“What…are you doing?” Abi asked, coming up behind me.
I looked down at my baby sister. “Packing.”
“For?”
“I got jobs,” I replied duly.
“Like rodeo jobs!?” Stetson called as he plopped on the sofa.
I gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, bud. Rodeo jobs.”
“And that requires your entire closet to be out in the living room…why?” Abi trailed off, tilting her head as she looked over at me.
I scrunched my nose. I didn’t even like the detail I was about to give her. But—and I hate this saying, too—it is what it is. “Well, I’ll be gone for a bit, traveling with Sam and Hawk since they are in the same cities half the time. So”—I waved my hand over the clothes—“I wanted to see all my options.”
Abi raised an eyebrow. “See your options? By laying them all out on your floor?”
I shrugged. “It’s something Quinn does.”
She raised her head, her eyes never leaving me. “Ah, that makes sense.”
“What makes sense?”
“Nothing.” She used her hip to bump mine. “When do you leave?”
“Friday. I’ll be back in November.”
“November?” Her voice rose in stunned question.
“You’ll miss Halloween?” Stetson asked, his brow furrowing.
I nodded. “Yeah, sorry, bud. I mean, what’s the point of staying here? I have committees wanting me, I need to get back there, and this is the way to do it.”
“What’s the point of staying here?” Abi repeated.
I met her gaze and waited. And waited…and waited.
“You can say it.” I groaned, dropping my arms and bending to pick up the first pair of boots I saw. Snakeskin, not good for a rodeo. I tossed them behind the couch, hearing them hit the wood floor with a loud bang. “I know you want to.”
“There are a lot of points in staying here. You’re just being an idiot.”
“I know.”
“At least you can admit it.”
I heaved a sigh. “I’m assuming she told you everything,” I asked, toneless, vapid…drained.
She gave me a soft nod. “I was just waiting for you to come tell me everything.” She folded her arms.
I knew why I didn’t—and even looking at her now, I stuck by it. Abi was my catch-all. She was there no matter what, just like I am for her. She’s seen me at my worst, I’ve seen her at her lowest, but we are always there for one another. I knew if I went to her and cried on her shoulder instead of on my pillow, she would have wrapped an arm around my shoulder and let me have my time. But…
“You’re Quinn’s friend, and she most likely needed you more than I did,” I admitted, taking a deep breath once the words were out in the open. “Plus, it’s not like I haven’t been through a girl ghosting me before.”
Abi rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed huff. “Not like this, you haven’t.” She folded her arms and added, “I wouldn’t choose sides, you know.”
I furrowed my brow. “So, all those years I hated Cash because of what he did to you—”
“Were the dumbest years of your life because he was your friend too, but that’s beside the point.” She waved her hand in the air. “Listen.” Grabbing my sleeve, she yanked me to the couch. We both sank down next to Stetson. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close to me. She snuggled close but gave my knee a hard slap. Stetson laughed, then settled into his mom’s other side. “Quinn doesn’t know what to think. She had this whole image of you in her head, and you completely erased that. You—I don’t know—became yourself in front of her. Everyone saw how different you were. Don’t think you became designated babysitter just because you’re good with babies. Do you know how nervous Kyla was to leave Poppy with you? I had to talk her into letting you babysit that first night, and then Kyla admitted you were the baby whisperer, you even took on the nickname—”
