Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (28 page)

When the song
finished, Levi kissed me gently and walked away. He left me standing on the
dance floor confused and alone. I watched as he went to my mom and scooped up
Asher. He brought him back and pulled me into his arms again. When “Find Your
Wings” by Mark Harris began to play, I cried. I knew he loved him as much as I
did and together, we danced with Asher snuggled between us to a song that he
meant as a promise for our son. He kissed the giggling Asher before leaning
down and kissing me. I felt so much love in that moment, I thought my heart
would burst.

After a few more
dances, Mom led us off the dance floor and to our three-tiered, white wedding
cake. I hated to cut it because it was so beautifully decorated with hydrangeas
and lilies but knew I had to. We played nice when we fed each other a bite and
didn’t make too much of a mess.

With the reception winding
down, Levi caught my arm and led me down to the dock. He pulled me close as we
watched the moonlight dance across the waves. I ran my fingers through the hair
on the back of his head and massaged his scalp with my fingernails. He moaned softly
and looked down at me. “It’s time for us to go in the house,” he said in a
husky voice.

 I smiled. “Is it
now?” I asked teasingly but could see the desire in his eyes and knew he could
see the same in mine.

He moved close to my
ear and whispered, “Yes. I want to make love to my beautiful wife.” His warm
breath on my neck and the words he spoke gave me chill bumps.

“And I want to make
love to my amazing husband,” I whispered back as I reached up and kissed the
hollow at the base of his throat.

 We slowly and
reluctantly pulled apart and headed back to the tent to say our goodbyes to
everyone. We found Asher asleep in my mom’s arms, and both gave him a ton of
sweet kisses before we left. He would be staying with my parents while we were
on our honeymoon. Our flight was scheduled for the next day but we both wanted
to spend our first night as husband and wife in our home.

There was only one
thing left to do before we could leave the reception. All the single ladies
lined up behind me, and I tossed the bouquet over my head. I recognized the
squeal of delight and knew who’d caught it before I’d even turned around. When
I did, I saw Hallie jumping up and down, waving the bouquet around. I laughed
and shook my head, knowing she’d be on the phone to her boyfriend in mere
minutes with the news.

All duties finally
done, Levi led me across the back yard. He gathered my dress, and scooped me up
in his arms. He carried me up the stairs of the deck and over the threshold of
the back door but didn’t stop there. He carried me all the way to what was now
our bedroom. He set me on my feet, and I looked around in awe. The room had
been transformed for romance. The bed was covered in a beautiful white
comforter with white pillows piled up against the headboard. There were rose
petals scattered on the bed and on the floor surrounding it. Candles were lit
all around and it bathed the room in soft light. It was breathtaking. I looked
over at his smiling face. “How did you do this?”

 He shrugged and
blushed. “I asked Sydney for help. She snuck away from the reception with strict
instructions on what to do.”

I laughed. “I’m
never going to hear the end of this from her but thank you. It was really sweet
of her and of you to think of this. It looks beautiful,” I said as I lifted a
soft rose petal to my nose and smelled its sweet scent.

 I looked up at him
and bit my lip, suddenly very nervous. I could feel my palms beginning to
sweat. He turned to me and stroked the side of my face. “It’s okay to be
nervous, Katie. Honestly, I am too,” he said with a chuckle.

It made me feel
better to know he felt the same way. “I’ve wanted you for so long, but I don’t
want you to be disappointed in me,” I said and blushed.

  “You won’t
disappoint me. We were made for each other and it’s going to be amazing.”

 He ran his thumb
over my bottom lip before trailing his fingers down my neck and over my collar
bone. His fingers continued their journey over my shoulder and all the way down
to my wrist. I shuddered in pleasure as he picked up my hand and kissed the
inside of my wrist. I felt my legs go weak and my heart pound in my chest. He
continued his kisses along the same path that his fingers had taken before. I
was lost in my love and desire for him. He returned to my lips and kissed me
passionately. We both struggled to catch our breath after that kiss. All the
nervousness and worries I’d had just minutes before dissolved away at his
touch, his kiss.

***

Levi had been
exactly right. We were made for each other and our wedding night was amazing. I
woke up the next morning warm in his strong arms. “Good morning, Mrs. Phillips.
Did you sleep okay?” he asked with a lazy grin.

“I did, once we
finally went to sleep,” I said with a giggle.

