by Cassie May
Her parent’s eyes widened and both swallowed their gasps. “And who is that?” Her father’s voice boomed too loudly through the quiet neighborhood and Abby started to shake like a leaf. Her face even paler than before she hid behind Laynee’s legs looking ready to bolt back in the car.
Laying a calming arm on his arm Laynee’s mother murmured: “Jacob, please. I am sure both of the girls are hungry after that trip. Please, come in everybody and we figure everything out. Do you have luggage?”
Laynee nodded and grabbed their two bags in one hand and Abby’s cold hand in the other. The little girl was still shaking and silent tears streamed down her face. “Daddy? Could you please take my bags? I have to take care of Abby first.” Laynee handed her bags to her father who looked stricken at the panicked expression on Abby’s face. He never wanted to scare the little girl and was only curious about the new addition to the family.
With the bags in his hands he squatted down to look the kid in the eyes. “I am sorry if I frightened you, little girl. It was not my intention, but you really surprised me. I mean, look at you almost as beautiful as my daughter and wife. You will fit right in here with us, don’t you worry, okay?” His gentle voice relaxed Abby almost instantly and she nodded shortly before hiding her face behind Laynee’s legs. Jacob Bradshaw nodded as well and got up to carry the bags inside.
Laynee tugged Abby in front of her and together they walked in the house where a delicious scent already greeted them. Seemed like her mom dished out already. Laynee smelled her mother’s famous roast and buttered corn and something sweet she couldn’t quite identify. Dessert… Her stomach growled and she saw Abby’s lips twitch with sudden amusement. “Don’t laugh, buttercup. My mom is a freaking good cook. You’ll see.” She lowered her voice to a whisper so that her parents couldn’t hear her. “Would it be okay if I tell my parents what happened with your mom and dad? I need to tell them something, but if you are not comfortable with me telling the details you just kick me to stop, okay?” Abby bit her lips and nodded, her eyes wary. Laynee pressed a short kiss on her forehead and smiled. “Everything will be good. You’ll see, my parents will be like the grandparents you never had, promise.”
“No whispering now, girls. Your mother made an awesome dinner and we are going to enjoy it.” Jacob’s eyes twinkled while he playfully scolded Laynee and Abby and all three entered the dining room where the table was already set.
The meal went over quietly with everybody digging in, enjoying the home-cooked meal. After the table was cleaned and the grown-ups relaxed with a last cup of coffee, Abby curled up in Laynee’s lap barely keeping her eyes open, Jacob finally brought up the serious topics. “So, pumpkin. Obviously you were not pregnant, because you would have told us, but you have Abby with you. Why haven’t you told us before and who is her mother?”
Taking a deep breath, Laynee forced herself to stay calm. “You remember Kelly Woodley from when you visited me in New York? She was my best friend, I think you met her one evening.” Her parents nod. “Abby is her daughter. I’m her legal guardian and when she was murdered a couple of months ago I became responsible for her. Her dad was not in the picture, he had no custody and has never shown any interest for Abby till it came out that she’s the sole heir to the Woodley fortune. By that time Kelly was already dead and I was granted guardianship over Abby. Kelly had a will where everything was stated and he got nothing. They were both young and dumb when they got together and while Kelly changed her party life to something more serious and took care of Abby and loved her and was the best mother a girl can wish for, Kyle chose the easy way out. He signed off all his rights the moment Abby was born and continued to spend his family’s money on parties and luxuries. Kelly’s parents died when Abby was one year old and they left everything to the girls. Now that Kelly is dead, everything belongs to Abby. I tied most of the money up in funds with my financial manager, so she can’t have access to it till she gets eighteen, then twenty-one, then twenty-five and last but not least if she should ever get pregnant before she gets twenty-five one fund for this possibility. I hope this will help her to learn how to use that money wisely. Kelly even has set up an account for my expenses, even though she knew I didn’t need it. I make enough money off my books to care for Abby and me without breaking a sweat, but obviously she wanted to be sure.” And she suspected that something would happen to her. Otherwise she would have never set up her will like this. Not Kelly who always tried to see the good in everyone. But Laynee left those thoughts unsaid. Her parents were already shocked, her mother barely fighting the tears that were rolling down her cheeks while looking at the sleeping Abby with adoration in her eyes, while her father clenched and unclenched his fists, fighting his anger.
