Kindred Spirit - Noah Harris Page 0,17
onto the bed, he made his way to the door and opened it. Levi stood on the other side of the door, dirty work clothes on, a bag in his hand, and an exasperated expression on his face.
“Well, you certainly look happy to see me,” Jacob commented.
Levi grimaced. “Sorry, I’m not actually here of my own volition.”
Jacob hummed. “Wow, you certainly know how to make a guy feel special.”
To his surprise and delight, he watched Levi’s mouth drop open and pink flush his cheeks. He hadn’t known the guy was capable of being embarrassed, and God save him, the sight of Levi’s flushed cheeks was both adorable and intriguing. Jacob couldn’t help but wonder what else might bring that color to his cheeks.
“I just meant…” Levi stuttered. “Laura snagged me while I was near her store and insisted I bring this over to you.”
The bag was thrust into his hand, and Jacob opened it once it was safely in his grip. He couldn't help but laugh at the pile of beef jerky that lay in the bottom. Even if he ate a couple of packages a day, he would probably be set for another month.
“I guess she took my comment about the jerky being delicious to heart,” Jacob said.
“She insisted I drag them over to you as soon as possible. There might have been some threats thrown in there as well.”
“What sort of threats?”
“The ones I’m not telling you because I don’t need another person to have ammunition to use against me at the wrong moment.”
Jacob’s stomach twisted at the off-hand comment. He turned away, facing toward the canvas rather than toward Levi, not wanting to risk the guilt showing on his face. If there was anyone in town currently who would have more than enough to use against Levi, it would be Jacob. Knowing it was paranoid, he did his best to resist glancing toward the tablet, where the large file about Levi’s life was laid out and waiting to be opened.
“I’ll have to tell her thank you the next time I see her,” Jacob said, setting the bag down on the end of the bed.
There was a moment of silence, long enough that Jacob worried he might have given himself away. Hell, for all the DDI knew, Levi had different abilities, or as the director had pondered, was stronger than they thought he was. Perhaps just strong enough to find out that Jacob wasn’t who he said he was, or at least, to know something was wrong with him.
“Oh,” Levi said. “Is that the new piece you’re starting?”
Not exactly the subject change he would have gone for, but even he would rather talk about the abomination that sat in the corner of the room. He glanced at it, unable to hide the curl of his lip.
“Yes, and it’s turning out to be an absolute disaster.”
Levi inched closer to it, glancing at Jacob as though he expected him to protest. Jacob gave a weary motion of his hand, a little touched by the sudden show of care from Levi as he approached it.
Levi cocked his head. “Hey, is that Cobb Hill?”
“Cobb Hill?” Jacob asked as he moved closer.
“The tallest hill in the area, just outside the woods. Apparently, one of the early founders of the town built his house up there back in the day. Everyone told him it was a bad idea, but he followed through with it anyway. Turns out he should have listened. Place burned down when it was struck by lightning.”
“Oh,” Jacob said, tilting his head to look at the painting again. “So, I’m painting a hill named after a guy who lost his house on it.”
Levi snorted. “It’s not named after him.”
“Then why is it called Cobb Hill?”
“Not a damn clue. No one does.”
“I...I’m not sure how to respond to that.”
Levi chuckled, turning to pat Jacob’s elbow. “Welcome to Gilcreek. Where we don’t even know where the name came from.”
Jacob snorted, unconsciously rubbing the spot where Levi had touched him as the other man made for the door. “I guess I’ll have some time to adjust.”
“Gonna hang around once the painting is done?” Levi asked, eyes flicking to the canvas.
Jacob shrugged. “There’s plenty of beautiful scenery around here, and a lot of nice houses too, why not? It’s not like I came here to paint just one thing and move on.”
Something flickered over Levi’s face but was gone before Jacob could register what the emotion had been. It had almost looked like regret, but