“Nah, he’s a pussycat. You just don’t want to crash your car into him.”
“How can a massive moose be a pussycat?”
“You’ll have to meet him to fully appreciate him.”
“That’s fine. I’m good.”
Landon laughed at her emphatic statement. “Oh, come on. If you want to truly go wild in Butler, Vermont, you have to meet Fred. If you stick around here long enough, you’ll have a Fred encounter. We think he has a crush on Cameron.”
“How can a moose have a crush on someone?”
“He seems to show up wherever she is. Such as when he came strolling into the tent during their wedding.”
“Stop it. He did not!”
“He did. We’ve got photos to prove it. My sister Hannah is the family moose whisperer, though. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen tiny Hannah turn that thousand-pound bull moose to putty in her hands.”
“How does she do that?”
“We have no idea. But she marches right up to him and gives him hell, and he does whatever she tells him to while Nolan has a meltdown over her staring down that massive moose.”
“I love your family,” she said, laughing.
“They’re certifiable.”
“I bet it was never boring growing up in your house.”
“God, no. Never. It was a madhouse.”
“I can only imagine.”
Landon glanced at her. “Do you have siblings?”
“Two who are much older than me. They were both in college by the time I hit high school.”
“Where are they now?”
“My brother lives in Alaska, and my sister is in Oregon. I haven’t seen them in years.”
“I can’t imagine not seeing my siblings for years.”
“You’re lucky to have them all close by.”
“I know, even if sometimes I don’t feel lucky when they’re all up in my grill about something. It’s not easy being one of the younger brothers. Every one of them has an opinion about everything I do.”
“You had a lot of parents.”
“Yep, and I still do. They drive me crazy.”
“I’ve seen you with them. You also love them like crazy.”
“Sometimes.”
“All the time.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You’re so lucky to have nine siblings you’re actually close to. Do you know how rare that is?”
“Yeah, and I appreciate them, as well as my eight cousins, who are also like siblings to us. We grew up in a gaggle.”
“Lucky. We didn’t have any other family close by when I was growing up, so it was mostly me and my parents. They split when I was in high school, and my dad took a job out of state, so I hardly saw him either.”
“That must’ve been tough.”
“It was. I was closer to him than my mom, but he traveled so much for work that I couldn’t stay with him. My mom and I went through some tough years before we found our groove. We’re close now, but back then, we did nothing but fight. I never imagined for a second I’d end up working with her.”
Landon pulled into a parking space at Kingdom Pizza. “You’ll have to tell me how that happened. Hang on. I’ll come around for you.” He got out of the truck and was on his way around the front when a blond woman came out of the restaurant, let out a squeal and launched herself at him before he had a second to prepare or fend her off. He was nearly knocked off his feet by the impact.
“Where have you been?” Chrissy and he had been “friends with benefits” over the years. “I haven’t seen you in weeks!” She playfully slapped his chest. “I left you a couple of messages.”
As he struggled to catch up, she kissed him square on the lips, with Amanda seeing the whole thing play out from the passenger seat of his truck. Landon tried to gently extricate himself, but Chrissy wasn’t having it. Somehow he managed to pry her hands off him.
“What’re you doing tonight?” She gave him her trademark suggestive smile. “Want to come over?”
“I’m, uh, with a friend.”
Chrissy cast a glare at the truck. “Who’s that?” She turned up her nose like she’d smelled something rank.
“I, ah, I have to go. See you around?”
“Whatever.” After casting another hateful look toward his truck, she stalked off.
This is great. Just what he needed when he was finally on another official date with Amanda. Ugh. He opened the passenger door. “Sorry about that.”
“Sorry about what? I didn’t see a thing.”
Was she really going to pretend that hadn’t just happened with Chrissy? If so, she really was different from every other woman he’d known. “There’s a huge puddle. Let me help you.” He slid his arms under her and lifted her out of the truck, using his hip to push the door closed and setting her down on the sidewalk, holding on until she found her balance. “You good?”
“I’m good.”
Landon held the door for her, waiting for her to hobble in ahead of him. “Take a seat, and I’ll bring you a menu.” He helped with her coat and held the chair for her before going to get a menu. All the while, his mind raced as he wondered when she would get pissed about what she’d seen with Chrissy. That had to be coming, right?
Working behind the counter was another woman he’d dated years ago. Fantastic. Thankfully, Jessica didn’t leap over the counter to kiss him.
“Landon!” She looked a little closer. “You are Landon, right? No beard.”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“How are you? I heard about the fire and that Lucas got hurt. Is he okay?”
“He’s doing great. Thanks for asking.”
“Tell him I’m thinking of him.”
“Will do. Could I please grab a menu?”
Her brows knitted. “Why do you need a menu? You get the same exact thing every time. A large sausage and pepperoni with green peppers and mushrooms.”
“I’m with a friend.”
Jessica looked around his shoulder, apparently found Amanda waiting for him and frowned. “Sure.” She shoved a menu at him. “Let me know when you’re ready to order.”
Yikes, Landon thought. It was dangerous to go out in this town with Amanda. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of how many women he’d dated in the past. That had nothing to do with her or them.
He brought her the menu and sat at the table while she decided what she wanted.
“I’ll do the house salad with grilled chicken and an iced tea, please.”
“Coming right up.” He went back to the counter to order her salad and his pizza and got a beer for himself along with her tea.
“Thirty-two eighty-five,” Jessica said without looking up at him.
Landon ran his card and dropped a five-dollar bill into the tip jar.
“Please be seated, and I’ll bring it out when it’s ready.”
“Thanks.” Landon returned to the table, feeling Jessica’s glare burning a hole in him. What the hell was her problem, anyway? They’d been out a couple of times, had some fun… He wondered if he’d ever understand women or what made them tick or what made them mad. Why would Jessica care if he was out with Amanda?