The Uncharted Series Omnibus

by Keely Brooke Keith

  Lydia closed the door and stepped back to her desk grinning. “I have a message for you, but I’m not sure if that is allowed.”

  Mandy craved any word from Levi. She scooted to the edge of her seat. “Would you torment your dearest friend?”

  “Perhaps.” Lydia smirked. “Levi said he loves you—that is all I will relay.”

  Mandy began to reply then stopped when she noticed Lydia rub a hand over her stomach again. “Are you ill?”

  “No.” Lydia removed the hand from her middle and used it to fan her face.

  Mandy leaned into the desk, resting an elbow on its edge. She raised her eyebrows. “Are you pregnant?”

  A corner of Lydia’s mouth curved into a smile, but the rest of her face portrayed an apologetic expression. “That would be my professional diagnosis; however, we aren’t ready to announce it yet.”

  Mandy squealed with delight. “Lydia, this is wonderful news! You and Connor have been married over a year—nearly two. No one will be particularly surprised, but everyone will certainly be happy for you. Why are you waiting to announce it? Isn’t Connor happy?”

  “Connor is thrilled. He wants to run through the village shouting the news to anyone who will listen.” Her half smile faded and she tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m the one who asked for more time.”

  “Do you think something is wrong?”

  “No. In fact, I usually tell my expectant patients this amount of early pregnancy nausea is a good sign.” She leaned back in her chair and her hand covered her stomach. “I’m afraid people will be less likely to come to me for help once they know I’m with child. I am not ready to be viewed as feeble.”

  “You feeble?” Mandy shook her head and chuckled. “I doubt that will happen. Besides, you won’t be able to hide it much longer.” She touched the folded curtains lying on the desk in front of her and traced an embroidered flower with her fingertip. “The village will be eager to celebrate with you and Connor. Let them have their moment.”

  “You’re right.” Lydia nodded then held up a finger. “But first you and Levi must have your moment.”

  * * *

  Levi checked his reflection in the glass cabinet doors on the bookcase in his father’s office. He could hear the chatter of Bethany and her friends outside the open office door. The girls’ voices echoed as they tied decorative ribbons along the pews and made last-minute adjustments to the arrangements of flowers that filled the chapel with the scent of ceremony. He glanced into the chapel then back at his reflection and straightened the knot on the tie at his neck.

  John walked into the office, Bible in hand, and stepped behind his desk. He tidied a stack of books and closed a journal, then he looked at Levi. John held an open palm to the chair on the other side of his desk. “There is still half an hour until noon, son. Have a seat.” Levi lowered himself into the leather seat and drummed his fingers in rapid pulses on the arm of the chair. His father sat and folded his hands with the cool control of a man accustomed to handling nervous grooms. “Did the village provide everything you need for your home?”

  Levi’s throat felt constricted. He put a finger to his necktie’s knot and loosened it. “Yes. My—our—house is full. People came by throughout the week with linens and furniture and things for the kitchen. The pantry is overflowing with food. It was all very humbling.”

  “I am glad to hear it.” John studied him for a moment then leaned forward. “Are you and Mandy certain you wish to make that house your home instead of living at our property? You will inherit it one day.”

  Levi appreciated the new respect John displayed for him. “Yes, Father. We’re certain.”

  “How do you feel about Connor and Lydia moving into the main house, then? They will no doubt have a family of their own soon. Connor says they are satisfied with building onto the cottage, but with so much unused space in the main house it seems unnecessary.”

  Levi cleared his dry throat. “I think Lydia and Connor should move into the house. Bethany will probably marry as soon as she finishes school, and Aunt Isabella needs Lydia’s care. I believe it would be a good arrangement for everyone.”

  John nodded and scratched his beard. “Excellent. As my heir, I think you should be present when I tell them. They will want to know they have your approval.”

  “Of course.” Levi heard the wedding guests beginning to arrive. He glanced through the open doorway and into the chapel.

