Chapter 20

In the next weeks, Landon and Grace settled into a routine. She came every morning to the cabin to drive Landon to the museum. Three evenings a week she cooked for him. On Saturdays, they went exploring the mountain trails and Grace showed Landon some of the wonderful natural landscapes Middletown had to offer. She also took turns with Derek to drive Landon to Seattle every other Friday.

She started kissing his cheek each time they parted.

The mayor invited Landon to have dinner with him and his wife every other week. Derek and Bella did the same. None of them put pressure on Landon to accept, but he found himself enjoying those moments. Grace was always his plus one. She was the rock he leaned on if things got hard.

Landon also played poker on Thursday evenings. Derek joined the group. Very slowly, he shared bits and pieces of his story with his newfound friends. They listened to him without judging him or offering him empty words of support. Most importantly, no one pitied him. There was a lot of laughter. Even the silences were comfortable.

Landon realized that shared pain was easier to handle, and also that sharing with the right people was a source of strength and life experience.

His friends supported him to an extent that surprised him.

He still had flashbacks, but he was learning to handle them. One night, he had an especially bad one and he got to call Grace. She was with him on the phone for one hour while he lay curled on the floor. Scout was laying at his side licking his hand, while Grace talked to Landon, guiding him to breathe and relax, reminding him that those images were not real, that he was safe and loved.

A knock at the door took Landon out of his thoughts. He stopped writing in his journal and opened the door and let Grace in.

“Good evening, I hope you’re hungry. I’m making lasagna tonight,” Grace said showing Landon the paper bags in her arms. “I finally convinced Tony to share his recipe with me. I’m not sure he gave me all the ingredients though.”

“Come on in,” he said with a shy smile. “Lasagna sounds just perfect.”

Landon shook his head, he usually didn’t feel like eating. He could skip a meal without even realizing he had till his stomach growled. But lately his hunger was coming back.

“I’m glad you came. It can get lonely in this cabin.”

“I thought you liked it that way,” Grace said taking out things from her bag and placing them on the table.

“Don’t rub it in,” Landon replied with a grin. “I’ve been doing some progress in my investigation. I think the text about Middletown’s history is looking good. You can read it on my laptop,” Landon said pointing at his computer. It was his way to divert his thoughts from her face. It was much too attractive.

Grace sat down and read a few paragraphs on the screen. “This is really good. Great actually. You really got into this job.”

“I’ve always liked history. It was my favorite class,” he said. “The other day, Scout and I went down to the lake. Do you think it was the lake that brought and kept Fergus Carter here?”

Grace shrugged. “I don’t know what was in his mind. It could have been the lake. The land east of here is, or was, all dry. The lake was a draw to every wagon train and wanderer that came this way. It was a perfect place to build a town.”

“No one knows anything about Middletown founding and first years, which is why the journals are so important. I need to talk with Marcus Carter about them.”

Landon was intellectually seducing her, and Grace realized she was enjoying it.

“You’re writing a book about his ancestor. He certainly would want his family portrayed under a good light.”

“Just a short history of Middletown,” Landon corrected her. “Not a book.” He bit his lip.

“Noted. However, I have to say you’re doing an incredible job so far.”

“Thank you. Guys at the poker game mentioned another Carter brother,” Landon brow frowned while he tried to remember, “Maximilian.”

Grace nodded.

“Maximilian headed the city council and pretty much controlled the town for years. Nothing happened without his approval. Many people think his early death was a blessing for our town.

“Something happened between the Carter brothers that drew them apart. They had a huge fight when they were young. They never talked to each other again. Marcus was out of town for a long time. I think he lived in Portland. He only returned a short time before Maximilian’s death. He died of cancer.”

Scout barked and Grace looked at the clock and stood up. “I better start cooking or we’ll have lasagna for breakfast instead of dinner.”