Page 45 of Never Fall Again

Cal didn’t trust himself to speak. He went with a grunt.

“Anyway, when you say that you don’t think you could ever open yourself up to that kind of vulnerability again, I get it. I’m sure there were red flags, but I swear I didn’t see them. And now?Even if I was willing to take the risk for myself, how could I ever put Eliza in that situation? How could I bring a man into her life who might someday hurt her? So no, I don’t date. I’m not going to date. And it would be great if the matchmakers of Gossamer Falls understood that before I have to have a public showdown with one of them.”

A horrible thought came to Cal, and even though he’d seen the death certificate, he had to ask. “Landry? Your husband. Is he really dead?”

“What?”

Unless she was hiding some serious acting chops, his question had surprised her.

“He’s dead. I identified his body.”

This time, there was no question it was relief that filled him. “I’m sorry to be so blunt. I wondered if you had left him and were hiding.”

Maisy barked at something or someone in the tree line. Mo emerged a moment later. “Sorry to break this up, but the bonfire’s starting to die down, and Eliza and Abby are plotting a sleepover. If you want to head them off at the pass, you’re going to have to rejoin the party.” He threw them a quick salute and melted back into the trees.

Cal and Landry made their way toward the house.

Landry stopped walking and said, “Cal?”

He stopped and looked at her. “Yes?”

She shifted from one foot to the other. Then shifted back. “Nothing. Never mind.”

“Landry, given that we’re going to be spending a lot of time together for, well, the rest of our lives, it might be a good idea for you to go ahead and learn that the whole ‘never mind’ thing doesn’t work with me. It just makes me want to insist on getting it out of you.”

She started to speak. Stopped. Then went for it. “Fine. I want to be your friend.”

Of all the things she could have said, that was not what he’d expected. “I’d like that too.”

“No. I mean. Great. But...I’m doing this wrong. What I mean is that I get it—that you don’t want to date me. And you get that I don’t want to date you. And we both get that it’s nothing personal. We’re in different places in life. And since we’re on the same page, I think we could be great friends, without the drama of a romantic entanglement getting in the way.”

Cal took a moment to process what she’d said, then extended his hand. “Deal.”

Landry shook it. “Deal.”

It took an hour for Landry to run the Quinn gauntlet of goodbyes and make the drive back to The Haven. Eliza talked the entire way, filling her in on her afternoon. How Granny Quinn had let Eliza and Abby crochet a few stitches on the blanket she was making because it was important for everyone in the family to have helped, and how Cal had let them hold some of the boards he was nailing on the well house. How when they were done, she and Abby had taken turns being run around the yard in a wheelbarrow.

As far as Landry could tell, Eliza had made friends with nearly every Quinn present today, but most of her time had been spent with Cal, Chad, Naomi, Minnie, and “Abby’s nana,” who was Cal, Chad, and Connor’s mom and also the town doctor.

By the time Landry turned off the engine, Eliza had shifted into a thrilling retelling of how a cat had brought a dead mouse to Papa Quinn.

“Come with me to the studio, baby. I want to check a few pieces before bed.”

Eliza, still chattering, hopped from the car and held Landry’s hand as they walked the hundred yards from their home to the studio.

A man approached on the walkway and tipped an imaginary hat. “Evening, ladies.” The deep voice was familiar.

Landry didn’t stop walking but spoke as they passed. “You’re back again, Jensen? We’re going to have to get you a permanent cabin if this keeps up.”

“Fine by me.” He’d turned and was walking backward now. “Hey, will you be in the studio tomorrow?”

“I’ll be around. Not sure when,” Landry called over her shoulder.

“Okay, I’ll catch you later. Want to see about some Christmas gifts.”

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.”