“I don’t get it. Did she blame you? Is that why she left?”
I shrugged. “No, I don’t think so. That first week, she blamed herself. Then, the night before she left, she came to me. We slept together for the first time since she’d lost the baby. A part of me knew something was wrong. God, I felt it down to my bones. But I ignored it. I was just so happy to have my wife back. My best friend. She left the next day…and you know the rest of the story.”
Hunter sighed. “Sounds a whole lot like mine. No reason, no explanation. Just…we’re finished.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t heard from Abby in over a year. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t talk to me; then she did try to talk to me, and I was angry and wouldn’t talk to her. It was a fucked-up game that I think we both got tired of playing. I started to feel guilty.”
“About what?”
I glanced back out over the city. “The women. Abby had been the only woman I’d ever slept with. I think a part of me felt ashamed for sleeping with other women, and that was why I just stopped trying. It’s stupid. I’m sure Abby’s been with other men. Dated or whatever. I don’t know.”
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest. “I felt that way for a while after Arabella. Then I just sort of became numb. Every woman I’ve ever been with has never meant anything. The longest I’ve been with one woman was Brighton, but that was just for fun, a way for me to try to move on, and nothing ever panned out with it. I like Bree, but as a friend more than anything. It was nice to be with just one person for a bit, and I wanted to forget about Arabella for a while.”
“Shit, it’s all fucked up.”
Hunter sighed. “Yeah, it is.”
“Kyle knows about the baby. He picked me up at Mic’s Place the night I got the divorce papers.”
“That rundown bar outside of town?”
“Yeah. I got so drunk, the bartender pulled up the last person I’d called on my phone and it happened to be Kyle. He got me home, then stayed with me all night. At some point, I mentioned the miscarriage. He asked me about it the next morning when I woke up.”
“Why didn’t you tell the rest of us?” Hunter asked.
“Hell, I don’t know. Maybe talking about it hurt too much. Plus, Abby hadn’t told anyone, and I guess I was hiding it out of respect for her.”
“She never told Arabella she was pregnant? Greer? They were all friends.”
I shook my head. “No. At least, I don’t think so. Greer has never once mentioned it. I don’t talk to Arabella that often. She’s super sweet when I do run into her or stop by the apiary, though.”
“Greer told Kyle how hurt she was that Abby stopped talking to her. Arabella, of course, pulled back from everyone when she pulled back from me.”
Our gazes met. “Hunter, do you think something happened to her while she was at school?”
I could see it on his face. A mixture of hurt and anger in his eyes. It was a look I had seen often in the mirror. He gave me a small nod. “Yeah, I do. I don’t know if she met someone and cheated and then felt guilty, or if it was…”
His voice trailed off.
Hunter cleared his voice and went on. “I asked her folks once, and they told me it was between me and Arabella, and that if she wanted to talk to me about her reasons for the breakup, she would. I left it alone after that. I could tell James and Sharon were just as upset as I was, and the last thing I wanted to do was put them in the middle of it all. They were like my second parents.”
I nodded. “That’s how I feel about Pete and Crystal. I stopped asking them when it became clear they were just as hurt. I mean, Abby up and left them as well.”
“How’s the flower farm doing?”
“Good, I guess.” I stared out at the sun reflecting off the buildings in front of us and wondered if Abby could possibly be in one of them. “I try to give them a call about once a month. Pete texts to let me know when Abby’s in Boggy Creek, because I used to just stop by. I don’t anymore; now I just run into them around town once in a while. Sucks, really. I miss visiting them.”
“Has Abby been back lately?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Not that I know of. Pete hasn’t texted me. He was pretty angry with Abby. She pissed off a lot of people by leaving, not just me.”