Chasing Abby(38)

“Don’t be silly. You’re not imposing,” I insist.
“But I don’t think I’d feel comfortable without Caleb.”
“He can come,” I reply.
“Yeah!” Ryder agrees.
“Why are you so happy?” Junior says, walking into the kitchen with his nose buried in a text conversation.
“Abby and Caleb are coming with us to the beach house!” Ryder replies.
“Settle down, Ry. Nothing is decided yet,” Chris says, taking the remote away from him so he can turn off the TV.
Ryder crosses his arms and glares at Chris, but Chris glares right back at him. After a moment, Ryder smiles. “Thanks for turning the TV off, Dad. It was rotting my brain.”
Chris shakes his head. “Go upstairs and take a shower. Now.”
“You guys are coming to the beach house? Sweet!” Junior says, taking a seat on the stool next to Caleb at the breakfast bar. “Maybe you can give me a driving lesson in your car?”
Caleb chuckles. “You got a permit?”
Junior waves off the question. “A mere technicality.”
Abby stands across the breakfast bar from Caleb, their eyes locked, and I can feel them silently communicating, gauging the other’s reaction. He nods slightly and she nods back.
“Well, I guess as long as I have my meds and my parents know where I am, it should be okay for a few days,” Abby begins, turning away from Caleb to face Chris and me. “I mean, neither of us have been to the beach in a long time.”
“Do you like the beach?” I ask.
She smiles at this simple question that still seems to say so much about how desperate I am to know her. “Yeah, I love it, but because of my heart condition, it’s not good for me to engage in a lot of physical activity. My parents used to take me swimming at the aquatic center all the time, but they thought the waves and currents of the ocean were too unpredictable to be safe.”
I nod my head, though I really just want to take her in my arms and tell her how sorry I am that we didn’t give her a better heart. “Well, you’ll be safe with us. We won’t let you out of our sight.”
“Neither will I.”
Abby turns to Caleb after he says this and the expression on her face is full of adoration. Abby and Caleb are not just boyfriend and girlfriend. They’re in love. He takes care of her, the way Chris has always taken care of me.



SIX HOURS LATER, we dine on Chris’s famous slow-roasted chicken. All the men and boys retire to the living room to watch a sci-fi action flick while I lead Abby upstairs to show her the guest room where she will be sleeping tonight. I had planned to have Jimi show Abby around, to give them a chance to chat, but Jimi still hasn’t come home.
We arrive at the guest room, where I stop outside and point at the double doors at the end of the hallway. “That’s our bedroom down there. If you should wake up in the middle of the night and need something, glass of water, extra blanket, anything, just go ahead and knock. We’re both light sleepers.”
I show her around the guest room and the attached guest bath, then I realize she has no clothes to change into for bed. I take her to Jimi’s room to get some pajamas for her to borrow.
“It’s fine. I can sleep in this,” she insists.
“Oh, don’t be silly. Jimi’s friends are always borrowing her clothes. She won’t mind.”
“I won’t mind what?”
We both whip our heads around and find Jimi standing at the doorway with her friend Sydney. Jimi’s long, light-brown hair falls in soft waves over her shoulders and her blue eyes are focused on me awaiting my response.
“Jimi, come over here and meet your sister.”
Jimi waits a few seconds before she turns her attention away from me and onto Abby. She walks slowly, almost reluctantly, toward us until she’s a few feet away. Crossing her arms over her chest, she waits for me or Abby to say something.