21
The next few days fell into a new rhythm, but not without a few changes. With June at school, Emery followed Levi around the property like his shadow. Not that he minded, he was the one who insisted she stay close.
Levi had spent most of the morning installing security cameras around the house and barn, muttering to himself as he adjusted lenses and tested motion detectors.
“Gonna catch that damn squirrel on camera before we ever see a trespasser,” he grumbled, holding a screw between his teeth, Emery watching from the bottom of the ladder as he secured the last camera with his drill.
“You’re just mad that the squirrel’s faster than you,” she teased, shading her eyes from the sun.
Levi looked down at her and smirked. “Not faster than me, just less distracted.”
“Oh yeah?”
He climbed down in two quick steps and closed the distance between them, his gaze dropping slowly to her lips. “Yeah. I’m gettin real distracted by these shorts of yours and you looking this good.”
She gave him a playful shove, laughing, but he grabbed her waist and yanked her back against him.
He kissed her before she could say anything more.
It was slow and sure, like they had all the time in the world.
Such a nice change of pace compared to the way Levi used to try to juggle everything on his own.
By late afternoon, Emery had dirt on her knees and sweat in her hair, but Levi still looked at her like she was the most stunning thing on the planet.
“Careful,” he called with a chuckle as she tugged a bale of straw toward the back of the stall. “You're gonna pull something.”
“I’m fine, and you said I had good form last time,” she said with a dramatic grunt.
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t lying… You do have excellent form,” Levi drawled, lifting his hat for a moment and dragging a hand through his hair. “But I gotta confess… I was just paying attention to your ass. Why don't you leave the bales to me, baby?”
“You just don't want me to make you look bad and show you up, huh, cowboy?” Emery tossed a handful of the loose straw at him and missed. He retaliated by dropping his gloves and closing in, trapping her between the stall gate and his chest.
“God, you're mouthy, and no. Em, that's not it. You're wearing shorts, what I don't want is you scratching your pretty legs all up,” he murmured, his nose brushing hers. “You like it here,” he said quietly, more a statement than a question .
She took her time to take in the strong angles of his face. “You asking if I like it here in the stall, or with you?”
He grinned. “Smartass.”
“I like both,” she said, softer now. “But mostly you.”
Levi held her gently by the waist, leaned in, and kissed her lips, slow and deliberate, giving her exactly what he knew she wanted.
? ? ?
“Daddy!” June blurted as they pulled up to the house after the ride home from school. “Can we paint the swing today?”
Levi blinked, glancing at the weathered wooden bench swing hanging just beyond the house from the big oak tree, and then finding her eyes looking up into the rearview mirror, “The old swing, paint it?”
“Yeah!” June nodded, arms flapping with excitement. “It’s boring brown. I wanna make it pretty. Can we do it together?”
Emery’s brows lifted, and she looked at Levi, who grazed a hand over the scruff on his jaw and gave a soft chuckle. “Guess it is lookin’ a little rough these days.”
“That's such a great idea! You guys work on that, and I'm going to start some dinner, then I'll come out and see what you've come up with,” Emery said, smiling at June.
June's small hand was practically swallowed in Levi's as they made a trip to the barn together, sifting through old paint cans until she decided on a pale sage green—a soft, earthy color that felt like a perfect fit.
Soon they were laughing, hands smudged with paint, Levi steadying her hand to help with the tricky edges.
By the time the swing was finished and drying in the sun, Emery was walking up with a glass of lemonade, handing it off to June before wrapping her arms low around Levi's waist. She listened to every exciting detail, took in the genuine smiles on both their faces as they laughed and showed off dried paint drips on their hands.
After dinner, Levi and Emery divided to conquer the evening tasks.
While Emery tackled the kitchen clean-up, Levi did the bath, pjs, and teeth brushing routine.
Just as Emery finished wiping down the kitchen counter and coming out to join them in the living room, she paused, taking in the scene unfolding in front of her.
“L-I-T-T-E-L?” June guessed, working on her spelling words, sitting on her dad's lap.
“So close! Just swap the last two letters, it’s L-I-T-T-L-E,” he encouraged while brushing her still-wet hair.
Emery stood still behind them, watching. Her heart full, her throat tight. Something about the way his large, rough hands were so gently twisting June's hair into a low braid and the soft tone in Levi’s voice had stopped her in her tracks .
Levi smiled, draping his arm around her small shoulders and pulling her close.
She looked down at her lap, then up at him again. “Daddy?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Is Emery… gonna stay…forever?”
Levi's jaw was ticking slightly as he searched for the right words. He hadn’t expected the question to hit like that.
“I sure hope so,” his voice now quiet but still a little rough.
“She’s made this place better. She’s made me better.
I know for a long time it's been just us, and I've loved every minute of that and wouldn't change a thing. But Em… she makes everything feel better all around.”
“And you smile again, too, daddy! Like the big happy smile, not just the little smile like you told me to do to be polite when someone says hi at the grocery store.” That big smile found its way to his face as June's big, round eyes searched his face before her smile grew too.
“Emery's right, you do have a pretty smile, Dad! I like seeing it. ”
Levi was practically beaming at his daughter as Emery took the opportunity to clear her throat softly as she walked through the room to join them, tucking one leg under her as she sat next to them on the couch.
Levi pulled her closer with his free hand while his other hand tucked June in close to his chest.
The sigh that escaped him may as well have been a 10lb weight taken directly off his chest. He could feel himself breathe easier, knowing that in that moment, in his arms, he held his true happiness.
After tucking June in and saying their goodnights, the farmhouse had gone quiet; except for the hum of the crickets and the bull frogs croaking from the small creek that ran along the driveway, drifted faintly through the open bedroom window.
Levi lay in bed, one arm tucked behind his head, the other cradling Emery’s bare back. She was curled against his side, fingers tracing slow, lazy lines over his chest. The thin sheet low on their hips, the warmth of their bodies doing enough to not need anything heavier.
“You were really sweet with June tonight,” Emery said softly, her voice just above a whisper.
Levi let out a slow breath. “All I've ever wanted is a place for her to feel safe, and I've always been able to provide that, but lately… I want more. I want her to feel every ounce of love that she deserves.”
His arm tightened around her. “I didn’t know she’d felt like anything was missing, and sometimes I kick myself for not realizing or seeing her carry that weight.
I guess I just hoped I was giving her what she needed…
but it’s different with you here. She’s more like she should be, wild, carefree, and just being a little girl. ”
Emery tilted her chin to look up at him. “You gave her everything she needed, Levi. You still do. I’m just… a little extra on the side.”
“Baby,” he murmured, grazing his knuckles along her jaw, “you’re not on the side. You’re part of this now. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but… you’re in it. In all of it.”
She held his gaze, the weight of it all sinking deep. “You sure? ”
He nodded once. “Without a doubt.”
He shifted, rolling to face her more, propping himself on one elbow as his hand slid across her waist, tugging her closer.
The room was dimly lit, a soft moonlight splashing a cool tone across her skin.
“I won't pretend that letting someone in scares the hell outta me.
It's more than my heart on the line; it's her heart too, and I wouldn't even open that door if I weren't sure. You care about her, like she’s yours, and you show her the love she deserves. And that means the world to me.”
Emery blinked, eyes shining, seeing him vulnerable, and opening up like this felt like winning the lottery. “I do love her, Levi.”
Levi leaned in, brushing a kiss against her lips, soft and gentle, but something deeper behind it.
His hand slid into her hair, her fingers sinking into the tight muscle of his back, both of them holding on tighter than before.
A new layer of strength was added to their bond; neither of them had felt with anyone else before this moment.