25. Lily

25

LILY

L ily sat in the passenger seat of Levi’s truck a few days later, watching Trinity Falls village melt into the countryside as they drove, and wondering how her life had changed so much in such a short time.

Flora was riding along with them, waving her hands and chattering happily from her car seat. She was truly blossoming in her role as their soon-to-be daughter.

Lily’s mom and dad had been thrilled when she and Levi made it over to their house with Flora on Christmas and shared their news. For all that Lily had started to think their favorite family Christmas activities were boring, she was surprised to realize just how perfect their peaceful traditions were for a baby.

In the late afternoon, they had headed over to the Williams homestead to enjoy the more rambunctious celebration. Even though she was in a new and noisy place, Flora had taken a nice nap and woken up ready to enjoy all the fun that always happened at Levi’s family home.

While Lily and Flora were curled up by the fireplace for a nice chat with Caroline, Levi took his sister Emma aside and asked her blessing to marry Lily quietly at the courthouse as soon as possible, to aid them with the adoption. He promised that they wouldn’t make a big thing out of it or do anything to steal the spotlight from the time around her wedding.

Emma was tickled that he asked, and even happier to know that Flora might officially be her niece by springtime.

They had received word that their expedited license had arrived at the courthouse this morning. Levi had postponed an appointment with a client until tomorrow, and Stephanie had taken over at the toy shop so that they could rush over to the courthouse with Flora. Emma and her fiancé Baz had arrived just in time to be their witnesses.

The ceremony was brief but beautiful, and Lily would never forget the special day she became Levi’s wife with Flora wrapped in her arms. She loved knowing that they were married, even if it had happened in a happy rush just days after they were engaged. It was good to know they were doing all they could to make the adoption a success, and the idea that from now on she would be going home to Levi and Flora each night filled her heart.

They hoped to have a more traditional family wedding and celebration in a few months. Lily tried not to say it out loud, but she was wishing more than anything that if things went fast enough, maybe it could double as a celebration of Flora legally joining their family as well.

For now, they were headed to the Williams homestead again, to help with preparations for Emma’s wedding. Lily was starting to feel at home enough already with Levi’s family that she didn’t have a nervous, fluttery feeling in her chest this time. She was just excited about a nice visit.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Levi said with a smile.

“I was just looking forward to seeing your family,” she replied.

“Even though they’re going to work our fingers to the bone?” Levi asked. “On our own wedding night?”

“Especially since we’ll have a fun project to do,” she said, teasingly scolding him with her tone. “Besides, you know your great big family is the best wedding gift you could ever give me, right?”

“You fit right in over there,” he said, shaking his head.

They were just pulling into the homestead drive when his phone began to ring. Mrs. Tally appeared on the little screen above the radio.

He pulled into a good spot by the main house, then tapped the screen to answer.

“Mrs. Tally,” he said. “How are you? You’re on speaker and Lily is here with me.”

“Hello, dear,” Mrs. Tally said. “And I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you so much,” Lily told her.

“I won’t keep you for long,” Mrs. Tally went on. “I just wanted to thank you for all you’ve done for Jaden and me, Levi. It was wonderful to celebrate Christmas with my grandson and know he wasn’t going anywhere afterward, especially when there was all that ice. And when it came to cleaning the sidewalks, too.”

She chuckled mischievously, as Levi glanced at Lily in wonder.

“You’re staying in the house with him?” Levi asked.

“Of course I am,” she said. “That boy can’t maintain my flower beds on his own. He’s going to be putting a little suite on the back of the house for me. One floor living, with family right there, isn’t that wonderful? So we may need your services again helping us figure out the permits and all.”

“I’m always happy to help, Mrs. Tally,” Levi said warmly. “You know that.”

Suddenly, Flora squeaked up a storm in the backseat.

“Is that my little friend?” Mrs. Tally cried. “Hello to you too, sweetheart. And Levi, I thought you said she wasn’t yours.”

“I hope one day she will be,” he told her. “Lily and I are trying to adopt her.”

“I’ll keep you three in my prayers,” Mrs. Tally promised. “You’ll be a beautiful family.”

Levi reached over to squeeze Lily’s hand and she felt it all the way to her heart.

They signed off with Mrs. Tally and headed inside with Flora, who was in high spirits, and trying to pull Lily’s hat off.

“Yes, it’s soft, isn’t it?” Lily said, laughing and letting her have it.

