Page 9 of The Bad Boy’s Homecoming (The Southern Hart Brothers #2)

CHAPTER NINE

Levi

The Man

T ears burned Levi’s eyes as he chopped onions, while wearing one of his grandmother’s aprons that said Ride a Cowboy or Die .

And to top it off Dolly Parton’s greatest hits were blaring on the portable speaker he’d pulled from Missy’s art studio—his grandmother had quickly commandeered his phone and changed the music, but at least the room smelled like garlic, butter, and lemons.

He didn’t find that much time to cook when he was on the road during baseball season.

But he didn’t really have anyone to cook for lately either.

Being in this old house, and in this kitchen, he wanted to cook everything.

Thoughts of his mom flooded back and all the meals she’d taught him to make.

“Am I really seeing this or is there something wrong with my eyes?” Dalton said as he entered the kitchen in scrubs and bare feet.

“Ya, your shoes, and a proper greeting?” Levi retorted.

“Bro, if you quit baseball to play house you’ll need a wife or maybe a cowboy to pull this off,” Dalton said, then slapped him on the back and gave him a tight hug. “Love you, brother.”

Levi laughed at the old greeting he always got from Dalton, ever since they were kids and had a full-on fistfight in the front yard. Their dad made them hug it out and tell each other they loved one another.

Dalton looked at the pots on the stove top before he walked out of the kitchen into the sunroom.

“You scared Missy off, huh? Well, at least she’s still painting,” Dalton called from the other room.

Levi leaned forward to see Dalton studying Missy’s fiery painting still resting on her easel. He watched as his brother snapped a picture of the piece. “Do you know if she sold this one already? If not, I got dibs.”

“Too late, it’s sold,” he said.

The possessive pull he felt was illogical but if she was selling that painting, he was the buyer.

“Damn, maybe we can commission something similar,” Dalton said, firing off a text and then looking up at him.

“You ready to bare your soul tonight, little brother?” Dalton grinned, crossing his arms over his chest and studying Levi, as he started to slice more garlic to stay busy.

“If you mean serve Gran a delicious meal, play some Scrabble, watch the sun set, and fall asleep by nine, then yes I’m ready.”

“For someone so witty and talented, it surprises me you’re so stupid,” Dalton said.

“Dalton Hart, now that is no way to speak to the family outcast when he’s come home to kiss our butts and offer up what is no doubt going to be a delicious apology,” their grandmother said as she walked in, from out back with her coat on.

Dalton leaned over to kiss their grandmother’s rosy cheeks and then when Missy appeared in the doorway Dalton’s smile got so big Levi wanted to punch him in the gut.

“Hi, Doctor Hart, we just had our afternoon walk. But your grandmother was trying to dare me to go for a swim.”

“Ms. Shaw, two can play that game. Please call me Dalton. And, Gran, if you get in that ocean again, I’ll have to get one of those home arrest anklets and an invisible fence on the property line to keep you out of the water.”

“Again?” Levi said.

“You just go on and try that, grandson, and we’ll see who is still breathing.”

Missy fought a smile as she helped his grandmother out of her light coat and moved to the back door to hang it. To Levi’s disappointment she left her own coat on.

“Mrs. Hart, I’ll be back in the morning, once I get the boys off to school, in time for tea and toast,” Missy said.

“Are you sure you won’t stay for dinner?” Gran said, in a sweet soft tone, which Levi recognized from when he was young.

His grandmother had always been tough as nails, a proper Southern woman and a bossy matriarch of this town.

But she’d also always had a soft spot for her grandkids whenever they were physically hurt.

And she would use that same tone. It puzzled him that she would use it with Missy.

A grown woman who was there to be the helper, but it seemed like his grandmother thought Missy was the one who needed tending.

“I promised Declan I’d help with dinner, and he’s making my favorite lasagna. Aunt Honey’s recipe.”

“Well say no more,” Gran said, with her hands up in the air. “Honey always made the best of everything. I’ll see you in the morning.” Then his gran gave Missy a gentle hug and smiled warmly. “Don’t worry, I won’t let Levi in your room,” she said in a loud whisper.

“Missy, before you go,” Dalton said, holding up his hands. “I’ll give you a thousand more than the offer you accepted on the red painting,” Dalton said, pointing into the art studio.

Levi almost sliced his finger and set the knife down with a muffled curse.

