Luring Levi (Tarnished Saints Series Book 2) (27 page)

They ran down the steps and the kids all pelted them with rice, of course whipping it as hard as they could.

“That’s enough, boys,” came Thomas’s warning from next to him.

Candace pulled him close and kissed him and snuggled her head into his chest. “I am so thankful that my job paid for our gown and tuxes
as our wedding present,” she said. “I feel so pretty in this gown.”

“You are pretty,” he told her. “You
don’t need a gown for that. And speaking of your job, what did you decide to do about it, now that you’ll be living on Thunder Lake?”

“We
ll, I’ve decided to quit being a food reviewer as well as having my own cooking show for now. I want to just be a wife and mother for awhile,” she told him. “And the best part is, Margery offered to let me work at the diner full time once the kids go back to school in the fall, so I’ll be seeing more of you, since she’s hired you as well.”

“We’ll make one hell of a team,” he said, pulling her closer. “And we’ll have access to lots of new foods, so we can get very creative.”

“I know that look in your eyes, Matthew Levi Taylor, she said using his full name. “And I have to warn you that the food will be staying on the table and not entering the bedroom.”

“The table’s fine with me,” he said in a sultry voice. “After all, it’ll give us plenty of room, won’t it?”

“Stop talking about sex,” she whispered.

“Who’s talking about sex?” he asked. “I was talking about eating dinner, as you know I’m always hungry.”

“Well, you’ll just have to wait til later for both of those. Actually, Angel has agreed to watch the kids overnight and I am so excited to be able to spend our honeymoon night in our new cabin on the lake. Are you sure the one I chose is ok with you? Angel said it was her favorite and it was my favorite too. We’ll have to build a few bedrooms upstairs for the kids, but I think it’ll be fun.”

“
It’s fine,” he told her. “It’ll be nice to get out of that room above the gas station and to have our own place. The kids are so excited that we’re going to be living there as a family. And I didn’t have the chance to tell you, but Margery decided this morning to make me her partner at the restaurant, no money down, until I get back on my feet. So I’ll have an actual income while I’m playing mayor of Sweet Water.”

“
That’s wonderful, sweetie. So you’ll be having a restaurant again after all. And by the way, you’re not playing anything,” she said. “It’s an honor to be the mayor and an actual job. You have a lot of responsibilities now.”

“And I will do my best to uphold every one of them.”

“Levi,” said Thomas, coming to his side. “I know it’s your wedding and all, but I think Ma and Pa would have wanted to be a part of this special day. Would you mind if we stopped in the cemetery quickly for a visit?”

“I think it would be a good idea,” Candace broke in. “And I’d like to be there as well.”

“Sure,” said Levi, let’s make a quick stop before the reception at the diner.”

T
homas raised his hand and motioned Zeb and Judas over as well. They all walked in silence and stopped at the gravesites out back of the church of Webster and Albina Taylor.

“Maybe we should say a prayer or something,” suggested Zeb after they all stood there in silence for several minutes.

“Good idea,” said Levi, “go ahead.”

“Not me,” said Zeb
. “You do it, Judas.”

“I hardly think Ma and Pa are going to want to hear a pr
ayer from me,” complained Judas. “You do it Thomas, you’re the oldest.”

“I don’
t know what to say,” he growled. “Can’t we just stand here in silence?”

“Oh for heaven’s sa
ke,” said Angel. “They’re your parents yet none of you can come up with something to say?”

They just all looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

“I’ll do it,” offered Candace.

“Candy, this is your wedding day,” said Levi. “You don’t have to do this.”

“No, I want to,” she said. “I never had the opportunity to meet your parents, Levi, and only wish the kids could have known their grandparents as well.”

“Pa wanted lots of grandkids,” said Levi. “I wish he could have known Vance and Val.”

“That’s the whole reason he left lake lots and cabins to all of you,” Thomas told them. “And said you needed to be married. He hoped someday all of us could have as many kids as he had.”

“Well, you’re getting pretty close, Tommy,” said Levi. “A few more and you’ll have your own set of apostles.”

“Hush, you two,” scolded Angel. “Candace is trying to say a prayer.”

Sile
nce fell over them, and Candace started her prayer to Levi’s parents. Levi looked at her and just smiled, knowing that he’d done the right thing in marrying her and only wished he hadn’t lost out on so many years together with her and the kids. But things would be different now, as he was getting his life together. And he would be the best husband to Candy and the best father to their kids that anyone ever saw.

“Dear God,” Candace said, “thank you for bringing Levi back into my life and thank you for the wonderful people in his family as well as in the town of Sweet Water. Please
bless Webster and Albina Taylor and bring back all the Taylor boys from wherever they may be so once again they can be reunited. And please help them all to settle their differences between each other and know that nothing can come between the love of family and tear them apart, no matter what happened in the past.”

She looked at Levi when she said it and he knew she was speaking about the war between him and Judas.

“Amen,” he said quickly before she could add any more to the prayer. He didn’t want to get into a fight with Judas on his wedding day and thought it best that he just stopped this before it turned into something ugly.

“Amen,” they all mumbled
and quickly blessed themselves.

“Than
ks for doing that, Candy,” said Levi. “That meant a lot to me.”

“Mr. Taylor?” called a man fr
om behind them. All four of the Taylor men turned towards him and at the same time said, “yes?”

The
n they all laughed seeing the confused look on the man’s face.

“This is Jerry Lloyd
,” Thomas explained to the others. He is the private detective I hired to find all our siblings who seem to have vanished off the face of the Earth without leaving a trail.”

