Clay winced, his expression immediately sympathetic, because they both knew all about the sacrifices a person had to make when they were scraping every penny to get by. “Jesus.”
“And last night, her room was ransacked and robbed,” Levi went on so Clay would understand how dire Sarah’s situation really was. “Whoever went through the place tore it apart and stole all the money she had. And she didn’t have much to begin with.”
“And she’s still staying there?” Clay asked incredulously.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Of course not.” Levi looked Clay in the eye from across the desk, realizing how much he was about to reveal about his personal life—which was something he didn’t share openly. Not even with his brothers. It was all part of that control issue of his and learning at an early age to hold everything inside. “Sarah is staying at my place.”
Surprise flickered in Clay’s eyes, and a lazy smile kicked up one corner of his mouth. “Damn. And here I thought I was the only one in the family with the White Knight Syndrome.”
Levi’s brother was known for helping those who were down on their luck in some way, like the damsel in distress he’d rescued, who’d landed in his bar months ago in an attempt to escape marriage to a man she didn’t love. Now, that same woman was Clay’s wife.
“Don’t worry, your nickname, Saint Clay, is still intact,” Levi assured him with a teasing grin. “Unlike you, I don’t make it a habit of rescuing women.”
Clay tipped his head curiously. “The fact that you don’t make it a habit, yet this woman seems to be the exception, is what intrigues me.”
Levi had grown up being the one who always analyzed people and situations, and he realized that he didn’t like being on the receiving end of his brother’s scrutiny. “I’m just trying to help Sarah through a hard time, not marry her,” he said sarcastically.
Clay’s eyes glimmered with amusement. “Yeah, well, take it from someone who knows firsthand. Helping the right woman isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Things had worked out well for Clay, but for as much as Levi was coming to care about Sarah, she’d made it clear that she wasn’t staying in Chicago much longer. And while a huge part of him didn’t want her to leave, Levi also knew that he had no right to ask her to stay when he’d never been able to sustain a long-term relationship with any woman before. The last thing he wanted to do was lead Sarah on only to break her heart somewhere down the line. None of which meant his stomach wasn’t in knots at the thought of her taking off and him never hearing from her again. He’d just have to cross that bridge when he came to it.
Levi also had no desire to elaborate with Clay, so he brought the discussion back to his original purpose for being there at the bar. “You never answered my question. Will you hire her?”
Clay rubbed a hand across his chin as he considered the request once again. “Does she have any experience working in a bar or waitressing?”
“Did Samantha?” he shot right back, reminding his brother that his wife had never worked any job before walking into Kincaid’s that fateful night.
Levi had no idea if Sarah had ever worked in a bar or a restaurant, but he wasn’t about to let Clay use any lack of experience on her part as an excuse not to hire her.
Clay chuckled. “Point taken.”
Leaning forward in his chair, Levi braced his forearms on his thighs. “Just give her a chance to prove herself. That’s all I’m asking.”
“You care about her,” Clay murmured. The words were a statement of fact and not a question.
Yeah, Levi cared, probably more than was wise, but he wasn’t about to confirm or deny his brother’s comment. “Sarah’s had a rough life, she’s struggling right now, and I just want to make this one thing easy for her.”
Clay nodded in understanding, because if there was one thing his brother was very familiar with, it was the hardship and struggle to survive and get by. “Then consider her hired.”
Chapter Nine
While Levi was gone, Sarah finished cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast and watched a few shows on TV, keeping an eye on the time since she was scheduled to work tonight and needed to leave in a few hours. If Levi didn’t return soon, she was going to have to figure out where the nearest bus stop was so she wasn’t late for her shift. He might have insisted that she call him if she needed anything, but she had no idea what errands he was out doing or how important they were, and she didn’t want to be an inconvenience.
She’d spent years making it on her own and figuring out ways to improvise in less-than-ideal situations. Lately, her life had become such an upheaval of events, one right after the after, and she was just trying to push through the chaos like she always did. That was one thing she was good at, putting one foot in front of the other despite whatever circumstances or obstacles were set in front of her. And ever since losing her parents, she’d encountered a lot of stumbling blocks, and endured a wealth of heartache, too.
Sarah curled her legs beneath her on Levi’s soft couch and released a weary sigh. Not because she was physically exhausted, but emotionally she felt utterly wrung out. She was so tired of struggling every single day, of making wrong choices that led to even more misery. The horrible situation with Dylan being her latest bad decision, all because she’d let down her guard and believed the promises he’d made. Or rather, the lies he’d told her.
And here she was again, falling back into that same familiar pattern with Levi. Yet, even as that thought entered her mind, she had no doubt that he was a man of his word. In the past week alone, he’d proven himself in a multitude of ways, protecting her and keeping her safe when she once again had nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to. He’d asked nothing in return, and no red flags waved in her face. And, if she had to admit the truth, there always were red flags. No, there was no comparing Levi to any of the guys in her past who’d taken advan
tage of her.
She trusted Levi implicitly, and it scared her just how hard and fast she was falling for him, even as she tried to keep her emotions out of the equation, which was becoming more and more difficult with every passing day. Heck, she’d been fighting her attraction to him since the first day he’d walked into the convenience store and flirted with her. Having spent time with him outside of work, and after everything they’d shared in the past twenty-four hours, she couldn’t deny her feelings for him were intensifying quickly.
He was the kindest, most caring and honorable man she’d ever met despite his own damaged past, and even though he was helping her right now and seemed willing to let her stay here with him as long as she needed, she’d learned from experience that nothing this good could last forever. It never did. Something always happened to remind her that she wasn’t worthy of being loved, which connected to another deep fear of hers, that she didn’t deserve to be happy, not when she’d been the only one to survive the fire that had killed her entire family. Even after all these years, the guilt and grief still had the ability to consume her and fill her with overwhelming sadness.
The sound of someone entering the house from the garage pulled her out of her dismal thoughts. She glanced down the hall just as Levi walked into the kitchen carrying a flat cardboard box and a plastic grocery sack. She moved off the couch to join him, inhaling the delicious, savory scent of the pizza he’d brought home with him, a treat she hadn’t enjoyed in way too long. Her mouth watered when he opened the lid and she saw the pepperoni, mushrooms, and gooey cheese toppings.
She took down two plates, realizing how comfortable she already was in Levi’s kitchen. In his home.