Finding Abigail (6 page)

At least he hadn’t had to wear tights. Small favors.

He tucked in his dress shirt then rolled up the cuffs. He looked in the mirror and sighed. He needed a haircut. His usually closely cropped hair was starting to get too long for him, though it still wasn’t as long as any of his brothers. 

He looked damn old too. He was ten years older than Abigail. Ten freaking years. There had to be laws against that, right? She might be past the age of consent, but that didn’t make it right. Maybe that’s why he’d ignored her for so long, even though that lie didn’t settle right on his tongue.

It could have been the arrow’s fault for making him want to ignore her and all the feelings that ran rampant within him. No, it couldn’t be. The arrow, according to what the other cupid had written and what Tyler himself felt, only broke down the barriers and showed a person what could be. It allowed that slight or sometimes not-so-slight connection to be revealed so that someone could take that first step.

Was that what had happened? Was he ready to take that first step? 

What about Abigail? What did she feel? Damn it, none of this made sense. Abigail was sweet, innocent, so he’d go for casual. She’d like that, right? Damn why was he acting like a teenager?

Tyler wiped his hands down his jeans—yep, clammy. 

He’d been with plenty of women before, yet this was different. He winced at the thought. Damn, he shouldn’t have thought of his past. He’d never thought he’d be the person to regret what he’d done. No, he’d gone through life thinking that he’d been okay with himself. He’d purposely never given commitments and had been upfront about everything. 

He’d loved women—but had never been
in
love with them. All of the women had known what they were getting into, and he hadn’t left a trail of broken hearts in his wake, at least, that’s what he thought. What if he’d been wrong?

Tyler had never moved past one-night stands and sweaty nights that he could easily forget. It was a wonder that anyone would want him after that. He’d never been an ass about it, but he surely wasn’t considered a saint.

Not like Abigail.

No, she was innocence and purity personified. At least in his mind. And with the way the town talked about her—like they talked about everybody as if it was their right as a small community—Abigail had to be the schoolmarm virgin.

It could have been true for all he knew.

Tyler ran a hand through his hair and tried to think about any dates Abigail might have had and came up empty. What the hell? Was the source of whatever had been blocking him also blocking memories of Abigail, or had she really never had someone in her life? She was young yet—he winced at the reminder—but there had to have been at least someone…right?

Damn, what the hell was wrong with him? He sat down in his armchair and held his head in his hands. Why was he acting like this? He hadn’t even asked her out, and yet, he was just going to go over there and expect her to be ready for him. Hadn’t she yelled at him on her way out? What if she said no?

Oh, it had occurred to him.

Though he might have been confident with other women when he’d dared to ask them out or when he’d said yes to the outgoing ones who flirted with him, he didn’t have a shred of confidence when it came to Abigail.

Tyler knew he wasn’t good enough for her, but maybe she’d take him as is. 

They were friends after all…right?

The front door opened, and Tyler swung to see the intruder and cursed.

“What the hell, Bray?” Tyler said as he got up and walked to his very unwelcome brother. “What the hell’s wrong with you? We don’t knock anymore?”

Bray blinked at him, confusion marring his face. “When have we ever knocked? We’re Coopers. What’s up with you?”

Tyler let out a breath and walked to his bar. Maybe a drink would help his nerves. But, wait; maybe Abigail wouldn’t like it if he had liquor on his breath. Damn it. Why was all of this so hard?

“Ty? What’s got you so wound up?”

“Abigail,” he said without thinking. Well, there went any plan of hiding his newfound feelings. His brothers and Jordan already knew he was a cupid thanks to Brayden’s big mouth, so why not let them know he, apparently, had feelings for a woman ten years younger than him who happened to be their best friend? 

Oh, yeah, that was the way to do it.

He needed to be smacked or something. Tyler risked a glance at Bray’s stunned expression and winced. Maybe his brother would hit him. That might help whatever the hell was wrong with him.

“Abby? The girl you’ve ignored since puberty? The woman who’s been the Coopers’ best friend while you’ve been a complete ass who hasn’t even thanked her for all the thankless work she does for you? That Abby?”

