4. Lily

4

LILY

L ily was just jotting down a quick idea before closing up when she heard a gentle tap at the door.

Looking up, she saw Sloane Greenfield, the only other woman in Trinity Falls village who kept her office open as late as the toy store—sometimes later. The two women sometimes shared dinner or gossiped a little at the end of a long night.

She waved Sloane in, turning back to put her notebook away.

“Hi,” Sloane said as she opened the door, sending the bells jingling. “Another late night, huh?”

“It’s that time of year,” Lily said happily. She loved the holiday season, and there was no one waiting for her at home, so she could take her time at the shop and even do a little dreaming, like she had been tonight.

“We were hoping you could help with something,” Sloane said, stepping all the way in.

Lily was surprised to see Levi Williams follow her in, with a woman by his side and an adorable baby in his arms.

Oh.

She had known a brilliant, handsome man like Levi Williams would surely have someone in his life. Though the way people still teased her about him having a crush on her, she wouldn’t have thought he had someone serious enough for there to be a kid involved…

“Uh, sure,” she said awkwardly, trying to tear her eyes from the baby. “What do you need?”

The woman who was with Levi was staring at Lily’s hands, making her realize that she was still clutching her pink pen with the feather plume. She put it down on the counter, feeling ridiculous.

“I’m notarizing something for these guys, and we need a witness,” Sloane said. “Can you do that for us?”

“Of course,” Lily said. That sounded simple enough.

“Can we use the counter?” Sloane asked.

“Absolutely,” Lily told her, stepping back by the register so they would have space.

Levi stepped forward first, shifting the baby slightly on his hip as he gazed down at the single page, studiously not looking at Lily.

But the woman moved closer too, and she studied Lily with strikingly beautiful hazel eyes. She quickly looked down at the paper on the counter when she realized Lily was looking back, and Lily was able to take in the rest of her. The poor lady actually looked disheveled—her coat was worn and dirty, and her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in a while.

“Right there,” Sloane was saying to Levi .

Lily’s eyes followed too, and she couldn’t help noticing the heading on the page.

Guardianship Affidavit

She bit her lip. She hadn’t pegged Levi as the one-night-stand type of guy. But she would have recognized this woman if she’d seen her tall form and striking hazel eyes in the village before. Lily figured she must be asking him to sign over parental rights or something. It was sad to think of this woman leaving with her cute baby and no one to support them. And it had her mind doing backflips over what this meant about her idea of Levi.

Levi and the lady each signed where Sloane told them to.

“Okay,” Sloane said to Lily. “You need to sign as witness right here.”

Lily followed her instructions, scrawling her name with her signature pink pen.

“You’re all set,” Sloane said quietly to Levi.

“Thank you so much for taking her,” the tired-looking woman said suddenly, her voice shaky. “I had nowhere else to turn. I’ll send money for her as soon as I can?—”

She burst into tears and couldn’t go on.

Lily grabbed a box of tissues from behind the counter, amazed to hear that the lady was leaving the baby with Levi, rather than asking him to sign away his rights. Lily was more confused than ever now, even though she knew it wasn’t her business.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Levi said, his deep voice gentle and kind.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she swiped at her eyes with a tissue.

“Focus on taking care of yourself, Andrea,” he told her. “And come back whenever you’re ready. I’ll make sure she stays safe and happy. Is there anything special I need to know?”

“I’m going to miss my train,” the woman moaned frantically, her eyes on the clock over the counter.

As if on cue, the baby started wailing.

“I can drive you wherever you need to go,” Sloane said gently. “No need to worry about the train.”

“No,” the woman fretted. “No, no, no, I have to go…”

She was zipping her jacket back up and heading for the door, an agonized expression on her face as she turned back for one more glimpse of her daughter.

“Let’s walk and talk,” Sloane said calmly, following her out. “You can think about letting me give you a ride.”

The bells jingled again as the door closed behind them, and suddenly Lily was alone with Levi and the baby, whose wails were only getting louder.

“Hey, little angel,” Lily said softly in what she thought of as her baby-whisperer voice. “I wonder if you might like a toy to play with.”

In her line of work, Lily had plenty of practice with calming fussy little ones. She had perfected a playful but comforting tone that worked almost every time. Right on cue, the baby stopped crying and blinked her pretty hazel eyes, which were still filled with tears .

“That’s right,” Lily said quietly. “Let’s have a look around.”

Lily knew the baby was too young to understand what she was saying. But her curiosity was winning out over her worries.

“Oh,” Lily said. “Here’s a very nice one.”

