Heartstrings (20 page)

“Abby, it’s Jenny Lynn.”

She closed her eyes at the sound of her friend’s tired voice. “What’s going on?”

Jenny Lynn cleared her throat on the other end. “Max Martinez passed away a few moments ago. I knew you’d want to know.”

She leaned against the wall. “How’s Darlene holding up?”

“As well as can be expected. I’m with her now.”

She sniffed and wiped her nose. “Let me figure out what I can do with Emily, and I’ll be right over.”

“Thanks. You’re such a great friend.”

“Yeah.”

* * * *

“Thanks for letting Emily hang out over here.” Abby rubbed her bare arms. When she avoided meeting Seth’s eyes, his heart fell.

She’d called him twenty minutes ago to ask if Emily could stay with him while she went to Amarillo. He’d come out to the ranch after Johanna went off to church. First, he’d taken a ride, then come back to the house to work on boxing up his father’s life.

“She can come over here anytime she wants.” He moved a cardboard box from the sofa to a chair next to the mantle. A sheen of dust covered five generations of faded photos crowding the oak plank.

She nodded and looked everywhere but at his face. “You’re getting this place cleaned up.”

“It’s coming along.” Actually, he’d not even started. He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. The air conditioner kicked in, and a blast of cool air caused the hair on his arms to stand up. He wasn’t sure what was colder–the air or Abby.

So, she regretted last night. At least, she wasn’t keeping Emily from him.

“When do you think you’ll be home?”

She looked down at her clasped hands in front of her. “I don’t know. Darlene is one of the best friends I have. I’ll stay with her as long as she needs me.”

“Emily will be safe with me. We can stay here tonight or I can go back to your place.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about tonight.” She winced and combed her fingers through her hair, bringing it over her left shoulder. His hand itched to smooth over the silky strands. “At least, tomorrow is Labor Day so there’s no school.

Emily entered the living room. She made her way around the room, skimming her fingertips over the antique furniture. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

He turned to Abby. “Why don’t I go back to your place? I can sleep on the couch.”

She glanced at Emily. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“I want to do this. Your friend needs you.”
I want to spend the time with my daughter.

“Why not just sleep in Mom’s room?” Emily stopped beside the couch, looked from her mother to him. She smiled and sat on the dusty cushion.

Nodding, Abby finally met his eyes, and he held her gaze. “Okay, make yourself at home.”

If she didn’t come back, he was in for a long night. No way could he sleep in her bed without the memories of last night keeping him up.

He tried to read the secrets lurking behind her brandy irises, but couldn’t.

Emily leaned over her legs and rested her chin in her hand, watching them. “Just for the record, I’m happy you two are dating.”

He waited for Abby’s response. When she didn’t speak, he said, “Me, too.”

She swallowed and faced Emily. “Call me if you need anything.”

Emily stood and hugged her mother. “I’ll be fine. Tell Mrs. Martinez I’m sorry about her husband.”

“I will.” Abby gave him one last look and left.

Once the front door closed, Emily rubbed her hands together. “What do you want me to do?”

He looked around the room. Johanna had taken a few things already, but crap still crowded every nook and cranny of the old house. “Well, I figured we could start boxing up the photos. I want to keep them.”

“What about the knick-knacks and the furniture?”

“An auction company is coming in later this week to pack the rest up.”

“Oh. So, when are you moving in?”

He shrugged and grabbed the bundle of newspapers he’d confiscated from his aunt’s stash. “I signed the papers Friday, so I could move in anytime. But I’m going to gut the place and remodel it first.”

“Don’t you have to go back to Nashville and get your stuff?” Emily took a sheet of paper from the pile and picked up a miniature portrait.

“Soon. But I’m fine for now.” He reached for one of the photos.

She glanced at the painting in her hand and touched the ornate, rounded frame with the tip of her finger. “Who are all these people?”

He set the frame in his hand on the mantel and sighed. “My family.” Pointing to the painting she held, he said, “Those are my great-great grandparents–Anna and Jack Kendall.”

“I can’t believe they are all sitting here. Most people have boxes of old pictures but never display them.”

He leaned onto the back of the wingchair and put his hands in his pockets. “Granny Kendall insisted these stay here. Johanna told me she even dug a few out of the attic and had them framed.”

She pointed to the large portrait hanging above the fireplace. “Who’s that guy? He looks constipated.”

He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He studied the hard stare of his great-great-great grandfather’s blue eyes. Something warm drifted through his veins at the thought of teaching Emily about her roots, even if she didn’t know they were her ancestors. “I used to think so, too. That’s Kit Kendall.”

She looked up at him, and he met her gaze. “Was he really a gunslinger?”

He narrowed his eyes on her in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“Your dad. He told me all sorts of things about this place.”

Oh, Dad, did you enjoy Emily as much as I am?
He pulled his gaze from hers and looked at the painting. “He rode with Jesse James during the War Between the States and was quite the outlaw after the war. Until he met his wife Maggie and found religion. Then they moved to Texas and bought this spread.” He pointed to a smaller portrait between the front windows. “That’s her over there.”

