by Leah Atwood
“I have to invite my parents.” It sounded like he choked on the words. The taut line of his cheekbones confirmed the idea disgusted him.
“I’m guessing that’s where the drama comes from?”
He nodded. “Like I said, it’s a long story.”
“Did you do it?”
“Invite them?”
“Yes.” A booth along the left wall opened, and she moved toward it.
“Unfortunately.” He let out a sardonic laugh. “I’d hoped, even prayed, they would decline so I could fulfill my obligation without having to spend a weekend with them.”
She stole a look at him before sliding into the seat, saw his eye twitch. “I guess that plan failed?”
“You have no idea.” He shook his head as he lowered himself on the bench across from her. “Not only did they agree, but they also took it as a sign of me wanting reconciliation now.”
“Would that be so bad?” She’d unwittingly instigated a game of twenty questions. Though naturally curious, she typically didn’t pry but sensed Landon needed an unbiased ear for venting.
Staring at his hands folded on the Formica tabletop, he didn’t say a word. After several seconds, he looked up and cleared his throat. “Unless you’ve lived my life, it’s hard to explain. Let’s just say I don’t trust them and never will, for good reason.”
“Fair enough.”
“What’s good here?” He craned his neck to look at the menu board on the back wall.
“Don’t pay attention to that. It hasn’t been updated in years.” She jutted her chin toward the approaching waitress. “Tilly will give you a menu. The burgers are good, and the chicken salad is to die for.”
“Good to see you, Jess. Who’s your friend?” Tilly dropped menus in front of them but not before giving Jessa a curious wink and Landon a devouring appraisal.
Great. The gossip mill will be running rampant before our meal arrives. Jessa smiled back without giving any indication of anything amiss. Because nothing is. I’m having lunch with a visitor who wants more information on Jasper Lake. “Tilly McClean, Landon Reeves. He’s arranging a little getaway for his grandmother.”
Landon nodded his head as means of greeting her. “Nice to meet you.”
She noticed he didn’t offer Tilly a normal handshake. Did he discern her blatant interest and knew it best to steer clear of her? Tilly was a sweet girl but made no secret that she had one goal in life—to find a husband.
“Where you from, handsome?” Tilly asked, pulling out an order pad.
“Pennsylvania, and I’d like an iced tea to drink, please.” He turned his attention to the menu, respectfully refusing her bait.
“One iced tea coming up.” Unfazed, Tilly turned to Jessa. “Your usual diet pop?”
“Yes please.” Once Tilly left, Jessa offered Landon a sympathetic smile. Her admiration for him grew as she’d watched him handle the situation with dignity. “You handled her well.”
“I’ve dealt with her type before. Harmless if you ignore them, but give them an inch, they’ll drag you along for a mile.”
She burst into laughter and used the napkin to dab the tears from her eyes. “You pegged her exactly right. She’s very sweet, but a bit too ambitious to find matrimonial bliss.”
“Which she won’t find in me. No one will.”
“You don’t believe in marriage?”
He squinted, contorted his mouth to a frown. “That’s a loaded question.”
Even without knowing the specifics of his story, she was receiving a clear picture that he’d suffered substantial hurt in his life. “Divorced?”
“Never been married.”
Tilly reappeared with their drinks, and her sudden smile said she’d heard his last comment. “Interesting.”
Landon looked directly at Tilly. “And I never plan to.”
“Lots of men say that, but they just haven’t found the right woman.”
Seeing Landon’s jaw clench, Jessa interrupted. “Any specials today?”
“The mini dog plate with your choice of toppings and a side of fries for six dollars. Add a fourth dog for only a dollar more.”
Her stomach revolted. “I’ll take the chicken salad on a croissant with a fruit cup as my side.”
“Always a good choice.” Tilly glanced at Landon, seeming to be deterred from sinking her hooks into Landon, at least temporarily. “And for you?”
“I’ll take the special with chili and cheese on top.” He handed her the menu.
