Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (25 page)

I’d just put Asher
down for a nap in his crib and began picking up toys from the living room floor,
when someone banged on the apartment door. It startled me, causing me to trip
over Asher’s ball. I put my hands out to catch myself, but it was too late. I
hit my forehead on the corner of the coffee table hard and saw stars.

The banging
continued as I reached up and touched my forehead. I pulled my hand away; it
dripped with blood. I tried to stand but felt dizzy and had to sit back down.
The loud banging woke Asher and he began to cry.

I heard Seth’s
voice, “Open this door, Katie. I know you’re in there. How is Asher not my
son?” he screamed through the door.

 I fought back the
nausea and slowly crawled over to my purse and found my cell phone. I dialed
Levi’s number with a shaky hand.

“Hey, baby,” he
answered.

“Levi, Seth is
outside my apartment,” I choked out.

 “I’ll be there in
five minutes. Don’t open the door,” he replied in a rushed voice.

I tried to tell him
I wouldn’t, but the words came out all slurred. “Katie, what’s wrong? Why do
you sound like that and why is Asher screaming?” he asked frantically.

 I couldn’t tell
him. My brain couldn’t find the words. I leaned over and vomited all over the
floor before the room went black.

 I opened my eyes
and saw Levi’s face close to mine. I groaned and reached up to grab my
throbbing head.
Why is it hurting so much?

He pulled my hand
away. “Shh, you’re okay now. You hit your head pretty hard,” he said softly.

I tried to focus,
suddenly remembering the banging, Asher screaming, and Seth.
Seth!
I
tried to get up but Levi held me still.

“Where’s Asher? Seth
is here!” I yelled and instantly regretted it. I tried to hold my head, but he
gently pushed my hand away again.

 “Baby, please quit
trying to touch your head. I know it hurts. You have a big gash and knot on
your forehead, and I’m trying to stop the bleeding. Don’t worry about Asher,
he’s fine. He’s with my mom. I called her when I knew something wasn’t right
with you.”

 ”I’m here, Katie.
I’ve got this sweet baby,” I heard Kathy say.

“Seth?” I whispered.
If I spoke any louder it made my head hurt more.

 Levi shifted me
gently in his arms. “The police have him outside.”

I closed my eyes,
fatigue overwhelming me. “Katie...Katie, open your eyes, baby. You can’t go to
sleep. The ambulance will be here any second. Please stay awake for me.” I
heard the tears in his voice and reached up, touching his wet cheek. He pulled
my hand to his mouth, kissing it. “I love you so much,” he whispered.

“Love you,” I
whispered back.

The EMT’s arrived
and loaded me onto a gurney. I looked up and noticed my front door hanging wrong
on its hinges. I caught Levi’s gaze and pointed at the door. He shook his head.
“We’ll talk about everything later.”

 They wheeled me to
the ambulance and were about to load me in when I spotted Seth. He stood handcuffed
beside a patrol car. He turned to look at me and I gasped. He had a black eye
and a busted nose. I glanced over at Levi and noticed a small bruise under his
left eye but that was it. I knew instantly who had won that fight.

They wouldn’t let
Levi ride with me, so he followed us in his truck. They wheeled me into an ER
trauma room where the nurses cleaned up my head wound as best as they could.
Levi stayed with me the whole time, holding my hand or stroking my hair. The ER
doctor ordered a cat scan and the results showed I had a concussion. They
wanted to keep me in the hospital overnight for observation, but I refused. I wanted
to be with Asher and Levi, where I belonged. The doctor agreed as long as someone
woke me up every three hours. He glued the gash on my forehead back together
and told me the scarring would be minimal. With all the paperwork signed, we
left the hospital and headed back to my apartment.

Levi carried me
inside and laid me on the couch. He grabbed some rags and proceeded to clean up
all the vomit and blood from the floor. I begged him to stop, insisting I could
do it, but he ignored me and finished up. He washed his hands then came into
the living room, picked up the coffee table and hauled it out the door.

“No more coffee
tables,” he said as he came back in.

I agreed. It was probably
a bad idea to have a low table with sharp corners around a baby. That could
have easily been Asher instead of me, and I shuddered at the thought.

 “I know you’re
thinking of Asher, because I thought the same thing. That’s why I hauled it out
of here.” He leaned down, looking closely at my forehead and frowned. He kissed
me on the temple instead.

