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Levi spent the next several days after Asher moved out alone. He hated it. He was shocked at how much he hated being alone, when it used to be what he craved. Oh, he still liked to have time alone but he missed being able to shoot the shit with Asher on a whim. Now he had to call, which wasn’t nearly as satisfying as walking into Asher’s room or the den and being able to talk right then.
As for Dana, hell, he’d missed her from the moment she left. Before that, really. Why had he reacted so badly? Why hadn’t he given her a chance instead of being so sure that Dana would leave him again?
Well, she’d left, all right. And while it wasn’t permanent it gave him a glimpse of what his life would be like without her. Lonely. Barren. With only work to look forward to. No Dana to talk to. No Dana to laugh with. No Dana to hold, to kiss, to make love to. What a miserable, stupid son of a bitch he’d been.
So now he had a job. He had to figure out how to convince Dana that he did trust her and wanted to be with her for good.
*
The project was finally finished. Dana was going home. Back to Whiskey River, anyway. When she’d told Margary she’d take the job, she and Levi had agreed to stay apart the entire time she was gone. It hadn’t been easy. In fact, it had been hard as hell. Levi had wanted to come see her but she’d thought they both needed time away to think about their relationship and what they each truly wanted. And now she knew. She wanted Levi.
She was still worried that Levi didn’t trust her. But when she looked at it from his perspective—meaning what had happened in the past—she couldn’t totally blame him for jumping to the wrong conclusion. Had that changed since they’d talked about what had happened all those years ago? Now that they both knew the reasons behind one another’s behavior?
She was flying home in the Devil’s Rock jet, piloted by Travis and his copilot, Nathan. Levi hadn’t come with them. She wasn’t sure why. When she’d talked to him the day before he’d sounded excited about seeing her. So why couldn’t he get on the airplane and come himself?
Something was up. Both Travis and Nathan knew something. She could tell by the grins they didn’t bother to hide when she asked about Levi. That actually made her feel better, because she couldn’t imagine they’d be smiling if they knew Levi planned to break up with her.
As she drove to Levi’s from the airport she realized she truly did feel as if she was coming home. Whatever happened between her and Levi, Whiskey River was home now. She pulled into the garage, turned off the car and drew in a deep breath. After unlocking the trunk, she got out her suitcases and rolled them up to the back door. Before she could use her key the door opened and Levi stood there. They gazed at each other for a minute and then they were in each other’s arms and he was kissing her as if there were no tomorrow.
“I missed you so much,” she said between kisses.
“Not as much as I missed you.” He sat in one of the kitchen chairs and pulled her into his lap. Dana looped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.
Dana would have been happy for things to move toward their inevitable conclusion but Levi pulled away and said, “I really, really want to make love to you, but first we need to talk.”
“All right.” She started to get up but he stopped her.
“No, stay here.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry about what happened the night of the airport grand reopening. And I’ve been thinking ever since about how I can prove to you that I do trust you and love you.”
“Levi, I—”
“No, don’t say anything yet. I have something I want to show you. But you’re going to need to change.”
Dana looked down. “What’s wrong with how I’m dressed?” She wore a navy sweater dress and over the knee boots, an outfit she’d carefully selected as something she knew he’d like.
“Nothing. But you don’t want to get that dirty or ruined.”
“Where in the world are you taking me?”
“You’ll see. I’ll give you a hint. It’s on the property.”
Since his property was at least a couple of acres that wasn’t much of a hint. But she let him carry her suitcases upstairs and quickly changed into jeans and tennis shoes. She put on a soft sweater and grabbed a jacket since it was cool today, being mid-December. He led her out to a portion of his land that had been mostly trees and undergrowth last she’d seen it. It still had trees but the undergrowth had been cleared and the rest of it was open…pasture? Fenced and newly planted with some sort of grass, it looked very much like a horse pasture. In town?
“What in the world?”
With a grin, Levi whistled. Nothing happened. He whistled again. Two little creatures came out of the woods and raced toward them.
“Oh, my God,” Dana said as they drew near. “They’re—you bought—you bought two—miniature donkeys?”
“They’re actually rescues. They’re still young. Not even two yet. The owner was an older lady. She and her husband bought them and now that he’s passed away she can’t give them the care and attention she thinks they need. This is Buster,” he said, patting the mostly brown one’s head. “And this is Lady.” A beautiful white and brown spotted donkey was shyly bumping his hand. “They came with those names but I imagine you can change them.”
“They’re so cute. And friendly. Why did you get two? What am I saying?” she added before he could answer. “You said you absolutely weren’t getting a miniature donkey and now here are two of them? What possessed you to do this?”
“You wanted one,” he said simply. “And they get lonely without another animal, preferably another donkey, so I got two. Besides, their previous owner didn’t want to separate them. Let’s go in and you can get to know them. They’re pretty sweet. The males are called jacks, unless they’re gelded like this one is. Then they’re called johns. They call females jennies.”
He led her to a gate and opened it, following behind her. The donkeys came up to them immediately. “They don’t require a whole lot of care, but they need human attention. I had Jason Barrett, the large-animal vet, come out and take a look at them and give them whatever shots they needed. And I’ve been reading about them.”
Dana smiled. Of course he had. “Levi, I think they’re adorable and I love that you did this, but I don’t understand why this proves you trust me.”
