Wishing her heart would stop pounding like it was going to jump right out of her chest, Sammi stepped into the doorway that opened into the spacious airy kitchen of their large home. Her dad was seated on a stool at the counter while her mom was moving about the room.
“Hey, Sunshine,” her dad said with a smile when he saw her.
“Hi, Dad.” Sammi had a moment’s gratitude for this man who had stepped into the role of father to her and her three siblings. She had only distant memories of the man who had passed away when she’d been just three years old. This man, however, had been there every day since he and her mom had married when Sammi had been five. And now she was going to disappoint him and her mom with her news. News that had been welcome when it had been from Makayla, her older married sister, but would be decidedly less so from Sammi.
“Missed you at supper, sweetheart,” her mom said with a smile. “Did you get something to eat?”
Thinking of the meal that Levi had offered her, Sammi nodded. She had taken a couple of bites of it, and while it had tasted great, her stomach just hadn’t been interested. “Can I talk to you guys for a couple of minutes?”
Her mom momentarily froze, the two mugs she’d taken from the cupboard clasped in her hands. “What’s wrong?”
Anxiety once again clenched Sammi’s stomach, and tears threatened to flood her eyes. She wanted so badly to get through this without crying, but the knowledge of how she would be disappointing her parents weighed so heavily on her she didn’t think that would be possible.
She’d thought that maybe they could sit together at the table, her parents with cups of coffee in front of them. A cozy, comfortable setting.
Instead, bracing herself for their disappointment, Sammi whispered for the second time that day, “I’m pregnant.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The mugs hit the counter with a thump as her mom asked, “You’re what?”
Sammi’s gaze lowered to the floor as she clasped her hands in front of her. Tears slipped free and slid down her cheeks as she heard the disbelief in her mother’s voice.
“Samantha?” her mom said sharply. “You’re what?”
The anger in her mother’s voice pierced right through Sammi’s heart. She was a grown woman—not some knocked-up teenager—but the realization of how she was disappointing her parents hurt her to her very core. She’d never been one to rebel. Had never done anything that didn’t fall in line with what the Bible taught—well, except for what she’d done in private with Jayden—so she knew that what she’d just revealed to them would come as a huge shock.
A pair of worn jeans and sneakers appeared in her downcast gaze just before an arm settled gently around her shoulders. “Come sit down.”
Leaning against her dad for just a moment, Sammi allowed him to lead her to the stool next to the one where he’d been sitting. Still keeping her gaze down, Sammi felt pain in her hands and realized she was clenching them so tightly together that the bones of her fingers were digging into each other.
“I don’t understand,” her mom said, her tone softer now. “You and Jayden broke up three months ago. How far along are you?”
Sammi paused, bracing herself to reveal how much more she had messed up. “I’m three months along, but it’s not Jayden’s.”
“Not Jayden’s?” Her mom hesitated then said, “Look at me when I’m speaking to you, Sammi.”
Taking a deep breath, Sammi lifted her head to meet her mom’s gaze. When she saw the sadness and disappointment there, she wanted to look away again, but instead, she did as her mom had asked and didn’t avert her gaze. “No, it’s not Jayden’s. We hadn’t…been together for two months before we broke up.”
“Wait.” Her mom held up her hand. “You were sleeping with Jayden?”
“Yes.” The word came out in a whisper.
“Why, Sammi? After everything you’ve been taught, why would you sleep with him?”
Sammi shrugged helplessly. “He told me that we were going to get married. That we were going to be together forever. I…trusted him. I love him.”
Her dad’s hand covered hers where they rested on the counter. “Who is the father then, Sammi? If it’s not Jayden.”
“After Jayden broke up with me, I was so upset. Heartbroken, really. I just wanted to escape the pain. So I went into the bar at the place where we’d met and I got…drunk. I met this guy there…”
“Oh no, Samantha, how could you do that to yourself?” More disappointment was present in her mom’s voice. “So you don’t know who the father is?”
“No, I know. His name is Levi.”
“Have you continued to see him?”
She gave a quick shake of her head. “I hadn’t seen him until a little earlier this evening. I went to his house to let him know.”
Both of her parents fell silent at that revelation, and her gaze flicked back and forth between them as they looked at each other.
Finally, her dad looked back at her and asked, “So what did he say?”
“He said that he would be there for whatever I needed. He was kinda in a similar situation as me that night we met in the bar. He seems like a decent guy.” Sammi hesitated, her gaze dropping. “I went there to let him know because I found out that I would need his signature on papers if I gave the baby up for adoption.”
“Adoption?” her parents asked in unison.
Since realizing that she’d have Levi’s support—in whatever form that might come—Sammi had found that the idea of adoption didn’t really hold the appeal for her that it once had. She didn’t think her parents would send her off somewhere so no one would know about her pregnancy—it wasn’t the 1950’s after all, and she wasn’t a teenager—but she’d been prepared to go the adoption route if it seemed like it would be the best decision all around.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
“It was something I looked into once I realized I was pregnant,” Sammi said, grateful that the panicky beating of her heart had finally eased up a bit now that she’d gotten everything out.
