Choices (15 page)

“Hello?” her mother answered on the first ring, as though she had been sitting next to the phone, waiting for it to ring.

“Mom? It’s me, Abby.” She tried to interject a smile into her voice.

“Abby! Where are you? What’s going on? How could you not call us!” her mother said, the words coming out so fast they were almost strung together.

“Mom, slow down. I’m okay.” She answered, then took another deep breath and continued, “I left Boston Mom. I just couldn’t stay there, knowing the cheating bastard was still there.”

There was silence on the other end, and Abby felt the seconds ticking by, as though time had turned into a tangible thing.

“You come home Abby, you hear me? Come back to Montana.” her mother’s voice shook with emotion.

Abby cringed, wondering what she was going to say when she told her she was already in Montana, and only about 4 hours away.

“Mama, I’m already in Montana. I’m staying at a cabin down near Bozeman. I had to take some time for myself Mama, you understand, don’t you?”

“I understand that you shouldn’t be alone right now. Abby, if you’re here, why didn’t you come home? If you wanted to be alone, you could’ve slept in one of the bunk houses. We never liked him, your father and I, but you seemed happy so we never said much. You need to come home

Abby, and not go back, except to get your things.” He mother finished, as if her word was final.

Abby started to cry, soft tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt the love her mother felt for her wrap itself around her. She had been half afraid her mother would tell her to go back to her husband and work things out, but she hadn’t, just told her to come home.

“Here’s your father. He’s fair dancing to talk to you.” Abby heard the phone passed, heard her mother telling her father what happened, and then her father was on the line, his deep voice washing over her.

“Abby, come home. If you’re already here, you can’t be that far away. If you need space, we can get one of the bunkhouses ready for you. We’re short hands right now, so there’s plenty of space.”

“Daddy, thank you, but right now I’m ok. I’m staying at a ranch here, and everyone here has been real nice and I’m comfortable. I’ll come home soon, after I go back to Boston to wrap up all the loose ends.” She replied, wiping away tears. She felt the childish urge to run home to Daddy and let him fight her battles. She had Logan now, and he would help her fight.

“Where are you staying?” he asked, his own voice rough with emotion. He hurt for his little girl, and what that bastard had done to her.

“LM Ranch. It’s right outside of Livingston.”

“Logan MacKinnon’s place?” he father asked, surprise in his voice.

Abby sat down in the chair at the desk. Her father knew Logan?

“Yeah, Daddy, that’s the one. Do you know him?” she held her breath, wondering what her father would say about Logan.

“Of course I know him. We deal often together. What brought you to his place?” he asked. She was dumbstruck. Logan hadn’t said anything about working with her father, but she had never given him her maiden name. True, there were a lot of cattle ranches in Whitefish, but no one had asked what the name of her father’s ranch was, and she thought that a bit odd.

“I looked under guest ranches on the internet, simple as that. What do you know about him Dad?” she asked, getting her breath back.

“I know he’s a real stand-up guy. Honest, hard-working. He’s built that ranch back up into quite a prosperous enterprise, almost by himself. He’s the kind of man you should’ve married, not that soft son-of-a-bitch surgeon.”

Abby stifled an urge to laugh, cupping a hand over her mouth.

“Abby, you’re only four hours away. Come home soon. If Steve calls again, what do you want us to tell him?”

“I’m going to call him when I hang up with you. How many times has he called?”

“Oh, a couple. Of course, he says he doesn’t know why you left Boston so soon after the divorce was final, said you had guys still had some unfinished business, but I can’t imagine what you would still have to do with that man.”

“I can’t begin to imagine what we could still have to say to one another, but it’s over, Daddy, don’t worry. He’s just such a shit.” She sighed. Leave it up to Steve to make her sound like a spoiled brat.

“Well, he threw away the best thing that ever happened to him Abby, and you remember that. Don’t get to blaming yourself for what he did. A real man doesn’t do that to the woman he pledged his life to.” He said gruffly, and Abby smiled. Not a real man like Logan MacKinnon, she could almost read his thoughts, he was thinking that loud.

“I did at the beginning, but I don’t know.”

“Have you made up your mind to come home?”

“Yeah, like the third or fourth day I was here. Attorney back in Boston got my townhouse sold, and I have to go back for some things, but then I’m coming back. I’m probably going to go to Bozeman, but I’ll stop by the ranch first. I’m independently wealthy now
, thanks to generous Steve,” she laughed bitterly, “He probably heard about me selling the townhouse and wants money or something, he called last night. He called last night. It was the first time he had called since I left. Kind of funny he called you guys first instead of me.”

“Well, you should have called us in the first place. I know we don’t talk that much, and we should, but when he first called yesterday looking for you, I can tell you we almost called the police. Don’t do that again, young lady.” Abby felt herself revert back to a little girl at his stern tone, and shame washed over her again.

“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I should have called, I know. I just felt like going to ground and licking my wounds in solitary, you know?”

Her father laughed and said, “Just like me. I can understand that. Take care, we love you, and come home soon.”

“I will. Love you both.” She said, then hung up. She had herself a good cry, thinking that she had the best parents in the world. She stood up from the chair and poured a fresh cup of coffee and dialed Steve’s cell phone, hoping that he would be in surgery and not answer. The call connected and she listened to it ring, her hopes climbing as it rang, then plummeted as he answered it right before voicemail would’ve picked up.

“Abby, where are you?” he barked out, not even bother with a hello.

“Hello, Steve, how are you?” she asked wryly. It was surprising, the fact that she felt absolutely nothing at hearing his voice. She had expected to feel something, but nothing was there but a mild derision.

