Chapter Two
EVERY INSTINCT TOLDhim to cut and run.
Levi clenched his hands into fists and then let them go. The suit he rarely wore was itchy, and somehow it felt as if it were the height of summer despite the fact that the calendar said it was nearly Christmas. He swiped an arm across his forehead and prayed this would go by quickly.
At least the church was nearly empty. He had no family here, after all, and he only knew some of the townsfolk in passing. The only guests at this wedding were Rebecca’s sister and her blacksmith husband, and Rebecca’s children.
Who were soon to be his children.
The thought was terrifying, and Levi forced it away even as Mrs. O’Neal’s eldest son eyed him curiously from the pew where he sat with the others. Roger, Levi reminded himself. Or was it Johnnie? No, Johnnie was the younger one, named after his father. Roger was the older boy, tow-headed and serious. The girls were even harder to keep straight. The little one was Emmy, but Levi was certain it would take weeks before he could remember who was who with the older two. It didn’t help that they looked like twins, with brown hair and brown eyes—just like their mother.
He clenched his hands again and let go. He wanted this, he reminded himself. One look at Mrs. O’Neal when he met her at the depot to tell her about his brother’s passing, and he knew he couldn’t send her away. She’d agreed to be a mail-order bride for Edward, and all Levi had planned to do was inform her of what had happened and offer to pay her fare back to Kentucky. But she’d looked at him with those big, trusting, brown eyes and that trembling bottom lip, and instead of giving her money for the train, he’d offered to pay for her and the children to stay at the boarding house. It felt dishonorable to send her home, he’d reasoned with himself. It wasn’t long at all before that line of thinking had turned into him offering to marry her himself.
Never mind that it was entirely unfitting for the kind of life he led. It was what Edward would have wanted, he’d told himself.
The memory of his older brother smarted. Edward had done so much for him. He’d encouraged Levi’s aspirations. Edward had offered to let him stay at the farm last year when Levi found himself needing to be in the Wet Mountain Valley. Levi had quickly agreed, and had offered to help even though he’d never thought of himself as much of a farmer. But it wasn’t long before he fell into the work. Something about working close to the earth suited him in a way that his other job was lacking. When Edward caught a fever and passed early last fall, Levi found himself the single, unexpected owner of Edward’s land. He’d vowed to make a success of the farm, despite the fact that he still had another job to do. And now he would take care of the woman Edward had meant to marry.
And her family too.
Levi swallowed hard as he surveyed the children. Did there have to be so many of them? The entire prospect of this marriage would be much less daunting if there were only one or two children.
But then Mrs. O’Neal appeared at the end of the aisle, wearing a simple yellow dress and looking more beautiful than ever—which seemed an impossible feat—and Levi knew he would have offered her marriage even if she’d arrived with fifteen children, a full set of grandparents, and more debt than a man could fathom.
He straightened his back and tried to keep from grinning like a fool. He’d done nothing worthwhile in his life to deserve a woman like her. And he didn’t dare think beyond the next few months, when he’d need to figure out how to balance everything in his life with work that didn’t fit in easily with a family or a farm. He’d figure that part out later.
I’ll do my best by her, he thought, directing the words to Edward. He could almost hear his brother replying, You’d better.
Before he knew it, his bride stood before him. After a moment’s hesitation, Levi took her hands. She wore gloves, but the warmth of her skin passed through the thin material. She gave him a nervous smile.
He wanted to tell her that everything would be just fine, but the church was quiet, and he was honestly as nervous as she appeared to be. So he simply gripped her hands tighter and returned her smile.
The ceremony flew by, and before Levi knew it, the preacher was looking at him expectantly. It took half a second before Levi realized what he was expected to do. He glanced at Mrs. O’Neal—no, Mrs. Whiteside. Rebecca. She gave away no hint of her own feelings, but she didn’t turn away from him.
And so, with her entire family watching, Levi bent down and pressed his lips to hers. She gasped, ever so quietly, and he drew away, not knowing what that meant.
“Yuck!” one of the boys said from the pews, but Levi kept his gaze on his new wife.
She looked up at him with wide eyes. It had been a quick, chaste kiss. He couldn’t possibly have scared her with it . . . could he?
Halfway certain he’d ruined this marriage before it had even started, he took a step back as Reverend Canton pronounced the ceremony concluded and Rebecca’s family crowded around them.
“Congratulations.” Merrick Benton, Rebecca’s sister’s husband, held out his hand.
