Return to Virgin River (Virgin River #19) - Robyn Carr Page 0,75

Did you plan it?”

He shook his head. “You should get the details from Janette. She called me, but it didn’t originate with her.”

“Really? This should be interesting.”

“Kiss me like you’re going to miss me tonight,” he said. “We hardly ever spend a night apart anymore.”

She accommodated him, stretching up onto her toes, arms around his neck. He didn’t wonder if she’d miss him for long. It was so good to see her happy.

When she was back on her heels, she looked up at him. “I didn’t know about the divorce.”

“I didn’t want to bother you with it,” he said. “It’s not really about you, not because of you or even my feelings for you, which are pretty hot, by the way. It is true that when I found myself with a woman like you in my house and in my bed, it begged the question, why the hell am I legally married?” He ran a knuckle along her cheek. “But no matter what happens with us, I’m ready to cut ties with Laura.”

“She still loves you, Landry.”

“No, she doesn’t,” he said. “She loves me when it’s convenient. That’s a pretty poor excuse to stay married.”

“But do you love her?”

“Sure,” he said immediately. “At least, I hold the memory of a love I had for her. But it’s way different from what I feel for you.” He kissed her softly. “Have fun tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

* * *

By the time Kaylee went back inside, the women had all changed into their pajamas or lounging night wear. A couple of logs had been added to the fire and a few of them had fresh drinks or mugs of tea. They were scattered about the room on couches and chairs.

“Well,” she said. “Did you like him?”

“He’s adorable,” Janette said.

“He seems very sweet,” Maggie said. “If you aren’t keeping him, I could get to know him better.”

“I haven’t made up my mind about that yet,” Kaylee said, plopping down on the couch. “He told me this reunion wasn’t his idea.”

“No, it wasn’t, but he was very cooperative,” Janette said. “Actually, it was Howard who set it up. He called me and asked if I could round up some of the girls. He talked to the Templetons and arranged to borrow the house for us. He offered to pay for everyone’s transportation and for the food for the holiday. In the end, no one wanted or needed his offer of money, but I think it’s worth acknowledging—he did this for you.”

“He came to visit me a couple of weeks ago,” Kaylee said. “He really wants us to work on having a father/daughter relationship. He’s pestering me to death. I just don’t know what to do with him.”

“He’s trying, Kaylee,” Michelle said. “Do you really want to be so angry with him?”

“Nah, not really,” she said. “But he’s let me down so often. I don’t want to trust him to be there for me and be let down again.”

“This is a whole new Howard,” Janette said. “In fact, he became a whole new Howard a long time ago. Remember, I’ve known him since he and your mother were engaged. He had a short attention span, thought only about himself, was fixated on making sure he was deliriously happy all the time, and was easily bored. And let’s be honest, doing nice things for others was never one of his gifts. But he’s changed. I guess I noticed the change about the time I was going through my divorce—for the first time since I’ve known him he became kind and caring. He was always charming, that’s how he racked up so many conquests. But he went beyond charm and began to act as though he actually cared about people. He was very supportive of me when Carl left me and I was in a bad way, at least briefly. I think it was all his failed marriages and relationships. It took its toll. I think he took stock of his losses.”

“He really started acting wounded when my mom got sick,” Kaylee said.

“We all noticed that,” Terri said.

“But it was about the time you graduated from college that he began to change. He was married for the third time and it wasn’t going well. You weren’t around that much. You were busy with your job, then Dixon, then your divorce—you know. Life. And he started visiting with Meredith more, talking to her more. They went out to dinner now and then. Not a lot, but a few