“Would you like the extra dog?”
“No thanks.”
Once they were alone again, Landon looked at her. “Did I order the wrong thing? I saw your nose scrunch when I gave my order.”
“People rave about their mini dogs, say they’re the best.” She unwrapped her straw and set it in her cup. “I can’t eat hot dogs, not even small ones. When I was eight, I had two hot dogs at a church fair. That night I came down sick. Even though it turned out to be a nasty virus, I’ve always associated hot dogs with it and haven’t had one since.”
“I can’t eat coconut cream pie for the same reason. Fourth of July picnic for me.” He sipped his tea and swallowed. “It’s only been in the last few years I can eat anything with coconut.”
“Funny how those childhood memories stick with us.”
“If you only knew,” he mumbled.
The conversation began to frustrate her. Either he would share or he wouldn’t, but for the love of everything, she wished he’d stop alluding to whatever happened. That annoyed her.
You’re not being fair. You’re a stranger in his life, a brief interlude who happened to cross his path at a bad time in his life. He owes you no explanations. “When’s this trip you’re planning?”
“I’d made the reservations for the first weekend in November because that was the only available vacancies for the bed and breakfast.” He pushed his cup aside and sighed. “Now I’ll have to change the weekend or find a different place since we’ll be needing an extra room.”
“You can’t keep your original reservations and have your parents stay somewhere else?”
“Nope.” He drew a long breath, exhaled in slow motion. “Gran is taking this extremely serious and said that would be a cop-out—that nothing would be resolved if they stayed in a separate location.”
“Can I ask what your parents did to cause the rift?”
He snickered. “Rift is an understatement.” His gaze lingered out the window. His eyes clouded as emotions flickered through them. “They abandoned my siblings and me. We were just young kids when they decided they didn’t want the responsibility of us. Dropped us off at our grandparents, said good riddance, and parted ways.”
She fought to keep her jaw from dropping. “They really said ‘good riddance’?”
“Not in so many words, but they’re actions sure said it.” His fists coiled into tight balls. “I guess we were a novelty that wore off.”
“I’m sorry.” What else could she say?
“It is what it is.” He scratched his cheek then reached for his drink. “In a way, it worked out because we had a better life with Gran and Granddad. They gave us stability my parents never could have.”
“They say there’s a silver lining in everything.”
“I guess.” He quieted as Tilly approached with their orders.
Her stomach rumbled again. “Mind if I bless the food?”
“Go ahead. I usually do automatically but was distracted.” He closed his eyes and dipped his head.
She kept the prayer short and picked up her sandwich in the same breath she’d said amen. “I’m so hungry. Excuse my manners while I inhale this.”
A belly laugh roared from deep within Landon. “You’re not like most girls.”
“Is that good or bad?” She bit off the coveted first bite.
“Good.”
Warm butterflies flitted through her. “Thanks.”
Conversation stalled as they ate. At the end of the meal, Landon insi
sted on paying her share.
“You don’t have to do that,” she protested, trying to shove a ten-dollar bill in his hand.
“I appreciate the listening ear.” He swallowed, shifting his lips as though uncertain he should say more. “I don’t usually vent to strangers—anyone for that matter—and I’m afraid I’ve made a poor first impression.”
“Not at all. From all indications, you’ve had a lot on your shoulders.”
“Nevertheless, I’m grateful, and I enjoyed our lunch together. Let me treat.”
She could have resisted his perfect smile, but not his heartfelt thanks. “All right, but next time, I pay.”
He reached over the table to shake on it. “You’ve got a deal.”
Chapter Four
“Next year, I’ll bring you here a month earlier.” Landon darted a glance toward Gran from the driver’s seat. “Our falls in Maryville are great, but they don’t even compare to the colors around Jasper Lake.”
“I’m sure it’s lovely.” Gran turned her head to look out the window. “Even now, with the bare trees among the evergreens, it’s a beautiful area.”
