The glow of Abby's cell shot through the room. Who sent her text messages at six a.m.? His cell buzzed and danced on the counter as well. Okay, who was he to judge? He ignored the message and trailed his hand down her back, letting it rest in the small spot at the base of her spine.

"You awake?"

In response to his question, she slid her leg up his thigh and rested it across parts of him that drew to attention. Wow. The rest was over. Would she be interested in another seventh inning stretch? The first one had been a blast.

"Yeah, now." She pushed up on an arm and shoved the hair from her eyes.

Her skin was pearlescent in the light, goading him to touch. Which he did. He reached up and cupped a hand over the swell of her breast and trailed a thumb across it. He liked that she watched.

"I should go."

"Now?" It was hard to pa.s.s up a chance to make her do that humming thing again. Besides, they had another hour or so before work.

Badeep deep.

"Yeah, someone's trying to find me." The glow from her phone lit the room again.

"Here, I'll get it. You can answer and then we'll-" He slipped her leg away and pulled up, dropping his legs to the floor.

"No!" Abby bolted toward the glow, s.n.a.t.c.hed it up, and hit a b.u.t.ton, plunging them back to moonlit darkness.

"Wow, you move fast for this early. Too fast for me. I'm not awake. Come here." He motioned her to join him, but she reached for the pile of undergarments at her feet.

"Can't. I need to go take a shower and get ready for work. I, um, take a while." She yanked on her bra and panties then went in search of her other clothing. When she returned, she twisted her hair back into the ponytail he'd slipped it out of the night before. Another message lit up her phone and he wondered if that meant something.

Or perhaps someone. A pit opened in his stomach. No f.u.c.king way. Not again.

She had someone looking for her. And she didn't want him to see who.

The following week, Carter walked into the office proud of the fact he hadn't picked up the phone and called her any of the fifteen times he'd considered it. Should he have at least checked to make sure she got home okay? Yeah, right. Home to whoever was trying to find her? Most guys would probably love to be a girl's wild side. The fling. The one-night stand. Why did he have a problem? He shrugged as rain pelted his office window. He didn't. But he did have a problem with lying.

He was relieved he had a flight out on Thursday afternoon and the rain would clear by then. He'd be in Thailand by nine a.m. the following day-which was actually the same day due to the time change. A little distance and reflection would do him well. And a h.e.l.l of a lot of work.

As if he didn't have enough problems, Carter's thoughts wandered to his mom. His latest attempt to convince her to sell the house and move in with him hit a brick wall. "An old woman like me doesn't need to cramp the style of her young and single offspring." It had been a relief, though he argued just enough to seem sincere. She'd hate the city anyway. Their meager home in the hill country wasn't much, but it didn't require a long drive anywhere and there was ample gra.s.s and freedom. Plus, she had a plethora of neighbors to meddle with and check on her.

If her health was good, that would have been enough. It wasn't and he chastised himself for not visiting her before he boarded the plane. He was all she had left and guilt plagued him for not visiting more than a couple times a month. It had been a week and half with the past trip and now that would stretch to three weeks by the time he returned.

Not good.

He made a mental note to ask one of the guys to go by and check on her while he was gone. Roger or Jackson would probably be okay with doing so. They'd known her for a few years and she loved them like family.

When the airplane taxied to a stop, the thought disappeared. His customers waited on the tarmac and whisked him to their office, thrusting him into business meetings and planning discussions until well after dark.

He nodded off on his way to the hotel when the jet lag finally caught up. The driver woke him long enough for Carter to get to his room, and he was in a deep slumber within minutes of entering.

"You didn't explain anything, you just ran like h.e.l.l?" Caroline's raised brow exuded her disapproval. The garden-gloved hand on her hip punctuated it. "And now you're wondering why he hasn't called? Seriously, Abby, what did you expect? Even if he wanted to see you again, taking off like that certainly makes it look as if you didn't."

"What was I supposed to do? I had to get a shower before I came to work." Maybe it wasn't exactly the full story, but there was truth in the words.

Caroline didn't buy it. She shook her head and ratcheted her brow higher. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say."

"Besides, it's been almost a week. He could have called any time he wanted. I'm always here." Abby grabbed a bag of top soil and started filling peat pots for seedlings. "He could have stopped by too."

"Yeah, if he wasn't on the other side of the world."

"What are you talking about?"

Caroline ran a box knife through the seal of the delivery that arrived the day before. She pulled the flaps open so she could reach in and unload the contents. "He's in Thailand again, according to Rog. Left Thursday."

Abby spun around with a clump of soil in her palm. "Rog? You mean Carter's friend Roger? You're calling him by a nickname now? I thought you despised the guy."

Caroline shrugged. "It's kind of hard to avoid talking to him while I'm doing the plant maintenance. I mean, he's right there. So am I. I try to ignore him as much as possible, but he won't take a clue. Besides, after you took off like a whirlwind and left his buddy tied up in the sheets-"

"I didn't tie him-"

Caroline held up a hand. "Oh, please-metaphorically speaking, of course. I know you're too straight-laced to tie someone to the bedposts. a.s.suming he had bedposts. Did he?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Rog said he was going to be gone for at least a week, very likely two. They have some big project going on over there and apparently Carter's commuting on a quarterly basis. He was hoping he'd get to go too, at some point."