She picked up a soft plush unicorn. Its body was just the right size for the baby to hold, and her cute little nub of a unicorn horn was perfect for teething babies to chew. The mane and tail were a soft corduroy, and the hooves were the same soft rubber as the horn.

The little one let out a squeak of wonder, her hands opening and closing as she reached for the toy, fingers wiggling like they couldn’t wait to explore those textures. Lily quickly removed the tags and handed it over.

“Thank you. Wow,” Levi breathed. “I, uh, don’t know very much about babies.”

“I take it she’s an unexpected blessing,” Lily said.

“You can say that again,” Levi said, shaking his head as he watched the baby chomp down on the unicorn horn. “I haven’t seen Andrea in at least four years. I knew her back when I was in the service, and we’ve kept in touch now and then. But unexpected is putting mildly.”

Four years?

The situation rearranged itself again in Lily’s mind.

“Did you think she was mine?” Levi asked.

“She kind of looks like you,” she heard herself say.

He gazed down at the little bundle, looking even bigger and more strapping than usual with a tiny passenger in his muscular arms. There really was a slight likeness, especially when it came to their bright blue eyes.

“I guess she does,” he said after a moment, then let out a deep chuckle that made Lily feel instantly more relaxed.

“What’s her name?” Lily asked.

“Flora,” he told her.

“Oh, that’s really pretty,” Lily said. “People with flower names are the best.”

He nodded, his eyes back on the sleepy little face, so mesmerized that he didn’t get her silly joke about names. She couldn’t blame him. Flora was just about the sweetest baby she had ever seen.

“So, do you have everything you need for her?” Lily asked him.

“Her mom left a backpack at the house,” he said uncertainly. “I think there are probably diapers in there, but not much else.”

“Well, you’ll definitely need to get to the store tomorrow,” Lily told him. “For now, I can set you up with a couple of things to help her feel more comfortable.”

Lily didn’t have a huge baby section, but she had a selection of soft toys, some Christmas pajamas, and a few items she liked to keep on hand in case of what she called a “grandparent emergency” when one of the Trinity Falls grandmas had a sudden baby guest due to unexpected happenings with the parents.

She went into the back and grabbed the brand-new pack-and-play and an umbrella stroller she kept in stock and dragged them out to the front. Then she grabbed a reusable tote with the store name and put in a few packets of fruit sauce, a bag of sweet potato puffs, two sets of Christmas pajamas, a fleece blanket sleeper, and a soft plush lamb.

Levi was still looking down at baby Flora. She had rested her head on his chest and was still mouthing the unicorn, her eyes looking faraway, like she could hardly keep them open.

“You’re going to want to get baby formula for her first thing in the morning if there isn’t any in that bag,” Lily told him firmly. “For now, she can have any of the snacks I put in here or a little plain yogurt, scrambled egg, or banana. She can’t have regular milk yet. That’s important.”

“Okay,” he said, looking up. “Oh wow. That’s a lot of stuff. Thanks for grabbing it.”

He moved toward the register like he wanted to pay, but she felt a pang of guilt.

He hadn’t even picked out or asked for any of it. And he was doing a really beautiful thing for his friend in the first place. It didn’t feel right to charge him, even though giving away this much merchandise was going to hurt her bottom line.

They both served. It’s the least I can do.

“It’s on the house,” she decided out loud.

“Absolutely not,” he told her.

“Can we figure it out another time?” she asked. “For now, I think we’d better get you home and set up. Where do you live?”

“I’m just over on Princeton,” he told her, eyeing the pack-and-play. “But that looks too heavy for you.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“If you can get it, I can carry her,” Lily offered.

“Definitely,” he said, brightening up. “Thank you again for all your help.”

She could tell that he would have preferred to carry everything himself. But if he was taking care of this baby on his own, he was going to have to get a lot more comfortable accepting help.

“I should have closed up an hour ago,” she said, smiling. “I guess my imagination was on overdrive for some reason. You and little Miss Flora are saving me from dreaming the whole night away.”

“Does that happen to you often?” he asked as she dashed around, closing things down and getting ready to lock up.

“Sometimes,” she told him. “I had a good day at the shop today. That always sparks ideas.”

She held out her arms and he passed the sleepy baby to her.

“Hello, baby,” she said softly, stroking Flora’s back. “You can curl right up again. We’re just going for a walk.”

“I guess we could put her in the stroller,” Levi said thoughtfully.

“No, no,” Lily told him. “She’s had a long night. It’s probably better to hold her. Besides, you’re not heavy, are you, sweet girl?”

