Love Reunited. Renee Andrews
going to get one of those hamburgers I’m smelling or not?” he asked, and his brother had the courtesy to nod and stop probing.
“Sure.”
In no time at all they were seated at one of the red vinyl booths with Casey and Nadia. Landon had embraced his youngest brother in a hug that he was fairly certain would’ve embarrassed him years ago, but something had changed in Casey and he hugged Landon just as tightly and told him he loved him, while Nadia beamed at her boyfriend.
“He talks about you often,” she told Landon. Then she smiled and added, “Thank you for serving our country.”
Landon was drawn to the pretty Asian girl’s sweet smile, her honest admiration for his service and the way she made Casey’s face light up with unhidden love. “I enjoyed serving,” he said, “but I’ll admit I’m glad to be home.”
She nodded, and the four of them chatted over burgers, mostly about Casey’s plans for heading to the University of Alabama on Monday. Landon tried not to stare at his baby brother, but he couldn’t help it. John had sent photos over the years, but there was something so different about seeing Casey in person. He was a carbon copy of Landon and John, almost eerily so, with light brown hair that was a little longer than Landon would’ve liked, but probably right in tune with what was “in” for teens nowadays, a broad-shouldered build that said he worked out regularly and loved sports as much as his older brothers, deep dimples creasing both cheeks and a smile that said he was happy with life and with his place in this world. Or at least with his place right now, sitting beside Nadia.
“Hey, if you aren’t going to eat that, I will,” Casey said, pointing to the rest of Landon’s hamburger and fries.
Landon had been enjoying the conversation and seeing his family so much that he’d stopped eating. He grinned, pushed the plate forward. “Have at it.”
Within minutes, Casey inhaled the rest of Landon’s meal while Nadia chatted about how much she enjoyed her job at the photography studio.
“Carter Photography?” Landon asked, remembering Mia and Mandy Carter. Mia had been a year behind Landon in school and in the same grade as John. Mandy had been several years younger. And Landon recalled John’s e-mail about the tragedy in their family last year. “Who owns it now that Mia passed away?”
“Mandy is running it now,” John said. “I don’t guess I ever told you, but she married Daniel Brantley, and they’ve adopted Mia and Jacob’s son, Kaden.”
“You don’t say.” Landon was amazed at how much things had changed. Then again, he’d seen the ultimate change this afternoon in Georgie. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to find out if Casey knew more about her return home than John. “I rode over to the Sanders farm today. Georgiana was there.”
Casey’s dark brows lifted. “Wow, I’d nearly forgotten about her, it’s been so long since I’ve seen anyone over there but Mrs. Sanders. Seems like forever since Georgiana used to come spend time at the farm with you guys, but I remember her. She had long red hair and rode her horse over about every day.”
Landon should have realized that Casey wouldn’t know anything about Georgiana’s return. Casey had only been ten when she left Claremont. He probably remembered a pretty older girl who came out to the farm to visit, nothing more, nothing less.
“Ms. Mandy took her little girl’s picture yesterday,” Nadia said.
“Georgiana’s little girl?” Landon hadn’t expected to get any information from Nadia.
She nodded, shiny black hair bobbing with the action. “Yes, her name is Abi, isn’t it?”
“It is. You said she was at the photography studio?”
“Mrs. Sanders brought her in to have her picture made for her piano recital. Mrs. Camp likes to make a program with all of the performers’ pictures, you know. She did that when I took piano lessons from her too. Abi’s a really pretty little girl, with all of those red curls and freckles, isn’t she?”
Landon recalled how much she looked like Georgiana. “Yes, she is.”
“She’s been coming to church with Mrs. Sanders the past couple of weeks.”
“Abi has?” Landon asked.
Nadia nodded. “I’ve seen them there on Sunday mornings.”
“But not Georgiana?” Landon asked. Georgie had attended church every time the doors were open when she was growing up.
“No, I haven’t met Abi’s mother yet.”
Landon was baffled. What had happened to Georgie while he’d been gone?
“You done?” John asked, tossing his napkin on the table. “We could go check out the square, not that all that much has changed since you’ve been gone.”
“It’d still be nice to see everything again.” And in the back of his mind, Landon wondered if he’d see Georgiana too. Her mother and daughter had mentioned shopping tonight at the square.
Casey snagged a fry from Nadia’s plate, popped it in his mouth and swallowed. “Sounds good to me,” he said. “Okay for you?” he asked Nadia, who smiled and nodded.
They paid for their meal and then headed out to the town square. Landon studied everything as they started down the sidewalk. Night had settled in, so the tiny lights bordering each building’s eaves cast the streets in a yellow tint. Children laughed around the splashing fountain, and several elderly couples sat on park benches tossing bread to the noisy geese. A family exited the Sweet Stop as Landon passed the doorway and a gust of sugary air hit him full force. He remembered Abi saying that she was going to the candy store and glanced in to see if Georgie was inside.
She wasn’t.
“Casey and I went there earlier for some of the divinity. And they were making peanut brittle,” Nadia said.
“I told Nadia we’d go back later and get that for dessert,” Casey said, grinning. “Figured the divinity was an appetizer to our dinner.”
“And since you ate your dinner and a bit of everyone else’s,” John said, “you definitely will need dessert.”
“Yep, I will,” Casey agreed, laughing.
Landon loved this, spending time with family. He’d missed it more than he realized. And he wondered what kind of family life Georgiana had now. Her father had passed away over a decade ago. Her mother had primarily been in Claremont, visiting Tampa occasionally, but not seeing her daughter a whole lot from what John had said. And Georgiana had been in Tampa with Pete and Abi...blind.
What had she been limited to because of her loss of sight? Had Pete helped her adjust to her blindness? Had he been the type of loving, supportive husband he should have been? Landon recalled the Pete he knew in high school, always wanting the best and not wanting anything that was less than perfect. He’d always said Georgiana Sanders was “absolutely perfect.” Landon had thought so too, but now he wondered if Pete still saw her in that light.
“There’s Mr. Brantley and his friends,” Nadia said, indicating a group of guys standing on the sidewalk outside of Carter Photography. She waved, and Chad Martin tossed up his hand with a smile, then his brows lifted, his smile broadened and he yelled, “Landon! Had no idea you were home, buddy. Is this it? You home for good?”
“Home for good.” Landon closed the distance between them and gladly accepted several hugs and pats on the back from his old friends.
“Man, it’s been a long time,” Daniel said.
“Too long,” Landon agreed.
They visited, and he couldn’t help but notice that he felt a little lost in local happenings and with life in general. He knew that often happened to guys that were in the service, but he’d never really thought about the possibilities of what might happen in eight years. Many of