Flora held the knitted hat, her eyes wide, and yelled out a few noises of celebration .

“Someone is full of energy,” Mrs. Williams said from the doorway. “A few more years, and we can put her to work too.”

They all laughed and trundled in, peeling off coats and exchanging hugs as the rest of the Williams crew welcomed them.

“So, what’s on the docket for today?” Lily asked.

“She’s always ready to pitch in,” one of Levi’s brothers, Logan said, laughing.

“Don’t tease,” Logan’s wife, Caroline put in. “It’s one of her best qualities.”

“I think you’ll like what we have planned for today,” Emma told them with a happy smile.

Baz stood beside Emma, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, nodding with a pleased expression on his face.

“Come on into the dining room,” Mr. Williams called to them all.

Lily glanced up at Levi, but he only shrugged, his eyes wide like he had no idea what was happening either. Mrs. Williams led the way into the dining room, and they all trailed after her. Lily had tears in her eyes when she saw that the table was laid with a beautiful meal.

“Surprise,” everyone called out.

“We couldn’t let you get married and not have at least a nice meal right away to celebrate,” Emma told them. “And there’s cake for afterward, so save a little room.”

“Emma,” Lily said, trying her best not to cry. “Your wedding… We didn’t mean to…”

“My wedding is going to be so much nicer knowing you three are closer to being official,” Emma said, wrapping an arm around Lily’s shoulder and giving her a squeeze. “Now, I hope you’re hungry. Your parents are headed over too, Lily.”

Just then there was a knock at the front door and Ansel’s son, Lucas ran to get it. Lily could hear her parents greeting him fondly.

The joy she felt was hard to express. But when she gazed up at her husband, she saw it reflected back to her in his eyes.

An hour later, they were all full of roasted chicken, potatoes with all the fixings, lightly seasoned greens, and Annabelle’s famous fluffy dinner rolls.

Flora had downed her bottle in no time, chatted to everyone, and then gone promptly to sleep on Lily’s chest. Lily was thankful for the little break, because she was so full of lovely food that all she wanted to do was rest and talk with the family for a few minutes. It was incredibly satisfying to see her own parents relaxing and enjoying the companionship of Levi’s big family.

Seeing Levi among his siblings, joking and laughing, his deep voice so at ease always filled her heart.

And when Emma came out of the kitchen holding the most beautiful cake covered in white frosting roses, all the kids squealed with excitement. Flora gave a brief grunt of annoyance at the disturbance to her nap and went promptly back to sleep, and Lily found that she suddenly did have room for cake after all.

“Where did you get it?” she asked her mother-in-law quietly .

“We made it,” Annabelle said, as if that had to be obvious.

That had Lily tearing up all over again, and Levi leaned down to kiss the crown of her head.

When the cake was eaten and everyone was carrying out the plates and cleaning up, Flora woke up. She fussed even after Levi gave her a fresh diaper and Lily’s mom sang to her.

“I think I’ll just pop outside with her,” Lily said at last. “Maybe a little fresh air will help her feel like herself again.”

Levi accompanied her to the front door. When he opened it, they were greeted with a blast of icy air that quieted Flora immediately.

“That’s what we needed,” Levi said, nodding as he threw a coat around Lily’s shoulders. “It’s my dad’s,” he said as he buttoned her in with Lily against her chest. “He won’t mind.”

As soon as they stepped outside, Lily was overcome with the beauty of the homestead under a blanket of snow. Christmas lights still twinkled in the eaves, and the world still seemed to be filled with the peace and joy of the holiday.

“It’s so perfect,” Lily breathed. “It almost doesn’t seem real.”

“Perfect,” Levi echoed, his deep voice rich with emotion as he cupped her cheek in his hand.

The expression on his handsome face was filled with love, and when she looked into his eyes, she saw that everything she had ever dreamed of and more was right here.

Levi pulled her close to kiss her, with Flora snuggled between them, calm and peaceful, as if this was what she had wanted all along. Lily felt her heart melt.

“It took us a long time to get here,” Levi said, pulling back slightly to look into her eyes again with a wry smile.

“It took a friendly baby,” Lily added, nodding. “And an ice storm, and a whole town full of busybodies.”

“And it was all worth it,” he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I’m so glad we got here, Lily Williams. There’s no better place in the whole world than wherever we are together.”

***

Thanks for reading Soldier’s Christmas Foundling!