“I know,” Abbie returned, regretting the necessary lies. “But it won’t kill you to crash here for the night.”
“It might, but we won’t know that for sure until tomorrow, will we?”
Abbie expelled an exasperated breath.
Miriam had gone to her room to slip into a caftan, then put the kettle on for tea. Their luggage still stood in the foyer of the pretty Victorian because as Miriam had said, there was no point in unpacking if they’d just have to pack up again tomorrow evening. Still, she was eager to see the surprise Abbie had in store for them—the surprise that would’ve been ruined if they’d shown up before it was ready.
The excuse was childish and unimaginative, but it was the only thing Abbie could think of to keep them from going to the house. If she told her father they were here for their own safety, he’d press and thunder until she explained.
He’d make it impossible for her to leave tonight if she told him what had been happening, and she needed time with Jace.
“Dad, I’m going to say good-night now, and see the two of you tomorrow for breakfast. I’ll bring all the fixings. How does eight o’clock sound?”
When he got red in the face again and started to object, Abbie went on. “Look, you’re both dead on your feet, and the last thing you need to do tonight is relive the very thing that wore you out. I’ll see your movies and digital photos tomorrow. Besides,” she teased, “technically, you’re still on your honeymoon, and I wouldn’t dream of butting in on your lovey-dovey time with Miriam.”
Not amused, her father drew a long, uptight breath. “Will you be staying at home tonight?”
She wouldn’t lie to him again. “No. All of my things are at Jace’s. What would you like for breakfast? Bacon and eggs? Pancakes and sausage? French toast?”
The thoughts racing through his eyes were unspeakable, but he answered politely, obviously knowing that objecting was a waste of time. “Just a croissant from the bakery. Miriam might like something sweeter, though. You can ask her.”
“I will.” She kissed his cheek. “’Night, Dad. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Jace wasn’t waiting at his place for her. As she left Center Street for the lights of the empty town, a familiar black Explorer clicked on its headlights, pulled out of a parking space near the Market & Main Diner, and followed her back to the log house on Maxwell Road.
The garage doors opened automatically as she approached the two-stall structure, and she and Jace both pulled inside and parked. He was out of his car before she was, opening the door for her and taking her hand.
Something—a sense of urgency, or the knowledge that their lives were about to change in ways they might not like—charged the air between them.
Jace took her in his arms and in the stillness of the garage, he held her tightly, and she held him. Abbie closed her eyes, giving him her weight, feeling his strength and his tenderness. And a wonderful peace came over her. This was where she was meant to be. Where they were both meant to be.
“I didn’t think you’d come back tonight,” he murmured.
Abbie smiled against his warm throat. “Then why were you waiting for me in the street?”
“No idea,” he whispered.
Moments later they were climbing the stairs to the loft. In the back of Abbie’s mind, she still wasn’t sure where they were heading, but she’d finally decided that love was worth more than any job in any town…and she was prepared to do whatever it took to find it with Jace. Even if it meant there would be no children. Love began with a man and a woman. That was the core. Now, with the lamp in the downstairs living room lighting their way, they kissed and disposed of the buttons, zippers and fabrics that were keeping them apart.
The next morning, Jace followed her to the bakery where she bought croissants and a variety of donuts. A few early risers glanced their way as they softly kissed goodbye beside their cars, but Abbie didn’t care, and apparently Jace didn’t, either. Then he went on to work while she stopped at the corner convenience store for milk and eggs, then continued up the street for breakfast with her dad and Miriam.
She and Jace still hadn’t talked. The warmth and deeply emotional level of loving they’d found last night had been too special, and maybe too fragile for words. So they’d communicated with touches. A lovely glow suffused Abbie when she remembered the long hug that had begun it all. It had said, I’m sorry and I’m confused and I want you, but the uncertainty of our situation is too much, so can we just be for a while? And so they were. There’d been no time for discussion this morning, either. They’d chosen instead to make sweet, sleepy love again.
