Stay: Changing Tides, Book 1 (29 page)

It had been a week since her mother left, and she just wasn’t ready to socialize yet. When she opened the locker, the flashing red light on her cell phone lit the dark corners with tiny blips. She grabbed it before stuffing her sweatshirt inside and closing the locker door.

“Hey, Burke? You coming tonight?”

Jerking around at David’s yell, she forced a smile for his benefit. “Sorry, David, I’ve got another shift coming up in a few hours.”

“That’s all you do. Work and work some more.” He shook his head. He was handsome, with dark hair and bright green eyes. She adored him, really. Especially when he couldn’t start a shift without showing her multiple pictures of his newborn son. “My wife’s gonna think I made you up. You’ve been here over a month and she hasn’t met you.”

“Sorry,” she offered. “Maybe next time.”

She grabbed her bag and headed for Captain Hutchens’s office before David could respond. She knew she worked all the time, but it was the only thing that could keep her mind off her mother—and Brack. Not to mention, without another job, she needed the extra shifts to pay for her rent. She missed working with Jonathon more every day and wondered if her job at Elmont had been filled yet.

Knocking on the door, she waited until he called out to enter. The room was a mess, as always. Papers littered the desk and chairs. He was by far the most unorganized captain she’d ever had. But George was also one of the nicest. His bald head didn’t lift from the papers he was reading, so she cleared her throat. “You wanted to see me?”

He pointed to an empty chair. “Have a seat, Burke.”

She waited, uncertain about the captain’s cryptic need to see her.

After a few minutes, he finally pushed the papers aside. “A Dr. Calhain called looking for you. He said you’d panic when he called, but he needed to let you know they were transferring your mother to another facility. Here’s his number.”

Abby accepted the piece of paper with shaky fingers. She’d gotten the call a few days ago. Her mother had been arrested, and with the amount of warrants outstanding against her, the judge had ordered her into Ridgewood Mental Health facility for a psychiatric evaluation. The transfer could be good or bad news. She couldn’t be sure which yet. “I’ll call him back. Thanks.”

Hutchins nodded. “I also got a call from one of your old stations today. Seems there was some paperwork you left behind that the captain there thought I might be interested in seeing.” He tossed a manila folder in her direction. “Your shift is supposed to start in a couple of hours, but I’ve decided you need to take the day off.”

“Captain, I need that shift.” Christ, more than he knew. Somehow her mother had managed to empty not only the apartment, but the meager amount of money they had saved in the bank. “I don’t understand.”

“You will.” He held up a hand to stall further protest. “Get going. There’s someone next door at the coffee shop waiting to see you.”

“What?”

Baffled, she sat back in the chair. What in the world was going on? She ripped open the folder and scanned the first page. Her heart skipped a beat or two, or three, hell it just stopped altogether. The
Brighton Fire & Rescue
header on the page saw to that. Her eyes blurred with memories of the two men she’d left behind as she read the glowing recommendation sent to her new captain by Bracken J. Elliot.

She glanced at George. “The coffee shop?”

He nodded without looking up. “That’s what he requested.”

He?

Her heart must have started working again at some point, though she wasn’t sure when. She knew because it stopped again. He was here? In Lamplen, Pennsylvania? That wasn’t possible. Was it?

She walked out of the office with numbed senses and before she knew it, she stood at the door to the coffee shop. Numerous people filled the large room. She stared through the window for several minutes for broad shoulders, blue eyes, or even the dark waves of his unruly hair. She wouldn’t miss him in a crowd the size of New Years Eve in Times Square.

But she didn’t see him.

The door opened and several teenagers bustled out onto the street. Their loud laughter and easy chatter bounced just outside her mind. The door began to swing shut and she grabbed it, closing her eyes to take a deep breath. She could do this. See what he wanted, ask how Jonathon was doing, and breathe him in.

She could do this.

The strong scent of coffee filled the room. Every stool at the long counter was occupied, and each table seemed to be taken. She scanned the people, squinting into the back corners with greedy eyes, her need to see him so profound she skipped right over a familiar face before jerking back to stare.

Jonathon waved from across the room, his smile radiant.

She rushed over, tears pooling in her eyes to blur the obstacles before her. She made it to his table with little more than a sore shin from its contact with several chairs, and met his huge hug. She didn’t even try to hold back her emotion. She didn’t care who saw her. Having him here, in person, able to witness his smile and the happiness in his expression made the rest of the coffee shop patrons disappear.

He let go and waved to one of the empty seats, his hands immediately set in motion. “How are you?”

“Good.” All the signs she’d replayed in her mind were still fresh. She’d practiced them often, enjoying the memories of their talks, and in a way, holding onto a piece of Brack and Jonathon in the process. “I’m good. How are you?”

“Never better.” He met her gaze with a self-assured smile that so resembled Brack’s her throat ached. “What’s going on with your mom? Is she okay?”

Leave it to the amazing kid he was to think of her troubles. Another teenager would have been ripping into her for leaving.

A young waitress—damn if she could remember her name—came over then. “Can I get you something, Abby?”

“Hazelnut decaf, please.” Hating the disruption in their conversation, she turned back to Jonathon. “She’s in a facility right now. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m used to it. I knew it was only a matter of time.”

“Nobody gets used to watching someone they love walk away.”

He’d signed with slow deliberation, his eyes intent. She didn’t miss the meaning in his choice of words. “Jonathon, you have to understand. I didn’t want to leave you or your father.”

“But you did it for us?”

The animation of his expression spoke volumes. Amazed at his ability to lace his signs with sarcasm, she sighed. “Yes. I thought you’d understand.”

