by Iris Abbott
Eleven
Just as Mason predicted Emily took to the horses right away. Mason spent most evenings after dinner in the stables with Emily and Jay who had also taken an interest in the horses. He taught them the basics of horse care and allowed them to feed sugar cubes and apple slices to both Dolly and Midnight. The children kept asking him about riding, but each time he told them they had to learn the basics first then they could start riding lessons.
The following Saturday morning bright and early he woke Abigail up with a string of kisses all over her face and neck. “Good morning sleeping beauty. It’s time for you to wake up and fix a hearty breakfast for your family.
“Oh my God,” she grumbled when she looked at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand. “It’s five-thirty in the morning on a Saturday. Have you lost you’re mind!” She covered her head with a pillow.
“Not at all,” he tugged the pillow off her face. “But we have a long day in front of us. Emily and Jay have been working really hard this week learning everything they can about horses. They are ready to learn how to ride. They need horses of their own for that. Today we’re driving to a horse farm owned by a couple of friends of mine so they can pick out their own horses.”
Abigail was wide awake now and speechless. She knew money wasn’t an issue for Mason like it would have been for Roger, but even if he’d had the money he would have never done anything like this for Jay and Emily. She threw her arms around Mason and gave him an enthusiastic kiss that held nothing back.
Mason groaned. “Now you want to show your passionate side? We have a long day in front of us and as much as it pains me to turn down this luscious invitation, we need to get a start on the day. You take a quick shower and I’ll go wake up the children. Then I’ll help them get ready while you’re making breakfast.”
Abigail gave him the warmest smile yet. She wasn’t used to this team approach to raising children, but she could definitely learn to love it. Some of her excitement dimmed. Wasn’t that what she was most afraid of? She’d get used to Mason, come to depend on him, and then he wouldn’t be there anymore.
Jay and Emily didn’t seem to mind getting up early on a Saturday morning especially when they discovered the family was going on a day trip. They were especially excited when they saw the horse trailer hooked to the 4x4 double cab pickup truck that Mason used for chores around the property. They happily chatted on the long drive to Ocala. Jay talked about the football game the night before and Emily proudly showed off her fingers and toes to her brother and Mason.
Abigail was quiet and spent most of the drive watching the changing scenery. She had never spent much time in this part of Florida and was impressed with the green pastures and large horse farms they passed on the way to their destination. She also listened to the interaction between Mason and the children. Emily was so excited she kept asking questions about where they were going interspersed among the details she happily gave away about their visit to the spa the evening before. Poor Jay was hard-pressed to get in a word edgewise, but he tried by rehashing the highlights of the football game he’d attended with Mason the night before.
Abigail tried really hard to remember a time when she’d seen her kids so animated. It seemed like ages since Jay had been so talkative and happy. She was so lost in thought the truck came to a stop before she even realized they’d slowed and turned into a long drive surrounded by fenced in meadows which contained too many horses to count.
“Wow,” Emily could hardly get the word out in her excitement. “I’ve never seen so many horses before. I want to pet every single one of them,” she warned.
Abigail couldn’t suppress a laugh. “Uh oh,” she giggled. “I hope you brought a whole box of sugar cubes with you because you’re going to need every one of them when we turn Emily loose on this farm.”
Mason nodded toward the couple coming to greet them. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue after Richard takes us to Emily and Jay’s surprise.”
The couple reached the four visitors and the woman gave Mason a friendly hug before turning to Abigail. “Hello, you must be Abigail. I’m Jennifer Woods. My husband Richard and I have heard so much about you and the children. It’s great to finally meet you.”
Abigail shook the hand the friendly woman offered and mumbled a polite reply. When had Mason had time to talk about her and the children? They hadn’t been married all that long.
“Nice to meet the woman that finally caught Mason,” Richard greeted.
“That is so true,” Jennifer chimed in. “I had given up hope of Mason ever finding wedded bliss. I bet every single female in northern Florida was heartbroken when you snatched him off the market.”
Mason noted the blush that reddened Abigail’s cheeks. “So,” he injected into the conversation,” Where are those young horses you promised I could have first shot at buying?”
That set the reason for the trip into motion and the four adults and two children slowly made their way to a fenced in meadow where several young horses were lazing in the sun. “They’re all gorgeous,” Abigail breathed to the adults at her side. Emily, Jay, and Mason had already left to get a closer look at the horses that had caught their eyes.
Emily fell in love with a young Tennessee Walker filly with a champagne colored coat. She insisted on calling the horse Buttercup and could not be swayed. “My horse, my name,” she insisted at her mom’s look of discouragement, “Mason said so,” she added for extra emphasis.
“I would have voted for the name Bubbles, myself,” Abigail whispered to Mason.
Jay latched onto an eighteen-month-old Appaloosa colt he decided to name Storm. Mason and Richard were both satisfied with their choices since both horse breeds were considered excellent pets for children.
