Promise Me Forever (8 page)

Abby’s mom kept her hands on the controls and stared out in to the water. “Jon, I know your upset. We’ll discuss the who’s and what’s later. Right now all I care about is Abigail and her whereabouts. I’m not interested in anything else. If we sidetrack from the agenda, we may not find her. Are you prepared for that?”

Jon stuck his hands in his pockets and rolled back on his heels. “Hell no, I’m not!” She was right, they had to keep their mind on the work at hand. He searched the water but there were no boats anywhere close by. The dark sea looked like one empty space and Abby was nowhere to be found.

If Jon lost her now he would never forgive himself. A shiny object caught his attention in the water. It floated for a second and then bobbed as the waves from the boat stirred the water. “What’s over there?” He pointed to the floating object.

Danny grabbed a net and placed it in the water, far enough out to retrieve it. “Looks like we found our watch,” he said, picking the item from the net and showing his wife. He looked at Jon. “This is a watch Margie had on to inform me what was happening. We lost track of them a few hours ago. Now I know why.” His voice sounded grim. He now looked worried.

Abby’s mom didn’t hesitate to take action. She grabbed something from the console and lifted it in the air. A loud pop cracked through the night and a dash of light burst in the air far above their heads as the flare gun smoked in her fingers. She stared at the ball of light spread wild in the sky. “Come on Abby, look up.”

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“I think we’ve drifted too far out for them to find us in the dark,” Abby moaned. “I am so itchy I can’t stand it any longer.” She swiped at her face, the patches of dark were now bright red and itched so bad. Her face burned, but she didn’t dare put sea water on or the salt would burn even more. “I’ll explode if they don’t find us soon,” she cried. Her voice wobbled, and Abby didn’t know how much energy she had left. She had to keep awake and flow positive energy to the others. They were so scared and about to give up.

“I think we’re lost forever,” Margie told her from a distance. She stayed at the far end of the boat because she claimed she didn’t want to get any poison. Elvin hugged himself, his head down, his teeth scraping against each other. Abby wanted to scream for him to stop.

“We aren’t lost forever Margie.” Abby had a hard time getting the words out. Was her body going in to shock? She felt cold, yet it was such a warm day. Her hand went to her head as she clawed at her skin. It itched so bad. Then a fire lit up the sky in the far distance and everyone’s head looked up to see the ball of white spreading out over the dark night.

“Someone’s out here!” Abby screamed. She stood up and pointed to the sky. “Look! I think it’s a flare gun.” It occurred to her every boat should have one. She dived for the console and tore it open, her hands searching in the dark until it latched on to a hard object. She pulled it out, her hand shaking.

“A gun! Oh my!” Margie yelled. “Shoot it Abby! Shoot that gun in the air!” She jumped up and down as Abby placed her fingers on the trigger and wrapped her hand around the weapon. She raised her hand in the air and squeezed. A loud pop cracked the air and Abby jumped as the flare went high in the sky. She fell back and bumped Margie who tottered back and forth and then fell overboard.

“Margie! Margie!” Elvin came to life. He leaned over and reached out with his hand as Margie tried to paddle back to the boat.

“I can’t swim!” she yelled to them.

“I can’t either!” Elvin cried out. He turned to find something to throw in the water. He picked up one of the cushions on the bench and threw it overboard. It plunked down beside Margie and she tried to grab on to the pillow but it slid from her grasp.

“Help me Abby! I can’t swim!”

Abby tried to assess the situation before she dived in the water. Oh God, the thought of sharks in the unknown waters terrified her but there was a life at stake here. She closed her eyes, climbed over the side and jumped in the water. Abby latched on to Margie, grabbed the leather cushion and shoved it in her arms. She grabbed Margie’s waist and cried out because the salt in the water was burning her poison wounds. Penny dove in right after her and pulled at the older woman’s top.

