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He looks over at me. “What did you say your name was?”
“Landon.” I stick out a hand.
“Richard.” He takes it.
“What the hell was that?” Nora shouts.
I turn to look at her. “What?”
“You just happened to be there? Lurking nearby? While our very reliable fire management tool decided to explode?”
“Nora,” Richard says, the reproachful tone of his voice clear. “Landon just saved my life.”
“Did he, Dad? Or did he happen to be there because he knew you were going to need help?” she seethes.
“There’s no way he could have known that the valve was stuck.”
“Oh, he could have. Because he made it get stuck!”
“Nora Ellen Foster. I did not raise you to have such shit manners.”
Despite myself, I grin. Bringing out the middle name is the parent equivalent to a nuclear bomb.
“Dad, we don’t know them.”
“Well, we do now.” He turns back to me. I give him a hand and haul him up out of the ditch. Richard gives me a sharp nod. “Care to help us with the rest of the ditch, son?”
“I’d be honored.” I smile.
We walk down to the next section of the irrigation ditch. Despite Nora’s silent but effective protest, we get to work. All the while, she’s staring at the back of my head, trying to burn holes into it.
But hey, at least she’s looking.
About halfway through the day, she decides that it’s time to speak to me.
“How much is this going to cost me?” she hisses as she walks by.
I reach out, gently grabbing her hand. “Nora.”
“What?”
I huff. “I’m not going to calculate the cost of labor for saving your dad’s life.”
Her blue eyes dart, searching my face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m not going to take this out of the lease. Your dad was in a bad place. He needed help. I wanted to help. So, I helped.”
“You’re not going to charge us?”
I shut my eyes. Goddamn it, Shane. He and I would have words about this. “No, Nora.”
“That’s… well, I’d say it was nice, but it’s kind of a dick move to watch someone be strapped to a malfunctioning flamethrower and do nothing about it.”
I laugh despite myself. “That’s correct. So, can we let this settle, then? I’m not a dick, Nora. I mean, I can be, but overall, I’m not going to sit there and watch your dad get burned to a crisp without doing something about it.”
She seems to nod. “Jury’s still out on the whole ‘not a dick’ thing.”
“As long as I’m on trial, I guess I have a chance to advocate for myself then.” I wink.
