Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Tell me, Emmerson, how did you meet your future husband?”
I wanted to shout it out that Landon was already my husband. That I had my wedding band tucked away safely in my purse. I wanted to tell her that all I really wanted to do was go back to Landon’s house and fall into bed with him for days.
“Well, we’ve known each other our entire lives. Our parents are best friends and business partners. We grew up literally living in the same house.”
She nodded. “How wonderful. The difference in you is amazing.”
“Difference?” I asked with a tilt of my head.
“Please, we’ve been planning this godforsaken wedding for ten months, and over the last month or so you’ve had a glow about you. I’m assuming he’s terribly handsome since Bea said he was a race car driver and all the women swooned over him.”
I laughed. “He is handsome, but he doesn’t race cars anymore. He owns a restoration shop in Waco.”
Mary stopped walking for a moment. “What?”
I stopped as well and looked at her. “A restoration shop. You know, they restore old cars and trucks and things like that. He’s always wanted to open one. It was his dream even before he started to race for our fathers’ NASCAR team.”
Mary’s brows rose up. “And you said he owns the restoration shop here in Waco?”
I nodded. “Yes. Landon owns it.”
“Oh, well, my goodness. We’re more connected to each other than I thought!” she said with a chuckle.
With a frown, I asked, “How do you mean?”
She tilted her head as if I should know. “Well, William, of course! Hannah didn’t say anything to me about the father of her baby getting married!”
I shook my head in confusion. “What are you talking about, Mary? Who are William and Hannah, and how are they connected to me?”
Mary brought her hand up to her mouth as she gasped. “Oh my goodness. You don’t know about Hannah and William?”
I shook my head and laughed. “No, I don’t know anything about them. Are they getting married or something? Did you think I was planning their wedding?”
Mary dropped her hand to her pearl necklace and quickly looked away for a moment before turning back to me. “Emmerson, please don’t tell me your future husband hasn’t told you about the child he has?”
I nearly stumbled backward. “A…a child? What are you talking about?”
“Oh dear. You really don’t know.”
The ground felt like it was about to be ripped out from under my feet.
Mary reached out and took my hands in hers. “Before you marry that man, you better have him tell you about the son he had with my niece.”
I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat. “Who…who is your niece?”
“Hannah Marie Patterson.”
It felt as if someone had opened my chest and sucked the air from my lungs as I fought to take a breath. “Hannah Patterson is your niece?”
Mary nodded. “Yes, so you do know her?”
Turning away from Mary and dropping her hands, I stared out over the golf course in a daze. “She worked at my mother’s bed and breakfast a little over a year ago.”
I wasn’t sure how in the hell I’d made it to Landon’s house. My entire body felt numb. I was confused and downright pissed off.
There was no way Landon had a child with another woman. None. Of that I was positive.
So why did I feel so numb as I sat parked a block away from Landon’s house? He had texted me an hour ago, saying he was home and asking what time he should have dinner ready. I’d told him I was still meeting with a bride and that I would be home in about an hour. What I had really been doing was sitting at a park, watching the grass blow in the breeze as I tried to wrap my head around everything Mary had said.
At first I was so angry. All I wanted to do was confront Landon. Then after my head had cleared some, I thought more logically about it all.
Could Landon have slept with Hannah? Yes.
Could she have gotten pregnant with his child? Yes.
Would he ever not tell me about something so big that had happened in his life? No. If it was true, he would have told me, especially before we got romantically involved, and definitely before he married me. If somehow that child was Landon’s, then he simply didn’t know about him. Everything inside of me told me that this wasn’t his baby, though. And I was going to go with my gut feeling.
With a deep breath in, I started my car and drove the block to Landon’s house, which I guess was now my house as well. I pulled into the garage, grabbed my bags from the backseat, and made my way into the house. The moment I stepped in, I took in the heavenly smell of something cooking.