The Game (That Girl, #2)(51)

“I’m going to text Levi back, confirming you want to sell.”

“I do,” I whisper.

“I’m here, honey, and just texting Levi real quick.”

“Tell me a story, Lynlee, tell me something good from when we were kids.”

It doesn’t take her long to come up with one. Closing my eyes and remembering the smell of my childhood home, I listen.

“Remember the year he got both of us ready for our Christmas concert?”

I don’t reply to her question. I just nod, remembering the whole fiasco and how flustered Old Man was.

“Remember it started out by you cutting your bangs because you swore up and down Mrs. Fletcher would put you in the front at the concert if you had bangs like that little snot Emily. You took a whack or two at them, and then I took one, but remember I never admitted it to Old Man and blamed you for all of it.” Lynlee stops to laugh at the memory.

And I do remember. Lynlee was always scared to death of my dad because of his size and gruffness. His bark was way worse than his bite. Hell, he was a biker through and through, and definitely fit the stereotype except for raising a daughter.

“Well, he was pissed at us. Then you, being a genius, decided to get some butter to shine your hair up since there were no girl products in the house at all. We looked like two little greased rats in raggy clothes. Old Man finally gave up and took us to the club, and two women got us all fancied up, but looking back I think we probably looked more like hookers than Christmas angels. Your dad was so pissed at you for the scissors and butter.”

Silence fills the line as I soak up all the good memories of Old Man. Levi walks out of the trailer with the smiling Joanne, and I notice he’s carrying a couple of bags. I don’t even want to know what’s in them. As he gets closer, I see pink, and know what it is.

“Do you think my dad knows the baby died?” I ask Lynlee.

“Yep, I guarantee those two are up in heaven raising some grief.”

“I think Levi just found out about the baby,” I whisper, studying his face as he gets closer to the car.

Joanne hands him some papers, and they shake hands. She keeps her hands on Levi’s arms just a little too long for my liking. I’m instantly on the defense, pissed about the combination of her smug smile and her f*cking hands on him. I try to calm myself, knowing I’m just looking for a fight right now.

I watch as she walks over to her fancy SUV, smiling like she just won an Olympic gold medal. Guarantee she realized who Levi is, and the sale of the trailer and land was probably a cherry on top of the sundae.

“Levi is getting in. Love you, Lynlee.”

“Talk to him, Jazzy. Tell him everything. Tell him the parts you won’t share with me. Let it all out.”

“Bye, love you.”

I don’t wait for any more of her lecture, because I know she’s right. I need to let him know the whole story. The part that happened after Lynlee left me. I watch as he raises his hand over my head, setting the bags in the back along with the paperwork, which I assume I’m to sign.

“Can we go to the cemetery?”

Levi doesn’t talk. He puts the small car into reverse, backing out of the driveway. He stays silent along the main road, and makes each turn for the cemetery.

“You’re scaring me,” I finally admit.

“I don’t know what to say, Jazzy.”

“Are you mad at me?”

Levi puts the car into park, climbs out, and grabs me from my seat. His hands clutch at my lower back, and then I feel his face against my neck, and his warm tears follow.

“I’d never be mad at you, baby. I don’t know what to do for you.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

I grab his hand, leading him over to two matching headstones. They are out in the open by themselves, and I sink to my knees before them.

“That’s my dad. Old Man was his club name and the only thing I ever called him.”

Levi sits next to me and grabs my hand.

“That’s baby Gracie. She was mine.”

I lay down in Levi’s lap and study Gracie’s grave sideways, spelling her name forward and backward in my mind. Trying to remember all of her sweet little features.

“I only got to hold her one time. She was stillborn.”

He remains silent, holding me as I let out the tears and as much of the story as I can.

“The nurses and the doctors didn’t tell me she was dead. They all lied, so I’d keep pushing. It wasn’t until I didn’t hear any cries that I knew. They let me hold her.”

“Your dad died on November twelfth, and she was born on December fifth.”

“Yes, the wreck sent me into preterm labor, not by much, though. I was put on bed rest for the remainder of pregnancy. Alone in bed was hell. They still don’t know why she died.”

“I lost everything. Lynlee left me nine months earlier. We were supposed to run away together, but I got pregnant and couldn’t go with her.”

“Then your dad,” he whispers. “Holy shit, Jazzy.”

“See, I have to sell it, Levi.”

“Where’s the guy who got you knocked up?”

“That I’m not going into with you. He hurt me worse than anyone.”

Levi lifts me up to face him, my legs straddle his middle, and I look straight into his eyes.