Now that the tour was done, Abby stayed silent and Syd was anxious to see what she thought. Abby turned and faced her then took Syd’s hands in hers.
“This is why you had to come back, Syd.” Abby dropped Syd’s hands and raised her arms as if she was showcasing the room, and she turned slowly in a circle. “This is what you’ve been dreaming of and you did it.” She wrapped her arms around Syd and picked her up off the ground. “I’m so proud of you for achieving your dream and what you set out to do. The young people of Chicago don’t know how fortunate they are to have you in their corner.”
Abby placed Syd back on the ground and they stood there staring into each other’s eyes. Syd wanted nothing more than to take Abby back to her place and make love with her until she had to leave for the airport. But she couldn’t. It had nearly killed her when Abby had walked out on her in Iowa. She couldn’t go through that again. Her heart might not survive a second time.
“Come on. I’ll take you back to your hotel.”
They pulled up to the front of Abby’s hotel and Syd put the car in neutral. Abby covered Syd’s hand as it rested atop the gearshift and she faced her. “Do you want to come up to my room?”
Syd’s heart wanted to shout, “Yes! I want to be with you!” But her head prevailed. Sometimes, she hated being so rational and at that moment, she really hated her head. “I can’t, Abby. You have no idea how much I want to, but I think we should just say good-bye here.”
Abby looked down into her lap and nodded. “I understand. Thank you for tonight. For everything.”
“I’m glad we got to say what needed to be said, Abby. I wish you nothing but the best.” Syd leaned over and kissed Abby’s cheek, letting her lips linger on her soft, warm skin. “Give my best to Bernice.
Abby got out of the car and walked through the glass doors of the hotel and looked back at Syd, giving her a short wave. She then continued through the lobby. Syd watched until she could no longer see her, and that, Syd decided, was the second hardest thing she’d had to do. Watch Abby walk out of her life. Again.
Chapter Twenty-one
Abby boarded the plane that was going to take her back to Iowa and away from Syd. She’d barely slept last night. She kept replaying her time with Syd and wished she’d had more. But it was time to get back to her reality. Syd was her fantasy. Abby had been impressed with the center Syd was putting together.
Abby had allowed herself to fantasize last night when she was alone in her room about coming home to Syd every night after spending the day at the center as an operating manager. Abby thought she would enjoy partnering with Syd to run it, and Abby had enough money to keep the place going, even if Syd never got another grant again. She had already decided as soon as Syd gave her the tour that she was going to be an anonymous donor for the center. She thought that Syd would never accept the money if she knew it was from Abby so she was going to let her accountant take care of it.
She had nearly cried when Syd told her it was going to be called the Virginia Adams Youth Community Center. Abby knew that Virginia was looking down on her granddaughter, full of pride. She could imagine Virginia smiling from ear to ear, and it warmed Abby inside.
Abby turned down her street and waved to the little girl playing out front. It still saddened her to see Virginia’s house, as it had reminded her of two very important women she’d lost. The family that had bought the place was nice. The little girl was eight years old, and she had a little brother who was almost a year old. The girl, Stephanie, reminded Abby of herself at that age. Blond pig tails, big blue eyes, and an adventurous soul. Stephanie was always running around the yard or playing on the tire swing that her father had hung from the large oak tree in front of the house. Abby and her grandmother had taken them some cookies to welcome them and sat for a while talking. This was exactly the type of family Virginia would have wanted living on her farm.
Stephanie had told Abby that she wanted to get a horse one day, and Abby promised to teach her how to tack and ride, after getting it okayed by her parents. Abby had taught Stephanie how to ride Pokey, and Abby had to admit that Stephanie had been a quick learner.
Abby pulled into the driveway and pulled her overnight bag from the front seat. The smell of beef stew hit Abby as soon as she walked through the door. Her grandmother had been trying like crazy to put weight back on Abby, and she was succeeding with the stick-to-your-ribs type of meals she’d been cooking.
“Hi, Gran.”
“Hi, sweetheart. How did it go? Was Leah Griffin a hit?”
It amused Abby that her grandmother talked about Abby and Leah as if they were two different people. She supposed they were, as almost no one knew who Abigail Price was. But a lot of people knew who Leah Griffin was, as her publisher made it a point to always remind her.
“There was a pretty good-sized turnout and I sold a few books.” More like in the fifty to sixty range, but that didn’t matter to Abby. She was just happy to have the opportunity to take people away from the stresses of the real world for a little while and give them a happily ever after. She wondered if she would ever have her own.
“I’m so proud of you, Abigail. It’s quite a feat to just write a book, but the fact that you’re so popular is such a kick.”
“Thanks, Gran.” She grabbed a glass of water and leaned against the counter, watching her grandmother make homemade biscuits. “So, I had something funny happen yesterday.”
“What was it?”
“I saw Syd.”
She put down her wooden spoon and faced Abby. “I didn’t realize you called her.”
“I didn’t. Seems her best friend is a huge fan of Leah’s and dragged Syd with her to the signing. Imagine my shock when I stepped up to the podium to begin my reading and saw her looking back at me from the third row.”
“Did you never tell her that you wrote romance novels?”
