Love Reunited

by Renee Andrews

  And he felt great.

  John had called to let him know how his first classes had gone at Stockville and also said that he was already making progress on the dude ranch idea. Landon had set up an appointment to meet with Andy Cothran at the bank tomorrow to discuss the farm loans and pay what he could on the back payments. And then his last scheduled delivery of the day was to the Sanders farm.

  Things just kept getting better.

  In fact, the only disappointing aspect to his day was when he arrived at the Sanders place and found it empty. Eden had said that Georgiana wouldn’t leave the farm and that her only time out had been when they went to the square Friday night, but she must have left today. Landon wanted her to start getting out, but he had really hoped he’d see her when he made this delivery.

  He unloaded the bags of feed and hay bales that Eden had ordered and stacked them in the barn while Fallon nickered from her stall.

  “All right,” he said, walking toward the burlap sack hanging near the tack room, “I bet I know what you want.” He reached in and withdrew a green Granny Smith apple, then brought it to the mare. Fallon chomped noisily on the treat. “So, where’d your pretty owner go?” he asked, as though the horse could provide an answer.

  Fallon, of course, didn’t respond. But Landon did get an answer when he heard a child’s voice, followed by the throaty laughter that never failed to warm his heart.

  “You’re gonna need a long bath!” Abi giggled through her words as she and Georgiana walked from the pasture toward the house. “A very long bath.”

  “You can stop telling me how messy I am. Trust me, I get it.” Georgiana ran a hand down the side of her face and squished up her nose. “I’m pretty sure the mud has dried on.”

  Abi laughed. “Yep, you’re gonna have to really scrub to get it off. Hey, I’m gonna get some lemonade. All that walking made me thirsty. Are you thirsty too? Want me to fix you some?”

  “Sure, but I’m gonna stop and check on Fallon before I come in. I’ll be there in a minute, okay?”

  “Okay.” Abi ran toward the house without a second glance toward the inside of the barn, where Landon watched the exchange between mother and daughter.

  Georgiana wore a T-shirt that was pink, he thought, though it was hard to tell because it appeared to be covered in mud. Her jeans were rolled up to her calves and were also coated in what looked like caked mud. And as she walked closer, he saw her hair was damp and it looked like a sprig of grass had taken residence above her right ear.

  She looked adorable.

  Landon wanted to ask her what had happened, but he didn’t want to scare her again, so he had to do something to let her know he was in the barn. He cleared his throat, and she stopped walking.

  “Who’s there?” A slight tremor quivered through her voice.

  “It’s me, Georgie.”

  “Landon?” Her hand moved to her hair, pushed it away from her face and caused the grass sprig to shift a little. “I—didn’t know you were coming over.”

  “I’m actually making a delivery,” he said. “I started working at the feed store today, and your mom’s order was the last on my list before I head home.” He took a step toward her, but then stopped when he remembered what had happened Saturday. “Georgie, I’m sorry about scaring you the other day. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” she said, her mouth easing to the side. “It’s my problem.” She turned her head toward the field and added, “I want to get better, though, for Abi. She wants me to be involved, wants me to have fun with her, but it’s still hard.”

  “She looked like she was having fun just now.” Landon suspected Eden hadn’t yet talked to Georgiana about the possibility of her riding again, and he really wanted to give her a chance to think about it before he brought it up. But if he could get Georgiana to ride again, that would be another way she and Abi could enjoy time with each other and, if things went the way he planned, with him.

  “She was, but she wants to do more than things around the farm. She wants me to go places with her, but it’s still difficult. I feel people staring, and I don’t want to do anything to embarrass her.” She looked again toward the field, and one corner of her mouth lifted. “But we did have a good time together, and I want to have more times like that.”

  “Georgie, I want to help you—” Fallon snorted, then made a high-pitch whistling sound that Landon knew meant fear. Landon stopped talking and saw what had spooked the mare, a slight movement near Georgiana’s foot. He focused on the image and prayed it wasn’t what he thought, but the light brown markings on the coiled snake were clear. “Georgie.” He kept his voice low and steady, and he could tell that she realized something wasn’t right.

  “What is it?” she whispered, her fingers opening at her side as though she knew something dangerous was near.

  It was. Very near, in fact. Coiled and eyeing her exposed calf, and ready to strike.

  “Dear God, help me,” she whispered. “Landon, what is it? A snake? It’s a snake, isn’t it?”

  He moved slowly to the side, picked up a shovel propped against the tack-room wall. “Stay still, Georgie.”

  “What kind?” she whispered, then her mouth clamped shut and she pinched her eyes together like someone bracing for the worst, which was what she would get if that snake hit his mark.

  “Copperhead. Don’t. Move.” He eased toward the snake with the same slow, silent steps he’d often used when approaching an enemy camp and wished the thing was farther from her leg. There was no doubt it could reach her with ease, but Landon was determined to reach it first.

  Help me, Lord. I can’t miss.

  Making certain not to make any jerking movements, he slowly raised the shovel, said one more quick prayer, then slammed it down solidly on his venomous target.

  Georgiana’s hand moved to her throat. “You got it?” she whispered. “Landon? Landon?”

