Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(83)

She wanted to believe him.

“Stop it.” Matt’s voice was soft but firm. “Stop thinking about what could happen and hear me. I love you, and nothing and no one could keep me from you.” He kissed the side of her head, then her neck until she shooed him out. She didn’t want his mom walking in on a kissing session with her son. And she needed to go to the bathroom. Again.

—

Abby dried her hands on a small towel appliquéd with a turkey. Her hand was on the doorknob, already turning it, when she heard Marge’s voice and it was too late to stop the motion of her exit. Did his mother know Matt had been in here with her?

“I just wanted Matt to have his own family, to be happy,” Marge said.

“I know, Mom,” Lizzy was saying. “I wanted the same thing.”

Abby froze in the half-open doorway and stared. Matt’s mom and sister stared back. Oh, God. His mom was…crying? This was worse than she thought. So much worse.

Lizzy gave Abby a warm smile and squeezed her arm before returning to the family room.

Speechless, Abby watched Marge dab at her eyes. Matt’s mother didn’t want her. She’d made his mother cry. But she wouldn’t give him up without a fight. She couldn’t.

Marge regained her voice first. “Oh, Abby.”

Abby lifted her trembling chin. “I know you love your son, and you want the best for him. I do too. I know you think he could do better than a girl nobody wanted. Trust me. I’ve thought the same thing a hundred times.”

Don’t cry. She trusted Matt and he loved her. “But Matt’s smart. He makes good decisions, good choices. I know he could have anyone he wanted, but he chose me. And I’m not going to walk away unless he tells me to.” She felt a hot tear roll down her cheek. She couldn’t help it. She did want Matt’s mother to want her.

Marge pressed a clean tissue into Abby’s hand. “Are you finished?”

Abby wiped her eyes, her lips pressed together so tightly she could only nod.

“There’s a light in Matt’s eyes that I’ve never seen. And you put it there. I knew right away his feelings for you were different from any he’d ever had before. He fell in love with you before I even met you, and…” Marge dropped her eyes to the mutilated tissue in her hands. “Well, I knew he would walk away from his family if you asked him to.”

“What?” Walk away? Why would she ever want that?

“All I ever wanted was for him to be happy, but, selfishly, I also wanted him close. You might think it’s silly—”

“No.” Abby shook her head. “I don’t.”

Marge reached out and touched her face, a mother’s touch.

“You’re so lovely. I see that now. I’m sorry, Abby. Can you forgive—”

“Abby?” Matt called from the kitchen, where he was waiting. “You okay?”

Abby threw her arms around the woman. “I love you,” she whispered. And she did. For giving her Matt. For wanting her in their family. “There’s nothing to forgive.”





Chapter 34


Laying a hand on her contracting stomach, Abby pushed up from the bed slowly so she wouldn’t wake Charlie. Well, that was not the only reason she was moving slowly. She’d lain down with him as a ploy to get him to nap. Though she could’ve easily fallen asleep and probably slept until the next morning. But she forced herself to move. She wanted to help Marge get things into the oven. The family was coming over for leftovers and another round of games.

She slowed her steps to study more pictures lining the hallway. Family portraits chronicled the addition of each new family member. Her attention was drawn by Matt’s voice coming from the open door of Mr. McKinney’s office, and she froze on the edge of the dining room.

“No, sir.”

There was a pause while the person on the other end of the phone spoke and Matt made a sound of agreement.

It was his tone that made her hesitate, his words that stopped her cold.

“I appreciate your faith in me, sir, and of course I’ll miss it.”

A tremor ran through her body.

“I don’t think— Yes. I understand, sir. I’ll think about it.”

Every muscle in her body seized and she stood frozen to the spot as Matt appeared in the doorway. “Who was that?”

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and smiled. “You ready to kick some ass, partner?”

“Who was it?” she repeated, trying to stop her body’s shaking.

His face turned serious. “Captain Perry.”

She tried to swallow. Calm down. Don’t jump to conclusions. “What did he want? Was it about another mission?”

“He asked me if I would reconsider my decision until the spring, when they’ll have some new guys ready. I told him no.”

Her shaking hand reached out blindly for a chair. “You told him you’d think about it.”

“Abby—”

“You’re thinking about it. You want—”

He reached for her hand. “I want you. Look, we can talk about—”

“No.” Blood pounded in her ears as she shook her head back and forth, making herself dizzy. “No, we can’t.”

He was going to leave. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart raced and she couldn’t slow it down. Why was he so calm while she was a volcano of emotion rising toward a violent eruption? His face held nothing more than mild confusion.