She pushed Margie towards the boat as Elvin held out his arm. He got a firm grip on her and pulled her up as Abby pushed as hard as she could from the other end. She heard a motor in the distance and knew her rescuers found them. Penny barked. Abby was desperate to get out of the water but her head got fuzzy. The pain all over her body burned to the core and Abby’s stomach churned. But she still pushed, determined to get Margie out of the water. Then her arms were empty, and she knew the woman was safe. Her body distanced itself from the boat and it became clear to Abby consciousness was fading away. Still she fought the abyss because she wasn’t going down in alleged shark infested waters. She kicked her feet, determined more than ever to win, to get on that boat and live.

Someone wrapped their arms around her and pulled her in the opposite direction. Not down in to the ocean but away from the boat, towards a safe place. “Jon,” she whispered, her mouth filling with salt water. Even in her distress, she knew the feel of his arms. Abby sputtered and spit as he pulled her out of the water, over the side of the boat. Her body shivered at the chilly night air but then he wrapped his arms around her again and she smiled. “I’m safe, thank you.”

“Abigail.” Her mother’s soft voice made Abby smile again. Jon settled beside her and she felt a warmth across her shoulders. Her dad took his button down shirt off and wrapped it over her. He placed a kiss on her cheek and went back to his wife, who drove the boat right before Penny shook off the water. It splattered across them and they all laughed.

She heard someone say they should leave Margie and Elvin out in the water. She cried out. “No, please. Help them.” Abby didn’t realize her words were a whisper until Jon gathered her closer in his arms. Her head flopped on to his chest.

“They’re fine Abby.”

“Where are they?” she asked, wanting to look but her eyelids were drooping, they were so heavy.

“Right behind us. We attached a tow rope and we’re bringing in the boat. We’ll be back on shore in a few minutes.”

“I’m so tired.”

“We’ll soon be home baby.”

Abby stirred in his arms and pushed herself deeper in his embrace. “I am home.”

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Jon’s voice stirred her awake. After spending so long in the boat she didn’t want to get out of bed. She didn’t remember how she got here but all she wanted to do was curl inside the warm sheets and sleep. “I can’t.”

“It’s noon baby. I made you food.”

“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m in love with my blanket and sheets and if I leave now I’ll lose their trust.”

Jon laughed out loud. He leaned over the bed and gave her a slow kiss that curled her toes. She stretched and pulled him on top of her. “You’re welcome to join me in my cocoon here.”

He grinned. “I’d love to but you’re covered in calamine lotion and I have to go to the urgent care center for a few hours.”

Abby glanced under her covers. “Oh my, you’re right. Who rubbed this lotion all over me?” She looked at Jon with amusement.

“Sorry to say, it wasn’t me. Your mom wouldn’t let anyone near you when we got you home. I carried you from the dock and your mom took you from there. You look much better.”

“Where’s Margie and Elvin?”

Jon stood up and paced back and forth as he threw a scrub shirt over his head. “I put them in the little cottage next door. There’s no way those thieves will enter this house.”

Abby smiled. It was her exact thought the first time she saw them on her porch. “They’re not as bad as you think. Did mom and dad tell you what happened?” She sat up while Jon set a tray on her lap. He even had a small yellow flower in a tiny vase on the tray.

“Danny told me how they forced the two thieves to change their ways and work for the agency at a much lower capacity. They put you in danger.”

“They didn’t put me in danger, I did it to myself. I put them in worse danger when I went after the guy because they followed me. Too late I realized he was a dangerous man when he threatened to shoot Penny.”

Jon sat down on the side of the bed. “Abby, do you know who that guy is?”

“Yeah, he was a thief. Stole a bunch of money from the campground, but I’m sure there were other crimes or Mom and Dad wouldn’t waste their time to track him.”

Jon placed a hand over hers. “He killed two agents, a woman and man about two weeks ago. He was on the run and desperate to scam as much money as he could to get away. They were friends of your parents.”

She looked up at him. “A murderer!” A shiver went through her. “I would never have gone in the woods if I knew.”

