Page 40 of Landon

“Feel better?” Noel asked.

“Yes, and thank you, Noel.”

Noel wrapped her arm around the young girl’s shoulders. “How are you doing this morning?”

Penny looked up at her and pressed her lips together. “It seems like a bad dream. I mean… all of this.” She sighed. “Mom is doing her typical selfish stuff, always trying to get one over on Dad. Then those men—” She sucked in a shallow breath.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Noel said, turning to face Penny, then bending slightly so she was directly in front of her. “We are not going to pretend that yesterday didn’t happen. We’re going to talk about it. Face it. We’ll get you home with your dad and grandparents and make sure you have a good counselor to talk about it. And keep in mind that you and your brother are survivors.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t do anything…”

“That’s not true. When I arrived, you were on Landon’s back as he scaled down the wall like Spider-Man.”

Penny chuckled, and her eyes lit. “It was kind of crazy, wasn’t it?”

“Honey, it was beyond crazy. But you did what he asked. You didn’t fall apart. You followed directions. You helped save yourself, even if that was just helping the person sent to save you.”

Penny held her gaze. “You’re good at this.”

Cocking her head, Noel waited.

“You know… good at making me feel better.”

Smiling, Noel brushed her hand over Penny’s hair and cupped her cheek. “Thank you, sweetheart. Just keep remembering that you’re safe.” She moved closer to the door. “Now, let’s go have that gourmet breakfast.”

As soon as they entered, she found Landon’s gaze on her again. Even more intense than before. Tad walked past her to go outside, and as Landon followed, he stopped next to her. Bending, he whispered, “You are good at this. I’m glad you forced yourself on me.”

She blinked as she stared up at him. “Forced myself on you?” She suddenly wondered what she had done in the middle of the night when they were curled around each other.

His lips curved in a slow grin. “Yeah. Forced yourself to accompany me on this part of the trip.”

“Oh. Oh… yeah… right.” Her face heated, and her eyes narrowed as his grin widened. Playfully slapping him on the arm, she said, “Go on. Get out of here.”

He dipped his chin, then turned and followed Tad out the door. She let out a long, slow breath, gave a moment for her cheeks to cool, then slapped on a smile and turned around. Penny was staring at her but didn’t say anything, for which Noel was glad. If the young girl had wondered what was happening, Noel would have had no idea how to explain it when she didn’t understand it herself.

She found the stash of protein bars and handed one to Penny and another bottle of water. “You’ll need to share the water with Tad when he returns.” Penny nodded and leaned against the side wall as Noel picked up the tarps and began to fold them.

Near the back, she heard voices. She hadn’t planned on listening, but her ears perked up.

“I was scared,” Tad said.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Landon replied. “I would have thought something was wrong with you if you hadn’t been scared.”

There were a few seconds of silence before Tad admitted, “I was afraid of what they might do to Penny. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had to stay between them and her. But I keep thinking, what if?—”

“Don’t,” Landon ordered. “Don’t torture yourself withwhat-ifs. Just think of what you said—you knew you had to stay between them and her. You put yourself out there to protect your sister. At your age? That’s fucking huge, Tad. That means that at only twelve, you’ve learned about being a man besides just enjoying being a kid. You’ve got the heart of a protector. You hold on to that. You nourish and nurture that part of you.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

“Thanks, Landon. Coming from you, that means a lot.”

Noel barely breathed as she leaned closer to the back wall. No more sounds were heard until footsteps neared the door, and she jerked around to find Penny still staring at her. She had a feeling they had both witnessed Tad’s fears and insecurities as well as Landon’s words of praise. Her chest swelled with an emotion she couldn’t define, but as Landon walked through the door, she had to force her legs to stay in place so she wouldn’t run and throw herself at him.

Tad moved over to take the water from Penny’s outstretched hand while Landon stopped and stared at Noel. She knew a goofy smile must be on her face as his gaze wandered over her, and his lips twitched. “Here,” she said, handing protein bars to Tad and Landon. Then before she embarrassed herself more, she bent to fold the last tarp, shoving it into the pack.

Landon knelt next to her and placed his hand over hers. “I’ve got it,” he said, his voice still growly, but now the sound oozed through her like melted chocolate—gooey and delicious.

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