Chapter Fourteen
REBECCA SET THE BASKETaside and surveyed the food she’d laid out on the quilt. Slices of chicken and bread with greens the children would likely turn up their noses at, pickled cucumbers she’d bought in town, and small wedges of cheese were all arrayed for a perfect picnic lunch. She’d even thought to make tea.
Sitting back on her knees, she watched as the children played around the edges of the thawing creek. With more days like today, it wouldn’t be long before it was running fully again.
“Don’t get in the water!” she reminded Roger as he tested it with his fingers. It remained ice cold after running down from the mountains.
“Should we call them over to eat?” Levi asked as he knelt at the edge of the quilt.
Rebecca thought a moment. “Let them play. They’ll come when they get hungry enough. It’s been so long since they’ve had a creek to enjoy.”
“Was there one nearby your home back in Kentucky?” Levi pinched a piece of cheese between his fingers, as if he were trying to grab it before Rebecca saw.
She laughed and handed him a plate. “There was. They were down there all the time, wading and trying to catch crawdads.” She smiled at the memories—and the joy they seemed to find at this new creek.
Levi handed her the plate he’d filled. Her heart warmed with the simple gesture. “Thank you,” she said as he began to add food to his own plate.
“I never gave much thought to children when I was younger,” he said, placing a healthy stack of pickled cucumbers next to a pile of cheese.
“Most young men don’t,” she replied. “Not until they’re married and have a baby on the way.” That had been the case for John. She would remember the startled surprise on his face when he found out they were expecting Gwynnie for the rest of her life. It was a precious memory now, and it made her smile.
“I suppose that’s how it is, if one marries young enough.”
Rebecca glanced up at him as she chewed, trying to decipher his meaning. There was only one conclusion she could draw. She waited, hoping he would confirm what she thought he meant. But instead, he took a large bite of chicken and said nothing.
Rebecca thought she might burst if she didn’t find out the answer. And so, gathering all of her courage and keeping her eyes on her plate, she asked, a note of hope in her voice, “Are you saying that you wish to have children?”
He coughed, and she looked up to see him red-faced, with a hand over his mouth. Alarmed, she set her plate down and began to move toward him, but Levi held up a hand, indicating that he was fine as he coughed some more.
Rebecca poured him a fresh glass of tea. He took a sip, and the coughing subsided.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wishing she could take back her prying words. “I didn’t intend to take you by surprise.”
“It’s all right.” He took another sip of tea. “I suppose I deserved that for not elaborating.”
Rebecca tried to suppress a smile. “I don’t think you deserved to choke on your lunch. But yes, I did wish to hear more.”
The way he looked at her then made her even more self-conscious of the personal question she’d asked. She grabbed a cucumber off her plate to distract herself and let her eyes wander to where Sarah and Roger were exploring the creekbank a little further down.
“I wouldn’t mind having children,” he said in a cautious manner, and Rebecca’s eyes darted back to him. “But seeing as how we already have five, I wasn’t certain how you felt about it.”
A hundred emotions fluttered through Rebecca, all at the same time.We.Wealready have five. He considered her children to be his. Her heart warmed at that, just as hope bloomed in her heart at the prospect that Levi wished to have more children—with her.
“Yes!” she squeaked, unable to contain her joy any longer.
He stared at her a moment, clearly trying to make sense of her outburst.
Rebecca set her plate down and pressed her hands against her knees, but she couldn’t keep the smile from bursting forth. “I mean, I always wanted to have a house full of children. It’s all I’ve ever dreamed of. Just ask Eleanor. I used to make her crazy with all the games I made up in which I was the mother and she was the eldest of fifteen children.”
“Fifteen?” Levi’s eyebrows rose, but he grinned, and she knew he was teasing her.
Rebecca shrugged playfully. “I suppose I could settle for fourteen.”
He burst out laughing as he reached for her hand. “If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have been so hesitant about asking.”
Rebecca smiled, reveling in the feel of his strong, warm hand wrapped around hers. She wanted to reach up and trace the rough beginnings of a beard along his jaw. She wanted him to draw her close and keep her tucked against him.