Tyler growled, even as shame washed over him. “It’s Abigail.” He didn’t know why that mattered. She went by Abby, but he loved the sound of her name. God, what the hell was wrong with him? He’d been a complete ass to her for as long as he could remember, and now he wanted her. He wasn’t a fickle man, but something had happened. Something was wrong.

Bray threw up his hands and scoffed. “Really? That’s what you got out of what I just said? Call her whatever name you like—as long as you’re not a fucking ass. But, for God’s sake, Ty, Abby—sorry,
Abigail
—really? Why does she have you in a tizzy? What could she have possibly done now to anger you? She’s fucking moving, Tyler. She says it isn’t because of you, but it’s not totally
not
because of you.”

“I have no idea what you just said.”

Bray let out a sigh. “She’s leaving because she feels she has no future here. Ty, you walk all over the girl while she follows you around hoping that you’ll notice her. She’s grown up now, Ty. She doesn’t want to be that person anymore, and I, for one, am happy to hear that. But, you need to let her go. She won’t be around to make sure everything you need is taken care of. She won’t be around for you to ignore anymore. She’s leaving all of us, and you need to get that through your thick skull.”

Tyler took a deep breath, even as the thought of never seeing her again ate at him. This feeling, this sense of loss,
this
was real. He hadn’t noticed before how every emotion he’d felt toward Abigail before had been muted, dulled. Why the hell hadn’t he noticed? 

“Something’s different now, Bray.”

“Yeah, she’s leaving, and now you want what you can’t have.”

Tyler shook his head. “No, I mean something was wrong before. I can’t explain it, but it was as if something was blocking me from her before.”

Bray raised a brow and sneered. “Really? That’s the excuse you’re going with?”

“No, hear me out. It’s like everything that had to do with her before had a shield in front of it. But, now…now I can
see
her.”

Bray looked at him a long time then let out a breath. “You really believe that?”

“I’m a cupid, remember? I can
feel
these things.”

“Okay then, why are you just now feeling them or whatever?” Bray sat down across from him and ran a hand through his hair.

“I accidentally cut myself on my arrow when I was taking it from Abigail.” 

Brayden sucked in a breath and opened his mouth to speak, but Tyler held his hand to stop him.

“Wait, let me finish. The arrow doesn’t make someone fall in love; it’s not like that. All it does is show the person holding back what could happen if they let their heart make its own path. I know it sounds odd, but a cupid only helps things along; my powers don’t cause love.”

“So you’re telling me you love Abby.”

Tyler shook his head. “No, I mean, I don’t know.” He closed his eyes and thought of her smile, her curves, and laugh. “I mean I could. I’ve known her forever, Bray, and I feel like I’m finally sensing my own feelings for the first time in ages. It’s like something has been hindering me this whole time. Like I’ve been falling in love with her since we were both old enough to think we knew what love is, and yet I couldn’t feel it. I don’t know, Bray, but something was wrong before.”

Brayden gave him a hard look and nodded. “So we need to figure out what was blocking you before.”

“You believe me?” Hope filled him. If Brayden believed him, then there was a chance Abigail would.

God, he’d hurt her so much with his callous attitude and inattentiveness. Abigail deserved kindness, hope, not someone who shunned her.

Tyler knew he wasn’t good enough for her, but maybe he could prove his worth…but how?

“I’ve never heard you talk like this, Ty. Even if you’re confused about what you’re feeling, at least you’re feeling. Something’s up, and we’re going to find out what it is, but how? I don’t know what’s wrong with this town, but us Coopers sure have to deal with a lot of magical shit, and I’m getting tired of it.”

At the sharpness of his tone, Tyler glanced at his brother. There was a haggardness surrounding Brayden that Tyler hadn’t noticed before. What magical things were going on with him that Tyler had been too preoccupied to notice?

“Brayden?”

“Let’s deal with your problem, okay?” Brayden pleaded.

Tyler nodded, but he knew that wouldn’t be the last of it. No, he’d get up off his ass and help Brayden anyway he knew how. But first, he needed to figure out how to get Abigail.

Jesus, his vacation wasn’t so much a vacation anymore.

