Tristan's Redemption (15 page)

Tristan resisted the urge to shout his relief. After nearly a week of dropping hints that Abby should move some of her stuff over, she’d finally agreed. He was helping her pack. Abby had a rather extensive collection of overnight bags and was making good use of them. She had books, pillows, her laptop, notebooks, her favorite blue pen, her favorite black pen. Tristan smiled as she stuffed everything into the bags.

“
What’s that look for?” Abby was looking at him with her head cocked to the side, her hands fisted on her hips.

“
What look?”

“
Like you are trying your very best not to laugh. What am I doing?”

“
Besides being completely adorable? Absolutely nothing.”

Abby frowned.
“Are you sure?”

“
Positive.”

She took that as a good enough answer and went back to packing. Tristan was suddenly grateful for his SUV.

“I think that’s it. Should we start putting all this in your truck?”

“
No. You should sit while I carry the bags. It will be quicker if I’m not worried about you over-exerting yourself.”

Before she could argue, Tristan grabbed three bags in each hand and took them outside. He returned for another load and mentally calculated that he would be done with one more trip inside. The Land Rover wasn
’t even close to being full, and if Tristan had his way, they would be bringing all Abby’s belongings back to his mansion. But they had to move on her schedule, not his. He would not rush this.

Abby stood beside the bed with the last two bags in hand.

“Abby...”

She rolled her eyes and huffed.
“Oh hush. I’m not helpless. Besides, they’re light. It’s just a couple of balls of yarn and my knitting needles.”

What? Abby knits?
“Have you been knitting long?”

She took a deep breath.
“I started after David died. I wanted to make the baby a blanket.”

“
I think that’s fantastic.”

She smiled at the praise.
“I’m on my third. Which is silly, I suppose, since we live in Georgia, but I did it anyway.”

Tristan kissed her.
“It’s not silly at all to want to keep your child warm. The baby’s very lucky to have you for a mom.”

“
You think so?” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“
I do. Now, give me those bags and let’s get you some lunch.”

He stood to the side and waited for Abby to turn off the light. He looked down at the bed. His mind was full of memories. Their first night in the house after it was built, the many nights they
’d made love, the tears shed over negative pregnancy tests. The smiles and laughter because he’d been lucky enough to marry his best friend. So much had happened here that it hurt Tristan to be in this space. He needed to leave. He needed to get Abby out of there.

“
Are you ready?” Abby put her hand on his arm, looking at him in concern.

“
Yes. Let’s go.”

Abby and Tristan were moving forward, toward a life together. Tristan, Abby and the baby would be a family. Not all days would be perfect, but as long as they had each other, it would be damned close. With every step they took toward to the car, Tristan felt lighter, freer, blessed.

Abby locked the door and set the alarm on her remote. He put the final two bags in the back and closed the lid, just as another car pulled in the driveway. Abby gasped.

“
No,” she whispered, and he could hear the despair in her voice.

Tristan reached for her hand and grabbed it, ready to face whatever had her so freaked out. He had never been a violent man, but Abby
was stiff and whoever this was would have to face him. He turned, and stopped.

David
’s parents stood beside their car, looking pointedly at their joined hands. His father’s nostrils were flared as he glanced away long enough to see the bags in the SUV. David’s mother finally spoke.

“
Hello, Abigail. Do you have a few moments to invite us into our son’s house?”

Abby
’s hand stiffened within his own. Moving forward, it seemed, had bitten them in the ass.

~

Tristan took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. This wasn’t Mom and Dad. In fact, until introductions were made, they weren’t even Tom and Ann Daniels.

Oh
, Mom.

She looked...shocked. Hell, for that matter, so was he. Ann—God, treating her as someone other than Mom was going to be difficult—had tears in her eyes and Tristan noticed how much she had aged. She looked ten years older
than the last time he had seen her.

Tom, on the other hand, looked like a man ready for a fight. Was this shock over the situation, or had Abby been subjected to the seething looks from his father before?

Regardless of the reason, Tristan sure as hell wasn’t letting
anyone
intimidate Abby. Even his father.

Abby cleared her throat.
“Actually, Ann, we were just leaving, so if we could catch up another time...”

Tom stepped forward, cutting his wife off before she c
ould respond. “Yeah, about that. Maybe we should ask just who this fellow is.”

Tristan turned to Tom and smiled.
“My name is Tristan. And you are?”

He
tsked
and pointed at Abby. “Her father-in-law.”

“
Tristan.” Abby tugged on his hand but didn’t let go. “These are David’s parents, Tom and Ann Daniels. Tom and Ann, this is Tristan.”

“
Abby, how could you be seeing someone? David hasn’t been gone that long and you’re pregnant with his baby, for God’s sake.” Ann’s lips trembled and her voice dropped to a whisper. “How could you?”

