Chapter 18

18

A bby tried to dodge the evening wind as she ran toward The Magic Noodle. One couldn't actually avoid wind, and it pulled at her hair and tugged against her blouse. She'd left the library a while ago, but the groceries in the back of her SUV hadn't shopped themselves.

Tex had then called about going to dinner, and she hadn't wanted to. It had been a very busy week, what with Wade's birthday, all the cooking and prep for that, the near mental breakdown over his engagement, and then that kiss with Tex last night.

More than one kiss, actually, but Abby wasn't counting. She smiled every time she thought about Tex, and when she'd suggested she grab something and then eat in that night, he'd agreed.

"Hey," she said to the girl at the cash register. "I have an order for Tex Young." He'd called it in, and she could see it on the counter behind the woman.

"Just a sec," she said, bending her head toward a woman standing with her. The Magic Noodle was busy already, but it was a Friday night. The waiting area held quite a few people, but this restaurant had those buzzers, so there could be more in the nearby shops.

Abby just wanted her food, and then she'd run by Georgia's shop to confirm lunch next week.

Someone approached the counter too, and Abby glanced over, edging out of the way. Tex had said he'd pay, and all she had to do was grab and go. The food was right there. She could see his name on the receipt.

She did a double-take as her brain caught up with her eyes. "Bryce?"

He looked at her fully, surprise coloring his expression. "Abby," he said, and he leaned in for a quick hug. That meant he had to release the hand of the woman at his side, and Abby's pulse picked up speed. Did Tex know about this date?

Abby couldn't keep a secret from him. Bryce shifted his feet and indicated the pretty blonde woman. Abby pulled in a breath. "Bailey," she said. "How are you?"

Bailey McAllister hugged her too. "I'm good, Miss Abby. How's the library?"

"We close early on Friday nights," she said. "Thankfully."

Bailey laughed lightly, her hand slipping right back into Bryce's. Abby certainly didn't blame her, but…. "Are you still at Montana State?" she asked.

"Yes," Bailey said, shooting a look at Bryce. "Heading back in a few weeks."

"Back?" he asked, and Abby's stomach fell to her shoes.

"Yes," Bailey said lightly. "I'm a sophomore there this year."

"You are?" He searched her face. "I thought you'd just graduated from high school."

She shook her head and pressed her lips together. The woman looked at Abby again, and of course Abby knew Sierra Selzer. "I'm sorry. You said Tex Young?"

"Yes." Abby cleared her throat. "I can see it right there."

Sierra turned and picked up the single plastic bag of food. "It's all paid. There you go."

"Thank you," Abby said, turning toward Bryce. He still held Bailey's hand, so her being two years older than him must not be that big of a deal. The discontent in his eyes suggested otherwise, and she stepped in closer to him. "You're still going to come help me with those barrels in the morning, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said, something unspoken moving between them. She liked Bryce a lot, because he worked hard and respected his father.

"Great," she said. "See you then." She walked away, willing to keep her thoughts to herself until morning.

The following day, she found Bryce by her stables when she backed up in Wade's truck. "Morning," she said to him as she dropped from the truck and pulled on her gloves.

He turned and tipped his cowboy hat at her. "Morning, Miss Abby."

She indicated the row of barrels. "We need to get these into the back of Wade's truck. He's taking them to town for the flea market."

"Okay." Bryce wore gloves too, because she'd texted him to bring some. She couldn't lift a barrel by herself, and together, she and Bryce loaded all six of them into the back of her brother's truck. The job had taken maybe ten minutes, and Abby hadn't said anything to him about Bailey.

"You know," she said, peeling her gloves off. "I dated your dad in high school. He was a year ahead of me, and he graduated and went off to college while I stayed here."

Bryce looked at her with some interest, but mostly wariness in his eyes. "I've heard that."

That surprised her, but she just nodded. "It sure seemed like you didn't know Bailey was a sophomore."

"I didn't." He hung his head, and he looked so much like Tex doing it. She hoped to the heavens above she wasn't overstepping.

"I didn't tell your dad I ran into you two last night."

"No?" Bryce looked up. "He must have some sixth sense or something, because he questioned me relentlessly about Bailey last night."

Abby smiled at him. "Did he?"

"He was wearin' the same look you are right now."

She looked away, because she could never hide her true feelings. "And what's that?"

"Worry," Bryce said. "Concern."

"I can live with that," Abby said, moving her gaze back to his. "I do worry about you, Bryce. You're a good boy. You don't deserve to be left behind the way I was."

Bryce's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "My dad feels so bad about that," he said. "He beats himself up about it daily."

Abby frowned, as Tex had apologized almost the very week he'd returned to Coral Canyon. "Really?"

"Really."

Abby shelved that away to deal with later. "I'm sure she won't mean to hurt you. Bailey is a good girl too. She used to come into the library all the time. Studied more than anyone else I saw that year. She was the valedictorian, and she earned big scholarships to any school she applied to."

