by SJ McCoy
“Can you watch the little guy for a minute?”
Abbie nodded. She wasn’t sure about being left alone with a small boy, but Michael and Megan seemed to have faith in her, even if she didn’t. They disappeared into Michael’s office.
Billy smiled at her and pulled a strand of her hair. “Abbie,” he said with a smile.
“That’s right.”
She looked up when the door opened, and Colt came in.
Crap! She needed to warn Cassie not to come out.
“Hey, little mister!” Colt came straight to Billy. “How’s it going?” He held a hand up, and Billy high-fived him.
“If you want to take a seat, Michael should be out in a minute.”
“That’s okay. I’ll hang with my little buddy here.”
Abbie wished he’d go and sit down so she could buzz Cassie without him hearing.
Billy grinned at him. “Sherf!”
Colt laughed. “You remembered! Sheriff!” He grinned at Abbie. “Michael was trying to teach him—” His smile disappeared as he looked over her shoulder, and Abbie knew who he’d seen.
She turned around with an apologetic look. Mrs. Thomson walked out with a smile, and Cassie stood frozen to the spot. She looked as if she’d seen a ghost.
To Abbie’s relief, Michael’s door opened, and he and Megan came out. For a moment, they all froze. Billy broke the silence when he shouted, “Daddee!” and lunged toward Michael.
Abbie hung on tight, afraid to drop him.
Michael came to her. “Billy!” He took him from her arms. “And your friend, the sheriff. Why don’t you two come in with me?”
He went to Colt and thrust Billy into his arms. That was enough to break the spell, and Colt took the kid and followed Michael into his office.
“I’m so sorry, Cassie!”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s not a problem.” The look on her face said it was, but she gave them a forced smile. “Is Mrs. Morton here?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay. Give me a buzz when she arrives.” She went back into her office and closed the door behind her.
Abbie let out a big sigh. “Damn. I blew that.”
Megan patted her arm. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your place to run interference for her.”
“I don’t mind. I want to help her out. I don’t even know what her problem is, though. Do you?”
Megan nodded. “I do. They need to work it out at some point. But, to be honest, I don’t know how they can.” She looked at Michael’s door. “I hope it’s not going to be like this all the time, though. It affects the rest of us. You feel bad that you didn’t warn her he was here, and now I have to wait around until I can get Billy back.”
“Yeah, but she’s not doing it on purpose.”
“No, I know. But we all need to sort our personal problems out before they start affecting other people.”
~ ~ ~
Ivan smiled as he hung up the phone. That was the first time Abbie had called him at work. He’d told her she could call any time, but up until now, they’d only talked and seen each other after work. That wasn’t the only reason he was smiling. She’d asked him if he wanted to go out on Friday night, and explained that they had a chance to get Neil and Merry together.
He got up from his desk. Time to go see if Neil was up for it.
Neil gave him a wary look when he reached his office. “What is it?”
Ivan grinned. “I have some good news for you.”
“What?”
“You’re coming out on Friday.”
“I am? Why? Where are we going?”
“To Michael and Megan’s place, for a little get-together.”
Neil sucked in a deep breath. “Megan, who works at the library?”
“Yep, and you’re the accountant, so I reckon you can put two and two together and come up with the answer to who else is going to be there.”
Neil nodded slowly.
“Come on. Smile. This is your big chance!”
“But what if I blow it?”
Ivan grinned. “You won’t.”
“You don’t know that. She might think I’m awful.”
“She doesn’t.”
“But you … wait, what? What makes you say that?”
“I just talked to Abbie, who just talked to Megan, who told her that Merry is going to be there on Friday, but there was no point trying to introduce her to a guy because she already has this huge crush.”
Neil looked so disappointed that he felt bad drawing it out like this.
“On some guy named Neil—an accountant who goes in the library sometimes but only ever talks to her about books.”
Neil’s eyes grew wide. “She has a crush on me?”
Ivan nodded happily. “There you were telling me that she didn’t know you existed, and all this time, she’s been pining for you.”
“Wow! Oh, my God! That’s … I don’t know what to say.”
“Say that you’re coming on Friday.”
“I am. I will. I’ll be there. I … what should I wear?” He laughed. “Actually, forget I asked that. I’ve learned my lesson. If she likes me, then she likes me as I am.”
“Exactly.”
Neil grinned. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t need to. It all worked out in the end.”
“It hasn’t yet.”
“It will. We’ll make sure of it.”
When he got back to his office, Ivan sat there, smiling to himself. Everything was working out. He was happier than he remembered being in a long time—if ever. He’d lived a solitary life for such a long time. He hadn’t thought he wanted friends or a girl in his life. Now he had both, and he was loving it. He picked his phone up. He’d not long ago spoken to Abbie, but he wanted to hear her voice again.
“Summer Lake Medical Center, this is Abbie, how can I help you?”
“You can have dinner with me tonight.”