“I guess I do. In a way. But I still wish you could have stayed. Things were great when you were around.” He took a sip of his coffee and blew out a long breath. “He was a wreck when you left, you know. Not that he showed anyone. I knew of course. But he hid it from everyone else pretty well.”

A wreck was the last definition she could imagine in any sentence that coincided with Brack Elliot. “But he’s fine now, right?”

“Yeah. You have no idea.” His smile gave extra meaning to the signs. “I never would have thought.”

That statement shouldn’t have hurt, but it did. She had no right to feel pain because he’d gone on with his life. That was all she’d given him as a choice. His safety, his well-being, was her reason for leaving. She still had nightmares about her mother nearly running him over. And still, the image of him happy, maybe dating, settled like a heavy boulder in her chest. She forced a smile she just couldn’t make herself feel and fell back on her fake-it-till-you-make-it motto. “That’s great. I’m glad he’s okay. So tell me, what are you doing here?”

“I’m taking my first flying lesson at Bridgeport airstrip. We just got back from the Hershey factory a little while ago.” Excitement flashed in his eyes. “Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. I think I gained a couple of pounds in the hours we were there.”

Her mind refused to process his signs with anything other than images. Clear as day, they stood in the factory gift shop, two greedy men picking through the assortments of chocolate. Then his other statement replayed in her mind, and she jerked back to attention.

“Wait. Did you say flying lessons?” The shock she experienced must have registered on her face because he smiled hugely.

“Yes.” He turned his napkin several times, then added, “Dad and I are headed to the airport in the morning for our first lesson.”

She’d waited to hear news of Brack without having to ask. Now that he’d mentioned him, she couldn’t resist asking. “Your dad’s here too?”

His hands and expression were laden with sarcasm for a second time. “Did you think I was here by myself?”

“No. I was just hoping you’d supply the information so I wouldn’t have to make an ass out of myself asking.”

“You owe me a quarter for that swear.” He settled back in his chair, his gaze solid. “But I’ll let it slide this time. Yes, my dad’s here. What else do you want to know?”

“Why are you guys here and what’s with flying lessons?” There was so much more she wanted to ask. Instead, she settled for, “I never imagined your dad would lighten up that much.”

Jonathon set his mug down, tossed a ten-dollar bill on the table then grabbed her hand. He didn’t sign another word until they were outside. The early evening sunset lit up the sky in orange and red, painting the clouds far into the distance. She stared at them for a lingering moment, unsure if she was ready to see what he had to say. When she met his eyes again, he smiled.

“He went back to his old by-the-book nonsense when you left. Everything in its place and a place for everything. No room for coloring outside the lines. Drove me crazy too.”

The disgusted turn of his lips made her laugh. “But that changed?”

“Yeah. I finally decided he needed to be more like he was when you were around. So I did something a bit—crazy.” He guided her toward the corner where a small bench sat outside the shop and plunked down on it.

She took the spot next to him. “Do I even dare ask what you did?

Silent laughter lightened his features. “I joined the rally club and started racing.”

“Stock cars?” Abby choked back a laugh. That couldn’t have gone over well. “What did he do?”

He shrugged. “Ranted and raved and then shocked the shit—I mean crap—out of me by offering the old Camaro he had at his grandfather’s place, as a fixer-upper.”

“No shit?” His eyebrows arched at her use of the language, but he just nodded. “Wow. Never would have seen that coming.”

“Then this will really shock you.”

That hint had her sitting on the edge of her seat. But he held up a finger for her to wait and reached into his pocket. When he pulled his cell phone free and she heard the low vibration, she glanced away. Was that Brack? Her heartbeat drummed up a notch. It probably was. Wondering where Jonathon was and what he was doing. Or did he know already? Surely he knew, but he’d chosen not to visit as well. She couldn’t blame him. Not after the way she’d left. Still, it would have been nice to see the real face behind the dreams that haunted her sleep.

And his scent. She still looked around when she smelled the aroma of fresh-cut wood. Thankfully, this town was much bigger than his hometown, far from the coast. There weren’t trees and driftwood everywhere, ready for his hands and saws to turn the wood into amazing creations in his shop.

Jonathon snapped his phone shut after a flurry of text messages and smiled. “Sorry.”

She returned the smile but clenched her hands to keep from asking about Brack again. “So what’s going to shock me?”

A wide grin curved his lips. “We’ve been on the road for the last three weeks. We’ve done everything you can imagine. He took all of his vacation time at once and we’ve gone from one state to the next. I’ve bungee-jumped twice, but I could only talk Dad into it one time. He said that was enough for him. But we’ve ridden rollercoasters until we puked and went spelunking in this cool cave. Man, was it awesome. It cost us extra to go as far as we did, but we were allowed to use the axes, and I got this really neat rock with all kinds of different minerals and crystal formations through it. There were even bats!”

His hands moved without stopping. He was really good at spelling out the words she didn’t know, but his inflection described most words without her having to interrupt. They’d gone horseback riding, driven a racecar around a real racetrack and went moose hunting up near the Canadian border. She tried to wrap her mind around the images, but she just couldn’t.

She held a hand up to stall his signs. “Jonathon, you can’t blame me for having a hard time believing all this.” She shook her head. “What made him change so drastically?”

His trim shoulders hunched in a dubious shrug. “You’d have to ask him. He makes all the plans. I just go along. This stop wasn’t in our plans originally. He came back to the hotel the other night where we were staying in Richmond, Virginia, and said we were headed here. I didn’t really care. Every place we’d stopped so far had been a blast.”

“And here you are.” She sat back against the bench in disbelief. “Going flying in the morning. I’m in shock.”

Jonathon stood and stretched. “I’m sure you are, but this trip was different. He’s been quiet since we got here. He told me this morning that he’d found out you were here.”