Charitable Hearts (14 page)

Gary paced in the kitchen as Levi walked in.
“It’s three in the morning! You never texted us.”

Levi frowned. “I know and I’m sorry.” He pulled his phone out and texted Laura. “Things were really bad when I got there and I just forgot.”

“Is Maggie okay?”

He shook his head. “No. Not by a long shot.”

“What happened?”

“I can’t tell you. I promised.”

“Dang it.”

“It’s bad. It’s really bad.”

“You can’t say stuff like that and then not tell me what happened.”

“Gary, I can’t. I want to tell you, but I can’t”

“Okay, but it’s bad. Like how bad?”

“The kind of bad which either turns you into a super villain or a hero.” Levi shrugged off his coat and hung it on the back of the stool in front of the bar. “I thought losing Amelia and Rachel cheating on me was the worst thing to happen to someone. I don’t know if I could have survived what Maggie’s been through.”

“Oh, wow. That’s bad. Real bad.”

Levi nodded. For the first time in months, he wanted a drink himself. “Gary, I don’t want you to think I’m drinking again, so I’m going to pour two glasses and you are going to have one with me.”

Gary nodded. “Okay.”

“Only one, though.” Levi reached into the cabinet, pulled down two glasses, and grabbed the scotch from the shelf. He filled the glasses and set one in front of Gary.

“Seems fair.” Gary threw it back in one gulp and gasped for air.

Levi did the same and sucked in a sharp breath. “I can tell you one thing.”

“Don't tell me if it will make her mad.”

“I think she'll be okay with this one.”

“If you're sure.”

“She's M.G. Law, the author of the Famished series.”

Gary's eyes grew big. “What? No, way.”

“She is.”

“So,
Grey City
?”

“It's part of her negotiated contract.”

“Wow.”

“That's not the cool part.”

“It's not?”

“The cool part is, the game we played, was different from the game released to the public. And, she has the other four games, still shrink wrapped.”

Gary's lips parted slightly, and he squeaked.

“You okay, there, Gary?”

He blinked a couple of times. “I love her.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, smiled, and laughed. “Me, too. Now I need some mindless entertainment and snacks.”

“Yeah. I need time to process all of this.”

“You wouldn’t have recognized her, man. She was completely plastered, walking around in a tank top and underwear.”

“If it was as bad as you say, can you blame her?”

“No, I just never expected it. Not from her. It was freezing, too. She had both doors open, her lips were blue, and her hair was wet so, at some point, she’d been sitting outside.”

“Did you leave her like that?”

“Of course not. I couldn’t leave her like that. I closed the house up, turned on the heat, and covered her up.”

“Good.”

Levi looked at Gary and chewed on his lip.

“What? What aren’t you telling me?” Gary narrowed his eyes at Levi.

“She told me to leave and never come back. To go home and find someone else to love.”

Gary’s mouth dropped open. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to do what Laura said. I’m going to give her some time and let it roll off my back. I love her and it’s more than just some passing feeling.”

“That’s my boy.”

“Did you talk to Ellis while I was gone?”

Gary smiled. “Yeah. I really like her.”

“That’s awesome, buddy. When will I get to meet her?”

“I’m gonna have to ease her into you.”

Levi smiled and shook his head. “Nice. Thank you.”

“Hey, man, just calling it like I see it.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I think so. Maggie will come around in a few days, maybe a week and then everything will be back to normal or as normal as things can be around here.”

“Come on. Spaceballs is calling my name,” Gary said, walking to the basement stairs.

“Let me get changed and I’ll be right there.”

Maggie rolled her bike to a stop in Levi’s driveway,
dismounted, and pulled off her helmet. Standing in front of his house, her courage to face him wavered. Thinking back, the only thing she’d remembered the next morning after her bender was the look on Levi’s face as she told him to leave and never come back.

Instead of calling him or trying to make amends, she’d wallowed for weeks in the memories of her family and how much it hurt losing them. Eventually, she’d sobered up, and spent time cleaning up the mess she’d made and packing the pieces of her life away, yet again. Even though she knew it wasn’t true, it made her feel like she was saying they never existed.

Levi was never far from her mind either which only fueled her guilt. She thought about Levi and what it would be like to build a life with him. It was a war between the past, present, and future. All three vying for a piece of her heart and her life.

She missed Levi. His kindness and his laughter. The connection she felt with him made her ache for him. Without Levi and Gary, her little house was empty and lifeless. On the back patio, their laughter lingered like a ghost. Maggie would picture them sitting with her, laughing and the tears would fall.

It had been more than a month when she realized loving Levi didn’t mean she didn’t love her family. Loving Levi had given her a new reason to smile and to love. She chastised herself mentally for allowing her past to control her for so long. What if Levi had listened to her and moved on?
Doesn’t matter. You still need to tell him.
If nothing else, she would, at least, get to see him one last time.

On the way to the door, she thought about turning around more than once. Maggie rang the doorbell, and then stood back. When the door opened, she was glad to see Gary. Part of her wondered if Levi had told him anything.

He grinned wide and waved her in.

“Hey, Gary, is he home?”

“Yeah, down in the basement.”

She strolled to the steps and paused.
This is it.
Taking them one at a time, she slowly walked down, stopping on the last step. The basement was covered in Cool Ranch Doritos bags. Bottles of Strawberry Yoohoo, Red Bull, and Mello Yello were scattered on the floor and on the tables as well. “What happened here?”

Gary came to a stop behind her. “He’s kinda having a hard time.”

“I finally understand what Bernadette meant when she said she could feel the smell in her eyes.”

“How long has he been like this?”

“Well, when two weeks passed and you still hadn’t called, he kinda spiraled.”

