Finding Abigail

by Christina Smith

  He took the harness I was still holding and placed it on the horse’s head. “Right now I need your help leading Midnight outside while I get Steve.”

  I laughed, standing a safe distance from the huge animal. “Steve? There’s a horse named Steve?”

  His eyes crinkled at the corners, and his lips twitched. “Yeah, Wade and Cheryl let their daughter name him when he was born, and she chose Steve. They thought it was funny so they went along with it.”

  “How long will I have to stand out there holding this enormous horse?” I asked, just as Midnight lowered his head to nuzzle on my hat. I stepped back, panic settling in. “Ah… I can’t. I’ve never been near a horse before.”

  “Relax, he’s harmless.” He led Midnight outside. I followed behind, watching the horse’s long black tail swish from side to side. Once we were outside, he took my hand and guided it to his bridle. He walked back inside leaving me alone with the very big animal.

  “Hey, boy, it’s okay. Please don’t eat me.” My voice was a soft whisper as I nervously rubbed the side of his face the way I had seen Noah and Wade do it. His black fur was like silk.

  Noah came back out with a reddish-brown horse that must be Steve, and tied him loosely to the wooden fence.

  “Here, hop on,” he said, cupping his hands together so I could jump up onto Midnight’s back. I did what he said, placing my sneakered foot into his hands, worrying that I would hurt him. I couldn’t help noticing his usual scent of wood, mixed in with the hay and horse smell. He hefted me up and I landed on the hard leather saddle. It smelled of wax. I felt wobbly and held onto the reins tightly. I didn’t want to move for fear I would fall off.

  I watched Noah expertly climb onto his horse. He clicked his tongue and tapped the animal gently with his legs, and they started moving. I did the same waiting to move forward; instead, Midnight leaned down to graze on a juicy dandelion growing in the dirt, his lips making a sucking sound. I clicked my tongue louder this time, only to hear Midnight blow out air in answer. When I patted his shoulder, he stomped his hoof, making dust fly.

  I glanced up at Noah’s back as he drew farther away, his body graceful in his shiny leather saddle. “Uh…Noah?” My voice was softer than I intended, afraid to spook the massive animal underneath me.

  Noah turned, expecting to see me right behind him, and when I wasn’t there, he glanced around. A soft chuckle reached me from the distance between us. “Problems?” he called to me without turning his horse around.

  Was he kidding? “Not at all. I intend to stand in this spot for the rest of the afternoon while you enjoy a nice stroll through nature.”

  He steered the horse sideways a little and let out a loud whistle, and that was all it took to get Midnight moving. He trotted slowly as I bounced up and down on the hard leather. It didn’t take long to catch up with Steve and Noah. “So what do you think?” It was the man who asked, not the horse.

  I was afraid to look at him; instead, my gaze stayed fixed in front of me. We were still in a field, but were headed to a wooded area where I could see a dirt trail. “I don’t know, I’m too busy worrying I’m going to fall off.”

  “You’re doing fine, just relax and enjoy the view,” he said, pointing to the trees in front of us. The leaves were just starting to bloom on the branches along the path.

  I shifted my head slightly in his direction, still afraid of making sudden movements. “So, why was Cindy here?”

  He frowned, looking ahead of him. “Ugh… she knows I come here every Sunday. She lives down the road. She comes by with the excuse to visit Cheryl, Wade’s wife, who can’t stand her, by the way.”

  I huffed and nodded my head. “She does come on a little strong.”

  Now he turned to look at me, his eyes wide. “You think?”

  “Why you?” I asked with a grin. The fear in his eyes made me want to laugh.

  He turned away again, gazing ahead of him. “It’s not just me. Any guy her age she considers good looking is fair game.”

  I glanced down at my hands. My knuckles were white, clenched around the reins. “Don’t you have a girlfriend? I mean other than her. You’re kinda cute and nice enough, at least when you’re not being so damn pushy.”

