Page 41 of Never Fall Again

What could have given Landry the idea that he had a problem with Eliza? Cal’s mind raced with possible scenarios and came up with nothing. “Eliza is precious. Funny. Smart. Cute as a button. Respectful. Polite. I could go on.”

“You’re lying to me.” Her voice broke.

“I most certainly am not. You don’t know me well enough to say that about me, or to know this about me, but if there’s one thing I’ll never do, it’s lie to you.”

Tears welled in her eyes.

“Landry, please tell me what brought this on.”

“I”—she dropped her head and spoke to the ground—“I overheard two of your aunts talking. Or I think they were your aunts. I’m not sure. I didn’t see them. And they were talking about me. And...”

“And?”

Even in the dimming light, he could see the flush that spread over her cheeks. “One of them said I was pretty, but that it was too bad about the little girl. That if it wasn’t for Eliza, I would be quite the catch for you, but that you’d made it clear you weren’t interested. Because of Eliza.”

For a few seconds, Cal couldn’t form a rational thought. This could not be happening. “My aunts are...” How could he describethem? “They want me to be happy. And they think the only way for that to happen is for me to find a good woman, settle down, and start a family.”

Landry looked at him, eyes flashing. “I’m not looking for a man to settle down with, Cal. I just want to know what’s wrong with my daughter.”

“Nothing!” Cal ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing is wrong with you or Eliza. My aunts...” He couldn’t believe he was about to do this, but he couldn’t see a way around it. “Landry, please believe me. You and Eliza are wonderful. I think so. Everyone in my family thinks so. But I know why my aunts said what they did, and I’m happy to explain it. But it’s not a short story, and it doesn’t have a happy ending.”

“You said Eliza wanted us to take a long walk.” The words were a dare.

“You want me to explain now?”

“I do.”

“Fine.” He turned and walked along the river. Landry stayed with him. “But I need to give you some background so you’ll understand.”

Landry threw out a hand in a gesture telling him to get on with it.

“I’d always planned to move back to Gossamer Falls. My brothers are ten and eight years older than I am. Connor fell in love with Carla when they were fourteen. They eloped three days after graduation.”

Landry’s eyes were huge. “No way.”

“Those two were crazy over each other, but everyone—my parents, her parents, the entire town—thought they were too young. So they ran off to Tennessee, got married, stayed gone a couple of days, then came home and told their families that it was done and they were going to have to deal with it.”

Landry shook her head. “I’m having a hard time picturing this. Carla is just so—”

“Sensible? Responsible?”

“Exactly.”

“She would say she knew she wasn’t ever going to love anyone else. Anyway, that’s a different story for a different time. The point is, he went to college and joined the Marines. Then came back home and joined the family business. Chad did the same.”

“Chad eloped too?”

“No.” Cal couldn’t help but smile at that. “Chad met Naomi when he was a sophomore at NC State. He brought her home for Christmas. I was about twelve at the time, and I had the biggest crush on her. Told my brother if he let her go, he was insane.”

“Obviously he didn’t let her go.”

“Asked her to marry him that summer. They were sensible and waited until after graduation. But again, they moved back here after Chad’s service was up with the Marines, and he also joined the family business.”

“So you followed in their footsteps?” Landry guessed.

“That was the plan. I figured I’d find the right girl. Get married. Serve my country. Come home. Raise a family here. It had worked out great for my brothers. And it’s crucial that you don’t tell them this, but I pretty much idolized both of them.”

“My lips are sealed.” Landry mimed zipping her lips.