Abigail didn’t know anything about horse breeds and had to relay on the men’s expertise in the area. She knew cute when she saw it though and both Buttercup and Storm were as cute as they could be. They stayed for a light lunch with Richard and Jennifer before tackling the drive home. That brought troubles of its own, because Emily just couldn’t understand why she couldn’t ride in the horse trailer with Buttercup. In her way of thinking if it was safe enough for her precious new best friend it was safe enough for her.
Finally Abigail did something she’d never done before in all her years of parenting. She looked to someone else for help. She looked at her husband with those crystal clear green eyes and silently begged for his help.
Mason had been content to let Abigail handle Emily. He didn’t think she would appreciate his interference, but when she looked at him with such appeal in those wide green eyes he found himself stepping right in. It was almost as if he’d been a parent for years. He knew exactly what to say.
“There isn’t a seatbelt back there for you Emily,” Mason informed his stepdaughter. “So if you rode back there with the horses, I’d have to drive really slow. It’d be dark when we got home. That means we wouldn’t have time to give the horses treats or go to the tack and feed store to pick up riding equipment. And the longer it takes us to get the riding equipment the longer it will be before your first riding lesson,” Mason patiently explained. That did the trick and Emily hopped into the backseat of the double cab pickup truck without another word of complaint.
Abigail sent Mason a quick look of thanks. She pulled herself into the front passenger seat and snapped on her seat belt. Then she looked over her shoulder to make sure both Jay and Emily had remembered their safety belts. They had. She turned to face the front and came nose to nose with Mason. Her lips parted on a sigh of excitement at having him so near. Before she could close them she felt his lips cover hers in a brief kiss. Anyone observing the kiss would probably think it was a quick peck between a happily married couple. Whatever the kiss was, it set Abigail on edge and her heart to racing.
She could feel Mason’s lips stretch into a smile against the skin of her neck. He’d probably felt the increase of her heartbeat and was gloating at her response
. So like a man, Abigail thought. “Shouldn’t we be going,” she said in her primmest voice. “After all you owe Emily and Jay a trip to the store. You promised.”
Mason watched his wife cross her ankles in that prim and proper way of hers that nearly drove him crazy and gritted his teeth. He turned the key to start the engine and looked back over his shoulder. “Make sure you’re buckled up kids. It’s going to be a bumpy ride,” he whispered for Abigail’s ears only.
Much like the ride to the horse farm, Abigail spent the rest of the way home in silence. She listened and absorbed the interaction between Mason and the children. He was so wonderful with them. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t gotten married and had children of his own before now. He was a natural father. She was feeling better and better about the decision she’d made to let Mason into their lives on a permanent basis. She glanced in the rearview mirror and their eyes met. Sparkling green eyes stared into mysterious gray eyes and then she did something she knew would throw Mason for a loop. She winked.
******
Abigail looked at the steam escaping the front of her old SUV. She slammed both hands against the steering wheel. This was not good news. She’d lost track of time working on her latest scrapbook project. She was putting together matching extended Montgomery family scrapbooks using photos from the past year. There were four books, one for each sister and their mom. It was something she did every year. This year she got to add her very own wedding photo in the pages dedicated to her branch of the family. She’d spent way to much time fussing over that page trying to get it just right.
Now she was already late picking the kids up from school and her car had just died. At least she had an auto club membership. She could call her mom to pick up Emily and the middle school was right next door to the high school. Caroline should be able to pick up Jay and keep him at the high school until she or her mother could get there. Abigail fumbled with her oversized purse, but couldn’t find her cell phone. In a fit of panic she dumped the contents of the bag onto the passenger seat. She shuffled around her wallet, a few receipts, the e-book reader her mom had gotten her for Christmas, and a small photo album full of photos of her children, sisters, and her two nieces and nephew. The panic built. Where was her cell phone, why couldn’t she find it? In a last desperate attempt she hung the large cloth designer purse, a gift from Aubrey, upside down and shook. A few loose coins and a couple of small notes fell out, but no phone.
Darn it! Now she remembered. She’d had the phone with her in the self-designated craft room upstairs. She was in such a hurry to leave the house. She must have left it behind. Mason was going to be very angry if he found out about this and no doubt he would, because she was going to be very late picking up Jay and Emily and there was no way to notify their schools. So much for her stubborn streak of independence, just look where it had gotten her. She’d be much better off right now if she’d just accepted the SUV Mason had bought for her and retired this old heap.
She waited twenty agonizing minutes, but no good Samaritans came her way. Wasn’t that just her luck? Any other day in this town there would be guys fighting over themselves to help a lady in distress. When she first laid eyes on Mason’s house, she’d loved the fact that the huge amount of acreage owned by Mason was well outside of town, but not now!
There was no help for it. She was going to have to hike to one of the more used roads and hope for the best. She looked down at her blue wedge sandals in disgust. They were comfortable enough for cute shoes, but they weren’t made for hiking. She took a deep breath, grabbed her purse and keys, and locked the door, before setting out down the highway. She was already late. Hopefully Jay and Emily wouldn’t be worried about her. They would be safe enough at their schools.
