And there wasn’t anything he was more grateful for than his wife.
He still got a kick out of that.Wife.Landon Bennet.Married.
Stepping inside, there was a smile on his face.He smelled dinner.It was the same routine they’d had before the wedding, and still there was just something a little special about this same routine now being with hiswife.
He whistled a little to himself as he hung up all his ranch wear.Aly was at the stove when he entered the kitchen, like usual, but right away he knew something was different than the past week.“What’s all this?”He knew the difference between a dinner for two and a dinner for a crowd.
He’d enjoyed it being just the two of them.No crowds.Just them and the ranch and being married.No, it couldn’t last.They had family, and they had friends, and he knew Aly needed both.
But he preferred the isolation, truth be told.
“Sam texted that she was stopping by, and then Nate called that he would meet her here, and I figured I’d just make dinner for everybody.I haven’t been able to get ahold of Cal, though.”
“I’m sure he’ll be here if he got your messages.”Landon came up behind her as he usually did, wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head while she kept working at whatever she was making.
Tonight it was chopping garlic for whatever she was sautéing on the stove.But she stopped and put one hand over his, with a little friendly pat.
He looked at the matching bands on their fingers.Symbols of promises made.A reminder, that no matter what the rest of his family wanted to stir up, this circle didn’t end.Not him and Aly.
“Bad news I take it.”
“Sam didn’t say, but I can’t imagine why else.”Aly sighed.“I’d think her and Nate had some special news, but they weren’t even together.And Nate didn’t sound happy.”
A knock sounded from the front of the house.
Landon pressed a kiss to Aly’s cheek.“I’ll get it.”
He walked through the house and opened the front door to Sam.There was still an instinct to scowl.Fifteen years of antagonism meant it was just… ingrained, even with all the strides they’d made.
A lot of their unease around each other had cooled since Dad’s trial.Hell, maybe all of it.Sam had been a huge part in the truth being told and his dad being put away for good.Landon figured he owed her a lot for that—add on she was the reason Nate had finally come home and that she seemed to make him happy, there was no reason to scowl.
But that didn’t mean Landon knew what to do when it was just him and Sam.“Hey,” he greeted, then after a minute remembered he needed to move out of the way so she could come in.
“Hey,” she replied.“Nate’s not here yet?”
“No.And we haven’t heard from Cal.”
Sam frowned at that.“I’m sure Nate will grab him if he’s at the offices.Otherwise… well, I really needed to talk to Aly the most, but I could use a group answer on this one.”
Landon nodded.Then awkward silence descended.
“Uh, Aly’s in the kitchen,” Landon said.“Why don’t you come on back?”He waved her to follow him, because standing in the entryway staring at each other—or expresslynotat each other—wasn’t ever going to be comfortable.
They walked into the kitchen and Aly smiled in greeting, but before she could say anything, Sam was talking.
“Aly.You always go to too much trouble.”
“I don’t mind,” Aly replied, wiping her hands on a dishtowel.“And to prove it, I’ll put you both to work until Nate gets here.”
So she gave them tasks to do, which meant Landon didn’t have to worry about being awkward, because he could focus on setting the table or pouring drinks.When Nate arrived, saying he hadn’t heard back from Cal at all, Landon didn’t know whether to be worried about their missing brother or not.
Still, as they all sat down around the dining room table, he knew there were more pressing things to worry about based on the way Sam was acting.Not her usual abrasive self.This weird softer side of her Landonreallynever knew what to do with.
“I didn’t mean for you to go through all this trouble, Aly,” Sam said.“But it’s nice.”
“Because you have bad news,” Aly supplied for her.
“Yes.Sort of.I don’t even know what parts to tell you, what to not.But hell, I’m tired of secrets.I’m… tired.Period.Jill hired me to look into Glenda.To try and figure out what might have caused her trauma.”
