“Yeah,” I said with a single nod. “She’s back.”
I got in my truck, shut the door, and drove down the hill to the workshop that was located a few hundred yards from the main barn. After I unloaded all the tools, I headed to my office in the barn and pulled up my emails. I stared at the same damn one for at least ten minutes before I gave up. My head just wasn’t in it.
I had put my phone on silent after Abby left this morning, so I pulled it out of my pocket and saw I had three texts and one voicemail.
The first text was from Jax.
Jax: Looking forward to tonight. I bought a little surprise for you.
Arabella had sent the other two.
Arabella: Could you give me a call when you get a chance?
Arabella: Never mind, Aiden found her.
I pulled my brows in as I stared at her second text. What did that mean?
I opened my voicemail. It was also from Arabella.
“Hey, Bishop, it’s Arabella. It’s almost three thirty and, well…I know Abby was coming to talk to you this morning. She’s not answering her phone and her folks haven’t seen her since she left to go talk to you. Did she…did she make it? She was emotional yesterday, and I wanted to make sure you didn’t…I mean…she didn’t… Oh hell. I don’t know what I mean. Could you just let me know if she stopped by?”
A small smile spread over my face, and I hit Arabella’s number. She’d always had such a huge heart and clearly still loved Abby like a sister. I wondered if she’d laid into her yesterday.
No, Arabella wouldn’t hurt a fly.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Arabella, it’s Bishop.”
“Did you not get my second text?”
“I got it.”
“Oh. Well, Aiden found her up on Lone Mountain Trail.”
I straightened in my chair. “Why was Aiden up on Lone Mountain?”
“Well, I was worried about Abby, and when she wasn’t answering me, well…you know me. I sent a search party out to find her.”
I nodded. “She okay?”
“Do you really want to know?” “What’s that supposed to mean, Arabella?”
“What it sounded like, Bishop.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh. The woman on the line was not the Arabella I knew. When I didn’t reply, she went on.
“She told me you wouldn’t talk to her because you didn’t have time. I would think that someone who drowned his broken heart in whiskey and women the last two years would want to finally get answers. Apparently, you don’t.”
“What the hell?” I asked. “Abby comes back to town and you grow some balls. You want to call me out? How about I call you out? You’re the last damn person to talk about drowning out anything. You hide up there with your bees and pretend like you didn’t break Hunter’s fucking heart. I guess Abby took lessons from you.”
God Almighty. When had I turned into someone who so easily lost his temper?
“Do you know what the saddest part of your little speech is?” Arabella asked.
“Enlighten me,” I snarled.
“If you only knew the real reason why Abby left, and I…and why I…” Her voice cracked, and I closed my eyes. Suddenly, she cleared her throat and spoke in a calm, clear tone. “You’re a real asshole, Bishop, do you know that?”
“So I’ve been told,” I said softly.
Then, as if nothing had erupted between us, she put on her happiest voice and ended with, “Enjoy your date tonight.”
The line went dead, and I sat there for a moment, the phone still up to my ear. I was immediately hit with guilt, and I squeezed the phone and yelled out, “Fucking hell!”
I threw it as hard as I could against the wall and watched it shatter into a million pieces.
When I pulled up to the house Jax was renting short term, I turned off my truck, grabbed the steering wheel, and took in a few deep breaths. “You can do this, Bishop. You can do this. You want to move on. You need to move on. And Abby being back in town doesn’t change anything.”
I opened the door and got out. As I walked around the front of the truck, I saw a Boggy Creek Police car driving down the road.
“Please don’t be Hunter,” I whispered.
I groaned internally when I saw that it was, indeed, Hunter.
“Hey, what are you doing on this side of town?” he asked. Jack barked and Hunter gave him a command.
“Jax is staying here while she’s in town. I’m having dinner with her tonight.”
A frown line appeared between Hunter’s brows as he looked at the house, then back to me. “You do know Abby’s in town?”
“Yeah, I saw her earlier today. How did you know she was in town?”
“I found her pulled over on the side of the road a few days back.”
“Why?” I asked.
Hunter gave me a look that silently asked if I was being serious. He chose to ignore my question. “Well, enjoy your date, and I’ll see you tomorrow night, right?”