The Christmas Crusade Page 4

  “He’s great. Mike owns his own electrical business now and it’s quite successful. He’s also been seeing a really nice girl the past few months.”

  A year older than Levi, Mike was the kind of brother everyone wished they had, Kat included. Protective yet fun, playful and kind, sincere and supportive.

  Mike was Levi’s roommate, best friend, and only sibling.

  When Kat had walked away from Levi, Mike had been so furious at her, he forbade Brock and Brenna from mentioning her name in his presence. Eventually, he’d gotten over his anger, but when Levi told him he’d be working with Kat for the holiday sponsorship from Harchett, he was less than enthusiastic about the news.

  “She’s gonna rip your heart out and run it through the shredder again, Levi. Don’t do it, man. Don’t get involved with her,” Mike had warned him just the other night.

  Unfortunately, Levi’s heart had never ceased being involved with Kat despite the distance between them. It would take a miracle for him to make it through Christmas without losing his mind over the beautiful, enticing woman.

  “Do Mike and Brock both help at the center?” Kat asked, vaguely recalling Brenna had mentioned something about charity work Brock had done in the city.

  “Yep. Mike’s working on replacing all the wiring, putting in new light fixtures, switches and outlets. Brock has been a huge help with some of the bigger renovation projects. Brenna has been here as much as she can. Her parents, sister, and brother-in-law have also provided assistance when they have time. We’ve made a lot of progress, although it seems like it’s taking forever.” Levi glanced over at Kat. “It will be something to see when we finish.”

  “I’m impressed with what you’ve accomplished. Did the renovations start before or after you took over as the executive director?”

  Levi accelerated as he entered the freeway heading south. “We started a few weeks after I took over. The last director was a piece of …” Levi cleared his throat. “He embezzled some of the funds. Thanks to that, we lost two major sponsors. Honestly, we’re fortunate we didn’t have to close the center because it’s something the community really needs, you know.”

  Kat didn’t know, but she was getting an idea about how important the center was to the people in the area who took advantage of what it offered. Emotion clogged her throat as she thought of the two boys without coats. She reached across the seat and placed her hand on Levi’s leg, patting it gently.

  The contact made an electrical jolt race up her arm and she jerked back her fingers, but not before Levi captured them in his warm hand. When he gazed at her, she could read the longing on his face, see the yearning in his eyes, even in the muted light of the pickup cab.

  “I’m proud of you, Levi. The work you are doing is so vital and makes such a difference. It makes me feel like I’m just wasting time.”

  Much to her surprise, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it before twining their fingers together and resting their hands on his thigh. Too astonished to object, she simply enjoyed the moment.

  “You aren’t wasting time, Kathleen. The center couldn’t exist without the support of sponsors like Harchett Industries and the help of people like you. Just think how wonderful Christmas is going to be for all the kids at Center for Hope because of your involvement.” Levi offered her an encouraging smile as he exited the freeway and drove toward her apartment. “I’d say that’s incredibly huge.”

  Kat’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. Normally one who rarely cried, the telltale stinging at the backs of her eyes made her even more distraught. She didn’t know if it was having her eyes opened to the need and poverty of those at the center, the regret over the years she suddenly felt she’d wasted, or the lonely future she had planned. Whatever the reason, she had to work to keep the tears from spilling over and trickling down her cheeks.

  Before her emotions got the best of her, Levi pulled up in front of her apartment building and turned off the ignition. While she fumbled with her seatbelt, he hopped out and ran around the pickup, opening her door for her. “At least let me walk you inside.”

  Kat picked up her bag then accepted his hand as she slid off the seat. Levi released her fingers but stepped with her onto the sidewalk. She stopped and stared at him a moment. “Do you have plans for dinner?”

  “No. I’ve probably got some leftovers in the fridge if Mike hasn’t scarfed them down.”

  “Come on. The least I can do is feed you after you went out of your way to drive me home.” Kat tipped her head toward the luxury apartment building in an elite neighborhood. “You might grow faint from lack of nourishment and run off the road. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.”