  “I got it.” With adrenaline burning fiercely through his veins, he removed the dead snake from the barn, then returned to find Georgiana holding on to the rail and shaking her head. “What—what if Abi would have come in here with me?”

  “I wouldn’t have let it hurt her,” Landon said.

  Her head shook, and her eyes continued to blink. Her breathing was raspy, and Landon knew she was scared. She was probably thinking the same thing as Landon—but what if he hadn’t been here? She had no way of seeing the danger.

  The urge to protect her was so strong that Landon had to force himself to remain grounded to his spot and not wrap her in his arms and never let her go. But the image of her backing away from him Saturday kept him at bay.

  “You’re okay, Georgie. Everything’s okay.” He was so close, and she was trembling. He simply wanted to—had to—hold her and make sure she was all right. But he didn’t want to frighten her again. “Georgiana, can I hold you?”

  Her nod was subtle, but Landon didn’t wait for anything more. He circled her in his arms and pulled her against his chest. “It’s okay.” Landon did his best to soothe her fear away, holding her close, telling her that the danger had passed.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, her words muffled against his chest. “I don’t know what I’d have done.”

  He reflexively squeezed her tighter to his heart and thanked God that He’d put Landon here today at just the right time. Let me always protect her, Lord. Let her begin to trust again. And, please, God, let her trust me again.

  Eden’s car passed by the barn on her way to the house, and Georgiana straightened, then slowly stepped out of his embrace.

  “We’ll need to tell her about the snake,” she said, “so she can keep an eye out for more.”

  Landon would keep an eye out too. In fact, he’d do everything he could to protect her from snakes and from anything else that might harm her.

&
nbsp; “Landon?” Eden called as she stepped into the barn. “Oh, Georgiana,” she said. “I didn’t know you were here too.” Her eyes widened as she took in their appearance. “Goodness, what happened to you two? You’re both so, well, filthy.”

  Landon took in their appearance and realized her description was undeniably accurate. “Well, I’m actually here delivering your feed. I started working for the feed store today, and so I’ll be making your deliveries now.” He thumbed his shirt. “That’s why I look like this.” Then he realized Georgie had let him hug her, against his chest no less, when he was covered in sweat and grime. And yet she hadn’t seemed anything but content in his arms. He looked back at her, and for the first time really noticed that she was almost completely coated in dried mud. He smiled. “I haven’t really found out why Georgiana looks like that.”

  Her face was still tense from the close call with the copperhead, but at Landon’s words, she found a smile. “I’d almost forgotten, with everything else that happened,” she said, “but Abi and I went to the pond to practice skipping rocks.”

  “You did?” Eden beamed at her daughter. “Oh, that’s wonderful, Georgiana. I’m sure Abi loved that.”

  “She did, especially when I started celebrating her stone skipping and was closer to the edge than I realized and fell in.”

  Eden’s hand went to her mouth to contain her laugh, but it still escaped. And Landon didn’t attempt to hide his.

  “That’s how you got so dirty?” he asked.

  Georgiana nodded. “But we still had fun.”

  “I’m sure you did,” Eden said, then she tilted her head. “What did you mean ‘with everything else that happened’? What else happened?”

  “Landon just killed a copperhead, and from the sound of things, it was about to strike...me.”

  Eden’s eyes found Landon’s and silently asked if Georgiana’s thoughts were true. He nodded.

  “Oh, my,” Eden whispered. “You killed it, Landon?”

  “I did.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice was an emotional whisper.

  “Mom! Your ice is all melting in your lemonade! Are you coming?” Abi yelled from the house.

  “I forgot all about the lemonade.” Georgiana still stood fairly close to Landon, and she seemed to sense his proximity, because she edged a little closer, whispered, “Thank you, again, Landon,” and then turned and left the barn.

  Eden waited until she’d reached the house then said, “I can’t thank you enough, Landon.”

  “I’ll help you keep an eye out for more copperheads,” he said. “I didn’t tell Georgiana, but I’ll admit it to you. I was scared when I saw that snake so close to her leg.”

  “It was close?”

  He nodded. “Too close.”

  “God sent you here to rescue her,” Eden said, nodding as though she was certain of the fact.

  “I was actually thinking the same thing a minute ago. I really want to help her, more than protecting her from snakes.”

  “She’s going to be okay, Landon. I know she is. Walking to the pond and skipping rocks with Abi was a good start. And I think you were right about getting her to ride Fallon.” She glanced at the palomino. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it yet, but I plan to later tonight.” She gave him a slight smile. “She’s starting to trust you again, I think. And after what Pete put her through, that’s a miracle in itself.”

  Landon wanted to see if she said more about Pete, but she didn’t, and he didn’t ask.

  She sighed. “I’d better go start unloading the car. Need to get my groceries put away.”

  “Want some help?”

  “Nah, you’ve obviously been working hard all day. You go on home. I can handle it.” She took a couple of steps, then turned back toward Landon. “And Landon, when I said that I thought God sent you here to rescue her, I wasn’t just talking about the snake.” She gave him another nod, then left the barn.