Miriam and her father both looked well rested, happy and contented when they all convened in the kitchen. Part of Abbie almost regretted that. Because immediately after breakfast and their travel tales, she’d be ruining their day.
Her father didn’t take the news well.
“You went to him for help, but never bothered to tell me?” Still wearing blue silk pajamas and a burgundy pinstriped robe, he paced the dusty-blue carpeting in his bare feet, disturbed and insulted.
The grooves on his brow deepened. “Abbie, I might have a difficult time accepting some of your choices, but by God, I do try. To be kept in the dark when a killer is stalking the only child I have is absolutely unacceptable. Did it never occur to you that I would’ve wanted to watch over you?”
“Dad, I told you. I didn’t want to ruin your honeymoon, and I didn’t want you to postpone it. And until the cards started coming, I had every intention of staying at the house. But then things started happening, I got scared and Jace offered his spare room. We both agreed that if Long was coming for me, he’d have no reason to think I was living there.”
Sighing, Morgan brought his hand to his forehead, massaged it for a moment then turned back to Abbie, determination in his eyes. “All right, then this client of yours won’t have any reason to think you’re living here with Miriam and me, either. I’m home now. I’ll see to your safety until this business is settled.”
“I don’t think so, Dad. When I left this morning, I told Jace I’d see him later.”
He started getting red in the face again. “If safety was the reason you moved in with him, I can provide that here. He lives three miles out of town in the woods, for God’s sake—without a decent security system and a thousand trees surrounding the damn house. Anyone with half a brain could get to you there.” He jerked out a hand to make his point. “Look around you! Look where we’re standing. We’re only five minutes from cops with guns!”
Silently, Abbie counted to ten. “First of all, we’re not even sure if Long’s in the area. The L.A. police still believe he’s somewhere in the city.”
Morgan batted the air. “Bull. If you believed that, I would’ve slept in my own bed last night. This whole mess—the things he said to you after the trial, your psychologist friend’s assessment, the musical cards—and maybe the graffiti—tell me that this man is a wacko, and I want you here. With me.”
Then, to Abbie’s amazement, her father’s eyes got damp and his voice grew husky—and he didn’t like it. “It’s what your mother would’ve wanted, Abbie. She’d want me to watch over you here…” He lifted the gold cross she’d taken from her old jewelry box. “While she watches over you from above.”
Feeling her own tears sting, she put her arms around him, the first time she’d done that with tenderness in a long, long time. He’d always been such a tough nut, always been the big, brash and unflappable head of the family while her mother was the caring heart. But today he’d decided to be both, and it had cost him some of his dignity. She’d heard him cry when her mother passed away, but he’d done it privately in his room, and it had crushed her that they couldn’t cry together. But these tears for her were unprecedented and they touched her deeply.
“I know,” she murmured over the lump in her throat. “I know she’d want that.” Blinking, she eased back and squeezed his hands. “But she’d also want me to be with
the man I love.”
Surprise sagged his thick features. Then, sighing and shaking his head as if things couldn’t get any worse, he released her and walked to the window to peer out on the street. Abbie followed.
“You love him?”
They didn’t look at each other. Instead, they stared through the lace curtains at the bare maples lining the curb, and the early-morning activity across the road as people hurried with their youngsters into the library.
“Yes.”
“Does he love you?”
“I don’t know.”
Morgan turned to her, resistance back in his dark eyes. “What about Collin?”
“What about him? And before you tell me again that you’ve always hoped we could get back together—please don’t. I made a terrible mistake with Collin.”
“I always liked him.”
She moved away from the window. “Dad, you didn’t know him. You only knew who he was on our wedding day, and on those few occasions when we got together for holidays. Collin was—and is—smoke and mirrors. Jace is the real thing. He’s strong and solid. He understands what’s important in life.”
“You’re talking about children.”
