Finding Abby: A Romantic Suspense set in the Colorado Mountains (Whispering Pines Mysteries)

by Rhonda Blackhurst

  “You take the first bite,” he said.

  Abby chuckled. “It’s safe.”

  He reached for the bag and opened it to peer at the contents. “What, no bottle?”

  “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

  “Make what easy?”

  “I came to apologize. Pops, I’m sorry.”

  “Pipsqueak, I didn’t leave the door open, and I sure as hell didn’t leave the bottle there.”

  “Maybe you did and you don’t remember.”

  He tossed the bag onto a stack of shingles in the middle of the studio floor and jammed his fists in his pocket.

  “I’m not gonna tell you I haven’t been drinkin’. But I will tell you I didn’t last night. And never in the store.”

  “Well then—”

  “Who was it? Good question.”

  Chills cascaded down her spine and the tiny fine hair on her arms stood on end. “Maybe one of the guests needed something.”

  “Bad enough to break in?”

  “Pops, you’re usually the voice of reason between us.”

  “Sometimes you have to look at something for what it is. Know what I think? I think you’ve got some up-to-no-good kids around here.”

  She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Yeah, that’s it.” He looked at her with a rare expression of emotion. “What? You’re looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.”

  “Kids breaking into the store isn’t nothin’ to be happy about.”

  “Compared to what I thought for a moment that it might be, it’s something to be happy about.”

  She gave him a peck on the cheek, snatched one of his potato chips, and left.

  She had just neared the edge of the forest and onto the property when she saw Gabriel talking with one of the campers, the dark-haired beauty hanging on every word Benjamin said. He, however, looked completely oblivious to her interest. That, or he was a fabulous actor. Who could blame her? Abby wasn’t quite sure if what she was jealous or amused. She decided to go with amused. Jealousy meant issues she wasn’t used to or comfortable with.

  She grinned and turned toward the house, hoping to go undetected. No such luck.

  “Abby!”

  Her heart thumped hard. She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath and turned, giving him a confident smile, even though confidence wasn’t what she was feeling at the moment.

  “Hey, Gabe.”

  He held her gaze as he walked slowly toward her. His smile revealed those endearing deep dimples she wanted to reach out and touch. She felt her knees turn soft again and cursed herself for being so weak.

  “You weren’t even going to come say hi?”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt what appeared to be a good time.”

  “What good—oh! Gwen? Met her here last summer.”

  “Yeah?”

  He grinned and took a step closer until she could feel the warmth from his body on her own. He took her hand in his, sending an electrical current through her at the same time.

  “Why, Abigail Sinclair, are you jeal—”

  “No.”

  “I think you are,” he whispered, a smile still playing on his lips. His eyes danced and he leaned down so his face was merely inches from hers.

  “Mom!”

  The sound of Cooper’s voice jerked Abby out of the moment and she took a quick step backward. She shot him a dirty look. Gabriel’s head tilted back as he laughed softly.

  “Over here, honey,” she called as she walked backward toward the sound of Cooper’s voice, yet keeping her eyes locked on Gabe’s. Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead and she felt sweat trickle down the center of her back. Suddenly she noticed Cooper standing by her side.

  “Where were you?” Cooper asked.

  “Out by the studio with Grandpa. Why?”

  “Just wondering.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Nice try, son. You never just wonder where I’m at. What are you trying to get away with?”

  He looked at Gabriel then took her hand, pulling her with him.

  “Nothing. Geez!”

  He continued to pull her, the possessiveness of the move startling her. Had he seen her with Gabriel? How could she have been so stupid! Acting like a hormonal teenage girl right out in the open.

  Her stomach began to churn as she wondered what in the world had gotten into her. She had to stop this right now. One last look back toward Gabe, seeing him standing there with his hands tucked loosely in his front pockets watching her, and she knew exactly what had gotten into her. She was a lost cause where Gabriel was concerned.