“Oh. Hey. Did you tell him?”
“I did. He’s thrilled. But I’m more interested in you and me. Will you have dinner with me tonight?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks. I’ll come pick you at seven.”
“I can drive myself.”
“I don’t like you driving home so late afterward, and it’s supposed to snow again tonight.”
She was quiet for a long moment, and he wondered if she was going to argue. Instead, she made his heart beat faster. “I was thinking I could stay. Then I can drive straight to work in the morning.”
“Great.”
“Okay. I’ll see you just after seven. I have to go.”
“See you later.” He wanted to say something more than that, wanted to tell her he couldn’t wait, that she meant a lot to him. He hung up and stared out the window for a long moment, realizing what he really wanted to say. Maybe it was just because people said those three words at the end of a phone call—or maybe it was because they were true?
He shook his head. It was way too soon to be saying that. They’d only been seeing each other a couple of weeks. He blew out a sigh. Everything else in his life had happened so fast—moving here to the lake, starting his new job, living in the house. Was it possible that he could fall for her just as fast? That once he’d figured out that he wanted to be with her, he’d let all his defenses down and let her into his heart? The way his heart was beating, as though it was trying to escape his ribcage, told him that it might be true.
He’d need to be very careful before he said those three words out loud. Even if they were true, how long would it take before they were even a possibility for Abbie? He didn’t want to scare her away by asking too much of her too soon.
He turned back to his computer. Maybe tonight he should test the waters somehow. She’d talked about settling down and getting married and all that stuff when she’d been convinced that that was the kind of life she ought to be living. She’d never mentioned that she actually wanted it, and she certainly hadn’t ever
mentioned falling in love.
He blew out a sigh. Maybe he was crazy? Maybe he needed to slow down and play the waiting game—see where things went with time. Or maybe, just maybe, he needed to let her know how he was starting to feel so they could figure it out between them.
He shrugged. It was too big a question to answer right now, and besides, he had work to do. He could face it later when he saw her.
~ ~ ~
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Abbie’s mom rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m fine. I’d rather you stayed at Ivan’s than stay here. I want you to go. I want you to get on with your life, and I need you to let me figure out how to get on with mine.”
Abbie frowned. “I need to let you?”
“Yes, Abbs. I don’t want you to think I’m not grateful, but it’s time. You got me through the worst, and I love you for it. But as much as you need to get on with your life, I need to get on with mine. Depending on you for everything isn’t doing me any good.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. I need to find a better job for starters.”
Abbie nodded. She’d lost her job after Abbie’s dad had died. For a long time, she hadn’t been up to doing much. But over the summer, she’d worked on the cleaning crew at the resort. As one of the last in, she’d been the first out when the busy season ended. Ben, who owned the resort, had given her whatever hours he could in housekeeping, but she was only a backup.
“I’ve been thinking about going to the women’s center and asking for help.”
Abbie didn’t know what to say. Part of her wanted to say she didn’t need to do that. That she could take care of her. But she understood what her mom was saying.
“I’m not an old lady, Abbs. I don’t want to be dependent on you anymore. For your sake or mine.”
“Do you have any idea what you do want?”
Her mom smiled. “What I want right now is for you to get going. Have a lovely evening with Ivan. Say hello to him for me. Stay over there, and don’t give me another thought. And then soon—maybe this weekend—I want to talk to you about what I should do from here on out.”
“Do you want to—”
Her mom held up a hand. “I don’t want to talk about it tonight. I want you to go and have fun. Can you do that for me?”
Abbie went to hug her. “I can.”
“Good. And if you don’t have any other plans, ask Ivan if he wants to come over on Sunday for lunch. I’ll bake cookies.”
Abbie laughed. “Then, I can already tell you that he’ll say yes.”
Her mom hugged her. “I have a good feeling about you two, Abbs.”
Abbie squeezed her tight. “So do I.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ivan hurried out to the garage when he saw headlights coming up the driveway. He pushed the button so that the door opened and the lights came on, hoping that Abbie would take the hint and come and park inside.
She pulled her car up next to his and got out with a smile. “Hey.”
He went to her and closed his arms around her. “Hello, beautiful. I missed you.”
She laughed. “It’s only been a couple of days, and we spoke earlier.”
“I know, but I still missed you.”
“Aww …” She tightened her arms around his waist. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
He lowered his lips to hers. “You can start now.”
Her arms came up around his shoulders, and she kissed him. He loved her kisses; she was bold and hungry for him. As he kissed her back, the rest of the world melted away. All that was left was the two of them.
When she eventually pulled back, she gave him a puzzled look. “Is everything okay?”
“Couldn’t be better, now you’re here.”
She smiled. “That’s the way I feel, too. It’s like coming here, to you, is coming to my safe place, my happy place.”
He nodded, glad that she felt that way. “That’s what I want this place to be for you. I told you I’d help you chase the blues away.”
