The Game (That Girl, #2)(52)

“She was beautiful.” Tears begin to stream down my face, and this time they don’t stop.

“Of course she was.” Levi kisses me. “Her momma is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

“She had beautiful blonde hair.”

“Like her momma.” Levi’s lips drag along my neck, offering some comfort.

“And the sweetest little pink cheeks. I didn’t want to let her go.”

“I’ve learned one thing in this life. You never have to let go of her. Keep her in here.” He stops, pointing to my heart. “Remember the feel of her sweet cheeks and her wild hair. Never let go of it.”

“Levi.” A slight breeze makes the tall grass sway back and forth. “You know that statue of yours out by the guest house?”

He doesn’t answer me, he just holds tighter to me, and I know he heard my question.

“Every time I look at it I think of Gracie. It’s captivating, and I can’t help but think of the precious moments I had with her. They were short yet so beautiful.”

“I don’t talk about those statues, Jazzy, but they’ve gotten me through some rough times too. I understand pain and loss.” Levi drops his forehead to mine.

“Thank you for coming with me today, Levi. I’m a mess.”

“No worse than me, babe. People like us make the world go round.”

“Or dysfunctional as f*ck,” I say with a chuckle.

“Let’s go find a hotel.”

“There’s not many options here.”

I rise to my feet, ready to put all of this behind me. Holding out my hand, I wait for Levi to grab it, and we walk together over to the rental car. I watch as he pulls out the paperwork, opens it up to a certain page, and then hands me a pen.

“You just need to sign this if you want to sell.”

I don’t even think about it and sign my name to the paperwork. I don’t look at the price or any details. Everything inside me just wants to leave this behind. I can tell Levi wants to tell me something, but I don’t give him the chance before I jump in the car with the paperwork.

“Let’s drop this off at Joanne’s office, then we’ll head back toward the airport to find a decent hotel for the night.”

Levi doesn’t ask any further questions and simply follows my directions. We drive for about thirty minutes before Levi pulls into a bar. I shoot him a weird look, and he shrugs.

“Hungry?” I ask.

“Starving, and need to get out of the car for a bit.”

“What if someone recognizes you?”

“Then they do, I guess.”

Levi takes the lead into the dive establishment. I hope one of us doesn’t die from their food. The bar is an old log cabin with a rickety porch. We are hit with puffs of smoke when Levi holds the door open for me. A pool table and a few old men throwing darts are the only things we see. Guess he doesn’t have to worry about being recognized. A weathered old lady waltzes out from the kitchen.

“Help ya?” she asks.

“Menus please?” Levi says.

We find a tiny table nestled in a dim corner. The bar is nothing fancy at all, and almost at the stage of disgusting. I locate the bathroom and excuse myself to use it before sitting down. When I glance into the mirror I notice how awful my reflection looks, with tear-stained cheeks and faded lines of mascara running down it. My eyes are swollen and puffy. The only thing recognizable about me is my hair braided to one side. I try to wash my face with water and hands, then use a rough paper towel to dry it. At least the paper towel rubbed some color back into my complexion.

When I make my way back out to the table, Levi is on the phone talking football lingo, and I know it’s his coach. They’ve been talking more and more every day, and with each call Levi’s excitement grows. I know it’s all good news, which only means his inevitable departure. He holds up his hand when I get nearer, so I grab it, and find myself sitting in his lap. I study the menu as he continues to talk.

“What can I get you?”

I shoot Levi a sideways glance, and he nods, giving me the go ahead to order.

“Um, we’ll take the appetizer sampler and then your dinner special.”

The waitress seems thrilled to have an order. “How do you want your steak cooked?”

“Medium rare, please.”

“What kind of potato?”

“Can we just get an extra dinner salad, please, both with ranch dressing?”

“Will do. Anything to drink?”

“A water for him, and I’ll take a Corona.”

With Levi still on the phone, I check the jukebox app on my phone, and select a variety of classic country music Old Man loved to listen to when I was growing up. You’d think a biker would be into hard rock metal, but not Old Man, and that’s exactly what his name suggests. He was John Wayne on a Harley. The thought of his Harley makes me sick, and I try to push it to the back burner as fast as possible.

I bring Levi’s hands to my mouth, starting to nibble them to distract me. I can tell he’s wrapping up his phone call. Listening to him talk football is so refreshing. His voice has such pep it would make anyone excited about it, even the Grinch.

“Good news?” I ask as he hangs up.

“Yeah.”

“What? Tell me, ass.”