AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They weren’t his family.
Even if he wanted to help, there had to be a limit to what he could do.
And what would happen if he just decided not to come around anymore? The only thing holding him here was a promise he made to his friend. How long was that really going to last?
She sighed as she saw his car pull into the driveway. She wished she could sort out her emotions. Part of her was just relieved he was there at all. Part of her worried about the future, and a tiny part of her that she tried to keep locked away was thrilled at the mere sight of him.
At the sound of the doorbell, she moved toward the door. Too late, Carter beat her to it.
“Landon!” Carter yelled as he opened the door.
“Hey, little dude, are you ready already?”
“Yep. Come on!” Carter said, running out the front door.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Landon asked.
“What?” Carter stared at him as if nothing in the world mattered but getting in the car and going to soccer practice.
“A little thing called dinner?”
“Oh, right. I was so excited I forgot we didn’t eat yet.”
A beeping sound in the kitchen interrupted them.
“That’s dinner,” Hailey said.
Landon looked up at her for the first time. “Hi,” he said.
Why did that greeting make her heart skip a beat? “Hey.” She looked away from him and walked to the kitchen. “I made beef enchiladas. I thought it would be something easy that he could just scarf down and go.”
Landon chuckled. “That sounds about right. I love enchiladas.”
“Oh good,” Hailey said. Had she known that? She had made the recipe plenty of times before. Did she remember him saying he liked them and, subconsciously, that’s why she had made them tonight. She took a deep breath. No, she was overthinking this. She had made a quick, easy dinner for her family. Landon just happened to like the same food she made. There was nothing to it.
Just like there was nothing to Landon helping out and spending time with them. It didn’t mean anything about her. It was just for the kids, and it was more about Kyle than it was about her.
“Hailey,” Landon spoke her name from the other side of the counter, but from the sound of it, he had said it more than once.
“Yes, what? Sorry.” Her words came out all in a rush.
“Is everything okay?”
“Sure, of course, why?”
“I just asked how your day was. You didn’t seem to hear me.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m just focused on getting dinner on the table. Sorry about that. I guess I was in my own little world. My day was fine. How about yours?”
Landon’s forehead creased, and he tilted his head. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure I want to know how your day was?”
“No, are you sure you’re just busy? Is there something going on?” he asked.
Hailey stopped what she was doing and sighed as she placed her hands on the edge of the counter and faced him. “Charlotte wants to ask you something.”
“Okay, what’s wrong with that?”
