Chapter Two #2
“Of course,” he said, staying seated while his brothers and the other attendees got up from the table and left the conference room.
Hattie patted the seat beside her. Her gaze was steely as she trained her eyes on him.
They were like laser beams. For a moment he wondered whether she’d caught him daydreaming rather than listening to her talking points about the new cider line.
He found himself squirming a little bit as he got up and sat down beside her.
Grandmother or not, Hattie Stone was no joke.
“What’s going on? Is anything wrong?” Landon asked as he sat down next to her. He loved spending time with Hattie, but he sensed she was being intentional about speaking privately with him. Hopefully he hadn’t done anything wrong work-wise. He was still learning the ropes at Yukon Cider.
She reached out and patted his hand. “Baby boy, you don’t seem like yourself lately. Care to tell me what’s wrong?” Hattie asked. Her brows were furrowed. Clearly she’d noticed he wasn’t his usual self.
Landon was in a funk, and he knew it. Small things were dragging him down.
Lately, making it through the workday felt like drudgery.
He knew what it was. He missed being in a laboratory.
The sights and sounds. The smells. The excitement crackling in the air.
The anticipation of discovery. Being a scientist was a huge part of who he was.
And with each and every passing day, Landon was moving further and further away from his life as a scientist.
“I miss being in the lab,” he blurted out. “Don’t get me wrong. Yukon Cider is an amazing place to work, but my true love is being a scientist.”
Hattie made a tutting sound. “Oh, Landon. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me for not realizing this sooner. I was trying so hard to have you boys get acclimated to the business side of Yukon Cider that I failed to see the forest for the trees.”
Ugh. Now he felt like a complete jerk. His grandmother was dealing with a terminal illness, and she was now comforting him and lending a listening ear when she shouldn’t have to worry about him at all. At this point she should be carefree and focusing on herself.
“It’s not your fault. I should have told you.” Landon shrugged. “It’s hard to put into words, but I feel a bit untethered lately.”
Hattie nodded. “That’s understandable. Alaska is a big change from California.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Hattie. I love Moose Falls. I’ve been itching to get back here ever since we left, and it’s been so much fun exploring and discovering.” He made a face. “It’s just that I need to be in a lab like most people need oxygen.”
“My brilliant grandson,” Hattie gushed, reaching out and placing her palm on his cheek.
Landon blushed at the praise. These days he didn’t feel so brilliant.
If he was being completely honest with himself, he’d come to realize that it was hard to separate his identity from his scientific works.
Being a chemist was a huge part of him. It hurt to feel as if it was slipping away from him.
But at least he was functioning these days.
Right after his dismissal from the laboratory, it had been difficult to get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other.
His family had helped him rebound. He hated to dwell on it, but he’d lost so much in the past few years. Landon still didn’t feel whole.
“Well, I’m glad that I asked. I’ve been thinking, which can be a dangerous thing at times,” she said, cackling.
Landon laughed along with her. He loved her deep-throated laugh, although it hadn’t escaped his notice that it was far less robust these days.
There was no denying that Hattie was in decline.
She’d said it herself on several occasions.
His grandmother was a straight shooter. She wasn’t one to sit on the truth. He loved her all the more for her honesty. She was teaching him a lot about life and love and family.
“I’ve been talking to a few of our cider makers about developing a holiday line for next year.” Her gaze didn’t stray from his for a single second.
“That sounds interesting,” Landon said. From what he’d gleaned about the process of making hard cider, it involved chemical processes that fascinated him—fermentation and pasteurization. The science behind cider making was interesting.
“Darling, how would you feel about working as a cider maker? It would give you a chance to be in a lab of sorts and work in an atmosphere that might make you feel at home, professionally speaking. I think you would do a wonderful job there.”
Landon’s mind began to whirl with the possibilities.
Creating hard cider was definitely more up his alley than sitting at a desk, although he knew it had been vitally important for Hattie that he and his brothers learn the business of running the company in the event that they chose to stay and run it.
Now he had gained experience on the executive side, and with what his grandmother was proposing, he would also have knowledge on the cider-making end.
For him, it sounded like a win-win situation.
“I-I would love that,” he said, sputtering.
It was almost too much for him to wrap his head around.
This, he thought, would be as close as he could get to that experience while working for Hattie’s company.
And he would be learning a new skill in the process.
Wasn’t that what scientific exploration was all about?
“When do I start?” he asked, excitement bubbling up inside him at the idea of formulating hard cider for the line. It would give him a chance to be hands-on with the product and master cider making. Landon was all about learning new things and creating.
Hattie cackled at his eagerness. “Well, there’s no time like the present. YOLO!” Landon chuckled at Hattie’s use of her favorite expression. At this stage in her life, YOLO resonated with meaning for his grandmother.
“I have so many ideas for next year’s holiday line.
And we need to perfect it so it’ll be ready to hit the market next Christmas.
” A little sigh slipped past her lips. “It will be my swan song. Something to remember me by.” Her voice got soft at the end of her sentence.
He couldn’t imagine how tough it was for her to be living out her last days.
Hearing his grandmother talk like this always served as a jolt to the system. Landon swallowed hard, knowing there was nothing he could say to dispute her words.
“There will be an abundance of things to remember you by,” Landon said, smiling at his grandmother. “You’ve built an amazing legacy.”
