Page 19 of The Stranger's Code

I can’t be like this.

I need to get it together.

Now.

I did some deep breathing, forcing down gulp after gulp of air. When I’d managed to calm myself down to a manageable level of anxiety, I headed back towards Big Sky Rescue. But when I got a few feet away from Levi and Shane, I could see them talking in a hushed tone. My curiosity getting the better of me, I stayed back, leaning against a nearby structure. I was close enough to hear their conversation but not be seen, even if I had to strain to listen.

“…It feels like I’m pushing against a tide that no one else sees,” Levi started. “All this work I’m doing, all of this client chasing. And for what?”

“To break even,” Shane replied. “To maybe even be profitable, down the line.”

“It’s just so hard keeping it all together sometimes.”

“But this is what you want, Levi. It’s your dream.” Shane moved closer to him. “I know I haven’t always been the best at supporting you, but I know how much this place means to you. You can’t just give up on it.”

“Would anyone even notice if I did?” Levi let out a pained laugh. “Dad would be annoyed that I wasted so much time on it. He’d be secretly happy I let it go, though.”

“Which is why you’re not letting it go.” Shane shook his head. “Joseph Stratton doesn’t get to be happy. Not when it comes to this.”

“It’d just be so much easier.” Levi’s sigh came out wounded. “I’m just so tired of it all, Shane.”

I sank down against the wall I’d been leaning on, not stopping until I hit the floor. I was no longer able to hear their conversation, but that didn’t stop the hurt unfurling in the center of my chest. I was on the verge of tears, thinking back on what Levi had said, the thought of him giving up on his dream feeling like a knife to my own heart.

I wanted to pull him into my arms and never let him go. I wanted to rush across the ranch and kiss him like he was mine, wanting him to feel that way, too, like even if everything else crumbled he could always come home to me?—

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What was I thinking? Levi and I weren’ttogether.

So, why did it feel like we were so intertwined? Why was Levi able to make me feel things I hadn’t felt in years? Why did I care so much about protecting him from the truth?

I needed to put some distance between us. For my sake and for his. At least, that way, if Levi ever found out who I really was, he wouldn’t be so upset with me, because it wasn’t like I’d been hanging around him lately. I’d be a minor annoyance instead of a major betrayal, the difference between him stepping on a pointy pebble and someone stabbing him in the back.

I just needed to be by myself for a while.

It was the only way to protect us both from more pain.

8

LEVI

I hadn’t spoken morethan a few words to Cameron over the last three days.

I’d spotted him around the ranch, but whenever I approached, he suddenly needed to be somewhere else. I thought maybe I'd offended him somehow by asking him to get dinner with me, but he'd told me that he was just overbooked. Almost by magic, I’d gotten him to agree to at least attend Amber’s annual fundraiser on the ranch, even if he wouldn’t spend time alone with me. My sister’s community fundraiser was always for a good cause, and it was a chance for Cameron to get to know more of the locals, to see the kind of people who supported ranch life.

As I stepped inside the designated barn, I quickly searched for him in the crowd. When I didn’t immediately spot him, I looked around the venue, taking in the string lights that shone above us, the mason jars filled with fresh flowers on each table, the twinkling glitter that stained each glass. There was also the smell of burning wood, a comforting, warm scent, like someone was making a fire at a campsite.

“You made it!” Amber appeared in front of me, nearly squealing. “Do you like it? Tell me you love it.”

“It looks incredible in here, Amber,” I replied. “But doesn’t it always? You’re really good at this stuff.”

“I know.” She beamed. “But the goal is to make it a little better every year. If I don’t outdo myself, what’s the point?”

“To raise money for a local cause?”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Levi.” She playfully rolled her eyes. “Oh, that reminds me. You didn’t have a plus one or anything for this, did you? I know you usually roll single, but just wanted to check in.”

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