A Place to Call Home (16 page)

Abby hadn’t brought it up again but she’d been asking God to speak to Quinn’s heart. His bitterness over his dad’s shortcomings held him captive. Until six months ago, she’d been there. Dragging that kind of chain around was hard work. Freedom, Abby knew, felt a lot better.

If only Quinn would see it…

The marshmallow on the end of the stick she was holding over a cluster of embers suddenly burst into flame. Frantically, Abby started to wave it around in an attempt to put it out.

“The Fourth of July fireworks were a few weeks ago.”

Abby dropped the willow branch into the fire, marshmallow and all, as Quinn emerged from the shadows. The sight of him set off a few fireworks inside of her.

She hadn’t realized until now that a tiny part of her had been afraid he wouldn’t come back.

“Hi, stranger.” Abby tried to keep her smile under control but failed.

“Hi.” Quinn stopped several feet away and pushed his hands into his pockets.

“I was wondering what happened to you.”

Quinn didn’t pick up the hint. “What are you doing?”

“Making s’mores. When I was talking to Lydia, she said it was one of the things she and Simon had done together when they were camp counselors. I’m practicing so I can make them one evening while they’re here. As a surprise.”

“You’re practicing? Making s’mores?”

“I keep burning the marshmallows. Not that Mulligan minds,” she added with a laugh. “There must be a trick to it. I’m open to suggestions…”

Quinn moved closer but with obvious reluctance. Unexpected tears scorched the back of Abby’s eyes and she looked away. The awkwardness between them was her fault.

Her and her impulsive kiss.

“Where is the chocolate?” He surveyed the ingredients strewn on the blanket beside her.

Abby’s fingers curled around the empty foil wrapper in the pocket of her sweatshirt. “I’m practicing without chocolate.”

Because she’d eaten all of it while waiting for Quinn’s return.

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Uh-huh.”

The smile gave Abby courage. She patted the blanket next to her. “Well? Are you going to help me sharpen my s’more-making skills?”

“Abby—” The rest of the sentence broke off in a sigh. Quinn didn’t move but she felt his retreat. Knew what he was going to say before he said it. “I’m pretty beat tonight.”

It wasn’t the whole truth and Quinn could tell by the look on Abby’s face that she
knew
it wasn’t the whole truth.

He’d spent the last few hours driving aimlessly down pitted county roads, wondering what to do.

Praying about what to do.

He wasn’t sure how, but he’d ended up back on a very familiar road.

He’d seen the relief in Abby’s eyes when he and Lady had returned. Heard the question in her voice when she asked what had happened to him.

Quinn could hardly wrap his mind around it. In the course of a single day, his life had been turned upside down.

Alex Porter had fired him. Bob Hamlin wanted to meet with him.

But here he was. Back at the lodge.

Because Abby needed him.

F
inished.

Abby stepped back to admire the new valances. The crisp blue curtains, bordered by a jaunty stripe of white grosgrain ribbon that gave them a nautical look, were the finishing touch on the cabin Lydia and Simon would be occupying during their stay.

The last two cabins were still a long way from being ready but it felt good to check this one off the list.

Quinn’s personal belongings were lined up neatly by the door, waiting to be relocated to the next cabin.

Tim and Zach Davis had shown up right after breakfast. Quinn assigned one of them the task of mowing the grass and the other trimming weeds around the buildings. It was obvious from their disappointed expressions that they’d hoped Abby needed more fish.

She’d tried to cheer them up the best way she knew how. With a piece of homemade cinnamon streusel coffee cake. It seemed to work…until she’d asked about Cody.

The brothers had exchanged a look and then explained
they hadn’t seen him since Quinn had dropped him off at home on Saturday evening.

Abby had tried not to let her concern for the boy show but decided to ask Quinn if there was something they could do.

If she had a chance to talk to him.

Abby had hoped if she knocked on the door of his cabin early enough, they would have a few minutes to talk. But Quinn had opened the door for her and kept right on going, muttering something about checking on Zach and Tim.

The past few days had been a whirlwind of activity but it was clear that Quinn was still avoiding her. Whenever he saw her approach, his expression turned wary. Guarded. And she lost her nerve.

Maybe he was afraid she was going to kiss him again.