Bryce took his gloves off too. "She did tell me that. I guess maybe I misunderstood when she'd graduated. She said she told me, but I don't remember."

Abby gave him a partial smile. "Maybe you were blinded by her beauty."

Bryce chuckled and didn't deny it. "Maybe." He took a big breath and looked at her. "You think I should break up with her."

"Are you dating?"

"No," Bryce said. "I mean, maybe."

Abby stepped over to him and patted his chest. "Bryce, I think I'd figure out if I was dating before I decided if I needed to break up with someone."

"Fair point."

She moved to get behind the wheel so she could drive Wade's truck back to the house. "And of course, it really doesn't matter what I think. I'm not your mom. But I do like you, Bryce, and I don't want to see you get hurt the way I was. It was not pleasant, and no one wants to feel left out or left behind."

She paused and looked at him, watching what she'd said sink into his ears. "Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said quietly.

She got behind the wheel and reached to close the door just as he said, "Abby?"

The door slammed, and she quickly rolled down the window. "Yeah?"

"I know you're not my mom, but you're great." He came up beside her window. "I like you too."

"Thank you," she said, a genuine smile lifting her lips.

"Do you think…I mean, if my dad…uh…if you guys got married, you'd be my step-mom, right?"

"Yes," she said, trying to keep all emotion out of her voice. He'd be an adult before that happened. Tex had said his birthday was in December, and he'd be eighteen then.

"Would you…would you like that?"

"I—" She didn't know how to answer, and she didn't know the situation with his mother. "I'm not what anyone would call maternal or nurturing. But if Tex and I got married, I would work very hard to be a good stepmother, I think."

Bryce smiled at her and said, "I think you would too." He backed up and waved, then turned and jogged toward the ranch next door.

Abby watched him go, the questions he'd asked revolving through her mind. A feeling of peace moved through her when everything finally aligned. Bryce liked her. He thought she was great, and that she'd be a good mother figure for him.

She had serious reservations about that, but she would try hard. She'd had a sensitive conversation with him, and neither of them had gotten upset. That had to count for something, right?

She hoped so, because she was starting to feel big things for Tex Young, and she hoped she would be part of his life for a long time to come. Bryce was an integral part of Tex's life, and that meant he'd be part of hers too.

"There she is," she said as Dani came around the corner. She lifted her hand, and Dani came toward her, reaching up to pull her ponytail tighter.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, giving Abby a quick hug. She looked at the other two women at the table, pure nerves in her eyes.

"This is Georgia Beck," she said, indicating the curly-haired woman against the wall on her side of the booth. Abby slid back into the booth while Georgia said hello to Dani. "She owns the bookshop just down the street."

"My kids love that shop," Dani said. "I haven't seen you in there though."

"I have an assistant in the summer," Georgia said. "We're so busy, I spend a lot of time in the back or in my office." She smiled at Dani, then Cheryl, and then Abby.

"And Cheryl Watts," she said, indicating the woman Dani had just sat beside. "She's engaged to my brother, Wade." She grinned at Cheryl as she said hello to Dani.

"Guys, this is Danielle Young. She works at the library with me, and she's Mav's wife. Mav is Tex's brother."

Abby wasn't usually the one to bring friends together, but these women represented the three sides of her life. A friend she'd known for years. A future sister-in-law. And a co-worker and possible future sister-in-law.

None of Tex's other brothers were dating right now, and Abby thought it would be nice to get to know Dani better.

"How long have you been in Coral Canyon?" Georgia asked, reaching for her soda.

"I moved here just before Christmas last year," Dani said. "Mav and I got married in April."

Congratulations went around, and Abby felt like a brand new person. It took a long time and a lot of conversations for her to trust people and truly let them in. She and Georgia had been lunching together for years, but that relationship had literally taken that long to cultivate. They both loved books, and they both worked with them on different aisles.

Bringing Cheryl into the group had felt natural, as Abby only had the one brother and she wanted to enjoy family events where they all celebrated together. Cheryl was literally the nicest person alive, so it hadn't been hard to let her into her heart.

She knew Dani decently well through their work at the library, but she'd been at Tex's over the weekend, and Abby had been texting with Georgia about lunch. She'd felt the prompting whisper telling her to invite Dani, so she had.

"Tex is doing amazing things with that ranch," Cheryl said, and all eyes turned to Abby.

She sipped her cola and nodded. "He's a miracle worker."

"Yeah," Georgia said with a grin as wide as the moon. "He got you to go out with him."

Dani looked at her with open curiosity on her face. Cheryl giggled, and Abby couldn't deny it. "Sometimes you just need the right person to come in and start cleaning out the cobwebs, you know?" She nudged Georgia. "I don't see you dating anyone."

