Page 12 of Abigail
Brent grabs her arm as she continues to walk away from him. Abigail has been on edge for days and Brent putting his hands on her again doesn’t sit well with her. Before he has time to react, Abi whips around burying her elbow into his gut. “Umph!” Brent huffs out his breath as Abi’s elbow meets his solar plexus. He bends forward as Abi’s knee connects with his face knocking him backward. He slumps to the floor, moaning in pain.
“Brent, I swear to all that is holy if you ever touch me again, I will kick your ass up between your shoulder blades. It is my lunch break. I have earned it by law. I will be back in an hour!” Abigail has raised her voice to get her point across. Brent growls at her climbing to his feet. Surprise that she’s stood up to him evident on his face. He takes a step toward her when a deep gruff voice stops him in his tracks.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You were warned the other day. Did I not make myself clear?” Abi looks to her left to see Robert glaring at Brent. The fierce look on his face makes her shiver, and not necessarily out of fear.God is he sexy when he’s pissed off!He stalks toward them and her body begins to vibrate in anticipation. Moisture leaks from her nether region. Goosebumps erupt on her skin as her nipples pebble into hard peaks. Abigail notices the same group of men and women are with him. The men are all headed their way. Brent pales visibly and begins to back pedal.
“I’m sorry Abigail. I was out of line. You go have your lunch. Take all the time you need.” Brent makes a sweeping motion with his hands, then turns and quickly heads toward the back office. Abigail shakes her head in frustration at the annoying man. She turns to look for Ellie and Sara. Thankfully Sara has whisked Ellie to the other side of the counter, keeping her away from the drama unfolding with Brent. Abigail is again thankful that she has the teen here to help her with Ellie. Abi moves around the counter. Ellie runs up to her and wraps her arms around Abi’s legs.
“Momma did Brend hurted you?” Ellie asked in her sweet innocent voice. Her face is squinched in concern. Abigail kneels down next to Ellie and wraps her in her arms. She loves how sweet and innocent Ellie smells. Abi still uses baby bath on her. She is probably getting too big for it, but Abi loves the newborn baby smell.
“No, baby. Brent didn’t hurt Momma. He was just being grumpy because he doesn’t like to work, but Momma took care of him.” Ellie’s smile beams up at her then. She pulls back from her mother and runs to Sara taking her by the hand. “Come on Momma, we are starveded,” Ellie yells back at her.
“Inside voice, Ellie,” Abigail admonishes. As Abi rises to her feet, she realizes that Robert and his friends are still nearby watching them.
Robert prowls toward her causing her body to shiver in desire at the erotic way his body moves. She’s certain he has no idea how incredibly sexy he looks walking toward her that way. Abigail scans the lobby again. She doesn’t like being the center of attention. She has worked hard to keep a low profile. She doesn’t want her past to come back to haunt her. Robert stops a few feet in front of her. He is eyeing her as if he is afraid she will bolt if he gets too close. Abigail is overwhelmed by the handsome man in front of her. His broad shoulders and muscular chest are begging to be touched by her hands. She would love to run her hands over his bare flesh feeling his muscle bunch and flex under to touch. His strong jawline and chiseled cheek bones are more than attractive. His eyes are breath takingly beautiful. They are a bright blue, as clear as a morning sky. She is instantly aroused as he stares at her. She should be freaked out by that revelation, but somehow she isn’t. There is something about the man, about his eyes that are calming to her. He draws her in and makes her feel safe.
“Abigail, did he hurt you?” Robert’s rumbling growl sends heat flooding her body. It crosses her mind that she could happily listen to him growl like that all day and never get tired of hearing it. Momentarily she wonders what sounds he’d make when he’s buried deep inside her. She shivers as that image flows through her mind. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she manages to answer his question.
“No, Robert. Thank you for asking, but I’m fine.” Abi shifts uncomfortably under his gaze. She is way turned on, and that isn’t a good thing with her daughter nearby. He steps closer to her and reaches out as if to comfort her, but she immediately jerks and steps back. She’s not sure she wouldn’t fall into his arms if he touched her right now. He takes pause in his advancement. His eyes roaming over her, heating her body further. Everywhere his gaze lands, it feels like a physical touch from his hand. Like a warm blanket is being spread over her.
