Page 66 of The History in Us

Katie

Nervous anticipation filled me. I was thrilled Levi was going with me, but the closer we drove to Elk Rapids, the quieter Levi became. At first, I chattered to fill the silence, something so unlike me, but eventually, I ran out of random information. My heart beat loud enough to fill the silence.

As we drove north on US 31, my pulse raced with trepidation. What had I done? I hadn’t prepared my family for my friend being Levi Walker any more than I’d prepared Levi for them. I hadn’t even mentioned AJ. Levi’s fingers tensed on the steering wheel, as he flipped the turn signal and we curved left onto the main street of downtown. The single street was highlighted by the neon sign of Town Tavern, one street lamp and two blocks of quaint storefronts. My heart was in my throat and my stomach churned as we rode those two blocks before turning left again. Levi drove on autopilot and each time I attempted to offer a direction, he grunted, driving blindly, because he knew the way to my childhood home despite the years of separation.

We pulled onto the gravel drive, pebbles crunching under the tires, the sound ringing loudly like the final slam of a gate. My breaths were short as I stared at my house. A covered, wrap-around porch. A garage converted to my mother’s writing place. A garden asleep under a thin layer of snow. Each light softly beaming from every window, ready to welcome me. Welcome us home.

“Ready?” I whispered, still staring at the vacant front porch. Levi opened his door without responding. He opened the back door and began unbuckling a sleeping AJ. He kissed his son’s forehead as he gently removed him from his car seat. I exited my side of the car and crossed over to Levi. I wanted to hold his hand, assure him that things would be all right, I was here for him. I’d slay his dragons, and fight his fights, but his mind seemed miles across the village, and I could only imagine what haunted him.

We stepped up to the porch, and the door opened before I knocked.

“Katie,” Emily breathed before enveloping me in a deep hug. Her arms felt so good around me, assuring me as she always had that she loved me as if I was her blood child. “And who are these handsome men?” she questioned as I stepped aside, still breathing in the summer scent of her chestnut hair and blue eyes. Emily stepped back allowing us to enter.

“This is Levi Walker, and his son, AJ.” The moment I mentioned his name, the air swooshed out of the room. Nothing moved, not even the momentary breeze of cold air entering with us.

“Levi?” Emily squinted, staring at the man who hardly looked like the boy she’d known.

“Emily.” Her name was hardly complete before he was enveloped, baby and all, in one of those grasping hugs, assuring him he was equally welcome in our home, blood relation or not. Levi’s eyes opened wide over Emily’s shoulder and I smiled with the knowledge that my family would take him into the fold.

I turned to see my dad leaning against the doorjamb between the living room and the kitchen. My father was a decent looking man as far as dad’s go. I was told he was considered hot, and as much as that made me squirm, I couldn’t deny my dad was aging well. His once longer, dirty blond hair was now chin length. Deep, denim blue eyes that matched mine smiled at me, but the telltale mark of his clenching jaw told me he questioned the visitor I’d brought home.

“Daddy,” I whispered, stepping forward and his arms instantly opened. For some reason, I wanted to cry the second he wrapped around me. Pulling me into his chest, I breathed in the manly scent that was only my dad and relaxed in the comfort of his warm flannel. He kissed the top of my head, holding me a moment longer than necessary before letting go.

“Dad, do you remember Levi Walker?” In typical Jess Carter fashion, he stepped forward, politely extending a hand.

“Good to see you again. Katie didn’t tell us who she was bringing home, so forgive the surprise.” For a moment, I held my breath. Had I misread my father’s reception? Would he not allow Levi to stay? “Who’s this?” My dad asked of AJ, and any questions about Levi were forgotten. My dad was a baby man, and he reached out for the sleeping AJ. Without asking permission, he took AJ and tucked him into his chest, rubbing a hand over his snowsuit covered back.

“This is my son, sir,” Levi offered. “His name is AJ.”

“Well, AJ Walker, welcome to the Carter’s,” my dad murmured to the dark hair of the sleeping baby and kissed him without a thought. Levi’s eyes met mine again, wide and astonished at the current reception. I don’t think I’d taken a breath.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, wondering where my younger sister and brother were on a Tuesday night.

“Daisy is cheering at a basketball game. John is probably causing trouble somewhere,” Emily snorted, and although she dismissed it in jest, there was a hint of concern for her son.

“Basketball?” Levi’s brow rose. He used to play for the very team Daisy now cheered for, and ironically, the same man who coached Levi was the current head Varsity coach.

“The game should be over soon,” Dad said. “We thought we could meet up with everyone at Town Tavern.”

Levi looked down at his feet like an errant child. His foot slipped side to side. This reunion was about to be a full immersion into the Carter clan.

“As we’re tight on space here, we thought you might be more comfortable at Tricia’s.” Emily was asking more than telling me that she’d already arranged for Levi and I to sleep at Tricia’s home. My aunt had more room in her three-bedroom house, and as I hadn’t been home since I left for college, my room with Daisy had been overrun. We didn’t have a guest room, and I hadn’t considered where AJ and Levi would sleep.

“Sleeping at Tricia’s would be fine.” Again, I wanted to reach for Levi and assure him that this might be better. We couldn’t sleep together in my parents’ home and being close to Levi was what I needed. I had mixed emotions about whether bringing Levi home was a blessing or a mistake.

We didn’t bother unpacking any bags after spending time idly chatting, quickly catching up on who was where and doing what in the Carter family. The hour seemed nothing more than fifteen minutes, but too soon, we turned back for the car and drove two blocks to town for the bar. Levi held the door for me, and I chewed my lip. He hadn’t said anything on the short ride and tension filled the car so thick, I choked. Nothing prepared me for what happened on the other side of the door for Town Tavern.

“Surprise!”

A rousing chorus of cheers and claps preceded the “Welcome home” pats on Levi’s back and the attempts to hug a man holding a child. I slipped my hands around AJ and took him from Levi, only I didn’t realize until I tried to remove him from his father’s arms that Levi had AJ in a vise-grip hold. Cradled tightly to his father’s chest, Levi was using AJ either as a shield or a life-preserver, I couldn’t decide which. Relinquishing AJ to me, his arms responded with half-hugs and handshakes to all offered. It felt like a good chunk of the town was present and the small-town bar was packed to capacity to welcome back its hometown hero.

We found Tricia and Leon in the middle of the group. Tricia Carter, with her dark hair and the traditional Carter blue eyes, smiled slowly at me, nodding at the man beside me. Aunt Tricia looked like she was holding her breath, anticipating the return of a precious child. The moment her eyes locked on Levi, she stepped forward, arms open, and embraced him in a tight hug, rocking him back and forth. Leon began patting Levi firmly on his back before Tricia had released the embrace. Reaching in the moment they broke, Leon continued to smack Levi’s back as he tugged him into a fierce man hug. While my uncle was covered in tattoos and a few scars, the hard cut to his jaw and jet black eyes softened as he embraced Levi.

“So good to see you,” Leon muttered. Tears welled in my eyes at the unexpected, but welcome, response to Levi Walker coming home.

“What did you do?” Levi turned to me. The words struggled to be harsh, but the smile on his face choked out the reprimand.