Debra Webb - In His Touch Box Set (Here To Stay, Up Close, Tempting Trace, Basic Instincts) (32 page)

“Abby.” Her name came out more a tortured moan than a word.

She felt his eyes on her, but she couldn’t look at him. If she looked at him now, she would never be able to hold in check the tears suddenly burning in her eyes. He whispered her name once more as he gently kissed her cheek.

Dear God, how could anything this wonderful hurt so badly?

A shudder shook Abby as she felt her heart shatter into tiny pieces.

Chapter Nine

Abby gazed out over the beautiful landscape of Matthew’s backyard from the bedroom window one last time before she went downstairs. So very lovely. How she would miss this place. She smiled and shook her head at the irony of it all. Tears welled in her eyes.

This was ridiculous. She never cried.

But she had fallen in love with the man and his small hometown. Every detail of Matthew Stone and Salem was permanently etched in her heart.

Abby swiped at the tears spilling past her lashes. The story had been written at last... her bags were packed and in the rental car. Matthew probably stood by the front door waiting to tell her good-bye. She drew in a long breath and blinked rapidly.

Would he ask her to stay?
Abby knew he wouldn’t and that she couldn’t, even if he did ask. She steeled herself against the waterfall of emotions cascading over her.
She had to be strong. She would get over it.
But she wasn’t so sure. If she lived to be a thousand years old, would she still be in love with Matthew Stone?

Yes.

They had tiptoed around each other since the explosion of passion in the kitchen. Matthew had asked her to sleep in his bed that night, but she just couldn’t. She didn’t want to know how it felt to wake up beside him after a night of lovemaking, to feel his strong arms around her when she woke in the middle of the night. By mutual unspoken consent, they’d opted to go to Jenny’s early Sunday afternoon and stayed late to avoid being alone together.

Abby had given Jenny the interview she wanted, so they were even. Except Abby was the one with the broken heart, not Matthew. But Jenny didn’t seem to notice that Abby would never be the same again.

She let go a heavy breath. It was time to go.

~*~

Matthew watched Abby descend the staircase and his heart dropped to his feet. She really did intend to go. And nothing he could do would stop her. He’d shared things with her and felt feelings for her that he’d thought he might never feel again. Now he knew for certain that he would be alone the rest of his life. There would be no children... nothing. For the only woman he would ever want was about to walk out of his life.

If only he could take the chance and ask her to stay.

She would never stay. She would leave anyway. Her life was in New York. She loved her job. What could he possibly offer her? Nothing.

Right now, Matthew desperately wished he could stop feeling the pain of watching her go—but he couldn’t. It was too strong. He loved Abby Wade with all his heart. But, she had come for one thing and one thing only—the story. She’d gotten it and now she was leaving. No matter what he thought he saw in her eyes or how she felt in his arms, she was leaving and that was that.

And he would never be the same again.

“So... you’re all ready to go?” Matthew searched her eyes one last time for some sign of regret, but all he saw was that professional smile she had started giving him. The same one she showed everyone else.

“I guess so.”

“Okay.” He forced a halfhearted smile and opened the door for her. Barney waited by the steps and even he looked a little sad.

Abby paused on the last step. Her hand trembling, she reached down and gave Barney a quick pat on his big, shaggy head. Matthew almost smiled. Hell, she didn’t like dogs. Was she actually saying good-bye to Barney?

He followed her to the car, then opened the driver’s side door. “Have a safe trip,” he managed to say, in spite of the emotions that closed his throat.

“I will.” She hesitated a moment before getting into the car. “Thank you... for everything.”

He nodded, couldn’t bring himself to kiss her goodbye or even speak. The hurt twisted razor sharp inside him.

The sound of tires crunching gravel in his drive pulled Matthew’s attention in that direction. Jenny. His sister jumped out of the car and rushed over.

“I’m so glad you haven’t left yet!” Jenny threw her arms around Abby and hugged her close. “I was afraid I had missed you.”

Abby’s eyes were bright with unshed tears when Jenny finally released her. Could Matthew be wrong? Could she feel the same way he did? He mentally kicked himself. Of course she didn’t. He was a fool. Abby was beautiful, elegant, she could have any man she wanted. Why would she want a guy like him? Before that inner voice could give him an answer, Matthew’s pager beeped. Talk about bad timing.

