Chapter Sixteen

“Do you have a table for me?” Abby paused at the hostess stand and surveyed the dining area.

Only a couple of tables were occupied. Because it was Tuesday and after one, most of the lunch crowd that visited Matilda’s had already been and gone.

“I always have a place for you.” Matilda straightened from behind the stand and smiled. “How did the volunteering go this morning?”

“It was fun. Eva Grace seemed to really enjoy having her mom helping out in her classroom.” Abby studied her friend in an informal “guess the decade” game they often played with each other.

Matilda’s foundation was a shade lighter than normal while her red lips were darker than usual. Her auburn hair was piled up with side-slicked bangs.

She wore a faux-fur skirt with a crimson belt and a stretchy gold top.

Abby pointed. “Nineteen nineties.”

Her friend grinned. “What gave it away?”

“What didn’t?” Abby laughed. “The hair, the makeup, and that fur skirt that makes me want to pet you scream the dot-com decade.”

She followed her friend to a table in the dining room. Though Matilda insisted the intimate space worked for her, Abby knew that if there had been room, she’d have expanded.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t a possibility. The hotel had been granted historic status, which meant Abby couldn’t simply tear down an exterior wall. Even if she could have gotten a building permit, there was no space between her hotel and the buildings on either side.

That’s why it didn’t surprise Abby when Matilda occasionally brought up moving back to Oregon and opening a restaurant there.

“You decided not to dress up today.” Matilda made the observation as she laid the menu on the table.

Abby glanced down at her green floral midi wrap dress with ankle boots topped by an oversize cardigan. “Since I was just volunteering at the school, I decided to stick to this decade for a change.”

“Well, you look quite lovely.”

The scrape on Abby’s cheek was nearly healed, and a little well-placed foundation this morning had covered it completely. Despite the stress of seeing Jonah’s parents last night, she’d slept well and had felt “awesome” when she’d hopped out of bed.

Her plans were to enjoy a quick lunch, then take over front desk duties until it was time to pick Eva Grace up from school.

“Why this is a nice surprise.”

Abby froze, recognizing the familiar voice. She turned to face the woman who’d walked up behind her. Abby had thought the previous night would be the only time she’d see Nancy Rollins during her visit to Hazel Green. Apparently, she was wrong.

“Nancy, I didn’t expect to see you today.” Cognizant of Matilda’s curious gaze on her, Abby quickly performed introductions.

“So you’re Jonah’s mother.” Matilda’s smile was warm and friendly.

Surprise flickered in Nancy’s eyes. “You know my son?”

“Everyone knows our handsome new chief of police.” Matilda patted Abby’s shoulders. “I’ll let you two catch up. Angeline will be right over to take your order.”

Abby had hoped to entice Matilda to join her, but by the time the words made it to her lips, her friend was halfway across the dining area.

“Would you . . .” Nancy hesitated. “Care to join me?”

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your lunch.”

“Actually, I just ordered, then went to the restroom to wash my hands.” Nancy gestured with one of those recently cleaned hands toward a table for two by the window.

A two top. A sense of relief flooded Abby. It didn’t appear Jonah was joining his mother for lunch.

Still, Abby hesitated. Making conversation the night before had been brutal. She really didn’t want to do it again so soon.

“Will you be changing tables?” Angeline, a mother of three who worked during the day while her children were in school, held a glass of ice water.

“Yes, thank you, Angeline.” Abby smiled. “I’ll be joining Mrs. Rollins.”

Abby recited her order before she’d even taken a seat. She didn’t want to extend this luncheon a second longer than necessary.

The woman returned a moment later with a tall glass of iced tea for Abby, then left them alone.

Abby took a long sip and, for a second, avoided meeting Nancy’s gaze. But when she set the cut-crystal tumbler down, she looked up.

It was hard to decipher the expression on the woman’s face, but the warmth and concern in her eyes had Abby’s heart slamming hard against her chest wall. Unexpected tears pushed against the backs of her lids.

Darn it. Darn it. Darn it.

This was someone she’d once thought of as a second mother. Which only made her betrayal that much more bitter.

“You have a beautiful daughter.” Nancy’s lips curved upward. “Funny, smart, and so precocious.”

“And to think, if you and your son had had your way, she wouldn’t be here.” Abby lifted the glass, intending to take another sip, but set it down when her hand trembled. She folded her hands in her lap.

Nancy’s gaze didn’t waver. “Is that what you think, Abigail?”