“I won’t ever hurt you, Abigail,” Robert says softly. She can see the sincerity of his words resonating in his eyes. “I’m not like Brent. I respect women. I respectyou.” Abigail widens her eyes in surprise. No man has ever respected her. She has been a punching bag all her life. Someone to be used and abused. At least she was until that awful day four years ago, when she’d finally defended herself and Ellie. When that had happened, she’d vowed she would never be one again. She’d never wanted to have to defend herself again with deadly force. So she’s made sure to avoid getting herself into a situation where she’d be forced to do so again.
“I didn’t think you would. I’m just not used to kindness from men,” Abigail answers honestly. Then she wants to smack her forehead and die from embarrassment.Why would she tell this stranger such a personal thing? “I…I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Um, I need to go. I have to take my daughter and her sitter to lunch. Thanks, again for coming to check on me.” They stare at one another for a moment, something passing between them, an understanding of sorts.
“You’re welcome, Abigail,” Robert replies before chuckling. “I’m impressed with how you handled him. It’s clear you can take care of yourself, but it still annoys me that he thinks he can treat you like that.” He holds her gaze a moment studying her. A look of determination crosses his face as if he’s made an important decision. Then he floors her with the next words out of his mouth. “Would you have dinner with me sometime, like after your shift? What time do you get off work?”
Abigail is stunned at first but recovers quickly. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t have anyone to watch Ellie.” She glances around looking for the little girl and her teen sitter. Seeing them waiting patiently for her, she turns back to him. “Um…I should go.” Abi starts to walk away when she feels a warm hand on her arm. She raises her eyes to see Robert looking at her intently.
“Abigail, we can bring Ellie with us. We would be having dinner with my friends, their women, and children, anyway,” he informs her as if pleading his case. “I promise I’m harmless. I just want to get to know you.”
“Why?” Abigail questions. She couldn’t stop the question from coming out if she tried. She frowns at the man in front of her. She can’t fathom what his motive is. Men never want her to bring Ellie on dates. They wouldn’t want a child to interfere with their agenda: getting Abi into bed. Which is another huge reason why she’s stopped dating. She isn’t just a plaything for a man to abuse, not anymore. “Why would you want to get to know me? Why would you allow me to take my four-year-old daughter on a date?” Abigail queries. This man before her has her thoroughly confused. He isn’t like any one she’s ever met before. He’s once again standing so close his manly scent is permeating her brain making it difficult to concentrate on her objections.
“Because you fascinate me. You are small and quiet, but when push comes to shove, you can stand up for yourself. You are beautiful, kind, and sweet. I have seen you interacting with people in the hotel. You are tolerant even when people are complete assholes. You are compassionate and helpful to those who are elderly or disabled. I just saw you defend yourself from that asshole and then quickly assure your daughter that you are strong and okay. I know you were still pissed at him, but the love and tenderness in your actions with her were easy to see.” Straw pauses to take a breath, when she turns away to look for Ellie. Once she sees her chatting away with the twin boys in Robert’s group, she relaxes and turns back to him. “And as for taking your daughter on our date, well, I figure you would be more comfortable having her with you than with a sitter. You have worked all day, and while it’s nice you get to have her here with you, it’s not like you get to spend a lot of time with her. Also, I know the two of you are a package deal. She’s apart of you, so there’s no way I would exclude her.”
Abigail considers his response for a moment, then surprises Straw and herself when she answers his request. “Okay then. We’ll have dinner with you and your friends. Ellie seems to be making friends already.” Abigail smiles at the sight of the small children interacting with one another. One of the boys is showing Ellie his dinosaur. Her little face lights up in delight. She reaches for her toy bag that Sara is carrying over her shoulder. Ellie quickly digs out her triceratops to show the boys in return. The children promptly sit in the floor and begin playing with the dinosaurs.
“I thought we could eat here in the hotel restaurant. If that’s all right with you? About eight?” Straw asks. Abigail nods at him and gives him a small smile. She can’t believe she’s agreed to this, but she’s excited to be going. She shouldn’t, but it just feels…right.