Gary followed her as she pushed trash out of the way with her foot and made a path to the couch were Levi sat. Maggie turned to Gary. “I need to talk to Levi, but I know you are going to sit on the stairs and listen, so, you have to promise whatever you hear, you will never tell anyone.”

“You got it.” Bags crunched as he sprinted to the stairs and sat down on a step.

“I can still see you. If you’re going to eavesdrop, at least do it like a pro.”

Gary jumped and moved up the steps. “All good?”

“You’re good.” Then she turned her attention to Levi. He didn’t move as he looked up at her. “Rocking the bathrobe chic, huh? Got anything under that or should I be prepared to see something in case you stand up?”

“Did you come here to diss my fashion choices or did you have something to say," Levi grumbled and dug into his wrinkled bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, pulling a handful out and stuffing them into his mouth.

“I’m sorry. You’re right,” she said and sat down on the coffee table in front of him.

He balled the edges of his robe in his hands, jamming it until it overlapped, and eyed her.

“I owe you an apology, and, if nothing else, I hope you just hear me out until I'm finished."

Levi frowned but nodded in agreement.

"I married Mark because I was pregnant. I loved him, loved my little girl, and I was excited to be pregnant again. I loved the life I had. It was the only love I knew.” Maggie paused like she was trying to find the right words even though she felt like she'd practiced them a hundred times on the ride over to Levi's house.

“I didn’t want to want anyone, but then I met you and it felt like I was betraying my husband's memory because every time I saw you it was like what I felt before was a cheap imitation of what love could feel like. I didn’t know it was possible to love someone more than I loved Mark and it made me feel even guiltier than I already felt. I knew it wasn't my fault, but it didn't change the way I felt.”

Levi leaned forward and sat on the edge of the couch.

Maggie looked at the floor. “I told you to go away, and never come back. I told you to find someone else. I just need you to know that I love you, Levi Martin,” she said and looked up, locking eyes with him, “Levi Martin, more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I love your smile. I love the way your hair makes funny shapes when it’s long. I love your humor and your generous heart. I have been madly in love with you and I wasn’t ready to love you until now and if I’m too late,” she said and sighed, “I’ll have to live with that, but I hope I’m not.”

“You love me?”

“Roll down a mountain, dive into lightning sand, and fight off rodents of unusual size love you.”

“Oh, man!” Gary blurted out.

Levi cut his eyes to the stairs and gritted his teeth. “Shut up, Gary.”

"Sorry, sorry."

Levi brought his attention back to Maggie. “You love me.”

"Yes."

“You love me,” he said it again as if the words were finally making sense.

Maggie smiled. “You once said you’d never kiss me again unless I asked you to and I’m asking you to kiss me and never, ever stop because if you’ll have me, I’m yours forever. Pinkies.”

“Bet you wished you’d brushed your teeth now, huh?” Gary called from the stairs.

“Shut up, Gary.”

“Shutting up.”

“I would love nothing more than to kiss you. Like, you have no idea how badly, but…” Levi looked down at himself. “I was going through a blue period.”

“Yeah, did you order an entire case of Cool Ranch Doritos?”

“They’re my sad chips.”

“Right, because that makes total sense.”

Levi smiled and snapped his mouth shut. “Um, I really need to get cleaned up, but you love me. I’m going to go shower, and when I come out you’ll still be here?”

“Depends on how long you take.”

Levi frowned.

“I’m kidding. Yes, I’ll be here.”

He gave her a peck on the cheek, sprinted from the room and up the stairs.

“Gary, get a trash bag. I swear I saw tentacles down here.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Maggie busied herself with cleaning the basement while she waited on Levi. Gary helped and couldn’t keep from smiling at her.

“This is so great. Levi’s got a girl. I’ve got a girl. It’s awesome.”

“Ellis?”

He grinned. “Yep.”

By the time Levi showered, shaved, and came back downstairs, Gary and Maggie had made a decent dent in the mess he’d made. He stopped at the steps and stuffed his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “Uh, Gary, can you give me and Maggie a minute?”

“Yeah, man, you got it.”

“No eavesdropping.”

Gary muttered under his breath and left, pouting.

“You can see the floor again.”

“Thanks, you didn't have to do that.”

“Yeah, actually, I did. Something touched my leg, so…”

Levi smiled and stepped closer. “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

“I didn’t think I was coming back.”

“But you’re here.”

“I’m here.”

He took another step toward Maggie. “And you love me.”

“I love you.”

“I just like hearing you say it.”

“I love you.” Maggie took a step toward Levi.

“So, you did ask me to kiss you. I heard that, right?”

“You did.”

“So if I kiss you…”

“Just shut up and kiss me already.”

He smiled, pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Their eyes were locked on each other. It was like it was their moment and they didn’t want it to be fast or rushed. They wanted to savor it like it was the last bit of ice cream in the bucket. Levi cupped her face, leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Maggie melted into him. Space was the enemy as she pressed herself against him as hard as she could. All the months of wanting him. The need to be in his arms seemed to pour out of her as she held onto him.

Levi kissed her harder and she matched him, pressing her mouth against his. He dug his hands into her hair and pressed his tongue against her lips. She parted them and tasted his mouth with her tongue. The world fell away and Maggie breathed him in, and when Levi pulled back Maggie felt a chasm between them.

He was breathing hard and smiling. His lips were red and she pulled him to her again. Levi was hers and she was his. Maggie let him go, and when she looked at him, his face was flushed. “You know we don’t have to make up for the last few months in one single night, right?” he asked.

“Why not?” She stroked his face with her fingers, kissing his jawline. She stopped and looked at him.

“I love you, Maggie Lawrence.”

“I love you, Levi Martin.”