know, sweetie, but we’re going, um, to visit a—a friend of Mommy’s.” She hated lying to him. “When we get there, I’ll let you watch TV as much as you want today.” And she could wish her life had gone differently.
She and Nick had had such great plans. Living and working in Cheyenne, marrying. She’d have had someone to lean on, to share troubles with. They could’ve raised Robbie together, taken him to Sydney Creek to visit, taught him to ride, about life on the ranch. Instead it had only been her, raising Robbie as a city kid.
The boy looked up at her, sleep in his eyes and a frown on his face. “But, Mommy, you said I always have to go to school. ‘Cept on Sundays and Saturday. Is it Saturday?”
“No,” she replied distractedly. This was no time for Robbie to chatter. It was already six o’clock and she had to get out before Nick came back. She shuddered to think what would happen if he found them leaving.
But she couldn’t lose her son.
She’d slept maybe an hour last night, too busy to sleep, too scared not to. After packing up their things and arranging her finances, she’d wanted some sleep for the long drive she’d anticipated this morning. There was no “friend” to visit. She planned to put Robbie in the car then put as much distance as possible between them and Nick.
But Robbie proved harder to wake than she’d anticipated. He still lagged behind.
“Did we eat breakfast, Mommy? ’Cause I’m hungry.”
She nearly dragged him, finally walking out the front door of the building now. “I know a great place for breakfast, sweetie. You’ll like it. You can have pancakes.”
“Can I have some, too?” a gravelly voice asked from behind her.
She didn’t need to turn around. Her heart stopped and her shoulders slumped. She’d finally gotten her son outside and now their escape was thwarted.
After a moment she looked over her shoulder and there he was, leaning against the brick wall beside the front door. He struck a casual pose but she knew he felt nothing but irate.
“Hello, Nick. I—I can explain.”
“I bet you can. But let me.” He looked down at the boy. “Hey, Robbie, did your mom tell you that you’re going to my ranch? There’s lots of cows and horses.”
Robbie’s brown eyes, so like his father’s, danced between the two adults. “Really? Mommy, that’s great! Are there dogs there, too?”
“You bet there are. Come on, buddy, I’ll show you.”
“Mommy, we’ll have so much fun. Do you like horses, too, Mommy?”
Before Abby could speak, Nick interjected, “Your mommy isn’t coming.”
Robbie stopped dancing around, the excitement draining out of him. “Why?” he asked with a frown.
Nick squatted down to his level. “Well, she has a job, you know. It’s real important to her, so she doesn’t want to miss it.”
Robbie looked up at her. “Mommy?”
Abby could no longer stand there and watch this drama. She broke through the paralysis that fear had brought on and went immediately to her knees in front of her son, her world. She looked into his watery eyes. “Nick’s wrong, honey. Nothing is more important than you. Remember what I always told you? Where you go, I go.”
“Yeah, Mommy. I remember. I’m glad ’cause I want to see the horses and dogs, but not without you.” He slung his arm around Abby’s neck, smiling now.
Abby tried to hide the tears that swamped her eyes, but failed.
“So you’re coming with us?” Nick asked. “What about your job?”
She looked up at him and shrugged. “I’ll wait and see how things work out.” He might get tired of having guests after a few days. Or his mother might. Besides, she wouldn’t admit that her job wasn’t what she’d hoped for. Having graduated with a business degree, she’d hired on as office manager in a prestigious law firm, but left after two years over a personality conflict between her and one of the partners. Her new job, for a smaller company, wasn’t challenging enough, but she’d decided to stick it out because it gave her time to spend with Robbie.
Nick gave her an odd look that made her feel uncomfortable, as if he were assessing her response. Then he shrugged and hefted her suitcases. “Come on, then. Us men are hungry, right, Robbie?” he asked, grinning at the boy.
“Yeah. Us men, Mommy!”
Abby hesitated, then grabbed the bag she’d dropped, along with her car keys. “I’ll take my car and follow you. And I think Robbie should ride with me. His car seat is in my back seat.”
Nick leaned closer to her and said in a low voice Robbie couldn’t hear, “You’re not planning on running away from me, are you?”
She stiffened and gave him an indignant glare. “I wouldn’t endanger my child with a high-speed chase.”
“Fine, then. I’ll just hold your suitcases hostage until we get there.”
Her suitcases? He’d already held her heart hostage for five long years.
“I know, Mr. Johnson, and I apologize, but the emergency wasn’t planned. I have to go back home today.”
Nick worked on his pancakes, listening to Abby as she spoke on her cell phone a couple feet away.
“No, sir, I can’t postpone it. I have—” There was a pause before she said, “Yes, sir. I see.” She flipped the phone shut without saying goodbye.
Nick looked at her when she returned to the table. “Mr. Johnson didn’t take kindly to your emergency?”
She picked up her coffee mug. “He fired me. Are you happy?”
“Doesn’t matter to me. Coming was your choice.”
She pressed her lips together before she took another sip, then turned to her son. “Finished, Robbie? Let’s go clean up in the rest room.”
Nick stood up and offered his hand to the boy. “I’ll take him to the men’s room. He’s too big to go to the ladies’ room with you.”
“Is it okay, Mommy?”
From her expression he expected her to protest. Instead she surprised him. “Yes, honey, it’s okay.” She knew Nick would never hurt him.
Robbie took Nick’s hand. “What’s it like in your room, Nick?”
“My room?”
“You know, the boys’ room. I never been in one before.”
Nick smiled. “Well, let’s let you go see for yourself.”
They walked toward the back of the restaurant, Nick holding his hand. “This
