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I step out of my rental car and open the umbrella I grabbed at the store on my way here from the airport, standing tall to project the confidence I’m not entirely feeling at the moment. Walking to the bottom of the steps, I look up at the formidable woman in front of me with her arms crossed and her brow quirked as she waits for me to speak.
“Is Abigail here?”
She rolls her lips between her teeth as she stares at me, taking my measure. Julia nods once. “She is.”
Okay, one step closer. “May I speak with her, please?”
Just then, Abigail opens the screen door, and the sight of the soft red mane of hair cascading over her shoulders and bright-green eyes is a balm for my soul.
“Jackson, what are you doing here?” she asks, confused by my sudden appearance.
She doesn’t sound mad. That’s a good sign.
“I came to find you,” I tell her, drinking in her soft skin and full lips. The lips I want nothing more than to kiss the small frown from.
“How did you know I was here?” she asks, looking between Julia and me.
Julia holds up her hands. “I didn’t tell him.”
“I had a hunch when Kasey told me you left town. I followed it and found you. Can we talk?”
Abigail turns to Julia, a silent conversation happening between them.
“I’ll go in the house and give you two some privacy,” Julia says, nodding at me. “Come up here and out of the rain, Yank. Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”
That’s as much of a green light as I’m going to get from her.
Abigail pulls her sweater tighter as thunder booms in the distance, making her jump a bit.
“Not a fan of thunderstorms?” I ask.
“Not especially,” she murmurs.
Abigail walks to the far side of the covered porch to give us some semblance of privacy and turns to face me. “Now answer my question. What do you want?”
“You ran from me, Red,” I begin as I shake out my umbrella, setting it against the railing. “Did you think I wouldn’t try to find you?”
She looks at me with a defiant glint in her eye. “Honestly, yes. I thought you would have given up on the idea. You aren’t exactly known for your commitment when things become difficult.”
My hellcat wants a fight. Good thing that’s our favorite form of foreplay.
“And you aren’t known to bail when things get tough. Yet here we are.”
“It’s called self-preservation. Look it up,” she snaps back.
“Look, I get that you’re tired and overwhelmed, but dammit, Abigail, this isn’t who we are. We. Don’t. Run.”
“Wedon’t do anything. I do what I think is best for me because no one else will.“ She lifts her chin defiantly.
She’s talking about her family and her ex.
“I’m not those other assholes, Abigail. Don’t lump me in with them.”
Her eyes are brimming with anger as she looks at me. “I’ve had plenty of experience with men like you, Prince.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Red. Because I’ve never felt this way about a woman before, and you have yet to be treated like the fucking queen you are.”
The anger drains from her features as she closes her eyes and lets out a long breath. “Look, I am so sorry my past caught up with you. The fact that you were drugged is beyond anything I thought even Davis would lower himself to. But the memory of seeing you with another woman is fresh in my mind. All the memories of catching Davis with Raelynn, then seeing you with the coat check girl last year, it’s just a lot to deal with right now.”