Abbie stilled, then moved to the mantel to straighten a gold framed photo of Miriam and her father. “I’m talking about helping and caring for the people around us—sharing the bad and the good and making sense out of life. The way you and Mom did.” She faced him again. “The way you and Miriam will. Dad, I’m not going back to L.A. I haven’t talked it over with Stuart yet, but I’ll be offering my resignation.” She released a short, humorless laugh. “I’ll probably be disbarred when Long’s picked up, anyway. At least this way, leaving the firm will be my choice.”
Morgan took her elbow and searched her eyes. “You’ve only been home for two weeks, and with him for less than that. Two weeks, Abbie. That’s not long enough to make a life-altering decision. Don’t burn your bridges. What if he can’t love you? What then? The man’s life is his work. He spends more time at that lumber yard than any of his men, and always has.”
Abbie smiled faintly. “That’s a lot of information, Dad. The night of the Mardi Gras celebration you said you didn’t know a thing about him.”
“Yes, well,” he blustered, “people talk.”
Her smile warmed and her heart followed suit. “And they say nice things about him, don’t they?”
Morgan’s expression stiffened again, his brief flirtation with deeper emotions tucked away once more. “Considering who his mother was, I imagine some people respect what he’s done.”
“Do you?”
Throwing his hands in the air, he whirled on her. “What do you want from me, Abbie?”
She lifted her voice passionately. “I want you to admit that the only reason you won’t bend where he’s concerned is me—me, and that night in the gazebo. More than that, I want you to accept him if this works out. And don’t say you’ll do it without meaning it,” she warned. “I don’t ever want to be put in the position of choosing between Jace and someone or something else again.”
When he didn’t comment, she softened her voice. “He’s a good man, Dad, and if he doesn’t love me, at least I know he cares. You didn’t see him, but he followed me to the airport last night to make sure I got there safely, and he was waiting for me in town after I dropped you and Miriam off—when he had no idea how long I’d be, or if I’d even show.”
Abbie held his rigid gaze for several long moments, held her breath, hoping that her father would at least attempt to put his bitterness aside. Because if he wouldn’t, as painful as it would be, her choice was made.
Finally, he nodded grudgingly. “I’ll try. But I want something in return.”
Abbie released the breath she’d been holding. “All right. What is it?”
“I want you to move in here with us until this debacle is resolved.”
Chapter 15
Hiding his tension, Jace walked their easygoing forester to his truck. It was quitting time for the office personnel, but a rush order had come in for ninety-six hundred board feet of green cherry, so a few of the guys were working overtime tonight.
“You’re sure you won’t be using these?” he asked, accepting the tickets Pete handed him. “The varsity doesn’t make the state basketball semifinals every day.”
“I’m sure. A family thing came up, and Carmella and I won’t be able to make it. Take Abbie. She probably hasn’t been inside the old high school for years.”
“Probably not.”
Thanking Pete again, he said goodbye and watched him pull out of the lot. Then Jace climbed into his own vehicle, tooted to Ty, who was walking toward the mill, and followed Pete’s truck to the head end of the drive.
The manila folder Ida had handed him this morning nearly slid off the passenger’s seat when he made the left turn onto the road, and he snatched it back. Inside was the data and reservations roster for the Friends dinner, which made him wonder again—as he’d wondered when Ida’d handed it to him—where Abbie would be on Easter Sunday.
That’s when his stomach had begun to churn.
Regardless of their closeness last night, things had a way of changing when Morgan was involved. And despite her age and independence now, Abbie still loved and respected her father.
Sooner or later, depending on Long, she’d be heading back to L.A., and it was idiotic to imagine that she wouldn’t. Compared to big fees, sunshine and movie stars, what did Laurel Ridge have to offer? He blew out a sarcastic breath. Half a year of crummy weather, an elk herd and an undefeated high-school basketball team.
Jace squared his shoulders. If she wasn’t here for the dinner, so be it. As she’d said, nothing that had happened between them had put rings on their fingers, so he’d be fine with whatever turned up.