“Abby, this is why you can’t be running off to save the world. He may have shot you and Penny.” Jon stared in to her eyes, the hurt of the past like an open book. She realized in that moment what she would lose if she didn’t have him.

“They showed up on my door and apologized. I forgave them and wanted to be a part of the sting. You know how I love to get involved.” She took her hand and placed it on his cheek. “I didn’t mean to cause you more pain. We’ve been through so much.”

“I went to see my mother’s grave.”

She stared at him and realized he seemed different. “What’s changed?”

He kissed her softly on the lips. “I have, baby. The burdens of the past are over with. I can look back at that heaviness and leave it behind me. Jake and I both. The good news is we’ll tear down the old homestead and put up a vacation house for the whole family to enjoy. A special place to gather.”

“Jon, I’m glad. It’s time to rest those ghosts of the past. I’ve also had time to think. If you don’t want to have a baby, then I understand. I’ll back off and wait because all I want right now is to have you love me.”

“Hey.” He brushed her fallen tear from her cheek. “I want to be married to you and soon. Babies will come soon enough. I’m okay with having one or two or three.”

She stared at him. “Are you sure?” she asked, afraid to let the air out of her lungs.

He nodded. “As sure as I’ll ever be.” He cupped her chin and kissed her again. “You eat, I’ll let the others know you woke up and then I have to go to work for a few hours.”

“Can I have you all to myself tonight?” she asked as she placed a forkful of food in her mouth.

“In the hot tub?”

“It’s a date.”

Abby pushed the tray away and curled back underneath the sheets. She needed more rest because tonight would be busy. A wicked smile crossed her face as she drifted off to dreamland.

Chapter 7

“It looks like your poison is healed up,” Abby’s mom said. She wiped down the breakfast counter while Abby sat on the stool and sipped a warm cup of coffee.

“I’m so glad. I missed a night in the hot tub because I couldn’t go in with all this poison. So I went back to bed because Jon said he was going with Jake on the red eye. He had to do something important.”

“I wouldn’t worry dear. These men, they never tell us anything.”

“Mama! Daddy tells you everything. Besides, you take the bull by the horns if he doesn’t and make things happen yourself. I saw how you operate too many times in the past few months.”

She turned and stared at Abby. “Do you wonder now where you get it from?” she smiled, her own wicked one that made Abby giggle.

“I wonder where Jon went last night? He said he’d be home later today.”

Her mom shrugged. “All I heard him say was he couldn’t move on if he didn’t take care of one minor detail. It seemed important to him. Did I tell you Maggie called? She wants to know when you want Jax to start his training?”

Abby picked up the phone. “I’ll give her a call. I’d say today is as good as any.” The women spent the day going over how Jax was going to be trained. At first Abby didn’t feel like doing any training but then decided it was time to get back to business. She couldn’t let something beat her. Yes, she was heartbroken about Kevin, but there were countless other children alive and in need of love, and now that she was home and back to normal, she needed to once again help others who needed uplifted.

“I wonder when the guys will return?” Abby mentioned before Maggie went back home.

“Not sure, but I hope early. Did I tell you I’ve been doing some cooking Abby? It’s amazing how much fun I’m having. I never cooked before, my life was writing.”

Abby gave her friend a hug. “I’m glad. You spend way too much time alone. You need to let Jake know so he comes home early.”

Maggie sighed. “There’s the problem. He’s so busy at work and then he comes home so late, I’m in bed. Sometimes he’s still on the sofa sleeping upright when I get up in the morning. He needs to slow down.”

“I thought your trip to your Mom’s house in the Poconos changed all those late nights away?”

“So did I. Look, I have to go. How long do you think you’ll need Jax this time?”

“He can stay overnight. He’ll have fun hanging out with Maggie. She thinks she’s his mother.” When Maggie left, Abby went outside with the two dogs to begin Jax’s training. He was a smart dog, she didn’t think it would take too long to train him. It would be nice to have another dog along to do tricks with at the local hospice.