“So we are the only family she has left now? Is that why she doesn’t speak? Is she… I mean… did she… Did she see…?” Paling Eleanor Bradshaw couldn’t even finish that horrible thought and Laynee hurried to shake her head.
“No, no mom. Abby was with me the night Kelly died. She had regular sleepovers with her favorite aunt and when I brought her home the next day the police was already there. In fact they met us in the lobby of my building and we haven’t been to their apartment other than to pick up Abby’s favorite things. After that she stopped speaking. Today’s the first day she has interacted with someone other than me and I have to say I am surprised that she even did that. She has completely closed off. She cries, but only when I read sad stories to her and I thought she might need the change. I loved growing up here in Peace and I want that for her. I want her to be happy again. Since Brent is finally gone I figured we would be safe here. That we could both find a haven here in Peace. A haven to heal.” She blinked hastily against the tears that were now rushing to her own eyes and felt her mother squeezing her hands.
“And I am sure you’ll find that, honey. I can’t even imagine what you both must have been going through and let me say that your father and I will do our best to get you both happy again.”
Swallowing hard, Laynee shot her parents a thankful smile. “Thank you so much. I missed you so much when I stayed in New York, momma. I wished nothing more than come back here, you know? And yet I am glad I didn’t do it, because it meant that I got Kelly and Abby in my life and I wouldn’t give Abby up for anything in the world.”
Her mother only nodded and wiped two stray tears from Laynee’s cheeks. “It was better not to come back here, pumpkin. I am sorry we only visited a few times, but the big city wasn’t for us.” Her father’s grumbly voice comforted places inside of Laynee she never knew to need comforting and she nodded happily.
“I know, daddy. I know it and I am so sorry that I didn’t tell you about Abby, but I had a hard time coming to terms with all this and I am terrified of not being what she needs. I know I can never replace Kelly and I don’t want to replace her, but I want to be the best aunt and guardian I can be. I want her to have a childhood like I had it here. I loved growing up and you know I would have never left Peace if it wasn’t for Brent. I missed being here. New York is great it has the people and the places that inspired my writing all through college and later on, but ever since Kelly got pregnant with Abby I found myself wishing I could come back. I wanted the peace and quietness that is here and I wish so much that Kelly would be able to see it for herself.” Choking on her emotions Abby felt a big hand squeeze her heart when she thought of her best friend. The empty hole Kelly left in her life would never be filled completely again. Life with Kelly and Abby had been good, some peace away from Peace and she missed her terribly. Without another word Jacob carefully took the sleeping Abby in his arms and nodded for Laynee to go outside.
“Go, I’ll take care of this angel. Cry, pumpkin. You look like you need it.” His warm brown eyes were filled with pain for his only daughter, but also with pride for her to get through all the obstacles that were thrown in her way.
Reluctantly Laynee left Abby with her parents, but when the anguish threatened to overwhelm her and she felt
the walls of her parent’s living room closing in on her she ran outside to let Abby sleep. She didn’t want the little girl to know how much it really hurt her that Kelly was gone. Collapsing on the porch she wept. Wept for the unfairness of the whole situation. Wept for the loss of her best friend. Wept for the little girl inside that would never have new memories with her mother. And finally she wept for selfish reasons. To be left alone with such a burden, such an important thing as the life of an innocent child. It was not fair that she now had to look after Abby and at the same time she hated herself for thinking such shameful thoughts. She had a great life and could write anywhere in the world. She didn’t need New York to write. She could write wherever she needed to and right now she needed to set up her place here. To give Abby the future she deserved.
A warm hand clasped her shoulder and Laynee looked up in the warm green eyes of her mother. “Sweetie, do you want to talk about what you didn’t say in there? About the evil feelings that accompanied the move back here?”
