Chapter Twenty-One
It was a dream...
Or was it?
Abby was wearing a beautiful black dress and being held in Brad’s arms as they danced. She couldn’t make out the music. In fact, she wasn’t quite sure there was any music, just the rhythm of their beating hearts.
She didn’t know where they were or who the people were that stepped back to watch them dance. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was the way Brad looked into her eyes. There was love in his eyes and unquestionable devotion. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world.
Buzz-buzz.
The intrusive sound tried to draw her from her perfect dream world. She didn’t want to wake up. She wanted to stay right there with...
Buzz-buzz.
Abby’s eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment to figure out where she was. And then it dawned on her that she’d slept on the couch. There was bright sunshine streaming in through the living room windows.
When she sat up, the blanket fell to her lap. Slowly it came back to her. She’d been watching the movie with Brad, and she’d fallen asleep. She inwardly groaned. What must he think of her falling asleep on his shoulder?
Buzz-buzz.
She reached over and grabbed her phone from the end table next to the couch. The caller ID said it was Sadie.
Abby yawned as she pressed the phone to her ear. She was still not quite fully awake. “Hello.”
“Oh no. Did I wake you? I didn’t mean to. It’s just that you’re always up at six a.m.”
“What time is it?”
“Five after eight.”
“Oh no.” She jumped to her feet, letting the blanket fall to the floor. “I’m late to open the coffeeshop. I have to—”
“Hey! Slow down. It’s Sunday. You can relax.”
With a relieved sigh, she dropped back down onto the couch. She really loved Sundays.
“So, how did the date go?” Sadie’s voice had a bit of a sing-song tone to it.
“It wasn’t a date.” She wasn’t ready to put labels on anything.
“It wasn’t?” Genuine surprise rang out in Sadie’s voice. “Are you sure?”
Well, there was dinner and dancing. There was also entertaining conversation and then a movie afterward. She supposed that all fit the definition of a date.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “It was a date.”
“You sound like you had an awful time. Was he really that bad?”
“What? No.” She had no idea that was the way her answer came across. “He was wonderful. The whole evening was amazing.”
“Then why did you sound unhappy when I asked if it was a date?”
She paused to give the answer some thought. “I guess it’s all so new, and I don’t know if it’s going anywhere, so I’m hesitant to put labels on anything.”
“I understand.” She rushed on. “But you have to admit that it was romantic the way he flew in for your birthday.”
There was a question that had been eating at her. “Is the party the only reason he’s in town?”
“Yes. He flew in to wish you a happy birthday.” Sadie let out a dreamy sigh. “Isn’t that just the most romantic?”
It truly was. This knowledge knocked down some of the barriers around her heart. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to find herself falling head over heels for Brad. But then what?
The fact that she didn’t have an answer to that question had her continuing to hold herself back from him—but not completely.
Her thoughts rewound to their kiss the prior evening. There had been something between them. It was more than a spark. It was closer to a flame.
But she didn’t want to get burned. Experience had already shown her that a long-distance relationship was bound to break her heart.
“Abby, stop it.” Sadie’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Stop what?”
“Coming up with all of the reasons this thing with Brad won’t work.”
She hated that she was so predictable. “Why do you think I’m doing that?”
“Because it’s what you’ve done every time a guy asks you out since you broke up with Dave. But you have to remember that Brad isn’t Dave. They are night and day different.”
“I know that,” she grumbled.
“Then act like it.”
“I am. I had dinner with him. In fact, I spent the rest of the evening with him.”
“Okay. I get the point. So, what do you have planned for today?”
Coffee and then a shower. In that order. But she knew it wasn’t what her friend was referring to.
“I don’t have any plans with Brad.”
“Make some plans quickly. He’s leaving today. But his flight isn’t until this evening. Gotta go. Bye.”
And then the phone went dead. Abby sat there, wondering if Sadie was right. Was it her turn to ask Brad to do something? It’d been a while since she’d asked someone out.
But this didn’t have to be a date. It could just be a couple of friends doing something fun together. But what?
He woke up with a smile on his face.
It was a good day. A very good day. Brad stretched out on the couch, not anxious to move just yet.
“And what has you smiling?”
He turned to see Reed headed to the coffeemaker. “Why not smile? It’s a beautiful morning.”
Reed opened the blinds. “It’s cloudy, and it’s snowing. That’s beautiful?”
“It’s all about your frame of mind.”
“Uh-huh.” Reed sent him a look of disbelief. “And would this sunny frame of mind have anything to do with you getting in late last night?”
Brad stood and straightened his sweats, then he folded the blanket and laid it on top of the pillow.
He chose to ignore Reed’s question. “Thanks for the couch. Did you know that it’s lumpy?”
Reed nodded as he put water in the reservoir of the coffeemaker. “But beggars can’t be choosers.”
He had a point there. “So, what are you up to today?”
Before Reed could answer that question, Brad’s phone went off. He checked the caller ID and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
He pressed the phone to his ear. “Good morning, birthday girl.”
“Good morning to you too. Sounds like you’re in a good mood today.”
“Reed just accused me of that too. I told him it’s a beautiful day. What are you up to?”
“You really are in a good mood. Anyway I was wondering if you wanted to go have some fun.”
“Uh... You do know that I have a flight today, right?”
“I do. Sadie told me it’s not until this evening. We still have some time to do something.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Well, when was the last time you went sled riding?”
He let out a laugh. “It’s been a long time.” His gaze went to the window, where the snow was falling at a steady pace. “I don’t know if I have any clothes for sled riding.”
“I do. And you can borrow what you need.” Reed didn’t even pretend to be embarrassed about eavesdropping.
