“Oh. Okay.” Abby seemed to shrink into herself.
“Andie didn’t mention how you two met,” Kiley urged pleasantly.
“Maybe that’s because I didn’t really explain it to her.” Jesse reclaimed Abby’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “But since you’re obviously dying of curiosity, I’ll tell you.” He grinned at his friends. “You’ve heard about the bullshit Henderson pulls. This time, when I got to the airport, there was a rather outrageous, uh, gentleman, holding a sign for Jessie James. Even though the plan was for me to pick up a rental, I spoke to him anyway. Against my better judgment, I accepted a ride and wound up at his cousin’s restaurant where they were expecting a female pastry chef.”
“Oh wow.” Kiley giggled.
“I bet I wasn’t half as surprised as Abby and Henderson were. He kept trying to make her admit I sent her as some sort of joke and wouldn’t believe that Abby wasn’t in on it. Apparently he was very vocal and rude by before he thought to call Wyatt. By the time Milo and I got there, poor Abby had a migraine that was so bad she couldn’t focus anymore.”
“Is Henderson still alive?” Jordan asked, only half kidding.
“Unfortunately.” Jesse nodded. “I called Wyatt and told him to make other arrangements because I wasn’t about to stay there and work for him while Abby was suffering from his stupidity. As you can guess, one thing led to another and, since Abby is currently at loose ends, I somehow managed to convince her to spend some time with me.”
“Ooh! Feel.” Kiley grabbed Abby’s hand and put it on her stomach. “Max wants to say hi too.”
The baby kicked against her palm. “Wow,” Abby said, surprised.
“I can’t wait to have this baby. He always makes sure he’s included whenever he hears someone talking. I bet he’ll be the same way after he’s born too.”
“So you’re having a boy?” Abby asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Jordan replied. “We keep calling it he because of the boy our baby is going to be named after, but we’re waiting to be surprised.”
“Oh right. I remember when you asked your friend if it would be all right,” Abby commented.
“You’ve listened to Jordan’s show?” Kiley asked. “Does that mean you’re originally from this area?”
“Um, yeah. Well, the city actually. But I could pick up the show on clear nights and then I started listening on the internet.” Abby pulled back. “I, uh, decided to switch jobs. In college, I worked in a restaurant and I called my old boss. He’s the one who set me up with the interview.”
“And you just packed up and went all by yourself? I don’t think I’d have the nerve to do that.” Kiley noticed the look that passed between Jesse and Jordan and sensed there was much that wasn’t being said. When Abby lowered her head and slumped her shoulders instead of responding, Kiley suddenly recognized Jesse’s guest. “Wait. I think I know you. Did you used to have long hair?”
Abby nodded as her startled gaze returned to Kiley.
“I knew I recognized you. I was the hostess at Mr. Paul’s before I married Jordan and we moved out of the city.”
“Oh no.” Abby gasped.
“Sure, you were there with that horrible…” Kiley trailed off as she realized what she had been about to say. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
“It’s okay,” Abby said flatly, letting Jesse hold her.
“Whatever it is, Abby, you don’t have to worry while you’re with us,” Jordan lowered his voice to a calming tone. “Jesse brought you here and that’s all we need to know. Please don’t think you have to feel uncomfortable. No one will question you. About anything.”
“Thank you,” Abby managed before she turned her face into Jesse’s chest, hiding her tears.
Behind her back, Kiley mouthed that she was sorry to Jesse. She hated that she had upset his new friend within minutes of meeting her.
“I’m sorry,” Abby whispered several times before Jesse stopped her.
“Abby, I’d like to explain a little more. Will you let me, precious? If you do, Kiley won’t feel she has to tiptoe around while we’re here.” Abby nodded without moving away from him. “I’m guessing you went to Mr. Paul’s with Earl and he was true to form.” Another nod. “Kiley, the man with Abby when you saw her was her ex, Earl Green.”
