Finding His Mrs. Right (Mending Hearts Series) (14 page)

“Maybe he has a chemical imbalance.” Gwen s
hrugged.

“It still doesn’t give him the right to chew me out, and in
front of his mother none the less.” I snapped.

“True—but, at least he’s trying to apologize.” She said, grabbing my phone.

“Gwen!” I shouted as my phone rang.

She was not helping me in my quest to forget the loveable douche. I needed to get out of this town, fast.

“Tessa Winters’ phone, who’s calling?” Gwen smiled, as I tried to grab for my phone. She hustled around the bed, getting away from me.

“Gwen!” I shouted in a whisper.

“Zachary Ryan? Thee Zachary Ryan, of Ryan and Associates??” Gwen asked stunned, and so was I. How the heck did Zachary Ryan get my cell phone number? The guy was the owner of the top law firm in Los Angeles, so why was he calling me?

“Oh yeah, this is her cell,” I heard Gwen say. “I’m just her secretary. Hold for two seconds, please.” She said
, before handing me the phone.

“What does he want?” I whispered and Gwen shrugged.

“Beats me…ooh maybe he wants you to set him up with someone!” she shouted and I shushed her, before putting the phone to my ear.

“
Hello?” I answered.

“Is this Tessa Winters of
Ideal Match?” I heard a husky voice say on the other end.

“This is she.” I replied.

“So, do you really have a secretary answer your cell phone?” he asked.

“
No, Gwen’s my best friend. She is technically my secretary, but she was just using my phone when you happened to call.” I tried my best to explain. I didn’t want him to think I was too full of myself.

“Good to know. For a second, I thought you were one of those “I’ll have my people call your people” types.” He responded and I frowned.

“Never, I’m hands on with my clients.” I said.

“I can tell.” He replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked a little annoyed.

“There are rumors circulating that you’re dating, Landon Brooks.”

I paled as I clutched my cell phone. This was exactly what I was afraid of.

“You heard that all the way out there?” I asked, softly.

“It’s on every tabloid and televised gossip show there is. You’re deemed, “The Matchmaker Who Warms the Coldest Hearts”.

“Am I?” I asked shocked. I’d been so busy here that I hadn’t paid much attention to the TV or magazines.

“Oh, and you’re modest, too. Definitely a plus, but, give yourself some credit. You’re the first woman Landon Brooks has ever taken out in public, and he did it more than once, I might add.” Zachary chuckled.

“How’d did you get this number, Mr. Ryan?” I asked curiously.

“I have my ways.” He chuckled, again.

“So, I assume you didn’t call me to just chat. How can I help you, Mr. Ryan?” I asked.

“Please, call me Zach.” He insisted.

“Fine, Zach. How can I help you?” I repeated.

“I need you to help me find my soul mate.” He said, and my jaw nearly dropped.

“I’m—I—” I was at a loss of words.

“I can make you an offer that you can’t refuse.” He replied.

I listened intently as there was a knock at our hotel room door. Gwen frowned confused before looking at me briefly. I shrugged, as I pushed her towards the door. She opened it, and I saw Landon standing there with a hand full of red roses.

“I’m guessing these aren’t for me.” Gwen replied with a wry smile.

“Not quite.” Landon smiled, sadly. “But it is nice to see you again, Gwen.”

Gwen turned to look at me, and her eyes went wide with a smile, and I knew what that meant.

“It’s nice to know you remember me, Landon.” She smiled, turning back to Landon.

“In my field, I have to.” He replied, looking over at me. I immediately blushed, and turned away. He couldn’t see the way I reacted to him.

“Well, I think I should hit the lobby and explore.” Gwen said slipping from the room.

“That’s—well over my—” I was cut short, as I listened a bit more. Turning around, I saw Landon standing by the front door, obviously waiting for me.

“
Yeah, I’ll think it over.” I said. “Goodbye.”

With that, I hung up. My heart was racing, not only from the phone call that I’d just received, but from being alone with Landon. He was looking all broken like the night before, and I wanted to hug him. Too bad he didn’t deserve it.

“What are you doing here?” I asked bluntly as if he didn’t matter.

“I wanted
apologize and to beg you for your forgiveness.” He said.

“Landon—”

“Please? Let me just tell you what I came to say…while I have the nerve, and then I’ll go.” He said cutting me off and walking over to me.

My heart stopped as Landon stood in front of me and handed me the roses. I smelled them, and wasn’t going to lie, I hated flowers. I hated the smell and the reminder it sent through me. It reminded me of the day we buried Dean. The church was full of the smell of flowers, and I hated the smell ever
since that day. But I couldn’t tell Landon that. He’d taken time to get me more than a dozen. It was a nice gesture.

“Thank you, they’re pretty.” I smiled
fakely.

“I know its cliché, but I didn’t know what else to get you.” He replied.

“They’re fine.” I said as he took them and laid them on the bed.

“
I’m sorry about the way I reacted earlier. It wasn’t acceptable and I want you to know that I’ve never yelled a woman like that before. Ever.” He sighed.

“Well I’m glad to be the first.” I said sarcastically.

“I deserved that.” He said, running his hand through his hair.

“Yeah, you did.” I agreed.

“Can you sit on the bed?” he asked, so I did. “Ok,” he huffed turning his back to me.

“Whatever you do—don’t interrupt me until I’m finished ok? This is something I think you need to know about me.” Landon said, turning back to me.

“Landon, you’re scaring me.” I said truthfully as I gripped the covers beneath my fingertips.

“I don’t mean to.” He said nervously as he began pacing.

After sitting quietly for about five minutes, I finally broke the silence. Watching him pace had been nerve wrecking.

