Finding Abigail (38 page)

I nodded as he
wrapped his arm around me. We snuggled on the rock, enjoying the view.

“So is there
anything we can do to get this guy?” Noah asked Sam after telling him all the
gory details. “Abby said the captain didn’t believe her.” We had just finished
dinner—spaghetti that I had made. It was only the fourth time I had cooked for
Noah, and I wanted him to know that I appreciated him. We were all sitting
around the table discussing my life.

I cleared my
throat. “Um...can we stick with Anna?” I nodded toward the boys. “I think it’s
best if the townspeople didn’t know my true identity.”

Three sets of
eyes turned to me. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I didn’t think of that. You’re right.”
Noah reached over and laid his hand on my knee. Sam and Kathy nodded their
agreements.

“Jamie, stop
hitting your brother,” Kathy yelled at her son who was deep in a game of Mario
Kart with his brother. Jamie apparently didn’t like the fact that Jeremy beat
him in a race.

“Anna’s right,”
Sam said, ignoring his wife, with a quick glance my way, acknowledging my name
choice. I smiled at him in appreciation. “It will be hard to prove, especially
now that there is no evidence.” We all looked at him with matching confused
expressions. “No bruising,” he explained. “Cops have kind of a code, we stick
together. And if they don’t, and one speaks up against another, it can get
difficult for the one speaking out. It doesn’t help that every man in the
family is a cop, and his father is a captain. I think its best to keep her
hidden, and watch her when we can. If he happens to find her, we might get
lucky if he hurts her.”

“Sam!” Kathy
yelled.

Noah’s jaw
locked as he sat forward in his chair, a sign of aggression I had never seen
from him, especially directed at his best friend.

Sam raised a
hand. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound harsh. But if we can catch him in the
act we’ve got our proof.”

“That’s not
going happen. He’s not going to get anywhere near her,” Noah yelled, slamming
his hand on the table with a loud smack. The salt and pepper shakers shook
bumping into one another, and the salt fell over, leaving little white granules
in a pile on the oak table.

I flinched at
the loud pounding sound, closing my eyes. Noah’s warm hand wrapped around mine,
and when I opened my eyes again he mouthed the word “sorry,” his expression
filled with guilt. I nodded to him and squeezed his hand, hoping to return the
comfort. We both turned back to our guests, getting back to the conversation.

I understood
what Sam was saying, I had listened to a lot of police talk when I was with
Nick. I knew proof wasn’t always enough. Sometimes getting caught in the act
was the only way.

Sam leaned back
in his chair, glaring at Noah, clearly annoyed by his friends behavior.

“Sorry,” Noah
mumbled, looking down at the table.

Sam nodded.
“Okay then, we just keep her hidden, and see what happens.”

After they
left, Noah and I moved to my place to watch a movie. I got out my photo albums,
wanting him to learn more about me. Since I couldn’t introduce him to my
family, I wanted him to see pictures of us together.

“Is that you?”
he asked as he stared at a picture of me, posing in front of a lake wearing a
floral bikini. I was ten.

“Yes, that’s
me.”

He leaned
closer. “Very cute, I love the freckles.” He laughed as I punched him. “Is this
your parents?”

He was pointing
to a professional photo of my mom and dad. “Yes, this is actually the picture
that was in my locket.”

“What happened
to it, I’ve never seen you wearing it?” His eyes turned soft with concern. “It
obviously means a lot to you.”

I frowned,
shaking my head. “Nick got mad at me and threw it in the garbage disposal,
after he almost choked me to death. That was the night before I left him. He
knew how much that locket meant to me. It was like I lost my father all over
again.” Tears clouded my eyes as I quickly flipped the pages of the book
looking for a particular picture, and finding it, I stopped. “That’s it right
there.” I pointed to a close-up of me when I was eight; my father had just
given it to me. You can see the locket perfectly; It was all I had left of him.
I rushed on blinking away the sting that threatened at my eyelids. “Anyway,
that was the night I decided to stop my excuses and leave, only I didn’t know
where I was escaping to. Until your grandmother came the next morning and
handed me a note.”

