His Angel: The Angel Trilogy Book One (20 page)

“Abigale, what are you planning to do about school?” That question is not expected and I don’t know how I’m going to lie to my mother. I fidget with my fingers now, which is a sure tell sign I have something to hide.

“I don’t know.” I hang my head down now. I can’t lie to her face.

“Don’t do it,” she spits. My head and eyes jump to hers. She holds a kind smile as she pats the seat next to her. “Abigale, your father loves you very much. When your sister…passed…he changed. You girls were everything to him. He blames himself, he always has.” She reaches for my hand to take into hers. “He wants you to be a doctor because Addyson wanted to be a doctor, like her daddy.”

We both smile at the memory of Addie, the daddy’s girl; she wanted to be just like him. The tears find refuge in the light again.

“He wants a part of her to live. But Abigale, you cannot live your life for your father, you are not Addie, you are you and you need to live your own dreams. Life is short, I want you to be happy doing whatever it is that’s important to you.” She pulls me in with her arm to hold me.

“What about dad? He said he would disown me.” I nestle into my mother’s warm embrace.

“Oh Abigale your father may be many things, but a child disowner isn’t one of them. He…He wants to keep you his little girl, get that time back and I think he just lost his way. He still sees you as a little toddler sometimes.” She laughs. “Abigale I know you want to be a writer and I think that’s exactly what you
should
be. You will tell him tonight at dinner and that will be the end of it.” She stands from her seat on the swing. “Now, let’s go shopping.” She smiles. My mother and a credit card, oh dear.

“Mom you’re insane you know that?” I lean up on my tiptoes and place a kiss on her cheek.

“I know, and that’s how we’ll keep it too.” She throws me a wicked grin to seal the deal. We both laugh now.

“Yes! I have three bars!” I cheerfully yell.

“Come on let’s go,” she says.

“I can’t move from this spot until I make my call, I am
not
losing this opportunity.” I smile like some crazy crack fiend that just got their drug of choice. Only my drug is Evan.

I steady my phone in my hand as I try desperately not to lose my signal. I tap contacts and select, Sex God. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking and no, I didn’t do that…Evan did.

I gently press the phone to my ear as it rings, and rings, and rings.

“It’s E, you know what to do.” His damn voice mail!

“Hey I finally got a signal to call you. I miss you so much, I’ll call when I can.” Disappointment pings in my belly and my mood is shot. Now for the sulking to commence.

I enter the double wooden doors to the kitchen from the deck. My mom is adding some cheek color and lip gloss.

“Sexy,” I call.

“Abigale Hayes!” she laughs. “I know right.” She turns and shoots her hips to the left. My mom is an absolute blast. She can be a prude at times, but for the most part she’s just a woman that adores life and I adore her.

“You better put on your hiking boots.” She grins.

“Why the heck would I do that?” My eyes dart to hers.

“Because we are hiking to the mall. Duh.”

Um, that would be a big fat no! “Mother! You
are
crazy.” My mouth drops.

“Oh Abigale, you are no fun. Get in the Rover.” My mom rolls her eyes and laughs at me.

We drive to the mall and I sit quietly as my mom takes a call from the hospital. I think about the things my mom said about me going for my dreams. I smile because I truly never thought that conversation would come up and it fills me with so much hope. I can be all of the things that I want, not what Addie wanted.

“Abby?” My mom’s voice rings in my ears, bringing me back to the present. “Abby, are you ok?” she asks, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m great. Sorry,” I answer. She smiles and pats my hand.

“Ok, we're on a mission because we're having guests for dinner this evening and we need to look presentable,” she says as we arrive at the shopping center that is thirty minutes from my mom and dad’s house.

“Guest? What guest?” I sulk.

I’m not in the mood to have an ole’ fashioned Hayes dinner party. I truly want nothing more than to have dinner with my parents, take a hot bath and try to get a signal to call Evan. That would be the perfect night.

She looks at me questionably. “Abigale, I told you! Dr. Carlson and his date will be visiting from Los Angeles. They are in town for the children’s gala benefit that we are attending tomorrow and I asked that he come for a visit.”

Oh great some old family friend I’m sure. “Great!” I paint on my good girl smile as we head inside.

“Abby, this is the dress!” My mother holds up a beautiful silver gown that sits way too low in the front, like you need tape on your boobs low, and a floor length flow that is actually kind of perfect.

I put my hands on my hips. “Mother, I can’t believe you would pick something like that for your own daughter,” I joke.

“Oh, honey this one is for me, but we will find you something nice with lots of little flowers or something,” she says as she focuses on the delicate lining.

“Mother!” I hiss.

“Oh Abigale! I’m kidding! I found this little hot number for myself.” She smiles as she pulls out a conservative black gown, way more my mom’s taste.

“Oh good, geez, I thought you were having a mid-life crisis or something.” We look to each other and burst out into a fit of laughter. I’ve missed these times with my mother. She’s always so much fun to hang out with. I smile.

“Miss? My daughter needs a fitting room, she would like to try this on,” my mom announces to the sales girl.

“Right this way.” We approach the dressing rooms and I begin to slip the soft material over my curves in front of the body length mirror.

My phone buzzes. “My phone, my phone!” I hop to my bag with the silver dress hanging halfway on my body. If this call is Evan I’m
not
missing it. The screen is lit up with Amy’s picture.

“Hey!” I’m so happy to talk to someone from civilization. “Oh my God I miss you! I’m bored out of my mind.” I sigh.

