“It does,” the woman said.
“Other questions?” Hearing none, Amanda said, “Excellent, now let’s get up close and personal with the products.”
“Your lady is good at this, son,” Linc said when he joined Landon at the back of the room.
“She sure is.” Landon looked over at his dad. “She gave notice to her mom.”
“We can certainly find a role for her to play in our company, and if it helps you out, too, that’s even better.”
“Thanks, Dad. I have a vested interest in keeping her in town.”
“I see that, and it sure makes me happy for you.”
“I’m rather happy for me, too. She’s… well…”
“She’s the one.”
Nodding, he watched Amanda as she interacted with the sales ladies, laughing and talking with her hands. “Is it normal to feel…”
“Everything?”
Landon shifted his gaze to his dad again. “Yeah.”
Linc nodded. “It’s perfectly normal, but it’s a lot to process at first.”
“Is that how it was for you when you met Mom?”
“Just like that, and it was immediate. When you’ve never felt that before, it’s shocking when you realize what it is. Although, your mother tells me this isn’t the first time for you.”
Landon stared at him. “She said that?”
“She reminded me of your affection for young Naomi, and I was ashamed to admit I hadn’t noticed it was something extra for you. Of course, your mom knew.”
“I… I didn’t realize she knew.” But Landon did remember his mom going out of her way to be available to him during that difficult time. He remembered that very vividly.
“Not much gets by her.”
“I know that from personal experience.”
Linc threw his head back and laughed quietly so as not to disturb the training session. “The downside to being the ninth of ten kids. Your mom was fully trained by the time you came along.”
“Definite downside.”
“But the upside is she made sure you got through the dreadful experience of losing Naomi.”
“True.” He glanced at his dad. “I’ve come to realize I’ve gone out of my way to avoid anything that could ever hurt me the way that did.”
“Understandable. But if you do that forever, you run the risk of missing out on one of the best things in life.”
“I know that now. Amanda has shown me it’s worth the risk to feel the way I do about her.”
“I’m so delighted to hear that. She’s a terrific gal. We’re all quite fond of her.”
“I’m quite fond of her, too,” Landon said, grinning. “In fact, I’m going to have a word with her while they’re on a break, and then I’ve got to get to the farm.”
“Ah, yes. Max said you guys are shearing this week.”
“Yep. He’s giving the haircuts while I mow. It never ends.”
“You do a great job there, Landon. Not sure I say it often enough.”
“Thanks for that and the words of wisdom.”
“My pleasure. Tell Amanda to come by my office and see me after the training.”
“I’ll do that.”
As Landon walked to the front of the room, saying hello to women he’d known all his life, he knew a moment of complete contentment. Things were falling into place for Amanda and for them as a couple. Was it only a week ago that he’d felt the need to seek out Hannah’s advice on how to move things forward with Amanda? They’d traveled light-years since then, and he quite liked the place they were in now.
She lit up with a smile when she saw him coming.
In front of their entire sales team, he kissed her on the lips. “Great job.”
“Thanks. Who was that kissing you?”
He had to think about that for a second. “Oh, you mean Becky?”
Amanda frowned adorably. “Is that her name?”
Smiling, Landon said, “We’ve been friends since kindergarten. You can sheathe your claws, tiger. We never dated.”
She gave him a haughty look. “My claws are not out.”
“Whatever you say.”
“I thought you were working at the farm today.”
“I am, but I couldn’t miss this.”
“I hope you found it entertaining.”
“Extremely. I also found it inspiring. You’re very good at what you do.”
“Thanks. I’ve enjoyed this job, but I’m ready for the next challenge.”
“Speaking of that, Dad said to stop by his office after you’re done here. I think he wants to talk to you about a job.”
“I’ll stop to see him before I go to Mildred’s for the interview.”
“You’ve got Gramps tomorrow, right?”
“Yep.”
“And you’re sure you feel comfortable driving again?” They had picked up her rental car at the inn parking lot the night before.
“Totally fine. My ankle is so much better.”
“Okay, then. I’ll see you at home later?”
“Yes, you will.”
He kissed her again. “I can’t wait.”
After the training ended, Amanda walked along the sidewalk to the diner where she’d cross the street to get to the store. Just as she was about to step off the curb, a gigantic moose came strolling down the center of Elm Street and stopped about five feet from her to take a good, long, measuring look at her.
Amanda held her breath, uncertain of what was happening.
“Fred is sizing you up,” a voice next to her said, startling her.
She took her eyes off the moose only long enough to glance at Hannah, who was holding baby Callie.
“Sizing me up?” Amanda said, her voice higher than usual.
“Yep. He’s deciding if he likes you for Landon.”
“What if he decides he doesn’t like me?”
“I’m not sure what’ll happen. He may try to run you off.”
Amanda whipped her head around to stare at Hannah. “Run me off? What does that entail?”
“It hasn’t happened before, so I can’t say for certain. Fred tends to approve of the people we choose for ourselves, but we can’t take that for granted.”
“And of course you know how crazy that sounds?”
Hannah shrugged. “I can’t help if I understand him at a different level than everyone else does.”
“So what’s the secret to getting across the street?”
“You wait until he’s ready to move. Or you go around him. Seeing as how you’re still nursing that ankle, I’d wait in case he decides to give chase.”
“Give chase,” Amanda said. “Lovely.”
“Usually, he is, but as my husband and family like to remind me, he is a wild animal, so you have to prepare for the unexpected.”
“I’ll just wait for him to move along, then, I guess.”
“Good call.”
After a full minute passed in which the gigantic moose didn’t blink as he continued to stare at Amanda, Hannah stepped off the curb and approached him.