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“I’m glad you said that. She was talking about needing to find a job to save money for when she went back home. Maybe you need to reassure her that her place is here.”
My heart leapt in my throat. Tori was the second person to mention that Abbey wanted to leave. I needed to make sure she knew how much we wanted her to stay. She needed to know she was ours. We needed a plan.
After Tori helped order various art supplies she’d heard Abbey mention and had them express shipped, I gave Zeus a lighter workout than I’d intended before heading to the house with Jax. I knew Duke needed to come home before work, and I wanted to hash out a few things with him before he left for the evening.
When I entered the kitchen, Duke was already prepping coffee to take to work with him.
“Hey,mon pote.Any updates?”
He smiled at my familiar greeting ofmy friend. “All the remaining heads have been rounded up. Both spots where the fence is down look like they were cut. Unfortunately, Andrew doesn’t have a cause of death for the two heifers, but my gut tells me it was foul play. Something is up, and I don’t like it.” His jaw ticked as he paced the kitchen. “The files are downloading from the trail cameras. I’ll look them over tonight when I have down time.”
“Do you want me to make a fresh pot before bed, so you can make a stop in during the night?” I asked.
“No, it’s fine. It’ll be too tempting to stay if I come back.” He shrugged.
I wasn’t fooled by his easy-going attitude. With a smile, I leaned against the counter. “Glad you mentioned that. We need to talk about Abbey.”
He stared at me, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.
I pushed on, pretty sure he was on the same page as me but needing to know for sure. “I think she’s the one for us. Not think… Iknowshe is.” I thumped my fingers on the counter.
He nodded. “I’ve been feeling it too. I just don’t want to scare her away with all my problems.”
“You haven’t yet. She even slept with you through an episode.”
“She helped me through one in town too.” Since he’d shaved for work tonight, I could see the hint of color grace his cheeks. He hated to admit he had any weaknesses.
“You didn’t tell me about that. What happened?”
He ran a hand down his face. “I don’t want to go into details, but she pulled me out. She does something to me I can’t deny. I want her to stay.”
“So do I. What do we need to do for her to figure out the same thing?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you’d come up with something. You know I’m not great at that stuff.”
I chuckled. He wasn’t wrong. Out of the two of us, I was more in touch with my feelings. “True.”
We stood there, staring off into space for a few moments. “From the little she’s said and from something Tori mentioned earlier, I don’t think she had a supportive relationship with her ex. I want to show her we’re different, that her wishes and needs are important to us.”
He nodded.
“I talked to Tori earlier. She mentioned Abbey liked to paint. I ordered supplies for her. Maybe we can take her to a park or somewhere special to paint.”
“That’s good.” Duke poured the coffee into his travel mug. “What else?”
“She needs to know we’re serious. This isn’t just a fling, but I don’t want to scare her off too soon. I figured maybe if we can convince her to sleep in bed with us from now on, then we could sort of turn her room into a studio. She could paint and draw to her heart's content.”
“And what would you like to see me draw or paint?”
Duke and I nearly jumped out of our skins. It was rare for anyone to surprise him. He always heard them from a mile away.
Abbey stood in the doorway to the kitchen. My face was on fire, knowing she had caught us talking about her. Her smile was the only thing that eased my worries.
I cleared my throat. “How was your trip into town?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.
She let out a cute snort-laugh. “It was fun. I bought some clothes. But I’m more interested in hearing about what you’re planning. Seems like you boys have been busy while I was gone.” Her arms crossed over her chest. Her smile only grew wider at our grimaces.
What had she heard?