  Levi laughed and locked the doors of his pickup before following her inside the building. “They won’t tow my truck away while I’m here, will they?”

  Kat grinned. “Of course not. Although there’s a guy in the building who collects vintage cars. If he sees it, he might make you an offer.”

  “It would have to be some offer for me to sell Red.” Levi nodded to the doorman as he smiled and offered them a friendly greeting. While they waited for the elevator, Levi looked around the lobby. The color scheme and furnishings had changed since the last time he’d seen Kat home. It looked more modern, edgy, and held no appeal to him at all. He’d always felt uncomfortable and out of place in her fancy surroundings. Accustomed to the casual vibe of the apartment he shared with his brother, he preferred it or the laid-back atmosphere of the places his friends lived.

  When they arrived on her floor, he walked behind her down the hall to her door and waited while she unlocked it. Thoughts of the last time he’d been there filled his mind and he swiftly slammed the brakes on his recollections.

  “Come in, Levi.” Kat tugged on his hand then moved to set down her things.

  She’d updated a few pieces of furniture and hung new drapes, but for the most part, the place looked the same. His gaze went directly to a painting on her wall, a gift he’d given her right before she dropped the bomb that she never wanted to see him again.

  Stunned she kept the painting, he pretended not to notice it as he stepped all the way inside and closed the door.

  “If you still like pizza, you’re in luck. There’s a new place a few blocks from here and they deliver.” Kat glanced at him as she picked up her phone.

  “Pizza’s fine. I can run down and get it if you want.” Levi looked around the expensive apartment, tastefully decorated with furnishings that cost far more than he made in a year, maybe even ten years. “You really don’t have to feed me, Kat.”

  “I know, but I want to.” The admission surprised her as much as it did Levi. “What’s a little pizza between friends?”

  Levi fastened his gaze to hers, uncertain if they were talking about pizza or something else altogether. “Is that what we are? Friends?”

  Kat’s face registered hurt at his comment. “Of course we’re friends. I never meant for you to think otherwise. It’s just that I… it was… I needed to…”

  Levi held up a hand at her stammered response. “It’s okay, Kat. Just order the pizza.”

  Chapter Four

  “You did not!” Kat gaped at Levi as they walked out of her downtown office.

  “I totally did.” Levi chuckled and stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his trousers. Otherwise, he might succumb to the temptation to take Kat’s hand in his as they meandered a few blocks down the street to a food truck.

  “What did Jep and the other boys do?” Kat grinned at Levi as they waited for a light to change. “I can’t believe you would scare them like that.”

  “It was Halloween, after all. Besides, Mike was there to help, and Brock, too.”

  “Those two were there to fill the role of your evil assistants. It was mean to scare the boys at their own haunted house.” Kat hadn’t been able to go to the center for their Halloween spectacular. Levi, along with a host of volunteers, had put together a haunted house in the gym. The f
estivities included an old-fashioned indoor carnival with a cakewalk, fishpond, and fun games to keep the kids off the streets Halloween night.

  Several of the boys Levi mentored at the center wanted to have a role in the haunted house. He’d given them jobs like jumping out of dark corners and revving a chainsaw—minus the chain—at unsuspecting visitors. The boys loved it and one-upped each other after the haunted house closed, bragging about the number of people they’d terrorized.

  Levi, Mike, and Brock landed on the bright idea to frighten the boys.

  Brock slammed the gym doors and locked them while Mike pretended to be a ghost. Levi snuck through different parts of the haunted house, tugging on the boys’ sweatshirts or poking them as they hurried by, searching for a means of escape. Before they completely freaked out, he turned on the lights. Once the boys calmed down, they found the whole thing hilarious.

  “Oh, relax. The boys thought it was funny by the time they figured out some horrid beast wasn’t out to get them. They scared themselves far more than the three of us could have.”

  Kat laughed. “That’s probably true. I wish I could have been there.”