“I’m going to pack
you a bag. Y’all are going to stay with me for a while.” I nodded my head and
winced at the pain. “Baby, you need to take some pain medicine. I told the
doctor what you had at home. He said you could take one every four hours.”

 I gave him a thumbs
up and he laughed. He brought me a pill and a glass of water. I went to set the
glass on the coffee table, but stopped when I realized it wasn’t there anymore.
I looked at Levi with a scowl on my face.

“You’ll get used to
it being gone, eventually,” he said with a chuckle, taking the glass from me.

He packed our bags
and grabbed some of Asher’s bottles and food from the kitchen. “I’ll be so glad
when we’re married and live in the same house. Having two places is a pain,” he
called out.

I gave him two
thumbs up on that one. He laughed and brought over my pajamas. “You need to
change clothes before you fall asleep. These are covered in blood and vomit.” I
grimaced as I looked down at my soiled clothes.

“Can you do it by
yourself, or do I need to help you?”  

“I don’t know but
I’ll try,” I whispered. I tried to sit up, but it made the pounding in my head
worse. The room spun, and I clamped my hand over my mouth.

“Katie, it’s okay.
Let me help you.” He sat me up slowly and lifted the hem of my shirt up. He gently
eased it over my bandaged head. He quickly grabbed my pajama shirt and
stretched it over my head, helping me pull my lead like arms through the
sleeves. I had to stop and rest for a minute, just that little movement had
worn me out.

“Are you ready for
the bottoms now?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

He laid me back down
and unbuttoned my shorts. I lifted my hips so he could get them off. He quickly
pulled my shirt down to keep me covered as best he could, and put my pajama
shorts on me. I closed my eyes and sighed in relief as the pounding in my head
eased as I lay still. A tear fell before I could stop it. “Thank you. I’m sorry
you had to do that.”

He stroked my face.
“Hey, it’s fine. I know you’re in pain. Besides, now we’re even since you had
to dress me in the hospital when I was sick,” he said with a wink.

I puckered my lips
and he leaned down, rewarding me with a sweet kiss. He grabbed my bags, taking
them out to the truck. He came back in and put my disgusting clothes in a sack
before leaning down and picking me up.

“Why are you
bringing my dirty clothes?”

He looked at me like
he didn’t understand why I’d asked that. “I’m going to wash them at my place.”

I smiled and rested
my cheek on his chest as he carried me to the truck. I closed my eyes and let
the sound of his steady heartbeat take me away.

***

    I woke up the
next morning with a small headache and an urgent need to get to the bathroom. Once
again, Levi had me pinned under the covers and I couldn’t move.

“Levi,” I hissed and
he stirred.

“Levi,” I said again
in a normal voice, pleased that it didn’t bother my head anymore.

 “What’s wrong?” he
mumbled.

“If you don’t let me
up right now there is going to be a puddle in your bed.”

With wide eyes, he
jumped up and led me to his bathroom. I couldn’t stop to close the door, so he
pushed it to behind me. I’d made it just in time. I managed to wash my hands
but couldn’t take another step. I slumped against the counter and called out to
Levi. He rushed in, a look of concern on his face, and picked me up. He carried
me back to bed and tucked the covers in all around me. He grinned as he lay
down beside me. “Wow, you really had to go. I wasn’t listening on purpose, but
it was kind of hard not to hear.”

 I turned my head,
our faces even. “You know what, Levi? You hearing me pee is pretty low on my
embarrassment list after everything you’ve seen, bought, and cleaned up for
me.”

“Baby, I don’t care
about any of that stuff. It doesn’t embarrass me, so it shouldn’t embarrass
you. I love you. Just let all that stuff go.” He leaned close and gave me a kiss.

I’d really needed to
hear that. I felt better now and knew it was time to talk about what had
happened. I took a deep breath. “So tell me about yesterday.”

 He gently touched
the bandage on my head before finding my hand and lacing his fingers through
mine. “When I got there, Seth was pounding on your apartment door and
screaming. He saw me and before I could stop him, he hit me in the face. I punched
him a few times, and he didn’t get back up. I didn’t know what was wrong with
you, but I could hear Ash screaming through the door, so I kicked it in. I saw
you on the floor next to where you’d thrown up. There was blood everywhere, but
I had to get to Asher first. He was lying in his crib screaming, so I checked him
for injuries before I picked him up. He was okay, just scared. I held him and
came back to you to make sure you were breathing. When I moved your hair from
your face, I saw the gash and knot on your head. I saw the blood trail to the
coffee table and knew you’d hit your head. You had bled so much. It scared me.
I was scared for Asher too. I didn’t know what I’d find when I went into your
room,” Levi said with a shudder.

