by Rimmy London
Abby glanced up. Before she’d seen the video, she would have wanted to dig into this conversation and let him know she was completely capable on her own. But all her confidence felt shattered, and she just wanted him to stay. “No, it’s okay, Chase.” She hadn’t meant to say his name so sincerely, and his eyes lifted to meet hers as if it had surprised him as well. The seconds that passed felt genuine and personal.
“Let me know if you need anything,” Chase finally said, breaking the silence as he scooted out the small door.
Abby felt completely out of touch with her own emotions as well as his. It was strange to have no idea what his expressions meant and to hold back when she had something to say. It was like their relationship remained strung together by a single thread. Too weak to last through anything major, and yet neither of them wanted to break it.
Chapter 16
The night had been more sleepless than any Abby could recall. She’d even let Champ snuggle up at the bottom of her bed, a habit she’d spent weeks training him out of. But there seemed to be more crackling branches and whistling wind than any night before. Even the sound of the ocean was suddenly hostile and intimidating. It was a relief when the curtains were illuminated with the first of the morning light.
“C’mon Champ,” Abby said, rubbing the groggy puppy’s head. He seemed confused to be up so early, but it only lasted half a second. The next moment he was on the floor, padding around excitedly with his tail whipping everything around him with a strong thwap, thwap.
She loved their usual morning walk, although it had never been quite this early. The forest still looked dark and mysterious. Champ bounded out the door, and Abby reached for his leash but stopped when she saw Champ had frozen with his legs stiff, and the hair on his back bristling. With her heart racing, she spun around and scanned the area. Along the porch, she could just make out a lump of fur.
Suddenly, twigs snapped behind the trees, and bushes rustled as if something were forcing its way through. Abby gasped and called for Champ as she dashed back up the steps. The puppy raced inside and she closed the door, twisting the feeble lock and staring with wide eyes at the door. The bushes were still rustling, and Abby fumbled with her phone, breathing hard. She hoped the construction crew would pull up soon, but until then, there was only one phone number she could think of.
“Bee?” His voice was groggy and filled with sleep. She hadn’t heard him call her Bee in a long time. All her fear came out in a rush.
“There’s another animal on the porch!” she paused and gasped in a few breaths.
“What?”
“I saw it, and I can hear something in the forest. I thought Champ had scared away whatever was bringing the animals, but then we saw that video, and it’s not an animal—” Her words cut off when something bumped the trailer. Her fear lodged in her throat. “Chase, there’s someone here,” she squeaked, forcing the words out.
“Hang up and call the police,” he urged, “I’m on my way.”
Champ, who’d been curled up at her feet, suddenly stood and faced the door. A low growl rumbled in his throat. She pushed the emergency button on her phone with shaking hands and clung to the device while it rang.
“Hello, rescue 911, what’s your emergency?”
The door to the trailer rattled like someone was trying to open it, and Abby’s voice lodged in her throat.
“Can you state your emergency, please?”
Champ growled and barked, still frozen in place. The rattling stopped. “Abbs?” The sound of Vance’s voice had her releasing all her breath at once.
“I’m sorry—everything’s okay,” she stuttered, “thank you.”
She set her hand on Champ’s back and he jerked, swinging his head around. “It’s okay, boy.”
“Vance?” she called, with fear still pulsing through her veins.
“Yeah—everything all right in there?”
Abby twisted the lock and pulled the door open, letting Vance step through.
His eyes surveyed the place as if it might be on fire. With one look at her face, he pulled her into a hug. “What’s going on?” he asked.
She was sure he could feel her whole body trembling. It nearly knocked her off her feet, and she clung to him, struggling to catch her breath. Relief covered her like a blanket, but it also made her so weak she could hardly answer.
“Someone—was here,” she breathed, resting her head on his chest and trying to shake the nerves.
