Page 181 of Snap Shot

“It's nice to meet you both.”

Sadie cups a hand over Landon's ear and attempts to whisper. “Is she your girlfriend?”

I redden.

“Sadie!” Daisy chides.

“Well, she is a girl, and she is my friend, but no.” He winks. “Wanna know something, though?” Landon murmurs something into his niece's ear that evokes a giggle.

“Me tooooo,” Gunnar whines.

“Uh-uh,” Sadie denies. “Issa a secret.” When she smiles at me, a dimple forms on her cheek, mirroring the one her uncle wears.

“Alright, that's enough.” Delaney pries them off of him. “You two still need to wash your hands.” She herds them toward the washroom.

Landon straightens as two men walk up. “Indi, this is my dad, Leon.”

Leon leaves a kiss on his son's head, which is the sweetest thing I've seen since the interaction with his niece and nephew two seconds ago.

“His partner, Steve. Del's husband, Seth. And here comes Deda.”

His grandfather is almost as big and broad as Landon. He removes a glove to silently shake my hand.

“Thanks for hosting me for the weekend. You've got a beautiful home.”

“Can you believe he designed it? Helped build it.” Pride and admiration weigh in every word. “Deda was an architecture graduate in Prague before moving here. Then Babi fell in love with the farm—”

“The cranberries reminded me of those in the Jeseniky mountains—”

“—And the rest is history.”

Deda nods at Landon's conclusion as he joins his wife on the other side of the kitchen.

“Barto, do you recognize her?”

His frown deepens, declining with a grunt.

Leon snaps and taps Steve's chest with the back of his hand. “Hey, I thought so! Where would we know you from, Indi?”

“I mean, she's a pretty big deal,” Landon brags. “You probably saw her on the news during that case with Senator Pearson.”

“Maybe,” his dad ponders. “Ah, who knows? The ol' noggin ain't what it used to be. Maybe you've got one of those faces.”

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “Maybe.”

More of Landon's extended family arrives, aunts and uncles and cousins. He introduces me to each one and they respond with Christmas greetings and give unexpected bear hugs, before messing around and harassing Landon and Delaney.

The joy in their reunion is a bittersweet reminder of being apart from my own family. I slink away down a hallway behind the kitchen and through a door, hoping to wallow in isolation, but don't get far. Landon appears behind me and turns on the light. What I thought was a washroom is actually a walk-in pantry, organized in labeled glass canisters like something out of Pinterest.

“What’s going on? You okay?”

“Just missing my parents and sisters, I think.” My arms hug my torso. “I don't know if me coming here was a good idea. This is your family's Christmas. I don't really belong—”

“That's not true,” he cuts me off. “You belong here. With me. You can't go now.” His eyes search mine, frantic and pleading. “My family likes you.”

“They like me?”

“Yeah. They're being weirdos about it, but they do.”

---