  The next week passed uneventfully. With Gabriel gone, she was much more able to focus on what needed to be done around the place. But there were a number of times, too many to count, that she found herself thinking about him, wondering what he was doing. He called her twice, once early on Tuesday morning and again on Thursday evening after Cooper had gone to bed. That time they’d talked until two in the morning when Abby literally fell asleep cradling the phone in her hand.

  Saturday morning she got up before dawn, slipped into her yoga pants and a tank top, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She grabbed her mp3 player from her nightstand, her green yoga mat from her closet, and tiptoed out of the house. She headed off to a clearing in the woods that lined the shoreline of the lake, the same place where she and Piper had sat basking in the sunshine. The sun was just barely beginning to lighten the sky, just enough for Abby to see the path. She looked around, taking in everything on all sides of her. It was a little spooky to be out here alone when it wasn’t quite light out, but the morning was so beautiful she pushed her worries aside.

  The ground was carpeted with pine needles. She lay her mat over them, slipped out of her light jacket and tossed it aside. Fitting one ear bud snugly in place, she tucked the other into the front of her sports bra so as to leave one ear open to hear should anyone else be in the area. Just as she found the soundtrack she wanted to listen to, she heard a twig snap and a crow cawed loudly behind her. She jumped, then stilled her racing heart when she realized what it was. Nature, that’s what it was. Beautiful Mother Nature.

  Moments later, she began her routine with some sun salutations, worked into a down dog and began flowing through her poses, holding each for several long breaths, before transforming into another. As she moved, she felt as though the air refreshed every pore of her body and soul, her breathing and holding the poses strengthening and lengthening her muscles and limbs. Her mind cleared of anything other than what was here, right now, at this very moment.

  When her timed music ended, letting her know a half hour had passed, she stood tall, took one last cleansing breath, did one final sun salutation, and sat on her mat to stretch.

  She had just finished rolling up her mat to head back to the house when she heard a footstep crunching pine needles and saw movement from the corner of her eye. She opened her mouth to scream, stopping short when she saw Gabriel emerge from behind a thick Ponderosa. Abby’s hand flew to her chest.

  “Gabe! You scared me to death!”

  He said nothing, simply smiled and walked toward her, stopping in front of her, then leaned down, his lips brushing her cheek before whispering in her ear.

  “Abigail Sinclair, where did you learn how to move like that?”

  Abby chuckled a throaty sound, her belly feeling warm. “I didn’t know you were there.”

  “I know.” He pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes. “I didn’t want you to.”

  “How long have you been watching me?”

  He stepped back, the teasing replaced by his typical easy nature. “Long enough to know you bend in ways that would snap me in half.”

  She took a drink of water. “I didn’t know you were coming this weekend.”

  “I didn’t either. Couldn’t stay away from you.” He winked at her. “If it’s a problem, I could leave.”

  “Don’t you dare!” She giggled, feeling happy, silly, and a
tad nervous all at the same time. “But right now I need to get to the house and shower. See you later?”

  “Oh, yes, you will.”

  He took her hand and they walked in comfortable silence. Before they reached the yard, Abby withdrew her hand, making a move to hoist her mat.

  “That wasn’t obvious at all.”

  “What wasn’t?” She felt her cheeks warm.

  “Cooper’s still sleeping at this time. But all the same, I get it. And I’ll be more careful.”

  “Gabriel—”

  He put a finger gently to her lips. “I said I get it, Abby. You’re a good mother. No, I take that back. You’re an excellent mother.”

  She gave him a small smile and turned toward the house while he went to his camper. Her heart and head were competing with one another. Why couldn’t it be easy and both be on the same page?

  21

  That evening Abby invited Gabe to the house for dinner as well as Sam and Victoria. Sam stayed, but Victoria ran off to go to a movie with some friends.

  Abby heated up the grill and cooked big fat juicy steaks for all but herself, accompanied by sliced garlic potatoes wrapped in foil with peppers and onions, also cooked on the grill.