"CJ keeps calling," Georgia said with a sigh. Her whole countenance fell, and Abby's internal alarms went off.

"You're ignoring him, right?" She looked from her best friend to the two women across the table. "CJ is her ex -boyfriend, and he's really bad at understanding what ‘break up' means."

"Oh," Dani said.

"I'm ignoring him," Georgia said. "He comes into the shop sometimes. That's awkward."

"Does he do anything?" Cheryl asked.

"No, not really." Another sigh told Abby that CJ's presence in the shop bothered Georgia more than she'd admit. She knew Cheryl a little bit, as the three of them had gone to lunch a few times now. But Dani was brand new to the group, and Georgia wouldn't say much in front of her. Especially not much negative.

She had a glass half full mentality, and she gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. She gave them second and third and fourth chances, which was why CJ was still sniffing around.

"Maybe you need a new boyfriend," Abby said. "He'd get it then."

"Yeah," Georgia said, her blue-green eyes lighting up. "That's not a bad idea." She took another drink of her soda. "I don't suppose you ladies know where I can just pick me up one of those?" She trilled out a laugh, and the others joined in.

"I met Mav on a dating app," Dani said, and everyone's eyebrows went up. She laughed and nodded. "It was really great, actually." She looked at Cheryl. "How did you meet Wade?"

"We met at a cider tasting," she said, the happiest look crossing her face. "He was there with his parents, and I don't know. There was something about him that made me look twice."

"That would be the prosthetic legs," Abby said, smiling for all she was worth at Cheryl. Cheryl didn't say anything but simply shook her head and looked down at the table.

"He's handsome," she said. "He has the kindest spirit. I noticed his prosthetics, but they aren't why I looked twice."

Abby loved her in that moment, because she'd seen the really important things about Wade the very first time they'd met. "I live next door to Tex," she said. "Now, and when we dated as teens. So Georgia, what are your neighbors like?"

Georgia's expression grew horrified, and she shook her head. "Nope. I'm not dating a neighbor." She shuddered, and everyone at the table laughed.

"Might be a dating app then," Dani said, her blue eyes twinkling with friendship and fun.

"Or you better start getting out more," Cheryl said. "The apple cider tasting is coming up. They do it out at the Foxhill orchards. The ones on the way up to Dog Valley?"

"I've been," Abby said, "Not for a long time though." She looked at Georgia.

"I try to avoid the outdoors," Georgia said with an uppity hint in her voice.

"Oh, honey," Dani said. "No wonder you can't meet anyone. You know you live in Wyoming, right? Literally everyone I've met here adores the outdoors."

Georgia blinked at her, but Dani's smile held only playful notes that Abby started to giggle. Cheryl did too, and she said, "She's right, Georgia." She picked up her phone. "So let's see what there is that's outdoor adjacent."

"What's outdoor adjacent?" Georgia asked.

"You know, like things where you're outside for only a few minutes," Cheryl said.

"On flat ground," Abby added.

"In the summer," Dani said.

Cheryl looked up from her phone. "There's an ATV ride-along up into the hills."

Abby burst out laughing while Georgia's look turned into something sharp enough to cause death. "She's not a personal vehicle person," Abby said, still giggling. "No snowmobiles, ATVs, boats, canoes, dirt bikes, any of that."

Cheryl went back to her phone, and Abby grinned at the other two at the table. She reached across it and covered Dani's hand. "Thank you for coming. It's fun to get to know you better."

"You too," Dani said, and Abby looked at Georgia again.

She put her arm around Abby and said, "I'm glad you're happy, my friend."

"Me too," Abby said, leaning her head against Georgia's. She'd been unhappy for so long, she hadn't even remembered what happy felt like. Now that she did, she wanted to hold onto it and let it erase all the disappointments and setbacks in her life. "I feel rebuilt, and it's nice," she admitted.

"It's amazing what a handsome cowboy boyfriend can do," Georgia said with a grin. Abby didn't argue with her. Yes, Tex had stitched together a lot of the things that had been quietly weeping in Abby's life. She felt like she'd been working on herself for such a long time, trying to be a better version of herself each day, and no one had seen it. No one had acknowledged it.

But Tex did. Tex had healed her, and he'd seen how she'd changed and the work she'd done on herself. She hoped she would be enough to keep his attention this time, that she would be important enough to him to keep him in town when he had the opportunity to leave.

Familiar anxiety rose up her throat, but then Cheryl said, "I've got it, Georgia." Her face glowed as she glanced up. "There's a five-K in two weeks, and they need volunteers to help check people in." She put her phone down as if she was dropping a mic. "That's it. That's what you need to do."

Georgia looked at Abby with questions in her eyes. Abby shrugged one shoulder. "It's not like you'd be running the five-K, and maybe you'll meet a man with running muscles." They all laughed again, and Abby thanked the Lord for this new level of happiness and friendship in her life.