“
Just tell me what this is about.” I blurted out and he stopped before looking over to me.

“Sorry, I was just trying to see where to begin.”

“Stop apologizing and just tell me.” I bit and he nodded.

“It started with my dad.” Landon responded.

“I thought you said your dad left your mom when you were younger.” I frowned. God, was he a liar too?

“He did, but not in the way you think.”
He sighed as I stared at him confused. “My dad left, but when he did, he tried to take me with him. I was barely seven. He woke me up late one night…”

22 Years Earlier:

“Landon buddy, wake up.” I heard my daddy’s voice reply as he shook me.

I groaned before pulling my covers up more over my head. It was late, dark, and I was sleepy. Why was my dad trying to get me up? Shaking me again, he
tugged my cover down, and I whined.

“Daddy!”
I moaned, sitting up and blinking away my drowsiness.

“
Ssh.” he said, with a wry smile. “We wouldn’t want to wake mommy now would we?”

Yawning, I shook my head
, no.

“Why’d you wake me?” I asked drowsily.

“I wanna take you somewhere.” He smiled, and I could smell the funny drink he’d always drunk on his breath. I hated the smell, it was harsh. Looking at my window, I saw it was still too dark outside, and I hated the dark.

“But—it’s not morning.” I said, nibbling my bottom lip nervously.

“It’s somewhere special, trust me.” He smiled, grabbing me from the bed and picking me up. It wasn’t like I had a big choice in the matter anyway.

He carried me through the hall as he tiptoed, and I clung to him tightly. My mom was always telling me that my daddy was sick, so being with him alone scared me a little bit.

“Daddy, I don’t wanna go.” I whined, and he stopped to look at me.

“Why not?” he asked and I could hear the anger in his voice. I didn’t
wanna make him mad. When he got mad, I got scared because he liked to yell a lot.

“Maybe we should let mommy go
too.” I insisted.

“No!” he shouted, taking me down the dimly lit hallway.

I looked back, and wanted to scream for my mom, but knew it would only make things bad. Dad was in scary mode, and I knew not to go against him. I stared at the pictures on my wall as we got closer to the door. Cassidy started to cry, and I knew mommy would get up and check on her. I hated to hear my baby sister cry, but right now, she made me a bit relieved. Once my mom saw us, she would stop daddy. I just knew it.

Daddy cursed under his breath, and hurried to the garage with me.

“I don’t wanna go!” I cried this time, and he sat me down on the ground, before kneeling to me.

“No crying, buddy.” He smiled, wiping my tears away. “I promise you’ll love where we’re going.”

“Then why can’t mommy and Cassidy come?” I sniffled.

“Father, son stuff
,”

“But I’m in my jammies.” I pointed out.

“I know, and they’re your favorite right? The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are cool.” He replied, and I half smiled. “Now be a big boy and stop crying.” He insisted.

Nodding, I wiped the new falling tears dry from my eyes and took his hand as he picked me up and put me in the car.
We drove out of there, and my dad drove like a maniac into the night.

Now:

“So, what happened?” I asked a bit confused. Had his dad taken him to live with him on the run? I hated hearing stories about kids who got taken from their home by an unstable parent.

“My dad tried to leave with me…he wasn’t right in the head. My mom used to tell me that all the time, but I didn’t understand it until that night.
” He said in a whisper. I just stayed quiet as he continued.

“I was scared, and he wouldn’t slow down
, even though I begged him to.” Landon said as I felt a lump in my throat. I didn’t like the way this story was going.

“Everybody said it was an accident—but I knew better.” He said falling silent
, with his back facing me.

“Said what
was an accident?” I finally asked, breaking my silence.

“My dad drove off a bridge
…with me strapped in the backseat.” He mumbled, and my heart stopped.

“Oh my God,” I gasped, before covering my mouth in total and utter shock.

“He just kept saying we were going to stay together no matter what.” Landon muttered, grabbing the chair in front of him. Shooting to my feet, I immediately went over to him.

“Things have n
ever been the same since. My mother blamed herself for not doing anything about his behavior. But, she didn’t know he was mentally ill until
after
they did his autopsy. I don’t blame her, I understand. She did everything she could to protect me…I blame myself—if I had just screamed for my mom or—”

“No.” I said taking him in my arms and holding him tight. “You were just a kid, Landon.
” I reassured.

“
That doesn’t matter.” He protested.

“It does matter.” I s
napped, looking him in the eyes. I saw they were red from crying, and that shredded me inside even more.

His mother should’ve protected him more
. If there was even an inkling of her gut telling her that his dad was nuts, she should have done something about it. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t know the whole story so I couldn’t judge, but one thing was for sure. Landon was broken because of his past.

“It’s not your fault that your dad—” Saying that his dad was crazy just didn’t sit right with me, so I steered clear of that.

“Look, you were a kid. Your only job was to be happy and carefree. From what I hear, your childhood was anything but that. To even pick up the pieces after something like that is a miracle in itself.” I pointed out.

“Don’t you get it? My head isn’t screwed on right anymore
, Tessa. I died that night. Literally and figuratively. I drowned, and I was dead for more than fifteen minutes. How they brought me back? I don’t know, but since then, I—I can’t even take a bath without thinking I might die.” Landon snapped, pulling away from me.

“That’s understandable. But at least you don’t let it run your whole life. No matter what you think, you have overcome a lot
, Landon. Look at you. You’ve made sure your family didn’t have to want for anything. You put yourself through college with hard work. You’ve practically raised your sister while your mother has been sick. Shall I go on?” I shrugged and he smiled through the tears.