Page 3 of Getting Wrapped Up

“I think I’ll stay for a year.”

Joe was jerked away from his memories of Christmas past. “What?” He focused on Levi.

His brother was looking more alert than he’d been in days. He was even smiling. Joe blinked.

“Yeah, why not?” Levi said. “The doctor says I need to quit drinking, not stay up all night and generally stop doing everything I do right now. There’s nothing to stay up all night for in Sapphire Falls, is there?”

Part of Joe wanted to protest that, but it was true that the last time he’d stayed up all night in Sapphire Falls he’d been making love to Phoebe all night. And they’d slept past noon the next day.

Yeah, Sapphire Falls would be a good place to change most of Levi’s bad habits, if for no other reason than because there would be far fewer opportunities in Sapphire Falls to partake in those habits.

Levi wouldn’t even be able to satisfy his addiction to Butterfingers after ten p.m. on weeknights.

“A year, huh?” Joe asked. That was a long time.

“It’s going to take more than a couple of weeks at Christmas to save me,” Levi said. “This will be better than rehab. Good healthy food, nice people, relaxed pace, nice women.”

Ah, women.

“So you’re giving up drinking and partying and junk food but not women?” Joe asked.

His brother needed his help. But the women in his new hometown didnotneed Joe letting Levi loose on them.

Levi actually chuckled at Joe’s question. “Give up women? I think that’s a little drastic.”

Right.

“Besides, I think it would be even better for me to date a nice country girl than it would be to give women up entirely.”

“A nice country girl,” Joe repeated. He had a bad feeling about this.

“A nice girl like Phoebe.”

Joe was aware that Levi was intrigued by Joe’s wife. Phoebe had that effect on people. But she was so unlike the women Levi was used to hanging out with. She was what-you-see-is-what-you-get. She didn’t try to impress Joe. She dressed nicely but was never overdone. She was sweet and kind and caring, but she would always be in-your-face honest if you pissed her off. She was…amazing.

There were no other women in the world like Phoebe. And she was all Joe’s.

But there were other women in Sapphire Falls that could teach Levi a thing or two about how to treat a lady, who wouldn’t be bowled over by his money or his designer labels, who he would have to actually work to impress.

That might be very good for him, come to think of it.

“There’s got to be a couple of girls who would be able to teach me about a slow-moving, sweet, monogamous relationship,” Levi said.

Joe blinked at him again.

“What?” Levi asked.

“I wasn’t aware that you knew the word monogamous.”

“Ha, ha.”

But Joe had been serious.

“Well, there is a Christmas formal coming up.”

“Aformal?” Levi asked, using the word formal sarcastically.

Joe nodded. “Yep. Formal dresses, tuxes, the whole bit.” It was new and definitely fancier than the little town was used to, but everyone was getting into the idea of dressing up and dancing the night away. The school’s gymnasium was slowly being transformed into a winter wonderland now that school was out for the holiday break.

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