I raised my arms,
stretching, and noticed him watching me. Our eyes met and he grinned. “Uh,
don’t we have a plane to catch?” I asked.

He shrugged his
shoulders but kept grinning. “Not until noon and it’s just nine now so we have
a-” My kiss cut off the rest of his words. That was all I needed to hear.

We flew to Tahiti
for a week at the St. Regis in Bora Bora. I didn’t even have to take any
medication for the flight and was quite proud of myself. Levi sat next to me
and stroked my hand, spoke words of encouragement, and talked about what all
we’d do. It had kept my mind occupied enough to push the panic away.

We stayed in a
beautiful, over-water villa that had a private infinity pool, where I proudly
wore my skimpy bikini for only Levi to see. We snorkeled, ate fabulous food,
hiked in the lush surroundings, swam in the clear turquoise ocean, and spent
our nights wrapped up in wedded bliss. We talked about Asher a lot, often
wondering what he was doing and if he missed us like we missed him. It was the
best week of my life, and we returned home relaxed and quite tan.

Once there, we fixed
up Asher’s nursery and moved what little I had into Levi’s house. We fell into
a happy routine pretty fast. I took over all the bookkeeping and payroll at the
nursery and got my own office. Asher often went to work with me but sometimes would
stay with Kathy, which she enjoyed immensely. I only worked a few hours, four
days a week, and I loved it. Levi did too and frequently tried to sneak me into
his office for some alone time.

We were enjoying our
life together as a family and before we knew it, we’d been married two months.
During that time, Levi did teach me to fish, but I refused to touch anything I
caught. So he patiently removed every fish from my hook each time. He took us
camping and we sat by the fire, listening to him play his guitar and sing. It
was a better life than I could ever have possibly dreamed about.

 We attended church
every Sunday, where all the sweet ladies in the baby nursery oohed and aahed
over Asher. Angie approached us one Sunday after church and apologized for her
behavior and wished us the best of luck in our lives together. I didn’t miss
the sadness in her eyes though, as she looked at my husband. That night, I
began to pray that God would send her a good man like Levi.

 We contacted an
attorney to start the process of adoption. It was going to be a long ordeal,
but Levi was determined to see it through- no matter the cost or time.

Around the beginning
of our third month of marriage, I got sick. It was a nasty upper respiratory
infection, which of course, Levi caught. We both had to go to the doctor and
get on antibiotics. It was a miserable time of constant coughing and high fevers.
We shuffled around the house in our pajamas with tissues strewed all over the
place. That same night, Levi checked on Asher before we went to bed. He rushed
into our room cradling him in his arms. “Baby, he’s burning up. What do we do?”
he asked and I heard the worry in his voice.

I’d never dealt with
illness where Asher was concerned, so I drew a blank. “I’m not sure. Let me call
my mom,” I said, grabbing my phone.

 She informed me of what
to do, and with Levi’s help, I stripped Asher’s clothes and put him in a cool
bath. His screams filled the bathroom and broke both our hearts. The medicine I
gave him finally started to work, and his fever went down. We piled into the
bed, Asher in just a diaper, and prayed over our son. We took him to the
pediatrician the next morning and the doctor confirmed what we already knew,
he’d caught what we had. We made a stop at the pharmacy for another
prescription of antibiotics before heading home.

 After another
sleepless night with more medicine and prayer, Asher woke up the next morning
fever free. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad the illness had finally passed
from our family. We cleaned and disinfected the entire house, determined not to
get that mess again.

***

     My period
didn’t come at the end of the month like it should have. I waited another week,
and still nothing. I lay in the bed next to Levi that night, staring at the
ceiling.
Take my fear away Lord,
I prayed silently.

I took a deep
breath. “Levi,” I said, not looking his way.

I felt happy but
nervous. A baby was a blessing, but this was really soon. Asher would only be a
year old at the end of the month, and I wasn’t sure how Levi would take the
news.

I felt the bed dip
as he rolled to face me. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Baby!
I rolled over onto my side and noticing the
concern etched on his handsome face, reached over and ran my fingers through
his hair. “My period is late,” I replied and bit my lip as I waited for his
reaction.

He was quiet for a
moment, his face not giving anything away, before a grin slowly spread across
his face. “Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?”

I shook my head. “I’ll
go buy one tomorrow.”

“Uh, no. I’ll go to
the store right now and get one. You stay right here. I’ll be back as quick as
I can,” he said as he jumped out of bed, throwing on some clothes.