“No. I didn’t get around to telling her.”
“Oh, honey. How did it go? Were you able to talk to her?”
“Yes. She waited until I was done signing books. We went back to her condo and talked. It was really difficult, but I told her the truth about why I left.”
“What did Sydney say to that?”
“She was angry, then hurt. But eventually, she told me she understood. We got a lot of stuff out in the open, cried, hugged, then we ate dinner.”
She hugged Abby. She was much shorter than Abby, but Abby always felt like she was a little girl again whenever her grandmother hugged her.
“When she took me back to my hotel, she stopped to show me the youth center she’s starting. It’s so amazing, Gran. She’s thought of everything to help not just the inner-city youth, but it’s also going to include the LGBTQ youth.” Abby was embarrassed that her eyes filled with tears and she quickly wiped them away. “I’m so proud of her, Gran. She’s such an incredible person.”
Her grandmother hugged Abby again as the tears continued to fall. Abby loved Syd so much, and it was breaking her heart not to be with her. “That was why I had to let her go, Gran. Imagine all the young people she’s going to help. I wish I could do something like that.”
“Why don’t you, Abigail? You’d be great working with young people.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Gran, Charville is a little less populated than Chicago. There’s no need for it here,” Abby said as she wiped her eyes again.
“No, but there is in Chicago.”
“Gran, I already told you. I’m not leaving you.”
“Abigail, you listen to me. You have found a woman that you were able to fall in love with. A woman who reciprocates that love. Finding the person you want to spend every day with doesn’t happen very often, and when you find that special love, you need to covet it. I was lucky enough to have had a lot of wonderful, loving years with your grandfather, and I want the same for you. You need to go to Chicago, tell Sydney you’re in love with her, and that you never want to spend another day apart. If you’re lucky enough, she’ll forg
ive you for being so stubborn and tell you the same thing.”
“But what about you, Gran? I can’t leave you on this large farm by yourself. I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re not a spring chicken anymore. I won’t be close enough to get to you in case anything happens.”
“I’ve been thinking about that for a few weeks, and I love you so much for wanting to take care of your old grandmother. But I think I’ve been on this farm long enough. I’ve never lived in a big city, and I think I’m ready for a change. I’ve always wanted to go to Chicago.” She smiled at Abby like the cat that ate the canary.
“Are you serious? You want to sell your farm?”
“Honey, it’s our farm. But no, I don’t want to sell it. I’d like to keep it so we have a quiet place to escape to if we feel the need. It can be our little getaway from the city. I know how fond of this town Sydney had become. I’m sure she’d love to get away with us.”
Abby’s head was swimming. This wasn’t at all a conversation she ever thought she’d be having with her grandmother. She’d lived there on the farm for most of her life. Would she like living in a big city like Chicago? She thought about it for a few minutes and smiled back at her. She’d live anywhere as long as it was with Syd. She kissed her grandmother’s cheek and wrapped her up in a hug. “I’ll be back soon, Gran.”
“Where are you going to, honey?”
“I need to see a girl about a couple of horses.”
* * *
Syd and Vanessa had put the finishing touches on the staff office and there wasn’t much left to do while they were still waiting for the items for the game room. All the walls had been painted, tables and chairs set up, computers linked, and books lined the bookshelves. They were ahead of schedule, and with the exception of the unfurnished game room, they were ready for the grand opening in two weeks.
This past week had been difficult for Syd. Seeing Abby had further rocked her slightly off kilter world. Syd had been trying to get over Abby, and she thought she had been succeeding, but in reality, she was just pushing her feelings to the back of her mind. Seeing her last Saturday night brought those feelings back to the forefront. She’d lost count of the amount of times she wanted to call her, but she’d remained strong. And stayed busy. Syd and Vanessa were done for the day and now she had nothing to do. Nothing except think of Abby.
“Hey, how about we go grab a drink? Maybe go to a club and go dancing?”
Vanessa had heard Syd’s sob story from last Saturday night and how hard it was to watch Abby walk away again. Syd had called Vanessa Sunday morning and told her the abbreviated version over the phone. She got the in-depth version when she met Syd at the center with bagels and coffee. Syd appreciated Vanessa’s outrage of Abby leaving and not willing to give their relationship a chance, but Syd had talked her off the ledge. She did agree with Abby that it would eventually be too hard to continue the distance. She didn’t like it, but she agreed.
“Not tonight, V. I finally have a chance to go to bed early. I’ve been working nonstop for the past couple of months, and I’m going to enjoy a nice glass of wine and a hot bubble bath.”
“Are you sure? You’re not going to debate whether or not you should call Abby, are you?”
Syd winked at her. “I’m not making any promises, but that’s not my intention.”
“Do me a favor and call me if you get lonely. I’m not the one who’ll break your heart.”
Obviously, Vanessa was still a little miffed. “I know you won’t, sweetie. I’ll be fine. Thanks again for all your help on this project.”
Vanessa hugged Syd. “If it’s important to you, it’s important to me. Love you, buddy.”
“Love you, too.”
Syd waved to Sam as she walked to the elevator and looked to the woman sitting in the chairs to her left, watching Syd intently. Syd did a double take and stopped in her tracks. She forgot to breathe for a moment before her heart accelerated and thudded in her chest.
