Page 58 of Landon

It was strange for Landon to realize how well he seemed to know Noel after only meeting her a few days ago. Her voice was warm as she spoke with the kids. She smiled at them, nodding as they talked, and he knew she was counseling them about everything that had happened, including their complicated and ever-changing relationship with their mom. She spoke about their mom, both instructively and with great empathy. But he could also see the rigid way she held her body as though slightly disconnected and not quite there. Her spine was stiff, and her smile was warm, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Tension lines bracketed her mouth.

“She wasn’t prepared for this,” Landon muttered, his voice low. “I shouldn’t have let her go with me to get the kids. None of this was what she signed up for. She’s strong, sure, but she’s not used to… this.” He glanced over at Devil. “You and I, we’reused to assignments that go FUBAR. But Noel? She might’ve dealt with intense moments in her job, but nothing like what happened during that storm. Or what she faced on the beach today.”

Devil raised an eyebrow, thoughtful. “Noel’s resilient. She’s trained to manage tough emotions and keep moving forward. She’ll get through this.”

Landon’s brow furrowed, his voice barely a whisper. “I just can’t get her last words out of my head.”

Devil’s dark brows snapped together. “What did she say?”

“She said she just wanted to get home and forget about everything.”

Devil's expression continued to convey confusion. “I hate to break it to you, bro, but that sounds pretty normal.”

Landon held Devil's gaze and asked, "But what does she mean? The whole trip, or does she mean me?”

“Don't get pissed, but I take it the two of you… um… got together?”

"Yeah, you could say that. We didn't have time to talk about anything in the future when we got back to Montana, but we both said we wanted to see how far this thing between us could go.”

Devil nodded, and he slightly lifted his hands. "Well, there you go. She doesn't want to forget you. She just wants to forget all the shit that happened on the trip.”

“I can’t be sure of that.” Landon scowled, the knot in his chest tightening.

“Well, you sure as fuck aren’t gonna know by just sitting here grumbling to me.”

He wanted to tell Devil to fuck off but knew his friend was right. Landon was used to asking questions for information. He was used to finding out things. He was used to interrogations, watching body language, and listening to what was both said andunsaid. But glancing over at Noel, he felt lost. And he hated that feeling.

After a while, Penny yawned, and Noel stood to help lean her chair back. Tad did the same, and soon, both kids were asleep. Noel took blankets from the overhead bin and draped one over each of them. Devil stood and walked toward the back.

Noel glanced over, then moved to Landon.

"How are you?" he asked, reaching out to take her hand.

She offered a little smile. “Good. I'm good.”

Still holding her hand, he guided her to the seat that Devil had just abandoned. She quickly sat, and he took heart that she wasn't avoiding him.

“How are the kids?”

Noel’s gaze shot over to where Tad and Penny were now sleeping. “I've said it before—kids are very resilient, and that certainly goes for those two. I'm going to suggest to Stan that they get counseling for a lot of reasons. Obviously, the kidnapping was traumatic, and certainly what happened today was, too. But I think they’re trying to bury their hurt over their mom’s actions.”

Landon nodded. “I can understand. I've never gone through anything like that because I've always had my parents’ love and their actions to back up that emotion.”

“Same here.” She sighed. “And you put it very well. I think Pamela loves her children in her own way, but her actions don’t back up the emotion she should carry. In talking with them, I think Tad gave up on his mom earlier… even before this trip. Penny was hoping that her mom was just unused to small children. As Penny became older, she hoped they might have more in common. She is struggling with the realization that Pamela just isn't maternal.”

Landon nodded again but remained silent, trying to think what to say. After two days of him and Noel talking so easily,he was utterly stymied about what topic he could bring up that would keep them conversing. He glanced over, watching as she appeared fascinated with something out the plane window.Jesus, she's not even looking at me.

He hated the way their morning had ended.If we could've just lain in bed a little longer. If we could have fixed breakfast together without worrying about anyone else in the house. If we had had a chance to talk about what we hoped might happen when we got home.He grimaced and scrubbed his hand over his face. Here they were, worlds apart in the same space.

“It looks like we can have good weather going back,” Noel said.

"Um… yeah. Looks like it'll be nice.”

“Maybe it’ll be nice in Montana too,” she murmured, her gaze fixed on some distant point outside.

“That’d be good,” he replied, inwardly cringing at the hollow words that hung between them. This was what we’d become? Talking about the damn weather?

“Do you know what you'll recommend to the courts?” he asked, desperately trying to think of something they could discuss. It seemed like the only interesting thing he could come up with right now was about Tad and Penny. But considering the kids were the actual assignment, they should have been first and foremost on his mind anyway.Fuck, what the hell was happening to me?

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