  A soft chuckle came out of him; it was a nice sound. “Was that a compliment?” he asked, glancing at me. I nodded. “I had a girlfriend. That’s why I moved to Philadelphia. She was following her dream, and I followed her.” His eyes that had been relaxed turned sad.

  “I’m guessing things didn’t turn out as you’d hoped.” I loosened my fingers a little, getting used to the rhythm of Midnight’s steps. I wasn’t bouncing as roughly.

  “It did for a few years, until I found her in my bed boinking my business partner.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at his choice of words, how old was he twelve? “Seriously? What did you do?”

  A hawk screeched above us, and he looked up. “I left the next day, sold my shares of the company to his ex-wife for a dollar.”

  I gaped at him, my eyes wide. “A dollar, why would you do that?’

  “I didn’t need the money. I wanted to screw him, like he did my girlfriend.”

  I laughed, and couldn’t stop. It was such a spiteful thing to do. I wish I had thought of something like that for Nick. Leaving him wasn’t enough. I should have cut all the right sleeves off of his shirts. I saw that in a movie once. “So you came back here and started over?”

  “Not at first. I moved back, but starting over implies that I did something constructive. First I drank a lot. I stayed in the cottage for days without coming out, until my grandma came down and told me if I continued to waste my life over some woman who didn’t deserve me in the first place I would have to find somewhere else to do it. But if I wanted to move on with my life I could have the house if I fixed the cottage. I did it, and she gave me the house.”

  My heart warmed just talking about his grandmother. My own died when I was a baby, and I suddenly missed what I never had. “She sounds like such a wonderful woman.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You know she is. You just won’t admit you know her.” Dread plunged in my gut—he was going to bug me about my past again. But then he smiled and I breathed a sigh of relief. “But yes, she is a great woman,” he said thoughtfully, looking off in the distance. All I could see were trees and fields, no buildings in sight. It was so peaceful. The only sounds were birds chirping and the sounds of bugs flickering, in the grass. “That’s why when she tells me to take care of you, I listen.”

  “Don’t start. Remember our deal, you’re not supposed to pry.”

  He steered his horse closer to mine, so we could enter the trail through the trees. It was darker in here but the sun shone brightly above us, lighting our way. “I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I won’t look out for you.”

  A branch brushed up against my bare arm, leaving a light scratch along my skin. I barely noticed as I glanced at him. “So, now you don’t trust women?”

  “Well, I haven’t met anyone that I’d want to risk getting hurt again for. I’d like to think that when I do, that I can trust her. Just because Becca was a cheating bitch doesn’t mean all women are.”

  I nodded. His words were wise, but they didn’t apply to me. I knew just because Nick was an abuser didn’t mean another man would hurt me, but since I couldn’t tell the bad from the good, I wasn’t going to take that chance again. It just wasn’t worth it. The fake relationship I had with Noah would be the closest I’d get to a real one again. Love was too painful. “Whose wedding did you go to when I first arrived?”

  “Becca’s.”

  Feeling a little steadier, I reached out and rubbed Midnight’s neck. His velvety soft fur felt so smooth against my hand. “She married the business partner?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why did you go?”

  He shifted in his seat. “I wanted them to know that I was over it, and I no longer care what they did.”

  “Wow, you’re stronger than
I am. I would never have been able to do that.”

  He turned to face me, his bright blue eyes serious. “It wasn’t easy, and I drank a lot of alcohol afterward, but I did it and now I can forget about it and move on.” Light shone ahead of us, where the tree line ended. We emerged out of the darkness onto a grassy knoll that led to a small little pond. It was pear shaped, and clear, and the sun shone on the water, making the surface shimmer. The air smelled of leaves, dirt, and grass.

  Noah jumped off of Steve, leading the horse to the water for a drink. I slowly slid off of Midnight, the edge of the saddle digging in my stomach. I followed Noah and tied Midnight to a bush. He drank the water in big gulps. While the horses drank their fill, I sat on a large boulder and watched Noah skip a few rocks.

  “I told you something very personal, now it’s your turn.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke. The long grass beside him that bordered the pond swayed in the wind.

