Over the next several hours, he helped the rest of their team fight the fire until it was under control. Neighbors had taken in the family that had lost its home, and there’d be plenty to do at the site in the coming days as they confirmed their suspicions that a faulty woodstove had started the fire.
Landon drove toward town exhausted and chilled to the bone as the sun rose over Butler Mountain, casting a warm glow over the picturesque town. As he was scheduled to work that night, he had the day to get some sleep ahead of his regular shift. In his early twenties, he might’ve stayed at work rather than going home to sleep. But as he got older, he’d learned to take care of himself so he could take care of other people.
He never knew when he’d be needed for search and rescue or fires, so he tried to keep his battery charged rather than running on empty most of the time the way he used to. Besides, with Amanda sleeping in his bed, he had good reason to go home rather than work around the clock. He couldn’t wait to see her and hold her and be with her. The rush of emotions tied to her left him feeling a bit lightheaded and off-balance as he drove home, thinking about the convergence of the past and the present.
After he’d lost Naomi, he’d shut down to any feeling that could cause him pain when it came to women. He’d kept things light and fun and muddled through without taking chances on anything below the surface.
That strategy had prevented him from experiencing more of the heartbreak he’d endured after Naomi died. But it had also kept him walled off from anything meaningful. Until he’d met Amanda, he’d never wanted to change the status quo that had worked so well to protect him since his tragic loss.
And now he was on the verge of risking everything for a woman and doing so with his eyes wide open to the potential for disaster. He couldn’t deny the possibility of being hurt like he’d been before, and it scared him. For a time after Naomi’s shocking death, he’d had reason to wonder if he’d ever be the same again. The family had rallied around him and Lucas in the loss of their friend, but no one other than Lucas had known how much greater the loss had been for Landon.
He’d refused to discuss it with anyone other than his twin, who was the only one who knew that he’d finally worked up the nerve to ask her out days before the illness struck. Landon would never know what might’ve been with Naomi, but he’d always had the feeling their relationship would’ve been significant.
Hannah had met her first husband, Caleb, when they were in middle school, and their love had gone the distance until he died in Iraq.
Would it have lasted forever with Naomi? He had no way to know, but it was certainly possible. He hadn’t thought about her and what might’ve been for them in a long time, even if the dull ache of her loss had remained with him over the years. Only since Amanda had come into his life and opened the door to new possibilities had he started thinking again about what might’ve been with Naomi.
He’d already had more with Amanda than he’d ever had with Naomi. Thinking of what it had been like to hold Amanda made him almost desperate to be with her again, even knowing the risk he was taking with every passing minute he spent with her.
On the way through town, he made a quick stop at the diner, where he knew he’d find his brother Hunter at that hour, helping Megan prepare for the morning rush. “Knock, knock,” he said, sticking his head into the diner, which wouldn’t be officially open for another fifteen minutes. “Young, impressionable brother coming in, so don’t do anything that can’t be unseen.”
“Shut up and come in.” Hunter was seated at the counter with Megan, helping her roll silverware into paper napkins. His eldest brother had dark, wavy hair and brown eyes.
“There’s coffee if you want some, Landon.” Megan had her blond hair up in a ponytail with a pen pushed through it.
“Thanks.” He helped himself to a cup of coffee and stood behind the counter to drink it.
“You get called out last night?” Hunter asked without looking up from his