The trouble was, she wanted to kiss him again. And talk to him. Laugh with him. Sit by the fire with him.

Every day that brought her closer to reaching her goal of finishing the cabins brought her one day closer to losing Quinn. Daniel was scheduled to return on Monday and Quinn would go back to O’Halloran Security.

The temptation to ask him to stay on and help her and Daniel finish the cabins for the Thomases’ party was strong, but Abby knew she couldn’t bring herself to put that kind of pressure on him. Quinn had more than enough work of his own to catch up on.

She had a plan, though. Quinn had given up so much of his time that Abby wanted a chance to repay him somehow. She had even gathered her courage and called Faye McAllister the day before. She suspected that having Quinn’s office manager on her side would guarantee her success.

Faye was enthusiastic about the idea but warned her that Quinn had stubbornly refused any offers she’d made over the
past year to spend her own money on anything related to his business. The only thing he’d allowed her to do was donate curtains for the office—and that was only because she’d put them up before she asked him for permission.

Abby wasn’t worried. Under certain circumstances, she could be just as stubborn as he was. Like it or not, there were times when the Porter DNA prevailed.

She was about to leave when Quinn’s cell phone began to hum on the coffee table next to her.

He’d been in such a hurry to avoid her that he must have forgotten it.

She grinned.

Here was her excuse to talk to him.

Abby swiped up the phone and automatically glanced at the tiny screen. Blinked when she saw the familiar name.

Alex Porter.

It couldn’t be. Why would her brother be calling Quinn?

There was one way to find out. She flipped open the phone.

“Hi, Alex.”

The silence on the other end was a dead giveaway.

“Abby?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. How did you get this number?”

“I—” Alex hesitated.

Alex
never
hesitated.

Her hands suddenly felt cold. “Why are you calling me on my carpenter’s phone.”

“O’Halloran is still working for you?”

Wait a second…

“You know Quinn?”

“Not…personally.”

“Alex.”

“It’s not what you think.”

Abby hadn’t been thinking anything. Until now.

“You weren’t trying to get in touch with me, were you? You called this number on purpose. To talk to Quinn.”

“Ab—”

“Don’t lie to me, Alex.” The shrillness of her own voice made Abby wince. “How did you know about him?” A thought occurred to her. “You had a background check done on him, didn’t you?”

It was the only possible explanation. She couldn’t remember if she’d mentioned to Alex that someone was filling in for her carpenter temporarily but if she had, her brother would have wanted to make sure Quinn’s record was clean.

“I hired him.”

Abby frowned. “How could you have? He took Daniel Redstone’s place…”

When Daniel mysteriously won a contest he hadn’t even remembered entering.

Abby sank into the closest chair and pressed a hand against her churning stomach.

“Listen to me, Abby. I was worried about you being alone up there. Someone started harassing me a few weeks ago and when the police couldn’t catch the guy, I admit that I freaked out a little. I needed to know that you were safe. That’s why I hired O’Halloran.”

“To watch me.”

“It’s not as bad as you make it sound.”

No, it was worse.

The pieces began to fall into place even as Abby’s heart began to fall apart.

How Quinn seemed to put aside his initial reserve and spent more time with her. Inviting himself along on her trip
to town. Meeting up with her at the chapel. His insistence on going to church with her Sunday morning.

The campfire…

Tears burned the backs of Abby’s eyes.

She’d been foolish enough to think of him as a friend. That he’d sought out her company because he wanted to be with her. That he was beginning to care about her. Not because Alex had paid him to.

“Why Quinn? How do you know him?”

“That isn’t important.”

It was to her. “You owe me an explanation.” She couldn’t believe her voice sounded so firm. So even.

“I recognized his name when I was looking for someone in your area who could help me out,” Alex finally admitted. “Someone I could trust to be discreet.”

Discreet. In other words, he needed someone willing to deceive her by pretending to be a carpenter.

“What do you mean you recognized his name?”

“He was a bodyguard for Hamlin Security in Chicago before he moved back to Mirror Lake,” Alex said reluctantly. “One of their best.”

“A bodyguard.” A bubble of laughter burst out even as tears leaked out the corner of Abby’s eyes. “Of course he was.”

