Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (24 page)

I looked over at
Levi. He stared at the picture with eyes so big, I thought they might pop out
of his head. I reached over and tried to pull it from his hand, but he had a
death grip on it. I watched in horror as the picture began to shake.

“Levi, stop looking
at it right now,” I pleaded as I reached over, covering his eyes.

 He let the picture
slip from his hand and gently took my hands away from his eyes. His breathing
was fast and shallow. When our eyes met, I saw the explosion of rage in his. He
shot off the couch so fast it startled me, causing me to flinch. He stopped,
reached over and put his hand on top of my head. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. He
continued past me and out the sliding glass door.

I’d never seen him
like this before. I’d seen him angry, but this was way beyond that. I wasn’t
scared of him. I knew he would never hurt me.

I heard a loud crash
and yell come from the back deck. I stood up and heard it again. I ran to the
sliding glass door, throwing it open. Levi stood by the rail with one of his
deck chairs raised above his head. I rushed to his side as he threw it over the
edge, shattering it into pieces on the lawn. He bent to pick up another one.

“Levi, stop!” I
yelled, putting my hand on his forearm. He stilled for a moment, breathing
heavily. He set the chair back on the deck before falling to his knees. He covered
his face with his hands and began to sob.

I didn’t know what
to do. Here was my big strong man, falling apart right in front of me. Levi was
my rock and now, he was broken by what he’d seen.

I closed my eyes,
silently calling out to God for help. “Tell me what to do, Lord. I don’t know
how to comfort him.”

The wind blew my
hair and I heard a whisper, just one soft word, “Sing.” I smiled when a song
came to mind, and I knew it was the one he needed to hear. It was a song I’d heard
on the Christian radio station shortly after we’d gotten back together. For
some unknown reason, I had downloaded it to my phone and listened to it until I
knew every word. Now, I knew why.

I dropped to my
knees in front of him, cradling his head to my chest. I opened my mouth and
began to softly sing “Angel By Your Side” by Francesca Battistelli. I knew he
was listening when he stopped sobbing and pulled his hands from his face. He
wrapped his arms around my waist and clung tightly to me, as I continued to
sing the words to him from my heart. I rubbed my hand over his back, feeling
his muscles slowly relax. His breathing had returned to normal by the time I
finished the song. I gently raised his face to mine and whispered, “Levi, I
thank God every day for bringing you into my life. I didn’t think I could ever
open my heart to another person, but you changed all that. You take away all
the darkness and fill it with light. Please let go of what you saw. I have and
it’s because of you and God.”

 I wiped away his
tears with my thumbs and kissed his lips. He pulled me into his lap and held me
close. “You are my angel, Katie, and I’m sorry I fell apart. It was that last
picture. I love you so much, and I couldn’t handle seeing you so broken. The
look on your face, baby,” he said and choked up again.

“Hey, it’s okay.
Look at my face. Do you see that same girl now?” He shook his head, holding my
face in his hand. “And you never will again,” I said and put my hand over his.

 He gave me a small
smile, lifted me off his lap and stood up. He took my hand, leading me back
into the house. I looked in on Asher; he was still sleeping peacefully. Levi
came out of the kitchen holding a lighter. He picked up all the pictures and
held them against his chest, making sure that neither of us saw them again.

I followed him
outside to the fire pit where he put all but one picture in. He held the
remaining one and the lighter out to me. I lit the corner of the picture and once
it began to burn, he threw it on top of the others. He moved behind me and held
me with his strong arms around my waist. I gripped his forearms like a
lifeline, watching the pictures burn and curl, the images melting away forever.
He rested his chin on the top of my head, and we watched in silence until the
pictures were nothing more than a pile of ash.

I felt the breath
leave his chest in a rush. “Are you okay?” I asked.

He turned me around
and looking into my eyes, replied, “I am now.”

I smiled, stood on
my tiptoes, and kissed his lips gently. We went back into the house, where he
went straight to his room to check on Asher. He wasn’t awake yet, but Levi
picked him up anyway, snuggling him close to his chest.

“I just need to
touch him after seeing what Seth is capable of. He will never see Asher or you
again,” he whispered.

I understood his
need to be near Asher. Seth put his hands on him too, and we both knew that he
could do much worse. We lay down on the bed with the still sleeping Asher
between us. His little body sandwiched between ours so we could both feel him
against us. In silence, we watched the steady rise and fall of his chest.

 Levi finally spoke,
“I’d die before I let him hurt either one of you again.”

 “I know you would,
but we’re going to be okay,” I said softly, fighting back a yawn. I was beyond
tired.

