Levi put up a jump shot, but it bounced off the rim and dropped into Erik’s hands. Didn’t matter. They weren’t keeping score anyway. But he sure was stinking up the court this morning.
Pawley Park was quiet, the temperature comfortable. A morning fog still hung over Bluebell Lake. The fresh air felt invigorating, as did the bit of exercise.
Erik dribbled the ball out and turned back toward the hoop. “Your shot’s off today.”
Levi put a guard up on him. “Just distracted.”
“Everything okay at home?”
“About the same.”
“I’m sure things will get better now that the season is in full swing.”
Erik faked to the right, but Levi was right there. “What about you? Everything all right with Karli?”
The ball smacked the pavement rhythmically. “Yeah, it’s just getting a little old—the long-distance thing.” He’d met his girlfriend on a business trip.
“You could always move to Knoxville if things get serious enough.”
Erik made a fadeaway shot that arced through the air and sank through the hoop with a swoosh.
“I don’t know if I could leave my dad, you know?” Bill owned the local garage, and Erik was his right-hand man. When he wasn’t working on cars, he was a volunteer firefighter.
Levi grabbed the ball and took it out. “Right. And with her son in Knoxville, Karli’s not leaving anytime soon.”
“Seems kind of doomed, huh? Maybe we should just call it quits before it gets too serious.”
“Well, you can’t ask her to leave her kid.”
“I know. She’d never do that anyway.”
“So I guess the question is, would you ever move there?”
Erik winced. “I don’t know. It’d kill my dad.”
Levi moved forward, dribbling with ease. Erik was scrappier, but Levi had the height advantage. Of course, that didn’t matter if he couldn’t even sink a shot.
“So how are the honeymooners? Or have you even seen them since they checked in?”
Levi took a second to consider how much he wanted to say. “Actually, it’s just the woman. Apparently the wedding never happened.”
Erik straightened. “She came on her honeymoon alone?”
Levi was no fool—he took advantage of Erik’s distraction. Dodged him and put up a lay-up. The ball bounced off the board and dropped through the basket.
Erik made a face. “Cheap shot. But seriously, some chick is there on her honeymoon alone? With the whole inn empty?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“What’s she look like?”
“What does it matter? She’s a guest.”
“Adam was a guest, and that didn’t stop Molly from going after him.”
“And I disapproved—for all the good it did me. We need every satisfied customer we can get right now.”
Erik darted by Levi and went in for a lay-up. The ball sank through the hoop.
“Money still pretty tight, huh?”
Erik was the only one he’d told about the financial struggles, although even he didn’t know just how bad things were. “Something’s got to give, man.”
“Can’t you just borrow against the equity?”
“My parents took out a second mortgage, remember? All of it was used on the renovations.”
“Well, I’m sure your marketing plans will pan out. Hopefully you’ll be full up all season.”
“That would help me breathe a little easier.”
“You know, you should probably level with your sisters. They’re owners too. They’d be ticked if they found out you weren’t shooting straight with them. And you shouldn’t have to carry this burden alone.”
Erik tossed Levi the ball.
Maybe his friend was right. That would at least keep them from unnecessary expenditures. He was getting tired of being the bad guy every time one of them wanted something for the inn.
Levi took the ball out, moving slowly, catching his breath. But this was his responsibility. He was the oldest. He’d been told from the time his sisters were born that he was the big brother and responsible for taking care of them when his parents weren’t around.
“Look out for your sister,” his dad had said on Molly’s first day of school.
“Look out for your sisters,” he’d said when Levi was a teenager and his parents left for the evening.
Look out for your sisters.
And just like that, the night of the accident flashed in his mind. The dark night, silent but for the terrible metallic screech the Jaws of Life made on the wreckage containing his parents.
He’d been home for a vacation when his buddy Erik called. He made it to the scene before the ambulance left. It took a while for them to pry his parents from the car.
It was too late for his mom.
That terrible truth still hadn’t sunk in as Levi followed his dad into the back of the ambulance and squeezed in by his stretcher. His dad’s eyes were closed, but there were tears on his cheeks. His face was pinched as if he was in pain. He seemed to struggle just to draw a breath.
Mom’s dead. It didn’t seem real. He couldn’t think about that right now.
Levi grabbed his hand. “Dad, I’m right here. Everything’s going to be all right.”
Levi glanced at his medic buddy who was taking Dad’s vitals from the other side of the bed, but the look on Erik’s face wasn’t encouraging. The ambulance took off, the siren splitting the night.
“Le-vi . . .” his dad said through a moan of pain.
“I’m here, Dad. I’m here. What is it?”
“Love you . . . all.”
“We love you too, Dad. But everything’s going to be all right.”
“Take . . .” His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly. “Take care . . . of your sisters.”
Levi’s stomach bottomed out. A chill swept through his body. His throat closed. “Don’t talk like that, Dad. You’re going to be just fine. We’re on the way to the hospital. They’re going to take really good care of you.”
Dad’s eyes opened just then, the clear blue of his irises clouded by pain or something worse. Levi tried to brace himself for what might happen. For what had already happened. But his pulse was pounding in his ears. He couldn’t seem to think.
Dad gave his hand a weak squeeze. “Promise . . . me.”
He looked into the suddenly old face of his dad. A tear leaked from the corner of his father’s eye and trickled down into his salt-and-pepper hair.
Levi brushed it away. “I will, Dad. I promise.”
“Hey, you all right, man?”
Levi blinked. He was still dribbling the ball. He had yet to make his way back toward Erik and the basket.
He gave his head a hard shake, dislodging the memory from his mind, but a headache beat in its place.
“I’m fine. Just fine. Let’s play ball.”