She smiled. “That’s because I am.”
“See, Landon is already helping you,” her mother said. “Just look at that smile.”
Georgiana realized she had been smiling a lot today. She couldn’t help it. She thought about Landon, about all of the beautiful things he’d said to her, and she simply couldn’t help but smile.
“Let him in, Georgiana. Give him a chance to get closer to you. Open your heart and talk to him, tell him everything the way you used to. You’ve kept so much bottled inside, and I know you always felt comfortable talking to Landon. Don’t you think it’d do you good to have that kind of relationship with someone again? With him again?”
Georgiana had told Linda pretty much everything she was feeling, so she had told someone. But her mother was right; she hadn’t talked to anyone who knew her both before and after the accident. “I think it would do me good,” she admitted, but she also knew one of the main things Landon would want to know was what caused her blindness. He’d asked once, and she’d given him a vague answer. Or rather, a partial truth. But she knew there was no such thing. A half truth was a lie. And that’s what she’d given.
“He said he wants me to tell him everything, all about what has happened to me since we’ve been apart.”
“You went through a lot. Losing your sight was only part of it, and Landon understands that. Talk to him the way you used to. Start with where you left off and go from there.”
“Where we left off?”
“That day in the church. You told me what you felt that day, what you realized after he came to see you and the reason your mind was elsewhere when you left the church parking lot and pulled out in front of that truck, but have you ever told Landon?”
“You know I haven’t. It took me several years before I even told you. And he left for the army right after I got out of the hospital, so I never got the chance.”
“Then that’s the perfect place to start. He deserves to know.”
“I married Pete, Mom. Telling Landon what I was feeling back then isn’t going to change that.” Plus, telling him what caused the wreck was only part of the story.
“No, but it might change the way Landon feels about you choosing Pete.”
The front door banged again, and then Abi yelled into the house. “Hey, Mommy! Grandma! Mr. Landon is here!”
“No time like the present,” Eden said, gently touching Georgiana’s hand before she left the bedroom and started down the hall.
Georgiana listened to her mother’s footsteps fade. Dear God, stay with me. I need all the strength I can get, and I know You can provide. She went downstairs and heard her mother ask Landon about his day and then tell him she was heading to the barn to give riding lessons.
“Hey,” he said.
She didn’t have to ask if he’d turned his attention to her; she could hear it in his tone. Her heart fluttered in response. “Hey,” she replied.
“You look really nice.”
Again, she could hear how much he meant the words, and she felt her cheeks heat. “Thanks.”
There was an awkward pause, then Landon cleared his throat and asked, “Walk with me?”
Here he was, a guy who’d undoubtedly done amazing things serving the country, but in those three small words, Georgiana heard a hint of fear, as though he was afraid she’d say no. On the contrary, she’d been waiting to see him all day. “Okay. Where to?”
“The ridge, if that’s good for you.”
Their special place to talk when they were teens. Yes, that was perfect. “That’s good for me. Just let me get my cane.” Walking without her white cane around the house and barn was one thing, navigating the trails was something else.
“Tell you what, why don’t you leave it here and let me guide you. I mean, if you’re going to ride Fallon, you won’t be using a cane. You’ll use me and Fallon as your guides. Might as well get used to half of that equation.”
The other night at the square she’d held her mother’s forearm, and that’d worked fine. But holding her mother’s arm and holding Landon’s were two completely different things. One was a family member who cared about her. And the other was a man, a handsome, thought-provoking man, who also cared about her...and made her insides quiver. She concentrated to slow her racing pulse. “You’re sure you wouldn’t mind? Like I’ve told you before, sometimes I trip. And I’ve been known not only to topple, but to take everyone along for the fall.”
He laughed. “Can’t imagine anyone else I’d rather fall for.”
Georgiana’s skin tingled at the dual meaning, but she swallowed past the nervousness. Would he—could he—fall for her? The way he did back then?
“So, you going to let me help?” he asked. “Because if you turn me down, I’ll probably pout. I don’t take rejection well. At all.”
She held out her hand. “Well, I wouldn’t want to make a soldier feel rejected.”
He took her hand and a rush of warmth shimmied up her arm. Being with a man again—being with Landon again—threw her already heightened senses into overdrive.
“I can actually navigate the steps pretty good on my own,” she said, not wanting him to think her completely helpless.
“I know you can. I saw you handle them perfectly fine yesterday, but humor me.” He lowered his voice. “The truth is, I really want to hold your hand.”
Another shiver of awareness trickled over her, and Georgiana was shocked to realize that she recognized the old feeling. Desire.
“Is that okay, Georgie? For me to hold your hand?” His voice was husky, just above a whisper.
