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Levi continued. “We headed for the tree line. And although the farmer didn’t follow us in, we kept running. I didn’t see the land give way into a creek. And I fell down the side of the embankment. I could barely walk after that, or I could, just not without a lot of pain. My face and hands were all cut up. I was soaking wet and cold from the creek. I told Wilder to call his dad and I would take the blame. But Wilder wouldn’t do it. He carried me back to his house. He managed to get us into the house and into bed without anyone in the house knowing.”
I smiled thinking about that night. I hadn’t told Anna much about my father. “My father was very strict. And if he had found out, he probably wouldn’t have ever let me see Levi again. What Levi doesn’t know, is that his dad knew about that night. See, I couldn’t get him into the house without anyone knowing we had left. I had carried and dragged him for two miles almost. By the time we got back to my house, Levi was out of it and I was exhausted. I called his dad, probably the only person I could trust at the time. I went in and distracted my father while his dad carried him to my room. We got up and went outside the next morning. Came in and told my dad that he had fallen out of the treehouse that we had built.”
“What?! My dad never said anything. I had forgotten about the treehouse. I guess the story doesn’t have such the happy ending I thought it did.” Levi replied.
“What happened with the treehouse?” Anna asked looking at me.
“My dad couldn’t afford his sons to be hurt. We are the successors to his name. He took an axe and tore the whole thing down. Levi and I spent the entire last summer building it by ourselves.”
“That’s so sad,” Anna replied.
“How about another round?” I called; I didn’t want to get into my sad childhood sob stories right now. Those could fill an entire book.
15
Chapter 15
ANNA
Meeting Levi was better than I could have imagined. I saw more of the normal, happy guy that I was falling in love with. It was like when he was with Levi, he didn’t feel the need to have his guard up.
We got home that night and lay in bed watching reality TV and eating Chinese takeout. It really had been the perfect night. Wilder reached over and rested his hand on my thigh. “Thanks for coming with me tonight. Levi likes you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I think Levi gets along with everyone.”
Wilder smiled and his smile made my stomach drop every time. I loved seeing him smile. He was so serious all the time. My mind wanders back to the question that seems to be plaguing it the most. Is Wilder dangerous, are the rumors about his family true? I’m afraid when I ask about his job the next time; he’s going to decide I’m not worth the effort of the secrecy he was obviously trying to keep. Just as I’m about to ask again, Wilder said, “Tell me about your parents.”
“Where did that come from?” I asked around a forkful of Lo Mein.
“I don’t know. I just want to know more about you.”
“I miss them so much. My mom was a teacher. She taught 3rd grade for years; she always wanted to make sure we had everything we needed. And my dad was a mechanic. He could fix anything, with his eyes closed and wearing heavy gloves.” I smiled; it had been a long time since I got to really talk about my parents. “I had a really good childhood. My parents tried for a long time to have another kid, but they couldn’t get pregnant again after I was born, even though they tried all the traditional medicines and doctors and tests. They gave up pretty early on, around the time I turned ten. t was just me and Mom and Dad at home most of the time, so I got spoiled a little bit. We lived in a house that had a big tree in the front yard and we lived there for my whole life. I didn’t realize how special that was at the time, though. Until my parents were killed in a car accident. I was 17. And still in high school. I stayed with friends until I graduated; then went to college like everybody else does when they turn 18. You kind of know the story after that.”
“It sounds like you were really loved.” He told me.
“I was. What about you? I got a little glimpse tonight from Levi. Tell me about young Wilder.”
“There’s not much to tell. My father was and is a very important businessman. My mom left when I was four. And I was raised by nannies. I didn’t leave my estate much when I was really young due to safety concerns so my only friend was Levi, the son of my father’s lawyer. When I turned eighteen I came to Chicago and tried to work my way through the ranks of the family.”
“You didn’t get to be in charge because your dad was the boss?” Anna asked.
“No.” I laughed. “My father doesn’t trust anyone without proving loyalty and competence. I made my way through the ranks pretty well, I was respected by the men. One day, he came and asked me to keep an eye on one of the businesses that had some discrepancies. Turned out that the guy in charge was skimming money off the top. I took care of it. And I’ve been running the Kavanagh businesses in Chicago ever since.”
“Did you always want to be in the family business?” Asked Anna.
“I never had a choice.”
“So… I guess I don’t really understand your job. I know I asked before. But maybe you could explain it again.” Wilder grabbed the Chinese trash and got up to sit them on the dresser.
“Explain how? What would you like to know?” His back was turned away from me.
“Like, you don’t run the casino, you said that already. I haven’t googled anything. I’ve been waiting to learn it from you.”
“Anna, do you have a specific question?” He asked still looking away from me. His voice had become cold. Not loving like it had been a few minutes earlier.
“Well, um, you’re really private about it. You don’t talk on the phone in front of me. And Alexis mentioned some rumors about the Kavanaghs.” My voice got quieter as I wrung the sheets in my hands. Even though he wasn’t looking at me, the tightness in my chest squeezed when I looked at his back.
Wilder walked back to the bed, “What rumors would those be, Anna?”
