I dropped my head forward and massaged my temples. I knew she was right. A part of me needed to hear what Abby had to say. I had begged her to tell me once, so why was I so unwilling to hear it now?
My father cleared his throat from behind us. “Ken went to go cut down two trees. Here are the stands you wanted, sweetheart.”
Pointing to the corner, Mom said, “Let’s put one there and one in the middle of the shop, like always.”
It felt as if something twisted in my chest while I stared at the dead center of the shop. Abby used to love decorating the tree we put in the middle of the floor. The first year after she left, I didn’t put up a tree at all, even though my mother had wanted to. I’d barely made it through that first season alone, truth be told. I’d walked around like a zombie. If it hadn’t been for my folks and my friends, I wasn’t sure I would have opened the store at all.
As I stared at the spot where my father placed the tree stand, my mother’s words filled my head again.
“You know Abby better than any of us. Does that sound like a woman who was in her right mind? To up and leave everyone and everything she loved?”
Bryce walked into the store and looked around until he spotted me. “Bishop, Willa and Aiden are here.”
“Thanks, Bryce,” I said, heading back out of the shop. Aiden was helping Willa out of the truck, then he reached into the back and pulled out Ben. I smiled, watching Aiden with his son. Willa’s first husband, Brian, was a deadbeat father who didn’t care less if Ben was around or not. Willa always said it was love at first sight between Aiden and Ben, and you could see it now just by looking at them.
As I headed their way, I smiled at Willa. She had a beautiful glow in her cheeks and she drew in a deep breath, settling her hand on her swollen stomach.
“Willa, you are the most beautiful woman in Boggy Creek,” I said with a wink.
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Forever the flirt, even with an almost eight-month-pregnant whale.”
Aiden scowled. “You are not a whale; you’re perfect in every way. Isn’t she, Ben? Mommy is beautiful, just like Uncle Bishop said.”
Ben laughed and then stretched out his arms for me. I swept him up and did a little airplane action before turning him to look at all the trees. “Ben, you get first pick of the trees this year, buddy.”
He squealed in delight and pointed to the farm. “Twees!”
“That’s right, buddy. Christmas trees.”
Laughing, he buried his face in my chest and that familiar pull of longing hit me once again.
“We still doing Thanksgiving night?” Willa asked.
I tore my eyes away from Ben. “Heck yeah, we are. That is one tradition that will never stop.”
Aiden smiled. “I’m glad to be back home for it.”
Ever since I’d bought Wonderland Farms, I had invited friends and family to come out for Thanksgiving night. They picked out their trees, and we sat around the firepit and drank hot cider or hot chocolate, roasted marshmallows, and enjoyed the stillness before the crazy set in on Black Friday, the day the farm officially opened.
Looking at Aiden, who had been one of my best friends for as long as I could remember, I said, “I’m glad you’re home, too, Aiden.”
To say I was proud of Aiden was an understatement. He’d battled his demons and figured out a way to help others fight theirs as well.
Aiden looked at Ben and Willa and then back at me. “So am I, dude. So am I.”
“We brought you the apple cider,” Willa said as she walked by, careful not to slip in the snow. “I tried something new with it this year.”
I stopped walking. “Wait! You know how much I love your cider, Willa. Why would you mess it up like that?”
She stopped right before she got to the entrance of the shop. Turning, she shot me a look that should have dropped me to my knees.
Aiden walked up to me and smirked, taking Ben out of my arms. “You f’ed up now, bro. You don’t ever tell a pregnant woman she messed something up. You should probably run.”
He swept past Willa and into the shop, where I heard my mother call out Ben’s name. I brought my gaze back to Willa, who stood with her arms folded above her belly. If she didn’t look like she was about to commit murder, I’d think it was cute. “Did I say mess up? I meant, I’m so excited to taste it.”
Her eyes softened, and she gave me a smug smile. “I thought that’s what you said. I usually use gala apples and the cider is sweet. This year I went with a blend of both sweet and tart. I think you’ll be happy.”
“Oh, I know I will,” I responded. “Gonna love it, I’m sure.”
A wide grin broke out on her face before she turned and walked into the shop, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Heading toward the shop, I whispered, “Women.”
Abby
The bell above the door chimed as I walked into The Coffee Pot. Not that I didn’t love being around my parents after being gone for so long, but I had needed to get out of the house this morning and just enjoy a quiet breakfast to myself. Tess glanced up and smiled when she saw me. I gave her a wave and then made my way to one of the booths. After taking off my gloves, coat, and hat, I slid in.
“Good morning, Abby darlin’.”
“Morning, Tess.”
She gave me another smile while she poured a cup of coffee for me. “It just warms my heart to see your pretty face again, and back in time for the holidays too.”
“Thank you, it feels good to be back home. I’ve missed your food.”
With a wink, she asked, “The normal?”
I never could understand how Tess managed to remember all the dishes that folks liked. It wasn’t just breakfast, either, it was every meal. No matter what time of the day, she remembered what you liked to order. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll get that going.”
She started to leave but then stopped and looked down at me. “It really is good to have you back in Boggy Creek, Abby.”
It was my heart’s turn to warm at the tenderness in both her eyes and her voice. “Thank you, Tess. I wish everyone felt that way.”
She winked. “They do, trust me. They do.” With that, she turned and walked away.
I looked down at my phone. I’d sent Bishop a text asking if we could talk this morning. He had yet to respond. I let out a frustrated sigh and reminded myself he deserved the time to be pissed. When he was ready to talk, he would let me know. At this rate, though, I’d be waiting until next spring.
When Greer had invited me to Kyle’s birthday dinner last week, then for drinks afterward, I’d declined the invite. The last thing I wanted to do was see Bishop with his new girlfriend, and I was positive he’d bring her. I had seen the two of them in Schmick’s Market yesterday. Jax was beautiful, and I could see why Bishop was attracted to her. I didn’t want them to see me, so I’d hid in the cereal aisle like the coward I was. I’d stared at the Cap’n Crunch for so long, I’d started to crave the damn stuff and ended up buying two boxes.
I’d managed to check out and was loading the groceries into my dad’s truck when I saw Bishop and Jax walk out of the market. He’d helped her load her groceries into her little BMW, then headed for his truck. They hadn’t left together, which I had thought was strange—but then again, what did I know anymore? I turned away and threw the last bag into the backseat, returned the cart, and hightailed it the hell out of there.