As much as it pained him to admit, Lucas was right about being patient. Just because Amanda hadn’t opened a vein to profess her love for him didn’t mean she wasn’t feeling the same way he was. Maybe she just wasn’t ready to say the words.
Fair enough. He could wait, as long as he had to, for her to catch up to him. Like Lucas had said, when it mattered, you did whatever it took to make it work.
After tonight, he had four whole days—and nights—to show her what it meant to be loved by Landon Abbott.
He couldn’t wait for the morning.
From the minute Landon left for work, Amanda had been beating herself up for so spectacularly blowing one of the most important moments of her life. He’d basically put his heart in her hands, and what had she done?
Thanked him for helping her after the fire.
Nothing says “I love you” like gratitude.
She cringed recalling his sweet words and how she’d failed to give him even the slightest bit of what he’d so willingly given her. “God, I suck. How could I not tell him how much he means to me?”
Despite her ankle aching after a busy day, she paced the length of the small house, feeling confined and anxious that she’d made a huge mistake by acting like a fool after he poured his heart out to her. What he’d said about feeling the same way she did about Stella—no hesitation—she’d thanked him for all he’d done for her.
“Ugh!” She’d planned to spend tonight finishing her profiles of Mildred and Elmer, but how could she concentrate on anything else while this awful unfinished business with Landon hung over her?
She couldn’t. Making a snap decision, she put her shoes on, grabbed her keys and purse and was out the door a minute later, before she could talk herself out of taking care of this right now, rather than letting it fester overnight.
They were all looking forward to the weekend in Boston, and the last thing she wanted was tension with Landon or him thinking he was out on the proverbial limb by himself when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Amanda navigated dark, winding roads, hoping she’d remembered the way to the fire station correctly. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t see the gigantic moose in the road until it was nearly too late. Screaming, she slammed on the brakes, and the car fishtailed wildly thanks to the mud still on the road. In the flash of a second, she slammed into the guardrail, and the car pitched forward into darkness, teetering precariously.
In the time it took her brain to catch up with what’d happened, she remembered Landon telling her that at least once a year, someone went off the side of the road into the ravine forty feet below that very spot. Even though she couldn’t see the drop, she knew it was there and couldn’t bring herself to so much as breathe out of fear of the car falling into the abyss. Blinded by tears, all she could think about was dying before she got to meet Stella.
“Please don’t let that happen. Please.”
She had no idea how long she was there, fighting to stay calm, before another car came along. Afraid to so much as turn her head to see if the car had stopped, Amanda stayed perfectly still and prayed furiously that the other driver saw her.
Then a man was outside her window. “Don’t move,” he yelled. “I’m going to get help.”
She gave the slightest nod to let him know she’d heard him, but even that felt like too much movement as the car inched forward. Amanda stifled the scream that was trying to get out.
“I’ll be right back.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him run back to his car and take off, leaving her alone again in the dark. How long would it take for help to arrive, and would the guardrail hold in the meantime? The thought of plunging into darkness was terrifying.
The tears kept coming, but she was too afraid to move to mop them up. One near-death experience had been more than enough to give her the wake-up call she’d needed to stop sleepwalking through life. She certainly didn’t need a second reminder to get the message the universe was trying to send her.
Maybe you do need it, she thought, after letting Landon leave earlier with everything left unsaid.
God, if I die, he’ll never know that was I coming to find him, to tell him…
What? What were you going to tell him?
That I love him. That I want him and a life with him and Stella and whatever children we may have together. I want this town and its moose and its quirky people and the big, loving Abbott family and their amazing business. I want it all. Well, maybe not the ravine below. I don’t want that at all.
Hysteria threatened, but she fought it back by breathing through it.
“Please, Landon,” she whispered. “Please hurry. I need you.”
It felt like a year went by before she picked up the tone of sirens in the distance, easily the best sound she’d ever heard. Forcing herself to continue breathing, she clutched her hands together so the shaking and trembling wouldn’t jar the car.
Bright headlights and flashing red lights filled the small space in the car seconds before Landon’s panicked face appeared on the other side of the window. “Stay still for another minute, honey. We’ll get you out.”
She gave a subtle nod to indicate she’d heard him.
Then he was gone, and she wanted to beg for him to come back. Please come back. Outside the car, she heard frantic voices that only added to her anxiety. Then a loud clanking sound and the roar of an engine as the car inched backward, away from the precipice. The driver door flew open, her seat belt was released, and she was pulled into the arms of the man she loved.
“I’ve got you, baby.”
Amanda finally allowed herself to fall apart as she clung to him. “Don’t let go.”
“Never. I’ll never let go.”
Time ceased to exist. All around them, people were talking, barking orders, retrieving the car, calling for a tow in a mishmash of words and images bathed in the red of emergency lights.
“Does anything hurt?” Landon asked.
“No, I’m fine. Now.”
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw your car. I thought you were staying home to work tonight.”
“I was until I realized I forgot to tell you something really important before you left.”
He smoothed the hair back from her tear-stained face. “What did you forget to tell me?”
“That I love you, too, and I couldn’t bear for you to go all night wondering why I didn’t say it back to you.”
His handsome face lit up with pleasure. “You could’ve called me.”
“No, I had to tell you in person. I felt so bad after you left. You said such beautiful things, and my brain, it just froze. When it finally defrosted, I was horrified.”
“Shhh, it’s okay. Everything is okay.”
“I can’t imagine how scared Dani must’ve been when she went off the road, in a blizzard, with a baby in the car.”
“Thank goodness Lucas saw it happen and rescued her.”
Amanda nodded. “Thank you for rescuing me. I just kept asking you to come and to hurry.”
“I got here as fast as I could.”
“I was so scared I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you that I’m all in, too.”
“I’m so glad you did.”