d assumed it was a letter of some sort—the goodbye we didn’t get to have, or some attestation of his true feelings for me. But it wasn’t a letter at all. Inside was a stapled packet of legal documents, though I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at.
Quitclaim deed?
Grantor and Grantee?
I flipped through the pages, the last of which had Levi’s signature on it, then went back and started to read from the top. The meaning of the document didn’t become clear until the second full paragraph.
I, Levi Sanford Miller, hereby remise, release and forever quitclaim all of my interest in 638 Palm Court, The Palm Inn, City of Beaufort, State of South Carolina, to Presley Sullivan.
Oh my God.
Levi didn’t write me a love letter. He signed over his half of the inn to me.
And cut the last tie that binds us.
