by Terri Osburn
With a humble shrug, Cooper smiled. “It was supposed to be a surprise. A gift for the happy couple.”
Even Abby didn’t know about the generous spread. “We’ll be eating pork for weeks.” She laughed, relieved to see her loved ones smiling again.
“Not with one hundred and twenty on the guest list,” Haleigh chimed in.
“Linda!” Bruce cried, nearly choking on his drink. “You promised you’d get it down to less than a hundred.”
“I tried, honey. I really did.” Mama’s grin eliminated any chance of her looking remorseful.
“Have you invited the whole county?” her groom asked.
“Oh, Bruce,” she chuckled. “They aren’t all from this county.”
Haleigh burst out laughing, while Cooper covered his mouth to keep from spitting chicken across the table. Abby opted to console her future stepfather.
“Just think of all the presents you’ll get,” she said, patting his arm. “And remember, enduring Mama’s overzealous guest list will pay off when you’re spending a week alone with your lovely new bride in the mountains of Gatlinburg.”
Appeased, he sighed. “That is something to look forward to.” Digging back into his dinner, Bruce said, “Just so you know, I left notice on the apartment door above the store. He has a week to vacate the premises.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Abby said.
“Yes, I did. That boy is hurting my family. He needs to go.”
Though Bruce had been in their lives for over a year, he’d always seemed like an outsider. The guy in Mama’s life but not necessarily Abby’s and Cooper’s. Until that moment.
Cooper locked eyes with his sister, and they both nodded. As twins, they often didn’t need words to communicate.
For the rest of the meal, the Ridgeways and their significant others tossed around ideas for Cooper’s new and improved business. And for the first time in a long time, Abby didn’t feel like the odd one out. She may not have her own significant other, but she had people who loved her, and that was enough.
Chapter 25
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Pop asked, bouncing one knee.
Justin didn’t have to be told to know that his father was uncomfortable. Surrounded by luxury machines and salesmen wearing suits that likely cost more than the old Chevy had new, the man in the overalls was definitely out of his comfort zone.
“Much like Tanner Drury,” Justin muttered, “I don’t want to but I have to.”
“I told you we can sell the tractor. It’s worth nearly twice as much as your car.”
The ’85 Case was Pop’s pride and joy. If anyone was going to part with something they loved, it would be Justin.
“We’ve done that dance and you aren’t parting with your tractor.”
Harrumphing with annoyance, Pop kicked a pebble at his feet. “I don’t see why we’re here. There’s no reason you should lose something you worked so hard for just to help Cooper Ridgeway out of a jam.”
“Because I put him in that jam,” Justin stated simply. “If Q hadn’t followed me down here, none of this would be happening. I should have kept a better eye on him.”
Pop snorted. “You aren’t the boy’s keeper, son. His sins are not yours.”
True, Justin thought, but this particular sin would cause more damage than a lost job and fiancée. It was one thing for Q to mess with his life, quite another for him to mess with Abby’s family. But there was another reason Justin was taking such drastic action.
“I appreciate your support, Pop, but I might not deserve it. The fact is, a year ago I probably would have done the same thing that Q is doing now. Close the deal by any means necessary, without a thought to the collateral damage left behind. I’m not proud of that, but it’s who I was.”
Not a flicker of disappointment shone in the older man’s eyes.
“One of the benefits of growing old—maybe the only benefit—is knowing more today than you did yesterday. Or thirty years ago, for that matter.” Ken Donovan relaxed into the small leather sofa. “When your mom said we should adopt, I was hesitant. ‘You never know what you’re going to get,’ I thought. What if we got a bad seed?”
Unsure where this was going, Justin said, “It’s a toss-up for sure.”
“Nearly thirty years later and I wouldn’t have any other child. You’re a good man, son. You always were. A little ambitious, but that’s a good thing. I never had to worry that you’d take up residence on our couch long beyond the time came for you to be on your own.” Tapping the side of his nose, he winked. “I like to cuddle with your mom in the evenings, and you’d have been in the way.”
