Chapter Nine
Hunter
I hopped from foot to foot as I waited for Abby to open the front door. In the past few days, the temperature had plummeted. Winter was coming on thick and fast. We’d already had a lot of snow higher up on the mountains and folks around Creede had already gotten out their snow tires.
When Abby opened the door, she looked as beautiful as ever. There was a slight flush to her face from where she’d obviously been rushing. What was different about her, however, was the fact that for the first time since I’d met her, she wasn’t buried under too many layers of clothing.
She was dressed simply yet elegantly in a pair of black pants with a camel colored high-necked jumper and she looked a million dollars.
She glanced past me out onto the street. “Oh, I thought I might need to change. I wasn’t sure if you’d bring your motorcycle.”
She seemed almost disappointed for the briefest of moments, but then her expression cleared.
I shook my head. “Nah, can’t trust the weather at this time of year and I thought it would be too cold for you. I’ve got the cage.”
She smiled at the term I used for my truck and my breath caught in my damn throat. Her entire face lit up as if from within making her appear almost incandescent. She grabbed her coat from a hook near the door then slid her arms into it.
“I’m ready when you are.”
After she’d locked up, I led her to my truck.
“I can take you for a ride on my motorcycle when the weather’s better if you’re up for it.”
Her smile was huge and utterly breathtaking. “I’d like that,” she said. “In fact, it’s on the list.”
I scrunched my eyebrows together. “What list?”
“The list of things I wanted to do if I survived the cancer.”
She said it in such a matter of fact way, but her words hit me in the solar plexus with as much force as a punch to the gut. I decided right then and there that if it was my last act on earth, I would help her achieve every damn goal on that list.
We made small talk on the drive up the mountain to Mason and Libby’s cabin. Abby was surprisingly easy to talk to. I didn’t want to appear rude, but the question kept playing over and over in mind and if she didn’t want to answer it then she could just tell me to mind my own damn business.
“Can you tell me what else is in your list?”
She pursed her lips, clearly deciding what she could divulge. Eventually, she shrugged.
“Why not? Some of them are silly girly things that you’d probably laugh at like spend the day getting pampered at a spa.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I said. “And I’d never laugh at you. What else?”
“Well, I’ve always wanted to learn a new language, like Spanish or Italian. I’ve always wanted to travel and I like the idea of going somewhere like Venice or Rome and being able to speak to people in their own language.”
“That would be pretty cool,” I agreed. “I’m not great with languages and I’m always in awe of the people who can speak several.”
“Oh, me too!”
“What else is there?”
She chuckled. “Some of the things you already know about, like get a tattoo and ride on a motorcycle, but there are other more adventurous things like do a bungee jump and skydive.”
My eyebrows practically disappeared into my hairline, I lifted them so high. “Skydive! That is not something I’d ever do for fun. I like my feet firmly planted on the floor, thank you very much.”
She laughed. “But can you imagine how incredible the view would be from up there?”
“No, because I wouldn’t see it. I’d have my eyes screwed shut the whole time.”
“I’d also like to go up in a hot air balloon,” she said. “And fly in a helicopter over the grand canyon.”
I was seriously rethinking my plan to help her achieve all her goals. “Is there anything that doesn’t involve heights?”
She nodded. “I’d like to abseil down a rock face.” She scrunched her brow together. “Oh, I suppose that one could be considered to involve heights, too. Umm…”
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “I didn’t realize you were such a daredevil.”
“I’m not,” she said. “They are all things I would have been too scared to do before, but now, I can honestly say I’m not afraid of anything.” She looked down at her lap and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth.
“Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. I’m still scared of some things.”
She looked across and met my gaze and I had the urge to press her on what those things were, but I didn’t. She would have told me if she’d have wanted me to know.
I sighed. “So there’s nothing that I can help you with then? Except for that tattoo?”
She shook her head. “Not unless you’ve also got a penchant for visiting Machu Picchu or for going to Egypt to see the pyramids.”
Actually, I would love to do both of those things and it would have been pretty cool to do them with Abby, too. I could imagine her face when they came into sight.
“So, travel seems to feature quite significantly,” I remarked.
She nodded. “I’ve never been outside of America, but I’d love to travel the world one day. Just to experience all of the things you can do in other countries.”
“Like what?”
She shrugged. “I’d like to ride an elephant in Thailand. Swim with pigs in the Bahamas. Go to a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica.”
“Wow, wait a minute, back up. Swim with what?”
She threw her head back and let out a roar of laughter and it was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard bar none.
“Swim with pigs,” she explained.
I blinked.
I might have to revisit my theory that she was a sandwich short of a picnic.
“Pigs.”
“Not just any pigs,” she said. “Swimming pigs. They’ve been on the island for hundreds of years. No one knows how they got there because they’re not native to the Bahamas, but the common assumption is that they were shipwrecked there. However they got there, they’ve thrived.”
I cleared my throat, fighting the urge to laugh.
I’d told her not five minutes ago that I’d never laugh at her, but that was before she told me she wanted to swim with pigs.