Wiping away the tears Laynee’s heart constricted when she saw the understanding in her mother’s eyes. “Why… How do you know?”
Sitting down next to her and wrapping her in a motherly hug her mother tsked. “Honey, I am your mother. I have known you since before you were born and you my little introvert are really bad with changes.”
Laynee shook her head. “But how can I feel such awful things? I love Abby dearly and I wish nothing more than to take her pain away and make it better, but at the same time I feel… feel… such awful things. I don’t know what to do with that.”
“Shhh, sweetie, you are overwhelmed. That’s okay. As long as you don’t turn against Abby everything is going to be okay. Do you remember that time when you were little, about Abby’s age when I had to buy a different kind of cereal, because our usual was out of stock? You refused to eat them and we almost had to force feed you till the normal brand got in stock again. It got better over the years, but this is such a huge change and you have to cope with that on top of the heartbreak the loss of your friend caused. It’s normal that all of this is overwhelming, but I don’t doubt that you will make the best of it.” The complete acceptance Laynee saw in her mother’s eyes made new sobs rise in her.
“Thank you, momma. I love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetie. Now let’s get inside. We have to make Abby ready for bed and then you can tell us the rest. Everything about that horrible father of hers.”
Cocking her head Laynee shot her mother a surprised look. She really didn’t miss a thing. Talking or even thinking about Kyle made her blood boil instantly. That asshole never deserved Kelly or Abby. Ever.
She took a deep breath to calm the hot white rage rising in her and entered the house with her mother again. Abby looked at her sleepily and Laynee’s heart broke all over when she saw the trust shining in the little girl’s eyes. Trust and adoration. For her. She opened her arms and Abby shuffled over sleepily. “Bed time, buttercup. Do you want me to read you a story?”
Abby shook her head and turned in Laynee’s arms till she could see Jacob. She pointed at him and his whole face lit up. “You want me to read you your story, angel? Are you sure?” Abby nodded and clung to Laynee as if she wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t leave her.
“It’s okay, buttercup. Daddy is going to read you your story and I’ll sit with you till you are asleep, okay?” Abby nodded and snuggled closer to Laynee, eyes already falling shut again. Laynee tucked her in her old bed and pushed the blankets around the little body. Abby looked up at her with questions in her big blue eyes and Laynee nodded. “I will sleep with you here, buttercup. I just want to talk to my parents a bit more and then I am coming to you, okay?”
Abby nodded again and pulled Laynee down on her shirt. Warm lips met Laynee’s cheek for a second then they were gone again and Laynee blinked in surprise. Obviously Peace had already influenced Abby’s behavior. She hadn’t shown that much affection since she moved in with Laynee. Laynee sat down in the armchair next to the bed while her dad took her old chair. With a smile on his face he started reading the story Abby picked out and soon the child’s eyes were closed and her breathing even.
Quietly Laynee and her father left the room and went downstairs where Laynee’s mother was still waiting. Laynee fell down on the couch next to her mother and took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to go into much detail while Abby was still here, but I need to tell you guys the rest. Momma was right. I held something back. I think Kyle had something to do with Kelly’s death. He… He was in the same circle as Kelly. Their parents were friends and when Kyle’s parents died he inherited all of their money. He spent most of it for drugs, alcohol and parties and dragged Kelly down with him. They were a couple, but he was never faithful to her. She knew it and it hurt her, but she couldn’t cut the ties with him. At least not till she accidentally got pregnant. When she saw that positive test…” Laynee choked on a sob when she remembered the angst and fear in Kelly’s eyes that day. “She… she changed her whole life. She immediately stopped the alcohol, the parties and disentangled herself from the net Kyle had spun around her. Her parents were awesome. They supported her through everything. They helped her through the pregnancy and were great grandparents. They never criticized her, even helped her to get Kyle sign over all parental rights. Kelly knew that he would never be a good father, never would step up and take responsibility for Abby. That was one of the reasons I was named Abby’s guardian. I’m her aunt in all things that count.”
