She nodded again and walked slowly across the room to where Landon sat. She crouched down beside him and put her arm around hisshoulders. The tenderness on her face was somehow too raw to witness, and I turned away.
“Let’s give them some space,” I said quietly to Kai.
We headed for the door, and I looked back one more time.
Zoe was holding Landon while he broke. And I suspected she was exactly what he needed right now.
24
ZOE
I crouchednext to Landon and leaned toward him. I couldn’t see his face—it was buried in his hands—but I rubbed the back of his neck, trying to offer support.
This wasn’t my forte. I excelled in problem-solving and ideas, improving a business’s bottom line. This was more about support and friendship—things I’d never had much time for, any more than I had dating. But I felt so bad for Landon. I couldn’t stand to see him like this.
He sat there in silence for a long time. Minutes stretched out, marked only by the crackling of the fire. And then finally, he sat up straighter and looked at me like he was surprised I was there, even though I’d been beside him for at least fifteen minutes.
I didn’t know what he was going to say. But he finally glanced over at me and asked, “Are you cold?”
That wasn’t what I’d been expecting. He shouldn’t be worried aboutme, but he grabbed a blanket and put it around my shoulders, just like he’d always been getting me blankets, making sure I was warm.
I tugged on his hand, and we went to sit together on the sofa. I spread the blanket over both of us, our bodies close together in the dim firelight.
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to tell him I thought he was a hero—because he’d gone out there and found them and saved them. That was his job, to save people, but it was still incredible. But I didn’t know if he wanted to talk about that. And I was sure he didn’t need me to be a fangirl.
So instead, I said softly, “Will you tell me about him? John?”
He shook his head. But then he pulled me against his chest, holding me as I leaned back against him. He was clutching me like a lifeline.
After a while, he dipped his head, his nose in my hair, just resting his head on mine. And finally, after at least ten minutes, he started to talk.
He told how he’d met John the during patrol training. How John had this terrible sense of direction off the mountain but could navigate a blizzard better than anyone Landon had ever seen. How they’d worked together for three years, rescuing people, saving lives.
“We got everyone,” Landon said quietly. “Everysingle person we went out for, we brought back safe.” His voice caught, and I squeezed his hand.
Then he gave a half-laugh—bitter and sad. “John used to say that if we ever got lost on the mountain, I should just follow the smell of his terrible coffee. He’d brew it in this beat-up thermos every morning. It was like drinking motor oil, but he swore by it.”
I smiled against his chest, even though my throat felt tight.
“I miss him,” Landon whispered. “Every day.”
I listened. I didn’t try to fix it or make it better. I just held him and let him talk when he wanted to and offered silent support when he didn’t.
Eventually, he said, “Thank you for being here. But I’m okay. I’m going to go to sleep.”
“Will you be able to sleep?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” The quiet, honest admission seemed to slip out of him.
I stood up with him. “Can I walk you to your door?”
He nodded, and we walked down the hallway together. When he reached his room, he opened the door and stood there, one hand on the frame.
“Let me stay,” I said. “Let me sleep here, just to be here if you need somebody.”
I thought he was going to say no, like he had for all our lessons. But after staring at me for nearly a minute, he held the door wider to let me in.
We layon the bed in the darkness. Landon was wearing pants but was bare-chested. I’d kicked off my heels and borrowed a bulky, cable-knit sweater from him. It was huge on me, coming almost to my knees, but I left my skirt on, even though it was a bit too tight to be comfortable. My hair was down, as per the guys’ orders.
