“Yup.” Landon held out his arm for them to see. “And bit by a dog for my troubles.”
Hunter looked up and winced at the huge bruise on Landon’s wrist. “Ouch. That’s not very nice.”
“The poor guy was scared.”
“How’s Amanda?” Megan asked.
“She’s doing better. The ankle is still giving her some grief, though. Actually, she’s the reason I came by. You still have your piano, right?”
“Uh-huh,” Hunter said as he rolled another set of silverware and added it to the growing pile on the counter.
“Amanda wants to learn how to play. Do you think you could show her the basics sometime?”
“I could try. I’ve never actually taught anyone, so I have no idea if I can.”
“You could,” Megan said. “He plays for me all the time. He’s really good.”
“I know, which is why I thought of him when she said she wanted to learn. She’s on a quest, I guess you could call it, to do things she’s put off now that she’s got this second chance at life.”
“That’s cool,” Megan said. “And it’s sweet of you to want to help her.”
Landon shrugged. “I get where she’s coming from. Nothing like getting caught in a fire to remind you that there’s no time like the present to go after what you want.”
“Is that what you’re doing, too?” Hunter asked. “Going after what you want with her?”
“Maybe so.”
“Told you.” Megan nudged Hunter with her shoulder. “When are you going to realize I’m right about most things?”
“Thanks a lot,” Hunter said to Landon.
Landon grinned at their good-natured bickering. “Want to catch me up?”
“After your birthday, I told Hunter there was something brewing with you and Amanda, and he said, nah, Landon doesn’t do serious. In fact, he said, Lucas doesn’t either. He was also wrong about that.”
“We love when Hunter is wrong about something,” Landon said. “It happens so infrequently that you have to really enjoy the moment.”
“I know!” Megan said. “It’s maddening how he’s almost always right. I have to get mine where I can.”
“Um, hello,” Hunter said. “I’m right here, and I can hear you.”
“Was I or was I not right about Landon and Amanda?” Megan leaned in, cupping her ear as if to hear him better.
“Yes, dear, you were right.”
“You’re my witness that it does happen once in a while, Landon.”
“I’m writing this down for you.”
“Thank you. Now, tell me more about what’s going on with Amanda.”
“We’re in the negotiation stage, I guess you might say.”
“You’re serious about her, then?” Hunter asked.
“I think I could be.”
“You don’t know for sure?”
“She’s in kind of an odd place right now after the fire. She’s determined to shake things up. I told her I’d help her, but I’m not really sure how that’s going to play out for her long-term or how I fit into her plans.”
“That sounds kind of risky for you,” Hunter said, frowning.
Hunter’s aversion to risk was well known within their family. As the chief financial officer for their many businesses, he avoided risk like the plague.
“I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.” Landon glanced at the clock on the far wall and saw it was almost seven. He needed to get home so he could get some sleep and have time with Amanda before he had to work later.
“I will worry,” Hunter said. “I don’t want you crushed if she moves on without you.”
The thought of that pained Landon. “I don’t want that either. Don’t worry. It’s all good, for now, anyway. I’ll tell Amanda to hit you up about the piano?”
“Sure.”
Landon put three one-dollar bills on the desk next to the cash register to pay for the coffee. “Thanks again. You guys have a nice day.”
“You, too,” Megan called after him.
As he drove home, Landon thought about what Hunter had said about looking out for himself in the midst of Amanda’s second chance at life. It was a valid point, but he was determined to make a real effort with her. Perhaps if he took advantage of this opportunity to show her what was possible with him, her journey would lead her to him in the end.
He pulled into his driveway and glanced at the unassuming cabin. It’d been a wreck when he bought it. He’d made it into a home with a lot of time and effort, the same kind of time and effort he’d have to expend to make a go of it with Amanda. Knowing she was in his house made him almost giddy with anticipation as he gathered a fresh bundle of wood and then used