by Liz Isaacson
His sister’s words hadn’t left his mind. You can’t be alone forever, Landon.
When he’d challenged her and asked her why not, she’d looked to Jace for help. “Because that’s not what people do,” he’d said. “They get past hard things. They move on.”
Landon had tried to tell them that he was past Lauren, but Jace—who’d been through a much more difficult experience when it came to women—hadn’t believed him for a second. And he shouldn’t. Landon knew he wasn’t past Lauren. But he also knew that he’d spoken true when he’d told Belle and Jace that, “I’m just not interested in dating right now.”
The miles passed as they continued toward the church. Landon had spent his Saturday wondering what it would take to get him interested in dating again. Flashes of Megan’s face, her calming influence, had plagued him all day.
“You think Megan will be there?” he asked as they passed the horseshoe-shaped falls where Jace and Belle had gotten engaged.
“’Course,” Jace said.
His gut pinched, and he stared out the window without seeing much.
“You think any more about workin’ for her?” Jace asked.
Landon checked his watch. “Twenty-four minutes,” he said. “Which one of you wins the bet?”
“I do,” Belle said at the same time Jace said, “There was no bet.”
Landon laughed, the sound starting deep in his chest. While they frustrated him sometimes, Landon was grateful to have Belle and Jace in his life. They’d seen him at his worst and still wanted him around.
Jace pulled into the parking lot at the church. “All I’m sayin’ is the church needs a handyman, and he could do it.”
“I said you’d bring it up before church,” Belle said. “I win.”
“If I hadn’t brought it up before church, you would’ve after. Then I would’ve won.” He grinned at her, the love between them obvious and a tad infectious. Landon thought of Megan as he climbed out of the car, as Belle and Jace continued to bicker about who’d really won the bet. He followed them into the building and paused at the entrance into the chapel.
He kept his gaze forward though he wanted to scan for dark, curly hair. His fingers balled into fists and his jaw ground together with the effort it took not to examine everyone who walked by. He spotted his parents and had a fleeting thought that he should just go sit by them, but Jace beckoned to him from a row in the middle of the chapel, and Landon stepped into the flow of people to take his place on the bench.
Landon didn’t see Megan before the meeting started, and she didn’t sit up front, and Landon’s nerves felt raw and strained. As the closing prayer ended, relief poured through him. Relief he didn’t quite understand. He thought he wanted to see her, maybe explain why he couldn’t come work at the church.
But now that he didn’t have to see her, talk to her, the relief combined with a sense of disappointment he didn’t understand.
He stood and turned to leave, seizing when he found Megan only a foot from him. She startled too, her gaze flying up his chest to his face. “Landon,” she said, his name almost a gasp.
He couldn’t quite get his voice to work, so he swallowed and stepped back—right into Belle. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he tried to figure out where to put himself that wouldn’t be in someone’s personal space.
Belle looped her arm through Landon’s. “Hey, Megan.” She released Landon and swept toward Megan for a hug. As Megan came closer to Landon, he caught a whiff of something floral.
She moved back and Landon found himself leaning forward, still trying to identify that scent. He became very aware of Jace’s gaze on the side of his face, and Landon put more distance between him and the very exotic smelling Megan.
He wasn’t sure who said what, but he suddenly found himself alone, face-to-face with Megan. His boots made loud scuffing noises as he tried to find his center. The memory of her lips on his cheek—an innocent gesture from an old friend—now burned like a brand as he thought about her as a woman, not his little sister’s best friend he used to know.
“Did you like the sermon?” she asked.
Landon blinked, his mind blank as to what the pastor had even said. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Great sermon.” The lie seemed to echo around the near-empty chapel.
Megan cocked her head and grinned. “What did my father talk about?”
Landon rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t remember,” he admitted with a soft chuckle. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“Is working for the church one of them?” Megan asked, her eyes sparkling like dark, dangerous fireworks.
“You’re a persistent little thing, aren’t you?” Landon grinned at her.
“Let me take you on a tour of the building.” She nodded toward the back of the chapel, a half smile on her full lips. “Do you have time?”
Landon’s phone vibrated in his pocket. As if her question had reached Jace’s ears, he’d texted to say they’d go up to the falls and he could text when he was ready to go.
With his mind whirling, and a ready excuse gone, he met Megan’s eye. “I suppose I do.”
“Great,” she said. “Let’s actually start right here in the chapel.”
3
Landon moved behind Megan, and not only because she was the tour guide. He basked in the scent she left behind—jasmine, he’d finally identified. And if he were being honest, he enjoyed the view from the back as the woman walked.
His senses on overdrive, from her sensual smell to the curves of her body, Landon couldn’t quite get his ears to work. But his eyes seemed to, and he found all the dings in the stairs leading to the stand, the chips in the podium where the pastor stood, the way some of the choir seats wouldn’t go back up.
He nodded, nothing he’d seen so far outside his wheelhouse that he couldn’t figure it out. Some sanding, some staining, some replacement parts.
“I want to figure out how to clean that stained glass window too.” Megan turned to him as if he’d restored a thousand stained glass windows.