“Maybe that’s why I tend to fall for a woman so fast. I’m trying to find what you and Mom have.”
“You’ll find it,” he said, squeezing Justin’s knee. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, son. Being young means making mistakes. So long as you learn from them, you’ll do all right.”
The last few years had been filled with enough mistakes for a decade. The wrong girl, the wrong friends, the wrong approach to life. The only mistake he hadn’t made was coming back home, yet he’d still managed to mess that up in the end. Abby may have jumped to the wrong conclusion, but if he’d been up-front with her from the beginning instead of protecting his all-too-delicate pride, they might have had a chance.
“We’ve got the paperwork all drawn up, Mr. Donovan,” said the young saleswoman who’d welcomed them nearly thirty minutes ago. “I’ll give you a few minutes to look this over.”
Taking the document, Justin’s eye went straight to the bottom line. Slightly shy of what he’d been hoping for, but a sound offer and likely the best he’d get on such short notice.
“I don’t need to look it over,” he said before she could walk away. “I’m ready to sign.”
“Great. Just follow me then.”
As she led them across the showroom, Pop put his hand on Justin’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son. I want you to know that.”
For once in Justin’s life, words failed him. In stunned silence, he stepped into the tiny windowed office to sign his baby away.
The Safe Haven Women’s Shelter, a passion project for Carrie Farmer, established with the help of Haleigh and her mother, had opened the previous December, but Abby had never had a reason to visit.
Until today.
Not long after dinner the night before, Carrie phoned with an invitation to lunch. Only instead of meeting at one of their usual haunts, she’d asked Abby to drive out to the shelter. Considering she didn’t have a job, and sitting around waiting for the call that Tanner had signed would only make her crazy, Abby had agreed.
“So how do you like the facility?” Carrie asked at the end of the unexpected tour.
“It’s nice,” Abby replied, impressed by both the welcoming decor and the homelike atmosphere. “When we were kids, Cooper and I came up here for a few summers when this was still a camp, and I never imagined it could look like this.”
“Because of what our residents have endured before they arrive, we put a lot of focus on calm, clean, and cozy.”
Curious, she asked, “Is there a limit to how long they can stay?”
Carrie shook her head. “Not at all. We provide resources to help them transition out, but there’s no point at which we force them to leave.”
Speaking of transitions, Abby marveled at the woman before her. Two years ago Carrie could have been best described as a mouse. Timid, skittish, and quiet. Today she served as a powerful advocate for the abused and underserved. A confident, courageous woman in her own right, and a force of nature when it came to her beloved shelter.
“What about the men?” Abby asked, dancing around a delicate subject. “What if they come looking for them?”
“That was probably our biggest dilemma—how to keep everyone safe once they were here,” she said, leading Abby from the main entrance back to her office. “Thankfully, Dale Lambdon provided a solution by convincing local law enforcement
officers to volunteer on their days off. Between the sheriff’s office and the Ardent Springs police department, we almost always have armed security on the premises.”
“Wow,” she said. “That’s really generous.”
“But not surprising,” the other woman added. “In my experience, police officers and firefighters are the best when it comes to caring for others.” As if realizing what she’d said, Carrie backtracked. “I mean, most of them. Not all.”
Abby held up a hand. “It’s okay. Justin doesn’t care any less about his fellow man than he did before we broke up. He only cares less about me.”
“I doubt that’s true,” she soothed. “He’ll come around.”
“He might,” Abby agreed. “But it’s too late to go back now. Not with him brokering the sale that’s forcing Cooper to move his business.”
“Cooper is moving his business?” Carrie asked.
“Maybe the gossip lines haven’t stretched this far out yet,” she quipped. “It’s a bit complicated, but Justin and one of his friends offered to buy Tanner Drury’s land in order to put an outlet mall, and who knows what else, out by the interstate. Though Cooper owns the business, he was paying rent to stay on the land. That won’t be an option once the sale goes through.”