“I heard that,” Abby said. “Meet me at my place at, uh... eleven fifteen. I should be home by then.”
“Home from where?” The question passed his lips before he realized it was absolutely none of his business. But he couldn’t help but be curious.
“I’m going to church with my mother.” There was a slight pause. “You can come with us, if you want.”
“Church?” His instinct was to reject the offer. He hadn’t gone to church since he was young. But when he opened his mouth, he said, “Okay.”
That wasn’t what he meant to say, but now that he’d uttered it, he couldn’t take it back. After she told him where to meet her, he hung up. When he turned around, Reed was grinning at him.
“Don’t.” Brad knew his friend was about to give him a lot of grief.
“Don’t what? Notice that you have it so bad for Abby that you’re going to church with her?”
“She invited me. What was I supposed to say?”
“You know, we could always have a double wedding this spring.”
“No.” He waved off Reed’s words. “Just stop.”
Reed walked away, chuckling to himself.
A frown pulled at the corners of Brad’s mouth. However, his friend had a point: he was falling hard for Abby. Real hard.
She couldn’t stop smiling.
Even though it was below freezing, Abby lifted her face to the sun. It was a beautiful day.
After going to church, they’d both changed into snow pants. Lucky for Brad, he was the same size as Reed. With boots, gloves, and hats, they each carried an inner tube as they trudged up Barkley’s Hill.
Abby had been going there to sled ride since she was a little girl. She’d always thought she’d take her own kids there one day, but so far a family wasn’t on the horizon for her.
She glanced over at Brad and tried to imagine him with a couple kids. She could envision him as a doting father with lots of patience and propensity for fun.
Just then he turned to look at her. It was like he could tell what she was thinking. Heat pulsed up her neck and set her cheeks aflame. She glanced away. She knew she was being silly. There was absolutely no way he knew what she was thinking.
He came to a stop at the top of the hill. “There’s quite a view of the town from up here.”
She moved to stand next to him. “I always thought Bayberry looked picture-perfect from here. It’s the perfect place to raise a family.”
As soon as the words slipped past her lips, she regretted them. It was meant to be a casual observation, but she worried Brad would read too much into it.
Not wanting him to dwell on her words, she said, “I’ll race you to the bottom.”
He looked at her and smiled. “And what do I win when I beat you?”
She pressed a hand to her chest as she raised her brows. “You beat me?”
His smile broadened. “Sure. Wait. You don’t think this is my first time tubing, do you?”
She shrugged. “You’re from the Midwest. I’m not sure there are that many hills to go tubing.”
“There are a few.” He positioned his inner tube and sat down. “Now about that wager...”
“What shall the bet be?” She had nothing in mind.
“Whoever loses pays for a late lunch?”
It sounded reasonable to her. After trudging up the hill a few times, they would certainly work up an appetite.
“You’re on.” She settled into the inner tube. Once he was seated, she said, “Ready... Set. Go!”
She got started before him. She couldn’t help but smile as the years rewound, and she felt like a kid again. She was jostled and bounced around like a rag doll.
At the bottom, she looked over at Brad, who looked to be even with her.
“It’s a tie,” she exclaimed. “We have to go again.”
“Again?” He glanced over his shoulder at the big hill.
While he was staring at the hill, Abby scooped up some snow, balled it up, and then sent it flying. It hit Brad squarely in the back.
“Hey.” He turned to her. “What was that for?”
She laughed as she shrugged. “Because I felt like it.”
“You felt like it, huh?” Brad bent over to grab a handful of snow.
She continued to laugh as she grabbed an inner tube as a shield. The only problem was Brad was a good shot. A snowball sailed right through the center of the tube and smacked her in the chest.
She gathered a handful of the freshly fallen snow and pressed it into a firm ball. She sent it flying through the air. It missed.
They continued their snowball war for a bit longer, until she was tired from laughing so much. “Uncle!”
“What?” Brad cupped his ear. “I didn’t hear you.”
She knew for certain that he’d heard her, and now he was just rubbing it in. “Uncle!”
She sat down on her inner tube. This weekend had been so full of surprises, from the birthday party to the candlelit dinner to learning that in his heart, Brad was a small town boy after all. Who’d have thought that?
He sat down on the snow next to her. “Are you finished already?”
“No. We tied. We have to race again.”
“Then what are you sitting around for? We have a hill to climb.” He got to his feet and then held his gloved hand out to her.
She placed her hand in his, and he pulled her upward. Perhaps he put a little too much effort into the pull because the next thing she knew, she was in his arms. Her hands came to rest on his chest.
She raised her chin to look into his mesmerizing blue eyes. In that moment, they were a shade darker—more intense. It was like he was looking deep into her soul.
She should glance away—turn away. But it was as though she were in a trance, and her body wouldn’t move.
All the while, her heart was pounding. It was so loud she couldn’t hear the shouts and laughter of the other people who were sledding nearby.
Her gaze moved to his lips. They were close and oh so tempting. What would he do if she were to lift up on her tiptoes and kiss him?
Without taking the time to weigh the pros and cons of her actions, she put her thought into action.
She rose up on her tiptoes. Her gloved hands slipped up over his coat and around the back of his neck.
And then her lips pressed to his. There was the hiss of breath from him.
The next thing she knew, he was kissing her back.
She didn’t know how long they stood there in each other’s arms. It definitely wasn’t long enough.
Smack! Pieces of snow rained down on her.
Brad jumped back and turned to find some teenage boys nearby.
They were laughing as they made more snowballs.
Before she knew it, a new snowball war had commenced.
Brad grinned as he launched another snowball.
And she found herself laughing as another snowball hit her.
She never wanted this day to end…