Page 26 of Dream Weaver

“Is everything okay, Mommy?” Claire asked.

The tear in my heart ripped a little further.

“Everything is fine, sweetie.”

“He’s not coming back, is he?” Claire went on, clinging to her mother.

My turn to ball my hands into fists. Who was that asshole?

“No, sweetie. Everything will be fine. Everythingisfine.”

The more Abby said it, the more I knew it wasn’t.

Jay, I figured, was her ex. Claire’s father, maybe. The guy who’d made Abby so bitter?

My bear growled.

Whoever Jay was, he was definitely a threat.

My chin itched as the stubble there thickened, and I couldn’t help checking the doorway.

But there was no one there. No threat. Just the ghosts of Abby’s past, invisible to me but screaming in her face, or so it seemed.

Behind us, the others started cleaning up.

“Closing time, everyone,” Walt called.

This time, Abby let me help with her area. She even let me walk Claire to the car and see them off. I stood there a long time, watching the red taillights of her Ford disappear into the steady stream of commuters.

When I got into my car and paused at the edge of the road, I burned to make a left and follow her, just in case. But home for me was a right turn, and Abby hadn’t asked for me to tail her.

After another long minute of indecision, I turned right.

My heart sure felt like it had taken a left, though.

Chapter Eight

ABBY

First the vortex disturbance, then Jay’s call. I couldn’t help thinking something was up. My sisters, on the other hand…

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you,” Pippa said.

She and Ingo had returned from their trip just in time for a sunset ride. Apache, her pinto, and Buckeye, Erin’s roan, flanked my horse, Lucky. Flankingme, really, making it clear I wasn’t alone.

God, I loved my sisters. They’d immediately picked up on my sour mood — not difficult, given the car doors I’d slammed or the way I’d thrown my phone (at the soft porch seat because I couldn’t afford a new one, but still) — and had talked me into a short ride.

Ingo had promised to investigate the disturbance at Airport Mesa first thing in the morning. In the meantime, he’d volunteered to cook dinner while Nash played soccer with Claire, freeing me up for a ride with my sisters.

I gulped, glancing back toward the main house. To think those two had ever been on my red list…

Which just went to show what a shitty judge of character I was. Jay had started out on my green list. So, maybe I should start trusting every man I disliked and hating every man I trusted from now on.

Like Cooper. Did he deserve an upgrade to my yellow list?

Lucky tossed his head, making his harness jingle. Was that a yes?

The orange juice thing had gone right to my heart, and I knew the rescue train hadn’t been Claire’s idea. I just found myself wishing they’d drawn a carriage for me too.

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