“Uh, I don’t have a buyer yet. I just painted that one this morning.”

“Afraid this buyer is too rich for your blood, brother,” Levi said. “Perks of being a pro-athlete.”

“Uh, I never said I’d sell that painting,” Missy said.

“Interesting,” Dalton said, looking from Levi to Missy.

“But when you do sell it, I’m the buyer,” Levi said, even though he knew he sounded like an idiot.

“Well, Missy, if you change your mind and want someone with actual good taste to own the masterpiece, I’ll give you five thousand.”

Missy’s pouty mouth opened in surprise and Levi’s gut twisted.

“Ten thousand,” Levi said.

Dalton squared off, staring at Levi. “You only want that painting because I do.”

“Wrong, I want it because it’s the first painting I’ve ever seen an artist paint.” He was speaking to Dalton but looking directly at Missy. “And the entire time I was watching her paint it, I wondered what the passion in her technique would translate to on the canvas.”

Missy didn’t blink.

“And?” Dalton pressed.

“It exceeded my imagination.”

“Fifteen thousand,” Dalton said.

“Twenty-five thousand,” Levi replied.

Dalton grinned and leaned over to Missy. “You should go ahead and complete this sale before he changes his mind.”

Levi shrugged. “My pockets are much deeper than yours, brother.” He found Missy’s brown eyes open wide with surprise and noticed unique gold flecks in her irises he hadn’t seen earlier.

Before she could respond the kitchen door opened and Wesley stepped in with no boots and just his socks on, but then stopped in his tracks.

“Why does everyone look so serious? What’s wrong?”

Gran clapped. “Your brothers are in a bidding war for Missy’s latest masterpiece. Care to get in on this?”

Wesley walked past them and craned his neck to look at the art that sat in the fading afternoon light, where the painting almost glowed, as if it were on fire.

“I can see why. What’s the highest bid?”

“Twenty-five thousand,” Dalton said.

“Damn, Doc, I knew medicine was lucrative but I had no idea you had that kind of change lying around.”

“It’s my painting. Dalton’s just trying to drive up the price because he’s a sore loser,” Levi said. Then he walked over to the stove and took the lid off the pot of water he had waiting. Next, he pulled the fresh pasta from the fridge.

“The painting isn’t for sale,” Missy said, as she moved toward the kitchen door. “Hi Wesley, bye Wesley.”

“We’ll see,” Levi said, uncovering the gnocchi piled in a bowl and gently placing them in the boiling water.

Missy stopped in her tracks to watch him gently drop the small balls of pasta into the boiling water, and then her eyes roved over all the fresh ingredients he had out.

“Did you make those?”

“Impressed? Homemade is easy, I’ll teach you.”

She shook her head. “Goodnight, everyone, enjoy your evening. I’ll see you in the morning, Mrs. Hart.”

“We’ll be here,” Levi called out to her as he held the door open to watch her get into her car and then waved.

But when he turned back into the kitchen Wes, Dalton, and Gran were eyeing him.

“Don’t you even think about touching that girl, grandson, or I swear I’ll disown you,” Gran said.

“I was just being polite.”

“Emm-hmm, you just mind your manners. Missy’s had enough heartache to last her two lifetimes,” Gran said, then pulled down several glasses from a cabinet by the fridge.

“She’s right, Levi, in all seriousness I do want that painting, but I’ll let you have it if you promise not to pursue Missy,” Dalton said, before he started grabbing at the cheese board Levi made.

“You aren’t actually hitting on Missy are you?” Wes said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Levi couldn’t help but laugh at their concern for Missy. A woman who had just wandered into their lives.

“I’m not sure, I mean she’s a beautiful woman, and I didn’t see a ring. But what do we really even know about her?”

“Answer the question,” Wes ordered.

“If Gran says she’s off limits, I guess that means she’s off limits for all of us,” Levi said, meeting Wes’s glare that faltered.

“Wait, you think I’m interested in Missy, so you wanted to beat me to the punch, like outbidding Dalton?”

“No, I’m just making sure you haven’t set up some strange woman to live with our grandmother because you have the hots for her.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea, Wes. How do you feel about Missy? She’s smart, talented, and seems to be content to stay in Sandy Point,” Dalton said.

“I never thought about it. Do you think Missy is sweet on Wes?” Gran said.

