4
Levi had just poured his coffee when he heard the knock at the door.
Too early for most people. But, apparently not for Emery.
He pulled the door open, wearing an open, unbuttoned flannel with a white tee underneath, jeans, and white socks with a hole in one heel, only to be met with a bright-eyed, coffee-in-hand version of the woman who’d somehow already begun to change the rhythm of his house in less than a day.
“Morning, Cowboy!” she chirped, like the sun had personally hired her to be its spokesperson. “I brought muffins. Blueberry. Store-bought, don’t get too excited. ”
“Uh, morning, sunshine? And I'm not a cowboy,” Levi stared at her like she was an annoyingly cheerful way to start the day.
He looked her over, thinking she looked like she’d gotten a full eight hours and was completely rested.
Her bun was a little less messy and more intentional this morning.
She wore a slightly oversized graphic tee and light-wash denim jeans cropped at the ankles.
Practical, other than her ridiculous flip-flops. She somehow made it all look polished.
“Didn’t think you’d be here this early,” he muttered, stepping aside so she could come in. “You always this chipper before seven?”
“Couldn’t sleep. I was excited,” she replied casually, setting the muffins on the counter. “And I figured since I’m here short-term, I might as well jump in where I can. You said mornings are hectic.”
He watched as she moved through the kitchen like she belonged there, pulling open cabinets and drawers like she was mapping the place in her head.
“I can pack June’s lunch if you tell me what she likes to eat,” Emery offered, opening the fridge.
Levi raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”
She gave him a look. “Pretty sure I can handle a peanut butter sandwich and some snacks.”
He grunted—not quite a yes, but not a no, either. “Uhm, no carrots. She says they squeak when she chews ’em. Oh, and the sandwich has to be cut diagonally. Triangles only, apple slices, and goldfish crackers if there are any left.”
Emery gave a dramatic mock salute. “Noted. Princess mac-and-cheese, triangle sandwiches, anti-squeak veggies. Got it.”
As she started gathering everything she needed, Levi leaned against the doorway separating the kitchen and the laundry room, sipping his still-too-hot coffee.
“June’s gotta be out the door by 7:30,” he said. “Bus picks up at the end of the road, but I usually just drive her in.”
“I can take her,” Emery offered, glancing up briefly.
He hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, alright. School lets out, she’ll be out front. If I’m not back by five, you can start dinner without me.”
“Noted,” she said again, already sliding a bottle of water into June’s backpack like she’d done it a hundred times. “Anything specific you want me to get done around the house today?”
“Uh—no, nothing specific,” he said, looking around the house. “I’ll be out in the north field today. Gotta swing into town around lunch to pick up some supplements for the calf I’ve got in the barn. Been a little slow on weight gain, I’m trying to stay ahead of it.”
Emery glanced up from slicing the apple. “Why don’t I just pick those up for you while I’m dropping June off? I’ll be in town anyway.”
Levi blinked. “You sure?”
She shrugged. “As long as I’m not hauling bags of grain or bales of hay, I think my car can handle it.”
Levi scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll call ahead, have ‘em put together what I need.”
“Perfect.” She smiled at him. “I’ll bring them by after drop-off and a few errands. That work?”
He nodded, slowly. “Yeah… that works.”
Just then, the sound of tiny footsteps and yawns drifted in from the hallway. June shuffled into the kitchen in her matching pajama set while still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She paused, spotting Emery already halfway through packing her lunch, and blinked.
“You’re here again?”
“Sure am,” Emery said with a smile.
Levi watched the two of them, his coffee cooling in his hands.
He didn’t know what exactly he’d agreed to when he let Emery into the house, but for the first time in a long while, the morning didn’t feel like something he had to rush through alone.
He ran a hand over his face. She made it look easy.
Natural. Not like a threat to the way he did things. Just a little easier.
And that? That might just be the scariest part.
? ? ?
Emery tapped out a quick text before pulling out of the feed store parking lot.
EMERY: Headed your way now. Got the supplements and a few groceries too. Should be there in about 10 minutes.
She barely made it two blocks before her phone buzzed.
LEVI: Meet you at the house
No emojis. No punctuation. Completely on brand with Levi.
By the time she pulled into the gravel driveway, the sun was high, and the house looked quiet and peaceful in a way that made her chest loosen a little.
She parked near the porch, grabbed the feed store bag in the passenger seat, and then popped the trunk to grab the groceries she’d picked up after noticing the pantry looked like it was doing its best impression of Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard.
