Levi looked pained far beyond his injuries, and Jane couldn’t help it: a laugh escaped. They might die at the next gust of wind, but his mom had gophers and plumbing problems.
“Who was that?” his mom asked, apparently possessing bat-like ultrasonic hearing. “I heard a laugh. A feminine laugh. You’re with a woman? That’s why you can’t pick up your darling niece? Levi!”
Jane winced for him, thinking he was about to get yelled at.
“Ohmigod, you finally have a girlfriend! How wonderful! How exciting! Why didn’t you just say so? What’s her name? I want to meet her, put her on the phone.”
Jane went from laughing to walking backwards with her butt cheeks while miming no-no-no with her hands. She had zero experience with parents to begin with, which meant she was especially bad with dealing with other people’s parents.
Levi took in her panic and smiled, and, oh great, he was going to hand her the phone and she’d have to kill him. That is, if their fall down the rocky mountainside didn’t.
“Mom, I’m not putting Jane on the phone.”
“Jane! What a lovely name! Is she nice? Does she look after you? Not that you need it, you’re a grown man who’s been taking care of himself for a long time, but the thing is, you’re thirty years old and all you do is . . .” She paused. “I’m sorry. I always forget what exactly you do. It’s something with data.”
Before Levi could answer, they were slammed by another gust of wind. Over the unbelievable noise of that came the unmistakable sound of metal straining, and Jane covered her mouth with her hand to keep her startled scream to herself.
“Levi? Levi, can you hear me?” his mom asked, sounding tinny. “What was that?”
Before he could speak, his phone beeped and Jane knew what that meant. The battery was on its last breath. It was now a race as to who would die first, the battery . . . or them.
Levi’s gaze met Jane’s, and in that single heartbeat something changed for both of them. Acceptance. He reached for her hand as he spoke into the phone. “Forget my job, Mom,” he said with surprising gentleness, eyes still locked on Jane’s. “I just wanted to tell you that you’re right. Jane’s my girlfriend.”
“Oh!” his mom whispered, clearly touched to near tears. “Oh, Levi, that’s wonderful. A dream come true for me, to know my baby is happy. You are happy, yes? Is she sweet?”
“Very,” he said.
Jane bit her lower lip and shook her head, needing him to know she was the furthest thing from sweet.
He just held her gaze and kept talking over the raging storm and the blood whooshing in Jane’s ears. “She’s sweet, she’s caring . . . she’s everything you’ve ever wanted for me.”
“Oh, honey, really?”
He looked right into Jane’s eyes and lied through his teeth. “Really, Mom.”
Jane was boggled. Both at the obvious love he had for his mom, and also how she should’ve been embarrassed to be intruding in such a private moment, but instead only felt . . . fascination.
“I can’t wait to meet her,” his mom said, sounding happy, so damned excited that even Jane’s cold dead heart warmed and rolled over in her chest. “Does she live in Sunrise Cove? When can I meet her?”
“We’ll do details another time,” Levi said. “I’ve gotta go now, Mom. Kiss Peyton for me. Love you—”
Beep.
His phone died.
Swearing beneath his breath, Levi looked down at his cell, expression tight with pain but also worry, and yet Jane knew that not one single ounce of it was for himself. It was for his family, whom he clearly loved beyond anything.