One Fine Day (Hazel Green Book 1)

by Cindy Kirk

  “Yes, thank you, Angeline.” Abby smiled. “I’ll be joining Mrs. Rollins.”

  Abby recited her order before she’d even taken a seat. She didn’t want to extend this luncheon a second longer than necessary.

  The woman returned a moment later with a tall glass of iced tea for Abby, then left them alone.

  Abby took a long sip and, for a second, avoided meeting Nancy’s gaze. But when she set the cut-crystal tumbler down, she looked up.

  It was hard to decipher the expression on the woman’s face, but the warmth and concern in her eyes had Abby’s heart slamming hard against her chest wall. Unexpected tears pushed against the backs of her lids.

  Darn it. Darn it. Darn it.

  This was someone she’d once thought of as a second mother. Which only made her betrayal that much more bitter.

  “You have a beautiful daughter.” Nancy’s lips curved upward. “Funny, smart, and so precocious.”

  “And to think, if you and your son had had your way, she wouldn’t be here.” Abby lifted the glass, intending to take another sip, but set it down when her hand trembled. She folded her hands in her lap.

  Nancy’s gaze didn’t waver. “Is that what you think, Abigail?”

  “It’s what I—”

  Abby stopped when Angeline returned with the daily special she’d ordered, which apparently had been what Nancy had chosen, too.

  The farmer’s market pasta salad with a thick slice of apple bread looked wonderful, though Abby’s appetite had vanished. “Thanks, Angeline.”

  When the waitress was out of earshot, Abby carefully unfolded the linen napkin and placed it in her lap. She took a breath and let it out slowly, regaining her composure. “We both know that’s what you wanted me to do.”

  “Eva Grace is my granddaughter.”

  “You have no claim on her.”

  “Eva Grace is my granddaughter,” Nancy repeated in a low tone, her gaze firmly fixed on Abby’s face. She stabbed a piece of pasta but didn’t lift it to her mouth. “The second I heard you were pregnant, I was ecstatic. We had to celebrate.”

  Abby remembered vividly when Nancy had called her up and insisted on taking her shopping for maternity clothes. “We went shopping and had lunch at Charlie Parker’s Diner.”

  The popular eatery, once featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, was a Springfield institution.

  “You were hooked on their cherry shakes.”

  Abby felt sick inside, the memory of everything she and this woman had shared forever tainted. “If you wanted her so much, why did you side with Veronica and Jonah when they wanted to kill her?”

  Nancy flinched, but Abby didn’t regret the harsh words. This had been a life-or-death decision.

  “I didn’t have a vote.” Nancy brought a bite of pasta to her lips in a semblance of eating. “Any decisions that needed to be made were between you and Jonah and Veronica.”

  “What about afterward, when the decision was made and I was on my own?” Abby’s voice shook, and several tears slipped down her cheeks. She hurriedly brushed them back. “When I was growing up, you said more than once that you loved me like a daughter. Then, when I protect the life of your grandchild, you cut me off. You didn’t call to see if I needed anything. All of a sudden, I meant nothing to you.”

  Tears filled Nancy’s eyes. “I couldn’t contact you.”

  Abby waved a hand and fought to bring her emotions under control. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter—”

  “Veronica said if any of us had anything to do with you, she would take you to court for breach of contract.”

  Not sure what kind of game Nancy was playing, Abby considered the words carefully. “The contract was considered breached when I refused to have an abortion. Why would she take me to court?”

  “To make your life a living hell.” Disgust sounded in Nancy’s voice. “Those were her exact words. She didn’t care if she had a legal leg to stand on or not.”

  “I knew she was angry, but why would she want to hurt me in that way?” This was a puzzle where the pieces didn’t quite fit.

  “It was a side of my daughter-in-law I had never seen before.” Nancy took another bite of salad and chewed automatically. Abby doubted she could even describe the taste. “Vindictive and filled with rage. I really think she went insane for a few months.”

  Nancy’s blue eyes, not quite as vivid as her son’s and Eva Grace’s, filled with sorrow. “I truly believe she’d have followed through with the threat. I couldn’t add any more to your plate. But please know it cost me dearly to step out of your life.”

