The Family You Make (Sunrise Cove #1)

She shrugged. “Not more than anyone else.”

His look said he disagreed, but he let it go. He told her about his day, how he was balancing his own work with helping out his parents with the store’s accounting, making her laugh with the antics of Jasper, the goldendoodle. How he’d put his nose where it didn’t belong on the poor UPS guy and now they couldn’t get their deliveries. And then there was the dog’s choice of snacks—his humans’ belongings, like his niece’s socks.

“Maybe they’re just lost,” Jane said on a laugh.

“He horked up the evidence on the kitchen floor while we were eating breakfast, along with a pair of my mom’s underwear—nude lace.” He shuddered, looking so pained, she nearly snorted her beer out her nose. “No,” she gasped.

“Oh yes. There was a lot of screaming. My ears are still ringing.”

She laughed in sympathy and then eyed the last piece of pizza.

Levi nudged it toward her.

“I couldn’t,” she said, trying to mean it. “You take it.”

“It’s got your name on it. I’m full.”

She was halfway through the piece when she caught him smiling at her. Not laughing at her, just genuinely smiling. And yet . . . she realized that his smile was missing its usual wattage. “It was sweet of you to come to my work to see me,” she said. “You didn’t have to do that.”

He grimaced a little at the sweet. “I wanted to make it easier for you to communicate to me whatever you needed to.”

“I’m sorry I accused you of leaving me the ornament,” she said on a wince. “Not my finest moment.”

“I understand.”

She met his gaze. “Are you sure? Because I feel like something’s bothering you.”

“I just heard myself tell you that story about Jasper, deflecting with humor, rather than having the courage to go deep, like you did.” He blew out a breath. “I came to Tahoe because my mom hinted that she needed my help with something. I ended up on that gondola with you because an hour into the visit I needed an escape. You know what happened next, and it was a week before my dad told me the reason they’d needed me. The store’s accountant was my sister’s husband. When he left her, he took all their money and vanished. My dad was worried that he’d gotten creative with the store accounting as well.”

“Oh my God. Did he?”

He pushed his plate away. “There was a month of time where no one was really on top of the books. I’ve been going through it all. And yeah, he helped himself to the kitty, getting very creative about it.”

“Oh, no.” Her heart sank for him. For his family. “Did you get the police involved?”

“Not yet. I’m not quite finished with the internal audit, but it’s bad. And my family is going to be shattered when they find out that the store is now at risk. Telling them is going to suck.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly. “That’s a heavy burden to carry alone.”

“I don’t feel alone at the moment.”

She didn’t question why it felt as natural as breathing to slide out of her side of the booth and into his to wrap her arms around his strong shoulders and hug him. He’d certainly consoled and supported her enough times. And when he buried his face in her hair and held on tight, taking comfort from her, something squeezed deep inside her chest in the very best of ways.

“How do you tell family that family screwed you over?” he asked.

Jane let out a small mirthless huff of laughter. “Being an expert on the being-screwed-over end of things, I’d say this—just rip off the Band-Aid rather than skate around the truth.”

“I don’t want to tell them until I have everything I need to nail my sister’s asshole soon-to-be-ex.”

“Are you always the family fixer?” she asked.

He shrugged. Which was a yes, and something deep in her gut twinged. Suddenly she felt like that once-homeless eight-year-old clutching her backpack with everything she possessed in the world, waiting for her guardians to realize what everyone always did eventually—that she was unfixable.

The waitress came by and offered them dessert. They ordered a brownie and ice cream to share.

“You still thinking of sticking around Tahoe?” she asked, digging into the brownie, dragging it through the ice cream.

He looked out at the lake. “I told myself I didn’t miss it here. But lately, when I think of this place, I feel an ache. I keep brushing it off, but since I’ve been home, it’s only gotten stronger. I think it’s an ache to be back here.”

She knew that ache, knew it well. She just didn’t know where her home was.

“Jane.”

She looked up.

“Your turn. How was your day?”

“Mostly filled with ski-related incidents. Oh, but I did meet another new friend. There’s a new hospital volunteer, and he came out to each clinic to leave books for the waiting rooms. He’s going to be starting a small library for each location. He wants to follow a theme each month, and he’s starting with wilderness and exploration. He even had cute pop-up books for kids. Such a sweet, kind man.”

“Wilderness and exploration,” Levi repeated in an oddly strangled voice. “And I suppose also the history of the region.”

“Yes! How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.” He took a long pull of his beer and shook his head. “My mom’s been demon-dialing me. They’re getting antsy, wanting to know if you’re coming to the anniversary dinner.”

“Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “I can’t think of a good excuse not to.”

He laughed.

“It’s not funny! But I promised, so yes, I’m coming to dinner. I should bring something.”

“Bring something?”

“Yes! Your real girlfriend wouldn’t just show up empty-handed at her first dinner with your parents. She’d bring something that she thought would mean something to them, a sort of a please-like-me gift.”

“Not necessary,” he said.

“It is! Help me. Can I bring something for the meal? Wine? Dessert?”

“Well . . .” He thought about it. “My mom’s a great cook, but not a great baker.”