She scrunched up her brow and stared at the portrait of the tiny, dark-haired woman. “Why wasn’t he ever hung for his crimes, if he was so bad?”

He squeezed her shoulders, and she looked up at him again. “I often wondered the same thing. Story goes that he was never caught. My guess is he wasn’t as bad as the stories say he was.”

She nodded and stepped away. “What are you gonna do with all these pictures?”

Needing to do something with his hands, he wrapped a photo and gently put it into the box. “I’m going to donate them to the historical society. And I’m going to keep some of them. Like old Kit and Maggie, there.”

She put the miniature painting in the box. “That’s cool.”

They worked for several minutes until Emily picked up a photo and stared at it for a long time. “Who’s this?”

His breath caught in his throat. “My grandfather and grandmother–Aaron and Kathleen Kendall. Dad’s and Johanna’s parents.”

The picture had been taken during World War II and was black and white, but there was no denying the uncanny resemblance between the newlywed girl in the photo and the teenager holding it.

“She’s pretty.” Emily grabbed paper and wrapped the photo.

“I always thought so.”

If she recognized the similarity in herself with the woman long dead, Emily didn’t let on. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

He cleared his throat. “Do you know what you’ll sing for Founder’s Day? It’s only three weeks away.”

She set the photo in the box and shrugged. “I think so. Tammy Jo said she was going to talk to you about singing too.”

“Yeah, she asked me.”

“What did you say?”

He rubbed his hand against his thigh. “Can you keep a surprise?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes brightened.

“I’ll be there, and I have a special guest flying in too. She and my band will be here a few days before the show.”

“She?”

“That’s a surprise.” He touched his finger to her nose and smiled.

He hoped having Amanda show up here along with a camera crew would make everyone happy. They’d get the exposure they needed for the new single. He’d pitched the idea to Amanda earlier, she agreed, and he’d called Gary again. His manager thought giving up the national exposure in New York was crazy, but he liked the idea of using the backdrop of his hometown to shoot a video. Gary was lining up a producer to fly in sometime next week to get things under way.

What he hoped to get out of it all was Abby realizing the other singer meant nothing to him.

Emily bounced on her feet and threw her arms around his waist. “Yay! I don’t care as long as you’re singing.”

He held her for a moment and just breathed her in. Now, if he could just figure out what was up with Abby, life might actually be pretty darned good.

* * * *

Abby hadn’t seen much of Seth over the rest of the week except when he visited the nursing home or when they spent time together with Emily in the evenings. She’d taken on a few extra hours and worked during the days while Emily was in school. They hadn’t had time alone to really talk.

On Friday, she rounded a corner after passing the morning medicines, to find Seth waiting by the nursing station. He tapped his fingers on countertop as he leaned over the shelf surrounding the station. The man screamed
sexy
in his tight faded jeans and black t-shirt.

She went behind the counter and started typing away on the computer.

The fingers stopped tapping on the shelf. “Can we talk?”

She shook her head. “I’m busy. We got a new resident, and she’s raising all kinds of heck. And I’m short a nurse and an aide.”

“You’ve been busy all week. So, I have plans for after you get off work tonight.”

As she stopped typing, she looked up at him. “Emily–”

“Emily will be with Carolann and Frank. I’ve already talked to them. They’re going to take her with them to visit Mary Jane down in Dallas for the weekend,” he said, referring to Mike’s younger, globetrotting sister. “So, you have no excuse. On Sunday, she goes with Mike. Everything, including your work schedule, has been taken care of.”

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. She bit her bottom lip. God, she wanted to spend time with him. “What do you have planned?”

“Something special.” When she started to shake her head, he added, “All you need to do is say yes. And pack enough for a two-day trip. Although, I doubt you’ll need any of it.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I have the ranch–”

“You can go willingly or I’ll kidnap you. The choice is yours. I talked to Judd, and he’ll take care of the ranch in your absence,” he countered, referring to her foreman.

“You thought of everything.” Excitement curled in her lower belly at the way he grinned at her. A whole weekend with the one thing she couldn’t have, but wanted beyond all reason. Maybe she could convince herself that he only wanted sex and couldn’t possibly feel anything for her.

Or she could fall even deeper in love with him, become even more miserable than she already was.

“I am a thinker.”

She laughed and stood up. “Okay, I’ll go with you. But I’m not leaving the state of Texas.”

“That still leaves me with a ton of possibilities. Texas is a damned big state.”

She came around the counter, took his hand and led him to the elevator. She hugged herself, but would rather have hugged him. Since Saturday night, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. “I’m only going with you because we do need to talk, and it’s hard to do with Emily around.”

“You sound so serious.”

“I am.”

The time had come to come clean about her and Mike’s marriage. He’d threatened her again about going to the tabloids if she continued to see Seth. However, she sensed something in Seth over the past few days that gave her heart hope.

Was she foolish to think he would forgive her and they had a future together?