She waved a hand at him. “Oh, go on, you flatterer. We better head to the lab so I can introduce you to your new team. It’ll be a surprise for them as well.
“Ready for this new adventure?” Hattie asked, eyes sparkling.
“Am I ever,” he said, adrenaline racing through his veins at this exciting development.
Things were looking up. He needed to stick around Moose Falls for the remainder of the one-year period he and his brothers had agreed to.
For the next few months he would occupy himself in the cider lab, a pretty cool shift as far as he was concerned.
“In case I haven’t already told you dozens of times, you didn’t deserve what those crooks at the lab did to you,” Hattie said, scowling.
“I appreciate the support.” He shook his head.
“After all this time it still hurts. I worked so hard to become a scientist, only to have my research stolen. Then I got tossed out of the lab and fired.” He let out a ragged breath.
Thankfully he felt close enough to his grandmother to bare all his feelings.
“Then to make matters worse, they dragged my reputation through the mud so that no other lab would hire me.”
Hattie let out a growl. “Scoundrels, one and all. They didn’t deserve someone like you as their colleague.”
“Thanks for saying so,” Landon said. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to this new position. It just proves that life goes on.”
“Absolutely,” Hattie said. “No laboratory can determine your future.”
“Is there anything I need to do before moving to the lab?” Landon asked. He was eager to shift gears.
“You’ll have some ongoing projects to finish up, but most of your time will be spent in the lab concocting our latest brew with your new team. Moving forward, there are some cool collections you’ll be working on,” she announced.
Landon rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got so much to learn about cider making. I feel like a kid in a candy store.”
“Bless your heart,” Hattie said, reaching out and patting his arm as they made their way to the eastern side of the building. “Something tells me this is going to be a perfect partnership.”
“Now wouldn’t that be nice,” Landon murmured.
He hadn’t felt this energized in a long time about something work related.
Working in a new setting was always interesting, even if it was worlds apart from Abbott Laboratories.
He was looking forward to being hands-on and discovering how the cider lab worked to create the product.
“Here we are,” Hattie announced as they reached the cider laboratory. Landon opened the door so his grandmother could navigate her scooter over the threshold.
“After you, madam,” Landon said, ushering her into the lab.
“Always the gentleman,” Hattie said, her eyes twinkling. “Daisy raised you boys right.”
As soon as they were inside, Landon experienced a sense of wonder, the type he hadn’t felt in quite some time. Something about all of this was making him feel like a kid again.
He’d never been in the cider lab before.
Everything was so shiny and bright. It was like walking into Willy Wonka’s factory.
All the machines were glistening. Goose bumps prickled on the back of his neck.
A sweet smell rose to his nostrils. Cranberry?
Lemon? Whatever the aroma was, the scent was heavenly.
He could get used to working in this department!
The idea of coming up with flavors for a holiday line was exciting.
“Joann,” Hattie called out as a tall woman with a cap of short blond hair came walking toward them.
“Hattie. I’ve been expecting you,” Joann said, smiling widely.
“Glad to hear it. Joann, I’d like for you to meet Landon, my grandson.
” His grandmother was beaming from ear to ear.
He shifted from one foot to the other, hoping she wasn’t about to sing his praises.
He loved that she wore her heart on her sleeve, but he tended to squirm when she gushed about him.
“Landon, Joann has been working with Yukon Cider since day one. We’ve come a long way since then. She runs this department.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Landon said, reaching out to shake Joann’s hand.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Joann said. “I understand you’ll be working with us in the lab.”
“I just found out this morning, so it’s all breaking news to me,” Landon admitted. “But I’m looking forward to learning everything about cider making.” He didn’t want to geek out too hard in front of the team leader.
“I don’t want to hover as if it’s the first day of kindergarten,” Hattie said with a chuckle, “but I expect you to show him the ropes and answer all of his questions.” She gave Joann a knowing look. “And trust me, he always has lots of questions.”
“The best people always do,” Joann said, nodding approvingly.
With a wave, Hattie turned her scooter around and sailed out the door.
Landon shook his head. Not only did Hattie know how to make an entrance, but she always exited a room with a dramatic flair.
He almost wanted to apologize for his grandmother’s intensity, but he kept quiet. Everyone in Moose Falls knew that Hattie was protective of her grandsons.
Joann looked around the lab. “I’d love to introduce you to the rest of the team, Landon, but they’ve disappeared for some reason. Perhaps they ran to the café for a coffee. In the meantime, I’ll show you around.”
For the next ten minutes Landon toured the lab, with Joann showing him the attached room where the cider was made in stainless steel vats.
From what he already knew, the process was broken down into steps—fermentation, racking, and pasteurization.
He was eager to see each step through until the final result—vibrant batches of hard cider.
Suddenly it was just him alone in the lab. He didn’t quite know what to do with himself, but instinct told him to explore. There was nothing he loved better than looking around a new lab setting. The sights, the sounds, and the smells. Not to mention the machinery.
“Can I help you with something?” a low female voice asked from behind him.
He turned around. Standing there in a tomato red sweater and dark washed jeans was a familiar face. Bailey. It struck him that she was just as lovely as he remembered, curls, freckles, and all.
“You!” Landon said, his jaw threatening to drop to the floor at the sight of her.
“You,” Bailey said, eyes wide and looking just as stunned as he felt.
What were the odds? he asked himself. This really was shaping up to be his lucky day.