“It is beautiful,” he said though most of the panes had clouded. Montana weather could be brutal, even in the summer. “I bet I can figure out how to clear it up.”
Her eyebrows rose. “So you’ll come clean it?” Her interest seemed a little strong, but maybe she was just being passionate about her father’s church.
“I didn’t say that.” He smiled to soften the blow, and because he was truly considering the offer. He could plant in his sleep—in fact, come tomorrow morning when he rose at five a.m. to get up to the prepared fields, he probably would plant while asleep. “But show me the rest of the church.”
By the time he texted Jace to come on back and pick him up, he’d spent almost an hour with the centered and sexy Megan Palmer, his interest and curiosity piqued. He’d seen some challenges at the church—an entire section of the balcony needed to be rebuilt, not to mention that stained glass window—and some things that wouldn’t take much brainpower, like painting and installing new light fixtures.
He hadn’t committed to Megan that he’d help her. He’d said he’d talk to Jace and the ranch owner and see if they could spare him.
“So?” Belle asked, twisting in her seat to look at Landon.
“I win,” Jace whispered under his breath as he turned to head up the canyon toward the ranch.
“So, what?” Landon enjoyed teasing his sister.
“So, are you going to go help Megan at the church?”
Landon watched the scenery pass by. “It wouldn’t be to help Megan.”
“No, of course not,” Belle said. “To help the church.”
Landon couldn’t think about it any other way. Couldn’t think about it in an emotional way. He’d done that before and been burned.
“I’m thinking about it.” He caught Jace and Belle exchange a glance, but he didn’t know what it meant. He listened to his sister talk about Megan, how kind she was, how successful she’d been in Wyoming, how Belle was so happy to have her back in town.
Her enthusiasm seeped into Landon—or maybe he’d already started to feel things for Megan that went beyond just seeing someone he’d known in high school. He wasn’t sure. She dominated his thoughts. Her voice crowded its way into his ears. The touch of her lips against his cheek made him wonder what she’d feel like pressed up against him as he kissed her for real.
“You gettin’ out?” Jace was bent over and peering into the backseat. “Belle threw something in the crockpot before church. Lunch should only take a few more minutes. Tom and his family are comin’.”
Landon scrambled to get out of the car, straightening and looking toward the horse barn. “I think I might take Crossfire up the mountain.”
“Come to lunch first.” Jace clapped his hand on Landon’s shoulder. “Belle and I have something to tell you.” He moved away before Landon could decipher the look in his eyes.
And he did need to eat. He went back to his cabin and changed out of his white shirt and tie, his mind churning about what Belle and Jace needed to tell him. If they laid into him again about his girl problems, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. He knew they meant well, but he didn’t need their help.
Tom and his family, complete with a new baby girl, had already arrived when Landon stepped through the front door. He said hello, sat next to Mari on the couch, and asked her about Olivia.
“She likes me best,” Mari said. “She cries, and I help her.”
Landon chuckled as Rose passed the baby to Mari. The little girl sat up, her bright blue eyes trained on Landon. Mari bounced her. “See?”
“Oh, I see, Miss Mari. You’re the best big sister in Montana.”
“That’s what Tom says.” She beamed at Tom and then Olivia.
“Okay,” Jace said. “So we asked you to come to lunch today because we have some news of our own.” He drew Belle into his side. “You want me to tell them?”
“Yes.” Her eyes seemed glassy to Landon.
“Okay, so—”
“Wait,” Belle interrupted. “I want to tell them.”
Jace waved for her to go on then. Landon had watched Belle and Jace work through issues of their own, both before and after they got married. He knew things with them weren’t perfect. He wasn’t even sure if perfection existed.
Yet he still yearned for someone perfect for him. Someone who could put up with his intensity, his muddy boots, his inability to have long conversations.
Is there anyone out there like that? He tossed the question toward heaven while Belle wrung her hands. And not just out there, but right here, in Gold Valley?
Landon didn’t get off the ranch much. Maybe working down in town would be good for him. Certainly a lot of women came and went at the church.
“Jace and I are going to have a baby,” Belle said, drawing Landon’s attention away from his circular thoughts.
Rose squealed, and as Landon stood, he realized for the first time in two years that he didn’t want to be alone. As he looked at the absolute joy on his sister’s face, he knew he didn’t really want the bachelor life. As he hugged Jace and felt his happiness, Landon wanted it for himself.
And maybe it was time to start doing something different if he expected a different result.
Megan stayed up late on Sunday evening, studying. She’d always been at her best after ten p.m., though it made for a slow start the following day. After she’d crammed as many scriptures as she could into her brain, she drafted a help wanted ad for the online classifieds. Near two a.m., she fell into bed, utterly exhausted.
She hadn’t posted the ad. Wanted Landon to call and say he’d take the job. Spending an hour with him that afternoon had been the sweetest kind of torture Megan could experience. At the same time, she’d spent the rest of the afternoon and evening second-guessing how she felt.
She’d been doing that a lot since she’d discovered that Eric had taken her bank account and put his name on it. She couldn’t withdraw her money, transfer it to another account, nothing. And he’d cleaned out the account the following day, then disappeared from town only to be arrested and brought back a few days later.
