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“True,” Allie with a laugh, “but imagine how amazing this is going to look next year when you dig in and add your own stuff to the mix.”
“What’s up?” Sabrina asked, shoving a few more fries into her mouth and pointing to the chair.
“Oh nothing.” Allie sat on the edge of the chair. “I just wanted to check in. You know, see how you’re doing.”
“Huh.” Sabrina frowned, and poked a fry into the gravy-logged cheese. “I’m good.”
“You do seem good.”
Okay. This was a weird response.
“And that surprises you because…”
Allie opened her mouth to say something and then must have thought better of it because she snapped it closed just as fast.
“Allie, what’s up?”
“Well, you know, there’s the whole Beau Simon being in town thing.”
“Old news, Allie. Beau’s been in Gravenhurst for two days. You’ll have to do better than that.” Growing a little concerned, Sabrina swallowed a rather large chunk of cheese and almost choked on it. She kept her eyes on her friend as she worked to clear her throat.
“Is everything all right with you, Al? With the baby?”
“Baby’s fine.” Allie’s eyes slid away and that triggered all sorts of alarms inside Sabrina.
“If it’s not the baby, then what?”
Allie hesitated and then sighed. “I was in the grocery store buying my weekly supply of Laura Secord French Mint chocolate bars, which really, if I don’t stop eating one every day, I’m going to end up the size of a small house.” She laughed, but it was a nervous laugh and Allie’s concern tripled.
“You were in the grocery store,” she prodded.
Allie nodded. “Right. I was in the grocery store and I heard something that I thought you might know, but now that I’m here I’m pretty sure that you don’t. Because if you knew what I know, I don’t think you’d be so, you know…okay with things.”
“And what exactly would that be?”
“Kendra Coles was ahead of me in the check-out and I heard her on her phone talking to a girlfriend and she said that the soldier guy was in town. At first I didn’t know what she meant, but then she launched into this big discussion on who was hotter Cooper Simon or Beau Simon and I figured that the soldier guy was—”
“Teague.”
Suddenly cold, Sabrina shivered and tossed aside the leftover poutine.
“I’m sorry, honey. Are you all right?” Allie asked quietly.
“I don’t know.”
And Lord, was that ever the truth. Jack had stopped by the day before with Donovan and the baby and he hadn’t said one word about Teague. Not. One. Word. She hadn’t asked and she figured if there was any news, Jack would tell her.
Sabrina sank into the chair beside her friend. She picked at the frayed pockets of her worn work jeans and exhaled slowly.
“Sabrina, you don’t look so good.”
“Just give me a second.”
The two women sat there for a long time. Much longer than a few seconds.
“Are you sure that’s what Kendra said?”
Allie nodded. “Sorry sweetie. I can see that this isn’t what you wanted to hear. I guess I thought…I don’t know, I thought that maybe you’d be happy to hear that he came back.”
