LEAP OF FAITH (11 page)

“A little woozy? Abby, you damn near killed yourself! I thought we were closer than that. Why are you shutting me out?” Jack swallowed hard. He could hear the pain in his own voice. He wanted her to trust him, to share every part of her life with him, not try to keep things like this from him.

“I’m sorry, Jack. I just didn’t want you to worry. I’m perfectly healthy now, honest. How did you find out anyway?”

“I was concerned when you didn’t call so I checked on Gage this morning and found out you had been admitted. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I would be better if you were here,” she said softly.

“If you need me, I’ll be there.”

She closed her eyes. God, she would give anything to have him here with her, but it seemed selfish to take him away from his work now that the crisis was over. “I’ll be back in three or four days. Gage is already doing much better and Scott will be here this afternoon to give another pint of blood.” 

Jack knew it was unreasonable to feel the way he did, but it hurt like hell to know Abby didn’t want him to be with her. After all, she had her family for support, what did she need him for? He was drowning in a sea of self pity when Abby threw him a life line.

“I miss you so much, Jack.”

“I miss you, too, honey. I’m glad to hear Gage is recovering,”

“
And
that I’ll be back soon?”

“You have no idea,” he said.

“Then why are you frowning, Mr. Burton?” 

“How do you know I’m frowning?”

“Because I can hear it in your voice. You’re upset because I didn’t ask you to fly out here to be with me.”

“Which is completely unfair. You’ve got enough on your mind without me adding to it.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you here, Jack. I need you more than you know, but by the time you arrange for a flight and get here, it will be time to leave again.”

“I know you’re right, but it doesn’t keep me from wanting to bolt out of here and hop the first available flight.”

“If Gage isn’t out of this place in two days, I just may hold you to that. Speaking of Gage, I’m afraid I have to cut this short. Dad is coming to get me so I can see him. I’ll call you in a few hours.”

“Come home soon, Abby.”

She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears. 
Home
. It
was
home, she realized, because Jack was there. 

“A few days,” she promised, “and I’ll be home.” 

She held the phone in her hands for a minute, desperate to hang onto the strong connection she felt with him. 

“I love you, Jack Burton,” she whispered, and then tucked the phone in her purse and made her way back to the closet to get her clothes.

Abby was grateful for the firm arm around her waist despite initially declining her dad’s offer to help her.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking by myself,” she had insisted.

He didn’t say a word. He’d simply arched one ebony brow and what little fight remained in her quickly dwindled. As soon as Abby saw her brother propped up on pillows and talking to the rest of the family, she tore herself away from her father and hurried to Gage’s bedside.

Gage held out his hand for his twin sister. “I forgot to duck,” he said with a lop-sided grin.

Abby slipped her hand into his, happy tears spilling down her cheeks. “When you get better, I’m kicking the crap out of you for scaring us.”

Behind them, the rest of the family began migrating towards the door. “We’re going to grab something to eat,” her mother told them. 

Abby smiled, silently thanking each of them for giving her time alone with Gage. She was so happy to see him alive and well that she didn’t even make a fuss when he ordered her to sit. Perched next to him on the bed, she waited for the inevitable.

“Mom told me what you did,” he said, wiping her tears away with the pad of his thumb. “For a smart woman, you did a pretty stupid thing.”

“Don’t be mad, Gage, you know I had to do it. You could have died.”

“I don’t have the energy to be angry right now. Maybe when I’m feeling a little better you’ll get the lecture you deserve.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who forgot to duck. I should be lecturing
you
.” She looked at her brother and thought how out of place he was here. It had to be driving him crazy, being so weak and having people take care of him. “So, how many nurses have given you their numbers?”

He grinned sheepishly. “I’m starting to think this injured cop routine is a goldmine. I’ve only been awake for a few hours and have already received a few very interesting propositions.”

“Let me guess. Volunteers for sponge baths and personal nursing care when you’re discharged?”

“You don’t know how hard it was to palm the phone numbers with Mom hovering over me.”

Abby smiled down at her rakish brother. “But I’m sure you managed somehow.”

“What about you, honey? Have you found your prince charming yet?”

“What in the world would make you think that?” she asked, knowing full well that a tell-tale blush was working its way up her neck. “You know I’m hiding away in Grandpa’s cabin. There’s no one around for miles.”

“You always were a horrible liar, Abigail Travis. Your lip twitches and your beautiful face turns the most brilliant shade of scarlet. Dad says there’s a man living just up the hill from you that he hired to take care of the cabin. Why do I get the feeling that’s not the only thing he’s been taking care of?”

