Protect Me

by Jennifer Culbreth

  “Shit.” Ryan ran his hand through his hair. This wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “How credible is this source?”

  “Well, let’s just say that I helped out some people with some pretty sketchy shit going on, and I called in a favor. You don’t need details, but they are credible.”

  “Ten four. Well, see what else you can find out and keep me posted. You don’t think this is a situation that can be bought out do you?”

  “No, for these guys it’s all about power. Calling the shots and showing intimidation. They could care less about the money. It’s all about street cred.”

  “Ok, well, just let me know if you find anything else out. Thanks for taking time over your weekend. I’ll make sure you get overtime on your next check.” Ryan laughed.

  “Yeah, I won’t hold my breath. See ya later boss… Well, talk to you later.” Jace stumbled over his last words before hanging up the phone.

  Was it just him or was everyone acting weird today? Maybe it was something in the air. As he returned his phone to his pocket a fully dressed Abbi came back out towards him carrying all of her selections.

  “Ahh, no more fashion show?” He pouted.

  “I figured I would save that for a little later.” She said handing her choices over to the attendant.

  As they made their way up to the counter Abbi went to reach for her wallet.

  “What do you need that for?” Ryan laughed handing the attendant his credit card.

  “I was just kidding when I said you should spend your money on me. Besides it’s your...” He could tell she had caught herself before finishing the sentence.

  “It’s my what?” He looked down at her smirking.

  “Your presents, for later. Remember Christmas presents. Well it came a little early this year.” She plastered a beaming smile on her face.

  “That will be $3,584 sir.” The attendant said smiling up at Ryan.

  “Holy shit, for some little scraps of fabric.” She gasped. He laughed thinking that they weren’t too far off from the same page.

  He leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. “You’re worth every penny baby.” Hell if it made her happy he didn’t care what he was buying or how much he was spending. He would buy the whole store in a heartbeat if it made her happy.

  “Thank you, Ryan.”

  The remainder of the afternoon consisted of a wild goose chase around town. The first three market stores didn’t carry lactose free anything. Three hours later they were heading out from the health food market with three containers, strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. He didn’t want to come back out because he didn’t get the right kind. He knew for Trish to have asked him to run errands for her, it had to be something important. As they made their way back home he could see Abbi’s anticipation growing stronger.

  “Babe, are you sure you’re good? You seem a little antsy today?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She said as she looked out the window.

  “Ok. But you know you can tell me anything right. Anything at all.”

  “Yes babe I know that. I promise there is nothing going on. Just a bit more tired than normal.”

  He didn’t push it any further. If there was something she wanted to bring up she would in her time. For now he just wanted to get home before the ice cream melted in the back of his truck. Pulling up to the house, he could feel the tension in the truck, so thick you could cut it with a knife. He pulled the truck up in the garage before hopping out to open Abbi’s door. The look on her face was almost a grimace. What the hell was going on? He grabbed the bags and ice cream from the back and they made their way towards the door leading inside. Not more than five steps in towards the stairs leading to their room, Abbi finally spoke.

  “Babe, could you grab me a bottle of water from the kitchen please.” She smiled innocently.

  “Sure.” He made his way towards the kitchen.

  Just as he rounded the door all hell broke loose.

  “SURPRISE!” A number of people came jumping out of every possible place, the cabinets, the pantry, behind the bar top.

  The bags in his hands went flying along with the ice cream, one of the containers smacking down just at his feet, splattering the chocolate liquid all around the floor of the kitchen. Laughter erupted throughout the room at the look on his face.

  “Holy hell. How did you?”

  “That would be mine and Trish’s doings.” Abbi came up beside him wrapping her arms around his waist, leaning up kissing him. “Happy birthday baby.”

  “Thank you.” He said looking into her eyes before turning back to the group that was now milling about the kitchen.

  Trish was now wiping up the kamikaze ice cream as Abbi took the bags from his hands. A line of people had formed, giving him hugs and birthday wishes. It wasn’t until the last two people stepped up that his heart grew two sizes bigger.

  “Mom! Dad?” He was shocked; he spoke with them regularly on the phone but hadn’t seen them in almost two years.

  “Happy birthday, son.” His dad said slapping him on the back.

  “Happy birthday Honey.” His mom wiped the tears from her eyes. “We were thrilled when Trish called to invite us out. And we were so excited to get a chance to meet Abbi. I know you two haven’t been dating long and we didn’t want to rush the whole “meeting the folks” thing.” She sniffled as tears began to fall again.

  “Ah, Mom. Please don’t cry. It’s just a birthday.” He said taking her into a big hug. “Hey I want you two to meet somebody.” He searched around the room before finding Abbi standing off to the corner next to Judy. “Abbi, come and meet my parents.” He motioned for her to come over.

  Walking up he grabbed her around the waist before introducing her to his parents. They were a hugging kind of family, so they both immediately wrapped their arms around her.

  “Oh, thank goodness he found you.” His mom choked out.

  The two of them stepped back smiling at them both. “Mom, Dad. This is Abbi, my girlfriend. Abbi these are my parent’s William and Janet Dixon.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you both. I just told Ryan the other day that he should invite you out so that I could meet you.” She pulled against Ryan’s waist as she smiled up at him. “This was a great surprise Trish.”