CHAPTERELEVEN
Straw is amazed at himself for asking Abigail to dinner. He hadn’t planned on asking her. It just popped out of his mouth before he thought too much about it. It’s totally out of character for him. He’s never wanted to have dinner with a woman before. He hasn’t really put a lot of effort into his personal life. He hasn’t had to work at finding a woman for sex, and that’s all he’s ever wanted from women. He doesn’t do relationships. Women throw themselves at any military man in the bars around base. Straw has taken his fair share up on their offer, but he has found it leaves him feeling lonelier and emptier afterward, even more so in the last few years. He’s no longer into casual meaningless sex, even though all his friends think that about him. Oh, he’s throws out the corny lines and pretends he’s the quintessential playboy. Mostly just to get a laugh out of his teammates and to keep up his reputation of being a ladies’ man. However, he doesn’t want them to think that anymore. He wants more out of life. More importantly, he wants more with Abigail. It’s looking like he’s going to need to change that perception about himself. He wants to be more now, for her, for Abigail. His Abi.
Straw is pleased that Abigail has agreed to have dinner with him. He’s never wanted to date someone, but Abigail, he wants to date her, win her heart, and make her his to care for and protect for the rest of their lives. It’s much too fast to be thinking along those lines, but Straw has wasted a lot of years being a flake. Years that he should have been searching for and finding Abigail. The old fears are still there. Fear that he can’t be the man she needs, but seeing her, talking to her, and being in her presence has overruled those fears. He needs to see her, touch her, know that she’s safe and happy. He’ll do whatever is necessary to make sure that she has everything she needs.
Abigail is different than anyone he’s ever met before. She intrigues him. He’s disturbed by her willingness to be mistreated and blow it off as nothing serious. She’s obviously had much worse treatment than what Brent has done to her by the way she flinched when he reached for her earlier. Yet she is strong and can handle herself when needed. He saw that first hand when she put Brent in his place. And he can’t deny that it was sexy as hell to see her kick his ass. Straw hopes she will allow him to get to know her better during his time here. He wants to be the one to take her fears away and let her know that she can depend on him to be there when she needs someone. He’s brought out of his musings at hearing Abigail’s voice once again.
“I really do have to go. Ellie gets rowdy when she’s hungry.” Abi laughs as she turns to follow her daughter. Straw walks beside her as they approach the group waiting for them near the entrance to the restaurant. When they reach the others, Ellie runs up to Abigail.
“Momma, I have new friends. Joshsa and Jessie,” Ellie is beaming as she points to the boys. Straw can’t keep from smiling at the child’s exuberance. She’s the spitting image of her mother, reminding him vividly of a little girl from years ago. She has wavy dark brown hair, a cute button nose, and rosy cheeks. Seeing her has further confirmed his suspicion that Abigail is Abi from his past. His Abi from that nightmare of a night from their childhood.
“It’s Josh-u-a,” Abi enunciates each syllable for her daughter. “And I’m glad you have new friends.” Abi smiles at the group in front of her. “Hey, it’s nice to see you all again. I hope Ellie isn’t talking your ears off.”
“Oh no, not at all! She’s a delight,” Charlotte answers. Leave it to her to be the head of the welcome wagon committee for the group. “Hi, I’m Charlotte and those two rug rats are mine and Hawk’s,” Charlotte informs Abigail. Charlotte glances over a Straw and gives him a wink. She isn’t even trying to hide the fact that she’s totally going to check out Abigail and make sure she passes Charlotte’s approval. Lilly is perched on her hip. Charlotte hefts the little girl up to settle her better as she motions to the other women to come closer.
“Let me introduce you to my friends,” Charlotte continues. “This is Emma, Elise, Daisy, and Lisa.” She points to the women who have come closer to them. Straw is hoping the women will not say or do anything to embarrass him or, worse, make Abigail uncomfortable enough to want to back out of their date. He doesn’t think they would do so intentionally, but they can be very persistent when they decide to stick their nose into other’s business. They really should have learned their lesson after the barbeque incident, but apparently they haven’t. The women mean well, but they can be very intimidating when they all get together focused on a mission.
“It’s nice to see you all again,” Abigail extends her hand to each of the women. After shaking their hands, everyone’s attention is drawn to the children again as Ellie yells to her mother.
“Are we eating now? I need food Momma!” Everyone laughs at the child’s insistence on food. The twins join in letting it be known they are ready to eat too.