  “Me, too.” Levi gave her a heated look, full of longing.

  Unnerved by the warmth in his eyes and her eagerness to respond to it, Kat turned away and pointed to the food cart across the street. “I can’t believe you’ve never eaten their food. It’s a taste of Transylvania you won’t soon forget.”

  “You sure there aren’t vampires working in there?” He brushed the hair away from her neck and lowered his head, pretending he wanted to suck her blood.

  Agilely, she spun away from him. “No vampires, just good food. Now quit messing around. I’m hungry.” She hurried across the street as soon as the light changed.

  Kat stepped up to the counter and placed an order. She and Levi made small talk about progress on their plans for the Center for Hope Christmas gala while they waited.

  A few moments later, Kat accepted a foot-long tube of bread in a paper tray and motioned for Levi to grab some napkins.

  He snatched several from the dispenser and followed her to a nearby bench.

  She sat down and held out one end of the tray to him. “Wait until you try this. It’ll knock your socks off.”

  “Good thing I wore a clean pair today,” Levi teased, lifting the bread to his face and inhaling a rich, yeasty scent mingled with the smoky aroma of sausage. “What is this thing?”

  “Try it and then I’ll tell you.” Kat moved closer until their legs brushed so she could take a bite from the other end.

  Levi bit into the sausage. Fragrant steam wafted around his face as he closed his eyes, savoring the plethora of flavors exploding on his tongue. He opened his eyes and caught Kat watching him. “Whatever this is, it’s fantastic.”

  “Told you it was good.” Kat offered him a smug smile. “It’s a kabanos sausage—Polish. The people who own the food truck make their own, which is why it’s so soft and fresh. They wrap the sausage with cheese then surround it in this yummy dough and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.” Kat took another bite.

  Levi pinched off a piece of the golden brown bread. “The dough almost has a pretzel taste to it. I wish we had food trucks like this near the center. The last one we had sold meat that smelled like week-old road kill. It was a distinct possibility his food might either hospitalize or kill you.”

  Kat giggled. “Road kill? Seriously?”

  “I’m not kidding. It smelled so bad. He had nasty gnarled-up meat on sticks. One of the boys at the center was convinced he’d skewered rats and barbecued them, hair and all.”

  “Eww! Gross! Don’t tell me stuff like that when I’m eating.” Kat wiped her mouth on a napkin and wrinkled her nose. “That is absolutely disgusting.”

  “I’m sure the rats thought so, too.”

  She couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Enough, Levi. That is enough.”

  He took another bite of the sausage and chewed it while watching people bustle by them. When he turned to take another bite, his mouth hovered a breath of space from Kat’s.

  “Kathleen,” Levi whispered, lifting his thumb to brush away a crumb from her alluring bottom lip. A lip he’d fantasized about kissing every single day for the past month.

  In no hurry, he leaned toward her, intent on tasting the sweet decadence of her kiss. The warmth from her breath mingled with his before she pulled back and covered her mouth with a napkin.

  Levi sighed and ate the last bite of their shared lunch, brushed off his hands, and rose to his feet.

  “Thanks for lunch, Kat. It was as good as you claimed. I’ll have to remember that food truck next time I’m in the area.”

  “They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner five days a week.” Kat took the hand Levi held out to her and stood.

  Together, they walked back inside Harchett Industries and returned to her office. The next hour was spent working through details for the charity gala Kat convinced Mr. Harchett to host on behalf of Center for Hope. Once they’d covered all the basic points, Levi gathered his paperwork and stuffed it into a worn leather briefcase.

  “Did you drive your truck today?” Kat asked as she walked him to her office door.

  “I did. Why? You want a ride somewhere?”

  Kat shook her head, although the thought of sliding across the bench seat of the truck and cozying up to Levi sounded entirely appealing. “No, but I have something for you to take back to the center.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’ll see.” Kat opened her office door and stepped over to Molly’s desk. The girl’s eyes glinted with mischievous humor.