She was halfway through unloading the bags when she heard boots crunching over gravel.
Levi.
He rounded the side of the house in his usual work uniform, dusty jeans, but his flannel was now missing as the day was already hot. The same shirt that had started the day white was now mostly a patchwork of sweat and dust, with his ever-present scowl on his face.
“You didn’t have to do all that,” he said as a way of a greeting, eyeing the grocery bags in her arms.
Emery shrugged, hoisting the last of them onto her hip. “You were out of milk and toilet paper. That’s a crisis waiting to happen.”
That earned her the ghost of a smirk.
She handed him the smaller bag from the feed store. “Supplements are all in here. The guy at the counter said the dosage information is inside, but if not, I told him you’d come yell at him in person.”
Levi took the bag and nodded. “Thanks. Appreciate it.”
There was a pause, long enough for Emery to wonder if he’d just disappear back into the barn again. Instead, he shifted the bag under one arm and reached to take a few of the grocery bags from her.
“I can carry some,” he muttered.
She arched her brow. “Is that your version of a thank you?”
“No, that's me not letting you break your neck on my porch steps carrying all of that yourself.”
She smiled to herself as they stepped inside together.
The house felt different with just the two of them moving through it. Levi set the feed bag by the door, then silently started to help unpack one of the grocery bags while Emery stowed away the cold stuff.
They moved in a kind of rhythm that didn’t need much commentary. Her finding the cereal cabinet without asking, and him handing her the milk like it was second nature.
After a moment, he leaned back against the counter, watching her quietly.
“You didn’t need to do all this,” he said again, softer this time.
“I know,” she replied. “But I wanted to.”
He looked like he might argue, then just nodded once.
“You want lunch?” he asked, surprising them both.
She blinked. “Sure. I’ve got time.”
“Good. Uh, we've got peanut butter and jelly and half a loaf of bread that June probably didn’t lick. Should be safe.”
Emery laughed and shook her head. “You sure know how to charm a girl.”
“Must be why I’m still single,” he muttered dryly, but the corner of his mouth twitched like he might’ve meant it as a joke.
“Here ya go,” he said, putting a plate in front of Emery with a sandwich cut into triangles and a handful of chips that she had just picked up from the store.
Emery laughed. “Well, you plate it with such flair.”
“I’m a man of many talents.”
She arched a brow, her grin turning sly. “Oh, I don’t doubt that.”
For a second, the air shifted—something in the way his eyes locked with hers made the room feel warmer, more charged.
Levi stood at the other side of the counter from where she sat on a stool, his shoulders still stiff like he wasn’t sure how to be still for longer than five minutes without a tool in his hand.
Emery tilted her head. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“You’re different than what I expected,” he said after a beat.
“I figured you’d be... uptight. Fancy city girl. Someone who’d run screaming at the sight of cow shit or a sink full of dishes.”
She smirked. “I mean, I’m not super thrilled about either of those things. But I’ve handled worse.”
Another pause.
“Your daughter’s great,” Emery offered gently. “Smart, funny. She’s got some fire in her.”
Levi’s mouth tugged up, proud and tired all at once. “Yeah. She’s my whole world. Just don’t always know if I’m doing enough.”
“You’re doing plenty,” Emery said quietly. “Even when you’re being a cranky cowboy.”
That got a huffed breath out of him, something almost like a laugh.
“I don’t mean to be an ass,” he admitted. “And still not a cowboy. I'm just… not used to having help. Especially not from someone like you.”
Emery blinked. “Someone like me?”
He glanced up, his eyes catching hers again. “Someone who makes it feel lighter, like you actually want to be here.”
The tension was thick enough to notice, but not quite heavy enough to break.
Before she could respond, her phone chirped sharply from the counter.
Beep-beep. Beep-beep.
Emery jumped a little. “Shit, sorry. That’s my alarm to go pick up June.”
Levi pushed back from the counter, putting his plate into the sink. “Right. Work’s not gonna finish itself, either.”
They both stood there for a moment, suddenly unsure of how close was too close now with that slight shift in the air between them.
Their hands brushed briefly as he handed her the keys she’d left on the counter.
He lingered a second too long.
And then Emery gave him a small smile.
“See you soon, cowboy.”
And just like that, she was gone, leaving Levi standing in the middle of his kitchen, wondering how the hell this woman, who hadn’t even been part of their lives a week ago, was suddenly under his skin.