Charitable Hearts Page 10

  The girl bubbled with excitement. “Yeah,” she said and pointed down the hall to the far left. “He’s down there. Second door to the left.”

  Maggie turned to Laura. “He’s in the lounge. He sectioned off one of the conference rooms and turned it into an area off-limits to anyone but him and Gary. Levi thought it would be good if he had a place to escape for a moment here and there.”

  Laura nodded in acknowledgment and walked next to Maggie as they headed to the room, stopping in front of a door with a keypad attached to it. She knocked on the door and a security guard answered. They deposited their helmets on a table as they walked in.

  The room was large and two guards were monitoring screens and drinking coffee. Behind them, they opened another door and closed it as they entered.

  “I didn’t see this room before,” said Maggie.

  Gary greeted them with a smile as he kept his seat in a chair leaned against the wall. “It was a large office building at one point. That room up there was where the I.T. guy did his thing and this room held the servers and stuff.” Gary explained.

  “That’s kinda neat. It seems to work well the way you guys set it up,” Laura said and looked around.

  Levi sat in a chair with a low back and a seat big enough for two people. His head was leaned back so that he was looking at the ceiling and his legs were on a second chair with his ankles crossed. His arms were loosely crossed on his chest. Maggie noticed he looked pale and walked over to him. “Hey, are you feeling okay?”

  He opened his eyes, and looked at her without lifting his head. “I think I’m just tired.”

  “Are you sure?” She sat on the arm of the chair facing him and studied his face.

  “Yeah, I think so.” He smiled and placed a hand on her arm.

  Without thinking, Maggie pushed his hair back from his face. “The event is going well. There are still a lot of people here.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, and your volunteers are either the happiest people on the earth or we need to implement drug testing.”

  Levi chuckled softly. Maggie was concerned now because he wasn’t his normal high energy self, but at the same time, she knew he’d been up all day. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Because you sure don’t look okay.

  “I was up all night and I had a panel so I never really got a chance for down time.”

  “Okay, well, I’m happy for you. This has gone even better than I could have predicted.”

  “Yeah,” Levi yawned. “Me too. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t met you. The two of you have done more than I thought was possible.”

  Maggie turned to catch Laura talking to Gary. “Yeah, we make a pretty good team.”

  Levi reached up and cupped her cheek. “We make a good team too.”

  “Stop it.”

  He flashed a lopsided grin. Maggie’s concern for him grew as he closed his eyes. “You need to go home, okay. Get some sleep so you are ready for tomorrow.”

  “I just want to sit here for a moment. I’ve been going all day.”

  “Okay. Well, leave the rest to me and Laura. We’ll take care of it. When you get ready to go home, just go.”

  Levi was falling asleep on her which didn’t surprise her. She just hoped he was telling the truth about just being tired. Maggie got up and walked over to where Gary and Laura were talking. “Gary, is he really okay?” she whispered.

  “I honestly don’t know. If he doesn’t feel good he won’t admit it, ever. He’s terrified of hospitals. I think he’d actually bleed out before he’d agree to ever step foot in a hospital again.”

  Maggie nodded and understood all too well about being afraid of hospitals. “He’s really pale.”

  “I don’t know. He gets like that when he’s tired. I’ll keep an eye on him. You guys going to be here tomorrow?”

  “No, we just wanted to drop by to see what it looked like after it was put together. Laura has a flight out tomorrow. We’re going to grab a bite to eat and then go back home.”

  “Is it girls only?” Gary asked.

  “Yes, and even if it wasn’t,” Maggie said and looked in Levi’s direction. “I don’t think he could manage it. He really needs to go home.”

  Gary sighed and frowned. “Okay, mom.”

  Maggie laughed. “Take him home, okay?”

  He jumped up and saluted. “Yes, ma’am.” Then he walked over to Levi and shook him awake. “Come on, mom says I need to take you home.”

