Chapter Five
When they finally came to move Chase upstairs, Abby met his sleepy smile with one of her own and an ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
She walked outside to his truck, and slid inside. Her head dropped softly against the steering wheel for a moment as she tried to come to terms with her emotions.
A soft knock on the window next to her startled her and she turned to meet the brown eyes of the doctor from the emergency room.
Christopher Bridges? I think that’s what he said the other day.
She rolled the window down.
“Hi—Abby isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
He stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet. “How are you feeling? You know, after your accident the other day.”
“Fine, just a little sore.”
“Good. I’m glad there weren’t any serious injuries.”
“Yeah—me, too.”
“Um…I wanted to ask you if you’d like to have dinner with me.”
Abby’s gaze shifted to the hospital doors for a moment as thoughts of Chase rippled across her mind.
“You know—that is if there isn’t anything between you and Chase.”
“No, there’s nothing between Chase and me. We’re just friends—neighbors.” Memories of the night before flashed across her mind. He’d held her so tenderly while she cried. Never once did Chase take things beyond friendship when her tears wet his shirt, understanding her need to talk about Josh without judging or trying to tell her it was time to move on.
“So what do you say? Dinner tomorrow?”
“Uh…yeah sure.”
Christopher smiled and a small crescent shaped indentation peeked out of his cheek. “Shall I pick you up at your place about six?”
“Make it six thirty. I need to feed Chase’s horses first.”
His smile turned into frown for a moment. “No problem. See you, then.”
She rolled the window back up as he stepped back and walked inside.
The drive back to Chase’s house made her feel kind of weird, almost like coming home, and the sensation bothered her.
When she went around the back to feed the animals, she talked to each one in the stalls while she dropped hay into their feeders. He had some beautiful animals, sleek, well-muscled with broad chests and excellent markings. Even though she didn’t know quarter horses very well, she knew these were some expensive and well-bred animals.
Once she finished, Abby wandered back toward his house. She chewed her lip when her gaze rested on the beat up truck sitting in front. She would have to take Chase’s truck home, she realized.
I need to lock up at least,
she thought as she pushed open the door.
When she rushed through the house earlier, she really hadn’t looked around. At the time, worry about where he was took precedence, but now she noticed everything about his space.
What kind of man is Chase Wilder anyway?
Just inside the front door, the small hallway opened into a much larger living room. The front room was decorated in a similar fashion to hers with big, stuffed leather furniture that looked so soft a person could sink in and never come out. A fireplace graced one wall. It wasn’t quite as big as the one in her house, but impressive just the same. The kitchen sat off to her left with knotted pine cabinets and granite countertops that gleamed when the light from the ceiling fixtures hit them. A hallway disappeared to her right, which she assumed probably led to the bedrooms, but she wasn’t going to go there. That would be too invasive.
That’s enough, Abby.
She shook her head, flipped off the lights, and locked the door, shutting it firmly behind her. Walking back out to his truck with his keys clutched firmly in her hand, she slid inside and started it. She pulled out of his driveway, and headed for home.
Finally reaching her own place, she unlocked the door, and pushed it open, just as she heard the phone ring.
Abby grabbed the receiver and said, “Hi, Mom.”
“How is your friend, Abigail?”
“He’s fine, but he has a broken leg. One of his horses kicked him.” She slipped off her coat and hung it up in the closet.
“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m glad he’s all right.”
“He’ll be fine, eventually. I’m going to have to help him with the horses, though.” She poured a cup of cold coffee and set it in the microwave to heat.
“You are such a good neighbor.”
She shook her head when she heard the tone in her mother’s voice. It was the same one she used when Abby and Josh had started dating. “Don’t get any ideas, Mom. Chase and I are just friends. In fact, I have a date with a doctor from the hospital tomorrow night for dinner.”
“That’s nice, Abigail.”
She rolled her eyes. “I need to go, Mom. I’ve got to fix myself something to eat. I was at the hospital a while with Chase, and I’m starving. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Of course, sweetheart. Let me know how the date goes, all right?”
“Sure, Mom. Talk to you later.”
Abby fixed herself some food and sat down in her favorite chair with a book and warm blanket. Her eyes started to droop as the warmth and full stomach took their toll. Giving up the fight, she slipped on her pajamas, snuggled beneath the covers on her bed, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
The next day, Chase awoke from surgery to find Abby sitting at his bedside. She laughed when he tried to smile.
Damn, I must really look like shit.
“Hey there.”
“Hi. They must have given you some good drugs. How are you feeling?”
He frowned for a moment. “Like I’ve been hit by a truck or kicked by a horse. I’m not sure which.”
Her rich, almost girlish giggle filled the room and he attempted to smile again. He liked her laugh.
“The latter, I’m afraid.”
“Is the surgery over?”
“Yeah.”
Doctor Bridges came in and stood behind Abby’s chair. “Hi, Abby. Hey, Chase, how are you doing?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“Good. I just thought I’d stop and check on you since I had to see another patient up here, and I saw Abby sitting with you.”
Chase frowned.
Since when were Bridges and Abby on a first name basis?
Christopher laid his hand on Abby’s shoulder and said, “Listen, Abby, I’ll see you later tonight, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. What should I wear?”
