Chapter Eleven
Hunter
I woke up feeling surprisingly well rested, despite the nightmare and rigorous activity that had followed it. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so refreshed. It had to have been because of Abby. I felt somehow lighter when I was with her, as if my problems weren’t weighing me down as much. She made me feel at ease, with myself and with life in general.
How did she do that?
I yawned and stretched then finally pulled down the covers and got out of bed. Abby was up already so I followed the smell of coffee and found her sitting at the kitchen counter, coffee cup in hand.
“Morning!” I said brightly. “The coffee smells great. Mind if I make myself a cup?”
“Of course not.”
Her mouth lifted into a smile, but it didn’t appear to be completely natural. It was as if she was forcing the expression on her lips.
“Great.”
I tried to tamp down the panic that tried to rise to the surface. She was probably just tired.
“Cups?” I asked.
“Let me grab you one.” She got up from her seat and walked to a cupboard near the coffee machine. “How do you take it?
“Uh, white, two sugars please.”
I definitely wasn’t imagining her clipped tone.
When her back was turned to me, I crossed the room until I was standing behind her and slid my arm around her waist. “Everything okay?”
She froze.
Literally froze.
There was no way to push down the panic then. It rose up from within in a rush. I tried to think about what I’d done wrong. Had I said something to upset her the night before? Then, everything came flooding back to me.
The nightmare. The screaming.
That had to be it.
Afterward, I’d told her clearly how much I liked her and that I thought we could be good together—I’d even admitted that I’d been afraid I’d scare her off and she’d said nothing in reply.
Because it had scared her off.
Evidently.
She’d just had the fight of her life against the grueling disease of cancer. She was strong. She’d want a partner in life who was just as strong as her if not stronger. Someone she could rely on. Why in God’s name would she be interested in someone as weak and pathetic as me, who couldn’t even make it through a night’s sleep without screaming the place down?
I slid my hands out from around her waist.
“Uh, on second thoughts, I’ll skip the coffee. I really need to get going. But thanks, anyway.”
I headed over to the door where I’d left my coat and taken off my shoes when we’d come in. I put them on, hating the awkwardness.
“Hunter…” she began.
A waved a hand out in front of me. “It’s cool. Don’t worry about it.” I finally lifted my gaze to meet hers. “I get it, okay?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but I pulled open the front door. “Seriously. We’re cool. And I still expect to see you in the shop for your tattoo, okay?”
She took a moment to answer. “Okay.”
“See you, Abby.”
“See you,” she whispered.
I stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind me then stared out towards my truck.
Oh, shit.
The snowfall throughout the night had been far worse than I had anticipated. A tall layer of thick, white snow blanketed the road and drifts of it had settled against the wheels of my truck. I trudged my way up to it, but the snow was practically up to my knees.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
There was no way the truck was going anywhere. It would take a whole lot of digging with a spade just to get the snow from around the wheels, but even if I managed that, the snow on the road was too thick. I’d have to wait for a snow plow to come and clear it all away before I could leave. And the temperature had plummeted and the wind had picked up. What was I going to do, sit in my truck and freeze my ass off until the plows arrived? That wasn’t an option.
I thought about walking back down into town, but I wasn’t dressed for this kind of weather. I’d freeze before I could make it there. I looked back at the house with growing unease then made the decision.
Abby might not want me around and I wasn’t particularly in the mood to be humiliated any further, but we were both going to have to suck it up. By the time I made it back to her front door and knocked, my teeth were already starting to chatter.
The door opened and Abby peered out at me, her eyebrows raised. “I’m stuck here,” I said. “The snow is too deep for me to move my truck. Can I come in?”