Falling for Trouble

Her baby didn’t look much like a baby at all. She could make out the arms and legs, but she couldn’t see hands, feet, toes, or fingers. None of that mattered though, because it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. At that moment, everything she had gone through, all the pain and heartache, didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the child growing inside her.

“Well, looks like you are right on schedule. You’re still set to deliver in May.”

The doctor printed off a few pictures for her and left her to dress. For several long moments, all she did was stare at those five little photos. She dressed quickly and headed outside. It was already October, and the chill in the air was enough to take her breath away.

She couldn’t help but look down at the pictures again. Her grin widened at the sight of her little bean of a baby. Tucking the pictures in her pocket, Sophia hustled to her car. She might be going to an empty house, but after today, she didn’t feel so lonely. Before she stepped off the curb, she glanced up, and everything around her stilled.

Abe exited the small bookstore on the corner of the street. His attention was on the bag he carried, but as if there was an invisible string that pulled him to her, he lifted his eyes and locked them on her. For a heartbeat, all she could do was stare at him. He looked good, although there was a distinct emptiness she caught a glimpse of before he hid it. She missed him horribly.

His eyes went to the building she had just exited, and she could see the realization on his face right before a look of pain covered his features. She was too much of a wimp to talk to him in person, and with things so tense between them, so unsure and absolutely batshit crazy, she just left.

She hurried to her car, cranked the engine, and as she pulled away, she looked in her rearview mirror and saw him standing in the same spot right before he took a step toward her. But it was too late. She was already going.23Abe sat at the picnic table in the courtyard of Red’s. His half-eaten sandwich lay in front of him, but his appetite was gone. All he could think about was early that morning, when he saw Sophia leaving her doctor’s office.

A pain in his chest and stomach the likes of which he had never felt whipped through him. She had looked so beautiful. She wasn’t showing yet, but he knew in the next couple months she would.

It had been too many weeks since they’d spoken in her kitchen, and there was no one to blame but himself. He couldn’t count the times he picked up his phone, on the verge of calling her and saying how sorry he was. In the end, he tossed his cell on the counter every time. He was a fucking weak coward, a motherfucker for putting her through this, for turning his back on her when he should have been there for her from the beginning.

But how could he apologize to her? How could he make amends for treating her the way he did?

He grabbed the bag that held his purchase for the day. Looking at the contents, he knew he couldn’t stay away from Sophia. She was just too important to him.

A lot had changed in the past few weeks. She no longer worked at Tiny’s. He found that out when he had gone there after their fight. He’d done some investigating and found out she now worked at some dentist’s office outside of town. He was glad she wasn’t at the bar anymore. He’d never liked her being there.

He would have spoken to her today, but he’d been frozen, and by the time he found his nerve, she was gone.

He’d done a lot of thinking. As much as he tried to wrack his brain to remember sleeping with her, the alcohol he immersed himself in before he changed his life had wiped a memory from him he wished he could hold onto forever.

His jealousy over Hunter had been rising, as well. He wanted violence, to take out his anger and frustration on someone, and who better than Hunter? He was ready to confront Hunter to see what the fuck was going on. Maybe he could shed some light on why Sophia up and quit the bar. Fuck, he had a lot of questions.

Abe wrapped up at Red’s and headed to the bar, knowing Hunter would be there at this hour. The bar wouldn’t be open to customers, and if he had to bust in the fucking door to talk to the man, so be it.

Twenty minutes later and Abe was pounding on the front door of Hunter’s establishment. There was a minute of silence, but then he heard the door unlock before it swung open. Hunter stood on the other side, his eyes squinted as the sun poured into the darkened interior of the bar.