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She could never give up Lucy, not for any man. Maybe it was better that Cody had transferred his affections to another single woman who was alone, like he was. Well, she assumed that the pretty little blonde was single. She gave the departing couple one last wistful look and drove on to the courthouse.
“WHYDOESN’TSHERIFFBANKScome to see me and Snow anymore?” Lucy asked Abby one Saturday night when she and Hannah were sitting down to dinner with the little girl.
“I expect he’s very busy,” Abby began.
“Busy taking that little blonde trooper around town,” Hannah muttered as she worked her way through perfectly cooked mashed potatoes.
“Little pitchers,” Abby cautioned her.
Hannah glanced from her to Lucy and grimaced. “Sorry.”
“What’s a little pitcher?” Lucy asked curiously.
“A figure of speech,” Abby said, and forced a laugh. “After supper, suppose we watch that silly Halloween movie we both like so much?”
“Oh, that would be fun!” the child exclaimed.
“I’d enjoy it myself,” Hannah seconded with a smile. “Imagine Martians hearing that old Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds and rushing to invade earth!”
Abby burst out laughing. “I know. It’s hilarious.”
“I love the little boy in the duck costume,” Lucy said. “He’s so cute!”
“So sweet, too,” Abby commented. “Just like you, Lucy.” She reached out and touched the child’s soft cheek. “You’re such a joy to have around.”
“I love you, too, Aunt Abby,” Lucy replied with a big smile. “I’m so happy we came to live here on the ranch.”
“So am I,” Abby said, but with less enthusiasm.
Hannah watched the younger woman pick at her food and felt sorry for her. Cody Banks had obviously had a change of heart, if he was seeing another woman, a prettier woman. It must sting Abby’s pride, especially since she had feelings for him. Cody was just scared, she reasoned, of ending up with another Debby, another woman who pretended love and walked away.
Abby wasn’t like that. She’d stay until the bitter end, through famine, fire, flood. If Cody had lost everything, Abby would have dug in and helped him regain what he’d lost. But that wasn’t going to happen, it seemed. Cody had made essentially a public statement, by taking the blonde trooper out for coffee. In a small town like Catelow, everybody gossiped. It was going to hurt Abby. A lot.
“Suppose I make us some popcorn,” Hannah offered. “Nice to eat while watching TV,” she added.
Lucy hugged her. “You just think of everything, Hannah!”
“Well, not quite everything,” Hannah sighed, glancing at Abby’s sad face, which she was trying so valiantly to hide. “Not quite everything.”
THELITTLEBLONDEtrooper was full of stories about places she’d been, people she’d seen. To a small-town lawman like Cody, it was fascinating. He’d never met anyone like her. She was fancy-free and she didn’t want roots, she’d made that very clear.
His dark eyes fell to the chain she was wearing around her neck. It had to be real gold. And there was a charm on the end of it that looked like a hand with the thumb sticking out between the clenched fingers. He knew he’d seen something like it before, but he couldn’t remember where or when. She started on another subject and he forgot about it.
This little blonde was fun to be with. She was older than Abby and had obviously been on her own for a long time. But it was Abby his mind kept going back to, even as he smiled at his companion.
They’d feel that he’d deserted them, Abby and Hannah and Lucy. He felt bad about not even going near the ranch. But he thought of Abby with Lucy as a dependent, and his thoughts confused him. He didn’t want the responsibility for a family. Not now, probably not ever. He liked having his own space, doing what he pleased. A man got into habits and routine when he lived alone. Abby and Hannah would interfere with that, and Lucy would be an ongoing interruption. The child was...
He grimaced. She was a joy. A sweet, gentle little girl who loved animals and loved Cody. He felt guilty that he hadn’t been back to see her. He just wasn’t ready. What he’d learned about his late wife hadn’t seemed to affect him, but now that the shock had worn off, the pain began. He felt like the world’s biggest fool. Debby had played him for a sucker, and he’d let her. He was a small-town sheriff. She’d been a big-city specialist, looking forward to a lucrative practice and high-ticket patients. How would that have played out when she got through with her training? It didn’t bear thinking about. He was smart. He’d had some college while he was in the military. But he was a far cry from a neurosurgeon, even a neurologist. Looking back, he realized that it had been the uniform that had caught Debby’s eye. She’d been attracted to it, not so much to Cody. She’d even mentioned once, just once, that he was very conventional in bed. He hadn’t thought much about the comment at the time, too besotted to think she was complaining. But his experience hadn’t been that great, and Debby seemed to know a lot more than he did.
Abby, on the other hand, was naïve. He ground his teeth together, picturing her with Lassiter. She wasn’t a pretty woman, in the accepted sense, but she was sweet and kind and compassionate. Obviously, Lassiter saw those qualities in her and found them appealing.
“I said, I have to get back to work,” the blonde said, laughing as she waved a hand in front of his face to divert him.
“Oh.” He laughed self-consciously. “Sorry. I’ve had a case on my mind,” he said. He got up and paid for the cappuccinos. He noticed that his companion didn’t offer to pay her share. Most women these days would have protested. Especially Abby.
He left her at her car. It was a new sports model of a brand he didn’t recognize. “Where’s your prowler?” he asked.
She blinked. “Oh, it’s at my cousin’s,” she said. “I borrowed his little car to come to town.” She grinned. “See you soon.”