“And you’ve succeeded.”
“Come on in. Have you eaten?”
“No. I thought I was going to have dinner with Mom before I came over. But she said she was going out to eat.” She frowned. “I’m a bit worried about her.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s really stepping up the whole wanting to do things by herself. I mean, that’s great and everything, but …”
“You’re worried that she’s only doing it so you won’t do so much for her?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m starting to feel guilty. Like she doesn’t want to ask anything of me because she doesn’t want to interfere with us.”
Ivan had a feeling that might be the case, but at the same time, it might not be. “Do you think that maybe she’s just ready to face life for herself again?”
Abbie frowned. “That’s what she says, but I don’t know …”
“Can you go off anything other than what she says?”
“I know I should take her at her word, but it scares me.”
“Why?”
“Because …” She blew out a sigh. “I feel responsible for her.”
“But you’re not. She’s your mom. She’s her own person.”
“I know. I just don’t want to let her down again.”
“You can’t let her down if you’re respecting her wishes.”
“That’s true. I just feel so guilty.”
“About your dad?”
“Yes. That, and the fact that now I’ve met you, I have a happy place, a life.” She hesitated and looked up into his eyes. “Maybe a future. Mom doesn’t have any of that. I don’t want her to feel like I came back for a while and then abandoned her again.”
Ivan went to her and closed his arms around her. “You’re not abandoning her, though. You’re only doing what any normal person does. They spend some time with their family; they spend some time with their partner.” He took a deep breath, knowing this was risky, but she’d just mentioned the possibility of them having a future. It wasn’t so far-fetched for him to talk about what that future might look like. “It’s not like being with me means you won’t ever be with her. I’d like to include her, too. In fact, I wanted to ask if you both want to come for lunch on Sunday. I’m not a great cook, but I can smoke a mean prime rib.”
Abbie looked up into his eyes and smiled. “You’re so sweet. She asked if you wanted to come over to our house on Sunday—even said she’d bake cookies for you.”
He smiled. “How about you come over here? Your mom can bake, and I’ll make lunch.”
“That sounds great. But what about me? What am I going to contribute?”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You can just sit around and look beautiful.”
She laughed. “Err, I don’t think so.”
“Actually, there is something I wanted to ask for your help with.”
“What’s that?”
“I want to decorate for Christmas.”
She grinned. “Now, that is something I can do.” Her smile faded. “Though I’m not sure it’s something I want to do for you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“I mean, it’s something I want to do with you. We should do that together. Having decorations is nice, but it’s the putting them up that makes it special.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that.”
“You’ll see. We’ll decorate this year, and we’ll mess up, and stupid stuff will happen, and we’ll laugh and then next year, we’ll remember it all and—”
She stopped abruptly, and he knew what she was thinking. She didn’t want to presume that they’d even be together next year. He hoped it was only a case of her not wanting to presume too much. Because he already knew that he wanted to spend next Christmas with her—and every Christmas after that. “And each year, we’ll add another layer of memories and make our own little traditions, right?”
She nodded. “That’s how it works.”
He tucked his fingers under her chin and made her look up into his eyes. “That’s how I want it to work for us, Abbs.”
She searched his face. “You do?”
“Yeah. I do. I’m hoping this is just our first Christmas together.”
“I’d like that.” She slid her arms up around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. He closed his eyes and held her close to his chest as he kissed her, hoping that she was his future.
When they finally came up for air, she cocked her head to one side. “I’m glad you told me that. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, and knowing that you feel that way makes it easier to say.”
He frowned, wondering where she was going. She reached up and touched his cheek. “You might think this is crazy, but I promised myself after the Neil episode that I was going to be open and honest with myself and with you about how I really feel. So …” She took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is—and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, I just need you to know …”
The look in her eyes told him before she finally got the words out. By the time she said them, his heart was buzzing in his chest, because it had its answer—the answer it had been hoping for.
“I know it’s too soon, but I love you, Ivan.”
He tightened his arms around her. “Maybe it is too soon. But I love you, too, Abbie. I didn’t want to push you.”
She laughed. “I didn’t want to push you. I didn’t want you to think that I was … I don’t know, still screwing things up somehow. This isn’t me thinking I’m supposed to be with someone. This is me falling for you because I can’t help it. Right or wrong, you’ve worked your way into my heart.”
“That makes me happy.”
“What, that I didn’t want to fall for you?”
He laughed. “Not that so much. But that even though you didn’t plan to, you couldn’t help it. I didn’t plan to fall for you either, but …” He shrugged. He didn’t know how to put it into words. “I guess we’re just meant to be. I didn’t think I was ready to fall in love and settle down, but then you showed up, and all of a sudden, it’s all I can think about.”
She smiled. “My mom said something like that. She told me I shouldn’t be trying to make decisions about where my life should go because it doesn’t work that way. When the person you’re supposed to be with shows up, it all just works out the way that it’s supposed to.”