Tristan hated seeing her like this. Since coming back, he
’d concentrated on Abby and hadn’t given much thought to the pain his parents were going through. He wanted to save his mom from pain, while keeping Abby safe. “Mrs. Daniels, Abby and I have only been seeing each other for a few weeks. We met at a support group for people who’ve lost spouses. This is a recent development.”

Tom pointed at the vehicle.
“Not that recent if you have bags stacked in the back of his SUV. Are you moving in with him?”

“
I’m staying with him, but—”

Tristan cut her off by standing in front of her.
“I am very sorry for your loss, but nothing is going to be accomplished by tossing accusations at Abby. “

Ann stepped forward, wringing her hands.
“We’re not trying to upset Abby. Tom and I just wanted to talk to her, maybe see how things are going with the baby.”

Tristan looked back at Abby, who shook her head.
“Another time, perhaps. Right now, we need—”

“
Wait a second.” Abby stepped around Tristan. “I’ve called with updates. I emailed ultrasound pictures. I’ve kept you up-to-date on everything, but I haven’t heard anything from you. Until now. Why?”

Tristan felt like he had been hit in the chest. If it wasn
’t for Abby’s family, she would have been abandoned.

God, I thought they
’d stay in contact with Abby.

“
We lost our son,” Ann said, sounding weary.

Abby sighed.
“And I lost my husband. I realize you two never really liked me all that much and only put up with me because of David, but I lost him too.”

Never liked her? What the hell?

Tristan was still reeling from that when Tom pointed at Tristan. He hadn’t moved from position beside the driver’s door. His face was red, a telltale sign of anger. “But we haven’t moved on. We can’t replace our son with someone else.”

She jerked back
as if Tom had struck her and sucked in a breath. “Neither can I. Nor will I try. But Tristan makes me happy. If that’s a problem for you, I’m sorry. Standing in my driveway trying to make me feel bad will not make me send him away.”

Ann turned to her husband. She looked pale, worried. Tristan knew she wouldn
’t have wanted things to escalate. “Tom, maybe we can talk another—”

He held up his ha
nd, cutting his wife off mid-sentence. His eyes were still on Abby, his expression angry. “Young lady, are you aware of grandparents’ rights?”

At this point, Tristan was fuming. The more he observed his father
’s behavior, the more convinced he became that the animosity had existed before his death. He would do his very damned best to get to the bottom of the whole not-liking-Abby scenario later. But for now, he wasn’t going to allow her to be bullied. “Mr. Daniels, are you threatening Abby?”

“
I’m merely asking a question.”

“
Sir, grandparents’ rights shouldn’t even be coming into a discussion at this point. Abby has done nothing to even insinuate a threat, which is what your line of questioning implies to me.”

Tom sneered
, and Tristan wanted to hit something. He couldn’t, because he had to remain calm for Abby’s sake. But first thing tomorrow morning, he was putting his legal team to work.

“
What, exactly, would you do? Abby is pregnant with our grandchild, our son hasn’t been dead a year and she’s moving in somewhere else, with a man?”

One...two...three...
Tristan continued to count so he wouldn’t lose his shit, but he realized the best way to shut Tom up. “What I would do, Mr. Daniels, is trust Abby. Your son trusted her enough to marry and have a baby with her, so why can’t you hold even a small percentage of the trust he gave her? From everything I have heard about David, there isn’t anything he wouldn’t have done for his family. How do you think he would feel about you pressuring the woman he loved?”

Ann covered her mouth and tears flowed. Abby sniffled, but kept her eyes on Tom.

“Ann, get in the car. We’ll talk to her later, when she’s alone and can see some sense.”

Tom sat and slammed his door. Ann stayed in place for a moment, like she wanted to say something to Abby. Tom leaned over and opened his wife
’s door, a clear signal for her to hurry up.

After the Daniels pulled away, Abby was shaking. Tristan guided her to her seat and rushed over to the driver
’s side so they could get out of there. Inside, Abby was clutching a tissue, and he got on the road quickly. Sitting here was doing nothing to make her feel better, and it was making him madder than hell.

“
I’m sorry you went through that.”

She shrugged, looking down at her belly.
“I’m used to it, actually.”

Tristan
’s fingers tensed on the steering wheel.
“They’ve done that before?”

“
Yes.”

Damn it!
He wanted to scream. “What have they done to you?”

“
Ann never really did anything, other than back up Tom. He, however, never hesitated to let me know that there was someone better suited for David.”

Son of a bitch.
“I assume he never made those remarks in front of your husband.”

Abby shook her head.
“No. Tom never said anything in front of David. He loved his parents so much, I wasn’t about to tell him that his father was making me feel uncomfortable, even in my own home.”