  Gary held out a hand, a groggy Levi grabbed it and let Gary pull him out of the chair. Levi wobbled a little bit, yawned, and stretched. “Okay, yeah, I need to go home.”

  Maggie and Laura headed out the interior door, back into the room where the guards sat, and picked up their helmets.

  “Wait, who has the motorcycle?” Levi asked.

  Laura bumped Maggie’s shoulder with hers. “Maggie.”

  “I never saw a bike.”

  “You know the door that’s to the right of my front door?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, that’s where I keep it.”

  Levi took her arm and turned her to face him. The look on his face was complete disbelief. “What kind of bike do you have?”

  “Come outside and see it.”

  Levi and Gary slid around Maggie and Laura and began to walk faster. By the time they got to the front door, they were nearly jogging. When the girls got outside, they found the guys walking around the bike with surprised faces.

  “I can’t believe you have this bike,” Gary said, running his hand along the gas tank.

  “I can’t either.” Levi’s eyebrows were knitted together and he studied the bike. “This is a 1946 Indian Chief. I know because I bid on one about four years ago.”

  Maggie smiled. “The same bike style owned by Steve McQueen.”

  Levi’s mouth dropped open. “It looks so…familiar…you!” He said, the tone accusatory. “You are the one who outbid me. I was winning. I had like five seconds and the screen refreshed and I’d lost.”

  She bit her lip and smiled. “I’m more than willing to let you drive it some time.”

  “How did you get it back in shape?”

  “I hired a group out of Texas specializing in restoration of vintage bikes. I got it back about six months ago. I’ve been waiting on Laura to make a trip out here so she could have the first ride with me.”

  With his hands on his hips, Levi licked his lips and shook his head. “You owe me a ride.” For a moment, Levi seemed like his usual energetic self, but Maggie noticed his eyes were dull and he still looked pale.

  “You go home and get some rest and we’ll talk rides another day.”

  Gary patted him on the back. “I agree. Let’s go home. Ladies, it’s been swell. We’ll smell ya later.”

  Maggie turned to Laura. “Let’s go back in, get things closed up and ready for tomorrow.”

  “Sure, then dinner because I’m starving.”

  “Yeah,” Maggie said and looked back in Levi’s direction. “I’m worried about Levi. I think he may have pushed himself too hard.”

  “Well, I’m sure with a good night’s sleep he’ll be okay.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. Come on. I want dinner, sooner rather than later.”

  Maggie wanted to check on Levi the next day, but when she tried calling, he never picked up. Gary eventually answered the phone and said he was in the middle of a panel with a couple of his friends from his television show. Maggie asked if he was feeling okay and Gary seemed to think that the night’s sleep helped. She tried pressing him, but he was distracted.

  “Gary!”

  “What?” he asked, trying to talk over the noise of the crowd.

  “Are you listening?”

  He was playing a two-person shooter game and barely responding. “Yeah, sure.”

  Frustrated, Maggie hung up. Laura told her she needed to leave it alone. “If something’s wrong I’m sure you’ll be the first to know.” Laura could see the con
cern written all over Maggie’s face. “Why don’t you just admit you like the guy?”

  “He’s my friend, which means I should be concerned with whether he’s feeling okay or not. This event is important to him.”

  Laura pursed her lips. It was hard for her to remain neutral when all she wanted to do was shake Maggie and yell wake up. “So you do like him.”

  “I like him. When I met him I wasn’t sure if I would like him because he was a little cocky and he thought he could smile and I’d just give him money. The last few months I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve realized we have some things in common and he’s just a really sweet guy.”

  “I can’t believe he pretended to date Sonja.” Laura shivered in mock disgust.

  “She’s going through a hard time. I kinda feel sorry for her, ya know? I mean, her entire life she’s had people that just hang on her because she’s famous. They don’t care about her at all. I bet she just had to develop a disconnect with the world just to survive without getting hurt all the time.”

  “You always give people the benefit of the doubt. I think she’s just a butt that’s used to getting her own way. Who makes a sex tape? Gross.”