He gave me a quick
kiss and was out the door. I laughed. I guess his reaction meant he was excited.
I ran a hand over my flat belly.
Is God knitting together our child inside
my womb?
I hoped so, and tears came to my eyes with this realization.

Levi made it back
home in record time. I looked up and noticing his clothes, laughed.

“Babe, you went to
the store with your shirt on inside out.”

He looked down at
his shirt and shrugged. “I don’t care. I was in a hurry,” he said as he
stripped it off and threw it on the floor. He reached down, grabbed my hand,
and gently pulled me from the bed. “Come on, woman. Get in that bathroom.”

I giggled when he
swatted my behind as I walked past him. He already had the box open, reading
the directions as he handed me the stick. “You just have to pee on it,” he said,
like I didn’t have a clue.

 I knew he was
nervous and this was a new experience for him, so I didn’t mention the fact
that I was already fully aware of how the test worked. He leaned against the bathroom
counter and watched me. I sighed when I realized he wasn’t going to look away. “Um,
I can’t go with you staring at me.”

He smiled and shook
his head, but turned away. I continued to sit there but nothing happened. Levi
reached over and turned on the faucet in the sink. The sound of running water
did the trick, and I sighed in relief as I was finally able to do the test. I
laid the stick on the counter and washed my hands, glancing up in the mirror as
I did. Levi was staring intently at the test, as if he was willing it to be
positive.
When I didn’t think I could possibly love him more, he proved
me wrong. I lifted his face to mine and spoke softly, “It takes five minutes.
Come back to bed.”

 With a lazy grin, he
scooped me up in his arms and carried me over to the bed, sitting down with me
in his lap. I rested my head against his chest, the steady beat of his heart
calming me. “Levi, I don’t want you to get too excited. It could be nothing. I
might not be pregnant.”

He played nervously
with my hair, twirling it around his finger. “I know,” he said, a touch of
sadness in his voice.

We both watched the
clock on the nightstand. With the five minutes up, he gave me a gentle kiss
before sliding me off his lap. We stood and walked to the bathroom hand in
hand. “You look,” I said, stopping at the door.

With his face mirroring
the same emotions I felt, he walked to the counter and picked up the stick. I
felt a little dizzy with anticipation and braced myself against the doorframe.

After a second, he
spun around to me wearing a heart-stopping grin. “We’re going to have a baby,”
he shouted and in two strides, he had me in his arms spinning me around. I
laughed as tears of joy flowed down my cheeks. “I love you,” he said, between
kisses to my wet cheeks, my nose and finally my lips.

He set me on my feet
and led me back to bed. As we climbed in I said, “One thing is for sure, the
kids will be close in age.”  

 He placed his hand
on my flat belly and rubbed it tenderly. “I think that’s a good thing.”

I settled back
against the pillow. “Do you want a boy or a girl?” I asked.

With his hand still
caressing my belly he replied. “I would really like a daughter since we already
have a son.” He caught my eye and winked. “And one of each is a good start,”  

I laughed and shook
my head. “A good start, huh?”

 He grinned, but
didn’t respond as he scooted down in the bed and placed a kiss on my belly. “Hi,
little one. I’m your daddy,” he crooned before resting his head on my stomach.

 I cried silent
tears and stroked his hair, knowing this was how it was supposed to be. I was so
thankful God had given me a second chance to do it right.

***

We decided not to
share the news until after I saw the doctor. I called the next day, telling
them I was concerned since I took medication for depression. They scheduled me
for that Friday afternoon.

When Friday arrived,
I was a bundle of nerves. I’d spent the morning entertaining Asher between
bouts of morning sickness. I had never suffered from it during my pregnancy
with him, so I wondered why this time I did. I slowly got us ready and headed
to the clinic. Levi called on the drive over and said he would meet us there.

As I pushed the
stroller down the crowded sidewalk, Asher jabbered away. I was amazed at how
many words he now knew. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the
person in front of me had stopped. I rammed the back of him with the stroller,
almost knocking him down. I reached out to steady him. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I
hope-” the words died in my throat as the man’s face came into view. My hand
fell away as he righted himself and looked down at Asher in the stroller. He
looked back at me, and I felt all the color drain from my face. “We made a
beautiful son, Katie,” JT said, giving me a wicked grin and I froze.

To be continued in book two of THE GLIMPSE
SERIES