“
You put too much on yourself, Abby.” At her surprised glance, Tristan continued. “You should’ve told David about his dad and maybe he could have settled that early on, instead of you being subjected to Tom’s taunting.”

“
I didn’t want to hurt him by telling him.”

She went through that for years because she didn
’t want to hurt me.
Tristan drove, calming by reminding himself of Ehron’s words.
...you can make new memories with Abby, or you can sit here and waste the time you’ve been given wallowing in your own guilt. Make your choice.

So he lifted Abby
’s hand to his mouth and tenderly kissed her fingers. She looked over and smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. He vowed then and there that she would never go through that again.

Abby had stayed at Tristan
’s house for over a week. She sat on the bed, supported by mounds of pillows, returning calls. Her voicemails had built up. The last call was done, and she set her phone down.

Tristan walked in and kissed her.

“Are you done in the office?”

“
I am.” He pointed to the pillows. “You look like you’ve been here a while.”

“
I have. My coworkers have left voicemails checking on me. Since it is almost August, they’ll be preparing for the new school year soon.”

“
How long do you have off?”

“
I don’t plan on going back until after Thanksgiving break. That’s probably a little long for maternity leave but I wanted every day I could get with him.” She rubbed her belly with a wistful smile. “I can’t wait to finally see him. And my feet,” Abby added with a chuckle.

“
Oh come on, you are tiny compared to some of the women in the doctor’s office.”

Abby gaped.
“Tristan!”

“
Admit it. That lady that was in there last week? I was petrified she was going to go into labor and deliver a set of quadruplets in the waiting room.”

Tristan was playing, but the mock look of terror sent her over the edge.
“Stop!” Abby playfully smacked at his shoulder as she laughed.

“
Laugh all you want, Abby. But that poor woman was going to burst if she so much as sneezed.”

Oh Dear God.
She laughed so hard, tears were running down her cheeks. Tristan looked highly amused.

She finally sobered.
“Laughing feels so good.”

“
And I love hearing your laughter.” His smile lingered, but something about Tristan’s eyes made him seem nervous.

“
What’s wrong?”

He shook his head.
“Nothing, but there’s something I need to ask you.”

~

Tristan pulled her onto his lap, dismissing her murmurs of being too heavy. Abby’s laughter filled the house like the song of an angel. A joyous noise taking the place of silence. He would be alone, again, if she decided to move back home, which is why she had to accept his offer. He wasn’t above begging.

“
Tristan, you look nervous.” Her face was bright pink from the laughter, but her eyes narrowed in concern.

“
I am.”

Abby ran her finger along Tristan
’s jawline and leaned down for a kiss. “Just ask.”

He swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
“Stay with me. After the baby is born, don’t go.”

Her eyes widened in shock.
“Are you serious?”

Tristan rubbed her back as he nodded.
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

“
But that’s just... Tristan, you do realize that newborns are loud.”

“
Of course.”

“
And a full night sleep doesn’t happen for a while.”

He shrugged easily.
“Which will give me time to check in with my overseas offices in their time zone.”

She looked confused, her bright blue eyes intently watching him.
“Why do you want this?”

He reeled back in surprise.
“Are you doubting the way I feel about you?”

“
No. But I still want to know why. You’re signing on for responsibilities you didn’t have before I came into your life. It means the world to me that you’re taking care of me while I’m pregnant. But I’m not going to be pregnant much longer and then you could have some normal back.”

Tristan moved Abby to the side and stood. He watched her face and realized that
she truly wasn’t doubting, but curious. He could deal with that. “How would you define normal? Coming home to an empty house when it’s been filled with your smile for weeks? Night time phone calls and texts when I could be by your side as you take care of the baby? Is that what you want? Do you want to go back to your house?”

Abby shook her head.
“No.”

“
Then stay. God, Abby, before you started staying here, the silence was the loudest thing in this house. You make it a home. I would love for you to move in, permanently. “

Her eyes glistened over with tears and she smiled.
“Then I would love to.”

Thank you, God!
He scooped her up in his arms and swung her around, her laughter again filling the air.

“
Abby, you make me the happiest man on the planet.”

“
Good. It’s the same for me.” She giggled. “Except for the man part.”

Tristan sat her down and kissed her.
“Believe me, I know you’re all woman. Now, would you like to go pick out furniture for the nursery?”

“
Don’t you have to work?”

“
It’s Saturday, Abby. I was checking emails out of habit.”

“
Oh. That sounds like a good idea.” She slipped her feet into her flats and checked herself in the mirror. Tristan thought that was completely unnecessary. No matter what Abby was wearing, in this case a sundress, she was still the most beautiful woman around. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Abby took his outstretched hand, and headed for the car.