******
“I’ll be right there,” Mason promised the woman on the other end of the phone. “I can’t imagine what happened to Abigail. Please have my wife call me if she picks up Emily before I arrive,” he told the elementary school secretary. “And could you please keep Emily in your office until one of us does get there to pick her up. I’m really sorry about this Alice. I’m sure Abigail has a good reason, I just hope it’s nothing too bad.”
Alice the longtime school secretary had always liked Mason and agreed without argument. “I’ll be happy to look out for Emily until you or Abigail arrives to take her home. She’s a sweet little girl and it’ll be no trouble at all.” She put on her stern voice, “just don’t make a habit of it though.”
Mason once again thanked his caller and said his goodbyes. Once he hung up the phone he let out a long sigh of frustration. He couldn’t think of any good reason for Abigail to have forgotten her children, especially with the court date for the custody battle right around the corner. This was not good, not good at all.
He picked up the phone once more and dialed his secretary’s extension. “Linda, something has come up and I need to leave the office for the rest of the day. I’ll be available by cell phone if an emergency pops up.”
Then he dialed the middle school and asked the assistant principal to verify if Jay was still waiting to be picked up also. Of course he was and Mason was really starting to get worried now. Mason made a quick calculation in his head. The middle school was a lot closer to his office than the elementary school. Plus Emily was in good hands with Alice Jenkins. She’d been the school secretary for thirty-five years or more. “Okay, thanks for the information, Larry. I’ll be there to pick up Jay in about fifteen minutes.”
Mason hurriedly secured his laptop and packed his briefcase. His thoughts were racing the entire time. Horrible what ifs kept flashing through his mind. What if she’d been in an automobile accident, what if her terrible ex-husband had delayed her in some way? Mason wouldn’t put anything pass the man. He didn’t strike Mason as a paragon of virtue or an outstanding member of society. Whatever possessed Abigail to marry the man in the first place? He all but ran to his car. His first task was to pick up the children, because he knew no matter what had happened to Abigail she’d want him to take care of the children first.
******
Abigail walked and walked. It took her fifty minutes to walk the two miles to the crossroads and a steady stream of traffic. It had been slow going in those darn heels. She’d almost dumped them to go barefooted, but found the highway was too hot from the Florida sun. She was almost an hour late picking up the children. This was bad on so many levels. If Roger got word of this he might use it to make her look irresponsible, even though this was the first time in eight years she’d ever failed to pick her children up from school on time.
Abigail heard an approaching car and ran to the stop sign as fast as she could in the ridiculous shoes she was wearing. Her relief turned to trepidation as she recognized the approaching vehicle. It was Mason and the car was close enough now that she could make out the fierce look on the driver’s face. On a positive note she saw he had two passengers with him, Jay and Emily. Then she realized that someone must have called him at work. Oh boy. He was going to be really angry with her when he saw her old SUV useless on the side of the road.
Abigail waited for the car to stop so that the front passenger door was flush with her. She opened the door and hopped inside. She tried to play it cool for the children’s sake. “Am I glad to see you guys. I feel like I’ve been walking for ages.” She put on her seatbelt without looking Mason in the eyes.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say. I was worried sick about you when I found out you hadn’t been to pick up the children yet.”
Abigail shrugged. He was following the route she’d taken back to their house. They would be at her SUV very soon and Mason would really be upset then. “I’m sorry. I know I should have called, but I was running late before I had the car trouble and in my rush to get out the door I must have left my phone behind.”
“Considering I had envisioned so much worse, I guess I should be relieved.” They passed Abigail’s car. “And while I am thrilled that you’re unharmed, I
am less than happy about this situation.” He glared from her to the old car, “especially since you shouldn’t have been driving that car in the first place. There is a perfectly fine brand new car that I bought for you evidently sitting unused in the garage.”
Abigail knew Mason was upset and rightfully so. Her stubborn streak could have endangered the children if they’d been with her. And while the crime rate wasn’t very high in their community, it did exist. She’d endangered herself and the children by continuing to drive her old car. She could see that now.
All of a sudden she couldn’t stand to have Mason mad with her. Small talk she decided might help diffuse the situation. “Thank you for picking up Jay and Emily. They’d still be waiting if it hadn’t been for you.” He didn’t answer. She took a deep breath and glanced at his profile. His jaw was clenched and his hands gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white. Maybe small talk wasn’t such a good idea after all.
She was silent until they pulled into the driveway. Then she looked back at Jay and Emily. “You two go up to your rooms and start your homework while I make dinner. Mason or I will call you when it’s ready.” She went into the kitchen expecting Mason to follow her, but he was talking on his cell phone and he went straight to his office.
They were both silent during dinner. Emily and Jay oblivious to the tension between the adults talked about their day at school and kept up a steady chatter. Abigail forced herself to eat only what was on her plate nothing more. She had the urge to binge. She would have to make an appointment with her therapist and hope that Roger didn’t get wind of it. Marital stress had been the trigger for her binges before. At least now she knew what to look for and how to get help before things got out of control.