A house fire.
Matthew swore.

“Gotta go.” He opened his mouth to say a few more words to Abby, but he couldn’t think of any. Instead, he pulled her against him and kissed her with every ounce of feeling he could summon. When he released her, she looked as stunned as he felt.

Matthew heard Jenny call out “Be safe!” to him as he climbed into his truck. He waved, then gunned the engine. He had to get to the station.

~*~

Within minutes of Matthew’s swift departure, Abby heard the sirens in the distance. The sound sent a cold chill over her skin.

“I worry every time I hear that sound.” Jenny shook her head, her expression distant. “Will Matthew be all right? Will someone else I know and love be hurt? Will some of my friends lose their home?” She shivered visibly.

Abby released the breath that had stalled in her lungs. “I have to get to the airport.” She couldn’t bear this a moment longer. Jenny was right... this was too hard.

Jenny smiled. “Have a safe trip, Abby. And drop us a line now and then.”

Abby nodded. “I’ll do that.” She closed the car door and turned the ignition. Nothing happened. Abby frowned, then tried again. Nothing.

“Is something wrong?” Jenny leaned down and peered in the car.

“It won’t start.” Abby made a strangled noise, not quite the laugh she’d been shooting for. “It doesn’t even make a sound when I turn the key.”

“Oh no,” Jenny muttered. She reached inside and twisted a knob on the left side of the steering wheel. “Your battery’s dead. You must have left the lights on when you first arrived.”

Memories crashed in on Abby. It had been almost dusk when she’d arrived in Salem. She hadn’t remembered to turn off the lights because Roger had hauled her away. She hadn’t been in the rental since.

Abby closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. “Oh, God, what do I do now?”

“I’ll call Dad and tell him I’m taking you to the airport.” Jenny opened the car door. “Matthew will see to it that your rental car is returned. Come on,” she urged. “You don’t want to miss your flight.”

~*~

Ninety minutes later, Jenny parked in the ten-minute parking zone in front of the airport. She turned to Abby and smiled. “Well, here we are.”

Abby couldn’t bring herself to get out of the car. Emotions churned so wildly inside her that she wanted to cry one second, and scream the next. What if Matthew wasn’t all right? What if he were hurt in the fire?

“Abby, are you all right?”

No!
she wanted to say as tears surged anew; she wasn’t all right. She couldn’t be feeling this, yet she did. She loved Matthew, but could she...? Abby closed her eyes. God, she just didn’t know. This was crazy.

Jenny placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Abby fumbled for the latch and quickly opened the door. She had to get out of here. Scanning the entrance, she spotted a skycap and gestured him over. The action felt normal, routine. She was on her way home.

Home.

She suffered the strangest twinge of regret with that thought.

Jenny stood quietly by the open trunk as Abby’s luggage was unloaded to be taken to the appropriate flight desk. “Well, I guess this it,” she said with a shaky smile, as the skycap disappeared into the terminal.

Abby felt her own smile waver. “I guess so.”

Jenny looked at the concrete walk before meeting her gaze. “Good-bye, Abby.”

Abby gave her another tight smile and a weary gesture that could pass as a wave good-bye, then turned and strode into the busy terminal.

Matthew would be fine. He’d been a fireman for years, he knew what he was doing. Abby could call Jenny when she got to New York, just to be sure.

No.

She had to know now. Abby could not leave without knowing Matthew was okay. Without seeing for herself that he was unharmed and...

“To hell with it,” she muttered. Abby pivoted and ran toward the entrance. What if Jenny had left already? Abby burst through the doors, scanning the curb for Jenny’s blue sedan. Her heart sank when she didn’t immediately spot the car that had been there only moments before.

“Looking for anyone in particular?”

The sound of Jenny’s voice lifted Abby’s sagging spirits. “Jenny, thank God! You’re still here.”

She gave Abby a pointed look. “I knew you wouldn’t go.”

“You have to take me back,” Abby said in a rush, before she lost her courage. “I have to know that Matthew is okay.”

“I knew you were in love with him,” Jenny crowed. “When I saw the two of you at that reunion together, I knew it was a done deal.”

Abby summoned her patience. “It’s not what you think, Jenny. I just have to be sure he’s okay—that’s all. And then I’ll return to New York.”