“It’s what I—”

Abby stopped when Angeline returned with the daily special she’d ordered, which apparently had been what Nancy had chosen, too.

The farmer’s market pasta salad with a thick slice of apple bread looked wonderful, though Abby’s appetite had vanished. “Thanks, Angeline.”

When the waitress was out of earshot, Abby carefully unfolded the linen napkin and placed it in her lap. She took a breath and let it out slowly, regaining her composure. “We both know that’s what you wanted me to do.”

“Eva Grace is my granddaughter.”

“You have no claim on her.”

“Eva Grace is my granddaughter,” Nancy repeated in a low tone, her gaze firmly fixed on Abby’s face. She stabbed a piece of pasta but didn’t lift it to her mouth. “The second I heard you were pregnant, I was ecstatic. We had to celebrate.”

Abby remembered vividly when Nancy had called her up and insisted on taking her shopping for maternity clothes. “We went shopping and had lunch at Charlie Parker’s Diner.”

The popular eatery, once featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, was a Springfield institution.

“You were hooked on their cherry shakes.”

Abby felt sick inside, the memory of everything she and this woman had shared forever tainted. “If you wanted her so much, why did you side with Veronica and Jonah when they wanted to kill her?”

Nancy flinched, but Abby didn’t regret the harsh words. This had been a life-or-death decision.

“I didn’t have a vote.” Nancy brought a bite of pasta to her lips in a semblance of eating. “Any decisions that needed to be made were between you and Jonah and Veronica.”

“What about afterward, when the decision was made and I was on my own?” Abby’s voice shook, and several tears slipped down her cheeks. She hurriedly brushed them back. “When I was growing up, you said more than once that you loved me like a daughter. Then, when I protect the life of your grandchild, you cut me off. You didn’t call to see if I needed anything. All of a sudden, I meant nothing to you.”

Tears filled Nancy’s eyes. “I couldn’t contact you.”

Abby waved a hand and fought to bring her emotions under control. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter—”

“Veronica said if any of us had anything to do with you, she would take you to court for breach of contract.”

Not sure what kind of game Nancy was playing, Abby considered the words carefully. “The contract was considered breached when I refused to have an abortion. Why would she take me to court?”

“To make your life a living hell.” Disgust sounded in Nancy’s voice. “Those were her exact words. She didn’t care if she had a legal leg to stand on or not.”

“I knew she was angry, but why would she want to hurt me in that way?” This was a puzzle where the pieces didn’t quite fit.

“It was a side of my daughter-in-law I had never seen before.” Nancy took another bite of salad and chewed automatically. Abby doubted she could even describe the taste. “Vindictive and filled with rage. I really think she went insane for a few months.”

Nancy’s blue eyes, not quite as vivid as her son’s and Eva Grace’s, filled with sorrow. “I truly believe she’d have followed through with the threat. I couldn’t add any more to your plate. But please know it cost me dearly to step out of your life.”

The soft, silly girl who had once loved this woman and her family wanted to believe her. The cynic who had weathered too many storms to count in the past five years found holes in the story.

“Veronica was off the hook, free to find another surrogate and move on with her life.” Abby broke off a piece of apple bread, idly crumbling it between her fingers.

It was hard for Abby to get past her hurt and anger of the last five years. Yet she’d known Nancy Rollins since she was a little girl. She knew the other woman well enough to know she was telling the truth.

At the next table, she watched a moth flutter near a candle, the speckled creature with the soft wings drawn to something that could destroy it.

It was that way for her with Jonah, Abby thought with sudden clarity. Though she’d tried to ignore it, the pull was still there.

“Veronica was filled with rage.” Nancy sighed. “She couldn’t move on. Not at first. Not for a long time.”

Abby lifted a brow at the same time she lifted her fork. “If she was so vindictive, why did she agree to send me money?”

For a moment, the older woman’s expression was blank. “Pardon me.”

“The money from her and Jonah. It came every month.”

Understanding filled Nancy’s eyes. “She didn’t know.”

The moth drew closer to the heat.

“Didn’t know what?”

“Jonah sent the money from a private account.” Nancy lifted her hands, let them drop. “That’s all I’ll say on that. If you want to know more, you’ll need to speak with my son.”

Abby watched the moth, so drawn to the flame that it forgot to protect itself. Then it was too late.

“You understand, don’t you?”

Abby thought of the moth and nodded. She understood perfectly the need to keep a distance between her and Jonah.

While she needed to assess his interactions with Eva Grace, she must take care not to get drawn in by his charm.

