Unexpected Hope (Book 2 in the Red Valley series)

Chapter 33

Levi and Hope sat on the front porch watching the sun set. Today it was especially glorious with fiery red and orange colors bursting from the horizon. A cool breeze blew enough to cause the lush green leaves to rustle softly. Hope had Mason while Levi held Emma, and Ellie chased fire flies in the front yard under a huge oak tree.

It was so peaceful, that Hope found herself wishing she could stop time forever in this perfect moment. The screen door creaked open and Harold walked out onto the porch. "Mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all." Hope said as she motioned for the older man to pull up another chair. Instead, he walked by electing to sit on the white porch swing. Easing himself down, he began to swing gently back and forth. The silence was broken by the soft plink of the excess chain tapping against itself. The crickets began to chirp and every once in a while you could hear Ellie laugh as she caught another firefly.

Hope had given her a clear canning jar and Levi had poked a few air holes in the lid. Ellie liked to catch fireflies and put them in the jar, then set them on her bedside table. Once she was asleep, Levi would go get them and set them free for her to catch again another night. She just loved to watch them as she went to sleep.

"She's better today, don't you think?" Harold asked as he watched her play. Ellie had been very upset and not quite herself since Timmy had called her that horrible name. She hadn't really thought about the scar on the side of her face until then. But today she had been her old self again, happy and carefree.

The thunder of hooves barreling down the drive cut off further conversation as all three adults turned their attention to the loan rider. Levi stood up and walked over to Harold then laid Emma in his arms. He then walked over to the edge of the porch with his hand on his gun and waited for the rider. A moment later Andy's horse came to a skidding halt at the bottom of the steps.

"Levi, I need you to come with me, now." Andy panted.

"Andy, what in the hell is going on? What's wrong?" Levi asked as he began walking down the steps to make his way to the barn.

"Just go get saddled up and I'll tell you on the way."

Minutes later the two of them were on their way to town. As soon as they were off of Levi's property, he turned in the saddle and looked at his friend. "Alright, I want to know what in the hell is going on?"

"I had a visitor come and see me. She was in pretty bad shape and she insisted on finding you." Both men brought their horses to a stop. "Levi, she said she was your sister, Faith."

It felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. What was Faith doing here? How did she even find him? Wait. "What do you mean she was in pretty bad shape? What was wrong with her?"

"She and the boy that brought her have ridden almost non-stop from Flat Rock to get here. She has a few bruises that are fading on her face and marks on her wrists to indicate that she's been bound at some point. I took her over to Docs for him to check her out, then I hauled ass here to get you."

"This boy that you said brought her here, did he hurt her?"

"No, from what I got, his mother saved her life and the boy was her guide to get here."

"Saved her life! Why would her life need saving?" The more he heard the more confused Levi got. Why would Faith be here anyway?

"Let's just get back to town, then we can ask both of them these questions and hopefully get you some answers." There was very little if any conversation the rest of the way to town.

It was dark by the time Levi and Andy pulled up in front of Doc Baker's office. Levi jumped off his horse and tied the reins to the hitching rail. He put one foot on the bottom step and stopped. Nerves assailed him as he remembered the last time he had seen his family. It was not a good memory. His father's words echoed through his mind. Traitor, disgrace, and disowned, those words had echoed through his mind for the last ten years.