“I came out early,” he answered, with his hand resting on her head. “And I’m glad I did. There wasn’t anyone else out there, but some kind of animal was scratching around your trailer. It was big, looked like a dang wolverine! Do you have wolverines out here?” He leaned away from her, and she let her arms drop, finally putting her fears into perspective.
It was just an animal?
“No, we don’t have wolverines,” she answered, beginning to feel foolish. “Did you see what was on the porch?”
Vance turned and glanced behind them, “Ah, so it happened again.” He turned back to her and lifted his hand to her face, brushing her hair aside. But his hand lingered there, tracing her jaw slowly. “I’ll get rid of it for you, don’t worry.”
His hand steadily moved to her neck, and she stepped away. But he moved in closer and slid his hand to her back, bringing them together. “Wait,” he whispered, lowering his head until his lips brushed hers.
She turned her head, still reeling with the aftertaste of so much adrenaline. “Don’t, Vance.” She breathed, bringing her hands to his chest. She pushed against him gently, waiting for him to step away. But he didn’t.
“Give me a chance, Abby,” he pleaded, bringing both his hands to her face and leaning over her again.
Strength burst open inside of her, and she shoved him away. “Stop!” she demanded, just as a car pulled up to the house with its tires skidding in the gravel.
Vance glanced behind them and turned back to her with anger on his face. “Fine, after everything I’ve done for you, just go ahead and brush me off.” He left the trailer, stomping down the steps.
Abby followed quickly with her cheeks burning, but she refused to let him accuse her. “What does that mean?” she asked, grabbing his arm.
He stopped and spun around. All the kindness had disappeared from his manners, turning his usually approachable features into something almost frightening. He jerked her hand away.
“I hired you to help me purchase this house,” she continued, “which I’ve done. I don’t owe you anything.”
He didn’t look like he was going to answer, but after a long moment of glaring back at her, he finally did. “So, all that time you spent flirting with me was just for this house? I get it now.”
Abby’s mouth dropped open. She snapped it shut and ground her teeth together. “I don’t want you coming back here, not even to help,” she warned, keeping her eyes steady as he glared at her.
A car door closed and footsteps pressed through the dirt.
“I won’t,” Vance snapped, swishing a hand up as if he were waving away an unpleasant smell. “Good luck with this dump.” He turned and strode past Chase, who eyed him suspiciously and twisted around to watch him start up his car and spin the tires in his haste to back out.
When his car shot down the road and turned out of sight, Chase finally turned back to Abby. His shirt was hanging at an awkward angle, and his hair was still ruffled on one side from sleep. “What happened?” he asked. His voice was groggy. He hesitated and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Was he the one sneaking around your trailer?”
“I—no, it was an animal, I guess.” Abby turned and looked back at her trailer. Champ was sniffing the ground close by, looking very captivated by something. “I didn’t see it, but I heard it.”
“And there’s another animal on your porch,” Chase said. He walked back to peer at the decapitated critter.
When Abby came closer, she could see it was a raccoon. A young one.
“Maybe the mother wasn’t happy about her baby being taken,” Chase suggested. “Racoons can be pretty vicious. They’ve even been known to attack humans when threatened.”
Abby shrugged, still reeling from the shock of earlier and the confusion of Vance. “I suppose,” she answered, feeling completely uninterested in the habits of raccoons.
If only Vance had never shown up that day, and Chase was the one to come to her trailer. She eyed him as he looked down at the porch. He must have rushed out in a hurry, judging by the sleep on his face. But the way he was acting now, it hardly seemed like he’d been worried. He kept glancing back at the road like he was expecting Vance to return.
Champ circled them and trotted off to the trees, where he liked to explore most of the day. Chase watched him silently until he was out of sight. “Do you worry about Champ?” he asked.
Abby shook her head. “Oh no, he’s okay. He likes to explore the forest. It’s fine, he knows the way.”
“I’m sure he does,” Chase answered, “but do you think it’s safe? I mean, he’s not much bigger than a lot of these animals you’ve found on your porch.”
