Page 19 of Levi
“We’re home,” he says, but I still can’t muster the energy to wake up.
I feel myself being carried and then placed on the softest material.Letting out a small moan, a warm blanket is placed over me once again and I drift off to dreamland.
Waking up in a panic after hearing the loudest scream, I tuck my knees up to my chest and gaze around at my surroundings.I’m in an unfamiliar place.The door across from my bed swings open and the hall light shows Brody in a pair of pajama pants.Only pajama pants, holding a gun surveying the room.He spots me and quickly glides over to the bed.
“Are you alright?I heard the scream from across the hall and came as quick as I could.”
“I heard it too,” I say, but then realize that I’m covered in sweat and Brody is looking at me with a confused expression.“It was me, wasn’t it?”I whisper almost ashamed, remembering what I was dreaming about.
“Hey,” Brody sits down beside me and wraps a comforting arm around my shoulder.“Things are going to work out, you’ll see.”
I nod as the tears fill my eyes.How am I ever going to move on from Levi?He was my whole world; it began and ended with him.Even if this is over soon, will he forgive me for the awful things I said to him at the restaurant?I didn’t mean half of what I said.I was just mad and reeling from his confession.We may not be married after this, but we will need to work on co-parenting for this little one.
“Are you okay, or do you want me to stay until you fall back asleep?”Brody interrupts my thoughts.I’m completely embarrassed about needing to be comforted after only meeting this man hours ago, but something tells me that Brody is someone I can lean on.
“I’m good, thank you Brody.”
“I’m here if you need me.”He gets up and walks out, but leaves the door slightly ajar.
Hours later, I wake to the smell of bacon and coffee.Stretching out in the cloud-like bed, I walk down the hallway as my nose sniffs out the direction of the kitchen.I was asleep last night when we finally arrived, so I have no idea where any of the rooms are located.
Finally, reaching the large open kitchen, I watch as Brody glides around the room like he’s been doing it his whole life.
“Good morning,” I say, not wanting to sneak up on him and make him spill the food.
“It’s a great morning,” he replies back and plates the food.“Coffee or juice?I don’t know too much about pregnancies and the dos and don’ts yet.”
I smile at his thoughtfulness.
“Juice please.”
He nods and gestures for me to have a seat on a barstool, as he pours some juice in a glass for me.
“After breakfast, I’ll show you around the place so that if I’m not here you won’t get yourself lost.”
“Lost?How big is this place?”I ask.Surely it can’t be any bigger than the penthouse that I lived in with Levi.
“Well, we’re sitting on fifty acres and with you being pregnant, we should have some kind of plan in case something was to happen and we needed to get you some help.”
“Fifty acres?Are we out in the middle of the woods in a cabin or something?How far is the town from here?”I question.
“We’re on the outskirts of Whitehall.I have some guys who help me out with the up keep of the place.We’ve got cows, horses, and goats.”
“How long have you owned this place?”I ask.
“I just bought it a little over a month ago.When I got out of the service, I wanted to get out of the city and away from the hustle and bustle.Montana looked like the perfect place to escape.This is only the third time I’ve been here since buying it.When I got the call about you, from Burt, I thought it was the perfect time to make the move.I’d planned on coming out here in a few months, but this was a good excuse to get up here sooner.”
The sound of tapping across the wood floors draws my attention, and I turn my head to see what is making the noise.
A large red and black German Shepherd comes to a stop at the entrance of the kitchen, and bounces when he sees Brody, but quickly gets in a defensive stance when I catch his eye.
“Zeus, come here boy.”Brody gets on the floor at eye level with Zeus and greets the enormous animal.I’ve always been a small dog person.
Brody scratches both ears and says encouraging words to his friend.
“Sadie,” Brody looks up to me as he holds the collar of Zeus.I guess the pretending has officially started as he addresses me by my new name.“I want you to meet the other half of me.Zeus has been with me since I left the Marines.We have the best security system in place, but Zeus is my main deterrent.”
He pats him on the side of his tummy and runs his hand down the spine, all the way to the tail.