“Earl Green?” Jordan interrupted. “What a jackass! You’re much better off without him.”
“You know Earl?” Abby turned her face toward Jordan.
“He was a client at the firm I worked for when I was first starting out. Extremely arrogant and completely clueless. Always blustered when he came in, insisting he knew what was going on and thought he was giving me hot tips.”
“So that’s why he was hateful whenever your name came up.”
“Earl mistreated Abby one too many times so she decided she’d had enough and left him.”
“Mistreated?” Jordan questioned. Jesse’s nod was enough of an answer. “Good for you for leaving,” Jordan declared. “I wish all women had your courage.”
“But…” Abby seemed stunned.
“I’ve been doing research for a show,” Jordan explained his reaction. “You are the exception. If you ever feel you want to talk about your life, I’d be honored. I have some questions that the books can’t answer.”
“Jordan is a psychologist as well as a talk show host,” Jesse reminded her.
“And his inquisitive nature makes him too curious sometimes,” Kiley added. “Forgive us both for prying.”
“We don’t usually interrogate our guests like this.” Jordan seemed to regret having spoken. “We’ll respect your privacy now, as we should have from the start. Please don’t avoid us. We’re really not this rude.”
“Um, okay. Thanks.” Abby looked ready to crawl under the nearest table and hide.
“Well now I feel just awful,” Kiley continued. “Andie told us how she promised Jesse none of us would pester you. We thought it was because you just met and he wasn’t ready to share you yet. We didn’t know there was more to it.”
“I’m not ready to share yet,” Jesse stated. “I may never be.”
Jordan chuckled. “Now that’s a feeling I can understand. Don’t worry, Jess. We’ll steer clear unless you invite us to come over.”
“See, Abby?” Jesse grinned. “I told you they’d say that. Abby was afraid you would reach a different conclusion of why she was with me.”
Again, Jordan appeared to get his meaning. “As if! Anybody who knows Jesse knows you’re here because he wants to be with you. Abby, there are plenty of ways he could guarantee your well-being without becoming personally involved. He could make it seemed like you vanished completely with a phone call. Since he brought you to meet us, he’s already thinking you could be someone special to him.”
“She already is,” Jesse confirmed.
Kiley sniffled as she smiled. “Just ignore me. I’ve been emotional ever since I got pregnant. I cry no matter what is going on but I assure you these are happy tears.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Abby sniffled with her, clearly overwhelmed.
“How about you say you accept our apology and forgive us enough to stay as you had planned?” Jordan suggested. “I’d hate for our lack of tact to ruin the time you’re spending with Jesse.”
“It’s fine.” Abby managed a small smile. “I’m just so afraid of people knowing. Of what they’ll think of me.”
“Anyone decent will know that you’re an amazing, strong individual. Anyone who can’t see that isn’t worth worrying about,” Jordan declared.
“Thank you.” Abby’s smile grew. “Um, I, well, we…”
When Abby was too flustered to finish, Jesse spoke up. “I think what Abby is trying to say is that we hoped you’d join us for lunch tomorrow. She feels like cooking things that she’s always enjoyed and Earl refused to eat and thought we could say thank you for letting us stay by including you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Kiley
insisted. “But of course, we’d love to. I’ll just call my cousin, Alyssa, and tell her we won’t be around tomorrow.”
“Oh no. Please. I don’t want to interrupt your plans. We can do it another day,” Abby hurried to say.
“We don’t really have plans,” Jordan explained. “Alyssa and Shane and their kids usually end up here Saturdays.”
“Do you think they’d want to eat with us too?” Abby surprised them by asking. “I met Alyssa and she was talking about her family and…”
“Ah,” Jordan filled the silence. “I’m sure they’d be glad to. Perhaps I should warn you that Alyssa will complain if you make things that are extremely healthy. She and my brother have an unending battle over her love of junk food.”
“I was going to make cinnamon brownies for dessert,” Abby mentioned.