His eyes
widened in interest. “What did it say?”

“It said: “I
know. You have to leave. This is the address to my cottage in Shimmer Lake. Leave today.” When I finished reading it, all she said was, “Thin walls.” Then
she told me she was going to stay with your mom for a few weeks, and she came
to say goodbye. I think she was worried that my apartment was bugged. I don’t
think it was though.”

“God, I love
her. She’s actually renting out the apartment. I think she’s eventually going
to sell. Now I know why.”

After my very
emotional weekend, things returned to normal. Noah had an order to fill, and I
had a second draft to write, using the notes Debbie had sent. I went to Martin
a few times to send the changes to Debbie. And I was pleasantly surprised to
find letters from my family waiting. My favorites were from Haley and Justin.
The problem with those letters was that they made me happy while I read them,
but when I finished, I was always depressed for days after. I felt sorry for
myself, that all I had from them were words written on paper. I wanted to see
their faces. I missed the wrinkles on my mother’s face when she smiled. I
missed my sister’s advice even though I never listened to it. I missed seeing
Justin get dirty no matter what he did, and Laurel’s sweet smile.

I wallowed in
self-pity until Noah reminded me that those letters were more than I had a
month ago.

The next few
months went by in a blur; it was amazing how fast time flew when you were truly
happy. Noah continued to get me to try new things. Now he was on a food kick. I
wasn’t enjoying this as much. I had tried venison, liver, and crab cakes. So
far the crab cakes were my favorite.

One day in
early December, Kathy talked me into Christmas shopping in Martin. This time I
was wearing my hair up in a hat and wore colored contacts Kathy insisted on.
She said it was either that or I had to dye my hair, and I really didn’t want
to do that. It worked though; we went to the same bookstore without anyone
noticing me. Although it helped that my picture was now down. I bought a couple
of books for Kathy’s boys. They were some of mine and I planned on signing
them, saying that I got them from the author. We were still keeping my identity
a secret from them. They had big mouths. Kathy told me that Jamie had informed
his entire class that his Uncle Noah’s girlfriend walked around outside in a
robe. Apparently, I wasn’t as sneaky as I had thought.

I went to a
music store for Noah, picking out a few CDs of his favorite bands, and I
thought Sam would like the same. I headed to the hardware store for Noah’s next
gift. I had ordered a special chisel with his name engraved on it. The man on
the phone had informed me that this particular one was perfect for carving
intricate designs. Kathy didn’t know it, but I had already purchased her gift.

After a few
more stores and some more purchases for Noah, we headed for the library so I
could check Steve’s email. There was a letter from Debbie saying that the
publishers were hoping to print my new book,
The Quest For Mouse City
(the title they chose) by the end of next week, just in time for Christmas.
They were a little worried that I couldn’t promote it, but since it was
Christmas they were sure sales would be great. My sales seemed to have improved
immensely with all the publicity on my disappearance. They had even issued a
statement that I had sent in multiple manuscripts before I disappeared and that
Debbie had power of attorney. That was what Debbie had fed the people in
charge. Her boss was the only one that knew the truth. In the statement they
announced that all the proceeds would be kept in a trust until I returned, or
kept for my family if I didn’t.

One night about
two weeks before Christmas, I walked into Noah’s house and heard him talking on
the phone. “Okay, I guess, but do you think there’s enough room for
everyone?...Mmm-hmm…no don’t worry about it. Sure there’ll be enough room.
Okay, see you then.” He hung up and turned around. His brow was creased and he wasn’t
smiling. My heart dropped, expecting bad news. “Um… I’m not sure how you’re
going to take this, but my family is coming down for Christmas. I figured it
was okay, they’ve done it before, so if Nick was watching my grandmother, it’s
a normal thing for us. You don’t look happy.”