  “Oh and Trish here’s your fancy lactose free ice cream. I didn’t know you were allergic to dairy.” Ryan reached out handing her the prized ice cream.

  “Hell, I’m not allergic to anything. I just knew it would be a pain in the ass to find.” She winked before taking it to the freezer.

  Once the party had been moved outside towards the pool and outdoor kitchen, it rolled into full swing. These girls had gone all out. Caterers had brought in an array of barbeque foods, hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks, and chicken along with potato salad, baked beans, and pasta salad. All of his favorites, one of the many good things about growing up in the South was the food. He watched content from the cabana as Abbi swam in the pool with Aaron’s two kids.

  It looked so natural. She laughed and joked with them as they crawled all over her. For a moment he envisioned Abbi pregnant with his child, her stomach growing large against her small frame. At that moment, there was no doubt in his mind that this was the woman that he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. It wasn’t something that he could jump into. He wanted her to know that it was for all the right reasons. He would make damn sure that he did this all the right ways. His father’s voice snapped him from his day dream.

  “So son, how’s business going? Did you get that little situation with Abbi’s boss taken care of?” He lowered his voice as he leaned in towards Ryan.

  “Not completely but we are working on it. The bastard is going to pay for what he is getting himself and the girls into.”

  “Well, the offer still stands. I still have some pretty important connections up at the Pentagon. If I need to call in a favor you just let me know.” He settled back over into his chair. “So, I can understand why you have never
brought a girl home to meet your folks. You picked the cream of the crop with that one. Abbi’s great.” His gaze turned toward her holding one of the kids in the pool.

  “She is isn’t she? I don’t know what I did for the big man to drop her in my life, but whatever it was I’m thankful.”

  “Ahh, don’t think so poorly of yourself son. You deserve to be just as happy as the rest of us. You have done enough for your family, your friends, and your country.” His dad rested his hand onto Ryan’s shoulder giving him a reassuring squeeze.

  The rest of the afternoon was filled with fun and laughter. He could see the connection growing between his mom and Abbi. The two of them laughed and joked about the small town that Abbi had grown up in. As the sky began turning brilliant hues of pink and purples, the last remaining guests filled into the great room. Jace and Gabe were giving Judy a hard time over her sunburn. His parents were snuggled up with a bottle of wine on one of the couches. Trish and Abbi were now coming into the room from the kitchen one holding a large cake covered with far too many candles, and the other holding a large gift bag.

  “Happy birthday, it’s your birthday.” The room joined in, some a little more off pitch than others. “Have a great day, it’s your birthday. I hope you don’t catch the flu.”

  “Blow them out old man.” Jace shouted from across the room.

  With one large puff of breath he blew, trying to avoid spitting all over the cake.

  “Ok, so it took me forever to come up with a gift for the man who has everything he needs, but I think I did alright.” Abbi giggled as she handed over the bag.

  “Oh babe, all I need is you.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down into his lap.

  “Yeah, that’s my boy. Just so you know, I taught him all his moves.” His dad held up his glass.

  He reached around Abbi opening the bag, the first item he unwrapped was a bottle of prune juice with an appropriate tag noting, “For when life gets hard.” The next was an oversized pair of reading glasses, “To help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.” There was also a multi pack of sponges, “So the nurses won’t have to fight over the same one during bath time.” The room was erupting into laugher as he pulled the pack of Depends out of the bag, “Because sometimes you just can’t get there fast enough.” Abbi squirmed in his lap as she laughed at the looks on his faces.

  “You know for some reason, I am getting the hint you think I’m old.” He laughed, as he tickled her ribs.

  “Ahh, no I would never think that.”

  He reached up and moved the stray hairs from her face. “Thank you, it was better than anything I have ever been given before.”

  “What? Better than those strippers I got you last year. Come on, that redhead was fiery.” Jace shouted across the room.

  Judy proceeded to punch Jace’s arm as his mother gasped and the other two men hooted in conjunction to each other. “Yes, better than last year.” Ryan grabbed Abbi on each side of her face bringing her close to his own. “Thank you, baby. Today has been amazing.”

  “You’re welcome, but you should thank Trish because she is the one who told me.” She leaned the rest of the way in and kissed him. “I do have one other present for you, but you will have to unwrap that one a little later.” She whispered into his ear.

  This would definitely be a birthday to remember.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Six months later they were heading into the holiday season. So far life had been amazing, aside from the cold Abbi had gotten after they had come home from visiting Ryan’s parents a month or so ago. After countless amounts of antibiotics and over the counter flu medication she was finally beginning to feel like normal again. Work had been going smoothly and there hadn’t been any other altercations with any creepy guys. She had convinced Trent into letting her just work the weekends so she only went in on Friday and Saturday nights, with a rotating Sunday.