Abby couldn’t stop the warm smile that came to her lips. “Okay, I confess we’ve spent a little time together.”

“Define
a little
.”

She laughed happily. “He’s wonderful, Gage. We get along so well and he’s been helping me write my book and…”

“Whoa.  Hold on, honey. You don’t let
anyone
near your novel while you’re writing and suddenly you’re letting the caretaker
help
you?”

“I know, but he was kind enough to offer to help with the typing when I hurt my hands and…”

“Wait…you hurt your hands? When? How?”

“It’s a long story and they’re healed now. The point is, I enjoy being with him. You know how tragic my attempts at dating have been ever since Shane, but it’s different with him. He makes me happy, Gage, happier than I’ve been in a very long time.” 

“Tell me more about him. Does Mr. Wonderful have a name? How old is he? What does he do for a living?”

“Jack Burton. He does research work and…” Abby stopped abruptly when she heard Nick’s voice outside the room. “Look, Gage, I don’t think I’m ready to tell the family about him yet…”

“Our secret,” he promised with a wink.

***

Abby’s eyes wandered around her bedroom. Her parents had kept all their rooms exactly as they were when they’d lived at home. She could have made changes to it if she wanted to, but somehow coming back to this room with her pompom’s hanging on the wall and her collection of trophies for track made her feel safe and happy. Maggie would be calling them to dinner soon so she decided to make a quick call to Jack and let him know where she was.

“I’m going crazy without you, honey,” he said.

“It’s only been one night.” she pointed out, though she knew exactly how he felt.

“I’ve always loved it up here by myself without anyone around to disturb me while I worked, but now with you gone it just seems so damn lonely.”

“I miss you, too,” she said solemnly. “How is it that two people who cherish their solitude, suddenly can’t wait to be with each other?”

“Is that really how you feel, Abby? You can’t wait to be with me?”

“How can you even ask me that? The minute Gage is out of danger and released from the hospital, I’ll be packing my bags. I’ll probably need extra help catching up on my novel. I don’t suppose you could spare a little time from your own work to help me out?”

“Honey, you’re going to play hell getting me to leave.”

“Jack, I’ve only got a few more minutes; it’s almost time for dinner. I wish you could be here when the whole family is together, it’s quite entertaining.”

“Can you sneak a call to me later?”

“I’ll call you just before I go to bed.”   

They said their good-byes and Abby hung up. She wanted to race down the stairs and tell her family about Jack but was afraid of her dad’s reaction. He would never believe she could be so emotionally involved with a man she’d only known for a week and would be worried about letting her go back. 

If, by some miracle, he believed their relationship was serious, the first thing her dad would want to know was whether Jack was financially stable, and that was something she couldn’t answer. Abby had no idea how much someone made doing research work. Jack wore jeans and t-shirts most of the time, which she had to admit she found incredibly sexy, but it hardly gave her any indication as to his financial status. And since she’d never been inside his cabin or seen what type of vehicle he drove, she really had nothing to go by. Of course, she made a very comfortable living so his income was inconsequential but she doubted her father would see it that way.

Her oldest brother, Scott, was in the dining room with the rest of the family when Abby went downstairs. She’d left the hospital before he arrived earlier that day and was greeted with a big hug when he spotted her.

“I hear you’ve been a very bad girl,” he chided.

“Gage wouldn’t have wanted that much of
your
blood anyway.”

 “And what, may I ask, is wrong with my blood?”

“Too old,” she quipped.

He growled but she was saved when Maggie announced dinner was ready. The women followed her to the kitchen to help carry out the food while the men settled in their usual places at the table. Abby watched her family laughing and teasing each other over dinner and couldn’t help thinking it would have been perfect if Gage and Jack were here. 

How would her over-protective brothers take to Jack? Much better than any of them had taken to Shane, she decided. None of her siblings had gotten married yet, and Abby was the only who had ever brought a significant other home to meet the family, if you could call Shane significant. Even after they announced their engagement, Shane had been out of place here. Part of the reason was because he’d always maintained a reserved distance from her close-knit family. She’d foolishly presumed his reluctance to spend time with them was because her father and brothers seemed so intimidating to anyone who didn’t know them well.

It hadn’t occurred to her that Shane was afraid they might discover what a letch he was and that his only motive for marrying her was because her parents were extremely wealthy and he saw a life of luxury stretching out before him. She felt stupid and naïve for not seeing through him but no one, not even her out-spoken sister, had ever been anything except kind and supportive while she was grieving her short-lived marriage. It would take someone very special to be accepted within this family circle. Someone like Jack Burton.