  “What, no gas grill that can compete with all the comforts and convenience of your kitchen?” Gabriel teased her.

  “I’ve learned I like the taste of food cooked on a charcoal grill better.”

  “She doesn’t know how to use a gas grill,” Cooper said.

  “Cooper Hunter Sinclair!” Abby scolded, laughing. “I do so.”

  “Using a charcoal grill takes much more skill, Cooper,” Gabriel said and winked at him. “You have a very talented mom.”

  Cooper’s eyebrows raised and he looked at Abby. She could have sworn she saw respect that hadn’t been there a moment ago. She stifled a giggle. “Good one,” she said to Gabriel.

  After dinner, Sam stretched, complained how stuffed he was, let out a loud groan, and left for home. Jeremiah retired to his room and Gabriel took Cooper down to the shore to cast a line in the water.

  Abby watched them until they reached the water’s edge then turned toward the house to pour a glass of sweet tea. She walked to the back porch, the ice cubes clinking against the glass, and sat on the steps that stretched across half the length of the house. Gus walked around, sniffing the ground like a bloodhound, alerting to birds and squirrels, finally depositing his evening gift at the edge of the wood.

  He wandered slowly back to Abby and lay at her feet. She buried her fingers in his fur, scratching behind his ears and on his neck.

  She thought about Stewart who managed to snag an open cabin for the weekend but then canceled at the last minute. He’d wanted to reschedule for the following week but Abby explained all the cabins were booked for the remainder of the summer and there weren’t any more cancellations. She thought it odd that as long as he’d been staying there, for years, he said, that he would have expected a last minute opening. When his efforts at getting a cabin failed, he finally said he had a pop-up tent camper that he could use if she could find him space.

  “There’s nothing open that’s close to any electrical hook-up facilities, but if you want to you can stay in an off-site location and run an extension cord to an outside outlet on my house.”

  “Thanks, Abby,” he’d said, relieved. “I promise I’ll make good on it. Let me know how much it is and I’ll pay up next time I’m there.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Have a good week and we’ll see you next weekend.”

  Since Stewart’s cancellation provided for an empty cabin, Victoria and Sam asked Abby if they, along with a couple of friends, could stay in the cabin Friday night.

  “I promise we’ll behave, Abby,” Sam had said. “Boys in one room, girls in the other.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Abby said. And she meant it. She remembered her college days as if they were yesterday. Well, maybe not yesterday, but reliving them through Sam and Victoria was satisfying.

  As it turned out there were five of them altogether. Cooper tried to make her believe he didn’t care, but she knew it stung him not to be included. She was thrilled they hadn’t asked him because she would have had to be the bad guy and tell him no. A ten-year-old with a bunch of college students? No way. Especially when that ten-year-old was hers.

  “Tell ya what, bud,” she’d said as she was making dinner, “since Sam and Victoria don’t have to work tomorrow you can take the day off, too. Deal? Grandpa and I can handle things for the day. In fact, why don’t you see if Johnny can spend the night?”

  “Can we go fishing?”

  “From the shore, sure.”

  “Not the boat?”

  “Grandpa can’t take you out. He’ll need to stay here with me.”

  “Maybe Gabriel can come up and take us out.”

  “He’s probably busy but I don’t see that it would hurt for you to call and see.”

  “Sweet!” He grinned, and Abby’s heart warmed.

  Saturday morning she sat out on the back porch where she was able to keep an eye on the store entrance. Jeremiah was up at the crack of dawn working on the yard and some maintenance repairs on the lawn mower. Abby drank in the morning sunshine while reading the paper and drinking her coffee, glancing up to see one of the campers sauntering across the campground to the store.

  “Morning, Harvey,” she said when he got close enough to hear her. “How ya doing this morning?”

  “Just needing some milk.”