  John stood and walked to a pitcher of water on a side table near the window. He poured a glass and handed it to Levi. “Your mother would have been proud of you.”

  Levi only nodded. He quaffed the water in two quick swallows and passed the glass back to his father.

  John set the empty glass back on the table and put his hand to Levi’s back. “It is time to watch for your bride’s arrival.”

  As Levi walked from the office into the long, open chapel, his eldest sisters came through the front doors. Adeline and Maggie—both flanked by husbands and small children—wore infectious smiles that reminded Levi of his mother. His sisters waved at him as their husbands wrangled the children into a pew. Little Gabe broke free and dashed through the incoming guests.

  “Uncle Levi!” The six-year-old wrapped both arms around Levi’s dress pants. “You look fancy, Uncle Levi. I caught a frog today.”

  Levi crouched in front of his nephew and tousled the boy’s hair. “That is good news. You can tell me all about it next time I see you. All right?”

  “All right,” Gabe answered as his mother stood in the aisle and called to him. The little boy glanced up at Levi. “I have to go now. Bye.”

  Levi rose and smiled as his nephew ran back to Adeline, then he noticed the watching eyes of the growing crowd. To combat the threat of anxiety brought by the attention of the entire village, he only had to think of his bride. He would do anything for her—build a house, stand in front of a crowd, shirk tradition—and soon, vow his love.

  As the church’s rows filled with guests, he heard a flurry of activity outside the chapel. He stepped near the altar beside his father and fixed his gaze on the chapel’s tall front doors. The last of the guests entered with a hurry. The bride had arrived. Levi folded his hands in front of him and exhibited a steadiness that contradicted the shaking in his knees. He took a slow breath and watched as Everett and Roseanna walked into the chapel.

  Everett escorted Roseanna to the front row. She winked at Levi as she sat on the pew. Everett sat beside her. Levi looked back to the open chapel doors and tried not to hold his breath.

  Backlit by the noon sun, Mandy’s silhouette appeared in the doorway. She stepped into the chapel wearing a long, light blue dress, the back of which trailed behind her. A string of white pearls held the blanket of her fiery curls off her face. She held a full bouquet of tiny yellow daisies. Over the sound of his heartbeat, Levi heard the collective gasp of the awestruck crowd. He drew a breath and felt the fluttering in his chest dissipate as his pulse changed to a slow rhythm that matched the pace of her steps while she walked down the aisle with her father.

  Levi gazed into her eyes, unconcerned with his own expression, as she gradually moved closer to the altar. A raw mix of pride and humility flowed through his spirit as he watched his bride coming to join her life to his. The image of her in that moment would be the image he saw every time he looked at her for the rest of her life.

  Samuel kissed his daughter’s cheek and then held her hand out to Levi. He took her hand. Samuel nodded once then turned and sat beside Roseanna.

  Levi and Mandy turned and faced the overseer. John read from the scripture, inspiring and admonishing them with the book’s wise and ancient instructions for marriage. Then he took a thick piece of grayish paper from between the cover of the Bible and the Old Testament and he cleared his throat. He held his Bible in one hand and kept the paper steady atop it with the other hand. “Levi William Colburn, will you have this woman as thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate
of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”

  “I will.” After he answered the overseer, he glanced at Mandy and saw the slow smile rise on her face.

  “Amanda Grace Foster, will you have this man as thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, respect him, obey and keep him, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”

  “I will.”

  Levi heard the pride in his father’s voice throughout the ceremony; still, his gaze remained on his bride. “I, Levi, take you, Amanda, to be my wife, from this day forward, promising to love you faithfully all of my days. With God’s help, I will protect you and provide for you and speak kindly to you as long as we both shall live.”

  Mandy’s thin fingers trembled slightly as she pledged her love to him. “I, Amanda, take you, Levi, to be my husband, from this day forward, promising to love you faithfully all of my days. With God’s help, I will honor you and comfort you and speak well of you as long as we both shall live.”

