Page 57 of No Bed Of Roses

The men put in calls to their friends and made arrangements to meet at the farmhouse in the morning to start their search. Troy stood. “I’ll let Ginny and Fiona in on the developments and have them stay alert for him.”

Marcus stood as well. “I’m going to do patrols around the town tonight.” Sean and Branna followed their friends to the front door.

Isla sighed and rested her chin on her hand. “I hope this ends soon. Marcus is going to exhaust himself. And everyone is ignoring their own work because of?—”

Levi held up his hand and raised an eyebrow with a smile.

She sighed again. “Fine. Because of the two idiots who want to hurt me. If no one catches him tomorrow, I think we should leave town for a few days.”

Levi stood up and headed for the cupboards. He pulled a pot out and then found a bag in the freezer. In no time, the scent of popcorn filled the room. He poured it into a bowl, added some butter to the pot to melt it, and then added that to the bowl.

Isla crossed to him. “I’ve never seen anyone make popcorn without a microwave before.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? That stuff is a pale comparison to the real stuff.”

“It’s kind of sexy watching you be all confident in the kitchen.”

Levi laughed. “It’s not even my best room.”

That eased some of the tension from her shoulders as she laughed along with him. His statement might be cocky, but it was totally true, and she wasn’t going to argue with it.

She hadn’t been in the farmhouse often, and she hadn’t been up to Levi’s room because they’d been staying at the cottage.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Levi pointed to the right. “Everyone’s been chipping in when they can to renovate this place. Sean and Branna fixed up their room and bathroom first. They’ve taken down a few walls, and they’re making sure every bedroom is big enough for a king bed and has its own bathroom.”

He turned to the left. “My room got finished second. Troy figured if I had a decent place to stay, I’d be more willing to join up with the group and grow them some hops.”

Isla grinned. With all the stress lately, it was nice to be looking forward to a cozy evening with normal conversation. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

He smiled as they reached his door. “Best decision ever.”

Inside, the room had been painted a soft grey. The large bed faced the window that looked back onto the fields. An older wooden dresser, a comfortable chair, and an ottoman filled the space. Through the door to the bathroom, she could see the same color on the walls and modern fixtures. “This is great.”

He nodded and put the popcorn on a side table. “Not as great as your cottage, but it’s a good space.”

“I’m assuming Troy is spearheading the mission to get your other two buddies here as well?”

Levi laughed. “He sure is. And he’s picking up the pressure on Slick. I think Garrett’s still struggling with losing his K-9 partner overseas. He’s harder to get a hold of most days.”

Levi pulled the curtains closed and pulled a t-shirt out of a drawer. “You want to wear this for the night? We can head back to your place in the morning for fresh clothes.”

Of course she did. There was nothing like wearing a shirt that smelled like Levi.

Soon, they were snuggled up against the headboard, and Levi had set up a tablet. Then he turned to her. “I don’t even know what kinds of movies you like to watch.”

She laughed. “Life has been too busy to watch anything.” And she wasn’t going to think about that. She was going to enjoy this slice of normal.

“What do you watch when you have a chance?”

She shrugged. “I don’t like anything scary or depressing. I like rom-coms, superheroes, science fiction, and fantasy.”

“Lord Of The Rings?”

“Love it.”

Levi grinned, and in moments, the haunting music filled the room. He tucked her under his arm and set the popcorn between them.

She snuggled in and thought life was almost perfect.

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