“We spent several autumns in Vermont.” Peter leaned forward from the rear seat. “Most magnificent display of color I’ve ever seen.”
Landon bit his cheek to keep from snapping. Did his dad think of him, and Archer, and Tanya, during those stays in Vermont? Did he wish his children had been there with him? Hah. If Dad wanted any of us there, he could have come and got us from Gran’s. But they didn’t care. They never did.
Gran must have sensed his displeasure. She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Tell us more about Jasper Lake.”
“The lake is wide and encompasses several municipalities, but the actual town of Jasper Lake is the largest.” He’d already told Gran all this information, but he knew she asked again as a diversion technique. “I can’t wait to show you the cabin Theodore Magnus once lived in.”
“Have you seen it already?” The lilt of Gran’s voice rose in excitement.
“Nope. Saving the experience to share with you, but I’ve looked at the pictures online.”
“I wonder if there is any paper hidden on the soil with scrapped stanzas.” Gran let go of him and clasped her hands together. “There could be history buried there.”
“Listen to you, Mom. I never knew you had a romantic side to you.” Violet grinned from the rear seat.
Landon wanted to reach into the rearview mirror and wipe the smile off her face. Had she bothered to spend time with her mother-in-law, she would have known that fact. Gran might seem prim and proper, but her personality was multifaceted. After the last two years living with Gran and helping her, how could his mom not know her any better? Everyone knew Gran went crazy for those cheesy romance movies on the feel-good cable channel.
“Have you ever read Theodore Magnus’s works, dear?” Sweet Gran showed no animosity toward her daughter-in-law.
As much as he wanted to understand Gran’s generous and forgiving spirit, he couldn’t.
“Yes. Peter introduced me to his poetry when we first started dating.”
“Which is your favorite?” Gran shifted her feeble hips to look in the back seat.
“Skipping Stones Away from Home,” Mom answered without hesitation.
“Ah, one of his lesser-known ones.” Gran smiled, recited the final line. “So though the years pass as the stream flows, and life moves you heavy and weary, take a stone and with a flick, over the water watch it skip. Standing on the bank of youth’s creek, you’ll find yourself once more at home.”
Mom caught his eyes in the rearview mirror with a wistful gaze. “As I’ve grown older, its significance has grown. I believe he’s saying that although life changes, you can go home again.”
Landon coughed, caught his eyeroll before it began. “That’s not what the poem means. Magnus was saying that when you’re feeling down, finding a familiar place can bring you peace.”
“The beauty of poetry is that each person can interpret it differently.” Gran shot him a warning look. “Each person can find a different meaning, and all of them are right.”
A stop sign appeared in the near distance, and Landon applied pressure to the brakes. Used to his big rig and pickup truck which needed extra time to stop, he slowed down well in advance of the sign. He inched forward and crossed the intersection after he saw no one coming.
“Welcome to Jasper Lake.” As soon as he said it, the sign came into view.
Despite his misgivings about his parents’ presence, excitement churned. This weekend didn’t offer much in the grand scheme of life, but it presented one small way to repay Gran for her years of sacrifice and love.
They reached the main strip of town, and he pointed out the few places he knew. When he passed the chamber of commerce office, he wondered if Jessa worked today. Truth be told, he thought of her often and hoped he’d run into her at some point over the weekend.
“There’s Addy’s Bed & Breakfast, where I made our initial reservations. Even though plans changed, I want to take you there. Mrs. Addy has freshly made cookies ready at all times for anyone who stops by.”
Gran cocked her head. “We’re going just to get a free cookie?”
He chuckled. “No, but I thought you’d enjoy seeing the décor. It’s right up your alley.”
“I’d love to see inside.”
“We’ll add it to the itinerary.” He made a left turn and drove half a mile before parking in front of a one-story brick building. “I have to run in to register and pick up the key for the cabin. I’ll leave the car running, so you have heat.”
Standing straight up proved a welcome relief for his legs. The drive was short compared to his normal workday, but Gran’s modest sedan had little leg room compared to his pickup and eighteen-wheeler. He walked up the steps and gave the door handle a tug.
