Page 5 of Levi

He nodded before turning back to Kinley. “Alright. Give me your phone.”

She removed her phone from her pocket and handed it to him, watching as he entered his number into it. He then called his own phone but hit ignore.

“Text me your address and I’ll see you Saturday at one,” he said, sliding out of the booth and grabbing his bag before heading toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder at her and winked before disappearing outside.

Kinley sat there, heart racing, fingers trembling as she typed out her address and sent it to him. Could this really be happening? A smile crept onto her face as she realized that it was. She couldn’t wait to see where this would lead them both.

****

Levi shook his head as he walked toward his truck. He knew some women could be incredibly stubborn, but Kinley Wilson took it to a whole new level.

He had always been attracted to her, but with his past, he had to be honest with her eventually. Hell, he shouldn’t even take her to get a tree. He knew if he let it go too far, hewouldbreak herheart. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was inevitable. He was never going to settle down.

“You’ll just have to see where this goes before you spill your guts to her,” he murmured.

He was glad he was kept busy working for Cody, it kept the memories away. All these years later and it still pissed him off. He enjoyed working at the ranch and hoped to stay for as long as he was needed. Cody Haines had been one of the best bull riders on the circuit, and when he retired, he decided to breed bucking bulls. His bulls competed every weekend of the spring, summer, and fall across the states. There were still competitions in the winter in southern states, but Cody decided it was too hard traveling through northern states at that time of the year.

Levi rotated the schedules of the ranch hands, so each of them could attend the bull riding competitions. Once Cody’s bulls were ready, the ranch hands delivered his bulls to the arenas, and the men enjoyed going. They loved being involved in a successful bull breeding business. Jude, Axel, and Carl came from Helena with Cody when he moved to Clifton.

Levi was looking forward to seeing Kinley this weekend. With a deep sigh, he climbed into his truck as his phone buzzed with a message. It was Kinley sending her address. He took a deep breath and sent her a text telling her he’d see her Saturday.

After starting the truck, he drove back to the ranch to continue working. He needed the men to move some bulls closer to the barn because wolves were spotted in the area.

As he pulled up to the barn and parked his truck, he grabbed the prescription bag, along with his lunch, and walked straight toward the bunkhouse where Jude was resting.

“Jude?” Levi called out quietly.

“Yeah,” came the scratchy response.

“I’ve got your medicine. Sit up and take it.”

“What is it?”

Levi chuckled. “Does it matter? You have to take it either way.”

Jude slowly sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees and hanging his head.

“I feel awful.” He groaned.

Levi reached into the bag and pulled out Jude’s prescription medication. After opening the bottle, he removed a pill, dropped it into Jude’s hand, then handed him a glass of water.

“Take this,” Levi instructed. “You’re supposed to take it every ten hours, but since it’s almost one, take another dose in the morning. I’ll have Randy remind you.”

“Thanks, boss,” Jude mumbled as he handed back the glass.

Levi shook his head with a smile. “I’m not touching that. Go back to sleep and rest up; it’s the best thing for you.” He then grabbed a dish towel, wrapped it around the glass and placed it in the sink for Jude to use later.

“I hate being sick.” Jude groaned.

“Don’t we all? Just rest, Jude. We’ll manage without you,” Levi said reassuringly.

“But it’s my weekend to go the competition.”

“There are no competitions this time of year,” Levi said.

A surprised look appeared on Jude’s face ashe lay back down. “Seriously?”

Levi chuckled. “Yes. Man, you are sick. I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”

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