Chapter 1 #2
“That smells delicious,” Adrienne said. “Seriously delicious.”
Abby smiled, knowing today would be a good day, because it had to be. There was no other option when it came to tea.
“Here’s the chai, just for you. I put it in a to-go cup, but if you want it out of a mug later, just let me know. I don’t know how you and your elbows are doing today.”
Adrienne rolled her eyes. “That was Ryan’s fault, not mine. He startled me, and my elbow broke that mug. I paid for it. I went right up to Denver to ask Jake for another one. I am still so sorry about that.”
Abby just smiled and shook her head, handing over the tea. “I know it wasn’t your fault. I was just teasing. Though I do have to watch out for all of you over at the shop. You are a wild bunch.”
Adrienne threw her head back and laughed. “That we are. Although, I do have to say, Ryan might be the wildest of us all.” Adrienne winked.
Abby frowned at that but didn’t say anything. Was Adrienne trying to match up two of her single friends? She wasn’t sure if she was ready for anything like that. Or if she could think about Ryan like that at all.
He was handsome, that was for sure. And he always had a soft smile for Abby and was really great with Julia whenever they ran into each other.
But that wasn’t often since Julia was usually with the sitter when Abby was working.
Or maybe Abby was just reading into what Adrienne had said because she’d had a little too much caffeine that morning.
It was time to switch to herbal tea for the rest of the day if this was how she was going to start thinking.
“You better hurry if you’re going to make your appointment. I’ll be over later with any tea you need. Just call if you want something different than the peppermint. Or if Mace or any of the others need anything.”
Adrienne leaned over and hugged Abby hard before taking her chai. “That I can do. It’s just me, Mace, and Ryan over there. It’s Shep’s day off to hang out with the kiddos.”
“I’m glad that you guys are able to work it out with all the kids. Daisy is with Shep as well?”
“Yes. Since we’re able to make our schedules work, we don’t have to get an outside sitter as much.
” Adrienne paused. “You know, Julia’s always welcome to come over.
I know that you would trade off with us if you could.
You don’t have to pay for a sitter. We Montgomerys make it work, and you are an honorary Montgomery, after all.
” Abby didn’t shake her head or say no. She knew the others were just trying to help, but it was sometimes hard to willingly accept help when she wanted to stand on her own two feet.
Plus, Abby didn’t want to have to rely on anyone. Everything could change in an instant.
She shook off that thought and tried not to think about what it meant.
She knew she was thinking about Max and the fact that she hadn’t really spoken to his family since the funeral.
They hadn’t even met their granddaughter.
Hadn’t been involved in anything having to do with Julia’s life.
But that was okay. Abby would be okay. She had to be okay.
“I will talk to you later. And bring the tea.” Adrienne just rolled her eyes. Probably because Abby hadn’t commented about the daycare, but it didn’t matter.
The Montgomerys would just bring it up again, and Abby would cave—because she would.
Julia loved hanging out with Daisy and Livvy.
And since Julia and Livvy were close to the same age, it worked out well.
Soon, there would probably be more babies in the Montgomery world. They might not have room for Julia.
Abby shook that thought out of her head as Adrienne walked out of the store. And then she went back to work. There were more teas to make, more blends to perfect. And peppermint tea and chocolate to give to her friends later.
The day went on like normal. People came in for tea, and more than one for gift baskets and Christmas presents.
The holidays were quickly approaching. So fast that Abby was sure she was behind on her shopping.
She tried to get some things for the Montgomerys, but most everything was for Julia.
She didn’t want her daughter to assume there would always be gifts, something material.
But she also wanted to spoil her baby just enough.
Julia deserved to be spoiled.
When Abby went to bring over peppermint tea for both Mace and Adrienne, Ryan was out on a personal call. She hadn’t asked why, and she didn’t want to explore why her brain immediately went to her wanting to know more about the man.
She shouldn’t want to know more about him. He was a friend. Nothing more. And that meant she shouldn’t be thinking about how he looked in his jeans every day. Or how much she liked the beautiful ink on his arms.
Nope, she wouldn’t be thinking about any of that, thank you very much.
As the day wore on, the snow started to fall a little faster, a little harder. It had even begun to accumulate, which annoyed her since the forecast hadn’t predicted it. Then again, the meteorologists were rarely right these days.
Abby wasn’t really looking forward to driving in the snow, but she was a native Coloradan, and she was used to it. There was no use complaining about the precipitation in Colorado. That was like complaining that there were mountains or high altitude.
Weather like this was just something one got used to. The snow would probably melt the next day anyway. Even if the sun shone and it was frigid outside, the precipitation did its own thing here in Colorado.
As she made her way to the babysitter’s house to pick up Julia, Abby knew that she would eventually have to ask the Montgomerys for help.
She didn’t like how long it took to get to the sitter’s.
If Julia stayed with one of the Montgomerys, she would actually be closer to Abby throughout the day, and Abby would have an easier and shorter drive home.
It just made sense, and it would help out more people if she were there to add to the days when someone could watch all of the children.