“Nice to meet you all,” said the man with a nod. “I see there is a wedding here so I won’t take a lot of your time. I just wanted to let you know I’ve managed to locate the rest of your brothers.”

“Really?” asked Thomas. “All of them? That’s great.”

“Where are they?” Angel asked.

“Well, it seems Peter is in South America doing missionary work. He told me to give you the message he’ll be here soon.” He pulled out his notebook and flipped a page. “Your brother John has been living in Alaska, and Nate moved with your youngest brother Thad to the Caribbean.”

“The Car
ibbean?” asked Zeb. “They have the right idea, maybe we should join them.”

“What about the others?” asked Judas.

“Well, let’s see, it looks like Andrew has been working as a fire-fighter out west and Philip is teaching in France. Simon has actually been in the Navy for the last four years out east but just recently finished up his term.”

“And what about my twin brother
James?” asked Zeb. “I’d love to see him again.”

“Well, i
t seems James owns a ranch out in Texas, but said he’d be here soon, too.”

“
How soon?” asked Zeb.

“Is this soon enough?”
came a voice from behind them.

Candace turned to see a man who looked id
entical to Zeb walking up to join them in the cemetery. Only whereas Zeb was more polished, dressed in nice clothes, and never a hair out of place, his twin wore the clothes of a rancher. He wore boots and worn jeans, and a blue shirt unbuttoned down to his navel, showing off not only his abs but his dark tan from working in the sun. He also wore a cowboy hat on his head.

“James, you son of a bitch, how are you?” asked Zeb, walking up and clasping his arm with his brother’s and patting him on the back in a half hug.

“What’s with all the monkey suits?” James asked with a laugh.

“Levi got himself hitched,” said Thomas.

“James,” said Levi. “Meet my new wife, Candy.”

“Much obliged,” he said with a nod and tipping his hat in the process.

“Take off the hat, James,” said Thomas in a low voice. “Pay a little respect to your mother, will you?”

James removed the hat and held it to his chest as he took a moment to stand in front of the graves of his parents with his eyes turned toward the ground.

“I wish I could have said goodbye to Ma,” said James, his smile turning downward. I miss her.”

“We all miss her,” said Judas.

“Well if you vagabonds would have come home to Sweet Water once in a while instead of taking off for all corners of the earth, or at least stayed in contact with me,” said Thomas, “then maybe you would have had the chance.”

“Let’s go to the diner,” said Levi. “After all, this is my wedding day so maybe we can be a little more upbeat here.”

“He’s right,” said Zeb. “Come on, James, we have a lot to catch up on.” They all walked out of the graveyard, Judas stopping in front of Levi with his cop’s cap in his hands.

Levi knew Candace was right and he needed to forgive his brother. No matter how horrible a thing he did, he was still family and he knew his parents never raised them to be this way.

“You comin’ to the reception?” Levi asked him.

“That depends,” said Judas. “Are you going to be there?”

“Only if you’re not going to hit me again with that damn club of yours,” he said and smiled his signature lopsided smile.

Judas smiled bac
k, and settled his hat precisely on his head. Then he pulled his sunglasses from his shirt pocket and put them on. “Well, I’ll try not to,” he said, “but if you start all the pig piling stuff again, I can’t promise. You know I don’t like anything that refers to pigs.”

“Get your ass over there right now and leave that damned uniform at home,
will ya,” Levi said walking out of the graveyard next to Judas.

“Well, you leave that monkey sui
t at home and I’ll think about it, brother.”

Candace reached out and stopped Angel before she could walk away.

“Did you hear all that between Judas and Levi?” she asked. “What do y
ou make of it, cuz I’m not sure what to think?”

“That’s the Taylor boys
’ way of making up,” Angel told her. “None of them know how to say they’re sorry, so what you just witnessed was as close as they’re going to get to an apology or saying that they forgive each other.”

“Wow,” said Candace, “I guess I have a lot to learn about the Taylor men.”

“Well, at least you’ve learned how to handle Levi,” she said. “Have you thought about doing anything special at your new cabin on your honeymoon night?”

“Oh, I have lots of ideas,” she said with a smile, “and they all involve food.”

“Food?” she asked. “I thought you’d say they involved getting down and dirty, not eating a meal.”

“Who said anything about a meal?” she asked
, and Angel’s eyes opened wide as she finally understood.

“So you were talking about getting down and dirty after all,” said Angel
with a grin and a nod.

“I was,” admitted Candace
, “even though I pretended to Levi earlier that I wasn’t interested in food sex, just to tease him. But I have a few things in mind that’ll draw him to me like a bee to honey.”

“It sounds like you’re
going to be making a fine art out of teasing him and also creating some fun food, if you know what I mean.”

“Well, I did learn it all from the pro himself,” admitted Candace. “But I have to admit
my skills tonight won’t lie in the creative fine arts of cooking, but rather in the creative fine art of
Luring Levi
.”

Cast of Characters from Luring Levi:

Levi Taylor
– Mayor of Sweet Water.

Candace
Kane
– celebrity food reviewer and Levi’s past fling.

Valentine & Vance
– Candace & Levi’s six-year-old twins.

Thomas Taylor
– Levi’s older brother.

Angel 
– Thomas’s wife. Worked for Child Protection Services

Their children (6-17 years old)
Eli, Josh & Jake, Gabby, Zeke, Sam, Dan.

Zeb Taylor
– Their lawyer brother.

Mabel Durnsby
– Past mayor and elderly widowed busybody.

Gus Kramer
– Owns gas station.