Page 132 of Running Home to You
The little boy’s brown eyes stretched wide. “Better than you?” he asked. The boys were old enough to understand Audie’s legacy, recognizing his statue and records at Petco Park.
“No,” Abby said.
“Much better.” Audie winked. “You know why? Because she never gave up.”
Abby shook her head at him but reflected his smile.
The sun set while she and Isla did dishes, while Luca took the boys up for bath time, while Audie kissed their cheeks before saying goodbye. Sleep seemed unlikely so Abby didn’t try, lounging by the pool, the slither of ocean and sway of palm trees drowning out everything but her thoughts. Thoughts of going back, of playing, of Kate.
“What’s that?” Isla asked over her shoulder.
“Just some houses T.K. sent over.” Abby resisted slamming the laptop shut as Isla squeezed onto the lounge chair next to her.
“Are you moving?”
She shrugged. “It’s been two years. Thought it might be time to get out of your hair.”
“You’re hardly in my hair. You’re on the road two-thirds of the year.”
“Well, the boys are getting older and I—”
“But you don’t have to go.” Isla frowned. “I don’t know if I want you to go.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “This was only supposed to be temporary.”
But that too reminded her of Insley. While she had moved because of Isla, she never expected to gain such a deep bond. For either of them to care when their roads diverged.
“Are you sure? It’s a big step…”
“I’ll still babysit.”
“Oh, well, in that case, let me take a look.” Isla clicked through the listings before Abby could stop her. T.K. had tracked down options in San Diego, Los Angeles, and “San Francisco?”
Isla raised a brow at her and Abby blushed.
“T.K. thought she was being funny,” she said. Of course, it didn’t stop Abby from browsing additional Bay Area listings on real estate websites.
“Is she going to be there?”
“Who?”
Isla scoffed. “Kate.”
Abby gulped and closed the laptop louder than necessary. “I don’t know. Mick told me she’s never come before. And I haven’t asked since then.”
“What are you going to do if she’s there?”
“Get on bended knee and recite a sonnet.”
“I’m serious! She was supposed to marry that guy, and she didn’t, right? Doesn’t that count for something?”
“I don’t know.” Abby sighed and stared into the pool. “She never wrote me back.”
“Well, weren’t you the one who never wrote her back?” Isla smirked and Abby rolled her eyes. “I always liked you two together. Always liked her, honestly. Maybe better than you.”
“That was no secret.”
Isla smiled. “I hope she’s there.”