Abby’s eyes widened, and she searched the trees until she saw his tail whipping back and forth behind a bush. “I hadn’t even thought of that,” she admitted, with chills covering her arms. Who would ever want to hurt a puppy?
“Champ!” she called.
His head lifted from the foliage and he charged back, racing the entire way until he was at their feet.
“I’ve got a fairly long rope. I guess I could tie him up.” Abby felt guilty already. “I know he won’t like it.”
Chase rubbed the puppy’s head and sighed. “Yeah, he probably won’t. But it’s not forever. Just until you get this figured out, right?” He smiled back at her, lifting his eyebrows and looking as optimistic as she’d ever seen.
“Right,” she answered, trying to give him a confident smile as well. But in the back of her mind, she was wondering what it would take to stop someone from delivering these animal carcasses to her door. Just what did they expect her to do about it?
It was halfway through the afternoon, and Abby had skipped lunch. She sipped on some cocoa the workers had brought in a plastic drum, just hot enough for the chilly, overcast day. She tipped the cup back and finished the last drop just as Mark, the project manager, joined her.
“I got some news for you, Ms. Tanner,” he began, lifting a hand up. “Now, it’s not bad, but it’s not great either.”
Abby nodded, ready for the worst.
“The plumbing needs to go. We can keep the older fixtures if you’d like, but we’ve gotta dig pretty deep to pull up some of the pipe. It’s rotting clean away.”
“Oh.” Abby sighed, glad it wasn’t something worse. They’d already spoken about the possible need for new plumbing, and it didn’t seem like a very big surprise.
“What I need you to do,” he continued, “Is to let the neighbors know. There’s gonna be some long, loud days ahead, and it’s best to try to smooth things over ahead of time. I’ve got a job description and some contact information printed up that you can give them, but usually just a considerate conversation is all it takes.”
“I’d be happy to.” Abby smiled, grateful for the task.
“Great.” Mark glanced at the house like he was itching to get back to work. “I left the papers in the cab of the truck.” He tapped the tailgate. “I thought you’d find them here fairly easily since you seem to enjoy a cup of cocoa.” He winked and reached for a tool from his belt as he walked away.
“Thanks, Mark,” Abby called, laughing at his observations. He was spot on. She refilled her cup and went to retrieve the papers.
Walking down the street was rejuvenating with the tall pine trees and their deep, beautiful colors. It made everything around them look alive with adventure.
The first house was the Allens, where she’d had lunch before. She knocked quietly and waited. They were retired, but she guessed they traveled a lot, so maybe they weren’t even going to be around for the “loud days” as Mark had called them.
After a couple of minutes, she rang the doorbell and leaned over to peer in through a long side window. It was immaculate, just like she’d remembered. But no one came to the door. She rolled the paper up and slid it through the handle.
The next house was empty as well, and after it was the one Abby had been wanting to visit, especially after hearing the Allens teasingly call them ramboisterous. She knocked. There was only silence inside, and no window to look through, but she waited while she imagined a person on crutches, slowly making their way to the door. But after even an invalid length of time, there was still nothing.
“Okay,” she mumbled, leaving the note rolled into their handle yet again. The next house, she already knew, was usually vacant. Apparently, the owners were only around occasionally. She rang the doorbell anyway and left the note rolled up.
When she reached the last house with the friendly old man she’d seen before, she could make out someone at the kitchen table. There was a scramble of noise on the sidewalk behind her, and she spun around to see Champ racing to meet her with his tongue lolling out.
She snatched at his collar just as the door opened. The puppy whined and squirmed, wanting to say hello to the woman who had just opened the door. She didn’t look much older than Abby.
“Hello.” Abby tried to control Champ for a moment. “I’m sorry, my dog got loose,” she explained, just as Chase ran up to join her, breathing harder than Champ had been.
“Sorry about that,” he huffed. “I let him off for a bit to run, and he ran.” He chuckled, and the woman at the door laughed with him.
“It’s no problem,” she said. “Was there something you needed?”