An image of Abigail on a beach wearing nothing but suntan lotion and a smile popped up in his brain, and he held back a groan. Well, that was one way to spend a vacation…

One day…

He shook his head and tried to get his mind on the task at hand, aware that they were ignoring whatever was going on with Brayden—for now—so they could figure out what to do about Abigail.

Oh, and why he’d ignored her for so long.

Because for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. Yeah, he hadn’t wanted to settle down for a long time, but with Abigail…

Wait. Settle down?

He was just thinking about a date. Maybe a few more after that.

An image of Abigail swollen with his child filtered into his mind, and he froze. Why did that look so appealing when he wasn’t ready for a wife and kids? Hence why he’d dated around with no commitments for so long.

Maybe Abigail would change all that.

Tyler clutched his chest and tried to slow his breathing. Apparently, his subconscious had been thinking along the lines of happy and home with Abigail, even when the rest of him had strayed away from those thoughts. That had to be the only explanation for the feelings of rightness when Abigail and his—no,
their
—future came to mind. 

“Tyler?” Brayden asked, and Tyler shook his head to clear thoughts that were going way too fast for him.

“Sorry, yes, we’ll just deal with my issues now,” Tyler finally answered. “But, whatever it is that’s bothering you, I hope you know I’ll help if you need it.”

“I don’t know if I like this new caring-brother thing you’re doing.”

“Hey, I’ve always been caring, just a bit of an ass at times.”

“At times?” Brayden smiled. “Let’s get back to the subject at hand, shall we? From what I’m getting, you feel as though something has been blocking you from Abigail all this time.”

“Yeah, which sounds crazy.”

Brayden shook his head. “No, not in this town. I mean Justin battled Jack Frost over the holidays, so we really don’t have any room to talk about crazy. Speaking of Justin, he said something interesting to me about you concerning this before.”

“What?” What could Justin know about this?

“I’m not saying he knows what’s going on, just that he noticed something going on. He even said the words “blocked” to me over Christmas. So I don’t think you’re as crazy as you think you are.”

“I never said I was crazy,” Tyler growled.

Brayden rolled his eyes. “Fine, I put the crazy label on it, but really, if this were last year, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation.”

“True, but I don’t know what the hell is going on, Bray.”

“I know, one step at a time, okay? I know you feel like you want Abigail now, but are you sure about that? She’s like a sister to me, to all of us Coopers—except you it seems. If you hurt her, we’ll kick your ass.”

“Good to know brothers stand up for each other, but I see that. If I hurt Abigail—more than I already have—I give you permission to hurt me.”

“Do you love her?”

“I…I don’t know. It’s too soon, and I haven’t even kissed her or taken her on a date, but it’s like all those feelings that were blocked or whatever the hell it was for so long are back in full force and freaking me the hell out.”

Brayden’s eyes widened. “Shit. I don’t know what happened, Ty, but something will make sense eventually. That said, I think you have one hell of an uphill climb in front of you. She’s moving once she sells her home. I think you’re lucky because she hasn’t signed a new lease in Denver yet because she’s waiting for the strings to be cut fully here. Even then, you’ve ignored her for so long, what’s she going to say?”

Tyler smiled at her reaction, even though it hadn’t ended well. “I asked her out, and she told me to fuck off.”

Brayden threw his head back and laughed. “That doesn’t sound like Abby. I like it though. What’s your plan?”

Tyler looked down at his hands and shrugged. “I was going to go over tonight and see if she wanted to have dinner with me. I know she’ll probably have plans, but I don’t want to wait.”

“Ballsy, but go for it. Does she know you’re a cupid?”

“Damn, I forgot. She saw the arrows, which in itself should tell you something since, apparently, only my true love, or whatever manlier name you want to give it, should be able to see them. But, when I cut myself on it, and asked her out, she kind of forgot about them. But, no, I don’t think she knows, not unless Jordan told her.”

“She didn’t say anything at lunch today, so I’m pretty sure she didn’t think of it. It does sound pretty farfetched.”

Irrational anger filled him. “You had lunch with Abigail today?”

Brayden cocked his head. “I usually do when I’m watching Ally’s kids. Abby loves those kids like her own. She’s my friend, Tyler. I’d stop it with the macho jealousy act since she didn’t even say she wanted to go out with you tonight.”