Leaning back in her chair, she said, “That’s awful. Is he doing it to get back at you?”
“That’s the kicker,” Abby said, tapping the arm of her chair. “The deal was in the works before we split up.”
Carrie’s jaw nearly hit the desk. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish,” she sighed. And she hated herself for it.
Even now, with all the evidence staring her in the face, a little voice buried deep in Abby’s heart insisted that the man she fell in love with wouldn’t do such things. That if given the chance, Justin could explain everything, the land would be safe, and they could go back to the way things were.
Before she broke his heart.
And he broke hers.
“I’m really sorry,” Carrie said. “Now I feel awkward about why I brought you here.”
“Why?” Abby asked, baffled about why their location would make things awkward.
Carrie flattened her palms on the desk. “It’s time to confess. I didn’t really ask you here for lunch.”
Confused, she said, “That’s funny, because you fed me.” They’d had delicious sandwiches hand delivered by Carrie’s boyfriend, Noah.
“Okay. Not only lunch. I was hoping that you might come to work for us.”
Too shocked to speak, Abby stared, certain that her face reflected the classic deer-in-the-headlights look.
“I wasn’t sure if you were even looking for a job,” Carrie continued, “but Haleigh told me that you weren’t working with Justin on the landscaping anymore, and though you’re ridiculously overqualified, I’m hoping you’ll still consider the offer.”
Stunned didn’t begin to describe this moment. Just last night she and Haleigh had discussed Abby’s future and come to the conclusion that she would most likely have to commute at least an hour each way in order to find a new nursing position. Maybe longer.
At the mention of her best friend, she grew suspicious. “Did Haleigh put you up to this?”
“I actually haven’t talked to her about it,” Carrie confessed. “I meant to, but she canceled our meeting yesterday due to some family emergency that I assumed she’d tell me about later.” Revelation dawning, she said, “That was the issue with Cooper’s business, huh?”
Abby affirmed her suspicions. “That was it. If she could have gotten her hands on Justin yesterday, he’d be walking with a limp today, if he was able to walk at all.” Returning to the topic at hand, Abby proceeded with cautious optimism. “As far as the offer goes, what should I be considering?”
“I’m calling it a resident liaison. The reality is, many of our residents arrive battered and bruised. A trip to the ER is dangerous, as we can’t protect them as well there, and adds to the humiliation they already feel. We’ve begun the process of improving our small clinic, but we need someone to run it. A medical professional who would not only treat them as patients, but as human beings. Equals, even.”
Though not as creative as designing flower beds, Abby couldn’t imagine a more ideal position. Her entire motivation for becoming a nurse had been to help people, but by the time Iva had let her go, her job had felt more like a thankless routine. The patients came and went, and she’d been too locked in her own pity party to make a real connection with any of them. Which meant the hospital had never been the problem—Abby was.
In the role that Carrie described, she could help heal not only the physical wounds of the women and children who walked into the shelter, but the wounds that couldn’t be seen as well. With compassion and a friendly smile, Abby could be the light in someone else’s darkness.
And she liked the thought of that very much.
“I’ll take it,” she said, riding a wave of enthusiasm.
“You will?” Carrie chirped, rising from her chair. “But we haven’t talked about pay or benefits or anything.”
Abby tapped out a happy beat on the desktop. “We can work those out later. When should I start?”
Caught off guard, Carrie shuffled a stack of folders to check her calendar. “Will next Monday be too soon?”
“Not soon enough.” Bolting to her feet, Abby leaned over the desk to drag Carrie into a hug. “Thank you so much. This is exactly what I needed.”
Carrie beamed. “Excellent. But for the sake of full disclosure, it isn’t always going to be sunshine and rainbows,” Carrie warned. “Many of our residents have trust issues and don’t warm up easily. It may be a battle at first to get through to them.”