  He was right, and it was only fair, but what could I tell him? I didn’t want to talk about Nick. But I had had other boyfriends and lots of stories. “My senior year of high school, my boyfriend of two years stood me up and took Samantha Patterson to the prom. She was a major sleaze.”

  His hand froze in the air as he was about to throw a rock. He turned his head to glance at me. His eyes were shadowed under his cap. “Did you get even?”

  “I didn’t have to. Samantha gave him gonorrhea. He suffered enough.”

  He laughed, turning back to throw the rock. “We should head back. I have some things to do before I make dinner.” We both untied our horses and hopped on, one of us more graceful than the other.

  “Like what?” Once I was up, I wobbled, finding myself tipping off the other side. Noah grabbed me just in time, before I took a nose-dive into the dirt.

  “You okay?” he asked as he let go of my arm.

  I steadied myself, spreading my legs. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  Noah and Steve started back toward the woods again, and thankfully, Midnight followed without any prodding from me. “What do you need to do?” I asked again.

  He ducked under a branch as we started through the trail. “Well, if we want to eat, I need to get food.” He smiled. “And I have an order I’m starting tomorrow so I want to go over the plans.”

  A brown squirrel launched across the path barely missing being trampled by a big hoof. My heart leapt, for a second, as I worried the rodent would make me fall, but Midnight didn’t even notice. “An order for what?” I asked when my heart slowed.

  “Kitchen cabinets. I’m a cabinet maker. My shop is on the other side of my house.”

  “I thought that was a barn.”

  “It was at one time, but I converted it when I renovated Grandma’s cottage. Now I use it for my shop.”

  “You don’t renovate anymore?”

  “I can, but I chose to specialize. I enjoy making cabinets. I have a website and I get a lot of orders off of that.” He gave me a sideways look. “What about you? You said you were a writer. Have you sold anything?”

  “Yeah, I write articles for magazines.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. I had done it at one time, just not in years.

  We were almost back at the barn. We grew quiet taking in the view, and enjoying the peacefulness of the day.

  “How was your first ride, Anna?” Wade asked me as we loaded the horses into the stalls. Nick showed me how to brush them after we removed their saddles. I really like doing it; it was relaxing.

  “Great, Midnight is such a gentle animal, and the view is breathtaking. The only problem is my butt’s going to be sore for days.” I couldn’t help rubbing my abused backside.

  He laughed. “Yeah, that tends to happen the first few times. If you keep coming down here with Noah, I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”

  I wasn’t not sure if that was a good idea. Any more days like this and I was afraid I’d get attached. And that was not a good thing.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  A Good Meal

  Noah dropped me off before going shopping. I offered to help him, but he declined, saying I’d just be in his way. He was in a hurry to get back home.

  Maybe it was the fresh air, but when I stepped inside the cottage I felt inspired. Even though I had been writing, it still wasn’t flowing as well as it used to. So I had to start whenever the urge arose. I whipped my hat off and cringed; my hair smelled of horse. Okay, writing would have to wait—shower first.

  Two hours later, I was really getting into the plot of my book. Sammy had just told his friend Jimmy that he found a little world in his back yard. Of course Jimmy didn’t believe him so Sammy introduced him to Ernie, the chipmunk.

  “Hello?” a women’s voice called from the other room. Damn, I forgot to lock the door.

  I didn’t get up to see who it was. I couldn’t stop my train of thought. I had to get the words down before I forgot. “In here,” I yelled, typing as quickly as I could.

  “Hi, what are you doing?” Kathy asked from the doorway of my office.

  I finished the sentence and pressed save. “Just writing a letter.” I closed the file and turned around. I couldn’t tell her I wrote children’s books. Since she had kids, she might recognize me.

  “I’m sorry to intrude. I know you have plans with your boyfriend, so I won’t keep you.” I narrowed my eyes at her, about to argue. She laughed. “I know you’re just helping Noah out, he told me about your deal. And it’s working; Cindy’s already told everyone in town you two are an item. I’ve seen her face when she’s said it and I love it. I’m so happy you got her off of Noah’s back.”

