He nodded. “Call me Levi, sir.”
“Levi.” He agreed. “I’m not sure what Hayes has told you about her accident or our life before coming to Colorado.”
“She told me a bit about the accident tonight.” He wouldn’t betray her feelings about it, no matter how much he thought her parents should know.
“Good.” The man seemed to need a moment to compose himself. “Hayes has been lost for a long time.” Levi had gathered that on his own. “She’s never been the same since that night, and we’ve worried about her a lot.”
“Understandable,” he murmured.
“I’ll be straight with you, Levi. If you’re sticking around to have a cute, young girl to cart around to your fights… Yes, I know that’s where she was when I picked her up last weekend. Your car was hard to miss, too.” He must have seen the shock on Levi’s face. “Just leave her be if that’s all it is. She doesn’t need to have someone else disappear on her.” Odd choice of words. He had to wonder about that.
“That’s not what this is, sir.”
“We’ll see,” he murmured, leading Levi away from the house and towards his car at the curb. “If you’re for real about her. If you want Hayes in your life, I suspect we’ll be seeing you around a lot.”
“Yes, sir, you will.”
“She’s eighteen. Technically an adult. We’ve never set rules or limits for Hayes before because she’s smart enough to make the right choices about her life. So, I’m going to ask you, Levi.”
“What’s that, sir?” He was a little worried about what the man wanted.
“Respect her. Respect that she’s eighteen and may not want the same things as you just yet. Graduation is only in a few weeks, and I’m sure she’s got plans in place for the end of the summer, just be…” He paused, a blush creeping up his cheeks as their gazes met.
It only took a moment for Levi to understand. “Got it, sir.” The man was asking him not to knock her up, to be cautious when they eventually did crawl into bed together.
“Call me Eric, son. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other; no need for formalities.” They shook hands and said goodnight just as Hayes’ mother came back outside. “Goodnight, Mrs. Morrison,” he called.
Leaving there, he felt like he had their blessing to pursue Hayes, but he also felt like they were warning him away. Shaking it off, he had to go back to the gym and train, or Casper would be on his ass when he brought Hayes back the following day.
Chapter Seven
Fight for what you want.
When Hayes woke up the next morning, it was with the greatest relief from her knee and thigh pain that she’d felt in a long time. If she closed her eyes tightly, she could almost feel Levi’s hands digging into her muscles again. The warmth and soothing he provided her, not just from the physical pain but the emotional as well when she told him how it had happened, was incredible. They’d connected during that time. He seemed to genuinely understand how she felt, why she was so closed off.
If only she could find the courage to tell him about Ryder. To explain just what the loss of her big brother had done to her heart and mind. They weren’t just siblings, they best friends, and she missed him with every breath in her body, every day. Some days, it only felt like a dream that he was gone, never to come home again.
Slowly stretching as she got up from the bed and went about her morning routine, she passed her window and briefly saw something black outside. Stepping back to peer through the glass, she saw him.
Levi.
He was there, and she was ridiculously excited. She’d overheard her dad tell her mom what they’d talked about and figured she’d never see him again. He wasn’t supposed to overtake her mind; unfortunately, she couldn’t help but let him. Sure, he’d been a complete tool in the beginning, but now, he was showing how interested he was in her, in them.
Rushing down the stairs, she wasn’t shocked when the bell rang. “I got it,” she called to her parents.
Opening the door, she smiled at Levi who held out a cup of something warm and a bag from the bakery she liked. As she went to grab both from him, he moved his hands away, and their lips met. Sparks flew between them as they touched. An aching she didn’t understand rushed through her body when he wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her into him even with his hands full.
“Morning, sugar,” he mumbled when they separated, coming up for air.
“Hi,” was all she could muster.
“Good morning, Levi.” Her mom’s chipper voice came from behind her.
While Hayes’ face heated with embarrassment, Levi looked up and smiled, saying, “Morning, Ma’am.”
She interrupted before her mom could give him the third degree in the same way her
dad had done the night before. “See you later!”