Page 15 of Levi

As they pulled into Kinley’s driveway, Levi parked the truck and turned to face her. “I’ll walk you to your door.”

“Do you want to come inside?” she asked.

“I should probably head home before the snow gets any worse,” he replied.

“Okay,” Kinley said with a hint of disappointment.

Levi opened the truck door and walked around to help her out, but she had already reached the front of the truck. Gesturing for her to lead the way, they walked toward her porch together. As she unlocked the door, he couldn’t ignore his strong desire for her but also worried if getting involved with her would be a mistake.

“Will I see you again?” she asked softly.

“Yeah, at Thanksgiving,” he answered with a grin, laughing when she narrowed her eyes. “Of course, if you want to.”

“Doyouwant to?” she pressed.

He hesitated before nodding. “I do like you Kinley, and I think we need more time togetherto figure out if there’s something real between us. But I’m not ready to share my whole story with you just yet.” He shook his head. “It’s not something I want just anyone to know, but when the time is right and we know each other better, I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

“When you know if you can trust me?” she asked softly.

“Something like that,” he replied. “We don’t know each other well enough yet, but I’m looking forward to changing that. And if we do, I’ll be ready to open up completely and see where our relationship goes from there.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “Can I at least have a goodbye kiss?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her deeply. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes.

“Until we meet again,” he said with a smirk.

Kinley laughed. “Before Thanksgiving.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He gestured toward the door. “Go inside.”

After she unlocked her door and went inside, she turned to look at him again.

“I better hear from you, Levi Thomas,” she said before closing the door.

Levi grinned as he made his way back to his truck, drove home, and thought about Kinley the entire way.

Chapter Three

The following Wednesday, Kinley stood behind the counter, filling prescriptions, but her mind was on Levi. Why hadn’t he called her yet?

“Stop thinking about it,” Addison said quietly.

“I’m trying.” Kinley looked at her. “I swear if I don’t hear from him before Thanksgiving, he is going to get a piece of my mind at your house that day.”

Addison snorted out a laugh. “I’d love to hear that.”

“Addison, I don’t get it. He said we’d see each other before Thanksgiving, and I haven’t heard a damn thing from him. Is the ranch busy or something?”

“Not at this time of the year. No competitions now, but they still have work to do around the ranch, but it’s normal chores.”

“Damn it.” Kinley blinked her eyes to keep tears back. What was it with men?

The bell chimed again and she sighed deeply. Would this day ever end? She looked up and her mouth dropped opened as Levi entered the pharmacy. She glanced at Addison to see her smirking.

“Hi, Levi,” Addison said. “Are you picking up?”

“Only Kinley, if she’ll go to lunch with me.” He grinned.

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