“How long have you known?” her mom asked as she turned to put one of the mugs into the Keurig machine.
“I took a pregnancy test as soon as I was a few days late.” As she sat there watching her mom prepare coffee for her and her dad, Sammi felt sadness. It came in slowly, like the tide, with waves lapping at her heart. She lowered her hands to rest against her abdomen, splaying her fingers across it.
Her mind went back to the night Makayla had announced her pregnancy. The joy and excitement expressed by her parents and the other members of the family had been immense. This time, however, news of the little life growing within her was being met with disappointment. It wasn’t the baby’s fault. It deserved to be welcomed with joy and love just like Makayla’s baby had been, but as she watched her mom walk with tense steps to the fridge to get the cream for her dad, Sammi knew that wasn’t going to be the case.
“I just wanted to let you guys know,” Sammi said, resolve filling her. “I’ll start looking for an apartment this week.”
Without waiting for either of her parents to respond, Sammi slid off her stool and left the kitchen. Back in her room upstairs, Sammi locked her door before returning to the bed she’d left only a short time ago and let her tears flow freely once again. As much as she wished that this would be the last time she cried, she was already well aware of how emotional the pregnancy had made her, so she knew it wouldn’t be.
When that bout of tears had finally eased, Sammi curled onto her side and unlocked her phone. After a moment’s hesitation, she brought up a new text message.
I told my parents.
She gripped the phone tightly, not sure if Levi would reply right away, but somehow needing him to.
Levi: How did it go?
Not too good, but it could have been worse.
She stared at the screen, waiting for his reply. But instead of a text, her phone rang. Sammi was so startled she dropped the phone, but when she picked it up and saw
Levi’s name on the display, she answered right away.
“How are you doing?” he asked, his voice holding more concern than she could handle.
Tears fell again, and she struggled to speak past the tightness in her throat.
“Do you want me to come over?” Levi offered, his voice gentle.
“No. I’m okay. It was just hard to see my parents so disappointed in me.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for what felt like an eternity before Levi said, “I can’t pretend to understand the viewpoint of your parents. I understand that this is a surprise, but it’s not like you murdered someone. This is a baby we’re talking about.”
“I know. It’s just…” Sammi let out a breath. “This isn’t the life they wanted for me. And honestly, it wasn’t the life I planned for myself either.”
“I understand about life not always working out how we plan it. Don’t forget why I was in the bar that night. I certainly hadn’t planned to have my fiancée run off with my brother.”
Sammi winced as she remembered what he’d told her that night. Yeah, that couldn’t have been easy either. “The baby didn’t ask to be born into this situation. Pretty sure if he or she could have voiced a preference, it would have been to be born into a stable two-parent family. That’s kind of why I’m thinking about adoption.”
“Just because we might not fit the conventional mold for parents for this baby, that doesn’t mean that we can’t love and support it. My mom was a single parent, so I know how challenging and exhausting it can be. I do want to be there for the baby, Samantha, and I’ll try to be there for you as well.”
Relief flooded Sammi as she realized that she wasn’t going to be alone in trying to raise the baby, but she still wasn’t completely convinced.
Her silence must have conveyed her thoughts to Levi because he said, “You don’t know much about me, but I take my responsibilities very seriously. For whatever reason, the universe chose to give this baby to the two of us, so if we choose to keep it, I will do my part in raising him or her.”
“God,” Sammi said without thinking.
“What?”
“I don’t believe that the universe chose to give us this baby. I believe it was God.”
“I’m not really one for religious stuff like that,” Levi admitted. “Can’t even remember the last time I was in a church.”
“For me, it was five days ago, and I will probably be there again on Sunday.” She hesitated, worried all of the sudden about co-parenting with someone who might object to her faith. “You won’t have a problem with me taking our child to church and teaching them about God, will you?”
When Levi didn’t answer right away, Sammi’s heart pounded in her chest.
“I won’t necessarily have a problem with that, but based on what I’m hearing from you, I don’t ever want him or her to be judged because they come from a family that doesn’t fit the norm in church.”
Sammi hesitated, knowing that she couldn’t predict how people might react to the child and the circumstances of its birth. She was well aware that for every loving person in the church, there was likely one who would stand in judgment of her and her situation. “I will try my best to always protect our child.”
“I know you can’t control everyone, but as long as you try to keep the child from being exposed to judgmental attitudes, then I don’t have a problem with it.”
Before she could stop it, a huge yawn came over her. Levi must have heard it because he said, “It sounds like you’re ready for bed there.”
“I am,” she admitted. “I mostly work nights, so things are kind of mixed up on my days off. Plus, I haven’t been sleeping too great lately. Oh, and I’m just generally tired all the time now because of the baby.”
“Well, I hope you sleep a little better tonight. I’m heading to bed shortly myself as most mornings I’m usually up by five-thirty.”
“Even on a Saturday?” Sammi covered her mouth as another yawn threatened to escape.