“Let me explain—”

“I’ve heard all I want to.” More than she’d wanted to. But she still had to ask. “Does he know? About me?”

Alex knew what she meant. “Yes.”

So not only did Quinn assume she wasn’t capable of looking after herself, he felt sorry for her, too.

Abby Porter. Poor little rich girl.

“He didn’t want to take the job, Abby. I didn’t give him much of a choice.”

As if that somehow made it okay.

“Goodbye, Alex.”

“Abby, wait—”

“I’ve been waiting, Alex. Waiting for you to stop treating me like I’m still that traumatized six-year-old. That was one of the reasons I left Chicago. I realized that I was never going to get past what happened because you wouldn’t let me.” She drew a ragged breath, not sure at the moment whose betrayal hurt the most. Alex’s or Quinn’s.

The screen door opened and Mulligan and Lady clattered in, Quinn a step behind them. In his hands was a bouquet of Queen Anne’s lace and brown-eyed Susans.

The smile on his face faded when he saw the tears tracking her cheeks.

“Abby? What is it?” He was at her side in an instant.

“It’s for you.”

She handed him the phone and walked out the door.

“Hello?” Quinn barked the word into the phone as he started after Abby.

“Why are you still there?”

Porter.

Quinn’s feet suddenly melted to the floor. “What happened? What did you say to her?”

“She saw my name come up on your phone,” Alex said. “And wondered why I was calling
her
carpenter.”

“What did you tell her?”

“The truth.”

The truth.

Quinn’s throat closed.

“You stayed, didn’t you?” Alex made it sound more like an accusation than a question. “Why? I told you that I didn’t
need you anymore…” His voice ebbed away and then came back stronger. “You stayed because
Abby
needed you.”

“I have to talk to her.” Quinn saw Abby sprint across the yard and disappear into the house.

“You need to talk to me first,” Alex shot back. “Is there something going on between you and my sister?”

“No.” At least, not anymore.

The stricken look in Abby’s eyes flashed in Quinn’s mind.

The past few days he’d been trying to find a way out of the mess he’d gotten himself into. He hadn’t expected it to blow up in his face.

“I’m trying her cell from my other line. She isn’t picking up.” Alex’s own frustration spilled out. “This wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t picked up your phone. The phone that wouldn’t have been there if
you
hadn’t been there.”

Quinn didn’t bother to come to his own defense. He didn’t have one. “I’ll talk to her.”

“She won’t talk to you,” Alex predicted.

He had to try anyway.

Porter had been wrong about a lot of things. Quinn prayed he was wrong about that, too.

Abby took a deep breath when she heard the front door open.

Five minutes hadn’t been enough time to prepare herself to face Quinn. Not that it mattered. Abby doubted if a month would have been enough.

She stood behind the small check-in area, an antique buffet she’d converted into a counter, so there would be something solid between her and Quinn. He wouldn’t be able to see her knees shake, either.

The anger she’d felt while talking to Alex had drained away, leaving her feeling numb. And incredibly stupid.

The irony of the situation had begun to sink in. In the past when a man tried to get to know her, Abby would look for ulterior motives. Signs of a hidden agenda. Quinn had been the exception. She knew she was falling in love with him. But now? Now it just felt as if she were falling.

He appeared in the doorway. Abby waited for him to say something. An excuse. An apology. An explanation. Instead, he seemed to be waiting for her to speak.

So she did.

“I want you off my property. Now.” Abby was amazed her voice wasn’t quivering like the rest of her. “My brother might have hired you, but I think I have the right to fire you.”

“All right.” Quinn nodded once. Pivoted toward the door.

He was leaving. Just like that.

“That’s all you’re going to say?” How could he look so calm when Abby felt as if she were bleeding to death on the inside?

Quinn paused. “Alex is worried about you. Talk to him.”

From his remote expression, Quinn might as well have been a stranger standing in the doorway. Abby looked for the man whose smile had melted her heart like chocolate in the sun. The one who’d worked tirelessly from sunrise to sunset so she could open the inn on schedule…

Because Alex paid him to.

“I guess Alex was right about you.” Abby tossed the words at Quinn’s back as he turned to walk away. “You were the best one for the job.”