Page 57 of Levi

“We’ll see. Have a good time either way.”

“We always do.” Cody grinned.

Levi walked back toward the barn, pulling out his phone to text Kinley who was at work.

Hey baby, do you want to go to Kalispell this weekend for the bull riding competition? Cody’s bulls are in it, and he said Addison was going too.

I would love to go. Addison told me they were leaving after she got home from work.

The competition starts at six so if we leave early enough, we should have plenty of time to get there.

Perfect. See you tonight.

Alright. Love you.

Love you too.

Grinning to himself, Levi pocketed his phone and headed to his office. It was Friday, which meant he had to print out the payroll checks for all the ranch hands. Though they were set up with direct deposit, Levi always made sure to give them physical copies for their records.

He looked forward to dinner tonight with Kinley, where he planned on discussing when she would move in with him. He knew it was still early in their relationship, but he couldn’t denyhow much he wanted her by his side every day. Still, he wouldn’t pressure her into anything she wasn’t ready for. Whenever she was ready was fine with him.

****

Kinley eagerly pocketed her phone, the anticipation of the upcoming weekend evident in her smile.

“I can’t wait to go,” she said to Addison.

“It’s always a blast. We don’t go every weekend, but when it’s not too far away, we make sure to attend,” Addison replied with a grin.

“Do you usually stay for the whole weekend?”

“Yeah, we usually get a hotel room. I’ll have Cody take care of it since he has some connections at the hotel we’re staying at,” Addison said casually.

“Good idea. I doubt Levi even thought about that. I certainly didn’t.” Kinley chuckled.

“Well, you could always drive back home, but it would be a late night. The competition goes on for a couple hours and I wouldn’t want to make that drive back so late. It would be after eight and then another two hours to get home.”

“No thank you, that does sound like a long day. Who wants to drive for two hours after sitting through a competition?” Kinley agreed.

“Exactly. I’ll give Cody a call about the hotel room,” Addison said as she pulled out her phone.

As Kinley continued working on the prescriptions, she couldn’t help but think about making dinner for Levi tonight and hoping he would stay overnight. But she also remindedherself that she had to wake up early in the morning.

Just as Kinley was lost in thought, the door chime sounded, and she turned to see Betty Lou Harper walking in. She loved the woman but also knew that she was quite the gossip around town.

“Hello Betty Lou. How are you?” Kinley greeted her with a smile.

“I’m doing just fine, honey. I need to pick up my blood pressure medicine,” Betty Lou replied cheerfully.

“Of course, let me grab that for you.” Kinley made her way over to the bins and searched for Betty Lou’s prescription. She found it and brought the bag to the cash register. “Here you go, Betty Lou. No charge.”

“Thank you, honey. I have good insurance,” she replied with a twinkle in her eye.

“That you do.” Kinley smiled.

“So, anyone new in your life?” Betty Lou asked with a knowing look.

Kinley couldn’t help but bite her lip at that question, but she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face either.

---