 “Close your eyes,
baby. I’ll be right here watching over you both.” I did as he said and fell
asleep knowing we were completely safe.

Asher and I went
back to our apartment Wednesday night, just like I’d already planned. Levi
brought an overnight bag and slept on the couch once again. He wasn’t ready for
us to be on our own after seeing those pictures.
I didn’t argue with him. I wanted us to be together too.

Mom called the next
day, saying Dad had to come to Jackson on some business Friday morning. I
thought that was odd, since he rarely went out of town for the construction
company, but I didn’t say anything. Levi invited them over to his house for
lunch and they excitedly accepted. They planned to stay the night in a hotel
but really wanted to spend some time with Asher.

 Levi came home from
work a little before noon. My parents would be there any minute. “I’m ready to
finally meet your parents,” he said as he helped me with lunch.

I cringed, thinking
he didn’t know what he was in for. “Well, get ready. If you think my dad asked a
bunch of questions over the phone that day, you just wait until he sees you in
person.”

 Levi chuckled and
moved to set the table. “He can ask anything he wants. I don’t mind.”

I had just put lunch
on the table when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and was immediately barraged
by hugs from both my parents.

Mom ran her hand
over my hair and kissed my cheek. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said.

Dad repeated the
same motions. “You look good, pumpkin,” he said with a big smile.

 I led them into the
house, introducing them to Levi. He shook Dad’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you,
Mr. Crane. You have an amazing daughter.”

Dad’s smile was full
of pride. “We think so. You can call me Paul and this is my wife, Lisa.”

Levi reached over
and tried to shake hands with my mom, but she pulled him in for a hug instead.
“Katie has told us how you’ve taken such good care of her and Asher. We can’t
tell you how much that means to us. God must have known they needed you in
their lives.”

Levi patted her back
and smiled. “He knew I needed them too.”

 Mom asked about
Asher, eager to get her hands on him, but I burst her bubble when I told her he
was napping. I knew I needed to tell them about what happened that day at the
hospital. I’d been putting it off after the whole picture debacle. I glanced
over at Levi and he nodded his head. I took a deep breath and told them that
Seth had spanked Asher and how it all came about. They were very upset, Dad
especially. He took it hard when he found out Seth had been hurting me and now for
him to hurt his grandson too, made it much worse. He walked away, pulling out
his cell phone. He didn’t say who he was calling but in a few seconds, I’d
figured it out.

“Tom, this is Paul
Crane. We need to talk. Uh huh.”

Dad exhaled a deep
breath and looked up at the ceiling. He must have been on hold. After a minute,
he spoke again, “I wanted you to know that your son spanked Asher on Wednesday,
hard enough that he left a red hand print. He is just a baby! You better have a
talk with him because if I see him near my daughter or grandson again, it won’t
be talking that I’m doing. Yes, please do and it better not!” He ended the call
with an angry huff.

I knew my mouth hung
open. I’d only seen him act like that once before, and it was with Seth. That
guy brought out the worst in my sweet daddy. “What did Mr. Turner say?” I asked
hesitantly.

 Dad let out a slow
breath. “He apologized, said he would talk to him immediately, and that it
would never happen again.”

Levi spoke up, “Seth
doesn’t know how lucky he is not to be in that hospital right now. If I’d seen
him do it, I don’t think I could have controlled myself.”

  “I completely
agree with you, son, but I’m glad Katie handled it. She did it the right way,” Dad
said and patted my arm.

I resisted the urge
to roll my eyes. “It wasn’t a big deal. I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t have
time to think before I reacted.”

Mom spoke up, “Honey,
that’s what parents do when someone hurts their child.”

 Dad and Levi
agreed, making me smile. As we sat down to eat, my parents began quizzing Levi
about his life. The poor man couldn’t even get in his first bite. They asked
about his business, his parents, and his spiritual beliefs. I felt sorry for
him, but he answered every question, acting like he didn’t mind. He even told
them about his dad’s drinking problem and being raised by a single mother.

My parents soaked it
all in, then Mom smiled. “Well, she did an amazing job with you. You are the
kind of man we prayed Katie would find since she was a little girl.”

 Dad added, “We’re
so glad to see Katie safe and happy.”

Levi actually
blushed, and I couldn’t contain my giggle. He didn’t get embarrassed by much.
As we finished lunch, I heard Asher call out. I went and got him, passing him
to Dad’s outstretched hands. He tickled him under the chin, causing Asher to
giggle. Dad picked up his hand, the one Seth had hit, and gently kissed it.

“I love you, Ash,”
he said. Then Mom got her turn. She loved all over him, making him squeal
loudly.  