  “Are you ready?” Molly asked, glancing at Levi with an impish smile.

  Confused, he looked from Molly to Kat, hoping one of them would offer an explanation. “Ready for what?”

  “You’ll see.”

  He grinned. “What is it with you two and all this secrecy?”

  “You’ll…”

  Levi held up his hand to interrupt Kat. “I get it.”

  Kat looped her hands around Levi’s solid bicep and pulled him toward the elevator. “Go on and make the call, Molly. We’ll wait in the lobby.”

  As they rode the elevator down to the first floor, Levi’s gaze rested on Kat. She clasped her hands together in front of her in giddy excitement, like a little girl who’d just discovered Santa brought every item on her Christmas wish list.

  “Can you at least give me a hint?” he asked as they stepped off the elevator into the lobby.

  “Nope. Why don’t you go get your truck and park it out front in the delivery zone?”

  “Are you sure you won’t give me an idea?”

  Kat held her thumb and finger to her lips, pantomiming turning a key in a lock. “My lips are sealed.”

  “That is a crying shame,” Levi muttered under his breath as he hurried outside and retrieved his pickup from a parking garage a few blocks away.

  When he returned to Harchett Industries and parked out front, Kat carried out big department store bags in each hand while Carl the doorman and two other men hefted large boxes.

  “What’s all this?” Levi asked as the men set the boxes in the bed of his truck and returned inside.

  No longer able to contain her excitement, Kat handed Levi one of the bags. “Look inside!”

  Levi pulled out a child’s winter coat and discovered three more in the bag. “Coats? You bought the kids coats?”

  “Not just me,” Kat said, pointing to the boxes in the back of Levi’s truck. “We held a coat drive and the employee who collected the most earned a gift certificate for a massage. Molly won. That girl hounded all the department chairs, sent out memos, and shamed a few of the stuffed suits into contributing. Her parents must have saved every coat their kids ever outgrew because Molly brought in several gently used coats to contribute to the cause. Some of the coats are new, some used, but I know you’ll make sure they all are put to good use.”

  Astonishe
d by Kat’s generosity and that of her coworkers, Levi swallowed down the emotion clogging his throat and set the bag on his truck seat. With two hands free, he turned and gave her a hug.

  “I don’t know what to say, Kathleen. This is amazing and so, so appreciated. The kids will be excited, especially Jep and Jasper.”

  The incredible feel of Levi’s body close to hers sent Kat into a state of indescribable bliss. A sense of security and pleasure settled over her the moment his arms wrapped around her. She’d nearly forgotten how good it felt, how right it felt, to be held in his arms. To lean into his strength, breathe in his heady scent, and absorb his warmth.

  Rather than linger in his embrace, she stepped back, envisioning the look on Jep’s face and that of his younger brother, Jasper, when Levi gave them coats. “I wish I could be there to see them.”

  “Could you stop by tomorrow afternoon?”

  “I’m sorry, Levi. As much as I’d love to help pass them out, I’m booked all this week. Don’t wait to give the kids the coats on my account. Please, make sure they get them right away.”

  Levi glanced down to where Kat had clasped his hand, giving it a squeeze. Even their fingers looked right intertwined. Although he understood her reasons for keeping her distance, he just wanted to hold her, to love her.

  Instead of surrendering to the voice whispering in his head to grab her in his arms, kiss her until she was breathless and then do it again, he removed his hand from her grasp. Still longing for her touch, he took the bag from her other hand and set it inside his pickup then closed the door.

  “I can’t thank you and Harchett Industries enough for the coats, Kat. For everything.”

  “It’s our pleasure.” Kat backed toward the door. She’d been so excited about the donation, she hadn’t taken time to put on a coat. Without Levi’s hand holding hers, without his body blocking the November breeze, she was thoroughly chilled. Levi didn’t need to know she’d purchased a dozen of the coats. She’d enjoyed every minute of shopping for the kids at the center.