“Casual is fine.”
Chase watched the two exchange words and something akin to jealousy rippled across his heart.
“I’ll see you at six–thirty, then.”
Abby watched the other man walk away as Chase watched her. When her gaze moved back to him, he carefully masked his feelings.
“So, did they say how long you had to stay in here?”
“Not really. I was hoping the surgeon would come by so I could find out. I don’t want you to have to take care of my animals for too long.”
“I don’t mind, Chase, really. They are beautiful animals, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“You’ll have to let me know your feeding schedule, though. I just gave them hay last night, but I don’t want to mess with your stuff, you know?”
“I usually fed them twice a day. Hay in the morning and grain at night.”
He frowned when thoughts of Abby and Christopher going out later flashed across his mind.
“Something wrong?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug as he dropped his gaze to the sheet under his hand. “No.”
“Then why the frown?” He shifted in the bed, avoiding her eyes. “I thought we were friends.” Abby laid her hand on top of his, sending a shiver racing up his arm to settle where his heart lay in his chest. Her touch brought his attention back to her.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Then what’s the problem? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” She gaze searched his face and it made him just a tad bit uncomfortable in her scrutiny.
“No.”
“Okay, then tell me what’s bugging you. I can see it in your face.”
“Nothing. I just…um.”
“What, for crying out loud?” The exasperation was clear in her voice, and she threw up her hands in frustration.
After a moment he finally blurted out, “I guess I didn’t realize you were dating Doctor Bridges.”
“I’m not.”
Chase scowled and asked, “You’re having dinner with him tonight, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s dating him, then.”
Abby exhaled with a rush of air. “It’s one dinner date, Chase, no big deal.”
He wouldn’t look at her as feelings he didn’t want to put a name to zipped through his heart.
I don’t care that much, do I?
“Oh, come on, Chase. It’s not like we are sleeping together for God’s sake. It’s dinner, nothing more.”
He shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing. “Okay, if you say so.”
What do I care if she’s dating Chris?
Abby finally stood with a heavy sigh. “I should go. I need to get the animals fed. Let me know what they say about when you can go home. That way I can make sure I’m here to take you.”
“You don’t need to do that. I’ll have one of my friends…”
Abby held up her hand to interrupt his flow of words. “I am your friend, Chase.” She returned the chair to its proper place and moved toward the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure. Have fun on your date.”
Abby shot him a frown and a look that told him she wanted to give him a dressing down, but she just turned and walked away instead.
Damn, she’s beautiful when she’s pissed off.
* * * *
Abby grumbled to herself while she walked out to his truck and slammed the door before she started it.
Damn infuriating man!
Shaking her head, she pulled out of the hospital parking lot and headed for his house. When she pulled into the driveway to feed the animals, she had the same sensation as yesterday. From some reason, driving his truck into his driveway felt like home. It wasn’t supposed to feel like that, but it did.
She took her time feeding the horses and even brushed a couple of them, losing herself in her task until she realized how late it was getting. Finishing up, she put the brushes away in the tack room before she drove back to her house to get ready for her date.
Maybe it is a date, but it doesn’t feel like that to me. I mean, Christopher is gorgeous and super nice, but…
Her heart whispered, “He’s not Chase.”
Dragging her thoughts back the task at hand, Abby quickly showered and dressed in jeans and a white blouse only moments before she heard Christopher pull into the driveway. She peered outside through the window to see him walking up to the door.
When the doorbell rang, she pulled open the front entrance and said, “Hi.”
“Wow. You look great.”
She looked down at her clothes and blushed. “Thanks, but it’s nothing special.”
“Here. These are for you,” he said, handing her a bouquet of mixed flowers that smelled heavenly. Abby looked at them a moment with a frown. Josh used to buy her flowers all the time and he always seemed to pick the mixed bouquets.
I can never make up my mind what kind to buy, so this fits everything,
he used to say.
“Something wrong?”
Christopher’s voice brought her back and she raised her eyes to his. “No. They’re beautiful, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Shall we go?”
“Sure, just let me grab my coat.”
As they drove toward town, they went by the gate to the Rocking W, and her eyes found the front of Chase’s house. Pulling her gaze away, she wondered why the place always seemed to call to her like a lost soul waiting, wanting her to come home.
“Did you see Chase this afternoon?” Abby knew she shouldn’t ask, but she had to. Thoughts of her frustrating neighbor kept flashing across her mind on a too regular basis these days. “How’s he doing?”
“I did stop by his room, and the surgeon had already been there this evening, but I didn’t get a chance to ask him anything. They were talking at that point, and I was running late to pick you up.”
“Oh.” Her gaze found a snow bank outside the windshield and disappointment rushed across her heart. Christopher’s frown made her realize she shouldn’t be talking about Chase with him. He would think there was more than friendship between them if she wasn’t careful and that wasn’t the case.
Was it?
At the restaurant, they found a nice private table in the corner away from most of the other patrons. Talk centered around her life in New York although she avoided talking about Josh except to reiterate that he’d died over a year before.
“You still wear your wedding ring, though.”
“Yes, I do.” She didn’t elaborate. The comfort level she shared with Chase wasn’t there with this man, and she didn’t want to explain Joshua to him.