Olive’s lips twitched in a fond smile at the thought of Franklin. Then the kettle whistled, jarring her back to the present. The present where Levon was busy tinkering with their baby’s crib and she was wondering whether she’d ever feel completely ready to bring new life into the world. Hands unsteady, she pulled a travel mug from her cupboard and filled it with hot water and a tea bag, then squared her shoulders. Ready or not, it was time to get on with her day.
“Time to go or I’ll be late.” She screwed the lid on her cup, figuring it could steep while they drove, then headed back to the front door. Levon beat her there, commandeering her suitcase while she grabbed the briefcase handle. Then they were out the door and on the porch, where he waited behind her while she locked up before trundling down to his truck. The sun was coming up now and the town was stirring as people got up and ready for work. They’d almost made it to the truck when a familiar voice called up from behind Olive. “Hey, Liv. Looks like you’ve got company today.”
Damn. She’d been hoping to avoid her nosy neighbors by coming here at the crack of dawn, but unfortunately, no. Levon tensed in front of her and she quickly tried to neutralize the situation. “Don’t worry. That’s just my neighbor, Tom Miller.”
“I always worry when it comes to you and the baby, Olive,” Levon grumbled, staring past her at the sixty-something man crossing the grass toward them, his old bathrobe flapping around his calves and his black slippers flapping against his heels. Tom was an ex-cop who kept an eye out for those around him. In general, Olive appreciated his diligence on behalf of her neighborhood, but today it was one more inquiry she didn’t need.
She turned with a polite smile plastered firmly in place. “Good morning, Tom. This is Levon Asher. He’s a friend of mine.”
“Mr. Asher,” Tom said, holding out a hand to Levon, who shook it reluctantly before shoving her suitcase into the back of his truck. “You look like a military man,” Tom observed, demonstrating that his law enforcement observation skills were still intact. “Which branch?”
“Navy,” Levon said, crossing his arms across his chest. “I’m an ex-SEAL.”
“Impressive,” Tom said good-naturedly, then sipped his coffee before turning back to Olive. “Did you ever call about that security system I mentioned, Liv? I can still get you a discount if you want. Retired police and all.”
Olive didn’t miss the pointed way her neighbor had slipped that information in there, or the male posturing happening around her. In other circumstances she might have appreciated that they were putting on such a show for her, but today she had no time and even less patience for it. She took a deep breath and tried to shove Levon toward the driver’s side of the truck. It was like trying to budge Mount Everest. “No, I haven’t yet, Tom. But I will.” She craned to see around him and waved. “Oh, I think your wife wants you. Got to go. Don’t want to be late for class.” Rude or not, she didn’t wait around for Tom’s reply, instead hurrying toward the passenger door to climb into her seat. “Come on, Levon. Time’s a-wasting.”
After a few tense seconds of pointed, silent stares between the two men, Levon joined her. It wasn’t until they’d pulled away from the curb that the constriction in Olive’s chest eased. Lord, this was going to be way more challenging than she thought.
7
Driving back into the lot of Harper’s Forge High School the night of the reunion had been bad enough. Going back there now in the light of day, with students already arriving and piling out of cars in the lot and filing into the building, brought back lots of memories Levon would just as soon have forgotten. Not that school had been bad for him, just not…great.
Well, except for the woman beside him. Those times spent with her in the library, studying, had been the few where he hadn’t felt like he was wearing a mask, hiding his deficiency from everyone around him.
He pulled into a reserved spot marked for teachers near the door and jammed the transmission into park before cutting the engine. Before he even had his door open, Olive was out of the vehicle, briefcase in hand, and heading inside without him.
Yeah, it was going to be a long day.
Grumbling, he exited his truck and made sure her suitcase was securely locked up inside the cab before walking in through the front entrance of the high school. The air still smelled the same as he remembered, though the dirty sock smell was lessened up here in the academic wing. Chatter buzzed around him as he made his way down the hall, ignoring the curious stares of the teens around him and tracking Olive’s dark head in the distance. He assumed she was headed to her classroom, but he couldn’t be sure. The only thing he was sure of was that she wasn’t going to ditch him again. Not until he was sure she was safe.
For some odd reason being in her house earlier had driven home to him the seriousness of what they were dealing with in a way nothing else had so far. Maybe it had been the shock of learning he was going to be a dad, or the stress of the mission buzzing inside him, but up until now, he’d been able to keep his emotions where Olive was concerned mainly in their neat little boxes. But now, after seeing those old pictures and fiddling with that crib she’d bought, he felt all messed up inside and wasn’t sure what he was going to do about any of it.
Olive rounded a corner
