AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And maybe, with a little more time, it could be love.
If it wasn’t love already.
Chapter Six
There had been a car parked outside of the old cabin for the last three weeks. In a town as small as Cub’s Cove, Michael hadn’t failed to notice it. There hadn’t been any “for sale” signs on the property, and he didn’t think that the family would have passed off the property privately.
Whoever was in the house had to be a member of Carlson’s family, and if that was the case, Michael wanted to have a chat with them.
He pulled his car up onto the property, right into the spot where he used to park. Everything about the place was familiar. From the old trees with the thick bark to the cedar-chip gardens outside the front of the house, not much had changed.
Nothing but the most important part.
Michael made his way up the grounds and to the front door of the house. The gravel on the driveway crunched beneath his feet as he crossed the driveway to arrive at the front door.
It didn’t feel all that long since Carlson had died, but Michael still missed him. A bond like they had was rare, and Michael wasn’t sure it could be replicated. Even in the short time they’d shared, Carlson had become a father figure to him.
He missed the old man dearly.
It was close to two in the afternoon, but the strange car was parked in the driveway, so Michael assumed whoever now lived in the cabin was home. He climbed the stairs of the porch and knocked on the door. For a minute there was silence, then Michael’s head was scrambling from the inside.
The door opened seconds later, and he found himself speechless.
Abby had answered the door.
“Why?” she asked in a shy voice. “Um, well. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Michael’s mouth went dry. He’d had Abby’s number in his phone since the speed-dating event two weeks ago, but he hadn’t found a good time to call. Most days time got away from him, and by the time he tore himself away from his repair work to call her, he found that it was too late.
And she’d never called. Not once. The more time went on, the more Michael felt like she wasn’t interested.
Maybe she hadn’t felt the soul-bond like he had. The tug at his soul was inescapable, and it kept him up at night thinking about her. For humans, Michael figured it wasn’t the same.
He wished it were different.
“I didn’t expect to see you here, either,” he admitted, struggling to find words. He didn’t need to languish for long—Abby spoke up for him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” she blurted out. “I got your number, I really did, and I’ve been holding onto it, but it never seemed like a good time, and I’ve been over-thinking it, and—”
“It’s okay.” Michael couldn’t help but smile. Abby had no reason to apologize. Making the first move should have been up to him. “I’m the one at fault here. I should have called you ages ago, but like you said, there never seemed to be a good time. I guess I’m pretty terrible at managing my personal time.”
“So you came by to talk instead of call?” Abby asked. She looked flustered, but still gorgeous. The jeans she wore hugged her hips and made her thighs look fantastic, and Michael was having a hard time keeping focused.
The tiger had risen to the surface and was clawing to get out. How was he supposed to tell her that these days, in order to keep himself in check, he had to take to the woods and prowl in order to get her out of his mind?
“No. You see,” Michael ran his hand through his hair, “I used to live here.”
“You what?” Abby narrowed her eyes. “This cabin has always belonged to my family. What do you mean, you used to live here?”
So, she really didn’t know.
“In the last few years, the man who lived here called on me to come repair some of the structural damage,” Michael explained. “I was new in town, and he offered me lodging while I got situated. At first, I figured it was because he was interested in the free labor I’d put in to compensate him for his generosity, but every time I tried to do something around the house, he nixed the idea.”
Abby was watching him, listening to his story carefully.
“And, well, I fixed the structural damage, but I came to understand that the man who lived here wasn’t looking for help so much as he was looking for a friend. And so I stayed and kept him company until he passed away.”
“You lived with my grandfather?” Abby asked, aghast. “He never mentioned that he had someone living with him. I just thought… We all just thought that he was stubborn and spry and still able to do things on his own.”