  The soft, silly girl who had once loved this woman and her family wanted to believe her. The cynic who had weathered too many storms to count in the past five years found holes in the story.

  “Veronica was off the hook, free to find another surrogate and move on with her life.” Abby broke off a piece of apple bread, idly crumbling it between her fingers.

  It was hard for Abby to get past her hurt and anger of the last five years. Yet she’d known Nancy Rollins since she was a little girl. She knew the other woman well enough to know she was telling the truth.

  At the next table, she watched a moth flutter near a candle, the speckled creature with the soft wings drawn to something that could destroy it.

  It was that way for her with Jonah, Abby thought with sudden clarity. Though she’d tried to ignore it, the pull was still there.

  “Veronica was filled with rage.” Nancy sighed. “She couldn’t move on. Not at first. Not for a long time.”

  Abby lifted a brow at the same time she lifted her fork. “If she was so vindictive, why did she agree to send me money?”

  For a moment, the older woman’s expression was blank. “Pardon me.”

  “The money from her and Jonah. It came every month.”

  Understanding filled Nancy’s eyes. “She didn’t know.”

  The moth drew closer to the heat.

  “Didn’t know what?”

  “Jonah sent the money from a private account.” Nancy lifted her hands, let them drop. “That’s all I’ll say on that. If you want to know more, you’ll need to speak with my son.”

  Abby watched the moth, so drawn to the flame that it forgot to protect itself. Then it was too late.

  “You understand, don’t you?”

  Abby thought of the moth and nodded. She understood perfectly the need to keep a distance between her and Jonah.

  While she needed to assess his interactions with Eva Grace, she must take care not to get drawn in by his charm.

  She’d been burned by him once.

  She couldn’t let him destroy her and the life she’d worked so hard to build.

  +

  Jonah realized he didn’t know Abby as well as he thought he did. When she accepted an invitation to go with him and his parents to Fingel’s Pumpkin Patch on Wednesday, he was caught completely off guard.

  His father’s meetings in Chicago were over, and his parents planned to head back to Springfield tomorrow morning. His mother had mentioned how nice it would be to spend some time with Abby and Eva Grace before they left. His father heartily seconded the idea.

  Jonah had hesitated to text Abby, certain she would turn him down without a second thought. Instead, after a long thirty minutes with no reply, she’d agreed to meet him and his parents in the parking lot of Fingel’s.

  “I’m so happy this worked out.” His mother’s voice shook with eagerness.

  “It would have been a shame to come this far and only see Abby and Eva Grace that one night,” his father agreed.

  “I wonder if we can get some pictures of all of us,” Nancy mused.

  “Don’t push it, Mom.” Jonah and his parents stood near the entrance. He resisted the urge to pace.

  Part of the nervous tension was due to the excitement of sharing this experience with Abby and Eva Grace, but the other was the fear that something would go wrong and Abby would cut him out of her life. And his daughter’s life.


  Though he knew he could push for visitation, he wouldn’t do that to Abby. Not after everything she’d been through.

  “There they are.” Relief filled his mother’s voice. “Oh, she looks adorable.”

  Jonah’s gaze settled on Abby. He had to admit that his mom was right. While he liked seeing her dressed up in vintage clothes, she looked, well, sexy in her jeans, sneakers, and a red hoodie.

  He lifted his hand in greeting, and she nodded acknowledgement. Beside her, Eva Grace jumped up and down and waved wildly.

  The little girl wore an orange dress with a smiling jack-o’-lantern across the chest and a tulle skirt with black spots. Instead of pulling the child’s hair up into a bouncy tail, Abby had let the curls hang loose.

  Jonah felt sure Eva Grace would have taken off running if Abby had released her hand.

  It seemed to take forever for them to make their way through the crowd.

  Abby glanced at the line in front of the admissions barn. “I didn’t expect such a crowd on a Wednesday. But Fingel’s draws from a wide area.”