  John pulled a delicate silver band from his breast pocket and handed it to Levi. He felt the smile spread across his face as he slipped it on her finger. His father looked out and addressed the audience. He asked if there were any objections and when there were none, John pronounced them man and wife. Then he looked at Levi. “Son, you may kiss your bride.”

  As Levi kissed Mandy in front of his father and her parents and the entire village, he lingered long enough to elicit a mix of giggles and cheers from the crowd and one particularly poignant whistle, which came from Connor.

  He took her hand and led her away from the altar as the beaming guests rose and applauded. He whisked her through the chapel doors and down the stone steps. Then he opened the door to a topless carriage parked in front of the chapel and she climbed aboard. He sat beside her on the upholstered bench seat then closed the carriage door and rapped his hand on it, signaling the driver to take off.

  People poured out of the chapel and tossed grain above the carriage, causing a shower of fertile seed to rain on Levi and Mandy. She laughed and tucked her face into his neck as the carriage escaped the crowd and rattled across the cobblestones, through the village to their new home.

  * * *

  The morning air in the chilly house nipped at Mandy’s exposed toes. She tucked her feet beneath the quilt and nestled close to Levi on the soft, feather bed. Though the bedroom window faced west, the glow of morning light coaxed her eyes open.

  She lay still on the bed, trying not to wake her husband, and glanced around the room. Everything in sight was either made by Levi or given to them by village families. She knew who made the quilt that covered them and the curtains that hung over the windows. Through the bedroom’s doorway she could see into the front room and part of the kitchen. Sunlight sifted through the sheer curtains on the window above the kitchen sink. She knew the cupboards were filled with dishes and the pantry overflowed with food. The village had supplied everything they could possibly need for a home—their home.

  She was still amazed he had built the house with the intention of spending his life there with her. He said he would love her whether she loved him or not. She traced a finger along his bare shoulder. Without a doubt, she loved him.

  In time, the growl of her empty stomach lured Mandy out of bed and to the stocked pantry. She grew excited at the thought of going into the kitchen on her first morning as a wife. On her way, she found the starched, white shirt Levi wore to their wedding strewn over the back of a kitchen chair. She pulled the half-buttoned shirt over her head and rolled the sleeves to her wrists as she tiptoed into the kitchen.

  On the countertop near the window she found a breadbasket covered with a tea towel. She peeled back the cloth and breathed in the pleasant scent of pastry. She picked up a shiny kettle from the top of the cook stove and carried it to the sink. With her bare foot, she pressed a wooden pedal on the floor beneath the sink. Then she filled the kettle with the water that poured from the faucet. Trying to keep the sounds of the kitchen quiet, she moved in slow increments to find a match, open the firebox, and light the waiting gray leaf chips inside the stove. Then she placed the filled kettle on the stovetop directly over the firebox.

  Mandy stepped into the small pantry and inspected its carefully arranged contents. The shelves were lined with packets of spices, sacks of milled grain, and jars of preserves from village gardens. Baskets along the floorboard brimmed with fresh vegetables, berries, and fruits. She reached to a high shelf, shifted a few items, and found a canister marked Coffee Leaves.

  Opening the canister, she breathed in the dark scent of the fragrant leaves, dried and ready for brewing. As she stepped out of the pantry, she glanced up and saw Levi. He stood at the edge of the kitchen with his shoulder against the wall. He grinned as he watched her prepare breakfast. “Good morning, Mrs. Colburn.”

  “I like the sound of that.” She smiled as she set the canister of coffee on the countertop and picked a silver spoon from a drawer.

  Levi inched closer. “I like you in my shirt.”

  She grinned and flipped her hair over her shoulder then reached to the cupboard. She opened the cupboard door and took down two coffee cups. When she spotted the little smiling face carved on the edge of the cupboard door, she pressed her lips together then pointed to it and glanced at him.