“Yes.” Abby waited for Chase to clip on the leash and finally let go of the excited puppy. “I’m your new neighbor down the street, at the Poppyridge house. We’re going to be pulling out some old plumbing, and I wanted to let you know ahead of time.”
The woman took the paper Abby held out and glanced down at it as she spoke. “Oh, thank you. But I don’t live here, my dad does. I came down to help because he was sick for a few days,” She glanced up and saw Abby’s concerned face. “But he’s doing much better now,” she assured.
“Someone at the door, hun?” A voice called from inside the house.
“Yeah, Dad, it’s your neighbor,” the woman answered.
“Oh!” The older man appeared, smiling back at them. “How nice to see you again.” He shook both their hands. “Don’t know if I introduced myself before. I’m Harold, hello.”
“Hi,” Abby said, “we’ve been working on repairs, and I wanted to give you guys a little warning.”
“Oh, nothing wrong I hope?” Harold asked. “We’ve been anxious to see the place finished. It’s about time someone took it on.” He paused with his eyes twinkling, “It’s a good thing you’re young—that project isn’t for the faint of heart.” He chuckled at his joke, just like he had the first time they’d met.
“You’re right about that.” Chase laughed. Abby smiled along with them, quickly distracted by Chase’s pleasant face and the way he genuinely enjoyed other people. He was a lot like Champ. The comparison made her grin… until she noticed no one was laughing anymore.
“Well,” she continued, handing out the paper. The young woman stepped aside so her father could take it. “It will be a bit noisy for the next few days, so we wanted to give you a little notice and let you know who to contact if you need anything.”
“Thank you, but I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Harold said, glancing down at the paper. “I appreciate the concern though. You’ll make very nice neighbors.”
He glanced between Abby and Chase, and for an awkward second, Abby wondered if she should correct him. But the moment passed, and Chase didn’t jump in either, so she let it go.
“Feel free to stop by anytime,” Harold added, with his eyes pulling down a bit, leaving him looking like a sad
puppy—like Champ when he was tied up.
Abby assured him they would, and they shook his hand again in parting, but as they turned to leave, the young woman scooted out the door with them. “I’m just heading to the market,” she explained. “I’ll walk with you—bye, Pop!”
She walked alongside Abby until the door had closed. “I just needed to tell you something before you go.” She glanced back at the house and lowered her voice. “I appreciate you guys coming out and taking the time to say hello to my dad. He’s had a really hard time since my mom passed away a couple of years ago, and it’s a two-hour drive for me to be here. I’ve been trying to get him to move in with me, but he loves it here. So, I just wanted to tell you thanks. He really could use a little attention from a neighbor.” Her eyes became misty. “You two are so sweet. I can just feel your goodness, and I wanted to share that with you. Please keep an eye on him for me. I have to be heading home tomorrow.”
Her comments made Abby’s eyes cloudy too, and she hugged her quickly. “We’ll be sure to check in on him often,” she promised. “But we never got your name.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” The girl laughed. “I’m so forgetful—runs in the family. I’m Jess.” She smiled at them and turned to her car. “Thanks again!” she called.
Chase lifted a hand and waved goodbye before his eyes dropped to Abby. She was sure he could see the emotion there, the way it was clouding her vision. And it wasn’t just because Jess had confided in them, it was more than that. The way both she and Harold had assumed they were building the house together, as a couple. It left her feeling devastated that they weren’t.
Chase kept glancing back at her face as they walked, but she didn’t feel in the mood to explain. “This is a beautiful place.” He was looking up the hill, where the house had just come into view, and the sun had chased away the cloud cover. It streamed down on the wet landscape with the ocean just peeking out on one side.
It was beautiful. Abby smiled and blinked away any additional moisture in her eyes. “It’s incredible,” she agreed. It was nice to hear him say something good about the place. She was pretty sure he still thought she was crazy for buying it. “I can’t explain it, but there’s something here that speaks to me, like it was always waiting here… just for me.”