Chapter Twenty-Three
The following weekend…
This felt like some sort of test.
Brad had been distracted ever since Abby had told him she was planning to visit him.
And though he tried to act normal, his assistant noticed something was off when he’d sent her an email meant for Reed.
Then his best friend noticed when he sent him an email meant for their website administrator.
There were other instances of his distraction that had people questioning him for the past week.
He wanted to pretend he wasn’t anxious to see Abby, but he wasn’t that good of a liar. If he were truthful, he was crazy about her.
And the acknowledgment worried him. Was it possible to take this small town woman and have her fall in love with his city life? The question weighed heavy on his mind.
Because if this relationship continued to progress, he wasn’t moving to Bayberry. No way. He’d sworn he’d never live in a small town again.
He pushed the troubling thoughts to the back of his mind. Abby was arriving shortly. He’d wanted to pick her up at the airport, but she insisted she could get to her hotel on her own. She wanted to clean up before she saw him.
So, after getting very little sleep, he was up at 5:00 a.m., pacing in his condo. He kept glancing at the clock. They were supposed to meet up at eleven o’clock. It felt like a lifetime away.
After practically wearing a hole in the carpeting, he went to the office. He figured he could get in a little work because there was always something that needed his attention.
But after he got to the office, he found he couldn’t concentrate on business either. So, he returned a few phone calls and drank a bunch of coffee and watched the clock.
At precisely ten thirty, he was out the door. He couldn’t remember ever being this nervous about a date. In fact, he was rarely nervous. He liked to pride himself on his ability to remain cool and detached in stressful situations.
And yet when Abby stepped off the elevator in a pair of dark jeans, fur-trimmed boots, and a white sweater, he swallowed hard. How was it possible she got more beautiful every time he saw her?
When she approached him, he didn’t know if he should shake her hand or hug her. So, he did neither.
“It’s good to see you.” He sent her a reassuring smile. “How was your flight?”
“It was quiet. I was able to read most of the way.”
He wasn’t sure how he should take the fact that she was able to relax and read while he’d nearly worn a hole in his carpet. Maybe she wasn’t as into him as he was in her. The thought slowed his thumping heart.
Less enthused, he was still intent on showing her a good time. After taking her to lunch, he had a surprise for her.
“Where are we going?” She seemed genuinely intrigued.
“You’ll see.”
“At least give me a hint,” she said as they sat in the back of the car he’d hired for the day.
He thought for a moment and then said, “We’re going to the Ribbon.”
“The Ribbon? What’s that?”
He smiled. “I think you’ll like it.”
“I like the name.” She stared out the window at the city passing by. Traffic was heavy so it was taking time to get across town.
He tried to think of something to talk about. When they messaged each other every day, he was always able to think of little things to say. But now that she was there in person, he felt tongue-tied. It was strange how that worked.
At last, the car pulled to a stop at their destination. The driver opened Abby’s door before Brad was able to make it around the car. Then, taking a little liberty, he took her hand in his as they walked.
When Abby spotted the blue sign, she came to a stop. “We’re going ice skating?”
He smiled and nodded. “There isn’t any place to go sledding in the city, but I thought you might enjoy this.”
“Why is it called the Ribbon?”
“Because it’s not your normal skating rink. It’s a winding path that goes in a circular pattern. And this is the last week of the season that they’re open.”
Her gaze returned to the sign. “It says we need reservations.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this taken care of. Come on.” He gave her hand a gentle tug.
In no time at all, they had on skates and were making their way along the frozen, winding path. It was a sunny but cold afternoon. Even though it was Friday, there were still a number of people enjoying the day.
He glanced over at her. “You’re not too bad on skates.”
She shrugged. “I can do the basics, but don’t ask me to do anything fancy.”
He turned and began skating backward. “Like this?”
She smiled, a real smile that made her eyes twinkle. It was the first time she’d done that since she’d arrived. And it did him good. Maybe she had been as nervous as he was. Maybe after all, she really was happy to see him.
“How can you do that?” she asked. “I mean, when did you learn to skate?”
“I played hockey as a kid. When I was out on the ice, I didn’t have to deal with the disapproving looks or the whispered rumors. I was pretty good, if I do say so. The kids on the team ignored the rumors because they knew I could help them win.”
Concern shone in her eyes. “Who started rumors about you?”
“The small town I grew up in.” He hadn’t planned to tell her any of this, but it was necessary if he wanted her to understand why living in a small town was out of the question for him.