  His eyes followed her finger to the carving. “Oh, you were not supposed to see that.”

  “Why not?” Mandy smiled, knowing the answer. She pulled a curl of hair through her fingertips as Levi’s hands came around her waist.

  “Because the woman who carved it told me one day my wife might see it and become jealous.”

  Mandy thought back to the day she spent working with Levi in the house and realized she was now living out what she thought then to be impossible. She sighed. “Your wife.”

  “My wife. Will you ever get used to that?”

  “Of course,” She answered. “Will you?”

  “No.” His low voice hummed with contentment. “I will awaken in awe every morning with you beside me.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  A layer of fresh snow crunched beneath Levi’s boots as he walked through the darkened yard to the shed at the edge of the Colburn property. A cold wind blew in from the ocean. It whistled through the thin line of forest between Levi and the shore and forced him to shield his face with the lapel of his woolen coat.

  Dim light spilled out of the cracked shed door and ignited blue specks on the snow in Levi’s path. He dropped his lapel and pulled the door open. Once inside, he closed the shed door as far as it would go, but a two-inch gap remained.

  Connor was sitting on an overturned bucket holding a wire fragment near the lantern. He glanced up. “Are they ready to play cards?”

  Levi shook his head. “The girls are still cleaning up from dinner.” He knocked the snow from his boots and scanned the piles of debris they had recovered from the fallen satellite months before. “Have you decided what you are going to do with all this?”

  Connor selected a razor from the toolbox at his feet, then he began slicing the green plastic around a long wire. “My first thought is: take it to class and give a lecture on space technology, but I have to be careful what I teach here. Since we don’t know how the Land remains undetected by the rest of the world, the last thing I want to do is introduce the students to anything they could use to jeopardize their own safety.”

  “That’s not a worry if your students are anything like me when I was in school. My teachers could have talked about space technology all day long and I would still have no idea what to do with a bunch of metal and wires.” Levi picked up an empty bucket from the dirt floor. He flipped it over and sat near the light among the piles of cut pipe and bundled wire. He watched as Connor split the charred plastic off several more wires and pulled the lengths of copper from
them. “What is your second thought?”

  A smile spread across Connor’s face. “Since I’m going to have a child soon, I could use it to build a one-of-a-kind mobile to hang over my kid’s crib. Maybe I’ll whittle a toy fighter jet to hang in the middle.”

  “I could help with that.” Levi chuckled and watched Connor as he stripped another wire. The man he once considered a threatening outsider was now one of his closest friends and his brother-in-law. “Again, congratulations. I’m glad the secret is out. Mandy and I were relieved when Lydia announced it at dinner tonight.”

  “Connor? Levi?” The door creaked open and both men looked up as Everett stepped into the shed. He shivered and rubbed his gloved hands together.

  When the lantern light hit Everett’s face, Levi could see his nose and cheeks were red from walking to the Colburn property in the cold wind. Levi stood. “We missed you at dinner. Is your father feeling better?”

  Connor stopped stripping wire and looked up. “What’s wrong with Samuel?”

  “He stayed in bed all day.” Everett closed the door and turned to tug on it again when it did not close all the way. “He says it’s his joints, but my mother is too worried for that to be all.”

  “Does Lydia need to go see him?” Connor asked, concern marking his brow.

  Everett shook his head. “He refuses medicine. He says Doctor Ashton could not help him with his ailment when he was young, so he does not want to trouble another doctor.”

  Levi thought of the amount of work Everett had to do running the farm by himself. “If you need help tomorrow, let me know.”

  Everett nodded. “Thank you. Tonight my father told me it’s time to hire a farmhand. Mrs. Vestal has been asking about work for her nephew, Nicholas. I will pass the message through Bethany.” Everett looked at the bundle of wires in Connor’s hand. “Have you repurposed the solar panels yet?”

  Levi lifted his hands in resignation. “You amaze me, Everett. You’re a sheep farmer—how do you understand all this?”