  “Are the kids out of school for the day?” When he’d texted Abby, he hadn’t given a thought to the fact that Eva Grace might be in school.

  “No.” Abby met his gaze. “But your parents are leaving. They won’t be around this weekend. I had the teacher send me what they’re going over today. I’ll work with Eva Grace tonight on the lesson.”

  Jonah cleared the lump that had risen to clog his throat. “Thank you.”

  “We better get in line.” Abby started in that direction, but Jonah touched her arm.

  She didn’t jerk away, but he felt her muscles tense beneath his fingers. “What?”

  “Dad already purchased tickets for everyone.”

  Abby turned toward his father.

  Michael held up a hand, the tickets fanned out in his fingers like a deck of cards. “My pleasure.”

  “Thank you, Michael.” Abby turned to Eva Grace. “Mr. Rollins is treating us to a day at the pumpkin patch. Can you tell him thank you?”

  Eva Grace shot the older man a blinding smile. “Thank you very much.” The child let go of her mother’s hand and twirled. “I’m so happy.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Jonah saw his mother take his dad’s hand and give it a squeeze.

  “I’m happy, too.” His mother cast a glance at Abby and mouthed, “Thank you.”

  Abby merely nodded, then focused on her daughter. “Eva Grace, there’s going to be a lot of people here today, so when we’re making our way to each of the attractions, you need to hold an adult’s hand.”

  Taking a breath, Abby continued, “It doesn’t have to be my hand. You can hold Jonah’s hand or . . .”

  She paused as if trying to consider what to have her daughter call Nancy and Michael.

  “If you wouldn’t mind, she could call me Nana.” Nancy spoke quickly, the words tumbling out as if she wanted to get them all out before Abby stopped her. “And Papa works for Michael.”

  The bald hope in his parents’ eyes was like a dagger to Jonah’s heart. He’d told them not to push. What had his mother done? She’d pushed. He prayed they wouldn’t be too disappointed when—

  “That works.” Abby turned to Eva Grace and pointed to Nancy, then to Michael. “You can hold Nana or Papa’s hands. Or Jonah’s.”

  What would she say, Jonah wondered, if he asked whether Eva Grace could call him Daddy? But he kept his mouth shut.

  He and Abby had an agreement. His presence wasn’t guaranteed in Eva Grace’s life. And after what he’d done, he wasn’t sure he deserved being called Daddy.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Mommy. I want to go on the slide next.” Eva Grace held Nana’s and Papa’s hands, the brightness of her smile only surpassed by those of the adults standing beside her.

  Ignoring the gratitude in their eyes, Abby tipped her head back and glanced at the monster slide. Simply looking at all the steps leading up to the top made her dizzy.

  As if recalling the time Abby had to be led down from the top of a slide at Knight’s Action Park in Springfield, Nancy smiled understandingly. “Michael and I can take her.”

  “You expect me to believe you and dad are going to ride down on a piece of burlap?” Jonah’s obvious disbelief had his father’s eyes firing.

  “I know it might be hard for you to believe, but your mother and I are capable of having fun.” Michael shifted his gaze to Abby. “If it’s okay with you, that is.”

  “Please, Mommy, please.” Eva Grace clasped her hands together.

  “Have fun.” Abby chuckled when the threesome headed toward the steps. “Glad it’s them and not me.”

  “Since we’re alone, there’s something I want to say.”

  Abby turned, the smile slipping from her face. “Can’t you just let things be?”

  Puzzlement crossed his face, and for a few blessed seconds there was silence.

  “I only wanted to say thanks.” Jonah spoke stiffly, haltingly. He gestured with his head toward where his parents and Eva Grace climbed the steps. “This has probably been one of the best days of their life.”

  Abby lifted her lips in a sardonic smile. “I hardly think making their way through a corn maze, dressing a scarecrow, and now, going on a big slide qualifies.”

  “No, but spending time with you and Eva Grace does.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “Letting her call them Nana and Papa—”

  “Don’t make a big deal out of something that isn’t.” Abby set her jaw. “It was easiest to let her call them that. That’s all.”

  Her tone dared him to disagree.

