Safe (22 page)

At 5:15, we were showered, shaved, buffed, polished, beautified, and ready to head out the door.

“So, how is it?” I asked Lauryn skeptically.

“You are going to knock Landon on his ass. You look absolutely beautiful.”

I blushed. I wasn’t used to getting compliments, unless they were from Mom, and occasionally Landon. It was nice to hear.

“Thank you. And you look magnificent.” Lauryn found a dress in my closet for her, too. The dress had one long-sleeve and the other was bare. The bottom flared out at her knees, with a small black belt that went around her waist. Beautiful.

“Ready or not, let’s go.”

The drive to the Ellison house wasn’t long. A couple of dirt roads, twists, and turns, and we were pulling up to their house. Well, if you could call this a house; more like an estate.

The house was two stories and reminded me of pictures I’d seen of the White House. It had four tall pillars in the front—all painted white to match the house.

From what I could see, there were ten windows in the front of the house, and all had beautiful sheer curtains hanging from them. The front entryway had two, yes two, black doors with a window above it. I could see a huge chandelier through it. To say I became nervous at the look of this house would be a total understatement.

My hands instantly began to sweat and my pulse picked up. The inside of my body was on a rollercoaster ride, and a small amount of bile was trying to make its way out of my mouth.

I couldn’t do this. These people had money and lots of it. I. DID. NOT.

“Lauryn, I think we should just go home,” I said nervously.

“Why?” she asked, looking at me with her eyebrow cocked.

“Look at this house,” I whispered.

“What about it? It’s a bit bigger than my mom and dad’s, but it doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t fit in here.” My voice was trembling so much that I even heard it in my words.

“You
what
? Of course you do. You were invited. Don’t let the house or money hold you back. This family is as down-home as they come. Trust me?”

Of course I trusted Lauryn. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. But going in there and pretending to be normal was hard enough. This mask could only take so much before I knew it would crumble. And I’d be damned if it broke here.

Lauryn’s voice broke my thoughts, “Sadie, it will be just fine. Let’s go in. You already know everyone except for Keith. They’re just as nice as the rest of them.”

Letting out a long breath, I responded, “Okay.”

Before we got to the door, it swung wide open. Standing in the doorway was Landon with his beautiful million-dollar smile. He had on jeans and a button-down hunter green shirt. He looked hot.

“You made it.” He reached out to me, and I began walking toward him.

“Yep. We’re here.”

“Come in.” With those words, Landon stepped aside and made room for us to follow inside.

“Ahhh …” Before I could even see where I was, Landon grabbed my hand and pulled me into a room away from the door. He gently put his hands on my cheeks, bent down, and whispered, “I missed you.” And before I could respond, he planted the most delicious kiss on my lips. I felt as if he was sucking all of my nervousness away—relaxing me, calming me. When his tongue brushed my bottom lip wanting access, I opened for him.

I became so lost in the kiss and him that I forgot where I was. My only thought was Landon and this kiss.

“Uh … Mmm … You gonna introduce her son, or keep her in here all night?”

Hearing the masculine voice, I jumped away from Landon, putting my hand to my mouth. The color of my face must’ve been the shade of a tomato at the level of embarrassment I felt.

Looking at the man in the doorway was astonishing. It was Landon, only with more experiences. I could see the wrinkles forming around his eyes. He looked tired, but unbelievably handsome. He may have had the beginnings of wrinkles, but his eyes were the same piercing color as Landon’s. The blue was so striking that any woman would get lost in them; I was at the moment.

His build was similar to Landon’s, as well. He had broad shoulders and was almost the same height. I knew it was well over six feet because I had to look up to see him.

“Way to kill the mood, Pop.” Landon’s smirk made me want to hide.

“Son, you can’t hog our guests. Even if you want to.”

Landon pulled me to his side and wrapped his arm around my waist. I felt embarrassed, nervous, and my anxiety was through the roof, but as soon as I felt his arm, I began to relax into it.

Smiling the same beautiful smile as Landon’s, he walked closer and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Pop around here. But you can call me Keith.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” I shook his hand.

Keith took his other hand and clasped it over mine, fully engulfing my hand. This guy had huge hands. Wow! I actually felt warm and comforted. Meeting people, especially men, was always hard. But with Keith, I didn’t feel scared. It felt easy and safe. The same as I felt with Landon.

Was this real? And did I want it to be real? Those questions would need to wait until later for me to figure out.

“Landon here tells us that you’re living with Lauryn in the guest house,” Keith said.

“Yes sir. I’ve only been here a couple of weeks.” And in those weeks, I got sucked into your son.

“Well, let’s go see the rest of the family …” Keith winked.

Keith stepped aside and allowed Landon and me to pass. With Landon’s hand on the small of my back, he led me down a hallway lined with beautiful family pictures. The pictures looked very professional and had everyone in different poses. They were all in black and white and were amazing.

Not getting much time to look, Landon pushed on a swinging door and led me into the most beautiful kitchen I had ever stepped into. Now, I loved Lauryn’s, but this kitchen was Lauryn’s kitchen’s Momma.

Beautiful cherry wood cabinets lined the walls, some high and some low. Stainless steel appliances were in abundance. The island in the middle was just that … an island. Huge! I thought that Lauryn’s was big, um no.

The smells assaulted me and made my stomach growl. I smelled roast, potatoes, and something chocolate.

Standing at the stove, Kay turned as she heard the door swing shut. “Oh Sadie! I’m so glad you made it!” Walking closer to me, Kay threw her arms around me to give me a hug. I felt my entire body stiffen. Kay must have felt it, too, because she hugged me tighter, causing my body to relax into hers.

“Hi, Kay. Thanks for having us,” I said into her shoulder.

