Page 25 of Live for Me

“He is not,” she shot back. “He’s precious.”

The smell of coffee hit my nose as I stepped into the building behind Abbie, the espresso machine humming behind the counter where Miriam stood. She was older, around my dad’s age, and had been running this place since I was kid. Her daughter, Chloe, would be taking over soon.

“Hi, Abbie!” the old woman greeted as we came to the counter.

“Hi, Miriam,” Abbie greeted quietly, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Things had changed in Hayden ever since that night at the rodeo—-the people of this town respected Abbie now. They welcomed her, and her mother was now an outcast, still living in a shitty trailer just outside of town. No one ever saw her anymore, not since Abbie moved out and into my house. My dad took her in, giving her my bedroom, and for the last two years of high school, the three of us lived in a comfortable routine. When I graduated, I moved to the bunkhouse on Hallow Ranch, and when Abbie graduated a year after that,she stayed for the summer, working at Hallow Ranch alongside me and Pop. Then, when the summer was over, she packed what little she had and moved into the dorms at her university.

Two years later, she was living in a small apartment off campus, driving back to see me every weekend in the car I’d bought her. Sometimes, I would go into the city, and she would show me all her hangouts. I got to know her friends, and they accepted me. I accepted them. Things were perfect.

I was the happiest and luckiest son of a bitch on Earth.

All because of her.

My wildflower.

“What can I get you both today?” Miriam asked with a bright smile.

“Black coffee for Beau and a vanilla latte for me, please,” Abbie ordered softly as I pulled out my wallet, grabbing some cash.

“How’s the ranch doing, Beau?” Miram asked as the bell jingled above the door, signaling a new customer.

I grinned at the woman. “It’s good. Denver is running me ragged.”

She chuckled. “That boy is just like his father. I’ll have your drinks to you in just a minute.”

I put my hand on Abbie’s lower back, hearing her small gasp.

Fuck, I loved that.

I loved the way she responded to my touch, and I couldn’t wait to hear those sounds in my ear later. I moved us out of the way, asking her about her project for her journalism class, watching the way her brown eyes lit up, the gold ring around her pupils flaring as excitement hit her. I stared at her, utterly mesmerized by her intelligence, her beauty, her strength. There was nothing in this world my wildflower couldn’t do.

God, I loved her. She would never fully be able to understand how much.

“Anyways, if I do this, then there’s a shot I’ll get put on the front page of the newspaper,” she said, jumping up and down a bit as she clung to my arm. I chuckled. “That’s so amazing. When it happens, I’m framing it.”

The bell above the door jingled again, and this time, the air in the small, cute coffee shop shifted. I looked away from her to the door, my body stiffening at the sight of her mother. I stepped forward, pushing Abbie behind me instinctively as the woman glared at me. Her hair was matted, her eyes sunken in, her teeth practically rotted out. This wasn’t the same woman who picked up Abbie in that shit box of a car in elementary school. Back then, Sheri looked like a human. Then, over time, her demons got the best of her, driving away any chance of happiness and love in this town, losing her only child in the process.

Abbie hadn’t seen her mother in years and I did everything in my power to keep her away. Whenever Sheri managed to find her way out to Hallow Ranch, Denver, Pop, and I always had to call the sheriff because she would never leave willingly, screaming Abbie’s name and demanding money. Sheri, in her own twisted mind, thought she was owed something.

“I knew she was in town,” Sheri sneered, taking a single step forward and letting the door close behind her.

“Miriam, call the sheriff’s office,” I ordered calmly, not taking my eyes off the woman.

Sheri’s upper lip curled. “Let me see my fucking daughter,” she bellowed, her outburst making Abbie flinch behind me. She took a hold of my shirt, pulling it tight behind me as if she was afraid I’d leave her.

I pointed to the door. “Leave. Now.”

“You think you’re a tough guy because you’re all grown up, don’t you?” she spat, waving her arms out.

“Beau,” Abbie whimpered from behind me.

My jaw tightened, and Miriam moved out from behind the counter, dusting off her apron. “Now, Sheri Spears, you know better than to come into a place of business and start wailing,” she scolded.

Sheri’s eyes sliced to the old woman, and for half a second—maybe even less than that—I saw a flash of regret in her eyes. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me feel sorry for the woman for half a second.

“Miriam, this isn’t any of your business,” Sheri returned loudly, pointing at me. “This boy has been keeping my daughter from me for years. He kidnapped her! Brainwashed her!”

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