“My God, Lyss will be begging you to stay forever.” Kiley giggled. “Now I’m positive they’ll want to be included. Are you sure you have enough? I’d be happy to contribute.”
Jesse chuckled. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Abby couldn’t decide what she wanted most so I suggested she make everything she was hungry for. There’s more than enough for all of us and anyone else who might show up.”
“Then I shouldn’t bother asking Flynn to leave Joey at home tomorrow,” Kiley decided. “Jesse can tell you all about the two of them later.”
“Yeah,” Jordan agreed. “We’ve kept you long enough. Why don’t you go get settled in? We can visit tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Abby agreed as Jesse tugged on her hand.
“Come on, Abs. They can tell I think I’ve shared you just about as long as I can for now. They don’t mind that I’m ready to be alone with you.”
“Not at all.” Jordan chuckled while Kiley sniffled again. “Have fun and let us know if you change your mind about lunch tomorrow. We won’t be at all surprised if Jesse decides he would rather keep you all to himself the entire time you’re here. Just don’t forget about the party Sunday. Andie won’t tell Brett unless you’re there and she’s about to burst now. I’d hate for her to have to come over and drag you there but I’m pretty sure she will if she has to.”
“We’ll make it.” Jesse grinned at Abby’s stunned expression. “See ya.”
“Bye,” Abby called as he rushed her out the door.
As soon as it closed, Kiley growled, “I hate that guy! He was so awful the night they were in for dinner. He criticized Abby the entire time they were there. He said such horrible, mean things and she actually apologized for him when he got loud. I remember Dee was ready to get a frying pan from the kitchen and bash him over the head. Now, I wish I’d encouraged her.”
“Me too but it wouldn’t have helped her,” Jordan commented. “He probably would have retaliated on her. I wonder what it took for her to finally walk out.”
“I’m sure if Jesse has any say in the matter, she’ll be around plenty long enough to feel comfortable telling you about it. Did you see the way he looked at her?”
“Oh yeah. I think we just met the girl Jesse plans on keeping. I doubt if it’ll be easy though if I’m right about what I think Abby’s been through.”
“But she came here with him. That has to be a really big step. She has to know she can trust him or she wouldn’t have come.”
“I agree but it could take tremendous amounts of time and effort for Abby to accept all of what I’m sure he wants to offer. Everything I’ve read indicates it’s extremely difficult for someone who has been abused to break out of the patterns they were forced into following.”
“So how do we help? I don’t want to upset her like I did before.”
“The best thing we can do is be ourselves. Treat Abby like we would any other girl Jesse introduced us to. Show her we’re open to being her friend because she’s important to him. Overlook it when she gets flustered and offer moral support without specifically drawing attention to it.”
“Like you used to do with me?” Kiley couldn’t help but remember all the times Jordan had smoothed a conversation when she was too nervous to participate.
“Kind of. But we don’t know what might trigger a bad memory. If we do, and I’m almost certain we will, we can’t make it worse by dwelling on it. We’ll have to change the subject and ignore her reaction so we don’t add to Abby’s embarrassment. I’m positive Jesse won’t be far from her anytime soon and you saw how he tried to make it less awkward for her. She seemed intimidated to meet us. She could be shy in addition to having her confidence stripped by Earl. It won’t be a quick or easy thing for her to regain it.”
“Jesse will help her.”
“If she lets him. She left Tuesday and the first thing that she faced was that Henderson jerk screaming that she was part of a scheme. Jesse said she had a migraine. Abby may still be too stunned to know what’s going on around her. She may not be able to see how Jesse feels and may not believe it even if she does. We don’t know what happened to her but I doubt if she trusts her own feelings let alone anyone else’s.”
“Then I hope they never leave. This is a great town with good people in it. Remember how Flynn said he feels safe here? Maybe if Jesse can get her to stay, Abby will feel that way too.”
“You just want them to stay so you can encourage them to fall in love like we did.”
“Is that so bad?”