  Shading his eyes with his hand, Jonah glanced up. “It looks like they’re going to be in line for a while.”

  “They don’t appear to mind the wait.” Even from this distance, Abby could see by her daughter’s expansive hand gestures that Eva Grace was entertaining them with one of her stories.

  “Do you still like pumpkin doughnuts?”

  Abby blinked at the question that seemed to come out of nowhere. “Who doesn’t?”

  “Let’s get one.” Jonah’s gaze searched hers.

  He was asking something that didn’t have a thing to do with pumpkin doughnuts, but darned if she could figure out his hidden agenda. And now that he’d mentioned the treat, her mouth began to water. “Okay.”

  As the day had turned into midafternoon, the after-school crowd had flooded into the pumpkin patch. When Jonah took her elbow as they wove their way through kids with snow cones and adults with cups of sweet-smelling apple cider, Abby didn’t protest.

  She didn’t like him touching her, even in the most impersonal way, but she had to be practical. If they got separated, finding him quickly might prove difficult.

  As they reached the food barn, he shot her a quick grin. He ordered a doughnut for each of them as well as cups of warm apple cider. A wave of longing rose up inside her.

  Abby missed the boy she’d grown up with, the one she’d trusted with her hopes and dreams. But, she told herself, that boy was gone. Unless she wanted to be like the moth and the flame, she needed to keep her distance, at least emotionally.

  His parents were another story. At the end of her lunch with his mother, Nancy had asked for forgiveness. Abby had looked into the woman’s eyes and had seen the regret, the pain, and the sincerity.

  Abby was convinced that Veronica’s threats were the reason Nancy and Michael had kept their distance at first. But she still wondered why they’d stayed away this last year. Had they really worried Veronica would follow through with her threat once she and their son had divorced?

  Regardless, they were Eva Grace’s grandparents. The only ones her daughter would ever have.

  She was beginning to realize that keeping Jonah away from Eva Grace would only be punishing her daughter.

  Fact: Jonah was Eva Grace’s father.

  Fact: he wanted to be part of Eva Grace’s life.

  Fact: all the reading she’d done lately indicated th
at having a positive father-daughter relationship had a huge impact on a girl’s self-esteem and confidence.

  All Abby had ever wanted was the best for her little girl. Which meant letting Jonah Rollins—and his family—be a part of Eva Grace’s life.

  +

  “That was an awesome doughnut.” Jonah popped the last bite into his mouth and washed it down with the last of the cider. “The glaze kept it from being too dry.”

  “I feel bad we didn’t get anything for your parents, but I don’t like Eva Grace loading up on sweets.” Abby’s dark hair shone like polished walnut in the afternoon sun.

  In her jeans and hoodie, she looked comfortable and approachable. This outing had been the stuff of dreams. It was as if the past five years had never happened. But Jonah wasn’t foolish enough to believe all was good between him and Abby.

  While it wasn’t as bad as walking on eggshells, he was well aware that trust, once lost, didn’t easily return.

  “You’re a good mom, Abby.”

  To his surprise, she frowned. “You sound surprised.”

  “I’m not.” His heart tripped at the edge in her tone. “It was a simple compliment.”

  He tossed his cup in a recycle bin for paper, then shoved his hands into his pockets. Don’t go there, the rational part of his brain urged. But the thought that had been circling all day had him blurting out, “I don’t think Veronica would have been a good one.”

  Abby dumped her cup, then turned, a look of puzzlement on her face. “A good what?”

  “Mother.” Jonah rocked back on his heels, blew out a breath. “It somehow feels disloyal to say, but watching you—and knowing her as I did—I don’t think she’d have been a good mother.”

  Though he certainly didn’t expect her to stand up for Veronica, Jonah knew that at one time, Abby and his ex-wife had been friendly. Abby had agreed to carry a baby for him and Veronica. Which meant she must have thought Veronica would be a good mother.

  Abby remained silent for a long moment.

  “I thought I knew Veronica. I didn’t.” Abby shrugged. “Since I was so utterly wrong about what her heart was like, anything I say now will be pure speculation.”