“Abby?”
Abby stood and approached Syd. “Sam said I had to wait down here for you to arrive. He remembered me, but since I wasn’t on your guest list, I couldn’t go any farther. I’m happy to see they don’t let just anybody in this joint.”
“I was at the center.” Syd couldn’t think clearly, but she remembered the most important question. “What are you doing here?”
Abby shoved her hands in her pocket and rocked back on her heels. “Can we go upstairs? I need to talk to you.”
“Um, sure.”
Abby grabbed her carry-on that was next to the chair she had been sitting in and followed Syd to the elevator. Syd didn’t know what to say, and she had to keep looking over at Abby to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She almost pinched herself, but if she was dreaming, she didn’t want to wake up. Having Abby here was like a dream come true. The ride up was interminably long, and Syd let out a sigh of relief when she heard the ding, indicating they had finally arrived at her floor.
They entered the condo and Syd flipped on the lights. “Would you like anything to drink?”
Abby had left her suitcase by the door and looked around. “Just water would be fine.”
Syd returned and handed Abby her glass. “Let’s go sit down and you can tell me why you’re here.”
Once they were settled on the couch, Abby took a small sip then placed the glass down.
“I’m miserable without you, Syd. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t concentrate. From the first day I met you, I fell under your spell, and the more time we spent together, I continued to fall deeper. That last night we made love, I knew then that my life wouldn’t be the same, and I couldn’t imagine being with anyone but you.” Abby grabbed Syd’s hand and Syd remained speechless. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of Abby’s mouth. That was what Syd had longed to hear.
“I don’t want to spend another day without you, Sydney Carter. I love you and I want us to be together.”
Those were the words Syd had been waiting for and they hung in the air like a child’s mobile. “But you told me you didn’t want a long-distance relationship.”
“I don’t. I’m moving to Chicago if you’ll have me.”
“But you didn’t want to leave Bernice all alone.” Was Syd missing something?
Abby laughed, and it was the sweetest sound to Syd’s ears.
“I’m not. She’s moving here, too. She told me she had lived on the farm long enough and she wanted to experience living in a big city.”
“Chicago’s a big city,” Syd said excitedly.
Abby laughed again and Syd could feel the tears fill her eyes.
“I know, baby.”
“Are you being serious? You and Bernice really want to move here?”
“Gran gave me a good talking-to when I returned from seeing you last week. She told me that when I met the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, I need to do everything in my power to make it happen. I want you, Syd. I want to go to sleep in your arms every night and wake up with you every morning. I want to begin and end my days telling you how much I love you. I want to grow with you, experience good and bad times with you. Please say yes, Syd. Please tell me you want that too.”
Syd wiped away her tears then cupped Abby’s cheek while she stared deeply into her eyes. Abby was the woman she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and Abby felt the same about her. This was way better than any dream or fantasy she’d ever had.
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
Syd laughed and threw her arms around Abby. “Yes, Abby. I want all of that.”
“I love you so much,” Abby declared before kissing Syd breathless. “I need you, baby. I want to make love to you.”
Syd stood and led Abby to her bedroom. They stood next to the bed, undressing while never breaking the eye contact that was binding their souls. Syd had wished and hoped for this moment since the night Abby walked out on her, and suddenly, she feared it would happen again. Could Abby truly be happy living any
where but on her farm? Was Syd being selfish for wanting Abby to stay? As much as she wanted to be with Abby, it didn’t feel right for her to make this sacrifice. She took a step back from Abby and looked into her eyes.
“Are you sure this is what you want? Can you be happy living here? And what about your horses?” Syd couldn’t believe the horses came into her thoughts at this moment, but she knew how much Abby loved to ride Bevin, how it cleansed her soul.
Abby stepped toward Syd, erasing the gap she had put between them. “The horses are going to be well cared for by the family that bought Virginia’s place. Their daughter had always wanted a horse, and I’ve been teaching her how to care for them, cleaning their stalls, tacking them for a ride, and how to ride safely. She promised me that when we come back to visit, she’d let me ride Bevin. I know they’ll be in great hands with Stephanie, and they’ll get lots of attention. As for me being able to be happy in a big city? I’ll be happy anywhere as long as we’re together. You are my home, Syd. You and Gran. And with her being in Chicago with us, my life will be complete.” Abby took Syd in her arms and kissed her soundly on her mouth. “I’m exactly where I want to be with the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I’m going to show you every day how much I love you, starting right now.”
Abby guided Syd back to the bed, and when they were finally naked, Abby hovered over Syd before kissing her again. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too. Now make love to me.”
Abby happily obliged.
* * *
Abby woke the next morning expecting to hear the call of a rooster or the chirping birds welcoming a new day, sounds that had greeted her nearly every morning for most of her life. Those sounds were absent, but the soft breathing of the woman she was madly in love with, the woman that was snuggled up against Abby’s side, was the sweeter sound. Abby couldn’t imagine a more wonderful way to wake up. She felt Syd begin to stir and Abby tightened her hold on her.
“I’m not dreaming, am I? You’re really here?”
A Call Away Page 21