Insley #3
After dropping her bags in the guest room and washing up, Kate found Abby in the kitchen, chopping alongside Haley.
“You cook now?” she asked.
“When I can,” Abby said.
“She’s being modest,” Haley said as she poured Kate a glass of wine. Kate froze, glancing from the glass back to Abby.
“It’s fine. Really,” Abby muttered to her with a smile as Haley prattled on.
“When she stayed with us, I was in heaven. Cooked every night. I dream of that carbonara.” Haley threw her head back. “Oh my God, and the eggplant dish. What was that?”
“Melanzane alla parmigiana,” Abby said in perfect Italian.
Kate had to keep herself from staring too long, and while seconds ago she wasn’t sure if she should drink in front of her, she gulped wine to subdue the jitters.
“I had to kick her out after that one.” Mick entered with the pack of dogs behind her. “No one is allowed to make my wife moan except me.” She wrapped her arms around Haley and kissed her neck.
“You’ve come a long way from ramen and hot sauce,” Kate said with a smirk.
Abby grinned back. “Oh, there’s still plenty of that when you’re living out of hotels.”
“Well, uh, do you need any help?” Kate asked.
Abby shook her head as she wiped her hands on a towel. “No, I think me and Hales got it.”
And while Abby likely meant no offense, and while Kate definitely shouldn’t have cared, her shoulders drooped.
She didn’t think Abby withholding or distant, but there was indeed something unfamiliar now.
A steadiness in her presence. In her cooking, in her way of moving and speaking, in her smile, and, of course, those eyes.
Eyes that never veered from Kate’s as they ate dinner across from each other, the twinkling outdoor lights mirroring the stars above.
They blushed when their feet touched and then darted away.
And despite how long they’d known each other, Kate felt the intrigue of eating dinner with a stranger.
“Okay, so here’s the thing,” Mick said after dishes and dessert. “We only have one guest room.”
Kate rolled her eyes and Abby shook her head.
“Don’t do this to them.” Haley smacked Mick’s butt. “The couch pulls out—”
“I can take that,” Kate said.
“No. I already snagged a hotel,” Abby said.
Mick sighed. “You’re no fun.”
“And you’re delusional. You really think the one-bed thing is going to work? What are you, twelve?”
Abby grabbed Mick into a headlock, and for all her new poise, this was what Kate remembered and missed.
Her sarcasm, her edges and laughter. She chuckled as Haley scolded them for roughhousing and riling up the dogs.
Enough to distract Kate from the twinge that came with Abby deciding to leave for the night rather than stay.
The same twinge that had her walking Abby to the door after she said good night to the others.
“So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kate said.
Abby nodded as she stood on the porch step, everything pitch-black behind her except for a splatter of stars. No buildings or headlights. Just a choir of owls and crickets. Just them, alone in the woods they’d once peered up at from the field.
“This was nice,” Abby said.
“Yeah.” Kate’s mouth betrayed her, lips pursing with a smile she wanted to suppress.
Abby grinned. “What?”
“Nothing. You’re just—” Kate paused and squinted at her. “You’re just really mellow now.”
Abby groaned. “Oh, you mean boring.”
“No!” Kate chuckled, then shook her head. She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. “No, it’s nice. Calming. You were like this before sometimes. In college.”
Her cheeks twitched with a half smile. “When we were together?”
Kate nodded, slow, remembering that same Abby from not so long ago.
“You’re different too,” Abby said.
“How?”
“Well, you’re way…bigger.”
Kate’s mouth dropped. “Excuse me?”
“No. I mean, you take up more space,” Abby said as the single porch light put shadows across her dimples. “It’s nice. Like you were always supposed to.”
Kate’s heart filled her throat. The knee-jerk reaction to reach out tempted her, but she didn’t. Not yet. Not when they were still so new to each other. She reached out with what weighed on her chest instead, from the moment she’d seen the clarity in her eyes.
“I’m proud of you. Really proud,” Kate said. “And I think maybe I didn’t tell you that enough.”
“Maybe I didn’t give you a reason.” Abby frowned. “Especially the last time I saw you.”
“No, but you did. All those years playing, never afraid, no matter where it took you.”
“Even if it was just running away?”
“No. Don’t do that.” Kate shook her head, aching at how Abby shirked the kindness, especially with how deeply she meant it, how desperately she wanted her to know and feel it.
“You didn’t run. You played. You were the best, and I wish I could’ve seen it.
I mean, I finally let myself look you up.
Italy, Japan, Canada, Puerto Rico—who can say they went that far for it?
” Kate swallowed an overly sappy knot, eyes glistening with pride for all Abby had been before and all she was now.
“It was never just a game. It was always you. It’s like no matter how bad things got, you never lost your faith.
It’s really beautiful.” She finished with a whisper and a tear in her throat.
Abby’s smile wobbled as she tilted her head. “Thank you.” She leaned against the doorframe, opposite Kate, inches separating them, but neither of them reached. They just breathed for too many beats, until it didn’t make sense anymore. “I better get to the hotel.”
“You really don’t have to. I can take the couch.”
“No, I have some things to do in the morning.” Abby pulled back, and Kate pretended she didn’t care. “This is technically a scouting trip anyway.”
“Oh, right. Kayson Cannon?”
“Oh no. He’s old news. I’m looking at a four-foot, fifty-pound, right-handed first baseman.” Abby grinned. “Junie Farrelly. Never too early to scout new talent.”
“Smart.” Kate laughed. “At this rate, you’ll have fifteen years to convince the front office to draft a woman. That should be enough time.”
“Ah, not a chance. Oceans will rise, but hell still won’t have frozen over.” Abby winked. “Maybe enough time for you to take them to court though.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
When their chuckles ended, Abby didn’t move. She didn’t say good night. She lingered in the shadows, perhaps the first tell of the day that she too longed for more.
“Are we a memory yet?” Abby asked. “Long-lost teammates? Maybe even friends?”
Kate lost her breath at the lines from her letter. The one she never responded to but knew by heart. She shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she whispered.
“I didn’t think so.” Abby smirked as she backed away.
“I’ll see you at the game,” Kate said. “I’ll be the one at shortstop.”
“Oh, you think you’re playing shortstop? I won’t be giving it up that easily. I’m not a lovestruck college kid anymore.”
Kate raised an eyebrow and grinned. “You sure?”
Abby paused on the walkway. “Not right now,” she said with a smile. “Good night, Kate.”
“Good night.”
She waited until the door closed to breathe again.