9. Levi

9

LEVI

L ater that afternoon, Levi stood over Flora, unable to believe she was finally asleep.

He had brought her home, changed her, fed her, and then changed her again. But instead of being sleepy and ready for her nap, she seemed to have gotten a second wind.

He’d talked to her for a while and they had played with her lamb toy, him making it talk to her, and her chuckling and swatting at it affectionately.

In desperation, he’d grabbed a design book his mother had gotten for him from the community book sale, and started showing her pictures of porches, kitchens, and flower gardens.

After a bit of that, Flora had finally gotten a little sleepy, yawning and leaning against his chest, but Levi had kept glancing at the pictures for a few extra minutes.

It was funny how having the baby around slowed down time for him. When his mom gave him this book, he’d thought it was kind of a joke. Levi was notoriously unconcerned with fashion and decor. If he could wear jeans and a t-shirt, he did, and he had bought the minimum amount of bedding and other household items for this place when he moved in, mostly just choosing whatever was on sale.

Now though, he couldn’t help noticing that the houses in the photos were all Arts & Crafts style cottages like his own home. And he liked the deep hues of the walls and the wide, wooden furnishings. Maybe it would be fun to add some color to this place, and even get some furniture that fit the style of the house itself.

When Flora finally nodded off, he did his best to bring her slowly and peacefully over to the pack-and-play and lower her in. She whimpered a little at first, but when he placed a hand on her belly and hummed to her for a minute, she went right back down.

Now, she was sleeping peacefully, her little lips pursed slightly like she was dreaming about a nice warm bottle. He watched her like that for a long time before remembering himself. He wasn’t sure how long babies usually napped for, and he knew he’d better check his phone and get caught up on some work emails while he had the chance.

Grabbing the monitor off the charger, he tiptoed quietly downstairs to the kitchen and sat at the table, checking the monitor to be sure it was working before reaching for his phone.

The yard outside the window couldn’t have been more different than the ones in the book he’d been looking at with Flora. It was a good size, level and squared off, with nothing but sad-looking winter grass and a hedge of leggy rhododendrons.

Maybe next spring he would make a plan and try to get it into shape. He pictured a glider across from a little swing set. But of course, by next spring, Flora would be back with her mom again.

Somehow, the thought brought a dull ache of sadness instead of relief. He looked down at his phone, not wanting to examine his emotions.

He’d turned it off when he went in to speak with Mrs. Tally because he’d been afraid she would be upset about her lot, and he’d never gotten around to turning it back on again afterward.

As the screen came to life, he was stunned to see that he had twenty-seven missed calls.

Every single one of them said Mom.

Before he could call her back, the phone rang again, Mom flashing across the screen.

“Hi,” he said, picking up immediately.

“Hi?” she echoed back to him. “Hi?”

Annabelle Williams was normally the epitome of warmth and calm. She ran the community book sale every winter and she had raised every one of the Williams kids in a house with a leaky roof that she often patched herself. She fed her own chickens, did handy repairs on all the old buildings on her husband’s family estate, and gloried in cooking great big dinners every night in spite of their tight budget. The kids knew her philosophy was the more the merrier , so they often brought home stragglers from school, friends from clubs, and of course Dad often brought in a farmhand or two for a hot meal. They all sat around the big table, eating and laughing, and no one ever laughed harder or looked more pleased to be there relaxing than Mom.

But today, her voice was sharper and higher pitched than usual.

“You left me this message,” she said. “And then you didn’t pick up your phone for three hours ? —”

“Mom, I’m sorry—” he put in.

“And one by one, every single person in Trinity Falls has been calling me because they’re seeing you out and about with a baby ,” she went on.

“It hasn’t really been three hours,” he said weakly, knowing it had to have been pretty close to that.

“Tabitha Tally called me,” she said, in a way that let him know a long list was coming. “Reggie Webb called. Your Aunt Trudy called?—”

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” he said. “For not calling sooner, and for interrupting you now. But she’s napping, and I don’t know how much time I have to talk. Can I explain real quick, and then you can read me the riot act afterward if she’s still sleeping?”

There was a pause, and then he heard her merry laughter.

“Well, I know you’re a daddy now,” she said, still chuckling. “Go on, tell me all about her. But the first thing I need to know is when I can see her.”

“Okay, first of all, she’s not mine,” he said quickly. “One of my old Army buddies needed a hand with her while she deals with a family emergency.”

“Oh,” Mom said, sounding almost disappointed.

He packed that away to worry about later, determined to tell her as much as he could before Flora needed him again.

“But wait,” she said before he could offer any more information. “I heard you found her out on the porch.”

“Where did you hear that?” he asked, stunned.

“Oh, Rhonda Feddersen across the street was slipping outside to let the cat in and she saw the whole thing,” Mom said. “You were coming home, and you picked a baby up out of a car seat right on your front porch—a foundling she’s calling her, though Reggie was convinced she was yours and the mother just left her for you.”

There really was no hiding anything in a small town, or curbing wild imaginations, apparently.

“Well, I caught Andrea before she left Trinity Falls,” he said. “I think she was just overwhelmed when she got to my house and I wasn’t there. But Flora’s her baby, and Andrea will be back for her as soon as she can.”

“Flora,” his mom repeated softly. “That’s a very pretty name. Is this Andrea okay?”

“She will be, now that she knows her daughter is safe,” Levi said, hoping it was true. “I went up to the big box baby store on Route One to get Flora some stuff, but the cribs were so expensive that I thought I’d better see if anyone in the family had one. She’s sleeping in a pack-and-play for now.”

“I heard you got some things at the toy store in town, too,” Mom said lightly.

“I did,” he agreed. “Lily witnessed the temporary guardianship papers last night, and she’s been helping out a lot.”

“I see,” Mom said carefully.

While everyone else in the world seemed to love to tease him about Lily, Mom had always been more respectful. He knew she was curious right now, but appreciated that she was giving him space to figure things out—at least as far as Lily was concerned.

“Well,” she said after a moment. “I’ll call around, but I’m sure one of your brothers has a crib they’re not using. I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve got one rounded up.”

“Thank you so much,” he told her, meaning it.

“You know you can call me in the middle of the night for any reason at all,” she said softly. “But especially when you find a baby on the porch.”

“You’re up to your neck in Emma’s wedding plans,” he said gently. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. But yes, I know I can call when I need you.”

“And you’re going to keep this baby for a while?” she asked.

“As long as she needs me,” he said. “Yes.”

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” she asked him plainly.

He let out a breath and pictured Flora’s little face, peaceful in her sleep, and the way her warm weight felt against his chest when he held her, her little hands clutching his arms, a reminder that she was depending on him.

“I think I really needed this, actually,” he heard himself say.

His time in the military had toughened his body and sharpened his mind, and if he was being honest, before baby Flora came along, he was starting to worry if maybe it had hardened his heart as well. It was nice to know that wasn’t the case .

“Good,” she told him. “Well, I’m going to run and find you a crib. I suggest that you do anything else that needs doing before that young lady wakes up.”

“Weren’t you going to yell at me?” he asked, only half-teasing.

“No, I think she’s going to do enough yelling for the both of us, so we’re good for now,” she said. “See you soon, son.”

She was still chuckling as she hung up.