She swallowed. He already held it in his grasp, their hands intertwined, finger to finger, palm to palm. And she had the strongest urge to tell him that not only was it okay, but she never wanted him to let go. However, she kept the impulsive reply in check and simply said, “Yes, it’s fine.”
“Then we’re ready to hike,” he said as they descended the steps and then walked in front of the porch.
Georgiana heard the children at the barn laughing and chatting as they prepared for their riding lesson and naturally heard her own daughter’s voice stand out from the others. “Sounds like Abi is having fun.”
“I think she is. She’s laughing at something one of the other kids did,” he said, “but I bet you heard that, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.” She once again noticed the drastic contrast in the way Landon treated her and the way Pete had treated her. Pete assumed that because she couldn’t see, she couldn’t determine anything. He never considered the possibility that she could decipher quite a lot merely by hearing.
But Landon obviously did.
They took a few more steps, and she knew they were near the hitching post where he’d tied Sam yesterday, but she didn’t hear any sound from Landon’s horse. “Did you put Sam in a stall?”
“I didn’t ride Sam. I walked.”
“It’s a nice day for a walk,” she said. “So cool and fresh outside with the breeze and all.”
“These early-morning showers are giving us a little relief from summer’s heat, so I thought we should take advantage of it today with a walk.”
“And since I can’t ride yet,” she said.
“The operative word being yet.”
He really did believe in her, and his belief was slowly but surely seeping into Georgiana too. Maybe I will ride again. “You’re still as confident as you were in high school, aren’t you?” she asked.
&nbs
p; “I try.”
Georgiana enjoyed the way he made her feel so at ease. She also enjoyed the freedom of hiking the trails again and paid attention to her footsteps to determine each change in terrain. She knew from past experience that the trail often altered between pine straw, leaves, soft earth and flat rock. The last thing she wanted to do was slip and fall. Scratch that; the last thing she wanted to do was plummet...and take him with her for the ride.
Can’t imagine anyone else I’d rather fall for.
His statement filled her thoughts and she smiled.
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay, what?”
“Okay, if you’re going to smile like that, you’re going to have to tell me why.”
“I’m just very happy today. Happier than I’ve been in a long time.”
“Georgie, I think I should let you know that I had no idea your marriage hadn’t gone well. I had prayed that you would be happy forever and didn’t have any reason to think that wasn’t the case when I was away, or I would have checked on you. You were my best friend, but I wasn’t there when you needed a friend most.”
“I told you we shouldn’t see each other again. You were just doing what I asked.” She remembered the very moment she’d said the words in the hospital. He’d come to see her after the wreck, and she’d asked him to leave after telling him she was still marrying Pete.
Landon cleared his throat but didn’t comment, and Georgiana didn’t blame him. She knew she’d hurt him back then. What was left to say?
Plenty, her mind whispered, if you tell him the whole story.
They continued walking, the sounds of the children fading in the distance as they neared the wooded trail. The air turned cooler as they evidently stepped beneath the cascading trees. She focused on keeping her steps steady and held his hand as she moved. Luckily, the path was relatively smooth and easy to navigate. Even so, a loose clump of pine straw caused her shoes to slide. His other hand instantly caught her forearm and helped her stay secure, and Georgiana was overcome by the warmth of him next to her, holding her, protecting her, the same way he had after her near miss with the copperhead.
“You okay?” he asked.
His hands held her steady, and she fought the impulse to melt against him and simply ask him to hold her that way until all her fears were gone. But she managed a smile and eased away from the close contact. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“You’re doing great.”
“Thanks.”
He had always been there to help her growing up, not only physically but emotionally as well. It bothered her that she hadn’t realized that he’d simply been trying to help her when he’d warned her about her future husband. Because that day in the church hadn’t been the first time he’d tried to tell her the truth about Pete; that was simply the first time he’d also told her the truth about how he felt.
Her steps turned easy as they connected with the flat rock of the ridge. “Are we there?”
“Yes,” he said. “You want to sit down?”
She nodded. “After I take this sweater off.” In spite of the coolness of the afternoon, she was warm from the walk. Or maybe it was the topic of conversation that had a trickle of perspiration slipping down her spine.
His hands moved against her arms as he helped her out of the cardigan, and Georgiana enjoyed each slight contact of his skin against hers. She shivered and knew it wasn’t entirely due to the breeze against her arms in the sleeveless tank. Then his fingers tenderly brushed hers as he took the cardigan from her hand.
“I should have brought a blanket,” he said. “I’ll remember that next time.”
“Is the rock muddy? Dirty?” She’d already crouched down to sit on the smooth stone.