“Don’t most people want to swim with dolphins?”
“Oh, I’d like to do that too,” she said. “But I think the pigs would be cooler.”
I had to admit, now that she’d told me about it, I wanted to see them too. Perhaps I’d Google them when I got home.
So, swimming pigs, sloths, pyramids, you don’t do things by halves, do you?”
“You forgot the tattoo,” she said.
Oh, I definitely hadn’t forgotten about that.
In fact, the more I got to know her, the more vivid the tattoo design became in my mind’s eye. Right at that moment, I hated that I was stuck behind the wheel because my fingers itched to start sketching the ideas that were flitting through my mind at a hundred miles an hour.
We finally arrived outside Mason and Libby’s cabin. The front yard was full of cars and trucks—so much so it was a struggle to find a space big enough to accommodate my truck.
When we got inside and greeted all our friends, it was easy to forget that we weren’t together, together, as Abby had put it, because being with her sure did feel like we were on a date. No, it was more than that, actually. It felt as if we were a couple. I’d never hidden the fact that I wanted to go out with her and the more time I spent with her, the more I wanted it.
I loved her zest for life. It was infectious. She’d experienced some hellish knocks in the past few years, things that most people will never have to face. She could have crumbled under all of that, but she hadn’t. She’d come out fighting.
I respected the hell out of her for that.
And it made me want her all the more.
Mason and Libby’s house was full of Christmas cheer. A huge tree took pride of place against the wall near the window and the presents underneath it were stacked high. It was adorned with every color bauble known to man, some that were homemade and others that looked far classier than anything I’d ever buy. You could smell the pine as soon as you walked into the room. If I could have bottled the scent I would have labeled it Christmas.
Cody was playing with Coop and Faith’s little boy, Charlie, while Libby handed out a creamy white drink to everyone which, apparently, was some sort of eggnog concoction that she’d made herself. It tasted foul, but I didn’t tell her that. I didn’t want to kill her buzz. Abby made a face as she tasted it too, so I quickly retrieved it from her and put it on the kitchen counter where everyone else seemed to be depositing theirs. Mason was tipping them down the sink when Libby wasn’t looking and instructing us to grab a beer or glass of Prosecco from out of the refrigerator. In the background, Bing Crosby’s I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas started to play.
I’d been to several of these get-togethers in the past few years, but I always ended up making my excuses and ducking out early. I’d always felt out of place—as if I stuck out in the room like a sore thumb. It was difficult socializing with a bunch of couples when you were single. But on this occasion, I was in no hurry to leave. And to go one step further than that, I was actually enjoying myself. God forbid. I didn’t want to admit that it was because Abby was with me, but anything else would have been a lie. She was exactly the reason why I was having such a good time. I polished off a bottle of beer, but I refused to drink anything else because the last thing I would have done was put Abby’s life at risk. It would be too cruel for her to have to fight cancer for so long only to fall at the hands of a stupid, drunk driver.
“Are you having a good time?” I asked when we finally got a moment alone together about halfway through the night.
Her smile just about stopped my heart. How did she keep doing that to me?
“I’m having the best time actually,” she said.
“Good.”
A small group had gathered around the kitchen counter so Abby and I ambled over there to see what was going on. Sheriff Walker was gripping his wife’s upper arms and looking as if he was about to burst into tears.
“Really?” he asked. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Y…”
Before she could get out her reply, Ethan picked her up and swung her around in his arms. When he settled her back down on her feet, she looked dizzy, but he wasted no time in planting a big kiss on her lips.
“What did we just miss?” I asked.
Andrea just told Ethan she’s pregnant,” Libby informed us.
A wide grin stretched across my lips. “Yeah? That’s incredible.”
I was so pleased for them, they’d been through a lot together, but they had found the light at the end of the tunnel and had come out the other side, stronger.
Cody starting tugging on Libby’s hand. “Mommy, look! It’s snowing!”
We all glanced towards the window and sure enough, the snow was falling in earnest. Couples all started gathering at the window to watch the falling flakes. It was a lovely moment and I had the unshakable urge to pull Abby into my arms and hold her, just as some of the others were doing. I looked down at her, expecting to see a smile on her face, but instead, she appeared sad. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears.
I leaned down to her ear. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.”
I sighed. It wasn’t, clearly. I wished, not for the first time that she would open up to me and tell me what was on her mind.
Coop appeared at my side. “What are you two doing on Christmas day?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Same as every other year. I’m gonna burn my lunch then eat it on the couch in front of an old movie I’ve watched dozens of times in the past.”
He looked at Abby.
“I’ll just be at home alone this year,” she said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
“Not anymore you won’t,” Coop said. “I’m hosting a party at The Shack. It’s nothing special, just dinner for a few friends. You’re both coming.”
I grinned. “Yeah? What do you think?” I asked Abby.
She seemed surprised by the offer and to my relief, she didn’t turn it down. “Thank you, Coop, that would be lovely.”
He nodded. “Be there for eleven.”