“You and me both, brother,” Luc said with a warm smile for Dani.
“I like you, too, and I like you with Amanda.” Dani put her hand on Landon’s arm. “Be patient, follow her lead, be what she needs. That’ll matter to her more than anything else you could do right now.”
“That’s good advice,” Lucas said. “And it worked for me, I might add.”
“You be quiet.”
Landon laughed at the way she put him in his place even as Lucas grinned like a loon. “It’s excellent advice, and it’s what I’ll do even if I’m crushed that I don’t get to see her and Stella tomorrow.”
“You’ll survive,” Dani assured him. “And she’ll appreciate you even more for giving her the space she needs right now.”
Landon nodded, feeling more settled now that he’d aired it out with them and figured out a path forward. “In the meantime, I need to get serious about finding us a bigger place to live so we’ll be ready to bring Stella home to Butler.”
“We can help with that,” Dani said.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”
—Jane Austen
After Amanda gave two thumbs-up to the farmhouse, Landon threw himself into making it a home for them over the next three weeks. He moved out of his place and into the much bigger house and spent every minute he had off painting and cleaning and arranging furniture. On one day off, he drove to Rutland and bought a dining room table and a new sectional sofa for the family room, along with some end tables.
He used his family discount to buy one of the woven tablecloths the store sold in a light celery-green color and relied on his sisters to help him choose linens for Stella’s room that he hoped she would like. If she didn’t, he’d get her something different.
Amanda had decided to postpone the trip to Paris until next summer because she wanted Stella to have some time in Butler to get acclimated before school started in the fall.
It occurred to Landon late one night as he painted the trim in the family room that both of them were thinking like parents, putting Stella’s needs ahead of their own.
They talked by FaceTime just about every night, and he saw the strain Amanda was under in the pinched expression on her face. Similarly, Stella had lost her sparkle, and all he wanted was hug them both.
Landon was cutting grass at the farm a week later when Lucas came to find him. He couldn’t bear to sit at home and wait for the phone to ring, so he’d told Amanda to call Luc if she couldn’t reach him. When he saw Lucas walking toward him, he knew why he’d come before he said the words.
Landon killed the engine on the mower and removed his ear covers.
“Kelly died an hour ago,” Lucas said.
Even though he’d been expecting it for days, the news hit hard as he nodded to let Lucas know he’d heard him. “What do I do now?”
“Call her to see what she needs.”
“Yeah, okay.” Thankful for his brother’s presence, he walked with Luc back to the barn and went up the stairs to the loft to use the phone. He stood for a second looking at the phone before he picked it up and dialed Amanda’s cell number from memory.
She answered on the second ring. “Hi.”
“Hey. Luc told me. How’re you guys doing?”
“We’re okay. Stella said she’s glad her mom isn’t suffering anymore.”
Landon closed his eyes against a flood of tears, amazed by the twelve-year-old’s courage and maturity. “What can I do?”
“We need a couple of days, and then maybe you could come pick us up?”
“I can do that. Tell Stella… Tell her I’m so sorry, and I love her.”
“I will. Call me later?”
“Yes, for sure.”
“Love you, Landon.”
“Love you, too.”
He ended the call and put down the phone, propping his hands on the counter and letting his head drop forward. “So fucking sad.”
“It sure is.” Lucas gave Landon’s shoulder a squeeze. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m going to get them in a couple of days.”
“We’ll do everything we can to make them feel welcome here.”
Landon nodded, relieved to know he’d have the support of his family as he started a new one with Amanda. “Thank you.”
Amanda focused on her to-do list: packing up the townhouse, helping Stella make piles of things to keep and things to donate and packing Stella’s belongings for the move to Vermont.