“Thank you.” Levi shook his hand, but the man held on for a moment longer than was necessary.
“I trust you’ll take excellent care of Mrs. Whiteside and the children.” It wasn’t a question. That much was clear from the pointed look in Benton’s eye.
“Of course,” Levi said with all the conviction he had. He tried not to swallow. Not only did he have his own expectations to meet, now he also had this giant of a brother-in-law keeping an eye on him too.
“Good.” Benton let go of his hand and clapped him on the shoulder.
The reverend and his wife offered good wishes, and then Levi was ushered outside with his new family. The wagon he and Edward had purchased last summer sat waiting. The boys scrambled up into the back among their belongings with their sisters right behind them, but little Emmy stood beside the wheel.
She peered up at him with her big eyes. Levi’s first inclination was to step back and let her mother take care of it. That would be the easiest thing to do. But the little girl was looking at him.
“I can help her,” Rebecca said, clearly sensing his hesitation.
Levi glanced at her. His new wife, wearing her best dress and already looking as if he’d let her down.
He tensed his jaw. He wouldn’t disappoint her, even if this was the most awkward thing he’d ever done. “It’s fine,” he said before quickly leaning down, securing the little girl around the waist and lifting her up into the wagon. She hardly weighed a thing, and the second he let go, she rewarded him with a toothy smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Whiteside,” the oldest girl—Gwynnie? Or was it Sarah?—said politely on behalf of her little sister.
“Levi,” he replied. “That’s what you should call me. All of you.” It came out more gruffly than he meant it to, but none of the children seemed upset at his tone. In fact, little Emmy gave him another big smile.
“Well.” He nodded at them. “We ought to get going.” He held out a hand to help Rebecca into the wagon.
The children chattered among themselves for the ride out of town to the farm. Now and then, Levi glanced at Rebecca. Most of the time, her gaze was on the towering mountains to the west, but when she met his gaze, he looked away quickly.
What were they to talk about? He ran through potential topics in his mind. The weather. The crops he and Edward had planted last year. His plans for the winter. The house.
Yes, the house. That must be something she’d be curious to know more about.
“The house is—” he started.
“How much—” Rebecca said at the same time.
Her face tinged pink, and he had the oddest desire to reach over and take her hand. But then she clasped them in her lap, clearly thinking something entirely different than Levi.
“Go on,” he said, trying not to look at her hands.
“I only mean to ask how much further the drive was,” she said in a quiet voice as one of the smaller children shrieked from the rear of the wagon.
“Not much longer. Perhaps another thirty minutes. Would you . . .” He cleared his throat. “Would you like to hear about the house?”
Her face lit up. “Oh, yes, please!”
Her expression warmed his heart, and Levi was glad he’d chosen the house over the change in weather for discussion. “I’m afraid it’s rather small, but we should all fit comfortably.” He went on to describe the single large room downstairs that held a kitchen area and enough space for a parlor and beds for the children. “My brother had the foresight to add a loft room upstairs. I’ve been using that as a bedroom.”
She blushed again, and Levi wondered if he’d ever say anything that didn’t make her go red in the cheeks.
“It sounds lovely,” she said.
The compliment bolstered his confidence, and he went on to tell her about the barn, the livestock, and the little springhouse Edward had built at the creek. Rebecca asked questions here and there, and by the time they arrived, Levi was eager to show her around.
Thankfully, the oldest girl—Gwynnie, he reminded himself—helped little Emmy down from the wagon, saving Levi the awkwardness of needing to help again.
“Is it all right if the children visit the animals?” Rebecca asked. They’d been awfully excited to hear there were chickens, a milk cow, and a couple of barn cats.
“Of course.” He led the way up the porch steps as the children ran toward the barn. Opening the door, he stepped back and gestured for Rebecca to step inside.
She stopped just inside the door and glanced around.
Levi tried to see the place through her eyes. It wasn’t the prettiest, but he was tidy enough for a fellow on his own. The furnishings were simple but sturdy, and he was especially proud of the stove in the corner of the kitchen area, which he and Edward had acquired just before Edward’s passing.
When Rebecca said nothing, he turned his gaze toward her—and then almost wished he hadn’t.
Her mouth was slightly open, and her eyes were wider than a jackrabbit facing down a mountain lion.
Levi’s heart sank. All of his pride in this place, and all of the work he’d done—it wasn’t enough to impress his new wife.