Saved by Love (Willow Valley Book 3)(17)

At least she'd slept well the night before. She'd felt like a teenager mooning over a boy as she drifted dreamily off to sleep, but it had been a nice if surprising change.

"Abby!" a voice practically yelled, inches from her ear.

She jolted from where she'd been leaning on the counter staring off into space at the dust motes that floated through the sun rays. "Jesse! What is wrong with you, scaring me like that?" She dropped the flyer and put a hand to her chest.

Her brother raised his eyebrows dubiously. "I've only been calling your name for the past two minutes. Where were you? Because you most definitely were not here on planet Earth."

Abby flushed again and turned to the stack of shirts on the other counter that ran along the wall behind the front register. She hoped Jesse hadn't seen her mooning over Ethan. While they were starting to develop a relationship that actually resembled that of siblings, she wasn't sure she was ready to discuss her love life with him.

"I'm sorry. I'll get right back to work," she said, not looking at him.

Jesse came up beside her and leaned on his hip against the counter, crossing his arms across his chest and grinning. "I can guess it in one word. Ethan."

She glanced sharply at him. "How in the— Never mind. Small town," she mumbled. "Is everyone always going to know all about my business?"

"Well, when you start out by creating rumors at the Old Gin, then confirm them by a very, um, intense public display of affection, people are going to talk." He chuckled.

"Apparently," Abby muttered.

"So what's the deal?"

She turned to him, crossing her arms in a mirror of his stance and jutting her chin out. "Are you asking so you can feed the vultures?"

"Are you calling my wife a vulture?" he returned, barely fighting back a smile.

Throwing up her hands, Abby blew out her breath in a huff, exasperated. "No! I'm sure if she wanted to know she would come straight out and ask me. So what's this about?"

"A concerned older brother," he offered. Then he reached out and squeezed her shoulder, becoming serious. "Truly, Ab, I do want you to know that I'm here for you and looking out for you."

Now she narrowed her eyes and studied him. "Is there something I should know? A reason you need to look out for me?" What if Ethan really was bad news, beyond his daredevil lifestyle? Cassie seemed to think he was a good guy, but maybe Jesse knew something she didn't.

But he just shook his head and shrugged. "Not that I know of. I just know you've been through a lot and I hope you know you can trust me if you need to talk about anything."

It was crazy that they'd only known the other existed for less than half a year, and yet the past few months they had already developed a strong relationship. If there was anyone Abby could trust, it was Jesse.

And that right there almost made her want to tell him everything. All about what happened to Derek. How she hadn't been able to move past it and that it now caused her to live her life in fear.

She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again. She just wasn't ready to go there. It was already a huge step that she was trying to tamp down her issues enough to explore this unexpected attraction to Ethan. If she dove into all her issues with her brother now, she'd probably chicken out on her date. And she really, really didn't want to.

"Thanks, Jesse, but I think I'll be just fine," she said instead, giving him a genuine smile. "You're a pretty good big brother, you know."

He returned her smile. "I'm trying. But seriously, I'm fully prepared to punch a dude if he hurts my little sister."

Abby laughed. How things had changed for her in such a short amount of time. Who knew how nice it would be to have a big brother ready to go to bat for her?

"I'll keep that in mind. But I think going out for ice cream is a perfectly safe thing."

"So you have a date with him? Hmm. I wonder if Lissa is up for ice cream tonight? You know, her pregnancy cravings can just pop up out of nowhere." Jesse smiled mischievously.

Abby's mouth dropped open. "You wouldn't!"

"I wouldn't. But Lissa would. Which is why I'll cut you a break and keep your date to myself for now."

She sighed in relief. The last thing she wanted was an audience when she went out with Ethan. Slugging Jesse playfully on the shoulder, she shook her head. "You are something else."

He shrugged. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask you. Mom and Dad want to know if you want to come for dinner on Sunday."

"They want to know? Or just your mom?" Denise Kincade had gone out of her way from Abby's first appearance in town to try to make her feel welcome. The same couldn't be said about her father Charles. It was odd, really, that the woman he had cheated on would be more welcoming to her than her own father. He had been less than thrilled to find out he had a grown child by Abby's mother, a woman he hadn't seen in twenty-six years.

Jesse shrugged again, this time with a bit more discomfort. "Well, it was Mom's idea, but Dad seemed like he was on board. He even said something about making it a regular occurrence."

That did take her by surprise. "Seriously? Huh. Who would have thought?" She tried to play it off with a laugh, but she and Jesse both knew how hard it had been these past few months to know that Charles Kincade would probably have preferred it if she'd never shown up on his doorstep.