A feeing of
anxiety formed in my stomach. “No, I’m fine, just I’m nervous to meet your
parents. What if they don’t like me?”

He grinned,
placed the portable phone on the table, and stepped toward me. “My grandmother
loves you, and so will they. She didn’t mention you, so I think she must be
trying to be careful too.” He furrowed his brow. “You still seem upset.”

I was fighting
tears. The closer it was to Christmas the more depressed I became and the words
just gushed out of me. “I just wish my family could meet you. I’m a little
jealous that you can spend Christmas with yours. I’ve never missed one in my
life.”

He wrapped his
arms around me, enveloping me in his warmth. He was wearing an oatmeal-colored
sweater. The material was soft against my skin; his spicy scent helped cheer me
up. “It will be fun. And we will have other Christmases to spend with your
family, I promise.” He leaned his head on top of mine. “I can’t wait to
introduce you to my sister and her family.”

“Are we going
to have enough room?” I mumbled into his chest.

He stepped back
to face me. “Yeah, you can stay with me, and they can stay at Grandma’s
cottage.”

“Okay, it
sounds fun really.” I clapped my hands together. “Oh, I got the first few
editions of my book. They were sent to the manager at the bookstore in Martin
as a favor to Debbie, and they sent them to me. I’m going to send them to Haley
and Justin. They always get the first.”

His brow
furrowed. “How are you going to do that?”

“I’m not sure.
Maybe I’ll drive to a city a few hours from here and mail it. I’ll also use the
name of Jeff’s parents for the postmark. That way, it can’t be traced back to Shimmer Lake or me.”

He smiled.
“Good idea, we’ll make it a road trip.”

“Or I could get
Debbie to send them one, but I usually sign it for them.”

“We’ll think of
something,” he said, tightening his hug.

A Christmas Wish

“Merry
Christmas, honey!” Daddy said, handing me a small box wrapped in candy-cane
wrapping paper. It was Christmas morning, and I sat with Brenda on the floor of
our rec room, buried in wrapping paper. The brown paneled walls were strewn
with red and gold garland, and the tree was decorated with ornaments that
Brenda and I had made. Mommy let us decorate down here while she took care of
the upstairs. If you asked me, we did a better job ’cause we made everything.

“Brenda,
here’s yours. These are the last gifts, girls. So don’t expect any more,” Mommy
added.

“What about
Granny and Grandpa?” Brenda asked, her blond hair hanging in her eyes. Jeepers,
you’d think she could brush her hair before she came downstairs, it was
Christmas after all. Although I had forgotten too, but I think mine looked
better than hers.

“I’m sure
they’ll bring you gifts, Brenda, but don’t ask for any, it’s not polite. I
meant that’s the last for now.” Mommy sighed, looking tired.

“Come on,
girls, open it,” Daddy urged, looking as excited as we were.

Brenda and I
looked at each other and then we grinned. “On your mark, get set, go!” she
yelled, and then we tore the wrappers off and stared at a small blue box.
Together we lifted the lids and gasped. In my box was a heart-shaped locket.
Daddy came over and sat between us, smelling of cookies. “This is just from me.
Mommy and Santa get to have all the fun shopping for you, but this time I found
something that I thought would be perfect for you.”

“Why?”
Brenda asked, holding up the delicate chain. The lights from the Christmas tree
reflected off the silver locket.

“Well,
because I have to leave often for my job and I miss you both. So I thought you
could have this, so you wouldn’t miss me.”

“Why won’t
we miss you?” I asked Daddy. I had to hold back my laughter, because he didn’t
brush his hair either, and it was sticking up on his head like Alfalfa from
Little Rascals.

Daddy
grinned, looking from Brenda to me. “Because these are special lockets.”

I woke with a
start, my throat burning with the threat of tears. Two days away until
Christmas, and I already missed my family. I didn’t need the reminder that I
wouldn’t see them this year.