Page 111 of Dream Weaver

“Now, Abby…” Walt murmured, coming over to me.

Even Louie, his floppy-eared mutt, looked at me with pity.

I stopped hammering but kept my eyes on the anvil.

Drip… Drip.Beads of sweat fell from my chin to my project — the very last ax head.

Walt reached out to touch my shoulder, then stopped and sighed when I shuffled away.

“Listen, you’ve had a long day…” he started.

Ha. That was one way to put it. First, Cooper, then Claire. She’d been delighted to see Mike after school, but when we’d arrived at the metal shop and discovered Cooper gone, she’d been crushed.

Me too.

But… But…Like a dog looking for its owner, Claire had run around the metal shop, checking my workspace, Cooper’s locker, the parking lot…

Her hands had formed tiny fists, and she’d faced me, furious.

How could you let him leave? How could you?

The same question I asked myself, over and over.

I thought my heart was already crushed, but Claire’s tears proved there was a bit left to torture. Even worse was the fact that she only shed one or two tears, then turned away to hide them.

Like mother, like daughter. She was that tough.

I hung my head in shame.

In the end, Claire refused to talk to me, and Mike had taken her home. I remained at work, banging away.

“Time to take a break, don’t you think?” Walt finished.

I shook my head sullenly. No, I didn’t. I couldn’t. I couldn’t face Claire or home or my family. I couldn’t face anything. I just wanted to curl up in the forge and hide for a while.

Louie leaned in, meekly thumping his tail against my legs.

“I’ll close up.” My voice was dry and raspy.

Walt stood there another minute, then walked off with Louie, shaking his head. He stopped briefly at the door to call back, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I murmured into the flames. Then I took a deep breath and went back to hammering.

How long I worked, I wasn’t sure. Traffic on the main road peaked, then fell. I finished shaping the last ax head, then got to work on etching the blade. The sun set, giving way to a cloudy night. My phone rang, then pinged with a text.

Are you coming for dinner?Erin asked.

Go ahead without me, I typed back and shut off the device. Then I went back to work.

I was still working when the front door creaked open an hour later.

“We’re closed,” I called without looking up.

“Sure look open to me,” a man drawled.

My head jerked up as Jay sauntered in from the darkness. I reached for my hammer, tempted to throw it at him.

Shadows shifted behind Jay, and Liselle followed him in. Her dress had a metallic sheen and was gaily lined in vertical, rainbow stripes — perfectly appropriate for a socialite lunch.

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