  “I don’t know. I wonder if it was leaked and to make people think she didn’t care she just rolled with it and acted like she didn’t care. Like a defense mechanism.”

  Laura dug through her luggage and looked up at Maggie. “I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

  “I wish you could stay another day.”

  “I know, but I just can’t. Leaving the kids for a day was more than I could handle.”

  “But it was nice, right? Sleeping until you woke up?”

  Laura sagged and smiled. “Yes, and this place is so freaking quiet.”

  Maggie clicked her tongue on her teeth and smiled wide. “See, I knew what I was doing when I built this place.”

  “You really did. It’s like an oasis in the middle of all the crazy. It’s so peaceful.”

  “Got everything?’

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  Maggie looked at her watch. “Cab should be here any second.”

  “If I didn’t have luggage you could take me on the bike.”

  “Well if you didn’t pack so heavy…”

  They laughed at the joke. Laura always packed like she was going to be stranded on a desert island. “Hey, there was a whole television show about people being stranded on a deserted island.”

  “Did you ever find out what was going on?”

  “Still have no clue to this day.”

  “And yet, you watched it.”

  “Are you kidding? It was a great show with hot guys stranded on an island. Of course, I watched it.”

  Maggie shook head and rolled her eyes. She pointed out the door. “Cab’s here.”

  They hugged each other tight. “I’ll miss you,” Maggie said in her ear as she hugged her.

  “I’ll miss you most.”

  “Take care and tell Greg I said hi and give the kids a kiss for me.”

  “I will,” Laura said and waved as she got into the cab. The driver packed her luggage into the trunk, and Maggie watched as her friend rode away.

  Twenty Three

  “Where is he?” Maggie asked as she stormed into Levi’s house.

  Gary pointed to the basement. “I swear I wanted to tell you, but he threatened me.”

  Maggie stopped and narrowed her eyes, grabbing him by the shirt collar. “Gary, you ever keep something like this from me again, and I promise you, I’ll make Levi’s threats seem like a daydream.”

  His eyes widened and he swallowed hard. “Yes, ma’am. Never again.”

  She let him go and nearly ran down the stairs. “Levi,” she called as she hit the bottom step.

  “Here,” he said, barely above a whisper. He was lying on the couch, wearing a white tank top, and jeans. His hair was matted to his head, and he looked pale.

  “I thought you said you were just tired,” she said as she sat on the edge of the couch facing him. Maggie laid the back of her hand against his forehead. “Levi, you are burning up. You need a doctor. Maybe even a trip to the ER”

  He sat up, grabbed her arm, and looked at her, terrified. “No, promise me no hospitals.”

  “But…”

  “Promise me.”

  Maggie’s expression softened. “Okay, but I need to call a doctor at least.”

  He let her go and fell back onto the couch. “There’s a doctor who does house calls in my contacts.”

  “Gary has your phone right?”

  “Yeah.”

  She walked to the stairs and called up to Gary. “Call his doctor, now!”

  Without coming down to the basement, Gary yelled back down. “Yes, ma’am.” The look on her face when she grabbed his collar was not something he would forget anytime soon.

  Levi started coughing and Maggie came back to the couch and sat down. “Why are you down here and not in your bed?”

  “I like it better down here.”

  “I’m going to go get a cold washcloth and bring you something to drink. You need to stay hydrated.” Maggie touched the side of his face. “You should have told me. I can’t believe you had Gary lie to me. Don’t ever do that again.”

  Levi smiled weakly. “I won’t.”

  “I’d say don’t go anywhere, but think that’s a given.” Maggie jogged up the stairs.

  Gary was still on the phone trying to get through to the doctor. He paced around in the kitchen until she heard someone on the other end. “Two hours?” Gary asked. The voice on the other end spoke a little louder. “No, no that’s fine. Just come as quick as you can.” Gary hung up and set the phone down on the bar. “His secretary said he’d be here in a couple of hours. He’s on a call currently and she said I should speak to people with more honey if I expect to attract bees.”

