Landon
This is a companion novel to the Swanson Court Series. Told from Landon’s perspective, it should be read after the first three books of the Swanson Court Series.
Landon Court is a man who knows how to focus on the important things, namely, his billion-dollar hotels, and his brother–the only family he has left.
His relationships with women are temporary and superficial, and he’s fine with that.
Then Rachel Foster walks into his apartment.
He thinks he knows who she is and why she’s there, and after one passionate night, he wants to see her again.
But she’s not the person he assumed she was, and she wants nothing to do with him.
Landon does not enjoy being lied to, and he’s used to getting what he wants. As far as he’s concerned, Rachel will not be an exception.
Prologue
“Mom?”
I’m shivering, and my teeth are chattering. It’s so cold, and there’s a weird taste in my mouth.
“Mom?”
I’m lying in the grass, and my foot hurts when I stand. I’ve lost one of my shoes. My head hurts. My arm hurts. There’s mud on my hands and on my shirt.
The road is silent and empty.
“Mom!”
This time, it’s not just my voice.
“Mommy!”
Aidan is crying. Looking around for him, I only see smoke rising from near the trees.
I’m already running toward the smoke before I realize it’s the car. It’s upside down, and the front is smashed and twisted. Through the thick, gray smoke, I can see my mother. She’s not moving, and there’s blood in her hair.
“Mommy!” Aidan cries again, and I hear the faint sound of his coughing.
It’s hot near the car, and there’s broken glass on the ground. Something sharp pushes into my bare foot. It hurts. My knees hurt, too. Aidan falls when I unbuckle him from his car seat. He hits his arm and wails. I pull him out through the shattered window. He’s still coughing and crying as I carry him away from the smoke.
A few steps from the car, strong arms grab me.
It’s a man. He looks concerned. “Are you all right?” he says. “Here, let me take him.”
“My mom…” I don’t finish the sentence. A whooshing sound comes from the car. I turn and run back to get her, but the man grabs me from behind, pulling me back as heat blasts from the car where my mother is still trapped.
“Mom!”
“It’s too late,” the man says, lifting me off the ground while I kick and scream. Other cars stop on the highway, and people emerge to watch the flames. I hear sirens. Aidan is still crying as the man carries us both away from the heat.
“Mom,” I scream again. “Mom!”
But it’s too late.
Mr. Hayes comes to take us home from the hospital. His eyes are red. Beside me, Aidan is whimpering in his sleep.
“Where’s Dad?” I ask Mr. Hayes.
“He’s on his way.”
We’re going back to the hotel, our home in the city. I close my eyes, remembering my mother driving, crying.
I don’t want to leave. If you’re getting a divorce, I want to stay with Dad in the hotel.
I wished we would turn back and go back home.
And now we are, without Mom.
“Oh, Landon!”