Jenny shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

“Just take me back, please.”

A mischievous grin spread across Jenny’s face, reminding Abby far too much of the twins. “What about your luggage?”

“What about it?” Abby retorted, ushering Jenny toward the car she now saw parked farther down the sidewalk. “So, it’ll get back to New York before I do. No big deal.”

“Right,” Jenny returned, drawing the word out.

Abby pitched her purse into the car, then gave Jenny a look across the top of the car. “Don’t blow this out of proportion, Jenny. I’m not staying. I’m only looking for a more dramatic ending to my story.”

“Right,” Jenny said again.

~*~

Dramatic had been a poor choice of words.

The hospital’s antiseptic scent immediately assaulted Abby’s nose. The automatic doors closed with a hydraulic swish behind them as they entered the emergency room’s lobby.

Matthew was hurt.

That was all they knew at this point. As soon as they’d entered the edge of town, a police officer Jenny had known in high school pulled her over and related the bad news. Fifteen minutes later they had parked in the lot of the Franklin County Medical Center.

Though she’d never put much stock in prayer, Abby had prayed the entire way.

Please, God, let him be all right, she pleaded even now.

Roger and Luke met them halfway across the wide lobby, their solemn faces still smeared with soot.

“What happened?” Jenny demanded.

Luke grasped her by the shoulders and steadied her. “Your daddy is back there with him now. They haven’t told us anything since they brought him in almost two hours ago,” he said somberly. “But Matthew’s a tough guy, it’ll take more than a knock on the noggin to keep him down.”

An icy chill permeated Abby’s being. She forced herself to ask, “What exactly happened?” She didn’t recognize her own voice. The flat, emotionless tone sounded as numb as she felt.

Since Luke was busy consoling Jenny, Roger gave Abby the details. The house was located on an almost deserted stretch of road and it would have burned to the ground if Ralph Steele, a neighbor, hadn’t been on his way to work and saw the smoke. The place was pretty much past saving when they got there. Since it had been so early in the morning, they had no way of knowing if anyone was home and maybe still in bed. They had no way of knowing if the occupants were out of town. The firemen had to assume they were in the house.

Roger swallowed hard before continuing the story. “We searched the place from top to bottom and didn’t find anybody. Luke and me got out first, but old Ray”—Roger shook his head—“the smoke got to him. Best we could tell, he collapsed while he and Matthew were still on the second floor. We heard glass shattering around back and rushed around there. It was Matthew. Ray was unconscious and Matthew was trying to get him through the window. He dropped him to us. I could tell that Matthew was suffering from the smoke too. Before he could get out, part of the second floor collapsed. There was so much confusion then that he just jumped without signaling us first. He hit his head pretty hard.”

“Was he conscious?” Abby heard herself ask in that same dull tone.

Roger shook his head. “Luke rode over here in the ambulance with him. He hadn’t come to when they wheeled him through those doors.” Roger nodded toward the set of pristine white doors marked “Authorized Personnel Only.”

Her eyes were still riveted to the doors as they suddenly sprang open. Matt Hugh and another man, a doctor she presumed since he wore scrubs and a stethoscope, strode toward them. Abby’s breath caught in her throat. Please, she prayed again, don’t let this be bad news.

Jenny flew into her father’s arms. The lines of concern around the elder’s Stone’s eyes were telling.

“Matthew is stable,” the young doctor announced. “He has a concussion and a broken arm, but there aren’t any internal injuries—”

“Is he conscious yet?” Abby interrupted, saying the words no one else seemed to want to say out loud.

“Not yet. We’ve found nothing in his tests to suggest he shouldn’t be conscious. The MRI was fine. Everything is fine. Sometimes, particularly after a trauma, a patient just decides not to wake up for a bit. It doesn’t happen often, but this appears to be one of those times.” The doctor eyed Abby speculatively, probably trying to determine who she was and how she fit into all this. “Unless his condition persists beyond the next couple of hours, we’re not overly concerned.”

Seemingly from far away, Abby heard him responding to Jenny’s questions. Every moment Abby had spent with Matthew flashed before her eyes. The way his arms felt around her, the way he smelled, his taste. Everything inside her knotted into a throbbing mass of pain.