"He told you that? Wow, you two are getting pretty cozy."

"Hardly. He's a toad."

"A toad. What the heck does that mean? You know what they say about frogs and toads."

Caroline leveled a bored gaze on her. "No, I don't."

"You have to kiss a lot of them to find your prince."

Caroline rolled her eyes, yanked off her dirty gloves, and grabbed her purse from the counter shelf. "You sound like my grandmother. Besides, been there-done that. Not doing it again. I'm going for a sandwich before I throw up. You want something?"

"Nope. I'm good."

Been there, done that? What the heck did that mean? The door flung closed behind her and Abby enjoyed a few minutes of silence before a set of customers waltzed in and needed a.s.sistance. Her phone announced a text message while she worked, but she ignored it until they were gone. When she finally lifted the screen to read it, she gasped. Could things get any more complicated?

Carter: Jax, can you go by and see Mom? I'm worried she's not taking her meds. She probably needs a couple of refills on the blood pressure stuff too.

She stared at the screen, expecting it to bark another order. Wow, now what should she do?

By Caroline's information, Carter would be gone a couple of weeks minimum. If his mother was out of medicine, well, that could be dangerous. Especially blood pressure medicine. If Abby ignored the message, she'd never forgive herself if something happened to her. She frowned and shook her head, trying to admonish the growing plan. No, I am not getting involved.

She told herself that at least three more times that afternoon but it didn't stop her from visiting his office. With the intention of checking on the struggling plant in the lunchroom, of course. When Roger just happened to walk in for a soft drink, it had been easy to ask questions. Too many questions, if the look on his face meant anything.

Still, she'd gleaned enough to get a town name. From that, the Internet told the rest. Sunday was her planned day off, so she'd make the trip then.

Normally, Abby kept Caroline in the loop on everything. Fortunately, she hadn't asked how the day off would be spent. It was a relief not to tell it; there'd be a mountain of comments and teasing.

Chapter Seventeen.

It had taken forty-five minutes to go from city sidewalks to country slumber and Abby had to blink to make sure she wasn't watching it on the widescreen in her living room. Taking a short road trip had been enticing since it had been months since she'd done anything other than work. Okay, except for Carter. She'd done Carter. She took a hand from the steering wheel and slapped her face for the picture she'd planted in her head. Technically, she wasn't sure who took the initiative on that little fiasco, which she aptly wrote off as TBF-The Ballpark Fling. She grinned through her stinging face.

It wasn't as if she had so many that names were required. In truth, it could have also been named the new business fling, or the texting guy fling, or even the great fling of 2014 ... or perhaps her entire life? No, that was depressing. Still, TBF sounded good. She shrugged. Or maybe just The Carter Thing. Actually, she'd never had a fling before so simply calling it The Fling would have sufficed but where's the fun in that?

She a.s.sumed the reason why it was so great was the result of such a long lapse. Or maybe her ex hadn't really been all that great and she wasn't worldly enough to know. Had she been more like Caroline and moved through guys like a lawnmower, maybe her mind wouldn't keep conjuring up crazy images and she'd stop sighing all the time, wishing for those images to be real again. c.r.a.p!

She swerved the wheel sharply to avoid the missed turn. The tires squealed a bit on the wet concrete but managed to veer into the fenced drive. The only marker had been the mailbox. Thankfully it had huge numbers. Large enough for a blind person to make out in the rain.

So this was where his parents lived. Or at least his mother. She knew little about his father-siblings either. Would it anger him that she came? They barely knew each other. Not to mention if she told him, she'd have to explain how she knew to go.

She'd just take care of the immediate medical concern and get out, without telling anything to either of them.

It was a nice house. Abby had imagined some clapboard white farmhouse with chickens when she reached the last turn. There had been one or two of those on the way, and it would have fit. Wrong. The house was brick and stone. Austin stone-one of her favorites. The light tan and white gave a warm welcome. Abby's stomach twisted as she noted the entrance wasn't visible. Instead, the drive wrapped around the house; she'd have to pull to the back. No hiding or turning around.

When her tires crunched behind the home, she gasped. The car rolled to a stop. The house was on a hill overlooking a steep drop to a creek bed. Water trickled along, a natural fence between the house and the pasture on the far side. A horse jerked his head to measure her interruption then dropped it back to eat his fill of the tall gra.s.s surrounding his hooves.

"Holy cow, what a view." She let out a soft whistle and climbed out of the driver's seat, stretching her arms above her head.

"Isn't it though? I don't think I could ever give it up." The voice startled Abby.

She peered across the car's roof to seek the owner. She narrowed her gaze.

There. In the shadow of a side building across from the house sat an older woman. A bowl rested in her lap as she worked her hands on the contents-contents which were hidden in its depths. "Are you lost?"

Abby pushed the door shut and stepped toward the woman. "That depends. Are you Carter's mother? Carter Coben?"

The woman lifted her wrist to push hair from her face. A wasted effort because the wind plopped it right back. "Yes, that's me. Is something wrong? He's not hurt, is he?"