I wrapped my arm
over him, snuggling into his chest. “I heard Asher screaming before I blacked
out, but I couldn’t get to him. Thank you for going to him first. You don’t
know how much that means to me,” I said as the tears flowed.

“Katie, I love you
both so much, but I didn’t even stop to think about checking on you first. I
just knew I had to get to him.”

I’d never had any
doubts, but if anyone else did, that moment proved Levi truly was Asher’s
daddy.

***

     It was bed rest
for me for a couple of days, so Kathy brought Asher to Levi’s house to stay. She
came in the room and kissed my cheek before handing Asher over.

“You have a
wonderful son. Thank you for bringing him into our lives,” she said as her eyes
misted.

I fought back my own
tears at her sweet words. “So do you,” I replied.

She gave me a sweet smile.
“I called your parents. They wanted to come down, but I assured them we could
take care of y’all. Do you want me to help you get a bath?”

I still felt so weak.
It was hard for me to do much on my own. “That would be great because I’m feeling
pretty gross.”

 She washed my hair,
avoiding my bandage, and helped me into clean pajamas. She tightly tucked me
back into bed, making me feel like I was twelve years old again. I didn’t mind;
in fact, it was nice. She sat by my side and stroked my hair until I fell
asleep.

The next day, I felt
stronger so Kathy went home. She and Levi had traded off taking care of me and
Asher. I knew I was truly blessed to have these people in my life. They loved
me and my son so much.

 Levi informed me that
Seth had been bailed out of jail within an hour of being arrested. Mr. Turner
called and pleaded for us not to press charges against his son. If we agreed, he
promised Seth would never bother any of us again. We decided this was the best
thing to do and hoped Seth would keep his end of the bargain.

On the third day, I
couldn’t lay in that bed any longer. I had to get up, even if I still felt
terrible. I had things I needed to do. I shoved Levi out the door to go to work
and assured him I would be fine. I did laundry and played with Asher all day.
In the time I’d been stuck in bed, he had learned to crawl. He was all over the
house and by the time Levi got home from work, I was ready to get back in bed,
but I made myself stay up. I cooked us an easy dinner and vegged out on the
couch with Levi after he did Asher’s bath and bedtime routine for me.

 I woke up the next
morning feeling a little stir crazy, like the walls of the house were closing
in on me. I was okay to drive and felt almost back to normal, but doubted Levi
would be happy with me leaving the safety of his house.

The gash on my
forehead was healing but still looked red and puffy and the bruising hadn’t
completely faded away. I didn’t want people to stare at me, so I handed Levi a
pair of scissors and told him to cut me some bangs. He looked horrified at the
idea of taking scissors to my hair, but after a few tears rolled down my cheeks,
he led me to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, I had a fairly straight set of
bangs. He grinned at his handy work, pretty proud of himself. I gave him
several “thank you” kisses, which he accepted eagerly.

I shuffled around
the house for a while, shoulders hunched, trying to find something to do. Levi
grabbed me and wrapped his arms around me. “Why don’t you take Asher shopping
and buy something for yourself,” he suggested.

I grinned. “You
think it will be okay?” I asked and bounced on my toes like a little kid who
had just gotten a pony.

He chuckled. “Yes, I
think it will be okay and judging by your reaction, I’d say you are more than
ready to get out of the house. Come by the office after lunch. My mom is
working the front counter and would love to see you both.”

He reached into his
back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He held out five, one hundred dollar
bills to me.

“Get whatever you
want,” he said.

I pushed his hand
away. “I’m not taking your money, Levi.”

He looked at me with
a serious expression. “Yes you will. It’s not my money anyway. It’s our money.”

I took it from his
hand. “Thank you, but you don’t have to do this.”

 He smiled. “Yes I
do. You’re going to be my wife so what’s mine is now yours.” I gave him a tight
smile and knew he could tell I wanted to say something more. “What is it?” he
asked and swept my new bangs out of my eyes.

I didn’t want him to
think I was prying into his personal business. I mean, we weren’t married yet.
“I really appreciate the money, but it’s too much. Are you sure it’s okay?” I
asked hesitantly.

He grinned. “Are you
asking me if I can afford to give you five hundred dollars?” I smiled
sheepishly. “Katie, it’s okay for you to know how much money I make. The
business does really well. I made over three hundred thousand in profit alone last
year.”

