Page 61

Eli nodded at her sharply. “These two helped with breakfast, so it went much quicker than anticipated.”

“We’ll clean up then,” Azalea added.

Lando could have laughed. They were at a bed and breakfast, which from everything she’d been taught, meant they were to be served, not helping. She really didn’t care, but she found it amusing that everyone seemed to be willing to put in a helping hand when they wanted. Everyone except Diane, that was. She’d yet to see Diane get dirty. She mostly stayed up in her room, away from the rest of them.

Eli tilted her head at Lando, as if expecting to be let in on her thoughts. Lando shook her head, denying the intrusion, and went back to sipping her coffee. She was glad another pot was brewing. She would need it.

They sat to eat, Diane coming down for breakfast last minute as seemed to be her habit. They were halfway through the meal, Diane’s gaze shifting awkwardly between Lando and Violet as if she couldn’t figure something out. Lando chose to ignore her, and it seemed as though Violet was as well.

“Lando,” Eli started. “Did you need help taking those stitches out today?”

“Oh, no. Violet did it earlier this morning. They itched so badly.”

Eli chuckled. “I know how that can be. I’ve had enough stitches to remember that sweet feeling when they’re finally gone.”

Chuckling, Lando rested in her chair. “Yes. I had some across my forehead when I was an idiot teenager, and trust me, I could not wait to get those things out.”

“What did you do?” Violet asked, her eyes wide.

Lando made eye contact with her, debating what to tell her. “I was drunk off my ass, fell down the front steps to the house and bashed my head on the broken step at the bottom. Nan was pretty pissed because I broke it even more, to the point she had to replace it.”

“Lando.” Pity filled Violet’s gaze.

“Stupid teenage antics. I didn’t feel a thing until the next day anyway.”

“I’m sure.” Violet’s gentle fingers brushed against Lando’s hand before withdrawing suddenly.

Lando clenched her jaw. So touching wasn’t completely off the table.Good to know.“I also got stitches when I was eight, in my knee. I was running laps for soccer practice and one of the traditions was to jump over the water spigot. Well, I missed and didn’t jump quite high enough. Tore a two-inch hole in my right knee. Wicked scar, but three stitches.”

Eli laughed. “That sounds like something idiotic that I would do.”

“Yeah.” Lando eyed Violet up and down again, trying to judge exactly what she was thinking and feeling, though she didn’t get far. Diane eyed her solidly. Lando didn’t answer. Instead, she let the conversation drop. When they were finished with their meal, everyone brought their dishes to the sink, and Violet volunteered to help clean with Azalea and Jewel while Eli went to the barn.

Lando sat heavily on the edge of the bed. Finally in silence from that morning, a quiet where she could actually think instead of just wonder. Her lips tingled again, and she did have the fleeting thought that if she just waited long enough perhaps Violet would be more amenable to trying something with her. Lando could be patient, and it wasn’t like she was going anywhere any time soon.

The knock on the door surprised her. Violet wouldn’t knock, unless perhaps she thought that Lando was undressed, but even then, she hadn’t done that so far. Standing, Lando opened the door and found Diane on the other side, papers in her hands.

“Hey,” Lando said, confused.

“I need to talk to you, and I didn’t want to do it while Violet was around.”

“Oh, okay.” Lando’s stomach twisted. This didn’t seem like it was going to be a good conversation. “I wanted to talk to you too, actually.”

“Good.” Diane came into the room, shutting and locking the door behind her.

Lando stared at the lock for a brief moment before shrugging it off and sitting on the bed she’d just vacated. Diane sat next to her and heaved a sigh.

“What’s going on?” Lando asked, her brow furrowing.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how we can make this work.”

“Make what work?” Lando’s stomach clenched hard, and she knew she wasn’t going to like this conversation. She had a feeling about where it was going, but she was not going to make it easier for Diane if she could.

“The team. There’s too much fighting going on, and something has to give. We’re not getting the work done we need to.”

“All right.” Lando was still confused. If anyone had been fighting it was Diane and Violet. Lando had largely stayed out of that, but she was also the new kid on the block, so if someone was going to take the blame for something, it would likely be her.

“We need to make some changes so this doesn’t happen again.”