What Might Have Been: Daniels Brother #4 (Daniels Brothers) (27 page)

He walked beside her as they made their way to the subway station, and then stood next to her until they reached their stop. After they climbed the steps up to the sidewalk, it was three blocks to the cemetery. He glanced around at their surroundings, but said nothing until they were a block away. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Chris didn’t wait for her response before jogging to the crosswalk and across the street.

She didn’t know what had come over him until she saw where he was going. Across the street there was a vendor selling flowers. He returned a few minutes later with a pink carnation in his hand.

Moisture clouded her vision and she turned away, trying to keep it together. “You ready?”

“Yeah.”

Chris stayed right behind her as Abby made her way into the cemetery. She led him over to the children’s section. It was flanked by two tall oak trees. She remembered the first time she’d seen them, the day she buried Kaylee. The way they were positioned made it seem as if they were standing guard over the children’s section of the cemetery.

She walked past the imposing oaks into an entirely different world. The children’s section was different from the main cemetery. Each grave still had a gravestone, but there were also small statues of animals peppered throughout. She zeroed in on the statue of the baby lamb standing next to her mother. Instinctively, she wrapped her fingers around the pendant she wore around her neck. 

Before she could chicken out, Abby put one foot in front of the other. Chris followed close behind, letting her lead.

Stopping in front of Kaylee’s tombstone, she knelt down and ran her fingers over the engraved letters that spelled out Kaylee Alice Daniels.

Chris sucked in a loud breath directly behind her. “You gave her my name.”

Abby didn’t look at him. She couldn’t because there was a huge knot in her throat. All she could do was nod.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

She looked up to see tears streaming down his cheeks. Seeing him so emotional broke the last little hold she’d had on her own. She placed two fingers to her lips, pressed them gently against Kaylee’s tombstone, and then stood. “I’ll give you a minute alone.”

Abby turned to go, but Chris grabbed her hand, stopping her.

Once he seemed sure she wasn’t going anywhere, Chris lowered himself down until he was eye level with Kaylee’s little tombstone. He placed the flower on the little ledge at the base and bowed his head.

Abby wasn’t sure what to do. She felt as if she was intruding on a private moment, but he’d wanted her there, so she stayed.

After a long moment, he raised his head and mimicked her action from before, pressing two fingers to his lips before placing them over their daughter’s name. He held them there for several moments before standing and immediately wrapping his arms around Abby. She felt him shudder as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. 

A heartbeat passed before she returned his embrace. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her,” Abby whispered. “If I could go back . . .”

He took a deep breath and released her. Tears flowed unchecked down his cheeks. “I know.”

For the first time, she wondered if maybe they would get through this eventually. She knew it would take time for him to forgive her, but Abby could handle that. Heaven knew it had taken her a long time to forgive herself—to admit that maybe, just maybe she hadn’t done anything wrong—that Kaylee’s death hadn’t been her fault somehow.

Several more minutes passed before he wiped the moisture from his cheeks and turned to leave as suddenly as he’d hugged her.

She followed him out, staying a few steps behind.

When he reached the sidewalk in front of the cemetery, Chris turned to the right. The subway station was to the left. Abby had no idea where he was going. She considered leaving him to his own devices and heading back to the hotel, but then she remembered how he’d reached for her hand.

Staying a few steps behind, Abby followed him down the sidewalk. After a while, she wondered if he had a destination in mind or if he was mindlessly taking a stroll through Brooklyn.

They’d gone several blocks before he turned and walked through a door. She’d fallen a little behind and rushed to catch up. When she entered the small café, she found him seated at a table in the corner.

“Did you want to be alone?”

“No.”

Nodding, she pulled out the chair across from him and sat down.

Almost immediately, a server approached their table. “What can I get ya?”

“I’ll take a coffee,” Chris said.

The woman looked to Abby.

“The same. Thank you.”

Chris made no effort to start up a conversation while they waited for their drinks, so Abby sat there and waited. The ball was in his court.

The server placed their coffees in front of them along with a few little packets of sugar and some half-and-half. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Abby took two of the sugar packets, ripped them open, and dumped them into her coffee. All the while, Chris made no move to add sugar or cream to his. Instead, he rotated the ceramic mug between his fingers several times, appearing deep in thought. 

“I’d like copies of the pictures you have,” he said without looking up.

“Of course.”

He took a sip of his coffee and stared out the window. “Are things between you and Trent serious?”

Abby almost choked on her drink. Hot coffee went flying from her mouth and onto the table in front of her.

Chris handed her a napkin. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” She used the time it took to clean up the mess to try and figure out how best to answer his original question. Out of all the questions she thought he’d ask her, that hadn’t been near the top of her list. She’d been sure he’d ask about Kaylee or even her life in New York, not her relationship with Trent. Although, now that she thought about it, she shouldn’t have been surprised. “I don’t know. We haven’t been seeing each other that long.”

The look he gave her spoke volumes. She’d seen it many times when they were younger. It was his ‘I’m not buying what you’re selling’ look.

Laying the dirty napkin to the side, Abby met his gaze across the table. “What if it was? Would you be okay with that?”

He studied her for a long minute. “Yes. I would.”

“You would?” She stared at him with wide eyes.

Chris leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I want my brother to find someone who can make him as happy as Elizabeth has made me. If you’re who he wants, then . . .”

“Then?”

He looked out the window again, and then back at her. “Then I’m okay with that.”

Neither of them said anything more as they finished their coffee. For the first time, Abby allowed herself to really imagine a possible future with Trent. Could it work? If Chris was able to accept it, then maybe the rest of the family would as well. She felt as if a huge weight had been removed from her.

When the server came by with their bill, Chris swiftly pulled out his card and handed it to her. Abby opened her mouth to tell him he didn’t have to do that, but Chris cut her off. “My treat.”