A young woman who looked eerily similar to Jessa looked up from her computer at the front desk. “How may I help you?”
“I have a reservation for the Poplar Cabin?” He couldn’t cut his gaze from her. “I’m sorry, but do you have a sister?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Yes, two of them.”
“Is one Jessa from the chamber of commerce?”
“Yes.”
Interesting. Why hadn’t Jessa mentioned her sister or any family? “I’ve met her several times passing through when I stopped for information. Your resemblance is uncanny.”
“We get that a lot.” The wariness left her eyes, and she smiled. “What name is your reservation under?”
“Landon Reeves.”
She typed on the keyboard and concentrated on the screen. Tapped several more keys. “You’re checked in.” She laid a paper in front of him with a map printed on it and circled a building. “This is where we are. Follow the road to the end and make that right. There will be signs leading you the rest of the way.”
“I’m sure I can find my way again.” He jerked a thumb to the car outside. “Last time I came through, I went out there to make sure it can accommodate my grandmother. She moves extremely well for her age, but I didn’t want her climbing twenty steps every time she came in and out of the cabin.”
“Understandable. The Poplar cabin is a great choice. The driveway’s not steep, and there are only three steps to enter the cabin. Two of the bedrooms are upstairs, but the master is downstairs, which I’m sure you’re already aware of.” She paused and smiled. “It’s also built in a manner to give you incredible views no matter which way you look.”
“All reasons I chose that one when the bed and breakfast fell through.” He folded the map in quarters and slipped it in his pocket. “Do you need anything else?”
She swiveled in her seat and opened a safe behind her. Pulled down a set of keys and handed them to him with a twinkle in her eye. “You’ll probably want these.”
“I imagine so.” He was usually more on top of things, but his mind was scattered over the weekend ahead. “What time does the g
rocery close?”
“They close at nine on Fridays.”
That gave him plenty of time to get Gran settled and run back to town for groceries. He planned to take her to the diner for lunch tomorrow, but that left four other meals he needed to provide. He’d stubbornly insisted Gran not do any chores while here, which included cooking. His mom had volunteered to take over meals, but he didn’t want her encroaching on this trip any more than she and his dad already had. This was his gift to Gran, not theirs.
“Thanks. And all the linen is in the cabin already, correct?”
“Yes. The beds should be made, and bathrooms stocked. There’s also a closet with extra pillows, blankets, towels, and washcloths, but if you’re missing anything, give us a call. The office is open until seven, but there’s an emergency contact number on your registration confirmation and at every exit of the cabin.”
The cabin keys jingled in his hands as he strode to the car. Gran and his parents didn’t see him approach, and he took the opportunity to watch them. Not an ounce of animosity reflected on Gran’s face. By all appearances, she truly enjoyed spending time with her son and daughter-in-law and held no ill will toward them. A part of him wondered if Gran put on a show for his sake, to mediate an agreement toward forgiveness, but in his heart, he knew that wasn’t true. Gran was one of those rare souls who could see the good in anyone.
And that’s exactly why so many people have taken advantage of her over the years. She’d never met a lost soul she didn’t try to help. Granddad had been the same way. Landon would never understand how two generous and loving souls had born a child as selfish as his father.
At an outburst of their laughter, Landon opened the door and sat behind the steering wheel. “We’re all set. In ten minutes, we’ll be at our home for the weekend.”
Like a curious child, Gran’s gaze switched from one window to the next. Her enthusiasm caught on through the car, and for several brief minutes, Landon forgot he detested his parents. He laughed with them and handed over his phone for them to snatch a picture of a snowshoe hare enjoying a meal of greens along the edge of the road.
He drove up the mountain incline and turned on the final road. Five hundred feet back sat the driveway which would lead them to their cabin. Nestled among aspens, white pine, and yellow birches, the A-frame cabin with a wraparound porch sat on a flat parcel of land.