  Chapter Eight

  Landon had thought his meeting with Andy Cothran would take fifteen minutes tops; he’d been in the bank over an hour. Thankfully, Mr. Ramer understood that he needed to take care of the family’s financial affairs and had told him not to worry about missing some time at the feed store while he went to the bank. But missing an hour of deliveries was the least of Landon’s problems. Getting the bank on board with their business plan was at the top of the list.

  Then again, according to Andy, they didn’t have any hint of a business plan, just an idea that was too far-fetched for the bank to approve. Andy had nearly laughed out loud when Landon mentioned the dude ranch.

  “A dude ranch? In Alabama? This ain’t Montana, Landon. Who do you think is gonna pay money to visit a dude ranch here? And what would they do on the ranch? We don’t exactly move a lot of cattle from one ranch to another. Those places that do that kind of thing are usually sporting thousands of livestock. Your place has what, three or four hundred?”

  Landon had given him three-fourths of the money he’d saved to pay on the past-due notes, and Andy still didn’t look impressed.

  “I’m sorry. I worked with your grandfather and your father,” the older man said. “And I know how important that land is to you and your brothers, but the bank has to be paid. It’s just business.”

  “But we do have six months to get things current. That’s what you told John, right?”

  “That was assuming you had some form of a business plan in order that’d show us how you aimed to get caught up in six months. The debt just keeps growing, and we can’t wait on a pipe dream. I’m sorry, son.”

  Landon hadn’t been called “son” since his father had passed, and he didn’t appreciate the term coming from the frowning banker, but he held his tongue. “What do you need to have to show we’re working toward getting caught up, and how much time do we have to prove it to you?”

  “I’d like to see a decent business plan, something worthy of me bringing to the board here, within a month. And don’t just have something on paper. You need to show that you boys are actually doing something to turn the farm around, whether that’s selling a whole bunch of beef or finding some way to make money off of your land, but something.” He tapped his pen on the paper. “Something other than a dude ranch.”

  Andy’s words plagued Landon’s thoughts throughout the day. He’d been so excited about John’s idea, and now they needed something else. And Landon had no suggestions. It was too late to plant crops. The beef prices were at a record low. He was not going to section off the land and sell parcels. That’s what a lot of the local farmers had done over the years when they hit rough times, and the next thing they knew, an entire little subdivision had sprouted up in the middle of their property. He couldn’t let that happen to his daddy’s land. He wouldn’t.

  But he needed a plan. And he needed it within a month.

  He’d hoped by the time he finished the day’s deliveries—and before he saw his brother—he’d have come up with another idea. But Mr. Ramer only had about an hour’s worth of deliveries, and Landon made it home by early afternoon. So when he saw John, he had no choice but to tell him their dilemma.

  John walked out of the house and started toward the barn when Landon climbed out of the truck. “Hey,” he said, “might as well come on out and help me with the animals while you’re already dirty.” He grinned broadly, obviously happy with the outcome of his day. Landon wished he felt the same. “How’d the meeting with Andy go? Everything set?” John asked, still walking toward the barn and not yet realizing that Landon wasn’t as enthusiastic about his day.

  “Not exactly.” Landon joined him and didn’t see any reason to sugarcoat his meeting with the banker. “Listen, Andy isn’t going for the dude ranch idea.”

  John’s steps slowed. “But we have six months to show them how it can work, right? See, I fo
und this forum through the business center at the college, and I’ve already talked with a woman from Chicago who thinks she can come down and help us get it started, make sure we have everything set up right from the get-go, on the business end and all. She really seems to know her stuff. I, well, I kind of already asked her about coming down and getting us on track.”

  “You may want to take back that invitation, I’m afraid. And we don’t exactly have six months. We have six months to put the business plan in action, but the bank wants to see the plan within four weeks, and they want to see proof that we’re acting on whatever that plan may be.”

  “But not a dude ranch.”

  “Sorry, John. Andy said he couldn’t see a dude ranch flying in Alabama, and he wasn’t willing to budge.”

  John shook his head. “I’m sure it’ll work. And I think this woman, Dana Brooks, is the one to help us make it happen.”

  “It may have worked, but that isn’t the plan we’re going to be able to sell the bank right now. We have to come up with something else, and I’ve got to tell you that I’ve tried to think of something all day. I haven’t got anything.”

  “Too late for crops. Beef prices are pathetic,” John said, following the same line of thinking Landon had. “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know, but we have four weeks to figure that out. And we’re supposed to have a business plan on paper too. Think you can pull that off in your first four weeks of business classes?”

  John smiled, and Landon had an appreciation for the fact that his younger brother had always enjoyed a challenge. “I reckon I will. But it’ll help when we have an idea what that business is going to be.”

  Landon grinned, feeling a little better just knowing that he had some help in the endeavor. “I’ll keep thinking on it, and you do the same. We aren’t going to lose the farm.”

  * * *

  Georgiana sat in the front-porch rocker, leaned her head back and let the memory of yesterday afternoon in the barn consume her thoughts. Not the fear she experienced when she realized someone was in the barn or even the outright panic of knowing a poisonous snake had her in his sights, but the memory of what happened after.