Powow

With elbows resting on each side of his plate, fork hanging in midair, Levi listened to Karla's every word. His eyes traveled her face as she spoke, catching brief glimpses of what might lay between the lines of dialogue. His smile emerged again and he shook his head before letting his eyes drop and taking a bite of broccoli. "I like to keep things uncomplicated, especially myself, so if you want boring..." He pointed at himself with his fork. He'd play along though. After all, Karla still intrigued him, and something told him she could use a friend right now. Her life sounded lonely, and he couldn't help that it tugged at his heart.

"Nah, really though, I like... Chinese food." He laughed. "Obviously. Um... I'm as single as you can get, I've got my folks here in town so I work with my dad - another obvious fact there. I went into business with him after I graduated college," he explained. "I work...a lot. And when I'm not working, I've usually got my nose in a book, learning how to work better." Truth be told, his social life was almost nonexistent as he preferred studying over going out. No wonder he didn't have a girlfriend.

"Every once in a while I like to sketch, although I'm not all that good." He chuckled. "I have an older sister - she lives a few hours away with her husband. My favorite color is green, I'm left-handed, and I pretty much avoid politics or sports." He paused to take a sip of tea.

"Oh, and I totally agree that God's got everything under control." His eyes twinkled. As much as he'd like to continue the smalltalk though, he knew they had to get down to business sometime and he cleared his throat. "Other than your reference to a band, what kinds of jobs have you had? We need somebody who knows how to be organized, who can talk to clients on the phone, keep schedules, do some typing... that sort of thing." He cocked his head. "Lay it on me. Whatcha got that we can use?"


Lane kept his eyes closed as Angel worked, and ceased any more complaining. It hadn't been so bad at first, but after several days, the pain had gotten to him. If Sparky hadn't been so rough, he wouldn't now be under scrutiny, and it was maddening. He expressed none of that though. He couldn't.

As Angel finished and assured him they were all there for him, he had a hard time holding in his emotions. He sat up gingerly and just stared at the floor for a few minutes before he finally stood and carefully donned his shirt. He wished his sister wasn't so nice. He wished everybody here was just a little harsher. It would make his task easier.

"Thanks," he mumbled softly, and grabbed his hat. He did glance Angels direction, but it only lasted a moment. His mouth opened to give more excuses for his silence. To assure her things were just fine. To make up a reason for all this. But instead, he just sighed. "I'll see you later."

Exiting the office, he started one direction, but when he saw Mick, he turned to go the other way. This did not escape Mick's eyes, so after he was finished with what he was doing, he went to see Angel and check on what had gone on. Learning about Lane's injuries brought on more concern, to say the least, but Mick decided not to tell the other guys just yet. He still wanted to give Lane a chance, even after he told Angel what had happened in the barn. Something wasn't right...but Mick agreed to letting Lane come to them...

...Lane kept himself scarce the rest of the day. He ended up helping a little more around the barns, but retreated to his bunkhouse for most of the afternoon, avoiding especially Mick and Sparky. By dinnertime though, he had to make an appearance, lest anyone get even more suspicious. So, coming to the main house, he once again interacted with smiles just as he had the evening before. If one looked closely though, they might notice how Lane seemed to be avoiding Angel's gaze, or distancing himself from some of the guys. Nothing appeared too out of place though, but it did seem a little strange when he left to take a phone call outside, then was taking quite a while to return. 

Feeling the urge to check on things, it was Mick who quietly rose and followed Lane's route onto the front porch. No one really noticed until raised voices could be heard. Eyes looked up from tables to see who was missing, and it was quickly assumed that the argument outside was between Mick and Lane. But what on earth could it be about? 

Then the eyes shifted to Angel. Was she going to go see what was happening? Did anyone need to? 

No one had to act, though, as the door opened again. Lane walked in first, but instead of going back to his table, he went to the living room alone where he sat on the couch and stared at the floor. Mick waved off several wary looks, and aimed for Angel's table, leaning down over her shoulder to speak quietly in her ear. "Strange phone call number two, and I can't let it go any further. Unless you can get Lane to talk, we're gonna have to have a family powow after dinner."


Though Lydia's face was rather pale, she shook her head at Jamie, and forced a smile. "I think you would need to stay here a whole week to answer all of my questions. I don't think I realized what Justin was really involved with. But that is okay. I am just worried about Grace. Such a sweet girl." She squeezed Jamie's hand back, grateful for the young woman's assurance. 

Jared, on the other hand, was not assured at all, as his anxiety rose to greater heights. This whole thing was just stupid. He didn't understand any of it. He didn't understand why this would have happened. Why it would be Grace anyone would go after. It just didn't make sense. 

Justin reached over and set a gentle hand on Beth's shoulder. "Don't worry - you'll be safe here. I'll take you inside and introduce you to Pete and Jamie. They're both very nice and they'll take good care of you. You won't have to worry about anything with them around, okay?"

He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Then I'm going to go to the Elite office for a little while, then I'll be back and I'm going to stay here too. I only have one problem." He crinkled his nose. "While I'm over at the Elite, somebody's gotta watch after my two girls." He thumbed to the backseat where Danitza an Zora had been the perfect passengers the whole day. "They like the backyard but they need somebody to keep an eye on them. Think you could help me out there?"