asking Abby’s father why he wanted to maintain a cabin no one ever visited and was told the cabin held a lot of good memories. Sam’s hope was that some day one of his children would want to make a few good memories of their own in it. At the time, Jack thought it was silly and sentimental, but now he thanked God for it.
Sam Travis took the bag from Abby’s hands, set it on the hood of the jeep, and then put his arms around his daughter. “Are you okay, baby?”
Jack hung back, giving them a few minutes to comfort each other. Abby’s father was a very imposing man. It was difficult reconciling the hard, commanding personality of the Sam Travis he’d met when he took the job as caretaker with the Sam Travis who now treated his daughter with such great tenderness.
He watched Abby’s face when she asked if Gage was going to be okay. Trust , he thought, complete and total trust . If Sam said her brother was going to be fine, then Abby would believe it without question. He could almost see the tension leave her face, although she was obviously still worried, but the overwhelming fear he’d seen in her eyes earlier was gone. For a moment, Jack was envious of Sam for being able to ease her pain with his calm assurance, but guilt quickly followed. It was selfish to want to be the one who give her that peace instead of being glad some of the hurt had been taken away.
Abby picked up her laptop bag, glancing back at him with a sad smile, and then let her father help her into the jeep. Jack stepped forward and handed her suitcase to Sam. After he’d tossed the suitcase in the back seat, Sam shook Jack’s hand.
“It’s nice to see you again, Jack. Abby said you’ve been a great help; cutting firewood and making sure she has everything she needs. I’m very grateful. When my son is out of the hospital and I can think a little straighter, I’ll give you a call and we’ll talk about increasing the financial compensation.”
Jack hadn’t thought about the implications to Abby if she found out he was being paid to watch over her. The idea of how she would react to the news panicked him.
“Sir, I really don’t…”
“I need to get going, we’ll talk later.” Sam said as he turned to leave.
Jack watched them drive away, suddenly feeling more alone than he had ever been in his life. Walking listlessly back to Abby’s cabin, he put the steaks in the freezer and grabbed the beer he’d left in the kitchen. Disheartened after roaming through the rooms and turning off lights, he left the cabin and followed the path back to his own place.
As difficult as the next few days were going to be for him, Jack knew it would be ten times worse for Abby. He wished he could be there with her and was hurt that she hadn’t even suggested it. Another selfish thought on his part, but Jack couldn’t help it; he wanted to be the one she turned to for comfort, the one she trusted implicitly.
Jack dumped the warm beer down the sink, tossed the bottle in the trash, and grabbed a fresh one. It was way too early to worry about missing her call, but he wasn’t taking any chances. After carefully placing his phone on the charger, he wandered out to the balcony and plopped down on a lounge chair. And then, like the love-sick fool that he was, Jack began counting down the hours until Abby returned to him.
***
Less than two hours later, Abby and her father entered the hospital where Gage lay in critical condition. She was immediately ushered into a private room so they could draw her blood. As much as she wanted to see Gage, getting her blood drawn was more important so they could start the transfusion. Abby watched numbly as the nurse inserted the small tube into her arm.
According to her dad, Gage had lost nearly four pints of blood when the bullet burrowed through her brother’s chest, narrowly missing his heart. Because his blood type was AB negative, he needed a donor with the same type, and since
Sam Travis took the bag from Abby’s hands, set it on the hood of the jeep, and then put his arms around his daughter. “Are you okay, baby?”
Jack hung back, giving them a few minutes to comfort each other. Abby’s father was a very imposing man. It was difficult reconciling the hard, commanding personality of the Sam Travis he’d met when he took the job as caretaker with the Sam Travis who now treated his daughter with such great tenderness.
He watched Abby’s face when she asked if Gage was going to be okay. Trust , he thought, complete and total trust . If Sam said her brother was going to be fine, then Abby would believe it without question. He could almost see the tension leave her face, although she was obviously still worried, but the overwhelming fear he’d seen in her eyes earlier was gone. For a moment, Jack was envious of Sam for being able to ease her pain with his calm assurance, but guilt quickly followed. It was selfish to want to be the one who give her that peace instead of being glad some of the hurt had been taken away.
Abby picked up her laptop bag, glancing back at him with a sad smile, and then let her father help her into the jeep. Jack stepped forward and handed her suitcase to Sam. After he’d tossed the suitcase in the back seat, Sam shook Jack’s hand.
“It’s nice to see you again, Jack. Abby said you’ve been a great help; cutting firewood and making sure she has everything she needs. I’m very grateful. When my son is out of the hospital and I can think a little straighter, I’ll give you a call and we’ll talk about increasing the financial compensation.”
Jack hadn’t thought about the implications to Abby if she found out he was being paid to watch over her. The idea of how she would react to the news panicked him.
“Sir, I really don’t…”
“I need to get going, we’ll talk later.” Sam said as he turned to leave.
Jack watched them drive away, suddenly feeling more alone than he had ever been in his life. Walking listlessly back to Abby’s cabin, he put the steaks in the freezer and grabbed the beer he’d left in the kitchen. Disheartened after roaming through the rooms and turning off lights, he left the cabin and followed the path back to his own place.
As difficult as the next few days were going to be for him, Jack knew it would be ten times worse for Abby. He wished he could be there with her and was hurt that she hadn’t even suggested it. Another selfish thought on his part, but Jack couldn’t help it; he wanted to be the one she turned to for comfort, the one she trusted implicitly.
Jack dumped the warm beer down the sink, tossed the bottle in the trash, and grabbed a fresh one. It was way too early to worry about missing her call, but he wasn’t taking any chances. After carefully placing his phone on the charger, he wandered out to the balcony and plopped down on a lounge chair. And then, like the love-sick fool that he was, Jack began counting down the hours until Abby returned to him.
***
Less than two hours later, Abby and her father entered the hospital where Gage lay in critical condition. She was immediately ushered into a private room so they could draw her blood. As much as she wanted to see Gage, getting her blood drawn was more important so they could start the transfusion. Abby watched numbly as the nurse inserted the small tube into her arm.
According to her dad, Gage had lost nearly four pints of blood when the bullet burrowed through her brother’s chest, narrowly missing his heart. Because his blood type was AB negative, he needed a donor with the same type, and since
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