His revelation shocked
me. I knew his business was big, but I didn’t know it was that big. He laughed
and reached under my chin to close my mouth and said, “I know you’re surprised,
but I’m just not a flashy kind of guy. I give God all the glory. Without Him, I
would have nothing.”

I managed to pull
myself together. “Wow, that’s a lot of money and you’re right, I would have
never guessed you made so much. I mean your house is really nice but-”

 He chuckled and
interrupted me. “I’m a simple man and don’t need a giant house or a new truck
to make me feel good. I give God His part, help out in the community, and save
the rest. But I have a feeling I’ll be spending a whole lot more money to spoil
my soon to be wife and son.” He flashed me his heart stopping grin. “I’ve got
to go, but I’ll call you later.”

He gave me another
kiss and was out the door. I looked down at the money in my hand in awe and
knew I was blessed beyond measure.

***

I spent the morning
trying to do laundry and keep Asher occupied. He refused to go into his playpen
now that he could crawl. I tried to leave him in it anyway but after listening
to him scream for five minutes, I had to get him out. I got him fed and
changed, grabbing myself a piece of lunch meat afterwards. I didn’t even have
time to make a sandwich.

I took him into the
bathroom with me and attempted to shower while he crawled around on the
bathroom floor. That was the fastest shower I’d ever taken. I put on some
decent clothes and tried to somewhat fix my hair and throw on a little mascara.
I looked down right as he put a hair tie into his mouth. I picked him up,
digging it out, and washed his hands with soap. The bathroom floor was clean,
but it was still a bathroom. I packed his bag, grabbed my purse and loaded him
into his car seat.

 I said a silent “thank
you” to Levi for remembering to move it over from his truck. I got in my seat
and took a few deep breaths. I felt a little frazzled. I said a quick prayer
for continued strength and made my way to the nursery. Asher was content on the
drive over, so that helped me relax some.

I parked in front of
the office and took Asher inside. Kathy was behind the counter and when she saw
him, her face lit up. Then she looked at me and blinked a few times.
That’s
weird.

She smiled again.
“Katie, I’m so glad to see you again,” she said, coming around the counter.
“Come here, Asher. Grammy has missed you.”

 I laughed “Grammy?”
I asked as I passed him to her. She winked at me and snuggled Asher close. “My
goodness, he gets more beautiful every time I see him.”

Levi rounded the
corner and came to a sudden stop when he saw me. “Uh, hey,” he said, eyes wide.

Aggravated at the
weird receptions I kept getting, I asked, “What? Why are you looking at me like
that?”

He tried not to grin
but couldn’t help it. “Did you have a rough morning?” he asked and chuckled.

“It was a little
busy, but I managed just fine,” I lied.

“Uh huh, well you’ve
got a little something...” He busted out laughing.

“What?” I huffed out
and looked over at his mom.

She smiled sweetly. “You
got something on your eyes, honey.”

I rubbed under both
my eyes and asked, “Did I get it off?”

I looked over at Levi;
he shook his head and began to laugh again until his mother shot him a stern
look. He cleared his throat.

I dug my compact out
of my purse, looked at my eyes, and gasped. I had mascara smeared on both of my
upper eyelids. I’d obviously been distracted when I’d put it on and had missed
my eyelashes all together. It looked like I’d just brushed it on my eyelids
instead. I put my hand to my forehead and shook my head. “Excuse me. I’ll be
right back.”

I kept my head down
as I made my way to the bathroom. I had to scrub my eyes hard with soapy paper
towels to get it all off. The area above my eyes was now red and puffy but at
least the mascara was gone. I walked down the hallway and saw that Levi had
Asher with him in his office. I went in and flopped down in one of the chairs.
Asher was sitting in Levi’s lap banging on the computer keyboard.

I met Levi’s eyes
and he smiled. “I’m sorry I laughed. It was just a shock to see you like that.
Had you already gone shopping?” he asked with a grimace.

I laughed. “No,
thank goodness. I could never show my face in town again if I’d gone shopping
looking like that. I’m not mad that you laughed. I did look crazy.”

Kathy came in, sat
down in the other chair and patted my knee. “So, it was a bad morning for you?”

 “No, it wasn’t bad.
It was just hard to get everything done and keep him out of stuff now that he’s
crawling. He tried to eat one of my hair ties. I had to dig it out of his
mouth.”

