Page 60 of Never Fall Again

“Enough.” Naomi put one hand on each of their chests. “I prefer to remember that I got the man of my dreams for a husband and picked up an awesome little brother in the bargain.”

Cal exchanged a look with Chad. “She always does this. Ruins our fun by being all nice.”

Chad, not looking like anything was ruined at all, turned Naomi into his arms and planted one on her. Cal made a point not to glance at Landry.

“Enough.” This time it was Abby, and she sounded exactly like her mother. She squeezed in between Naomi and Chad. “Stop smooching. It’s time to eat.” She turned to Eliza. “They do this all the time. You’ll get used to it.”

A little girl Cal thought he recognized from Abby and Eliza’s class walked up to them, and their chatter, oddly enough, gave Cal his first opportunity to speak to Landry. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Okay. That was...well, he’d led with a one-word greeting, so he couldn’t complain about her following up with one. He’d been expecting...something? More warmth? Or some of the jealousy he’d picked up on earlier? Or ...what?

They’d never had trouble talking before. What was the problem now? He scrambled for a safe topic. “Eliza’s costume is amazing.”

“Thanks.”

They lapsed into silence again. This was all Cassie’s fault. She’d put the idea in his head that Landry was jealous. But as far as he could tell, Landry wasn’t jealous of anything. She didn’t seem to even care if she talked to him. Which was fine.

Completely fine.

They were friends, after all. And friends didn’t need to fill every second with conversation.

“So”—Landry fiddled with the zipper on her jacket—“how is Cassie related? Because I didn’t see her at your grandparents’ house, and I don’t think I’ve seen her anywhere before. Not that I would have seen her around. I mean, I haven’t exactly been around much myself. I was just wondering where she fits into the family tree.”

Seventeen

Landry fought the urge to clap her hand over her mouth. What was wrong with her? First, she was jealous of Cal laughing with a girl. Then she found it almost impossible to even speak to that girl. A girl who turned out to be lovely, sweet, funny, and so obviously a Quinn that Landry wasn’t sure how she’d missed it. She even had the Quinn blue eyes.

But what if she hadn’t been? Her response to Cal being with someone else was not okay.

No. There was no “else” in this. Her response to Cal being with someone, period, was ridiculous. And then she’d been so overcome with relief that she hadn’t been able to speak to Cal. He’d tried to engage her in conversation, and she’d replied with short answers.

Until the words—so many words—flew out of her mouth, and now he was sure to think she’d finally cracked. She forced herself to look at him and wasn’t prepared for the obvious relief on his face or the way his entire body had relaxed. She hadn’t realized how tense he’d been until the tension was gone. What wasthatabout?

She tried to steady her breathing and slow her heart rate as Cal explained. “Cassie is my cousin John’s daughter. John is the son of my Uncle John and Aunt Rhonda. Uncle John is the oldest, while my mom is the sixth in line, and Meredith and Mo’s dad is thebaby of the family. So my first cousins—John and Jessica—were more like an uncle and aunt. The same way I am to Abby. Cassie and I grew up as cousins, but technically she’s my first cousin once removed. I think? She’s the child of my first cousin. So...yeah. That’s right.”

Abby and Eliza were herded into the line in front of Chad and Naomi. Naomi turned and mouthed “I’ve got her,” so Landry stayed where she was with Cal.

“As for where she’s been...Cassie’s been in Georgia the past few years. After she graduated from culinary school, she worked at a couple of high-end restaurants around Atlanta. Right now, she’s running a small restaurant here in town. High-end Southern comfort food. She wants to stay in Gossamer Falls, but I’m afraid her talents are going to take her to bigger cities. It’s going to be hard for her to thrive here.”

He stood in line behind Landry as they picked up plates, napkins, and plastic cutlery. “I wish I could figure out how she could fulfill her dream here. But there just aren’t enough people in Gossamer Falls who want her kind of food.”

Landry pointed to the crowds. “Seems like a lot of people want her kind of food.”

Cal laughed, and Landry felt ten feet tall. “Okay. So everyone wants her food. But there isn’t a large enough population for her to have a restaurant here. If we’re lucky, she’s probably going to wind up in Asheville. Maybe Charlotte. Or back to Georgia, poor thing.”

“Not a Georgia fan?” Landry tried to keep her voice light and teasing.

“Not a fan of my baby cousin living so far away when she wants to live here.”

“Wow. Naomi wasn’t kidding.”

Cal held out his plate for the server to pile a scoop of mashed potatoes on it. “Kidding about what?”

“You’re protective of everyone, aren’t you?” Her own plate was loaded down with macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and a biscuit that was so beautiful, she almost hated the thought of eating it.

Almost.