Page 85 of Unexpected Love

“How can you not like that man? He’s so kind and warmhearted.”

“I’m not judging. He’s the quintessential bar owner, and I love everything about it.”

“So you’ll join us?” Quinn asks Abbey.

“You know what”—Abbey closes the register drawer, avoiding eye contact with all of us—“I think I should just head home.”

“What? No! Come! It’ll be fun. I promise.” Emily reaches across the counter, placing her hand on Abbey’s arm. “Besides, we haven’t hung out in a while, and I miss our book talks.”

“I just?—”

“We’re not taking no for an answer,” Quinn interrupts. “How can we help you guys close up?”

I see the tension coursing through Abbey’s body and jump in to help the best I can. “We’re almost done actually. Why don’tyou go over and get us a table? We’ll join you in just a few minutes.”

“Sounds like a plan. See you in a few.” Emily turns and grabs Quinn’s arm before heading out the door. I watch them walk past the window toward Murphy’s next door before turning to Abbey.

“If you really don’t want to go, I’ll tell them something came up and you couldn’t make it.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to hang out with you all. I just…” Her words trail off as her eyes move to where we saw Emily and Quinn disappear from view. “I haven’t seen Walt in sixteen years.” She says it so softly I wonder if I’m supposed to hear her.

“I’m sorry. How do you live in this town, work next door to each other, and not see him for sixteen years?” I’m genuinely bewildered. “Better yet, why do you avoid Walt, of all people, for sixteen years?”

She offers me a gentle smile. “I think that’s a story for another day.” She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a set of keys to lock the register drawer. “Let’s go.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” She steps around the counter, moves to the front door, locking it, and flipping the sign toClosed. “We can drop that out back and walk around to the front.”

I don’t know what changed her mind, but I see the determination in her eyes. So, without pushing more, I follow her as she shuts off the lights and heads out the back door, holding it open for me.

We drop the trash in the dumpster out back and make our way around the side of the bookstore, walking in front of the darkened windows on our way to Murphy’s.

Abbey pauses outside the door, staring for a few minutes before she takes a deep breath and pulls the door open. A burst of noise hits us the second the door opens, and the feeling ofhome instantly overcomes me as we walk through the doors and my eyes catch Walt’s.

Murphy’s has become one of my favorite places, and I couldn’t imagine walking through the doors and not seeing Walt behind the counter—a welcoming smile on his face. That smile I’m so used to falls the second he sees Abbey at my side.

It’s like he sees a ghost.

I see his lips form a word, but I don’t hear it from where we are by the door. It takes him a second, but he shakes himself from whatever stupor he’s in and makes his way from behind the bar. Without stopping, he walks right up to Abbey and pulls her into a fierce hug.

“Mo stór.” His voice is so soft I almost miss it. I have no idea what it means, but when Walt pulls away from Abbey, there are tears in both of their eyes.

“Hi, Walt.”

He reaches to wipe a tear from her cheek, his eyes filled with so much pain. “It’s been far too long.”

“I know. I just…I couldn’t be here.”

“Neither can he,” Walt whispers.

“If I could take it all back, I would,” she chokes out.

“No. Never wish to take any of it back,” he tells her sternly. He reaches to cup her cheek, offering comfort in the way a father might. “Just come in every once in a while. I miss your beautiful spirit just as much as I miss him.”

More tears fall down her cheeks as she nods. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Good.” Walt glances at me briefly before wiping at Abbey’s cheeks one more time. “I’ll let you both enjoy your evening then.” He quickly kisses her forehead before squeezing my shoulder and moving back behind the bar.

---