Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (160 page)

I swallowed hard.

“Will you marry me, Abby? Will you be my wife?”

My mind was scrambled, in shock, in a dream. As I looked at Ty, all I could think about was how much I loved him.

With tears in my eyes, I answered with my lips. And then with one word.

Yes.

CHAPTER 9

We had talked a little about the wedding on the drive back into town.

“I’m ready now, tonight, last Wednesday,” Ty said. “But I know you probably want to wait a little, at least until you finish school and get a job. And I’m good with that. I’m good with whatever makes you happy.”

I squeezed his hand, Uncle Tupelo’s “Chickamauga”
playing on the radio.

We decided to Skype his parents first thing in the morning to tell them the news. I still hadn’t met his family, but had said hi on the phone a few times and they sounded nice, like people from an old movie where everyone is polite and kind.

Ty was hoping we could make it out to Montana before the end of the summer, right before classes started up again at the Culinary Institute. He was sure there would be a big party on the ranch with all his relatives and friends. It sounded fun.

It was late when I got home, but I called Kate anyway.

“Oh, Abby, that’s fantastic news! I’m so excited for you guys! Was it a surprise, or did you have a vision and see it coming?”

I laughed.

“No visions. I had no idea,” I said. “It was a total surprise.”

She asked about the ring and said we should go to San Francisco to shop for the wedding dress.

“Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?”

“Well, we have some time to figure that one out,” I said. “But maybe I could talk him into Spain.”

“I think
you
could talk that guy into anything, Abby. He’s so ridiculously in love with you. Oh, hey, I want to throw you an engagement party. We can start planning it tomorrow.”

“Thanks, that sounds great.”

We said goodnight and I finally got to bed. I was exhausted but it took me a long time to get to sleep.

I just kept looking at my finger, the ring sparkling in the night, thinking about Ty.

CHAPTER 10

I was lost in the whiteness again.

The voices were back, coming in and out.

“Our top story, the number of deaths from Ebola in the United States now stands at more than a dozen. The latest fatality was reported in Atlanta this morning. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control are asking the public to remain…”

The air was warm.

Suddenly the snow stopped and I was standing in front of a rushing stream trying to figure a way to cross it. I wasn’t sure why I had to cross, only that I did.

Someone stood on the other side, waiting. A hiker leading me somewhere. I could feel his eyes on me, urging me to cross. There was a sense of desperation in the air as dense as the snow had been a few moments earlier. And fear. The oldest fear. Death. It filled the forest with darkness and terror and ripped a hole in me, pouring inside.

Thunder boomed in the distance and I knew I had to push onward. The water was ice cold and the current strong. I shivered and wobbled.

“Wait,” I heard myself saying.

“We don’t have much time,” he answered.

He raced ahead, leaving me there in the middle of the stream.

The snow came back with a vengeance. Soon, I couldn’t see the opposite bank. Soon, I couldn’t see the water just below my knees. Soon, the world was white.

Another conservation from long ago. After the accident, Dr. Krowe speaking…

“How are you feeling about soccer? That was a huge part of your life. You had a few colleges interested before your accident. That must be hard to deal with. It must be stressful not being able to play like you used to. You’ve talked a little bit about how your teammates treat you.”

“They don’t treat me bad or anything,” I said.

“But it’s different.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s more like I’m just not there.”

The snow cleared like a dream and I could see the hiker again. He was up ahead, running toward a clearing. A rock shelf hanging out over nothing.

“Where are you taking me?” I called out.

“To the bodies,” he whispered. “I’m taking you to the bodies.”

CHAPTER 11

I should have been dreaming of Ty and vows and wedding cakes and honeymoons. Instead, I woke up with a new nightmare fresh in my mind.

Who was the hiker? And what bodies was he talking about?

I thought about the rest of it. The talk with Dr. Krowe and the Ebola outbreak.