She’d gotten her money back, even though so many others hadn’t. He’d apologized, but not to her directly. He’d written a statement to all those he’d hurt. For several months, Megan hadn’t even realized how deep her wounds had been.
When her alarm woke her in the morning, she immediately swiped it to snooze. She’d just drifted back into a quiet, rocking slumber when she remembered she had an appointment with her therapist that morning.
She couldn’t miss it, so she heaved herself out of bed and into the shower. An hour later found her in Daisy Turner’s office, seated on a blue flowered chair Megan wanted for her own apartment. Megan had liked the psychiatrist from the first moment they’d met, because Daisy didn’t want to be called Doctor Turner.
“Morning,” Daisy said as she entered the room, a folder in her hand. “How are you today, Megan?”
“Good.” Megan didn’t believe in keeping things bottled up. She never had. She liked holistic healing, but she relied on modern medicine too. “I brought you some lavender.” She leaned forward and put a small bottle of clear liquid on Daisy’s desk. “You said your husband’s headaches were getting worse. That should help.”
Daisy looked at the bottle for a long moment, and then switched her gaze to Megan. “Thank you.” She took the bottle with a smile and tucked it out of sight. “Did you find a handyman for the church?”
How does she do that? Megan wondered. She’d mentioned the need for a handyman once, three weeks ago. How did Daisy know to bring it up at this moment?
A sigh escaped Megan’s mouth. “Not yet. I have someone in mind, but he hasn’t committed yet.”
“Who is it?”
Megan wasn’t sure why that mattered, but Daisy often asked questions Megan wasn’t sure about—until the doctor hit on the one that really made Megan dig down deep and examine how she felt.
“Landon Edmunds.”
Daisy always looked at Megan while they talked, but now her eyes rounded. “Landon is—” She cleared her throat. “Doesn’t he work at the ranch?”
“Yes.” Megan squinted like that would help her see past Daisy’s stumble. “Do you know him?”
“He’s about my twins’ age,” Daisy said. “My son followed his rodeo career. You know how boys are. Bryson wanted to be a bull rider, and he spent years watching Landon on TV.”
“Me too,” Megan said without thinking.
Daisy blinked, blinked again. “And my daughter, well, he dated my daughter for a while before things didn’t work out between them.” She opened the folder and picked up a pen. “Landon is a good man. I’m sure he’d do a great job at the church.”
A flash of jealousy stole through Megan at the mention of Landon dating someone else. She considered it miraculous he hadn’t been snatched off the market years ago, and intellectually she knew he’d dated. But actually knowing someone who’d done it was a completely new feeling Megan didn’t know how to deal with.
“So you watched Landon in the bull riding on TV?” Daisy’s tone had settled into professionalism, but Megan’s neck heated.
She tried for a carefree giggle and got a strangled, choking sound instead. “Who didn’t? I mean, Gold Valley is a small town. Anyone who leaves and does anything remotely public is going to have a lot of fans.” She tucked her hands under her legs, and Daisy catalogued the movement. “I mean, look at Sterling Maughan.”
“Mm.” Daisy’s pen scratched and her eyes moved to follow what she wrote. “Sterling is doing well, isn’t he?”
“And he didn’t even grow up here,” Megan said. “Summering at a cabin doesn’t count. And yet we’ll have ‘Good luck Sterling!’ on the marquee at the movie theater come winter.”
Daisy laughed, and to keep the attention off of her obsession with Landon, Megan joined her. “I may only have been back in town for a month, but I already know who he is, where he lives, and that he has a
pool in his backyard for conditioning.”
“Having a swimming pool in Montana is pretty strange,” Daisy said. She asked another question, this time about Megan’s sleeping habits. As their conversation continued, Megan kept her focus on the topics Daisy wanted her to explore. She couldn’t afford another slip about her stalkerish habits with Landon.
In a town the size of Gold Valley, it would only take one comment from one person to another before he heard she’d had a ginormous crush on him twelve years ago. Heck, Daisy could mention something to her daughter, who could say something in the grocery store, and before Megan knew it, Landon would know she’d watched him win the National Championship on a bull named Catfish John, only a few months before his career-ending injury.
4
On Wednesday afternoon, Megan listed her help wanted ad on Gold Valley’s classified website. She’d been holding out for almost three days now, hoping and praying Landon would call and say he was outside with a tool belt and a plan.
She’d resisted the urge to text Belle and ask her, deciding to act like the twenty-eight-year old woman she was. She rubbed jasmine oil on her temples in an attempt to soothe her anxiety and closed her laptop so she wouldn’t get the instant notifications when someone looked at her ad.
But that didn’t help. She’d put her cell phone number on the ad, and it began chiming faster than she could check the messages.
Four men wanted to know more about the job—and Belle had asked her to come out to the ranch in the morning so they could go over carpet samples.
I can come to you, too. Let me know.
I’ll come out there, Megan typed out. She needed a break from the church anyhow. How long will it take?
A couple of hours probably.
Megan confirmed and she sent texts back to the job applicants, asking them to come by the church in the afternoon for interviews. With that done, she packed up her lunchbox, grabbed her purse, and headed home.