“No. And I suspect that Jesse’s already in love. He believes in fate even more than I do. I’m sure we’ll see her again even if they don’t stay in town.”
“But Jesse said he was thinking about it.”
“Sure he did but he could just as easily open his business somewhere else. If Abby says she wants to get as far away from Earl as she can, I’m willing to bet Jesse will at least try to go with her,” Jordan paused. “Kiley, did you hear Abby say she already met Lyssa? Do you know what that means?”
Kiley looked confused. “No. What does that mean?”
“That she went to them because Jesse called and asked her to. I may be wrong but I’m assuming he had her document Earl’s abuse.”
“Oh God! That means Abby has bruises that were bad enough to see clearly. She went to take pictures! Now I really hate him. Wait, isn’t it going to be hard for her when Lyss shows up?”
“Probably but she’s the one who suggested it. Maybe Alyssa got to talk to Abby while she was there. It might be okay after she gets through the first few minutes.”
“I hope so. Jordan, you have to do the show about abuse before you take time off with me. Now that I’ve actually met someone who went through it, it’s even more important. If what you and your callers say helps even one more woman get away from someone like Earl, it’ll be worth it.”
“I agree but I think I should discuss it with Abby and Jesse first. We know I’ve been considering it but I’d hate for her to think I was doing it specifically because of her. I don’t want to scare her by making her think she’s the sole focus of the show.”
“Hmm, I didn’t think of it that way. You’re right. She might think we betrayed her and I wouldn’t want that. I hope they stay long enough so you can talk to her about it. It’s always been important but meeting Abby makes it feel so much more personal. I’ve been so lucky in my life, not to be exposed to that. Even though I listened to Flynn when he talked about his grandfather it didn’t seem as real as this does.”
“That’s because Flynn has had time to deal with it. He talked to several people before us. I’m sure Shane spent lots of hours on that one, both before and after Alyssa came home. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mom and Dad were involved in some of their discussions as well.”
“I love your family. And mine. And our friends. I hope Abby lets us all show her how people should treat each other. She feels like someone I could get close to if she’d let me.”
“I’m sure you could. For a moment there when you had her feel Max, I think she was so startled she let her guard down. Not completely and not for long but maybe enough to show her she can with us. Now that
we heard about her past, she knows she doesn’t have to worry about hiding it from us so that might help her open up with us given time.
“But for now, we’ll let Jesse take care of her and offer our moral support from the background. I’m sure he’s already doing everything possible to reach her. It might be best if we show her we accept her by giving them privacy. If we keep trying to draw her out, she might think we’re attempting to separate them instead of being friendly. Jesse will let us know what to do. Until then, I don’t think we need to worry about Abby. We both know she can rely on him, even if she doesn’t. It’s just a matter of time and patience. Kind of like waiting for Max is.
“You look tired, sweet. Why don’t you come lie down with me and we’ll see if we can get Max to take a nap before dinner? He doesn’t seem to listen when I explain why he needs to take it easier on his mother.”
Kiley covered her swollen belly with her hands. “He heard that. I don’t know if he’s agreeing or protesting but I think it sounds like a great idea. I have to take advantage of you while you can still get your arms around me. If Max keeps growing like he has been, your hands aren’t going to meet long before the next seven weeks are up.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll just hold on wherever I can. I’m not going to stop putting my arms around you ever, sweet, so don’t give it another thought.” Jordan sensed Kiley’s emotions were swirling from thinking about Abby and hoped to help calm her down before she overwhelmed herself.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Abby.” Jesse pouted. “Please, please, please don’t leave me!”
She laughed when he snagged her hand and tugged her playfully toward the bed. “I have to get up. I want to get started on lunch.”
“It’s only nine o’clock. Unless you changed your mind since last night, lunch will be ready way before noon or did you decide to make some ultra-fancy gourmet stuff you haven’t told me about yet?”
“No, you said I should make things the way I like them.”
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