“I guess that’s up to Missy,” Levi said. His family was trying to get a rise out of him and it was working.

Wes puffed up his chest. “I agree Missy is beautiful, talented, and smart, but I don’t have a death wish. More importantly she’s too young for me and not my type.”

“Oh poo, that would have worked out nicely,” Gran said. “Then I could keep her forever.”

“What do you mean a death wish, and what exactly has she been through?” Levi said. “Why are you all coddling her?”

Dalton, Wes, and Gran exchanged looks.

“It’s not really our place to tell you Missy’s history,” Wes said, as he took a seat at the kitchen table. “But if you were interested in her, it ends now. You won’t even have time to worry about Gran, if her cousin Declan Shaw thought you were trying to make Missy a member of your fan club.”

Dalton shook his head. “No, not a good idea. Shaw was SF, you know Special Forces. Those are the guys who really know how to take someone out, stealth mode.”

“Whatever, if you won’t tell me what happened to her can you at least tell me why she dropped out of law school?”

“A better question would be, why are you here instead of spring training? What’s going on with you?” Wes said.

“ESPN says you’re a free agent, and all the social media says you aren’t signing with Atlanta again?” Dalton said.

Levi strained the gnocchi, then moved it over to the large saucepan he had filled with lemon, butter, and garlic, to gently sauté. He sighed knowing this moment would come.

“They won’t take the Bad Boy crap out of the contract, so I told them to pound sand.”

Gran slapped the kitchen table. “I knew it. Finally, you’ve come to your senses with all that. You know truth be told, you don’t make a very good bad boy.”

“No arrests,” Dalton said.

“No broken marriages, no baby mamas,” Wes offered.

“Pitiful really, it’s shocking people even believe you’re bad at all,” Gran said.

“You all really know how to make a guy feel welcome home, you know. I mean you make it sound like I should just put up with the BS reputation and sign the contract.”

“No, we told you not to agree to it in the first place. It’s not who you are. But you let them create this caricature of you, so I thought maybe you wanted to be that man,” Wes said.

“At first the nickname and attention didn’t seem that bad, but people want to fight a bad boy, and women want to get with a bad boy.

But no nice girl will take me seriously, and then last year they created this drama between me and Maddox Rio the pitcher.

And that got out of hand. Maddox and I started in the league together, never had any beef, but suddenly people are saying I stole his girl. ”

“Did you?” Gran said.

“No, not really. But the paparazzi caught his girlfriend Sara Baxter hugging me after a game and that was all it took to start the rumors. I went to school with Sara, had a big crush on her all through undergrad.”

“But?” Wes said.

“She never saw me that way. We were friends, and we were just catching up. But Maddox got really pissed and it made things worse.”

“So then that other story about you two carrying on behind Maddox’s back is a lie?” Dalton asked.

Levi walked over and set the heaping dish of gnocchi in the center of the table with a serving spoon. Then he pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge and sat with them.

“After they broke up, I ran into Sara again at a private party. One thing led to another.”

Some people might think it was odd that Levi would talk about his relationships with his brothers and his grandmother.

But after his parents died, Gran had moved into this home and stayed with him and Dalton, until they both turned eighteen.

Wes had moved home, too, and it was a tough time for all of them.

Wes served Gran, then himself, before he passed the spoon to Dalton, while Gran filled their glasses.

“The next thing I know they’re back together.”

“So you did mess with his girl,” Wes said.

“A few weeks ago pictures of me and Sara at that party resurfaced in the local media. Claims of us involved in a messy love triangle started filling the social media sites and my manager says I’ll get a bonus if I agree to keep the story alive.”

“That’s insane,” Wes said.

“Apparently drama fills baseball stadiums,” Levi said, and piled pasta on his own plate.

“So you need a new team?” Dalton said, taking a big bite of his dish. “Holy crap, or maybe you could get a job as a chef instead,” he said through a mouthful.

“Dalton Hart, say grace please,” Gran said.

Sitting with his two brothers and his grandmother, breaking hot Italian bread, eating pasta, and sipping wine, should have been the exact cure to Levi’s uncertainties.

He knew he had to walk away from the team he loved, because he couldn’t play that part anymore.

He also knew he could have handled the situation with Maddox better, but coming home was grounding.

Now he needed to figure out what his next step was.

And how he was going to stop thinking about a certain brunette with curly hair and paint on her hands.