Page 28 of Running Home to You
Next to her, in the middle seat, Kate seized both armrests, the color draining from her face. They’d taken off from Portland that morning for the spring showcase in Phoenix.
“How much longer?” she asked.
Kate shook her head, whimpering when the plane dipped.
“Are you okay?” Abby quickly dismissed her nightmare, far more concerned by Kate’s trembling. “It’s just turbulence.”
“Do you think we’re going to crash?”
Abby snickered. “I wish.”
Kate’s eyes flashed with such horror that Abby regretted her sarcasm. “That’s not funny.”
“Sorry,” Abby said as the plane briefly dropped again. Kate yelped and clutched Abby’s hand. Abby’s stomach flipped, but she stayed steady as the plane leveled out. She didn’t want to frighten Kate. More than that, she didn’t want that hand to leave hers. “It’s okay. Let’s just talk.”
“I think I hate flying,” Kate said through the thickness of bottled-up tears.
“I think you do too.” Abby tightened her grip as she laced their fingers together. Letting go never occurred to her. Not just because of how their connected hands alleviated the pull in her chest—one that begged for such closeness—but because she’d never seen Kate like this. Vulnerable. She was always stitched tightly together. Even when disappointed, she simply dug in, worked harder. But this unraveling made Abby determined to keep her from falling apart. “Mick says you have, like, a hundred siblings.”
“I’m one of seven.” Kate sniffled. The plane rattled through another bump. “Dear God, please let us live.”
“Fuck, seven kids? For real?”
“Yes.”
“What number are you?”
“Three.”
“Lucky number three,” Abby said. The plane swooped again, and she leaned closer, their shoulders brushing. Kate didn’t pull away. Her weight settled gently against Abby, and while the turbulence diminished, her stomach jolted so hard that she nearly lost her train of thought. “I, uh, what are your siblings’ names?”
“Rebecca, Hannah, R.J., Matt, Leah, and Gabriel.”
“How’d your parents keep track of all of you?” Abby asked.
“They didn’t.”
“They come to a lot of games?”
“No.” Kate’s lips drooped. “My dad is busy coaching, and my mom isn’t big on sports—or maybe just me playing them.”
Abby’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. They don’t say it, but they’re upset I didn’t go to their school. They work at Eastern Washington Bible College.” Kate didn’t stop even as the plane rattled, her stare fixed on Abby’s. “But if I went there, I’d have to study theology or music. I’d probably just get married off at twenty, like my older sisters.”
“That’s pretty badass of you.” Abby grinned. She’d misjudged Kate from what little she knew of her, unaware that coming to Insley required taking a stand.
The corners of Kate’s mouth lifted. “I don’t think anyone has ever thought that of me.”
“They should.” Abby squeezed her hand and drifted her thumb across it in a slow circle. Kate still didn’t let go. “Are they supportive of law school?”
She shook her head, and additional empathy pitted Abby’s chest. “It’s so much time and too much money. They don’t understand what I’ll do after. They’re far more interested in when I’ll marry Blake and start having babies.”
Abby stopped tracing her hand. “Yeah, when’s that going to happen?”
“I don’t know. I have a lot I still want to do. Who knows where he’ll be after the draft.” Kate’s gaze didn’t leave Abby’s, but her frown resurfaced. Abby frowned back. In the silence, they became aware the seatbelt light no longer glowed red. Kate blushed as she pulled her hand away. “Sorry, I’m such a wimp.”
“You’re not,” Abby said, resisting the urge to find her fingers again. “So, do you have a top choice for law school?”