Amy laughs. “Well, when are you coming home doll? I have some news for you.” She sounds very serious and a little excited all at the same time.

“Well, I am due to arrive on Saturday, so three more glorious days,” I say sarcastically. “Wait! What news, spill this minute,” I beg. I need gossip or anything that the city can offer me.
Anything
.

She laughs again. “I got the job at channel thirteen!” She can’t contain herself.

She’s so excited and I’m excited for her. “Amy, I am so happy for you!” I gasp.

“I know, I can’t believe it. I will start out doing the ground work, but in no time I will be where I want to be.” I can picture the smile on my best friend’s face. “What are you doing? I have been calling you for two days,” she asks.

“Well right now I’m in the dressing room trying on a gown for a charity event,” I sulk.

My mother and father have been dragging me to these ever since I was sixteen and it has been nice not to attend with my parents living in Colorado. But when Evan told me I should come out to visit I didn’t think to ask if there would be an event while I visited.

“Oh my God do you need the fashion police? Your mother isn’t picking out your gown is she?” she ask as she sucks in a terrifying breath.

“Well surprisingly she did pick a gown, but I know you would approve.” I laugh.

“Ok, but Abby please don’t go dressed in a gown with a collar up to your jaw line for crying out loud,” she sulks now.

“I’m sorry you aren’t here to be my stylist,” I tease.

“Yeah I’ll bet! I have great taste.”

“Hey have you seen Evan?” I ask, curious since I haven’t spoken with him since Monday morning.

“Well, I haven’t, but I think Dominic did a few days ago.” She sounds off when she speaks now.

“Amy? What aren’t you telling me?” I demand.

“Nothing I swear!” She seems to be telling the truth.

“Ok, I haven’t talked to him since Monday and I miss him so much. If you see him please tell him that I don’t have a signal at my mom’s and apparently they had a line fall and their landline isn’t working,” I sigh.

“Weird, you would think being that high in the mountains you would be closer to the satellite,” she says.

“Oh my God that’s what I said!” We laugh again. I’m really homesick, now.

“Abby what are you thinking of wearing for dinner tonight?” my mom asks through the door.

“Hold on mom,” I say.

“Hey I’ve got to go, but when I get home it’s a pizza and wine night.” I smile.

“Ok doll, have a BLAST!” She can be such a sarcastic bitch sometimes. I hang up and smile at my crazy friend.

“What do you think?” I ask my mom as I walk out of the dressing room.

“Oh Abigale, you are so beautiful!” she gasps.

“Aw thanks mom. I
hate
it! I think I’m going to go for that short number over there.” I turn around with an evil grin on my face. My mother turns her head as horror fills her eyes. The dress that I had pointed out isn’t quite the formal dress that you wear to a charity event, more like a corner kind of event.

“Abigale Hayes you will not be wearing that kind of…dress, and that’s the end of it,” she says in her quiet yell.

I laugh. “Gotcha!” I turn and point to her.

She looks at me, placing her hand on her heart. “Are you trying to kill me or something?” She lays the guilt trip on thick now.

“Oh mother, yes I love this gown too.” I go back into the dressing room and change as my mom brings me a few more things she thinks I might like to wear to her formal dinner she’s preparing--well that her chef Frankie is preparing.

I only brought a few dresses and really nothing my mom thought appropriate for a ‘formal’ function. She’s so picky. I roll my eyes.

“Here Abigale, I saw this and thought you would be beautiful in it.” She hands me a white off the shoulder bandage dress.

I slip into it and it seems to be a perfect fit. “Mom I need you to get the zipper please,” I say. She walks into the dressing room and squeezes my shoulders, staring at me in the mirror as she sweeps my hair to the side.

“You are a beautiful woman, do you know how proud of you I am?” She smiles.

“Mom, don’t cry,” I say as a tear begins to fall down her cheek.

“I can’t help it. I look at you and see this brave girl taking on the world and I know your sister would be so proud of you. She’s watching you and cheering you on every step of the way.” We both cry now.

“I miss her so much,” I cry.

“I know baby, I miss her too, but she’s still with us, here.” She pats my chest where my heart sits.

I sit on the bed thinking of Evan and wishing I could talk to him. I tried again in the dressing room, but he still didn’t answer, so I left another message. I never want to be without him again, this is killing me. I lay back on the bed staring up at the ceiling, wishing it was emerald green and he was lying next to me.

“Fifteen minutes, be in the foyer Abigale.” My mom knocks on my door.

I stand, smoothing out my white dress and pop some pink lip gloss to my lips. I slip on my pink pumps, take another look in the mirror to check my curls, wondering if I should have put my hair up.

“I give up.” I really don’t care what I look like; I miss Evan so much. What do I need to look beautiful for? Some old friend of my parents’ isn’t going to care what their twenty-two-year-old daughter looks like. I roll my eyes.

“Frank, are we ready?” my mother asks over the intercom.

“Yes, Mrs. Hayes,” he answers.

“Baby girl you look so beautiful.” My dad kisses me on the cheek as we wait in the foyer for our guests to pull up the half-mile driveway.

My mother is a stickler for appropriate welcoming of guests. My father has been surprisingly warm during this visit. I wondered why the sudden change, but who am I to question him being loving? I’m just grateful it isn’t awkward this visit.

“Smiles, here they come,” she announces.

My father rolls his eyes and we laugh together. Ah so refreshing, like the good ole days.

“Hey,” my mother teases.