She met my gaze and must have seen how sincere I was because her shoulders relaxed. “It’s just…I don’t have a family. So, sometimes, being around a family like yours is overwhelming. You know?”
I didn’t. Not really. I’d always had a big family. I’d always wanted a big family. That had been a sticking point with Miranda in the last year. It worried me that Heidi might feel the same.
“Overwhelming how?”
“I don’t know. Like…it’s hard to be around all these people who know and love each other so much and not feel kind of…jealous. I feel horrible even thinking like that, but the only family I have is Emery. And then I see all of you together and Emery’s family, who practically took me in, and I just…want that.”
Relief flooded me. I couldn’t even believe I had thought for a second that she would be anything like Miranda. Heidi felt bad because she was alone, and she wanted more. It was refreshing and a completely understandable emotion.
“You’re not alone, you know?” I said.
“Well, the family I do have doesn’t count,” she said harshly.
“I wasn’t talking about your dad, but we can if you’d like.”
She shook her head once fiercely. “I don’t want to talk about him. He’s in prison where he belongs.”
I nodded, giving her the room she needed. It wasn’t a secret to anyone that Heidi’s dad was in prison for money laundering and drug trafficking. When the economy had tanked, he’d almost lost the bar, and he had resorted to illicit means to keep afloat. It had all caught up with him in the worst possible way. It had been a huge scandal, and Hank Martin was a name that everyone in town knew.
“We can talk about your dad when you’re ready.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” she muttered.
“In the meantime, you are not alone. Emery might be tried and true, but I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to want a family like that when we’re standing right in front of you, accepting you into the fold. It might take some getting used to. I know we’re an…interesting bunch. But you never have to search for family again when you have mine right in front of you.”
I was offering her my family on a platter. I knew that they all already loved Heidi. Jensen thought she was an incredible employee and a great best friend. Austin thought she was hilarious and a fun person to hang out with. High praise from him. Heidi and Morgan used to cheer together. They were already bonded. And Sutton had always wanted to be like Emery and Heidi when we were in high school.
My family already accepted her more than they had ever accepted Miranda.
And Heidi had no clue.
Heidi breathed out a sigh and seemed to take in what I had told her. “You sure know how to calm a girl down.”
“Just you, Heidi.”
Heidi laughed. “Knowing your track record, I have to agree with that.”
“Now, are you feeling better? Want to come join the cool kids’ table?”
“Popularity is so overrated, Landon.”
I grinned. That was the exact opposite of the Heidi I’d known in high school. “Come on, cheerleader. Get it moving. Jensen is going to start grilling soon, and you do not want to be over here, standing in his way, when he gets near a grill. Come grab a beer, and hang out with us. We don’t bite. Well, I can’t guarantee Austin.”
Heidi giggled, and her whole face brightened. Whatever demons she had been facing disappeared into the clouds. She was just the confident, bubbly girl I found utterly fascinating.
And, when she seamlessly integrated into my family for the rest of the afternoon, it was like everything in the whole world was going right.
Eighteen
Heidi
Almost two weeks later, on Friday morning, I was called into a meeting before I even made it to the elevator.
“What for?” I asked Max.
He was one of our lead engineers and the least pleasant of the guys in my department.
“Didn’t ask. Just said to do it. I’m grabbing people as they get here.”
“All right,” I said with a raised eyebrow.
I took the elevator up to our floor with a sense of urgency. The last time we’d had a meeting, we’d found out that Landon was the new boss. I sure hoped that this meant that Landon was getting a new job in a different department…or floor. Because walking past him every day on my way to my desk was starting to turn into the best part of my day, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
Not that anything had happened. He had been the perfect gentleman. Maybe too much of a perfect gentleman, considering the energy that had been building between us. I thought he was waiting for my move since I’d rebuffed him so many times. And I couldn’t see that I would make it.
I sighed and decided not to worry about it. A decision for another day. I rallied a smile for Landon as I passed his office but was surprised to find it empty.
Huh.
He was usually in the office bright and early on Fridays.
Strange.
I shrugged it off and headed into the conference room. Matt greeted me with a wave. He was in a lime-green plaid shirt with a navy-blue bow tie with polka dots and suspenders today. His outfit choices always made me giggle.
“Hey, Matt,” I said, taking the seat next to him.
“We meet again, Heidi,” he said with a sideways grin.
“Indeed. You know what this meeting is about?”
“Nope. They never tell us anything before they want to.”
“Yeah, that’s the truth.” I reached out and snagged a doughnut from the table. “At least they got us some breakfast.”
“I’m surprised that you eat that kind of thing.”
I stared at him in confusion with half of the glazed doughnut stuffed in my mouth. “Huh?” I managed.
“It’s all processed flour and high fructose corn syrup. It’s horrible for you.”
I swallowed and grinned. “Tastes delicious.”
“You should take care of your body. You only have one.”
“Noted,” I said, giving him a thumbs-up as I reached for a second doughnut.
Just then the engineering manager, Dennis, moseyed into the room. He was a balding man in his mid-fifties with a round belly and an easy smile. I liked Dennis just fine. He was the one who kept giving me merit raises for doing better than the boys.
“Is everyone here?” Dennis asked. He walked to the front of the room, grabbing a box of doughnuts as he went.
I glanced around and noticed that, no, in fact, not everyone was here. “I think we’re missing Jim.”
“Right, Jim,” Dennis said. “Jim is taking a position at the Austin branch. His son just got into Texas, and he and his wife wanted to make the move to be close to him.” He shrugged, as if he thought that was a stupid reason to take a position in Austin.
Family was the most important thing though. It was kind of sweet that Jim wanted to move to where his son was. And, as long as it was a lateral move, I didn’t see how it was even a bad thing. Austin was a freaking awesome city. I’d gone to visit Emery a couple of times while she had been getting her PhD. It had more to offer than Lubbock; that was for sure.