Yeah? a dry voice asked. If everything’s fine, why are you spending so much time rationalizing?
Easy answer. Because she’d spent the last nine hours with her father and he hadn’t heard from her all day.
A jolt of adrenaline hit Jace fifteen minutes later when he saw Morgan Winslow’s big fancy Lexus idling in the wide turnaround near his garage. Memories flashed— memories of being sent packing, memories of humiliation.
His muscles tensed. If Morgan was here to take another shot at his parentage and shaky social status— “Bring it on,” he muttered.
Flicking a button, he raised the garage door, swung by the Lexus and cruised inside the first bay. A moment later, he was walking to Morgan’s window. The window slid down.
“Morgan,” Jace said coolly but politely. The sun was gone, but the hot-pink sky behind the trees was mirrored on the Lexus’s gleaming black hood.
“Rogan,” he returned in the same aloof tone.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Not particularly.” Winslow’s gaze slid over Jace’s vest, jeans and boots. “But since you’re here, I should thank you for watching over my Abbie while I was gone.”
His Abbie? Jace felt his nerves roll into tight little balls. “She needed help. I was glad to do it. I hope that didn’t bother you.” Truthfully, Jace hoped it had burned a hole in his gut.
“Not at all. But I’ll take over now.”
The hairs on Jace’s scalp prickled, and suddenly he realized that the most obvious reason for Morgan sitting in his driveway—for Morgan waiting in his driveway— was Abbie.
Slowly, he turned toward the house.
“Yes, she’s inside packing,” Morgan said. “We talked, Abbie and I, and we decided that she’d feel safer staying with me and Miriam.”
Jace never heard another word. The uncertainties he’d been battling all day blew through him like a hot, searing clarifying wind. He strode to the house.
The instant he walked into her bedroom and met her eyes, he saw the uneasiness there. Except it was no longer her bedroom. Everything was back to the way it once was—no more creams and perfumes on the tiny dresser he’d built, no silky hunter green robe dra
ped over his computer chair. It was just an office now.
“Jace,” she said. “I just tried to call you, but there was no answer. I tried your cell phone, too.”
He reached for the case on his belt, then scowling, came up empty. He’d left the phone on his desk again. But that was neither here nor there. She was running again, planning to let him know with a phone call that she was leaving. Well, he wouldn’t let her see him bleed. He hadn’t allowed it the first time and it wouldn’t happen this time, either.
“No problem,” he returned indifferently. “I figured you’d be leaving after spending the day with your dad.”
She’d apparently been here for a while because the only things left were her laptop, a small bag of laundry and a suitcase. “Need some help getting your things to the car?”
“Jace, don’t do this,” she pleaded. “Dad’s feeling left out right now, and I’m just humoring him. He insists that with Miriam’s security system and the police just a few blocks away, I’ll be safer staying with him for a while.”
“He’s right. And as always, he’s offering the best deal.” He picked up the laundry bag and her suitcase. “Is this it?”
Her dark eyes flashed. “No, this is not it. If you’ll stop acting like a spoiled child, I’ll tell you—”
“No thanks. I like myself just the way I am.” He nodded at her laptop on his computer desk. “Can you grab that?”
“Dammit, Jace, what are you doing?”
His control splintered all to hell. “I’m giving you back to Daddy—just like I did fourteen years ago. Those years are like a blip in time for you, aren’t they? All he has to do is snap his fingers and you scurry back to keep him happy.”
She was so exhausted after just going over the whole thing with her father again, Abbie threw her hands in the air and agreed with everything he said. “That’s exactly right. Whatever my dad wants, he gets.”
Grabbing her laptop, she strode into the hall, then through the great room and entryway before she faced him at the front door. “And why do you care, anyway? You made it clear that you only offered your spare room because I had nowhere else to go. Well, I have a place now. You can finally get back to building your business and impressing the town with your accomplishments.”
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