  I leaned back in my office chair, the springs groaning in protest. “She is a bit pushy, isn’t she?”

  She yanked her purse strap up higher onto her shoulder. “That’s an understatement. Anyway, I came to invite you to come to the diner for lunch tomorrow. My break is at one, so I thought we could eat together and get to know each other better.”

  There was no way I could do that; my mind told me to keep a safe distance. “I’d love to.” Damn, that slipped out; too bad my instinct never listened to my mind. If it had, things might have been different with Nick.

  “Okay, I’ll see you then. By the way aren’t you supposed to be at Noah’s for six?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “It’s five to six now. See ya tomorrow,” she called over her shoulder as she headed out.

  Shit, I was late. Thank god I had a shower after our ride this morning; I wouldn’t want to show up smelling of horse. I yanked clothes out of the closet, not even looking to see what they were, what did it matter? It wasn’t a date, just a payment for my part of the deal. After I dressed in what turned out to be a black silk blouse and dark skinny jeans, I fluffed my hair and added some more makeup.

  I knocked on his door at six fifteen; not too bad. It was very handy that he lived right next door. I heard him yell, “Over here,” from the back of the house. I followed the voice along the wrap-around deck and found him flipping steaks on the barbeque with a beer in his hand. He looked up at me. “You’re late,” he said with a grin that showed a dimple.

  “Well, if we’re going to eat together three times a week, you’re going to have to get used to that. It happens often.” He reached into a cooler and handed me a beer.

  “Thanks.” I sat down on one of the chairs in front of the patio table, popping the top off and taking a sip. I dropped the cap onto the glass table. It spun for a few seconds then slowed to a stop. “Did you get your work done?”

  Smoke billowed out of the grill as he flipped a steak. The smell of the smoke and meat made me hungry. “Yeah, tomorrow I’ll start on the kitchen island. I like to build the biggest first and work my way down.”

  “Where does this client live?” I asked, taking a sip of beer.

  “Ohio. He sent me the plans for the kitchen, and he picked the style off of my website.”

  “Cool. Do you know a lot about computers?” He could be useful someday.

 
His brows creased. “Some, why?”

  “Just wondering.”

  He took a foil pouch of what I guessed was potatoes off of the grill and placed them on a plate on the table. “So, Anna,” he said after he set the steak on the plate with the potatoes.

  “Yes?”

  “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I’d say we get along well enough, don’t you think? I’d even consider us friends.”

  What was happening? “Uh, sure, what are you getting at?”

  “I know we had an agreement, but I have come to consider you my friend and when one of my friends is in trouble, I help.”

  A weight settled onto my chest. “Noah, I told you I’m fine—”

  He leaned over and touched his finger to my lips to silence me, but it wasn’t his finger that stopped me, it was the shock of what his touch did to me. My stomach twisted, my skin hummed. I once feared this man, why was I reacting this way?

  “No. Listen to me. The first night we met, you hit me and ran away terrified. You wouldn’t tell me who you were, and then my grandmother tells me to protect you. You keep a bat in your room. When you found out that Sam was a cop you ran. Plus you told Kathy you were from Chicago, when I know you’re from New York state. And the first few times we met, you were afraid of me.”

  I gulped in air, scared of what was about to happen.

  He leaned in closer, his face just inches from mine. He was wearing his spicy cologne, but the smell of wood was still there. “I want to help if I can; all you have to do is tell me what’s going on,” he whispered, so close to me I felt his breath on my skin.

  The urge to tell him everything, to let someone in was so strong, but I bit my lip to stop myself. “Can you back up?” I asked. When he did, I stood up, moving over to the edge of the deck, watching a seagull dive for a fish in the water. “Noah, you’re sweet to worry about me, but I told you, I fine. Now hurry up, I’m starving and you owe me a steak.” I was trying to lighten the mood; the conversation had gotten way too tense. I couldn’t help think of the sincere emotion in his eyes as he stared at me.