Charitable Hearts by EJ McCay Read Free Book Online

Maybe later this week.”
    “I think you just want an excuse to see her.”
    “If I want to see her I know where she lives.”
    “Yeah, but you like her.”
    “I do not.”
    Gary stopped cooking, palmed the kitchen bar, and looked Levi in the eyes. “Yeah, you do and I think it’s great.”
    “I have a girlfriend.”
    “Sonja is a girl, and adding friend on the end is a stretch.”
    “She’s not that bad.”
    “You really don’t remember last night do you?”
    Puzzled, Levi looked at Gary. “No.”
    Gary turned around and started cooking again. He plated some eggs, bacon and toast for Levi and himself. Sliding a plate to Levi, he then set a plate in front of the seat next to him.
    “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
    “Nope.”
    “Come on. Just tell me what happened.”
    Gary walked around the bar and sat on the stool next to Levi “Nope.” He stabbed a fork in his scrambled eggs, stuffed them in his mouth, and followed it with a bite of bacon.
    “Gary, come on.”
    “Nope,” he said with a mouth full of food.
    Levi sulked and sat quietly eating his food. He must have been pretty terrible for Gary not to tell him what happened. His drinking was becoming a problem. At first, it was just a way to cope with Amelia’s death and then it became a way to deal with Rachel. Now, it was an excuse to be a jerk to people and most of the time he was the biggest jerk to the people he cared about the most.
    Gary finished his food, slid off the stool, and walked toward the basement stairs. He should probably tell Levi what happened, but maybe for once the best thing for Levi to do was wonder what happened. For the last three years, Gary had coddled Levi because his friend was so hurt. Maybe it was time for Gary to try tough love. He stopped at the top of the basement stairs and almost changed his mind when Levi yelled, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I was a jerk.” Instead of responding, a thin smiled spread across his face and he continued down to the basement.

Twelve
    Levi called Maggie on Saturday, but the conversation was brief. She agreed to meet him the following week to take a tour of the place his foundation had rented and said goodbye. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why she was so irritated with him. He’d apologized and she’d accepted.
    Plus, she knew why he behaved the way he did. He was hurting. She knew that feeling well, but when he called something inside her just crawled its way out and he was the recipient of her frustration. So, she ended the conversation before she could say something she would regret.
    Maggie peered out the window of the cab on the way to meet Levi. Most people hated riding in cabs, but Maggie loved it. She didn’t have to concentrate on anything. Her favorite part was looking out the window and watching the world go by or at least that’s how she spent most of her rides in cabs. This ride, she’d spent it with her eyes closed trying to reel in her feeling of anxiousness. It had been a week since she’d seen Levi and for some reason her stomach fluttered and her heart raced.
    He was just someone looking for a donation. Maggie opened her eyes just as the cab stopped in front of a large industrial complex. Is this where a convention takes place? She paid the cab and stood in front of the building.
    “Hey!” She jumped and found Levi with his head sticking out the door to the building. “Come on in.” He smiled.
    Maggie smiled, walked to the door, and followed him in. The building was huge. The area she was in was completely open which could be used for registering people. From the main room, the place split off into hallways with rooms attached.
    “So what do you think?”
    She took a deep breath which was a mistake. It was really musty like it hadn’t been used in a while. “I think it has potential. I also think the doors need to be left open.” Maggie wrinkled her nose.
    “Yeah, it’s why we got the place kinda cheap. Plus, it’s bigger