Landry (Members From Money Season 2, #169)

Chapter 1

Dusk was just streaking the sky, a beautiful and whimsical reddish-gold tinge, when the rider crested the top of the hill.

The fall weather was mild, a slight breeze stirring the leaves on the trees.

From his vantage point, Landry Crenshaw imagined he could see the sleepy small town, with the soft lights shimmering on the weathered buildings.

Rain had fallen earlier, giving the air a fresh new scent that bathed the atmosphere with dew.

Everything looked green and lush. Darkness was closing in even though it was barely seven in the evening. He had been out for the past two hours. His aunt and uncle had already called to check on him.

An indulgent smile played around his sensuous lips as he thought of the couple.

They had welcomed him with open arms, embracing him with love and warmth he had so desperately needed.

After being back in the States for a month, he had wanted the peace and quiet the farm often brought him.

He had been here a week, during which he had been coddled and indulged.

The couple had treated him like their own son.

Considering the fact that they had not been blessed with children of their own, he suspected that was the main reason for all the love and attention.

Patting the restless horse absently, he dismounted and led the animal to where the water from the lake meandered gently over smooth stones.

Looping the reins over a nearby sapling, he decided to stretch his legs.

He had come here to think, to be alone with his thoughts, ones he had been shying away from since his return or even before then.

Hunkering down, he dipped his fingers into the ice-cold water, too immersed in his thoughts to feel the bite of it. He was back, and come next week, he would be facing her. It could not be avoided.

He should be over her. Christ knows he had tried desperately to put the past behind him. He had gone to certain lengths, taken more than enough women to his bed, just to erase her from his mind.

But to no avail. His mouth tightened as he stared off into the encroaching darkness. He was going to have to face her and be the enemy. He could explain what had happened fifteen years ago, but that wasn't his call.

He had followed her career. It had been self-induced torture, but he had followed her on social media.

She had done pretty well for herself, which hadn't surprised him one bit.

His Kady-Ann, and by God, he still regarded her as his!

She had always been so damn smart. Lunging to his feet, he dragged long fingers through his burnished blond hair, leaving the strands sticking out in artless disorder.

He just needed one week to come to grips with what he was about to do and yes, to settle his mind on how to confront the woman of his past. His first love.

Good Christ! His only love. It had taken him years to adjust to the fact that she was the only woman he was ever going to love.

His parents, even his sister, had told him that he would get over her.

"It was just a childhood crush."

He had wanted to believe them. But the years had not dulled the ache and emptiness that leaving her had created inside him.

"All right, Crenshaw, get it together. You've survived all these years and you're still standing."

Yes, he was still standing. He slept, ate, and went about his regular duties, but it was just by rote.

He had managed to attend school, majored in business and law, as well as mastered four languages at a prestigious university in two countries.

He had done all that because he had fixed his mind on getting over the past, and studying and pursuing his goals had somehow managed to ease the pain.

He had even settled into a relationship when he was in college in the UK.

Lainey had been sweet, her British accent charming, and her character sharp and witty.

They had survived eight months. And during those eight months, he had come close to thinking that finally he was over his childhood sweetheart, that Lainey was going to be the last in a long line of women.

Then one night, he had called out Kady-Ann's name in the throes of a horrible nightmare. No amount of apologies or explaining had been enough. Lainey had been hurt, but being the practical soul she was, she had advised him to confront his demons.

"You're still hung up on your past, love. And I value myself too much to live in another woman's shadow."

So that had been that.

Afterwards, he had not bothered to think of or wish for anything long term.

The rumble of thunder had him stirring from his depressing memories and reminded him that it was time to return to the farmhouse.

***

Blissfully unaware that her life was about to be upended, Kady-Ann Klein finished writing the report and sent it off in an attached email. It was Saturday, and she had promised to meet up with her mother and brother for lunch, something she was already regretting.

She loved her family, but sometimes they tended to be too much for her.

She already knew the trend the conversation was going to take.

Her mother was going to bemoan the fact that she was the only one in her bridge club who was not a grandmother, and would try to give her and her brother a list of suitable candidates.

She endured the weekly luncheon dates because she loved her mother, but she was tired of answering the same questions. It was wearing on her nerves.

Sitting back in her plush leather chair, she stared around her office, a smile lingering on her lips.

She had come a long way and was proud of her achievements.

She managed an airline, a successful one, and that was not something to sneeze at, not in this uncertain financial climate.

She worked hard to be noticed and was existing in a man's world.

Because of that, she had to work doubly hard to show that she was not just a pretty face, not to mention the fact that she was a Black woman.

Men had tried to nettle her by commenting on her figure, the shape of her face, and the fact that when she smiled, she lit up the room.

She had endured all the sexist comments stoically, determined not to lose her cool, and had proven that she had a brain behind the looks.

Since she had the looks, she had used it to disconcert them before going in for the kill.

While they were admiring the package, she was getting ready to sweep them away with her intellect.

She was a smart businesswoman who could speak four languages fluently.

She was also not afraid to speak her mind.

Pushing back the chair, she rose and went to the cabinet to pour herself a glass of Perrier, the only type she drank, and took it with her to look out at the sweeping landscape.

Atlas Airlines had its corporate office in a very prestigious part of the uptown area, with stunning views of other high-rise buildings, plus a park that had been restored just a year ago.

It was a view she had enjoyed every morning and night as she spent time going over reports or trying to come up with innovative ideas on how to improve the company.

She worked long hours and did not mind it in the least. She had no social life, but that was fine by her.

She had tried dating for a while, but the dating pool was depressingly low and beneath her standards.

Her best friend Lori accused her of being too picky.

"You want a perfect man, honey, but there's no such thing."

She had not bothered to argue that she just wanted a man who was all right with her success and was not intimidated by the fact that she was a woman in charge, an independent Black woman who had made it to the top, one who did not need to be coddled or stroked.

She was about to get back to her desk when her phone rang.

"I'm outside your building and was told, no, ordered, to make sure you're not late."

"I was just-"

"Getting some work in. I know. Honey, mother hates to be kept waiting. Get your ass down here before I have to come and get you. I just finished a sixteen-hour shift at the hospital and had my hands in a man's gut for four hours; I'm not in the mood to play nice."

"We could always cancel." Sighing inwardly, she stuffed her things in her oversized purse and scribbled a note for her assistant to work on first thing Monday morning.

"I value my life too much to even entertain that thought."

"Here's something. Why don't you find a nice doctor at that hospital of yours and get married? That will give our mother something to think about for a while."

"I'm hanging up now. You've got five minutes."

With the dial tone in her ear, she finished gathering her things and shutting off her desktop before heading out.

***

Justine Lowell was a middle-aged woman who was comfortable in her own skin.

Her thick blonde hair was liberally streaked with gray, and there were lines running from her laughing jade-green eyes and crinkling around her lips.

She was usually smiling and had a way about her that had people gravitating towards her.

Landry loved her and had often wished she were his mother.

"You're wet!" She immediately started fussing as soon as he walked through the doorway and had a towel handy.

"You're going to catch your death. What were you thinking?

" Without waiting for him to finish drying off, she took his arm and led him into the comfortable roomy kitchen that smelled enticingly of baked goods.

"Fortunately for you, I made some soup. Sit," she ordered, pointing to the table tucked beneath the large bay window overlooking one of the barns and her prized roses.

"I'm fine, Aunt Justine. You worry too much." Leaning down from his lofty six-foot-three height, he dropped a kiss on her soft cheek, inhaling the scent of flour and peppermint.

"I don't want you getting sick. Tea first-"