     After cleaning
up from lunch, my parents wanted to see my apartment again. Levi declined,
saying he needed to get back to work. He gave me a quick kiss before we piled
into the car and headed to my place.

Dad noticed
immediately that I still didn’t have a crib. “Katie, let us buy you a crib
today. Ash needs a real bed to sleep in.”

I couldn’t argue. I
knew he was right. They took me to a baby store downtown, and we picked out a
nice crib that would convert to a toddler bed as Asher got older. It was
expensive, but they didn’t mind. We brought it back to the apartment and by the
time Dad got it put together and my room rearranged for it to fit, it was after
five o’clock.

Mom stole a glance
at Dad. “Paul, we better get Katie back to Levi’s house. He said something
about taking her out to a nice dinner tonight.” My ears perked up. He hadn’t
mentioned it to me. “Why don’t you go put on something nice, sweetie,” she
suggested.

I looked at her
confused. “Uh, okay.”

I jumped in the
shower and washed my hair quickly. I took the extra time to dry it with a round
brush so it would lay smooth against my back. I ran to my room, pulling out a light
blue maxi dress and silver strappy sandals. Levi hadn’t seen this dress yet,
and I knew he’d like it.

When I came back
into the living room, smoky makeup in place, mom gushed. “Oh, you look
beautiful, so grown up. Why don’t you let Asher stay with us tonight at the
hotel? We’d love to have some more time with him. We can bring him back in the
morning.”

I knew my parents
missed him so much, so I agreed. I got him ready, and my parents drove us back
to Levi’s house but refused to come in.

I gave Asher a kiss
before making my way up the porch. I opened the front door and called out
Levi’s name. He came around the end of the hallway wearing dark jeans and a
button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked so gorgeous that I
couldn’t stop staring.

He came to a stop in
front of me, a huge smile on his face. “Wow. You look amazing,” he said as he
stared at me too.

He took a lock of my
hair and rubbed it between his fingers before leaning down and pressing a kiss
to my lips. I put my hands against his chest and felt the heat of his skin
through his shirt. My stomach did a flip. He reluctantly pulled his lips from
mine. “Let’s go out back and look at the water before we go to dinner.”

Holding my hand, he
led me onto the back deck. It was dark, but I could see the dock in the
distance. There were candles burning along both sides of it. I gasped and
looked up at his face as he led me towards it. He gave me a smile that took my
breath away. My heart began to race as I realized what was coming. He brought
my hand to his lips and kissed it. He pulled me to a stop in the middle of the
dock. We were surrounded by flickering candle light. The moon was almost full
and gave the setting an almost magical appearance. I was lost in the beauty.

Levi turned to face
me and looked into my eyes. “Do you know how much I love you?”

“Yes, I do. Your
love, for not only me but Asher too, shows in your words and actions every
day,” I whispered as I fought back my tears.

He smiled, took a
small step back, and got down on one knee. “I love you more than words could
ever say. God has brought you into my life, and I know you were made for me. I
want to spend the rest of my life as your husband and Asher’s dad. Kaitlyn
Michelle Crane, will you marry me?”

Tears spilled over
onto my cheeks as I fought to control my emotions. “Yes, Levi. I will marry
you. I want more than anything to be your wife.”

He stood up and
pulled a small box from his pocket. When he opened it, I gasped. Inside was a
vintage style engagement ring with a very large diamond solitaire. It was set
in white gold with filigree scrolling surrounding it. It was the most beautiful
ring I’d ever seen. He slipped it on my shaking finger and smiled at the
perfect fit. He wiped away my tears, then slid his hand into the hair at the
back of my neck. He placed his other hand on the bare skin between my shoulder
blades and pulled me tightly to him. He leaned down and kissed me passionately.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, getting lost in my love for him. When he
finally pulled away, I had to catch my breath. I saw his love for me shining in
his beautiful blue eyes.

“Were you surprised?”
he asked, his voice sounding husky.

“Yes, and it was the
best surprise of my life,” I answered softly.

He held me in his
arms for a little longer as we watched the water lap at the shore. “We have to
get going. I’ve got dinner reservations for us,” he said, breaking the silence.

 I looked at the
beauty surrounding us and didn’t want to leave that spot, that moment- ever.

I knew he sensed
what I felt. “Baby, this is just a glimpse of what our life is going to be like
together. I promise you it will be so much more.”

I smiled at his
perfect words. “Then we better blow these candles out, because I’m ready to see
what’s next.”

He laughed and
together we did just that before walking back to the house under the moonlight.