She’d been burned by him once.

She couldn’t let him destroy her and the life she’d worked so hard to build.

+

Jonah realized he didn’t know Abby as well as he thought he did. When she accepted an invitation to go with him and his parents to Fingel’s Pumpkin Patch on Wednesday, he was caught completely off guard.

His father’s meetings in Chicago were over, and his parents planned to head back to Springfield tomorrow morning. His mother had mentioned how nice it would be to spend some time with Abby and Eva Grace before they left. His father heartily seconded the idea.

Jonah had hesitated to text Abby, certain she would turn him down without a second thought. Instead, after a long thirty minutes with no reply, she’d agreed to meet him and his parents in the parking lot of Fingel’s.

“I’m so happy this worked out.” His mother’s voice shook with eagerness.

“It would have been a shame to come this far and only see Abby and Eva Grace that one night,” his father agreed.

“I wonder if we can get some pictures of all of us,” Nancy mused.

“Don’t push it, Mom.” Jonah and his parents stood near the entrance. He resisted the urge to pace.

Part of the nervous tension was due to the excitement of sharing this experience with Abby and Eva Grace, but the other was the fear that something would go wrong and Abby would cut him out of her life. And his daughter’s life.

Though he knew he could push for visitation, he wouldn’t do that to Abby. Not after everything she’d been through.

“There they are.” Relief filled his mother’s voice. “Oh, she looks adorable.”

Jonah’s gaze settled on Abby. He had to admit that his mom was right. While he liked seeing her dressed up in vintage clothes, she looked, well, sexy in her jeans, sneakers, and a red hoodie.

He lifted his hand in greeting, and she nodded acknowledgement. Beside her, Eva Grace jumped up and down and waved wildly.

The little girl wore an orange dress with a smiling jack-o’-lantern across the chest and a tulle skirt with black spots. Instead of pulling the child’s hair up into a bouncy tail, Abby had let the curls hang loose.

Jonah felt sure Eva Grace would have taken off running if Abby had released her hand.

It seemed to take forever for them to make their way through the crowd.

Abby glanced at the line in front of the admissions barn. “I didn’t expect such a crowd on a Wednesday. But Fingel’s draws from a wide area.”

“Are the kids out of school for the day?” When he’d texted Abby, he hadn’t given a thought to the fact that Eva Grace might be in school.

“No.” Abby met his gaze. “But your parents are leaving. They won’t be around this weekend. I had the teacher send me what they’re going over today. I’ll work with Eva Grace tonight on the lesson.”

Jonah cleared the lump that had risen to clog his throat. “Thank you.”

“We better get in line.” Abby started in that direction, but Jonah touched her arm.

She didn’t jerk away, but he felt her muscles tense beneath his fingers. “What?”

“Dad already purchased tickets for everyone.”

Abby turned toward his father.

Michael held up a hand, the tickets fanned out in his fingers like a deck of cards. “My pleasure.”

“Thank you, Michael.” Abby turned to Eva Grace. “Mr. Rollins is treating us to a day at the pumpkin patch. Can you tell him thank you?”

Eva Grace shot the older man a blinding smile. “Thank you very much.” The child let go of her mother’s hand and twirled. “I’m so happy.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jonah saw his mother take his dad’s hand and give it a squeeze.

“I’m happy, too.” His mother cast a glance at Abby and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Abby merely nodded, then focused on her daughter. “Eva Grace, there’s going to be a lot of people here today, so when we’re making our way to each of the attractions, you need to hold an adult’s hand.”

Taking a breath, Abby continued, “It doesn’t have to be my hand. You can hold Jonah’s hand or . . .”

She paused as if trying to consider what to have her daughter call Nancy and Michael.

“If you wouldn’t mind, she could call me Nana.” Nancy spoke quickly, the words tumbling out as if she wanted to get them all out before Abby stopped her. “And Papa works for Michael.”

The bald hope in his parents’ eyes was like a dagger to Jonah’s heart. He’d told them not to push. What had his mother done? She’d pushed. He prayed they wouldn’t be too disappointed when—

“That works.” Abby turned to Eva Grace and pointed to Nancy, then to Michael. “You can hold Nana or Papa’s hands. Or Jonah’s.”

What would she say, Jonah wondered, if he asked whether Eva Grace could call him Daddy? But he kept his mouth shut.

He and Abby had an agreement. His presence wasn’t guaranteed in Eva Grace’s life. And after what he’d done, he wasn’t sure he deserved being called Daddy.