“Summer is our busiest time, so I’m on the go six days a week.”
“Well, I’ll let you go then, but thank you again for not completely flipping out on me when I showed up at your place.”
“It took two, now, didn’t it? I could hardly get upset with you about that. I’m equally responsible for what happened.” Levi fell silent for a moment before saying, “I’ll be honest, it’s not what I would have chosen, but I’ve recently been stressing to others the importance of accepting the consequences for our actions. It would be fairly hypocritical of me to not do the same.”
“You have to know that a good chunk of men would not have been nearly as accepting as you were. I guess if I had to be caught up in this with anyone, I’m glad that it was you.”
After they said their goodnights, Sammi got up, changed into pajamas then finished her night time routine before slipping back into bed. She was tired—exhausted, in fact—but as she lay there in the darkness, her mind lazily replaying the day, it occurred to her that even that night in the bar, she’d known Levi was different. He’d listened as she’d talked, had shared things about himself, and had made her feel attractive and wanted. He’d been that same way earlier—well, except for the attractive and wanted part—but he hadn’t dismissed her claims or been difficult about it when he’d had every right to turn her away.
For the first time since that initial positive pregnancy test, Sammi didn’t lay awake tossing and turning with an anxious ache in her stomach and her mind awhirl with worries.
CHAPTER SIX
Levi slammed the tailgate of the truck shut and did a quick look around the yard where he and a skeleton crew had been doing some work. They’d been there since seven, and it was just after one o’clock now. Most of the crew had plans with friends or were heading home to families, and so was Levi. Sort of.
Satisfied that they had cleaned up the area and that all their tools had been accounted for, Levi swung up behind the wheel of his truck and started the engine. It took him about thirty minutes to get from the job site in south Winnipeg to his place in the northwest part of the city.
After taking a shower and grabbing a quick bite to eat, he left again, this time driving to a nearby private care home.
“Good afternoon, Levi,” the nurse behind the desk said as he walked in. She gave him a smile—a flirty one, he’d come to realize over the past few visits—and there was a hopeful look on her face. It had been far too long since Levi had felt the urge to flirt with a woman, and it wasn’t going to change that day either.
“Afternoon, Mellie,” he said as he approached the large desk. “How’s Mom doing today?”
“She’s a bit despondent, to be honest. We’ve had someone in to talk with her again.”
Levi nodded, resisting the urge to sigh. His mom had had bouts of depression since the car accident seven years earlier that had left her debilitated beyond Levi’s ability to care for her at home. She’d been quite depressed immediately following the accident—as would be expected—but she’d gotten better in the past five years as she’d come to accept her situation. This most recent episode had no doubt been because of Davy and what had happened between the two brothers.
It hadn’t been an easy thing for Levi to decide to turn Davy in to the authorities, but he’d done it for Davy’s sake. The younger man needed to learn he couldn’t do things like he’d done without facing the consequences. Of course, now Levi was facing his own set of consequences because of that decision—namely, his mom’s depression and the blame she placed squarely on his shoulders for Davy’s current tough situation.
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” Levi gave the nurse another nod before heading down the wide hallway that led to the wing where his mom lived. He smiled at a few other familiar faces as he walked but didn’t stop until he reached the door to his mom’s room.
Unsure of what kind of greeting awaited him, Levi paused and took a deep breath before stepping into the small but cozy room his mom call
ed home.
“Hi, Mom,” Levi said when he spotted her sitting in a reclined wheelchair next to the window that looked out over a garden. When she barely acknowledged him, Levi knew that, once again, it wasn’t going to be an easy visit.
He set the bouquet of flowers he’d picked up on the small table beside his mom’s bed. The accident had left her as a quadriplegic along with some other complications, that left her with more physical demands than Levi had been able to manage along with his work responsibilities. Levi was grateful that this home offered a level of care that was far beyond anything he could have provided for her. In addition to the physical care, they offered opportunities to socialize with other home residents, and that was important for his mom.
But ever since he’d turned the details of Davy’s theft over to the police, she wasn’t interested in socializing with him. Levi wondered what she’d have to say if he told her that she had a grandchild on the way, but he wasn’t going to find out her response to the news that day. Until things had progressed a bit further, and he had figured out exactly what Samantha wanted from him, he had no intention of telling his mom about the baby.
“Would you like to go out for a walk in the garden, Mom?” Levi asked after he’d replaced the flowers.
He wasn’t too surprised when she nodded. No matter how angry she might be with him, she never turned down the opportunity to get outside into the gardens surrounding the care home. Given that they weren’t able to do that year-round, Levi always offered to take her out when the weather was nice.
He checked to make sure she wasn’t connected to anything then slowly pushed her from the room. Knowing she liked to chat, Levi would always slow the chair to a stop so she could talk to anyone she met. It took almost ten minutes to get to the large doors leading out into the garden. The care home had walkways that meandered throughout the garden. As they walked, Levi would stop at various parts of the garden to discuss the plants and flowers that were creating beautiful arrangements.
Believing in Tomorrow: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 4) Page 4
