Page 67 of Unexpected Gifts

Which was enough to pull her out of a full-blown panic attack.

Where else could she have gone?

Maybe she’d gone out to the barn? She’d learned from Grace that Ramona hadn’t raised animals out there in years, but when Abby had visited as a child they’d had chickens, a few goats, and an old curmudgeon of a barn cat. When she’d asked Walter and Luke about the barn and what she should do with it, Walter had mentioned it was a death trap. He’d advised her to have it torn down or majorly repaired. Since Abby had no plans to keep any animals but Rufus, she was leaning toward tearing it down.

Get dressed. Go find her. Whatever it takes, make this up to her.

The wordsdeath traprattled through her mind as she threw on her on her heavy jacket, shoved her feet into boots, and grabbed her cell phone before braving the cold. Abby called out to Rufus to come with her, and he dutifully followed.

Why would Sophie go out to the barn?

The answer was—she probably wouldn’t. But where else could she be? The idea of her being out in the elements all alone sent a shiver of fear so icy straight through her, she might actually crack in half.

She trudged through the snow to the barn. When she arrived, she pulled open the creaky barn door, the hinges groaning. She went inside, the scents of damp wood and earth assaulting her senses. She could see nothing at first. But as her eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering through the cracks in the wooden slates, she scanned the entirety of the rough and weathered old barn. Beams overhead warped and sagged, held together by rusted nails. Cobwebs decorated corners. Old hay and leaves blown in over the years covered much of the dirt floor. Broken tools, forgotten barrels, and overturned crates were strewn about. But no Sophie.

Abby clutched at the collar of her jacket. Where could she be? Had she gone to Grace’s?

She heard a sniff from behind her and whirled around. There, huddled in the far corner behind an old pig trough, was Sophie.

The little girl was curled up, her arms wrapped around her knees and her face buried in her arms. She had a jacket on, thank God. And boots.

“Sophie?”

Sophie looked up, her face streaked with dirt and tears but dropped her head back into her arms and seemed to curl up into an even smaller ball. Wanting to disappear.

Because I made her feel invisible.

Abby approached cautiously, not wanting to frighten her or send her running. She spoke softly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing out here?”

“No one wants me.” This was said into her knees, but Abby heard it loud and clear. “I’m in everyone’s way. I ruin everything. No one remembered my birthday.”

Abby swallowed hard, feeling as if her chest might implode and she would suffocate, and it would be exactly what she deserved. She sat down on the cold, hard floor next to Sophie.

“It’s not true that no one wants you,” Abby said, voice cracking. “I want you. I love you so much. And I’m honored your mom trusted me to look after you. Being here with you and Jack has filled my heart in places I didn’t even know were empty. I know I’m doing a terrible job of it, but I’m trying. It’s just all so new to me. Obviously, I’ve messed up. Forgetting your birthday, it’s just—awful. Unforgivable.”

“Why didn’t anyone remember?” Sophie lifted her head, and the obvious confusion and pain in the sweet girl’s eyes was like a punch in Abby’s gut.

“I should have. I wish I had. I’ll make it up to you, though. I promise. If you’ll let me.”

Words tumbled from the little girl. “I kept thinking you and Luke were going to surprise me with my favorite breakfast like my mom always made, and there would be gobs of presents. I’d get to choose what I wanted for dinner. Mom let me have whatever I wanted, and I always chose fish sticks because she didn’t like us to eat them normally because they were store-bought and not good for us.”

Abby rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out what to do to make this better. “We’ll do all of that tomorrow. And tonight, we’re going in for the tree lighting and we can go to dinner wherever you want. I’ll call your friends’ moms, and we’ll have a party next week. I’ve never really made a cake, but I could try.”

Sophie sniffed, wiping her nose on her jacket sleeve, a small, tentative smile forming on her lips. “Or we get one from the bakery.”

This made Abby smile even though her chest hurt so much she could hardly get words out of her mouth. “Probably a good idea.”

“I want a pink cake.”

“Sure. Whatever you want. You know, I remember the day your mom called me to tell you that you’d arrived. She was exhausted because you took a long time to make your grand entrance, but she sounded so happy. ‘I’m so in love with her.’ That’s what she said to me. Then she described what you looked like—tiny ears and a little pink mouth and she thought maybe you looked a little like me because of your fair skin and light hair.”

“Really?”

Abby nodded, smiling at the memory. “I was proud to be an auntie.” Memories rushed in from that time. “I was able to come out and stay with you that Christmas because I had a break from school. I can remember holding you and rocking you and wishing that someday I could have a baby as beautiful as you.”

“You were here?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t come much after that. Medical school took all my effort. I regret that, Sophie. I really do. I wish I’d been here to see you instead of just looking at photographs. Your mom was so good to always send me pictures from her phone. They’d come in during class or a shift during my residency, and every time, the sight of you would just warm every part of me. I’d smile, knowing how blessed you were to have Ramona as your mom and that both of you made the world a better place.”

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