CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LANDON WAS CONFUSED. AFTERtalking to his brothers, he returned to the library to find Bailey missing. Landon looked all over the house for her but couldn’t find her. It was the strangest thing. When he checked outside in the driveway, her vehicle wasn’t there either. She was gone.
“Everything okay?” True asked when he walked back into the house. Landon knew his utter confusion must be showing on his face. He hoped there hadn’t been an emergency with her family.
“I’m not sure. Bailey just up and left without even saying goodbye.”
True wrinkled her nose. “That’s strange. She seemed to be having a really good time all day. Did something happen between the two of you?”
“Not that I know of,” he said. His mind was beginning torace as he went over the events of the day. Kisses. Romantic gestures. Jokes. Raw emotions.
“Why don’t you give her a call? I’m sure there’s a simple explanation. Cheer up,” True said, lifting his chin up and smiling at him.
Once True walked away, Landon continued to go over the situation in his mind. There had been one thing that had happened between them. He’d told her that he was falling in love with her. His heart sank. He didn’t want to think it, but maybe that was it. She had never responded to his declaration, and although he’d shrugged it off due to them being interrupted on several occasions, maybe she just hadn’t been feeling him. Maybe he’d said too much. Too soon. Or perhaps since Christmas was a few days away, she was grieving her father all over again, especially knowing that Hattie’s light was fading. Maybe he should have been more sensitive to that fact and checked in on her.
Landon headed upstairs to his bedroom so he could make a call to Bailey in private. Even though he called her phone several times, she didn’t pick up. Now he was getting really worried, almost to the point where he was considering reaching out to her mother. Rather than go that route, he decided to text her instead. Hopefully he would get a response.
Hey Bailey. I’m a little worried you left without saying goodbye.
A short while later, she replied:I’m fine Landon. I was just feeling a little suffocated.
He looked at the phone in disbelief. This response didn’teven sound like Bailey. How in the world had she been feeling suffocated when they had all been happy and celebrating a joyful occasion? She had been incredibly moved by Jacques and Hattie’s wedding. She had suggested the chili cheese party and been delighted by how it had turned out.
He couldn’t help but respond.
Suffocated?
At this point he was just hanging on by a thread, waiting to see the little dots followed by her reply. Finally, it came.
Today was a lot, Landon. I’m sorry.
I don’t think I can do this. We can still pretend to be together for Hattie, but anything more is off the table.
His hand shook as he held his phone. Landon had to read the message twice, then three times, to even allow the words to sink in. She was breaking up with him. Abruptly. Randomly. And her message sounded so cold, totally unlike Bailey.
What in the world had happened?
He needed to press for answers. This just seemed unbelievable and out of the blue. Surely he would have known if something had been majorly wrong between them. His mind raced as he went back over the events of the day. Things had been perfect. Or so he’d thought. The only extraordinary thing that had happened was him telling Bailey that he was falling in love with her. Had that scared her off? Made her realize that her feelings didn’t match his?
Landon needed to know.
Did something happen
today that I don’t know about?
I just realized that your
feelings are way stronger
than mine and I don’t want to
lead you on. It wouldn’t be fair.
Ouch! There it was. He couldn’t even pretend that this didn’t hurt. A part of him wanted to beg her to reconsider, but his pride wouldn’t let him. Maybe this had been too good to be true all along. A woman like Bailey could have anyone she wanted. For him that was what it boiled down to. The hard cold truth was that she just didn’t want him. And there was no simple fix for it.
The pain ricocheting through his body was intense. This was what it felt like, he realized, to have your heart smashed into a million little pieces. He felt incredibly blindsided and a bit foolish for believing that love was in the cards for him. For the first time in his life Landon had felt that a woman had truly seen him and valued him for who he was. Bailey had made him feel as if he was worthy of a happily-ever-after.
It had all been smoke and mirrors. None of it had been real. Like most mirages it had faded away after time. Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to run into her at work, since Yukon Cider was closed for the next week in honor of the holidays. He had no idea how he was going to be able to work with Bailey after this. Maybe this was why people didn’t engagein relationships with their co-workers. The fallout could be brutal.