  He smiled a warm, easy smile, the kind of smile she came to recognize from working around people who are relaxed and away from the pressures of life. It was like being on a permanent vacation instead of working.

  “Well, I can help you with that.” She hoisted herself up, brushing off her behind, Gus right on her heels. “Come on.” She touched his arm and led the way to the store.

  “Sure is nice to have you here, Abby. You and that family of yours bring life to the place.”

  “Aw, thank you, Harvey. What a sweet thing to say.”

  “No, I mean it. Simon and Maggie were—well, they weren’t managing so well.”

  She waited for him behind the counter as he reached for the milk, grabbed a can of Copenhagen, and lay them both on the counter.

  “So I’ve heard.” She began punching in the keys on the cash register. “What I can’t figure out is why Henry would have had them managing the place. Henry was all about helping people and—”

  “Oh, they didn’t start out that way. I’d say the past, oh, maybe four years or so, it was like something changed. Henry started coming less and less, and, well, you know how people are. They can be who they need to be when they need to be it.”

  Abby spent a minute trying to figure out what he meant. Then, “Yes! Yes, they certainly can, huh, Harvey?” She’d had too much experience with that when she was with Hunter.

  “How are they doing, by the way? Simon and Maggie.”

  “I haven’t heard anything from them,” she said. “They’re probably too busy enjoying themselves to have time to think about the resort. At least I hope they are,” she added.

  He leaned one hand against the counter, pushed his cap back on his head a bit with the other hand before resting it on his hip. He lingered there as if he had all the time in the world and not a single care as he asked about her family and how she was getting along with the place. She stood behind the counter, leaning her elbows on the countertop, enjoying the company.

  Finally, he tucked the can of chew in his pocket, slid a finger through the handle on the milk container, sweeping it up and turned to leave. He stopped, held the door open with one hand, the milk with the other, and turned.

  “Say, what was going on in cabin five last night?”

  “Nothing that I know of, why? The original party canceled so I let Sam, Victoria, and some of their friends have a slumber party in it. If one even calls them slumber parties these days.”

  “It was pretty loud over th
ere until the wee hours of the morning. Lots of screaming and running around.”

  “I’m so sorry, Harvey. I’ll have a talk with them.”

  “It’s no bother to me. Really,” he insisted. “I just wanted to be sure everything’s okay is all.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll be sure and check it out as soon as I see them today. Hey, as long as we’re talking about it, what is it with cabin five anyway? The kids said it’s the best one. I mean I know it’s a tad nicer than most, but cabin two has the same exact layout. Why isn’t that one quite as popular?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Sam and Victoria didn’t tell you?”

  “Apparently not.”

  “Some say it’s haunted,” he said, chuckling.

  “Haunted?” She repeated, choking back her amusement. “Haunted as in how?”

  “Ah, a skeptic, huh?” His eyes gleamed.

  “Yeah, I guess I am. I don’t believe in that stuff.”

  He chuckled again, juggled the milk jug a bit, and looked at her. “Me either.”

  “Probably why they didn’t tell me. They didn’t want me to spoil their fun.” But I’ll sure be asking them about it. “Thanks for the heads up.”

  “No trouble at all, Miss Abby.” With a smile and a wave, he was out the door, the screen door slamming shut behind him.

  “Kids,” she sighed. Gus popped his head up and cocked it to the side as he looked at her. “Easy, boy. You should be used to me talking to myself by now.”

  Abby stayed in the store to clean, wandering into the house to pick up breakfast dishes the boys left on the table before rushing outside to play. She took a minute to straighten the house a bit, marveling at how two young boys could create such a mess.

  Victoria wandered into the store right as the clock struck noon, looking tired and haphazard, unusual for her usually perky, fresh-faced self.

  Abby opened her mouth to mention Harvey Halston’s comment about the noise during the night, but Victoria beat her to the first words.

  “Abby? Did you come out to the cabin last night? Tell me you did.”

  “No, why?”

  “Did Cooper and Johnny?”