  “Where are your dish or wash cloths? Also,” Maggie said as she opened their fridge, “he needs to stay hydrated so we need some stuff with electrolytes in it.”

  Gary pointed to a drawer next to the oven, walked to the door and grabbed the keys in the dish. “I’ll go get it now. Anything else?”

  “I know he likes popsicles, right? Get anything he might like.”

  “I’ve got this. Just don’t leave him too long. He hates being sick and he’s always afraid of being left alone.”

  “I’m going right back down. Pinkies.”

  Gary smiled and shut the door behind him. Maggie rushed around the kitchen getting ice water and grabbing a couple of the softest dish towels she could find. Back downstairs, Levi was restless when Maggie returned. She set the bowl of water and towels down on the coffee table and sat on the edge of the couch next to Levi.

  “I can’t believe you kept this from me.” She dipped a towel in the water and wrung it out. Levi jumped when she placed it on his forehead.

  “I’m freezing and…,” he said and started coughing.

  Maggie dipped another towel in the bowl of water and wrung it out. “I hope the doctor isn’t really two hours away. I think you might have the flu.”

  “Whatever it is, I hope you don’t get it. I feel terrible,” he whispered. “My throat hurts.”

  “Gary is getting some stuff. I asked him to get popsicles too.”

  “The fruity kind?”

  Maggie dug out her phone and texted Gary. “Yes, the fruity kind.”

  “Good.” He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

  Maggie picked up the cloth on his forehead, re-wet it, and replaced it. I care about him, and it’s dangerously close to being something I can’t handle. Levi turned on his side, facing her. She finger combed the hair above his ear and then palmed his cheek. “I’m sorry you feel so bad.”

  Levi put his hand over hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I wanted to stay at the event and I knew you’d make me leave.”

  “Of course, I’d make you leave. I care about you. It bothers me to see you like this.” She pursed her lips and cl
osed her eyes. I do care about him. I do and I can’t seem to stop.

  “You care about me, huh?” Levi mumbled and looked at her. He turned on his back again.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  She gently ran her thumb over the scar above his lip. “Where did you get this?”

  “In grade school. A couple of girls were doing double dutch jump rope. I thought I’d be cool and jump in, but I hit the pavement face first. My tooth came through my lip. Even chipped it.”

  “Ouch.”

  “You could kiss it and make it better.” Levi half smiled.

  “I think it’s a little late for that.”

  “Emotionally. I hurt in here.” Levi tapped his chest.

  Maggie shook her head and laughed softly. “Still, a little late.”

  He gave her a small smile, closed his eyes and soon he was sleeping soundly. Maggie stayed downstairs with him until she heard Gary upstairs. She looked at Levi, hesitated a moment and then made her way upstairs to see what Gary had brought back from the store.

  She was surprised by the number of bags covering the bar. Gary was already busy putting things up. “I got a bunch of stuff.”

  “I can see that.”

  “He hasn’t been this sick since we were in high school. His parents were really careful because of Amelia.”

  “Where are his parents?”

  Gary stopped putting stuff up a moment, and whistled. “After Amelia died they kinda drifted away. Levi was already pretty big as an actor, and I guess they just needed to not be parents for a while. Levi married Rachel and she also helped put a big wedge there because they felt he was getting married too quickly. Really, it was just people hurting and taking it out on each other.”

  Maggie nodded. “I can see that. I don’t have any family.”

  “No family? At all?”

  “Nope. I was adopted as a kid by an older couple. My mom died when I was in tenth grade, and my dad died shortly after my sophomore year in college. I was an only child. My last living uncle died two years ago.”

  “Wow, and so it’s just you?” Gary watched Maggie’s face when he asked the question. It was a split second, but Maggie’s expression shifted and he was sure he’d hit a sore spot. She smiled, and yet, at the same time, she looked sad. Like she’d briefly remembered something.