Flora snuggled into her neck and Lily felt like the air had been knocked out of her lungs.

She’d held plenty of babies before. She often took a baby sibling at the shop so that the mom or dad could focus on an older child. And she had friends who’d already started their families and were more than happy for her to take a baby off their hands for a few hours so they could go on a date night.

But holding those babies had never made her feel like this—like she would fight off wild animals or conquer kingdoms to protect the child that was cradled in her arms.

It’s because I know she needs extra love, she reminded herself. She doesn’t have her mama to protect her right now.

“You okay?” Levi asked. He was waiting for her at the door, holding the pack-and-play under one arm, and the bag in the other hand like it was nothing.

“Yes,” she replied, feeling silly. “Of course.”

“She’s nice to hold, isn’t she?” he asked quietly.

She felt her heart actually throb at the idea of the big cowboy-turned-lawyer feeling the same heart-melting emotions when he held the baby.

“She is,” Lily agreed. Her cheeks heated, though she wasn’t sure why.

She stepped outside and locked up the store one-handed, holding Flora securely with the other. The cold winter air felt good, and as she turned, she could see stars shimmering in the night sky. The air almost tasted like snow.

They started walking, falling into an easy rhythm in spite of his much longer legs.

“I guess it’s been a while since the last time we bumped into each other,” Levi said after a moment, his deep voice practically booming in the cold night.

She was instantly reminded of that evening in the library basement when he had happened upon her in a situation she’d hoped to keep secret from the other kids at school.

“What have you been up to?” she asked quickly, not wanting to dwell on the memory.

“I went into the service after high school,” he said. “I always wanted to be a lawyer, but I knew my parents couldn’t swing it. We’re a pretty big family.”

She knew already that his family had struggled to hold onto their property. The Williams Homestead was historic and beautiful, but she knew all those big buildings had to be a burden to maintain.

“Anyway, the Army helped with college and law school,” he went on. “And of course I came home as soon as I was finished.”

“Why?” she heard herself ask.

“A lot of people want to know that,” he said, sounding amused. “I came back because after seeing more of the world, I knew more than ever that this was the best place in it.”

She smiled. She’d always felt the same way. And though she definitely hadn’t seen much of the world for herself, she had a pretty good idea of it. In spite of what people might think when they saw her pink outfits and playful store, Lily read the newspaper each morning, and liked to think she was aware of what was going on outside of her little town.

She felt incredibly lucky to live in a place like Trinity Falls, surrounded by farmland and forest, with a community of people she had always known to be kind and cooperative. Sure, they might know all her foibles and a small town might be a tough place to keep a secret. But it was worth living in your past and your present all at once to be somewhere that just felt like home.

“What about you?” he asked. “What have you been up to since high school?”

“Nothing like what you did,” she said, feeling silly. “Not much has changed for me. The biggest thing I did was move to Philly for a little while and share an apartment with another girl from my class.”

“What did you do there?” Levi asked. There was real interest in his deep voice, like Lily moving a few hours away to the city was actually something impressive.

“I worked at a KidLand franchise,” she said. “It was fun, but there were so many things I knew I would do differently if I had my own store.”

“That makes sense,” he said, nodding and looking like he cared about what she said next.

“When I found out there was a storefront available in town, and that Radcliffe was selling properties at affordable prices, I came home,” she went on, warming up to her subject. “And I got to use a lot of those ideas I had when I opened Joyful Toys.”

“That’s great, Lily,” he said. “I’m happy you found something you’re passionate about.”

She glanced up at him, searching for sarcasm in his expression. But his blue eyes were bright and serious, and there was nothing but sincerity in the set of his jaw.

“Thank you,” she said, swallowing back her insecurity.

It had been a long time since she was a struggling student, waiting for people to learn her secret and laugh at her. But she could never seem to shake the feeling that everything was about to collapse around her like a house of cards in a brisk wind.

“This is me,” he said gruffly, pointing to one of the cutest houses on Princeton Avenue.

Of course she already knew that his law office was here since he’d set up shop so close to town. But she wasn’t sure if he’d be living here too, or if he was staying at the homestead with the rest of his family.

“I’ve always loved this house,” she admitted.

“Yeah?” he asked her.

“It looks like the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel, in this library book I used to check out all the time when I was a kid,” she admitted.

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her like in astonishment.

“I know, I know, it’s silly…” she started to say.

“My grandfather used to read us that book,” he said. “I thought the same thing when I saw this house.”

The thought made an unfamiliar warmth blossom in Lily’s chest. She glanced back at the house and forgot all about how different she and Levi were for a moment.