Laynee took a deep breath before continuing with the rest of the story. “One year after Abby was born, Kelly’s parents died in a car crash and Kelly and Abby had inherited more money than they could ever spend in a lifetime. That was when Kyle started to come around again and tried to weasel himself back in their lives.” Laynee felt hot tears run down her cheeks and made no move to wipe them away. Crying felt so cleansing. As if she could finally take a deep breath again. She almost could see the dark cloud hovering over her lighten up a bit.
Her parents waited patiently for her to finish crying before she could continue. Wiping her eyes Laynee spoke on with a hoarse voice. “Kelly told him to leave them alone and it got better, but he never let it go. Depending on what crap he consumed he’d vanish for a few weeks before he had no money anymore and then would come back to beg Kelly for some cash. She never gave him anything of course and tried to shield Abby as much from him as possible. The weeks before her death he vanished again after a particularly nasty argument and Kelly threatened to get a restraining order against him. It never got that far. She… she died before she could file that and then two days after she was dead, she was not even buried yet and he tried to take Abby. He knew she would inherit the Woodley money and figured that, as her father, he would get custody anyway and that he could take everything. He tried to pick her up from her kindergarten! I could have lost her! Thank god the teacher was aware that he had given up his rights to her. After that he came to my apartment and threatened to take her, but my lawyer assured me that he has no rights and helped me to tie her money up.” Laynee lifted her head and looked at her parents. “Now you know the whole sordid story. And I know you can read between the lines. You will never hear me speak the actual words, but I think you know what I am thinking. We have to be aware that Kyle could come to Peace at any time. We have to shelter Abby from him. He is like poison and I don’t want him to hurt her even more than he already did with his horrible behavior.”
Her father’s calloused hands enclosed hers and he pressed gently. “Don’t worry, pumpkin. We won’t let that little angel get hurt. Now go to bed as well. You look like you haven’t slept well in weeks. Tomorrow we’ll talk to Dray and make him aware of the situation. He needs to know that there might be a threat.”
Laynee nodded slowly and stood up, relief visible on her face. “Thank you so much. I mean, I knew it would not be a problem to bring Abby here, but I wanted to thank you anyway. You are the best parents a girl could wish fo
r.”
Her words brought tears to her parent’s eyes and both hugged Laynee tightly. “We love you, pumpkin. And you are always welcome here. No matter who you bring with you.” Her mother whispered in her ear.
Carefully Laynee disentangled herself from her parents after a few more minutes of soaking up parental love and went upstairs. She put on a pair of yoga pants and a sleep shirt and slipped under the covers next to the small girl who immediately wrapped herself around Laynee in her sleep. Closing her eyes Laynee felt sleep overwhelming her and shot a short prayer to God in the hope that everything would be good from now on.
The next morning Laynee woke up in an empty bed. She felt for Abby, thinking that the little girl had gotten too hot during the night and pulled away, but there was nothing. Frantically she opened her eyes, her heart beating a mile a minute. “Abby?” She looked around, thinking that Abby might have gotten up to read a book or something, but she was nowhere in sight.
“Oh crap!” Laynee jumped out of the bed and raced downstairs. “Daddy? Mom? Have you seen…” She came to an abrupt halt when she saw the scene enfolding in the living room. Her father was sitting on the floor with a giggling Abby while they looked at a photo book.
“You see this? Here Laynee played Anne of Green Gables in the school play. She was adorable, wasn’t she? And here, here you see the first time she rode a horse. She was so scared at first, but then she took a deep breath climbed on that little pony and rocked her first ride. I have never been more proud of her.”
Laynee couldn’t hide her smile when Abby pointed animatedly at another page and her father nodded. “That was Halloween. She wanted to go as a pumpkin, because that was how I always called her.”
Abby’s smile dimmed a little when she pointed to her scrawny chest. “No little one, you are no pumpkin. That is not a fitting name for you. You are my angel and I am really glad that Laynee brought you to us. I am sure we will have a great time together. And one day you will open that mouth of yours and you will tell me how your day has been and it will be the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.” Now Abby’s smile got bigger and she wrapped her arms around Jacob’s neck.
