Chapter 30

Landon woke up screaming. Scout was whining and pawing at him with his foot. He was trembling and sweating and could barely breathe. He clung to the dog until he could breathe normally again. But when he looked at his hands, they still shook.

Scout snuggled close, his tongue frantically trying to lick him. He buried his hands in his fur. Comforted by his unconditional love, he didn’t move. His shaking finally stopped as the last of the recurring nightmare faded away.

He knew from experience he wouldn’t go back to sleep.

The water felt good, sensual even. He hadn’t even thought that word for a long time. He shampooed his hair, and then he soaped his body, turning the water as hot as he could bear. When he stepped out, he noted that Scout had not moved from his watchdog position.

“Just a few more minutes,” he promised.

He mentally planned the day as he made coffee and toast for himself and prepared dog food for Scout. At least now he had something to plan. Breakfast and a walk, then write down everything he had talked with Marcus Carter about.

A couple of hours later, Landon was reading and re-writing some paragraphs when Scout barked just before someone knocked at his door.

He opened the door to find Grace with a pecan pie in her hands. She looked prettier today than she had yesterday, and more yesterday than the day before. God help him if that trend continued.

Scout greeted her with a friendly bark.

“Good morning, Grace. What a lovely surprise.”

“Good morning, Landon.

“You look great,” he said as he glanced at a pair of pants that fit snugly on her slim figure and a dark brown blouse.

He couldn’t remember being so at ease with a woman. Not even with Darla.

Grace’s pulse spiked. Her heart thudded faster even as she sliced the pie and put it on two plates while Landon fixed their drinks.

“Thank you,” she said blushing.

“Down, girl,” she told herself.

“Did you bring me a pie?

“Yeah, it’s kind of a bribe. I have something to discuss with you. My sister-in-law Diana and her husband teach in Middletown High. They want to represent a play for Founders’ Day. I thought we can use your investigation to write a script. I told the mayor about it and he loved the idea. He wants to turn it into a town event.”

“More work, Grace? We need to discuss my payment again,” he said, there was a pause and then he winked at her. His old self was back for a moment.

Grace smiled at him. “You got me for a moment.”

“Okay, I’ll help but you owe me.”

“I’m already in debt with you, Landon.”

“Keep in mind, I’m not a scriptwriter. I’m not even a writer.”

“I took a Writing Class in high school, and Diana is an English teacher. She is willing to help too.”

Landon twisted his mouth. “Grace, you know how I feel about hanging around people. Something like this is going to need a lot of meetings.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with the meetings. You just need to write down the facts and help me with the dialogues,” she suggested, “Why don’t we eat the pie while we talk about it?”

Grace stood up, cut two pieces, and put them on the plates. When she moved forward to give Landon his plate, Scout crossed in her path making her stumble. She reached forward and clung to Landon’s shirt. The plate went down to the floor.

“Grace!” Landon reached out for her, and they both fell against the fridge, her face next to his, her body pressed against his. He held out his arms to steady her.

“Are you okay?” he said shakily as she echoed the words at the same instant. She felt so good against him. Softer than she looked.

She nodded with a grin and made no effort to move. “You make a good landing pad.”

He chuckled.