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 behischildren.
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 hecouldn’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 somanyof 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 knewhe 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 athim.
“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 athing, and the second he let go, she rewarded him with a toothy smile.
