her a wry grin. “Is that a loaded question?”
“No—no, I wondered—”
“You wondered how long I’ll be here?”
She flashed the amused smile he remembered so well. “It had crossed my mind.”
“What would you say if I said I was leaving tomorrow?”
* * * * *
A bolt of alarm shot through Abbey. Leaving tomorrow? A couple of weeks ago she’d hoped Jack wouldn’t be staying in Rusthwaite for very long. Now she didn’t know what to think. Once he left, her life would return to its normal predictable course, but was that what she wanted?
“Are you?”
He grinned. “Nope.”
She pouted in mock exasperation. “That’s the kind of thing you did when we were kids.”
“Did I?”
His wide-eyed innocence made her laugh. “You know very well you used to wind me up by saying something and letting me believe it for ages before you retracted it. You told me the valley road was going to be closed for three months, and once you said Johnny Depp was coming up to Windermere to make a movie.”
Jack laughed, the deep rich laugh she remembered, which now sent a rush of warmth through her. “We had some crazy times, didn’t we?”
“We had crazy conversations, too,” she replied, relaxing now her tension had started to subside. “Remember when we had a long discussion about whether spiders got frustrated or annoyed when people swept away their webs, after they’d spent hours making them?”
“And the time we talked about whether butterflies remembered they’d once been caterpillars.”
“I don’t remember that one.”
“Ah. Sorry, no, that was a silly conversation I had with Rachel.”
Something stirred inside her that she’d never felt before, but she recognised it. Jealousy of this unknown woman who had shared Jack’s life. “What was she like, Jack?”
“Rachel?” He hesitated. “When I first met her, she reminded me of you.”
Abbey didn’t know if her heart had stopped beating or if it was pounding so fast that everything became numb inside her. “M-me?” Hastily she recovered herself. “Why?”
“Because she was lively and had a real zest for life, but she also knew what she wanted. She was determined and straightforward and uncomplicated—”
“And you think that applies to me?”
“Of course it does. Think back to all the fun we had. You bubbled over with enthusiasm and you knew what you wanted.”
“And uncomplicated?”
“Yes, in the sense of being single-minded about becoming an actress.”
“Not in any other sense, though.”
“Yes, you were.”
“Oh, come on, Jack, I was the most screwed-up teenager you could ever meet.”
“Because of your father?”
“Yes.” She looked away from his searching eyes.
“Are you still screwed up about him?”
She gave a small shrug. “I don’t think I’ll ever forgive what he did to Mum, or to Louise and Ellie and me.”
“Plenty of men leave their wives and their children. It’s a sad fact of life these days.”
“Yes, I know it happens everywhere, and everyone has to find their own way of dealing with it. At the time, and afterwards, too.”
“Hey, stop getting prickly. This is me, remember?”
Abbey managed a small smile. She’d spoken more sharply than she intended. “Sorry, I don’t like talking about him. I don’t even want to think about him.”
“And that’s how you deal with it? Now, I mean?”
“Perhaps a part of me still thinks it was my fault, just as I did when he first left us.”
“I thought you got over that feeling?”
“Yes, of course I realised he didn’t leave because I told Mum about the phone call. It’s the things we found out later that I can’t forgive. His affairs with other women, and the problems Mum had with child support payments from him, and all the excuses he made when we were supposed to visit him.” She stopped as the memories returned in a painful rush.
“Especially over the New York trip.”
“Yes.” She shuddered as she remembered the ghastly
“No—no, I wondered—”
“You wondered how long I’ll be here?”
She flashed the amused smile he remembered so well. “It had crossed my mind.”
“What would you say if I said I was leaving tomorrow?”
* * * * *
A bolt of alarm shot through Abbey. Leaving tomorrow? A couple of weeks ago she’d hoped Jack wouldn’t be staying in Rusthwaite for very long. Now she didn’t know what to think. Once he left, her life would return to its normal predictable course, but was that what she wanted?
“Are you?”
He grinned. “Nope.”
She pouted in mock exasperation. “That’s the kind of thing you did when we were kids.”
“Did I?”
His wide-eyed innocence made her laugh. “You know very well you used to wind me up by saying something and letting me believe it for ages before you retracted it. You told me the valley road was going to be closed for three months, and once you said Johnny Depp was coming up to Windermere to make a movie.”
Jack laughed, the deep rich laugh she remembered, which now sent a rush of warmth through her. “We had some crazy times, didn’t we?”
“We had crazy conversations, too,” she replied, relaxing now her tension had started to subside. “Remember when we had a long discussion about whether spiders got frustrated or annoyed when people swept away their webs, after they’d spent hours making them?”
“And the time we talked about whether butterflies remembered they’d once been caterpillars.”
“I don’t remember that one.”
“Ah. Sorry, no, that was a silly conversation I had with Rachel.”
Something stirred inside her that she’d never felt before, but she recognised it. Jealousy of this unknown woman who had shared Jack’s life. “What was she like, Jack?”
“Rachel?” He hesitated. “When I first met her, she reminded me of you.”
Abbey didn’t know if her heart had stopped beating or if it was pounding so fast that everything became numb inside her. “M-me?” Hastily she recovered herself. “Why?”
“Because she was lively and had a real zest for life, but she also knew what she wanted. She was determined and straightforward and uncomplicated—”
“And you think that applies to me?”
“Of course it does. Think back to all the fun we had. You bubbled over with enthusiasm and you knew what you wanted.”
“And uncomplicated?”
“Yes, in the sense of being single-minded about becoming an actress.”
“Not in any other sense, though.”
“Yes, you were.”
“Oh, come on, Jack, I was the most screwed-up teenager you could ever meet.”
“Because of your father?”
“Yes.” She looked away from his searching eyes.
“Are you still screwed up about him?”
She gave a small shrug. “I don’t think I’ll ever forgive what he did to Mum, or to Louise and Ellie and me.”
“Plenty of men leave their wives and their children. It’s a sad fact of life these days.”
“Yes, I know it happens everywhere, and everyone has to find their own way of dealing with it. At the time, and afterwards, too.”
“Hey, stop getting prickly. This is me, remember?”
Abbey managed a small smile. She’d spoken more sharply than she intended. “Sorry, I don’t like talking about him. I don’t even want to think about him.”
“And that’s how you deal with it? Now, I mean?”
“Perhaps a part of me still thinks it was my fault, just as I did when he first left us.”
“I thought you got over that feeling?”
“Yes, of course I realised he didn’t leave because I told Mum about the phone call. It’s the things we found out later that I can’t forgive. His affairs with other women, and the problems Mum had with child support payments from him, and all the excuses he made when we were supposed to visit him.” She stopped as the memories returned in a painful rush.
“Especially over the New York trip.”
“Yes.” She shuddered as she remembered the ghastly
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