She knew she just had to give up control and say yes.
But as the snow started to come down a little more earnestly, Abby was afraid she might have a bit of a hard time getting to her daughter tonight.
And when she finally got there, it might be even more difficult to get them home.
Her windshield wipers flew back and forth, the speed increasing, but so did the quickness of the snowfall.
She cursed herself once again for saying no to the Montgomerys.
When she finally arrived, Julia was hyper but not too much since Abby knew the babysitter didn’t give her extra sugar. This was just Julia’s happy, bubbly way. Her daughter was an amazing baby girl—though she wasn’t really a baby anymore, was she?
Julia was perfect in every way. No, Abby wouldn’t tell her that she was perfect over and over again because that would probably lead to issues down the road. But in Abby’s mind, her daughter was perfect.
She had gone through so much in her short life, even before she was born.
She was a survivor. Just like Abby.
Her daughter spread joy to everyone, even if she was a little shy at times.
But she was so graceful, so grateful. She shared her toys with others, and always had a smile for those who might not want to.
If another kid was crying or just needed a hug, Julia was right there.
Sometimes even faster than the adults in the room.
In the car, Julia babbled on about her day, using strings of words that wouldn’t really make any sense to anyone but Abby. Because that was the role of the mother, to always understand what her baby girl was saying, even if it didn’t make a lick of sense.
Darkness started to fall across Colorado. The fact that it was December meant that there weren’t many hours of sunlight these days. The snow fell harder, the wind getting a little bit brisker. Abby just wanted to get home. She just wanted to be home.
She was just turning onto the next street in her route, knowing she was close to home but not close enough, when her tires slid on the ice that she hadn’t seen.
She tried not to panic, tried to remember what she was supposed to do in this situation. She didn’t twist her wheel hard, but she did try to turn into the skid. It was no use.
She was sliding into the other lane of traffic, and though there were no cars right now, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be some soon. Julia didn’t make a sound, Abby wasn’t even sure she knew that something bad was happening.
Inside her head, Abby was screaming, her hands tight on the wheel—so tight, she was afraid she’d lose circulation.
But she couldn’t focus on any of that. She just had to concentrate on making sure they survived the skid. She had to make sure that whatever they hit, they didn’t hit too hard.
The sound of her tires sliding across the ice seemed loud in the vacuum of her panic.
It shouldn’t have sounded loud. But the rubber did squeal, and Julia let out a sound in response that made Abby want to turn.
But she couldn’t. She had to keep her eyes on the road.
The decision to do that, to not look at her baby girl when her daughter might need her, broke her.
But she had to focus on what was in front of her.
The car hit the snowbank on the other side of the street with a dull thud, not even jostling the vehicle as it did, and Abby just sat there for a moment, her heartbeat so loud in her ears she couldn’t hear anything else.
Everything had moved so slowly—and still did, as if she hadn’t just been in a minor accident.
No other cars were coming, and there was no one else on the road. She always took this route because there was less traffic and fewer idiots out and about.
But it was cold, and there was nobody around to help. Her car was still running, but she was halfway in a ditch and slammed into a snowbank. Her body didn’t hurt, but her head did. Only because of the headache, not anything else.
But Julia.
Oh my God. Julia.
Abby undid her seatbelt, trying to ignore the fact that she just might pass out from the stress, and tuning out the cheery Christmas music filling her car. This seemed like the worst time for Christmas music, but then again, she didn’t know when a good time for it would be anymore.
When she finally got turned around, Julia just smiled and held out her hands for a hug. Abby practically crawled over the seat back to check on her baby girl. They hadn’t hit hard, neither of them getting jarred too badly. The car hadn’t even been going fast enough for the airbags to go off.
Abby knew that she needed to figure out how to get out of the ditch. Maybe she should call Carter. Or the cops. Then, she remembered that Roxie’s husband Carter had just been in an accident and wasn’t working at his shop. He wouldn’t be operating the tow truck.
Right then, all Abby wanted to do was cry because she had no idea what to do.
But because she knew her baby was fine, that both of them were fine, she got Julia out of her car seat and held her close.
She had to keep reminding herself that they were okay. She wasn’t even shaking, even though she probably should have been. Shock would likely do that to her later, but right now, she needed to hold her baby girl.
Headlights suddenly filled the car, and Abby closed her eyes and held Julia close, trying to protect her as best she could.
If a car hit them right then, Abby knew that they were done for.
But as the light continued to fill her car, the oncoming vehicle slowed.
The sound of a door opening and closing filled Abby’s ears, followed by the sounds of a person walking, their shoes crunching on the snow.
Someone tapped on the window and called out her name.
Her name.
They knew her.
But because she and Julia had fogged up the windows, Abby couldn’t see who it was. She scooted over in the backseat and opened the car door.
“Ryan,” she breathed. “Ryan.”
She had never been happier to see his bearded face.
Ryan frowned down at her, looked at Julia in her arms, and let out a soft curse. “Are you okay, Abby? What the hell happened?”
She just looked at him, and then promptly burst into tears.