“Nonsense. You come anytime!” Kay said, pulling out of the hug and moving back over to the stove. “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. Landon, get Sadie a drink and head on in to the living room.”

“Yes ma’am,” Landon said and led me into the living room.

Walking into the living room, I felt so small. The size alone screamed party to me. It would hold lots of people; yet, it was very warm and friendly, like you wanted to be here. The brown sectional couch and three recliners were all lined up in a U-shape facing a TV the same size, if not bigger than, Lauryn’s.

Everyone turned to look at us as we entered. Lauryn gave a small smile and turned back around. Lukas and Renzo were up and moving toward me.

Letting out a deep breath, I watched them.

“So glad you’re here. How are you doing?” Lukas said while coming around to me.

I felt my body stiffen. I didn’t want to talk about this. This was what I wanted to avoid. Landon must have felt it. “She’s fine, dude.” Landon actually growled at his brother, staring at him as if he was trying to convey words.

“Relax, I asked her how she was doing. Didn’t mean anything by it.” Lukas’s eyes were on me, laced with concern.

“I’m fine, Lukas. Thanks.”

“Well, we’re glad to have you here.”

“Thanks.”

Renzo’s booming laughter came from across the room, and I started.

“Hey Sadie. I see you picked the wrong brother. Come on over here and sit with me.” Renzo patted the seat on the couch next to him, still laughing. It was Landon’s turn to tense by me. The vibe in the room instantly changed, except for Renzo, he was still laughing.

“Shut. Up. Renzo.” Landon was fuming.

This made Renzo laugh harder. He looked at Lukas. “We called it, didn’t we?” Lukas then joined in on the laughing.

“Am I missing something here, boys?” I asked. Damned if I wanted to be out of loop, especially if it was about me.

Landon wrapped his arm around my shoulder and looked down at me. “They just think they know me.”

“Well, they are your brothers. Don’t they?” I asked.

“I guess,” he whispered. I knew I was missing something, but it didn’t seem like anything big since Landon relaxed around me.

“There you are!” Lainey came barreling into the room, wrapping her arms around me.

“Hi.”

“It’s about time you showed up. We’ve got dinner almost done.”

Lainey’s appraising eyes took me off guard. Mostly because it wasn’t me she was looking at; it was her brother next to me.

“Lauryn, can you keep the boys entertained for a minute. I need to talk to Sadie.” The room fell silent.

“Why?” Landon asked.

“I just do. We’ll be right back.” Lainey smiled at her brother.

Landon looked down at his sister, almost as if he was warning her, but surely I read that wrong. Well, at least I was hoping I did. Landon kissed the top of my head and released me.

I nodded and allowed her to lead me throughout the monstrosity of a house. Opening the door down the hall, we entered into a study or office. Hell, it could have been a library. There were shelves and shelves of books on every wall. There were even shelves around the windows! In the middle was a beautiful desk, and to the side was a brown leather couch.

“Come sit,” Lainey said, patting a spot on the couch.

Joining her, I couldn’t help but feel the nervousness rush through me, and I didn’t even know why.

“I just want to talk, Sadie, and I bet Landon is chomping at the bit to find out what I want to talk to you about,” she said with a sly smile.

“So you just wanted him to sweat a bit, huh?”

“Kinda. You have no idea what it’s like growing up with three brothers … oh wait. Do you have brothers?” Lainey questioned.

I smiled thinking of Seth. “Yes, I have an older brother. He’s stationed in Iraq.”

“Oh wow. What branch?”

“Marines.”

“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?” she asked.

“About a year.” The thought alone made tears form in the back of my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall.

“I couldn’t imagine not seeing my brothers. It must be hard,” she whispered.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Do you at least get to talk to him?”

“No, he can email me every once in a while, but really he has no communication. I don’t know much about what he’s doing. He said before he left that he would contact my mom when he could.”

Her mouth dropped open, and I knew she was imagining the pain of not speaking to her brothers. I really didn’t realize how hard this would be, but I couldn’t help it at this point. I just hoped he was safe. I needed to remember to ask Mom next time I talked to her.

“I’m sorry,” Lainey said, looking down at her entwined fingers.

I reached over and touched her fingers lightly. “It’s okay. I worry, but it’s who he is.” And wasn’t that the truth. Seth was a full-blown, man’s man and was engulfed in the Marines. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“I’m glad you’re here. What’s going on with you and my brother?” Talk about cutting to the chase. I felt the small smirk playing on my lips.

How the hell did I answer that question? I didn’t even know what we were. I didn’t have a label for it. So I went the easy route. “We’re friends.”

She laughed. “Hmm … yeah, friends.” Her voice was disbelieving.

“We are getting to know each other. I don’t know what it is,” I said in a very low voice, now looking at my hands.

“Well, I know what I see from my end. Landon doesn’t do relationships. He goes out, has a good time, and then he’s done. He’s my brother, and I love him, but I hate that he’s like this.” Lainey blew out air she seemed to be holding. “I just wanted you to know so you don’t end up like all the others.”

Surprised at my possessiveness, I snapped, “Others?”

“You’re not his first ‘friend,’” she said with those damn finger quotes.

“I know I’m not. And I don’t want to come off rude, but why the hell are you telling me this. I mean, you are his sister and this little talk is, well, weird. You are sitting here warning me of your brother … why?”

Turning, Lainey looked me straight in the face. “Sadie, he’s different around you, I get that, but some things don’t change. He’s been going from woman to woman for years now. No commitment. Just fun ...”

“Okay, but seriously, why are you telling me this?”

“Look, it’s not my story to tell. It’s his, and he needs to do it.”

“Okay, so you just want to warn me about your brother, but you’re not going to tell me why? This is officially the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had,” I murmured to myself.