"Oh, no. He's fine. I'm just here because-he asked. He had to go to Thailand for a few weeks and said you might need a prescription or two filled. I just wanted to come by and-check."

The woman stood gingerly and placed the bowl on the chair she'd vacated. She grabbed a walker that had been out of sight behind the chair and moved to meet Abby. "I'm afraid I haven't met you before. Are you a friend of Carter's?"

"Uh, sort of." Abby had no intention of explaining. Something told her this woman probably wouldn't approve of the new TBF designation a.s.signed to her son. She quickened her steps and moved to hold the woman's arm. "I'm a friend of Jackson's. Carter asked him to stop by and uh, I offered to come instead. I hope that's okay. Jackson's been a little-busy lately." If only she knew.

"That's so nice of you. I do need a couple of things. Thanks for stopping by. Let's go inside and I'll give you the list. Is that okay?"

"Sure, Mrs. Coben."

"Call me Becky, honey."

That was all it took for Abby to gain the woman's confidence. Thank G.o.d she wasn't a burglar or a murderer. This old lady wouldn't stand a chance against someone with ill motives. The faint smell of dust caught Abby's attention. She looked up and noted a pickup approaching with a white cloud of dust trailing behind.

Abby changed her mind about Becky's safety when the driver leaned out the door and waved. "You okay, Ms. Becky?" The rifle in his back window was enough to ease any concerns. Or scare off a dumb kid with bad intentions.

"Yeah, yeah. All's well. This is a friend of my son's. Apparently he's over in the rice country now."

Abby mused at the way the woman offhandedly bragged about her son. Pride mixed fairly well with feigned exasperation. She imagined the entire countryside knew as much about Carter's travels as Becky.

"Rice Country. Where, Louisiana?"

She laughed, a worn but lively sound. "Thailand." The woman took her hand from the walker and waved him away. "Get back to work, Bruce, before you run out of sunshine."

The truck dashed away in a cloud of dust. Four hours later, Abby finally headed to fill the prescriptions after touring the house with Becky. She'd heard a zillion family history stories and gotten a brief lowdown that Carter had lost a sister AND father when he was younger. It made her cringe to hear such personal stories about him. No child should get hit with that so early in life.

Abby was only slightly disappointed when the pharmacist informed her the doctor mentioned he was dropping Becky's meds by the house on his way home the next day. Great. So the trip hadn't been necessary. It had definitely been entertaining. Except for seeing two dozen photos of a young Carter. Now she had a face to put with the a.s.shole friend, Jackson. She'd been too much of a coward to look at him in Carter's office, but she took ample time surveying the photos.

She just didn't have the heart to tell anyone he actually wasn't a nice guy. Nor was he a good friend. In fact, all those pictures of him just made the truth larger and somehow sadder. How could a man who grew up with Carter steal his girlfriend? Wasn't there some kind of code about that? Or maybe it hadn't been the friend's issue-maybe Carter hadn't really been vested to begin with.

By the time she arrived back at her place, the sun had disappeared and stars twinkled as a reminder they saw her. And Carter. And his mom. It was comforting in some way. She showered and lounged in front of the television for a dose of late night news before sleep. Carter probably should know Becky was okay.

She grabbed her phone and typed in a quick note to ease his concern. He responded immediately with thanks. Amazing thing-technology. A message like that could travel around the world in seconds. She turned the phone to silent and clicked the light off before snuggling into the sheets.

Abby seriously needed advice and not the kind that Caroline gave. Sitting up in the dark, she retrieved the phone and opened Justchat.com. After sending a series of messages, she waited for eons for an answer. The clock made a clicking noise as the time changed. Still, no answer. She watched the screen and waited, the bright glow of the display casting an iridescent light across her face.

She Hearts Dogs: Hey, there. Sorry I haven't talked in a while ... very busy.

Traveling To Survive: No worries. Me 2.

She Hearts Dogs: Need some advice. U up for it?

Traveling To Survive: Ok but don't sue me if it doesn't work out.

She Hearts Dogs: LOL. U ever been dishonest with someone because u think it's best for them?

She set the phone down and padded to the kitchen for a drink of water. Upon returning the flash of blue showed an answer. Should she read it? Her stomach rolled but she lifted the phone.

Traveling To Survive: Honestly, yes ... but now, not sure I'd do it again. U probably aren't going to like this answer ... but here's the thing ... it is not up to u to decide what's best for someone else. Only you. So whatever ur keeping from the person, just realize it's not yours to keep. Tho if I don't know what it's about, I can only guess at how to handle.

Should she tell him? He'd probably hate her too. She shrugged. Better him than Carter, right? She sucked in a deep breath and started typing.

She Hearts Dogs: OK but don't hate me ... need ur help on this. Remember the girl that got involved with her boyfriend's bestie? Well, I got to know the boyfriend (now ex) and now feel like I should tell him about the ex and his friend. Feel like I'm lying.

Traveling To Survive: Hmmmm. OK. See what u mean. That's a toughie. Truth is u R lying. BUT this isn't your story to tell. How long has he been friends with the a.s.shole?

Abby giggled because that was exactly the name she used on Carter's lame friend.