“Sure thing. I’ll let you get dressed. Landon will be here soon.” As she said those words, Amanda’s heart skipped a happy beat. She couldn’t wait to see him.
The last thirty minutes before he was due to arrive seemed to pass more slowly than all the weeks since she’d seen him. By the time he knocked on the door, her heart was about to explode from the excitement. She opened the door, and there he was, looking better than any man had a right to.
Amanda threw herself into his arms, and as he caught her, she realized nothing between them had changed. If anything, it had become even more. The feelings she had for him were bigger, stronger, deeper than they’d been before he gave her the space she’d needed to tend to Stella and Kelly.
She breathed in the familiar scent of pine and fresh air that she’d always associate with her love. “So happy to see you.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
“I think I know.” She smiled up at him as he seemed to stare at her, drinking her in. And then he kissed her, and the feeling of homecoming was so profound that Amanda realized for the first time that “home” wasn’t a place. Her home was with him.
“Is it safe to come out?” Stella asked from the hallway.
Laughing, Amanda released him and turned. “The coast is clear.”
Stella came into the kitchen with the last box from her room. “Hi, Landon.”
“Hey, Stella.” He walked over to take the box from her, placing it by the door with the others they were taking to Butler. And then he turned to hug her. “I’m so sorry about your mom.”
“Thank you.”
“Is this everything that’s going?” he asked of the boxes.
“That and a few other bags,” Amanda said.
“I’ll load up the truck.”
Within fifteen minutes, Landon had everything packed into the truck. “I’ll give you guys a minute,” he said, stepping outside. “Take your time.”
Amanda appreciated that he understood the gravity of Stella leaving the home she’d shared with her mother for the last time. “Do you want me to go with him?”
“No, that’s okay. I just want to walk through one more time.” The leasing company had agreed to handle donating the furniture and clothing to a local organization that helped families in need.
While Stella walked through the two-story townhouse, Amanda waited for her in the kitchen. When she returned with tears in her eyes, Amanda held out her arms, and Stella walked into her embrace as if she’d been doing it all her life.
Amanda marveled at and gave thanks for the easy, natural bond she’d formed with her daughter. They hugged for a long time, until Stella pulled back and wiped her eyes.
“I think I’m ready.”
“Okay, honey.”
Amanda followed her out of the house and held the back door to Landon’s truck for her, waiting for her to get settled before she shut the door. She got into the passenger seat and glanced at Landon, nodding to let him know they were as ready as they were ever going to be.
He reached for her hand and held on to her for the entire ride to Butler.
Amanda watched the scenery go by as she thought of the last few months and the many changes she’d experienced. Her entire perspective had shifted since the fire, along with her priorities. She knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, what really mattered. Love was what mattered, and she planned to love Stella and Landon and the children they’d have together with all her heart for the rest of her life.
She would get to the other things on her to-do list. She would learn to play piano and conquer the stick shift and give zip-lining and skiing a try.
They’d do it all, including the trip to Paris—together.
She began to get excited when the first signs for Butler appeared on the highway, and even more so when they drove through town.
“That’s the store Landon’s family owns,” she told Stella.
“Is that the inn where the fire was?” She’d told Stella about that awful night a few weeks ago.
“Yes, right next door to the store.”
Landon took a left turn off Elm Street and drove down a long, winding country road.
“Where are the moose?” Stella asked.
“They’re all over the place, but sometimes they like to hide,” Landon said. “You’ll see them eventually, and my sister Hannah has a pet