me check into the hospital and put my health first. Orry saved my life.”
“I’m grateful you had him. So grateful.”
“Me too. He survived his own battles and still managed to save me. I owe him so much. He deserves to have a life apart from me. To date and love and live, and I want him to have that. But I’m terrified of letting him go.”
“You don’t have to let him go for him to have a life.” Levi kissed his forehead. “You just...need to take a few steps back. Give him space, not let him go. I cannot begin to imagine what your life has been like, but I do remember how jealous I was when Xander and Robin first got together. I felt like my brother had been stolen away. But he hadn’t. He was simply taking a new step. And it scared me because I wasn’t taking it too.”
George needed to take the focus off himself for a bit. “Have you ever been in love like Xander was?”
“I thought so. But I was wrong.” Levi’s dark tone intimated he wasn’t going into details this afternoon.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. And I’m sorry for what your coach put you through. I’m grateful to Orry for helping you, and to you for having the strength to be here today so I could know you.”
“Orry’s my hero.” George raised his upper body and looked down into Levi’s shining blue eyes. “But you are someone incredibly important and special to me. You’re the only person outside my immediate family that I’ve ever told about my eating disorder. I still have trouble sometimes, but I’m a work in progress.”
“I’m honored you shared your truth with me. One day at a time is often all any of us can do.”
“Yeah, it is.” George relaxed into Levi’s strong embrace, comforted by Levi’s candor and acceptance, and the warmth of his arms. Also the weight of whichever cat decided to stretch her body out over his ankles. He was too content to look.
George closed his eyes and soaked in the man holding him, and this little slice of heaven they’d found in a tiny house in the middle of nowhere.
Chapter Sixteen
The following day, Levi did his promised trick riding demonstration for the other guests, and he even got Robin to join him. They didn’t do their full show from the ghost town, but the tricks all earned them applause. Little Faith cheered the loudest and when they took their final bows, announced to her dads she wanted to be a trick rider, too.
Rey looked horrified.
George and Shawn followed Levi and Robin into the barn and helped untack the horses. “You guys make it all look easy,” George said.
“A lot of years of hard work will make anything look easy,” Robin replied. “We’re nowhere near as flexible or flashy as in our younger, touring years, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun.”
“Agreed.” Levi hefted the saddle off Zodiac and carried it into the tack room. He returned with two brushes. “Plus, you have to build trust with the horse you’re riding. Not all horses can do what we’ve trained Zodiac and Apple Jax to do.”
“Yup. I tried working with Tude when Mack first floated the idea of the rodeo celebration, but she’s too stubborn.”
“I think she’s just loyal to Mack,” Shawn said as he began brushing Apple Jax’s flank. “Stubborn people stick together.”
Levi chuckled.
“So are you gonna miss the ranch when you go home?” Robin asked George.
“I will.” George stroked his own brush along Zodiac’s neck, a dreamy smile on his face. “It’s gorgeous and peaceful out here. And I feel like I’ve made a few new friends.” He glanced at Shawn, who winked.
Interesting.
“We’ll have to find reasons for you to come visit us again,” Levi said. “As a friend and not a paying customer.”
George quirked an eyebrow at him. “Technically, you’re the paying customer.”
“Good point.”
Once the horses were taken care of and back in their stalls, Robin and Shawn followed them up to the guesthouse for a game of Scrabble. Back in the day, Robin, Levi, Xander and their dad, Doug, would have epic Scrabble battles, all of them super competitive. Levi hadn’t played the game since Xander died, and he found comfort in playing again with both Robin and George.
And George’s vocabulary skills impressed the crap out of Levi. He won the game with a remarkable 370 points. Their group had plenty of time for a second round before dinner, and Levi