Not wanting to see the sympathy, or worse yet, the pity, in her eyes, he turned around. As they skated side-by-side, he said, “After my father died, my mother had a hard time making ends meet. We ended up moving to the”—he made air quotes—“wrong side of the town.”
He should stop there, but the bottled-up words came tumbling out one after the other.
“We were judged harshly. Those old biddies always made my mother feel bad because my clothes were second hand. As I got older, I would run around with an older crowd. My mother wasn’t home much as she worked two, and sometimes three, jobs to keep a roof over our heads. ”
Abby reached out and took his hand in hers. Her fingers laced with his. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head, not wanting her to feel sorry for him.
“My mother still lives in that town. I tried to get her to move, but she refused. She said her friends live there. So, I bought her a little house in the right part of town. It’s near her friends.
I visit her at least once a month. And we talk all of the time.
I’d move her to the city if she’d let me, but she stanchly refuses.
She says she was born and raised in the small town, and that’s where she plans to remain. ”
When he chanced a glance at Abby, he noticed she was smiling.
“I think your mother and I would make good friends.”
“You’ll get a chance to meet her. She’s coming to the wedding shower as well as the wedding.” When he saw the surprised look on Abby’s face, he said, “She’s very close with Reed. He calls her his second mother.”
“It’s great that you’re so close to your mother. And you’re able to take care of her.”
“I figure I owe her for my teenage years when I was getting into trouble at every turn. Nothing major but enough to live up to the bad reputation the town gossips had hung around my neck.”
She squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry you went through that. I can’t even imagine.”
He arched a brow. “Are you trying to tell me that the people in Bayberry are different than that?”
She nodded. “They are more likely to help someone than to give them a hard time.”
Her words held a note of truth, but still he had to think Bayberry was more like his hometown than she was willing to admit. No place could be that nice to live. And yet he had no examples that said otherwise. Even Reed expounded on the virtues of Bayberry.
“Maybe you just see what you want to see,” he said.
She glanced over at him. Her gaze searched his. “Your hometown really left a bad impression on you.”
He shrugged as he glanced away. “Life is easier in the city. No one knows me that I don’t want to know. I can walk down the street without anyone recognizing me or talking about me.”
“But when you need help, who do you call?”
He shrugged once more. “I take care of myself.”
“And when you want to celebrate, who do you invite to hang out with you?” Her questions seemed innocent on the surface, but underneath they were pointed and poking him in all of the wrong places.
He swallowed. “I’d invite the people I work with.”
“I noticed that you didn’t call them your friends.”
He really wanted to stop this conversation. He could feel her expectant gaze on him. “Reed is my best friend.”
“And the others you work with? Are they good friends?”
He never let them get that close to him. He’d learned as a kid that it was safer to keep people at arm’s length. Reed becoming his best friend hadn’t happened overnight. In fact, they didn’t like each other when they first found out they were going to be roommates their freshman year of college.
“What are you smiling about?” Her voice interrupted his memories.
“I was thinking about when I first got to know Reed. We were assigned to be roommates. He was all clean-cut with a pressed white collared shirt, Dockers and loafers. And I was there in holey jeans, a ratty old T-shirt, and flip-flops.”
She smiled. “So, you were opposites from the beginning?”
“Pretty much. He’s a total rule-follower. I don’t think life is black and white. I think it is shades of gray.”
“So, you like to color outside of the lines?”
“When circumstances require it.” He didn’t know what she would make of that, but when she didn’t say anything, he continued. “After the first day in the dorm room, I went to student services and requested to be reassigned. They turned me down. There were no rooms left.”
“So, what changed your mind about Reed?”
He sighed. “Well, there was a robbery in the dorm. Security eyed me up because of my messy hair and wardrobe choices. Reed actually came to my defense and gave me an alibi. I never expected that. Slowly, we began to see each other differently. And slowly, the chip on my shoulder lessened.”
She smiled. “And now you two are friends for life.”
“Pretty much. Though having him move to Bayberry is putting a crimp in things.”
“You should move to Bayberry too.” She must have seen the look on his face, because in the next breath, she said, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
An awkward silence grew between them. This was not the way he wanted her visit to go. He had to say or do something to fix things.
“How about we go get something hot to drink?” When she nodded, he said, “We could go to a little place I found a while back. I think you might like it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
He smiled but inside he was worried. Falling for the small-town girl wasn’t something he’d planned.
And now that he found himself hanging on her every word, he knew he should put on the brakes.
After all, she was steadfast that she wasn’t leaving Bayberry.
And he was just as determined not to move to a small town.
But it felt as though the brake lines had been cut, and his heart was out of control.
So, where did that leave them?