“No, but I figured you’d like a blanket, something softer than the hard rock.”
She felt his warmth again as he sat beside her, not close enough that they touched but close enough for her to sense his presence, and she turned her face toward his. “We never used a blanket when we sat up here in high school.”
“I know, but I thought you might want one now.”
“Because I’m older?”
“Nah, because you’re a girl, and girls tend to like their creature comforts.”
She heard his jeans slide against the rock, and then a small grunt that said he’d repositioned himself. “Are you lying down?”
“Flat on my back and looking up at the sky peeking through the trees, same way I did back when we were in school. Unlike you. You always stayed seated upright because you didn’t want to put your hair on the ground.”
Georgiana smirked, placed her palms on the rock beside her and then lowered her back to the ground. “I can wash my hair.”
His low chuckle easily rolled out, and she heard him move again. “Here, Georgie. Let me put your sweater under your head.”
“Still think I’m afraid of a little dirt?” she asked, but she lifted her head enough for him to slide the cardigan underneath, the back of his hand brushing against her neck. “You did see me after my splash in the pond, right?”
He laughed. “That I did, but I’m sure the sweater will make the rock a little more comfortable.”
She settled her head against the soft fabric. “It does.” Then she relaxed and soaked in the sounds of the woods, birds tweeting, crickets chirping and tree branches shifting in the breeze. The combination created a calm reprieve that she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Peace, that was the sensation she experienced here...with Landon.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For?”
“For bringing me here today.”
“You’re welcome.”
They stayed silent for several minutes, then Landon whispered, “You hear that?”
Georgiana had heard a different sound adding to the mix, but had assumed it was leaves falling or a small animal scampering over pine straw. “I hear something,” she whispered back. “What is it?”
“Rabbit, a baby rabbit. Not much more than a cotton ball with feet.”
She tuned her ear to the distinct sound, thought about the fluffy rabbits she’d raised growing up. Hers were white. More than likely, the one nearby was brown, a typical wild bunny living on the mountain. “Brown?”
“Light brown, and fairly fat for a baby,” he said. “We’ll need to bring Abi up here sometime so she can see the trail and the animals. Maybe even that bunny.” The scampering turned into a rustling, and Landon announced, “We spooked him. He left.”
Georgiana wished she could see the tiny bunny, but at least she knew about it through Landon. And he was right; Abi would love to come here. It touched her that he’d naturally thought about her daughter. “Let’s bring her tomorrow.”
“Supposed to rain, but if it doesn’t, that’s a date. If it does, we’ll make it the next day.”
“Does that mean you’re coming to visit every day?”
“Nah, just every day until you tell me to stop.”
She laughed. “Works for me.”
“Good.”
Georgiana realized she hadn’t followed through with talking to him about what really happened at the church, but she just couldn’t do it, not yet. And maybe he’d forgotten about their plan to “share.”
She could tell he’d changed his position once more, and assumed that he was on his side, probably looking right at her. The realization made her feel both vulnerable and sensual. She enjoyed this closeness. It’d been a long time sin
ce she’d felt so comfortable and at ease with anyone.
“So,” he said, “let’s catch up on the years we lost.” His words were delivered not far from her face. “I want to know what happened during the time we were apart. What was it like for you when the blindness started? And how did things change so much with you and Pete?”
So much for thinking he’d forgotten. She wanted to talk to him about it, but she wasn’t ready yet. Besides, she had a lot of things she wanted to know too. And his life had been so much more interesting. “First I have a few questions for you.”
“You’re stalling.”
She couldn’t deny the truth. “Do you mind?”
“No, as long as you promise this street will go two ways eventually.”
“Okay,” she said. Eventually. God, give me the courage to tell him, and please protect him when he learns the truth. Don’t let him blame himself.
“All right then, it’s a deal,” he said. “Ask away.”
“Okay.” She’d been thinking about everything she wanted to know all day, but the main question that kept coming to mind was, “Did you have anyone you were close to over the years we were apart? Someone you could trust and count on and confide in? The way you confided in me back in high school?” She took a breath, then went ahead with the real heart of her curiosity. “I guess I’m asking if, while we were apart, did anyone take my place in your world?”
His words came near her left ear. “Are you asking if I had a girl I was close to, Georgie?” His breath feathered over her cheek with each word, and she sensed her nerve endings straining to get closer to the magnificent sensation. It’d been so long since she’d been alone with a man, and even longer since she’d been alone with a man without fear of embarrassment or ridicule.
But she didn’t fear anything now.
“Georgiana, is that what you’re asking?” he repeated, and she realized she was so lost in the sensation of him that she’d forgotten to answer.
Love Reunited Page 13
