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Chapter Nine
Tiffany nearly tumbled out of her car in her haste to escape it, and as disappointed as Abby was to know that her dinner plans were effectively ruined, she couldn’t help but grin. Tiffany regained her balance before she fell, dusted off her jeans as if to detract from her embarrassing situation, and then power-walked up to the porch and the newly repaired stairs.
They no longer creaked and groaned, Abby realized. And that rotten third step she was so sure would snap under her weight was strong again. The cabin really was coming along, and it was all thanks to Michael and his generosity.
Abby still wasn’t convinced that her dinner dates and the conversations they shared was compensation enough.
“Hey,” Tiffany called as she crossed the lawn. Jason was rising out of the driver’s side seat, but she left him in her dust. “The place is looking good. Someone’s been hard at work.”
“That’d be Michael,” Abby said. “He’s been working day in and day out to get this place back into shape. I couldn’t have ever done it without him.”
“That’s interesting,” Tiffany said, voice a little too high-pitched to be normal. Abby frowned—it sounded like her best friend was strung too tightly and was about to snap. “Why don’t you take me on a tour of all the repairs? There’s got to be some inside, right?”
“Um.” There were, but Abby found herself startled by Tiffany’s determination. Tiffany took her hand and led her through the front door without waiting on an answer, breezing past Michael without saying hello, and leaving Jason still on the lawn.
As soon as the door closed behind them, keeping the men out, Abby brought her to a stop.
“Tiffy, what’s going on?” she asked. “You’re not acting like yourself.”
“No, I’m not,” Tiffany said in a frantic whisper. “I’m freaked out. I don’t know what to do.”
“Do about what?” Sensing that whatever had happened was bad, Abby led Tiffany up the stairs and into her room. They would have their privacy there. “What’s going on?” Abby demanded again, seating Tiffany on her bed so she could catch her breath and pull her thoughts together.
“It’s Jason,” Tiffany replied. “I mean… Ugh. He’s a really good guy. He’s attractive and funny and good with his han—”
“What’s the but,” Abby insisted.
“But I’m afraid.” Tiffany buried her head in her hands and took in a shuddering breath. “After what happened to Derek, I don’t want to get attached. What if the same thing that happened to Derek happens to Jason? Jason doesn’t deserve that. He doesn’t deserve that at all.”
It sounded like Tiffany was close to tears, and all Abby could think to do was sink down next to her on the bed and draw her into her arms to soothe her. Losing Derek had been traumatic, but it wasn’t Tiffany’s fault. Abby knew that Tiffany’s past was littered with misfortunes, but that didn’t mean that she was destined to be loveless her whole life.
“It’s not going to happen.”
“But it feels like everything I love dies,” Tiffany argued back, her voice breaking as she buried her head against Abby’s shoulder. “When I was little, every dog I had ended up either getting hit by a car or getting sick and dying right away. And remember in the seventh grade when I went on a date with Fred and he literally broke his arm on his way home after? And then Derek, and…”
“Are you afraid you’re jinxed?”
“I’m cursed!”
“Tiffy, you’re being ridiculous. You have a right to feel what you’re feeling, but you’re not cursed,” Abby said. “You’re not. Everything’s going to be fine. Nothing’s happened to Jason yet, right?”
“No,” Tiffany warbled. “But he wants to take me away on a trip this weekend. We were on our way out of town when I just couldn’t take it anymore and I told him I needed to come talk to you right away.”
Was it Friday already? Time had slipped away from Abby. With Michael there every day working on the house, and her writing not requiring a hard schedule, she often forgot the date.
“It’s okay,” Abby promised. “You’re not going to hurt him, or cause him to be hurt.”
“I’m scared.”
Abby’s arms tightened around Tiffany, and for a while they embraced each other in silence.
“Then take this to heart,” Abby whispered to her after a while. “I’ve known you since I started coming to Cub’s Cove when I was little, and I’ve loved you so much over the years, but nothing bad has ever happened to me like that. And I know you’re going to say it’s not the same, but hear me out.”
Tiffany pulled back to look at Abby as she spoke, and Abby hoped that what she was saying would come across as sincere instead of patronizing.
“We’ve shared so many good times together, so many laughs, and so many heartaches, that I know we’re good friends. Carmen, too. The three of us are peas in a pod, and if there was a curse on you meant to wreak havoc on the things you love, it’d go after those most important to you, wouldn’t it?”
Tiffany sniffled, but she didn’t otherwise reply.