Then I remembered David and the Golden Globes from the previous dream. The conversations from the past had all been real. Jesse talking about running away. Kate and my mom. Dr. Krowe. Could it be that David’s nomination and the report of those deaths were glimpses into the future? They hadn’t happened yet, but maybe they would.

I wondered what category the bodies fit into.

I had never had such scattered dreams, with so many random voices. They were all over the place and left me feeling confused and uneasy.

I had some coffee and pushed the nightmare away.

I thought about Ty instead and smiled. I looked at the ring and smiled some more.

An hour later I was standing over a hot grill, trying to cook breakfast. I had placed the ring on a chain around my neck to keep it out of harm’s way, and every once in a while when things slowed, I looked down and held it.

I burned toast and hash browns. I fried eggs when they should have been poached, chopped garlic when I should have sliced onions. Sent out California Benedicts instead of the Southwest ones. Added a side of fruit instead of home fries.

And not one of my mistakes went unnoticed by Alberto. 

“Abby!” he hollered, slamming a plate of strawberry French toast down on the counter top and holding up the order slip. “Do you need glasses? It says blueberries with no whipped cream. Wake up!”

He glared at me and shook his head. I smiled a spacey smile and apologized.

“Take a break, hon,” Misty whispered after he had left. “Before you burn the place down.”

CHAPTER 12

I walked along the Deschutes and then stopped to watch the water flowing lazily by, thinking about Ty and the summer we met on this same river, farther up at the rapids, guiding customers down the Big Eddy when we were both working as river guides. In some ways it seemed like a lifetime ago. Things were so different back then.

But the seeds were there. The seeds of what I would become. The ghosts were there, needing my help. And Ty was there.

I walked a little farther and then found a spot and sat down by the water’s edge at Drake Park. I slipped off my shoes and dipped my feet into the river, sitting in the full sun and letting the cool water rush over my toes.

The engagement ring was still hanging off my neck, the diamond catching the light. I smiled. But as I placed the ring back onto my finger, a strange wave of sadness rushed through me as I thought about Jesse.

I would have to tell him about the engagement. And I didn’t want to.

I knew that he would say all the right things. That he was happy for me. That I deserved to have a normal life that included love and marriage. That Ty was a good guy.

But his eyes would betray his true feelings. That he still loved me.

And the fact was that I still loved him, too.

I took in a deep breath, trying not to think about it. How although I loved Ty with most of my heart, it wasn’t all of it. There was still a piece that belonged to Jesse.

A little boy about four or five ran up and dropped a toy boat in the river a few feet away.

“Cool boat,” I said.

He smiled and pushed it out a little farther into the eddy.

“I got it ’cause I didn’t cry when I got a shot,” he said, looking at his arm and pointing to the Scooby Doo Band-Aid.

“Did it hurt?”

He nodded his head as he watched the boat slowly drift down river. He crept closer.

“Careful,” I said. “Don’t get too close.”

“That’s what my mom says,” he said, his eyes still on the boat, and moving toward it, his shoes now wet.

“I fell in the water once,” I said. “I had to go to the hospital.”

“Did they give you shots?”

“Yeah, lots of shots.”

 “Really?”

“Really.”

“Was it scary?”

“It was the scariest thing in the world,” I said. “I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“Okay,” he said, squinting in the sun and picking up the boat. “Did you cry?”

“Christopher! Get away from there right now.”

I turned around and saw a woman heading our way.

“Bye, girl,” he said before he took off running toward the woman pushing a stroller on the cobbled path that wound through the park.

“Bye, Christopher,” I said.

I sat watching them, the little boy clutching the boat, his other hand safe in his mom’s as they walked together down the trail.

“Yes, I cried,” I said after they had disappeared around the bend. “I cried for a long ti—”

Just then my phone rang.

“Abby Craig!” David shouted. “Where have you been all day? I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for your call!”

I had been meaning to call him to tell him about my big news, but figured I should wait until I had time to go into detail because David would want the details.