“You’re being awfully quiet, baby,” her dad said. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Just soaking up the family,” she assured him. 

The doctor told her it would take about six days for her body to replace the liquid part of her blood, the plasma, but it could take up to eight weeks to regenerate the red blood cells that were lost. He’d ordered her to stay on an iron-fortified diet and to take iron tablets to help rebuild the red blood supply. Her mom had already gotten a two month supply of the iron pills for her, and Maggie had made a list of foods rich in iron. Other than feeling overly tired, Abby didn’t think there were any residual effects, but it was in their nature to fuss over every illness and injury the Travis brood incurred so she took it with a grain of salt and a resigned smile.    

Abby nibbled at the feast Maggie had prepared, content to simply listen to her brothers and sister catch up with the events in their lives. Scott, of course, was running their father’s shipping corporation, while Adam had wheedled a partnership from her dad in the sister marketing company. Nick had just opened up his own law firm and Jenna was studying for the Bar Exams and had been promised a position in Nick’s firm once she passed. They would make a great team. Nick was more laid back and approached his work with an intense attention to detail. Jenna, on the other hand, was full of fire and passion and would be a ruthless adversary for anyone with the unfortunate luck to be on opposing sides.

Her dad was semi-retired, preferring to let the boys handle the companies now so he could spend more time with their mother. Anne Travis had been a corporate investigator with her own very successful company when she’d met Abby’s father, but after Abby and Gage were born, their mother had promoted her personal assistant to president and handed the operation over to him. 

She studied her mother’s beautiful face and the adoring expression she always wore when she looked at her husband. They’d been married for thirty-six years and Abby couldn’t remember a time when they didn’t seem totally in love with one another. That’s what she wanted for herself; a love that never faltered, a passion that never waned. 

Abby smiled. Growing up, all the Travis children knew why their parents went to the beach house for the weekend every few months. They called it Mommy and Daddy’s
special time
. But when Sam and his wife took off for a whole week, it usually meant a new baby Travis would soon be on the way. Even after Adam was born and they decided not to have any more children, they continued their weekend trysts.

She felt extremely fortunate. Not only for having such loving parents, but because they made it easier for their children to follow their dreams. They gave her a new car when she graduated high school, paid for college, and let her live at home so she didn’t have to work and could concentrate on her studies. They were equally generous with her sister and brothers, but tempered financial support with high expectations when it came to achievements and goals. She supposed some people viewed their benevolence as a handout, but it was always contingent upon hard work and a healthy dose of honest appreciation.

Oh, that didn’t mean Abby wasn’t spoiled, especially by her dad, but she tried not to take advantage of it. When she finally started earning a decent income from writing, she stopped accepting financial support from her parents. She couldn’t seem to prevent them from finding ways to give her things though, like the furniture and modern appliances in the cabin. When she’d talked to her mother about it earlier, Anne had kissed her on the cheek and asked Abby not to mention it to her father.

“Don’t take that away from him, Abby,” she’d said. “He needs to know he’s taking care of you and it makes him happy to give you nice things.”

Lost in thought, Abby was unaware that Maggie had spoken to her until she felt the older woman’s light touch on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Maggie, did you say something?”

“Are you okay, honey? I’ve asked you twice if you wanted dessert and you’re a million miles away.”    

Queasy at thought of eating the rich chocolate cake and thick chocolate frosting, but concerned about hurting Maggie’s feelings, she compromised by asking for a small piece.  

“That’s my girl,” Maggie said with a satisfied smile. 

She stared at the ample slice of cake that was placed before her, forcing back a heavy sigh. Maggie didn’t know how to dish up small portions, or maybe it was her way of telling Abby she needed to gain weight. When Maggie moved to the opposite end of the table, Abby slid her plate a little closer to Nick, who happily alternated bites of his own cake with mouthfuls of hers. In the Travis family, there had always been a brother willing to double up on Maggie’s desserts.

With dinner done, each of them took their plates and filed into the kitchen. It was Maggie’s rule that the Travis children be responsible for taking their own plates to the kitchen, scraping them off, and stacking them for her to wash. Only Sam escaped that chore because Maggie believed the provider of the house shouldn’t do anything except relax when he came home. Afterwards, they wandered outside to the deck to let dinner settle for a while and then carpooled it to the hospital where they harassed Gage when they saw all the flowers, cards, and balloons he’d received.