Page 44 of Choosing Happily Ever After

Levi shook his head and grinned. “Thank you, Captain. You don’t know what that means to me.” But the captain had already hung up.

Levi tucked his phone in his back pocket and sprinted across the room with a newfound energy. Now that everything had become clear and the decision had been made, he didn’t want to waste one more minute. He’d already wasted enough time allowing himself to feel sorry for himself instead of fighting for what he wanted—and needed.

He flung open the door to see Katie on the other side, a pointed look on her normally sweet face. “If you think you’re going to her like that, you have another think coming.” She sniffed the air in disgust. “Seriously, when was the last time you had a shower?”

Levi couldn’t help it; he laughed. “Did you just hear that?” He gestured behind him as if he’d had the conversation with the captain right there in the bedroom.

“I did,” Katie said. “Not that I needed to overhear anything to know that you’re desperately in love with Hope Turner. We’ve all known that for years. We were just waiting for you to realize it too.”

Levi stared at his cousin.

“What?” she said in defense. “We did. And you did, too. Frankly, I’m a little disappointed that you needed to wallow for a few days like a heart-sick teenage boy before a conversation with an old man helped change your mind.” Katie crossed her arms. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

Levi smacked her arm playfully. “You knew? And you let me behave like an ass just because?”

Katie laughed. “Not just because. But because you needed to come to it yourself, Levi. You’re a grown-ass man. You don’t need me telling you what you already know. Do you?”

“No.” He shook his head with a smile. “I needed to work through it on my own.”

“But seriously, what is your plan? Are you really going to just storm over to the ranch looking like a scrub who doesn’t know what a razor is and declare your love for her? Because I think you can do better, Levi. And really…” She raised her eyebrows as she looked him over. “You totallyshoulddo better.”

Her words stopped him. She was right. This was the woman he loved more than life itself, and not only did he need to convince her of that, he needed to make sure she knew without a doubt that he was not going anywhere. No matter what life threw at them, he wanted to be at her side for all of it. The good and the bad. No matter what.

“You’re right,” he said as an idea formulated. “I need something amazing.” A smile spread across his face so wide that Katie laughed and shook her head.

“What are you thinking? Because you look either very excited or a little manic.”

Levi grabbed his cousin’s hand and pulled her toward the kitchen. “I have an idea,” he said. “But I’m going to need your help.” He stopped suddenly and stared at her. “Actually, I’m going to need a lot of help. We need to call Faith.”

ChapterThirteen

Hope

Hope was done feelingsorry for herself. At least she was going to pretend she was.Fake it till you make it, right?

She’d given herself a day to wallow in her misery, but that was it. After all, it was her decision to push Levi away. She’d made a choice and now she had to live with it. Besides, even if she wanted to feel sorry for herself, she didn’t have time. She had plans to make. Her life was about to change in a huge way, and the best way to get over a heartbreak was to throw yourself in a new project.

Which was exactly what she was doing by cleaning out the bedroom next to hers so she could turn it into a nursery. The idea had come to her in the middle of the night. It might be a little bit presumptuous to assume that she wasn’t going to have any trouble getting pregnant, and maybe some might consider it bad luck, but Hope didn’t care. The idea that in less than a year from now she could be holding her very own baby in her arms made her heart ache with an intense want.

And considering there was nothing she could do at that moment to speed up the process of actually getting pregnant, the next best thing was to create the perfect space for her future baby. Which was easier said than done, considering the spare room had been used as a storage space for the last few years because Hope had been too busy to take things up to the attic properly, or get rid of them altogether.

She lost herself in the task of sorting through the old things, making piles of things to donate, throw away, or take up to the attic for storage. Hope didn’t know how long she’d been working before she heard the sound of the front door slam, followed by Faith’s voice calling out for her.

“I’m up here,” she yelled from behind a pile of her dad’s old books. “In the spare room.”

A moment later, Faith popped her head inside. “What are you doing in here?”

“Cleaning.” Hope waved her arms around and laughed a little. Whatever she was doing, it certainly didn’t look as if she’d actually cleaned anything. “Well, organizing anyway. I thought I’d turn this room into the baby’s room.”

Faith’s smile dipped a little bit at the mention of the baby. Hope knew her sister wasn’t happy with her decision, and she couldn’t blame her, not really. Faith was only looking out for her best interests, but what she didn’t understand was that a babywasin her best interest. She felt it deep down; she was going to be fine. The cancer was in the early stages and the doctor said so as well. She had time. But this would be the only time. Hope knew her sister would change her mind about all of it as soon as she saw her new niece or nephew. She’d fall in love with the baby, too. There was no doubt.

“What are you up to?” Hope changed the subject as she stacked another book. “I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of absent from the barn for the last few days. I just…well…”

“It’s okay.” Faith shrugged. “I’ve been taking inventory like you suggested.” A sly smile crept over her sister’s face. “And reorganizing a little.”

“What?” Hope shook her head and sighed. She and Faith had very different ideas on how to organize and no doubt her type-A sister had created a sterile and structured system that wouldn’t make any sense to Hope. She’d just have to fix it later. “Whatever,” she said, deciding not to pick a fight.

“But I’m actually here for you,” Faith said. “I decided we needed a little fun around here and something to smile about.”

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