She bit her tongue and accepted the gesture for what it was. “Thank you.”

They took the subway back to the hotel. Some of the awkwardness had dissipated, but they had a long way to go before things between them were mended.

He walked her up to her room like he’d done the night before.

“Do you want to meet later for dinner?” she asked as she dug her keycard out of her purse.

“No. I think I’m just going to order room service tonight.”

She opened the door to her room and stepped inside. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

He gave her one short nod. “Good night, Abby.”

“Good night.”

It was only two thirty in the afternoon, but Abby was exhausted. She secured the door, dropped her purse on the nightstand, and kicked off her shoes before falling onto the bed. Her eyelids felt heavy, as if she’d pulled an all-nighter. She closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

Three hours later, her phone rang, waking her. Abby bolted up and scrambled to reach the phone before the call went to voice mail. She almost fell off the mattress and face-planted into the floor in the process. “Hello?”

“Is this a bad time?”

Abby smiled at the sound of Trent’s voice. “No, not at all. I just woke up from a nap, actually.”

“Long day?” he asked.

“Yeah. You could say that.” She strolled over to the desk and sat down.

He knew she and Chris were visiting Kaylee’s grave today. “How’d it go?”

Abby rubbed her forehead. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. W-we went to a café after and talked.”

Trent didn’t respond right away. “A good talk?”

“Yeah. I think so.” She picked up a pen and began doodling on the hotel stationery. “Tell me what’s going on in Ohio. How did you spend your day off?”

“I didn’t.”

“What do you mean you didn’t?”

“I worked today. Had to help some of my crew remove a stubborn tree.” He proceeded to tell her how they’d tried everything to get this tree out of the ground. At first, they’d attempted to save it, but that proved to be impossible. In the end, they’d had to climb the tree, remove the larger limbs, and then cut the thing down. “And don’t even ask about the stump.”

He was so animated telling the story—adjusting his voice, pretending to be members of his crew—that Trent had her giggling and completely forgetting about the stress of the morning.

Eventually, her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. She called down for room service while Trent dialed for a pizza. They continued to talk until she started yawning.

“I should let you get some sleep,” he said. “When do you get back tomorrow?”

She knew he was right. “Our plane leaves at ten, so we should land in Cincinnati around eleven.”

“Do you need me to pick you up?”

After she’d finished eating, Abby had moved to the bed. She relaxed back against the pillows. “I don’t think so. Chris drove us, so I’m assuming he’ll drop me off back at my apartment.”

“Call me if you need me, all right?”

“I will.” She paused. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she loved him, but it didn’t feel right to say something that monumental over the phone. “Good night.”

“Good night, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

***

Trent dragged his butt out of bed and tried not to think of the hours he had to kill before Abby’s plane landed. He made breakfast, threw in a load of laundry, and even went for a run. Unfortunately, when he looked at the clock, it was still only ten forty-five.

Throughout the morning, he kept thinking about their conversation the night before. It was in the tone of her voice as she’d told him about her day and her talk with Chris. She hadn’t sounded as though she were about to jump off a cliff like she had the night before.

But more than that, the thing that kept replaying in his mind was a random comment she’d made regarding how it had felt strange being back in New York. She said it didn’t feel like home anymore. Trent knew he was probably reading too much into it, but he was hoping that meant Ohio was home to her now. That she was considering staying there with him. Having a future with him.

He checked his phone, confirming she hadn’t called or sent him a text, and then went to shower. She would call him after she landed, or once Chris dropped her off at her apartment. Stalking his phone wasn’t going to make it happen any quicker.

Irritated with himself, he stripped out of his clothes, and stepped into the shower. He’d pushed himself on his run, trying to get rid of some of his excess energy. The water felt good on his overworked muscles.

Trent rested his hands on the tile wall and stretched out his back. He closed his eyes as the water beat out a rhythm on his back and shoulders. Memories of the shower he’d shared with Abby that first morning they’d made love filled his mind—the feel of her soft, wet skin as he rubbed soap up her torso to cup her breasts.

His body began to react to his erotic musings and he reached down to take care of his growing problem when his phone rang.

The sound made him jerk and he bumped the top of his head on the tile. “Ouch.”

He rubbed the spot on his head he’d hit and bent to turn off the water. The phone rang again as he snatched a towel off the counter. He did a quick swipe over his body and rushed to answer it. “Hello?”

“Good morning, son.” His father paused, and then chuckled. “Yep. It’s still morning. Time seems to be getting away from me today.”

Trent glanced over at the clock. It was eleven thirty-five. Still no call from Abby. “You still have a few minutes of morning left.”

His father laughed again. “Your mother has had me working on her honey-do list. Sometimes I think she stays up late at night just to dream up stuff for me to do.”

Trent grinned when he heard his mother’s voice in the background. He imagined her standing there with her hands on her hips, chastising her husband for his comment. It was a familiar sight.

“All right, all right,” his father mumbled.

Trent couldn’t help but smile at his parents’ antics.

“Anyway,” his father said, talking to Trent once more, “your mother wanted me to call and see if you would be coming over for dinner today.” He paused. “Abby’s welcome as well.”

Trent glanced at his cell phone, which was still deathly silent. “I don’t know.”

“You know your mother is going to want a better answer than that.”

Yeah, he could see his mother’s reaction if his dad came back with a response like that. Next thing Trent knew, his phone would be ringing again and this time it would be his mom.

“Tell her not to plan on us being there.” If Trent hadn’t heard from Abby in the next hour, he was going to head over to her place and wait there until she got home. There was no way he’d be able to have lunch with his family without Abby there with him. He also knew that chances were the moment he saw her he wasn’t going to be able to keep his hands off her. It had been three and a half days since he’d seen her.