“Thanks for the tip.” He strode to the door and stopped when it squeaked. Turned and tossed a grin. “Next time, I’ll come prepared in case you haven’t fixed it.”
Next time. She hoped there would be one.
Chapter Two
Landon clenched his fists, nearly crumbling the envelope in his hand, when he saw the crowd of cars in Gran’s driveway. One particular car to be exact. The decade-old sedan, with its gold paint still glossy, mocked him. It screamedfamily carbut belonged to two people who knew little about family.
His parents.
The rest of his family might have bought into their act, but he knew better. Mom and Dad—and he called them that with the greatest of hesitation—never stayed in one place more than a couple of years. Especially not when it required them to work and show responsibility. Any day now, he expected them to get bored and leave.
After all, a leopard never changes its spot.
For Gran’s sake, he put a smile on his face and covered the remaining steps to the house. This was her special birthday celebration, and she deserved his best. Her physical birthday was in the spring, but today they’d celebrate her spiritual birthday.
The tradition began when he was younger, and Gran would make a cake for him and his siblings every year on the anniversary of the day they’d accepted Christ. At some point in his teens, he, his brother Archer, and sister Tanya decided Gran should celebrate hers as well. Over the years, it had morphed into a celebration larger than that on her physical date of birth.
Tanya opened the door within seconds of him knocking.
His eyes grew when he saw her belly, much larger than it had been only a month ago. He tried to cover his surprise but didn’t succeed in time.
Tanya laughed. “It’s okay. This baby tripled in size overnight.”
He stepped into the entryway and gave her a quick hug. “Still going for a surprise with the gender?”
“Yes, but Lacy is convinced she’s getting a brother.”
Scott, Tanya’s husband, came to them. “I’m siding with Lace. My gut says boy.” He held a hand out. “Good to see you again.”
“You too.” Landon shook his hand. His solid relationship with his brother-in-law proved he could forgive and not hold grudges, which to his thinking, validated his anger against his parents.
Scott had gotten Tanya pregnant in high school, then abandoned her, and although seven years passed, he came back and made things rights. What he had done was wrong, but his error had come from youthful ignorance—unlike Landon’s parents whose only lifetime commitment was to irresponsibility.
Tanya pressed her hand against his shoulder. “It’s Gran’s birthday. Please don’t start trouble.”
“I won’t.” He suppressed his huff, but his sister’s insinuation bothered him. “I can control myself.”
“And my wedding is proof of that.” She raised her brows, creating creases in her forehead.
“Sure…I cause one little scene at your wedding, and I’m branded dramatic for life.” He grinned, relieved they’d reached a point where they could joke about his embarrassing behavior that day. “I’m older and wiser now, can keep my thoughts to myself.”
Sadness flitted over Tanya’s expression. “They really have changed. I won’t try to convince you of that, but I won’t stop praying you’ll see it.”
He didn’t want to go down that road with Tanya, or any of his family. They badly wanted a relationship with his parents, and they were willing to wear blinders to have one. “Where are Madison and Archer?”
“Out back setting up Gran’s present.” Scott tipped his head in the direction of the back door. “The new porch swing.”
“The gliding one we looked at last week?” He’d agreed to pitch in for a portion of whichever one they decided on even though he’d already brought her a present.
“Yes.” A sheepish smile spread across Tanya’s mouth. “We were going to wait for you, but Gran saw Archer bringing it into the backyard.”
“It’s okay.” Once again reminded he was the black sheep of the family, he plastered on a fake grin. “Does she like it?”
“Loves it.” Tanya grabbed his hand and pulled it. “Come see for yourself.”
Breathing in the fresh air from the open windows, he followed her through the house. October ushered autumn in gently this year, giving their Pennsylvania town a reprieve from the heat of summer before winter slammed into the area.
Gran’s laugh filtered into the kitchen from the back porch. He’d remember her distinctive bubbly laugh for many years after she left this earth, which hopefully wouldn’t be for a long time. Gran was his constant—the one person he knew unequivocally he could turn to at any time. Even as his siblings married and their relationships changed, Gran remained the same.