  She and Judy had become inseparable, but as they had grown closer Ashley had grown more distant. Many nights Abbi found herself not even talking to Ashley. There had been too many times that Ashley had come off as callous towards her and to be honest Abbi had never done anything to deserve that. So to keep her hot southern temper at bay she just avoided her most nights. Life was nice. Better than nice. She was finally living her fairy tale. Her lease had run out on her apartment. She debated at first signing another lease until Ryan had surprised her with her own set of keys to his house. She didn’t even think about it before she said yes, she knew that the only place she wanted to be was with Ryan. He had hung up the pictures she had brought with her in their bedroom. He even set up a crafting room in one of the spare spaces in the house after he found out that she liked to sew and craft.

  The holidays were coming up and she knew that it would be important that she make Ryan and her first Christmas special. His parents were flying in on Christmas Eve, which was only a few days from now. She loved being around them, they had been so open to her. It was a little nerve wracking the first time they had met, but they had already made her feel like family. She felt that since she and Ryan had been together that he actually saw them more often now than before. She felt like it was her way of slowing him down from his hectic work schedule by helping to plan family trips and schedule dinner with their friends.

  Trish had left two days ago to stay with her daughter until the New Year, so Abbi was alone in cooking dinners and would also be responsible for hosting Christmas dinner. If there was ever a better creation than Pinterest, she wanted someone to show her. She had already made the centerpieces for the dining table, along with decorations that ran throughout the house and spilled out onto the front steps. She had already made plans with Jace and Judy who would be coming for dinner. And they would all be participating in a white elephant gift exchange. She felt over whelmed thinking about it already.

  As she went through the pantry marking items that she knew they needed from the grocery store she heard her phone go off.

  Ryan: Hello beautiful. I wanted to let you know I might be working a little later tonight, we had to reschedule an important meeting with some Russian clients. I hope you’re having a great day.

  Well great. So much for cooking a nice dinner. Looks like tonight will be something easy.

  Abbi: Ok babe. Everything’s going fine here. I might run out to the grocery store later.

  Ryan: Ok, make sure you take Gabe. Use Trish’s car if you need to, her keys are hanging next to the garage door.

  Abbi: Yes sir. 

  Ryan: That’s right! I like it when you call me Big Papa.

  Abbi: Oh grief.

  Ryan: Have a great day babe. I will be home as soon as I can.

  Abbi: Ok, hurry home dear.

  Ryan: Yes ma’am.

  She sat down her phone before heading out to find Gabe. He was now living in one of the additional rooms in the house, and he went everywhere with her, excluding the bathroom. He would always stand outside the bathroom door when they were in public and monitor who came in and out. She enjoyed Gabe’s company. He had become a really good friend and she trusted him. She didn’t have the heart to tell Ryan that she didn’t think she needed a body guard. After all, nothing else had come up and she figured if those people were going to do something to her they would have done it already, but she knew that Ryan felt more comfortable with her having a security detail.

  She knocked on the door to her right as she came off the stairs leading up to the second floor. After a second the door opened and Gabe looked her up and down before looking past her as if making sure everything was ok.

  “Hey Abbi, what’s up? You need to go somewhere?” Gabe looked like he had just been told his grandma had gotten hit by a bus.

  “Yeah, well I was going to go ahead and go to the grocery store to pick up what we needed for Christmas dinner. Um, are you ok?”

  “Yep, I’m good. Just got a call, caught me off guard that’s all.”

  “Ok. Well are you sure everything is ok? I mean I c
an call Ryan and let him know to send Aaron or someone over. It’s no biggie or I can wait till tomorrow.” She could feel the concern seeping out through her face. Something was wrong, but Gabe sure as hell wasn’t going to talk about it.

  “Oh, no need. Everything is fine. Let me grab my stuff and I will meet you downstairs.”

  “Ok.” With that Abbi turned and headed back downstairs.

  She headed back towards the kitchen getting her purse and grocery list as she headed back towards the foyer, meeting Gabe as he was walking down.

  “You wanna take my truck?” He reached for the key box.

  “No, your truck is a nightmare to park. Let’s just take Trish’s car.” She smiled over at Gabe, clearly seeing the tension in his eyes turn to excitement.

  He had talked about this car since the day he moved in. He would always joke with Trish about letting him drive it, but she never would. He reached for the keys and hit the key fob as the head and tail lights blinked in unison unlocking the doors to the black Aston Martin Virage convertible. She laughed as he opened the door, his eyes got two times bigger as he hesitated, taking in the moment, before slipping inside. As he turned the key in the ignition the touch screen navigation came up out of the dashboard and greeted them. He turned on the seat warmers even though it was 80 degrees outside. Then rolled the windows all the way down. He pressed the small button on the visor opening the garage door.

  “Listen; if you cream your pants in Trish’s car she is going to kill all of us. So you better get it together.” She laughed towards him.

  “Shh, I am having a moment of silence right now.” Gabe was sitting rubbing on the steering wheel with both hands.

  “Boys and their toys. Come on we gotta get going or else I will be sitting here all day while you fondle the car.”

  “I’m caressing it, fondling is such a nasty word in comparison. Come on, even the name is sexy.” Gabe pulled out of the garage and headed down the winding driveway towards the front gates.

  “It’s a dude name. You know that right?” She laughed.