“I’m not giving you crap for it.”
“You’re not happy with what happened last night.”
“Because I love you. I need to keep you in my life forever. I don’t question your instincts. I just ... can’t stomach the idea of losing you.”
“You won’t lose me.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because some things are meant to be. I firmly believe we were always meant to find one another. That’s why we crossed paths as kids. That’s why we found one another at the right time as adults. I think if we didn’t find one another at the corn maze that day we would’ve found each other at a different time.
“Things worked out exactly as they should,” I continued. “Even though I thought you were a criminal hanging out with other criminals, I was drawn to you. I felt this incredible sense of ... yearning ... whenever I looked at you.”
I felt his lips curve against my forehead. “I felt it, too. I looked at you and wanted something I’d never wanted before. Hannah told you that I was dedicated to the job above all else. That changed when I met you.”
“That’s because I’m awesome.”
He laughed, as I’d hoped he would. I hated it when he was too serious. “You’re definitely awesome. You still have to be careful. These new powers of yours are helpful and I’m glad you have them, but I want you to tread lightly, Bay. You’re not omnipotent.”
“Nobody is. Well, Aunt Tillie thinks she is.”
“Eventually we’ll have a kid or two and I’ll be angry forever if you’re not around to raise little witches with me. We both know I’m going to be an indulgent father. Our kids will be so spoiled nobody will be able to tolerate them if you’re not around to play bad cop.”
I glared at him. “That’s not funny.”
“It’s not meant to be funny. Somebody has to be the disciplinarian.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’ve got a lot of your mother in you.”
“That doesn’t seem fair ... and it might be the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
This time his laugh was raucous. “Fine. We’ll take turns being bad cop. I need you with me to do it.”
“Landon, I have no intention of leaving you.” I meant it. “I knew I would be okay last night. You don’t have to worry about me being reckless. I’m the good one in this family.”
He tightened his arms around me. “That’s not saying much.”
“No, but it’s true. I’m always going to come home to you.”
“Good.” He brushed his lips against my forehead. “I have big plans for us. I see a fat baby or two in our future. I see trips ... and retirement ... and adventures. I can’t do all of that alone.”
And that, I realized, was his true worry. “You won’t be alone. Even if something happens to me — and it won’t — you’ll never be alone. You’ll always have my family … and yours.”
“That’s not enough. I need you.”
I blamed the hangover for the tears pricking the back of my eyes. “I need you, too.”
“Of course you do. I’m a catch.”
I snorted. “And humble.”
“Yeah, well ... humbleness is overrated.” He pressed his lips to mine and sighed. “I’ll defer to you on this because you’re the expert. Just ... be careful. Something feels off about this entire situation.”
“I agree. We need to start breaking this down.”
“We need breakfast first.” He dragged a hand through his unruly hair. “That’s the only thing that’s going to kill this hangover. We also need to check on Hannah. She’s not used to the potency of Aunt Tillie’s wine. She was sucking it down last night.”
“We warned her.” I smiled at the memory. “I believe you told her a story about tiny soldiers trying to explode your brain from the inside the first time you got drunk on the wine.”
“That was right before Aunt Tillie convinced her to strip naked and dance on the bluff.”
I’d forgotten about that. “She’s going to be embarrassed. Thankfully you and Chief Terry were gentlemen and didn’t look.”
“I’m always a gentleman.”
“You’re ... something.” I poked his side. “Come on. We should shower and head up. Now that you’ve reminded me of the naked dancing, I think it’s best we’re there to greet Hannah. She’s going to be having a rough morning, and Aunt Tillie is likely to make it worse.”
Landon’s smile grew wider. “We can always count on Aunt Tillie for that.”
“She’s a professional,” I agreed.
THE DINING ROOM WAS FULL WHEN WE finally made it to the inn. Landon wisely filled travel mugs with coffee for the walk, so we’d managed to take the edge off before we joined the others. But the din from the laughing guests agitated my already brewing headache.
“We were starting to wonder if you were going to join us,” Mom chastised as we sat in our usual spots. “You’re late.”
I checked the clock on the wall. “We’re, like, three minutes late.”
“Late is late.” Mom looked to Landon. “Only those who are on time get bacon.”
“Don’t torture me,” Landon moaned as he poured glasses of juice for both of us. “I’m a man on the edge. I found my pants on the front porch. I don’t exactly remember how they got there.”
Chief Terry tossed him a dark look. “Don’t be gross.”
“I’m not being gross. We were way too drunk to do anything fun last night. I’m just confused about why I started stripping during the walk. I found my shoes on the driveway.”
“It’s the wine,” I said, glaring at Aunt Tillie. “The wine is evil.”
For her part, my great-aunt looked none the worse for wear. She was bright-eyed and eager as she mixed scrambled eggs with hash-browns and then forked it over toast. “Don’t blame the wine. It’s the drinker who is the problem, not the alcohol.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I focused on Hannah’s empty chair, my stomach doing an uneasy roll. “Has
