Chapter 28

An ecstatic Scout greeted Landon when he arrived back. Landon knelt and hugged Scout, then stood and thanked Grace for keeping him.

“No thanks necessary. Scout was a delight. I enjoyed having a dog around. He has very good manners,” Grace scratched Scout’s ears saying, “Who’s a good boy?”

“Yes, he does,” Landon said, “although I can’t take credit for it. He was already trained when I adopted him or, more truthfully, he adopted me.”

“A cup of coffee before going to your game?”

“Sure.”

“Where are you from, Landon?”

“The army was my home for ten years’ active service. Fourteen if you include ROTC at the university. Before that, a small town in Wyoming.”

“There are mountains there,” Grace said. “What about family?”

“Mother and two sisters. My dad died working in the mines. One of them is married. You couldn’t move my mother out of my hometown with a ten-ton truck. Her father, mother, and grandparents are buried there. So is my father. She practically lives at the cemetery.”

The conversation reminded him that he needed to get his act together and help out his family.

“What about friends?”

He shrugged. “I was always the odd one out.”

“Maybe, you’ll consider Middletown your home one day,” Grace said.

“It’s growing in me,” he said. “I’ve never felt so welcome.”

“Good,” she said giving Landon a thousand volt smile.

“So ... Are you going to make me beg for it? How did your conversation with Marcus Carter go?”

“Even better than the first one,” he said. “I had dinner today with him. He showed me the family Bible and I discovered a lot of things about Fergus Carter. Marcus also confirmed that the diaries exist. There are five of them...”

“Wow, wow, wow! Stop the press! I’m impressed!” Grace shrieked with excitement. “You can’t just say something like that in such a casual manner.”

“Well, I didn’t actually see the journals, but I did see the Bible. He even let me take some pictures of it.”

“You’re my...” Grace suddenly stopped. Somehow she knew the word ‘hero’ might be a trigger for Landon so she said the first word that came to her mind. “ ... Batman.”

Landon couldn’t help but laugh, “Batman?”

Grace blushed deeply. “Well, you’re dark and mysterious like Batman, and you have your ... Dog-wonder and your ... Bat-cabin...”

Landon was now laughing of out loud for the first time in ages.

“That would make you Batgirl then?”

Grace realized she was seeing a glimpse of Landon Petersen before the tragedy in Afghanistan. She didn’t know how long it would last, but she liked him. She liked him too much. His eyes sparkled with life.

“I always preferred Catwoman.” Grace purred and blushed deeply. “Tell me about what you discovered before I make more a fool of myself than I already did.”

“Fergus Carter left Scotland to follow his younger brother Jamie here. Jamie died in an accident. Fergus couldn’t go back to Ireland because he was broke so he traveled west. He married a Native American, Aiyana, and had three kids with her, two girls and a boy. The boy, Hamish, was an outlaw when he grew up.”

“This information is pure gold!”Grace exclaimed with excitement.

“I know. Please don’t share it with anyone. Marcus told me I could tell you about it but no one else.”

Grace tilted her head with curiosity, “Why me?”

“He said we are...”Landon cleared his throat, “ ... close ... friends.”

Grace felt warmth rising within her as she began to realize the truth of Marcus’ words

“Well, Marcus is right. We are close ... friends.”

“I think I’ll skip the Poker game today. I’m exhausted.”

“Would you like me to drive you to the cabin?” Grace offered.

“Not today. Thank you. Scout and I need the exercise.”

Landon stood up, and started for the door. Scout followed him.

“Landon,” she called him.

He turned around.

“Thank you for letting me be part of your life.”

“Hey, you’re team Landon, right?” he said with a half-smile.

“I’m team Landon through and through. And after today, I’m also your biggest fan. By the way, I loved the smile on your face when you came in today.”

Landon’s expression clouded. He sighed and said, “I feel guilty every time I do that.”