“Worried sick. Where have you been?” he demanded again, and Abby could see him standing there, full of righteous indignation at what he probably saw as a betrayal to him.

“I’m not going to tell you Steve. I take it you found out about me selling the house?” she asked, her voice brisk.

“Yesterday. What’s this all about?”

“So I’ve been gone two weeks and yet you only call me when you find out about the house? And what do you mean, what’s this all about? We’re divorced Steve, no thanks to you. Did you think I was going to hang around Boston? Oh wait, did you think that I would hang around and wait for you to come back to me?” she yelled, her hackles up.

His voice gentled, became a soothing caress, “We used to have something really good Abby.”

“Oh don’t give me that bullshit. How long were you cheating Steve? Was it right away? When we were still in college? I know it was more than once in the past two years. I have friends at the hospital Steve, they’ve filled me in.” she winced when she lied, but he hated Joyce and the last thing she needed to do would be to bring up the fact that Joyce found out about all the other times.

“Well they lied. Not everyone likes me at the hospital, I’ve stepped on a lot of toes.”

“Look, Steve, I don’t have anything to say to you. I just called to tell you I’m alright. Goodbye.” She said, then hung up on the sound of his voice.

Well, that had gone well, she thought. If he had just owned up to it, she could’ve forgiven him, but he wanted to paint himself in a good light as usual. Her phone rang, and she saw from the caller ID it was him calling again, so she didn’t bother to answer it. S
he shut the phone off after it stopped ringing and left it sitting on the table when she walked out to meet Logan.

Chapter Eight

She drove up to the office entrance of the house, thinking that was where she would find Logan. Her spirits lifted at the thought of him, and she jumped out of the Range Rover with a spring in her step. She opened the front door and walked in, looking around. No one was in the office so she sat down on the sofa, and then Kassey walked in. She paused in mid-stride then grinned at Abby.

“Well, don’t you look like the cat that ate the canary.” She said, plopping down on the couch next to Abby. Abby tried to keep the smile off her face, but realized she was fighting a losing battle. She beamed.

“Well, you know. Had a good night.”

“Say no more. Logan’s walking around ten feet tall this morning, and Ben has been teasing him mercilessly. Kind of fun to watch. What’s going on?” Kassey asked, propping her feet on the table in front of the couch.

“We’re just going to go into town, he needs some stuff from the feed store and I need some groceries. I talked to my parent’s this morning.” She replied.

“Did they call you?”

“Got a message from them on my phone this morning. I should have called them when I got here, but I knew they would want me home, and I needed time alone. They were worried, of course, but I told them what happened. They want to see me before I go back to Boston to get my stuff.”

“Well, it’s not that far away. Why don’t you go see them?” Kassey asked, reaching down to grab a magazine from the table.

“I might, when I check out here.”

Kassey paused in the act of flipping through the magazine and swung her gaze to Abby.

“You’re going to leave?”

“Well, I—“she stopped, not knowing what to say. She couldn’t stay indefinitely at the cabin, and it was a little too soon in her and Logan’s relationship to move in together. She could obviously go back to her parents to live, but that was so far from Logan, she didn’t know when she would get to see him.

“I don’t know what to do, actually. I could move to a cheaper place in town. I brought some cash, but most of what I’m using is credit cards, and that’s just a debt I can’t sink into just now. I have the money coming from the sale of the townhouse, but that won’t be for another thirty days.” She said miserably.

Kassey sat up straighter. “Did you talk to him?” she asked, placing a hand on Abby’s arm.

“Who? Logan?”

“Well, him too, I expect he’ll have something to tell you about where you can live, but your ex? Have you talked to him?”

Abby looked at Kassey, thinking again how uncanny she was. She nodded and said, “He’s mad, no telling what he’s going to do. I think he has it in his head that I would’ve hung around Boston, waiting for him. What an asshole.” It was Kassey’s turn to nod

“Stay at the cabin. We don’t have another booking for it for another two weeks and then you can decide what to do.”

“I can’t afford to keep staying here. I used up a lot of money on the divorce, and like I said, until the money comes in from the sale of the townhouse, I am bordering brokesville. Thank God the stupid thing was paid off and I don’t have to repay a mortgage company.” She said, and the full realization of what she had done hit her. She was almost penniless. She would have to go back to her parents, regroup, and find a job. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She could do it, she was a survivor. Her parents would help her, but she had never thought to find herself at thirty-three, broke and back living at home.

“Like we’d charge you. You’re part of the family now. And he isn’t paying alimony?” Kassey asked, trying to offer some comfort. Abby gave a wet laugh and reached over to hug Kassey. Kassey hugged her back, a little awkwardly. She had never had a close woman friend before, and now that she knew Abby, she would protect her as she would for Ben and Logan and Jake.

“No, I didn’t want any; I just wanted it to end. I wanted a house and car free of payments and that’s all I got, besides a little nest egg I had put away when I thought everything was going sour. Oh, and a bunch of credit cards that I shouldn’t use.”

“What’s going on?” Logan asked, coming through the front door. He looked at them with some concern seeing the tears on Abby’s face. He crossed over to them and sat down on the table.

“Just a little female commiseration. “ Kassey replied, standing up.

“I’ve got work to do. Have fun in town.” She said, hurrying over to her desk.

Logan looked at Abby, but she smiled at him, and he felt better.

“You ready?” she asked, gazing into his eyes. They were stormy, concern for her making them look like storm clouds.

“Let’s go.” He stood, offering her his hand. She took it, and stood. As long as he held her, she would be alright.