Page 10 of Hidden Vows
“I think I’m the only one he needs to meet. You probably grew up with everyone else.” The female doctor steps forward, a tentative smile forming on her lips. “I’m Emily Marks, Caleb’s wife.”
It’s more of a struggle than I think it should be, but I turn from Abbey and meet Emily’s eyes, offering her a small nod in acknowledgment.
“I’m gonna go.” Abbey stands so suddenly from her seat, the chair scratches across the floor.
“You don’t have to.” I wish the first words out of my mouth to Abbey were so much better than those, but I don’t want her to leave.
Selfishly, I want her to stay and tell me everything I’ve missed since I left, but I know even if she stays, I’d have no right to hear anything about her life.
More importantly, I know how much she means to Dad. He’d want her here, and I hate that my presence is running her off.
Abbey’s gaze finally meets mine, and that comfort I felt hearing her voice is back. There’s a shield that was never there before, but her eyes are on mine, and that warmth washes over me again. She’s changed over the last fifteen years; she’s older, more mature, her features more developed than the last time I saw her, but she’s still Abbey.
“Abs.” I don’t even realize the word leaves my lips until I see something spark in her piercing blue eyes.
“You should have some time alone with your dad. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen him.” Abbey doesn’t wait for a response before she grabs her things and marches out the door.
I want to go after her, but I know it’s not my place anymore.
Stuffing my hands back into my pockets yet again, I let my eyes fall to the floor for a second before lifting them to look at Gage. “Can you make sure she gets home okay?”
“Yeah, no problem.” There’s a question in Gage’s eyes, but being the man he is, he doesn’t ask it. He simply reaches a hand out to Ava, waiting for her to take it before they both leave.
four
ABBEY
“Okay,look, I know we’re supposed to be at work in thirty minutes, but I can’t wait until the morning rush dies down,” Ava says as she squeezes past me into my apartment the following morning.
“Ava—”
“No, Abbey, you alluded to somethingmonthsago, and I let you keep your secrets, but I saw the look on your face at the hospital yesterday. I think you need to let it out.” Her voice softens as she continues. “If there’s one thing I learned from everything I went through, it’s that you can’t hold it all in.” She pauses, reaching for my hand. “I know I haven’t known you long, and you tend to keep people at arm’s length, but I’m not going to let you do it anymore.”
My lips tip up in a stilted smile. I know Ava’s concern comes from a place of friendship, but it doesn’t make it easier for me to hear. We’ve grown close over the last several months, along with Quinn and Emily, but opening up to others doesn’t come easy for me—not anymore.
Ava went through a lot over the holidays and at the start of thisyear. I know it was a call from her brother that brought her to Ashford Falls, but it was running from her problems back home that kept her here—at least at first.
Ava’s close with her brother, and he’ll always support her in everything she does, but Ava still struggled to share the problems she’d been having when she first got here. It was Gage who ended up being the person she first leaned on, and it was him who convinced her to be honest with Declan.
She eventually shared the whole story with everyone she’s grown close to, me included, but it took her until she was put in a really bad situation.
Now she’s happier than I’ve ever seen her, even with the recent loss of Scott, a man who was more like a father to her than her own ever was.
“Abbey,” Ava whispers when I don’t respond. “You’re not alone. I don’t think you ever have been, but I won’t let you think you are anymore. You told me I’d be a perfect fit, and I know you meant at the bookstore, but I’m a perfect fit as your friend too. You’re stuck with me now, so you’ll just have to learn to live with it.” Her tone is light in the end, but I see the truth in her eyes. She won’t let me out of this apartment until I tell her something. Even if that means we’re late in opening the bookstore.
“There’s not much to tell.”
That’s such a lie. There’s a lot of history between Jude and me, thirty years’ worth, but I don’t think I’m ready to share that story quite yet.
“Great, we’ll be right on time for work.” Ava waltzes over to my couch and takes a seat before turning to look at me expectantly.
I take my time joining Ava on the couch, trying to figure out where to start. The truth is, I don’t even know the full story, but Iknow it starts with our parents.
My mother and Walt were born and raised in Ashford Falls. They grew up next door to each other and were best friends. From the stories I heard, they were practically inseparable. But Mom went away to college, where she met my dad and fell madly in love, while Walt stayed close to home and met Kimberly. They both lived their own lives while still making their friendship a priority.
But when Mom graduated, Dad asked her to move with him to DC, where he was trying to open his own investment firm. She agreed, especially since she’d just found out she was pregnant with me.
The year I turned five was the year Dad made it big with his investment firm, and it was also the year Mom finally convinced him to buy a house in Ashford Falls.