“No. Let’s do more eyeliner all the way around the eyes. Like Johnny Depp in
Pirates of the Caribbean
. These babies need to pop right out of the small screen and onto the big one!”

He must have been in makeup.

“What do you mean you’ve been waiting for my…” I said and stopped.

He knew. I was sure Kate wouldn’t have spilled it. Still, I was also sure that he knew.

“I was planning to call when I got home,” I said. “I swear. David?”

He didn’t answer right away. When he did, I could hear the hurt in his voice.

“Save it. Is this any way to treat your bestie?”

“You’re right,” I said. “I’m sorry. I should have at least left a message. Look, can you give me another shot at doing it right?”

 “Well, all right. I guess so. Go ahead. Tell me your news.”

“I’m engaged, David. He proposed last night and I said yes!”

“Yay, Abby Craig,” he shouted enthusiastically. “Who are you marrying?”

He started the usual laughing, wheezing, snorting cycle and I was relieved to hear he was in good spirits. I let him go until he came back.

“I’m joking,” he said finally. “Okay, tell me all the saucy details! And don’t leave out a single thing. You owe me that much. Spill it. I want a juicy play by play, especially
after
the yes.”

I gave him the rundown, but I was afraid it wasn’t as juicy as he would have liked. Still, he sounded genuinely happy for me.

“You know, that Ty Guy is all right in my book. And what taste! Don’t you just love the ring? It’s so fabulous.”

Now it was my turn to be quiet.

“What?”

“I’m wondering how you already knew about my news and about the ring.”

“Oops. Well, okay, I’ll fess up, even though I promised not to tell. But really, I had no business making that promise, right? No secrets between BFFs. That sounds like a reality show. Hold on, I’m going to write that down and pitch it.”

“Write later and tell me now,” I said.

“Well, he was here the other day. We all went ring shopping!”

“What?” I said. “What do you mean
we all?
”

“He wanted to talk to Kate, one on one. It was so very, very sweet. He asked her for permission to marry you. How old fashioned! So when she gave him the go ahead, they called and invited me out to go ring shopping with them. You know, like family. It was touching, Abby Craig. I feel very bonded to my new bro now. All previous grievances have been dropped.”

“So Kate knew about the proposal, too?”

“Oops.”

Kate had played it so cool when I had called last night, making it sound like it was the first time she had heard about it.

“Man, it’s a good thing I didn’t know that three people were waiting for my answer. I might have collapsed under all the pressure.”

“That’s so true,” David said, ignoring the sarcasm in my voice. “It’s good you answered with a yes. Can you imagine the embarrassment we all would be feeling today?”

I wasn’t sure I liked everybody knowing about the proposal before me, but I knew Ty had done it from his heart.

“Well, thanks for helping him out,” I said.

“Don’t mention it. We had a great time picking it out and, oh, let me tell you, you are one lucky girl that we were there to steer him in the right direction. He started out looking at some rather sad little numbers, but we set him straight.”

He started wheezing again.

“What?” I said.

“Sometimes I make myself laugh. Imagine me setting someone
straight
. Could be another reality show. ‘
Setting You Straight
with your host, David Norton.’ Oh, speaking of titles, the producers are giving serious thought to changing the name of the series now that it’s back from the dead. They want to make a fresh start I guess.”

“
Lightning in the Dark,
” I mumbled.

“Hey, wait, how did you know that?” He paused before I could say anything. “Oh,
that’s
how. Real stupid question, David Norton. News flash… your psychic friend
knows
things. Duh!”

I wondered if I should tell him about the Golden Globe nomination. Even if it were true, his chances of winning had to be very small. Those
Breaking Bad
people just didn’t lose. Still, it would an amazing thrill for him. I decided to hold off. It might prove to be too amazing of a thrill for his heart right now.

“Anyway, what do you think?” he said. “Of the name.”

“It’s kind of vague, but it’s got a nice ring to it.”