Levi grimaced and
Kathy looked at him and laughed. “That’s nothing. Levi ate anything he could
get his hands on; coins, dirt, toys, you name it. If he could reach it, he would
eat it. I even caught him eating dry cat food one time. It scared me to death,
but the doctor said it was fine when I called him in a panic.”

 He looked at his
mom and frowned. ”Gee thanks, Mom. Tell her all my embarrassing secrets.”

I laughed loudly.
“You ate cat food. That’s so gross.”

 He rolled his eyes.
“Uh huh, laugh it up, mascara girl.” I laughed even harder at that.

Kathy cut in. “My
point is all kids get into stuff. You can’t watch them twenty-four hours a day.
You just do the best you can and know that they are in God’s hands.” I smiled as
she leaned over and gave me a hug. “Now, I’ve got to get back out front.” She
stood up and moved to the door. “You kids play nice,” she called out as she
left.

I giggled. “I love
your mom. She’s so smart and funny. I see where you get it from.”

 “So you think I’m
smart and funny, huh?”

I got up and closed
his office door. I pushed his chair back, took Asher in my arms, and sat down
in his lap.

“That’s not all I
think,” I replied.  

His cocked his brows
and grinned. “Oh, yeah? What else do you think?”

I reached up and
stroked his face. “I think you are giving, loving, patient, caring, and the
most wonderful man I’ve ever known.” I kissed his lips softly. “You are also
handsome, strong and have an amazing body.”

I didn’t even blush
when I said the last part.
When did I become so bold?

He smiled and gave
me a quick kiss. “Up you go,” he said as he helped me off his lap.

I frowned but got up
and sat back down with Asher in the chair across from his desk.

“Do you think you’ll
be all right at the store with Asher?” he asked sounding concerned.

I checked the time
on my phone. “I’ll be fine, but I need to get going. I don’t want to be
rushed.”

He walked me to the
front counter, and I told his mom goodbye. He leaned down and gave me a short kiss
before he turned and went back to his office.

I got Asher situated
in the car and as I pulled out of the parking lot, I couldn’t shake the feeling
that Levi was a little upset at me. I didn’t know what had come over me in his
office. I’d never acted like that before, but I suddenly wanted to be close to
him- very close. I cleared my head and decided it was best not to let my mind
wander in that direction too long.

I drove to the
department store and loaded Asher into his stroller. I looked through the
aisles of clothes and found a few dresses and a cute pair of black sandals.
When I finally got to the register, Asher began to fuss so I picked him up and
settled him on my hip.

The cashier rang it
all up and said, “Your total is $375.”

My heart almost
stopped.
Thank goodness Levi gave me money this morning
. I dumped
everything in the stroller and pushed it to the car with Asher on my hip. I had
just gotten him strapped into his seat, when he began to cry and wouldn’t stop.
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves as my phone rang. I looked at the
screen and saw that it was Levi. I answered but could barely hear him over
Asher’s wailing from the backseat.

“Why is he crying
like that?” he asked.

“He’s tired, and I’m
trying to get home from the store. I’ll call you back later. Bye,” I replied
and hung up.

I didn’t have time
to talk on the phone. I had to get him home and taken care of. I spoke
soothingly as I drove. “It’s okay, Ash. We’ll be home in just a minute.”

He finally stopped
crying and fell asleep. I called Levi back so he wouldn’t worry. He answered on
the second ring. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything is
fine. He’s asleep now, and I’m almost to the house.”

He let out a deep
breath. “I was about to leave work and come find you. He was crying like he was
in pain.”

  “He’s just tired
and cranky. He’s not always so sweet, you know,” I replied dryly.

He chuckled and the
sound made me smile. “And how are you doing?”

I sighed, wearily.
“I’m tired, but I’ll be okay.”

We said our goodbyes
as I pulled into the driveway of his house. I took Asher in and put him in his
playpen and thankfully, he stayed asleep. I left my purchases in the car and lay
down on the bed. I yawned. I needed a nap too. I thought I might have over done
it on my first day back out in the land of the living.

***

 I heard Asher
giggle and opened my eyes. I looked over into the playpen, and he smiled. I
picked him up and he said, “Momma,” in his sweet baby voice.

 I kissed his chubby
cheek and looked at the clock. Startled by how long I’d slept, I rushed into
the kitchen to start dinner. I was putting together a salad when Levi came
through the door. He gave me a hug and my stomach growled loudly.

 He narrowed his
eyes and asked, “Did you eat today?”

I shrugged my
shoulders. “I ate a piece of lunch meat at noon.”