Page 24 of Lost on Ice
“Abbie, it’s okay! I can keep Lilah a little longer. She’ll just be underfoot while you deal with the movers.”
I give Aunt Lori a tired smile, recognizing the stubborn glint in her gaze. It’s the end of the day and I need to get to the new apartment to meet the movers and the truck with all our stuff. Standing in the doorway of her office, the floor of which is littered with toys, I watch Lilah continue to happily play as my aunt insists on keeping her.
“I don’t want to put you out,” I reply, though I’m incredibly tempted to take her up on her offer. “You’ve had her all day?—”
“I insist,” Aunt Lori states firmly, her milk chocolate eyes narrowing as she looks up at me from her desk chair. Her expression softens the next moment as she assures me. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I love taking care of Lilah and it’s been over a year since I’ve seen her last and visited you. You can text me when you get done with the movers and I’ll bring her over. Just leave me her car seat.”
Nibbling my bottom lip. I think over her offer. “All right, if you really insist. Thank you. I’ll let you know when you can bring her to the apartment.”
Lori beams. “Sounds like a plan.”
I look down at Lilah. “You keep being a good girl for Auntie, okay? I’m going to go get our new home ready.”
She glances up from the dolls she’s playing with and nods. “Okay, Mommy!”
Chuckling, I hurry to leave, moving Lilah’s car seat from my car to Lori’s before taking off. I need to get to the apartment before the movers get there, and Vivianne and Dad insisted on helping too. I don’t want to leave anyone waiting to get into the building.
When I arrive at the apartment building, I’m relieved to see that I’m the first one here. I pass by a gray car seemingly making its way out of the lot, then I park near the building’s entrance to wait and take a moment to catch my breath. Leaning back against my seat, I absently glance out my window, taking in the snow-covered grounds of the complex. The bushes are trimmed, the grass mowed, and the flowerbeds weeded and manicured.
Suddenly, I catch sight of that gray car again, slowly driving by me in the opposite direction. It’s an older model, but the windows are tinted so I can’t see inside. Still, a shiver runs up my spine and I’m almost positive whoever is driving is looking at me.
My mind starts to race and I can’t help but think of those awful messages I got in Harrisburg. I haven’t gotten another one since arriving in Ivy Glen, so I’d kind of stopped thinking about them, but now…
I duck down lower in my seat and continue watching the car creep by. Why’s it going so damn slow? I keep an eye on it, waiting to see what it does next. If it parks and I see who gets out, I’ll probably feel better…
Suddenly, I see the moving truck entering the parking lot, closely followed by my dad’s car and I’m momentarily distracted.
By the time the truck parks next to me, the strange gray car is gone. I release a short breath and tell myself I was just letting my imagination get the better of me. The messages from my stalker in Harrisburg have me on edge still, that’s all.
As I get out to greet the movers and start directing everyone, I do my best to shake off my anxiety. That gray car was acting so weird…or maybe it’s just the memories and fears from Harrisburg rising back up and making me paranoid. I just need to relax, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t get rid of this small feeling of dread at the base of my spine.
Or the feeling that there are eyes on me.
Chapter Ten
JAKE
There’s justsomething special about a snowy day. Chase’s laugh rings throughout the yard as he jumps and tries to catch snowflakes, while Carter and I continue working on the snowman he so desperately wanted to make. We stayed at the hotel through Monday, sharing a room like we were in college again. He promised Sophie we’d spend our Tuesday with Chase while she’s at work. Being around Carter when he’s in dad mode is a little strange, but it suits him. He adores his kid and has apparently taken on the role of family man in stride. It’s awesome to see.
I don’t relate, though. I don’t think I’d be able to make the transition so easily, especially given how freaked out I was when I thought Cassandra was pregnant with my baby. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to be with her, but I had this gut-clenching fear of fatherhood.
Pretty sure that means I shouldn’t have kids. It wouldn’t be fair to them. Any kid of mine would deserve someone who actually wants to be a father, not mine.
“So,” Carter says, pounding the base of the snowman to make sure it's solid. “Are you going to finally tell me what happened between you and Abbie?”
I freeze, caught off-guard by the question. “Huh?”
He rolls his eyes. “C’mon, man. Why else do you want to hang around Ivy Glen all of a sudden?”
“I dunno.” I smooth the side of the snowman’s head. I’ve managed to dance around any previous questions about my motives for coming back here. I had been thankful nobody was asking, but I guess my luck finally ran out.
“I mean, I know you said you were just friends,” Carter continues. “But still, you seemed pretty into her this weekend, whereas she seemed… less than thrilled with you.”
Ah, he picked that up, did he? Not really a surprise since she wasn’t exactly subtle about her irritation toward me. Shrugging, I answer him. “Just been a while since we saw each other, so it was awkward. That’s all.”
Despite my rock-solid reply, Carter doesn’t look convinced.
“Look, I know you’ve been through a lot in the past three years, but you do realize that what happened to you was not Abbie’s fault, right? It had nothing to do with her and she would never do what Cassandra did.”
