“I don’t read fiction a lot, but I’m a huge fan of thrillers,” Landon told her. “I’m in the middle of one right now.”
“Same! I love them too.” She let out a chuckle. “I can’t read them at night because they make my heart race way too much for a restful night’s sleep.”
“I hear that,” Landon said, laughing along with her. “I’ve scared myself silly reading thrillers. Although I have to admit I love the rush.”
“We’ll have to go to the movies sometime,” Bailey said, feeling flirty.
“I would love that,” Landon said. “Let’s make a date for this week. You pick the movie.”
“So, I’m curious about something. Your mom raised you and your brothers, but I don’t recall seeing your father much in Moose Falls. Did he live in Arizona?” she asked. She had been curious about Red Stone ever since seeing him at Hattie’s holiday party. He was a man of mystery according to most people.
“No, Red was traveling around the world a lot. Every now and then he would come to visit us and stay here in Moose Falls with Hattie, but he wasn’t a permanent fixture anywhere,” Landon explained. “Kind of like a nomad, I guess, seeking out adventures.”
“That must have made it difficult to have a relationshipwith him.” She took a bite of her quesadilla, waiting for his response.
“Yes, but I’ve moved past it. Nothing gained by reliving the painful moments.”
Her heart bled for Landon and his brothers. It must have been incredibly hurtful. “Did he ever explain himself?”
“He’s been through his own trauma. He watched his father fall to his death when he was a boy. That certainly doesn’t give him a pass, but at least I understand it a little bit now.”
“No, it doesn’t let him off the hook,” she said, anger radiating in her voice. “Three sons going without a dad is quite the hardship.” She and her three sisters had gone without their dad, but it hadn’t been by choice. Her dad had been a victim of a drunk driver’s selfishness.
“It was really hard,” he acknowledged. “We saw him very infrequently,” he admitted. “A few graduations here and there. He would send birthday gifts from time to time, cards, surprise boxes. Nothing consistent. Nothing we could count on. Sort of like seeing a flash of the northern lights. Impressive and mind-blowing. Yet when those things happened, it felt like magic to me. Being in Red’s presence was intoxicating.
“I would’ve given anything to have had him present in our lives. In the end he missed out, too, because there were some amazing moments. Caleb starring in several plays. Xavier being drafted by the NFL.”
“And I have the feeling you had some epic moments yourself. Right?” she asked.
A smile hovered around his lips, as if he was remembering special times.
“I’ve had a great life. Getting into MIT was a highlight.” Landon was a humble guy, and she knew he wasn’t name-dropping. Clearly he’d been working all his life to achieve scientific success.
“You sound as if you didn’t resent him at all. Can that be true?” She was a bit flabbergasted. Either Landon wasn’t telling the truth, or he was an actual saint.
Landon let out a dry chuckle. “To be honest, Xavier and Caleb felt so angry toward him that it almost seemed unfair for all three of us to be against him, so I didn’t allow myself to give in to those bitter feelings.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s just how I’m wired.”
She found it hard to believe Landon had forgiven his father. He was so calm and rational about it. It made her furious to know that Landon’s father had shirked his fatherly responsibilities while her own dad hadn’t been given a choice in the matter. And yet there would’ve been only one path for her dad. The best girl dad in the world. He would have gone to the moon and back for all four of them. And he had, time after time.
“So now that you’ve grilled me, it’s my turn to ask you something.”
Bailey immediately felt bad. She hadn’t meant to ask him so many questions about Red, but she’d been so curious about how a man could walk away from his fatherly responsibilities the way he had.
“Sorry about that,” Bailey said. “Especially if I over-stepped.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he said, shrugging. “I’m an open book about Red. You can ask me anything.”
She wished that she felt the same way about her ownfather. Bailey wasn’t sure if there would ever be a time when she would invite questions. It still felt like a topic she needed to be guarded about.
“Well, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that thing you told me about not liking Christmas. What’s up with that?” he asked, a look of curiosity stamped on his face.
Ugh. Why had she ever mentioned it? She should have just kept her mouth shut. Of course, since Landon was Mr. Christmas, he wanted to know why she felt this way about the holidays.
“I just don’t enjoy it. Period. End of story.” She knew her tone was abrupt, but this wasn’t the time or the place to discuss it.
“Aww, come on. There’s got to be more to it than that. Fess up.” There was a teasing note to his voice that rubbed her the wrong way.
She felt a burst of anger toward him.Why couldn’t he just leave this alone?