If nursing had taught her anything, it was how to gain someone’s trust.
“I’m ready.” She nodded with renewed purpose. “And grateful for the opportunity.”
“Alrighty then,” Carrie said, hurrying around the desk. “Welcome to the Safe Haven family, Ms. Williams. Let’s go meet the rest of the staff, shall we?”
Abby grinned like a loon. “I have no place else to be.” She laughed and motioned toward the hall. “Lead the way.”
At five after six Tuesday evening, Justin placed the call he’d promised to make.
“Hello,” answered Tanner Drury in his rusty tone.
“Mr. Drury, it’s Justin Donovan again.”
“Well,” the landowner said, “I wasn’t sure whether I’d hear from you.”
His lack of confidence was understandable. If a stranger called offering a quarter million dollars out of the blue, Justin would be dubious as well.
“I’m assuming you asked Mr. Culpepper for the extra time?”
“I did,” came the reply. “He wasn’t happy, but didn’t withdraw the offer over it.”
Cutting to the chase, Justin said, “I have the money to match the original offer.” In addition to selling the Infiniti, he’d drained both his savings and his 401(k), but sacrifices had to be made. “Do you want an offer in writing this evening, or would you rather wait until morning?”
Unaccustomed to the sleep habits of septuagenarians, Justin didn’t want to keep the man awake if he didn’t have to.
The line went silent, Mr. Drury presumably deciding how much he trusted his new benefactor.
“Would you mind coming by the house tonight?”
Assessing the few boxes he had left to pack, Justin replied, “Is seven thirty too late?”
“Not at all. Do you need the address?”
Justin kept the amusement from his tone. “I have it, sir. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Sounds good.”
“You should not have to do all this,” his mother grumbled as soon as the call ended. The way she was packing his coffee mugs, he’d be lucky if any remained intact. “People should know that you wouldn’t do these horrible things. The whole town thinks you’re some land-grabbing monster. It’s nonsense.”
Kissing her che
ek, Justin removed the Cubs mug from her angry grip. “My name is on the paperwork, Mom. That’s all they know.”
“But you didn’t put it there,” she insisted. “I have half a notion to tell that prissy Linda Ridgeway that her girl is the mean one. Calling you a cheater. The nerve of her.”
Having learned his lesson regarding half-truths and whole stories, Justin had disclosed all his dirty secrets to his parents, tossing his bruised ego at their feet and hoping for the best. That they supported him wholeheartedly came as no surprise, but his mother’s righteous indignation had been the cherry on top. When she’d heard about the eviction notice, which Justin hadn’t for a second considered challenging, Mom had to be forcibly subdued from charging after Bruce Clemens and telling him exactly where he could stick his precious apartment.
“Women can be a challenge,” Pop said, packing the books from the windowsill. “You never know when they’re gonna turn on you.”
“Don’t judge us all by that Ridgeway girl,” Mom scolded.
“Williams,” Justin corrected.
Blue eyes rolled. “Seems to me, if a man gives a woman his name, he should stick around instead of traipsing all over the world.”
Father and son exchanged a questioning glance.
“The boy was in the army, Karen,” Pop reminded her. “He wasn’t traipsing anywhere. He was serving his country.”
“You served your country and I went with you.”
Returning to his packing, Pop said, “A year in Greece in the eighties was different. They’re sending these soldiers into war zones. What was he supposed to do, strap her to his back and head out?”
Conceding her husband’s point, Mom said, “I don’t suppose so. But she must have been sick with worry. All those years of not knowing where he was or if he was okay. A woman shouldn’t be left in the dark, is all I’m saying.”
Justin never flew off into battle, but he had run into a burning building without her knowing where he was. Abby had most likely been angry at first, when he stood her up without so much as a text, but at some point the worry must have set in. All the old fears creeping up from the past, taunting her with the worst-case scenario.