“They have this cute little softball league that they all get very competitive with,” she says.
“Hey,” Miles grumbles. “It isn’t cute or little.”
“Whatever you say, big guy.” She points to Brooks and Grayson. “These two are on a team.” She moves her fingers to the other two. “And they’re on another team.” The smile on her face only grows. “And they all want you to play with them. It’s honestly so adorable.”
Wyatt swings his arm over my shoulder. “Maybe we will start our own team.”
“No,” Grayson says.
“I’m not playing softball,” Linc pipes in.
Miles shrugs. “That’s what Owen said, too, and look who’s playing now.”
Abby chuckles to herself. “Did I mention that I love to go watch the softball games?” She doesn’t even wait for a response before she saunters off.
Linc’s face is pure determination, and I don’t want to know about whatever thoughts are flashing through his dirty brain.
I let out a relieved breath, stepping out of my office. I trust Abby’s parents, who are watching Oliver and Maverick tonight, but I still worry about Oliver when I’m not with him.
Oliver isn’t the only one impacted by the trauma of Jess’s death. The echoes of it haunt me to this day—the thought that at any moment I could get a phone call telling me that someone else I love has been ripped away from me.
The thoughts might be more on the periphery of my mind these days, but they’re still there.
My finger taps against the gift I got for Abby, and slid into my pocket when I was done checking on Oliver. It’s probably a dumb gift, but I want to give it to her anyway.
Like a stroke of fate, Abby is in the back of the bar behind the pool tables when I walk out.
Stepping in beside her, I grab her hand. “Come with me for a minute?”
Her smile is gentle and full of trust as she nods at me. I pull her back into the hallway I just came out of. We don’t make it all the way to my office, but I walk us far enough that we’re tucked away from everyone else.
“I have a present for you,” I tell her.
“You didn’t need to do that.”
“It’s small, I promise.” I give her hand a squeeze, then reach into my pocket. “You’re probably going to think it’s dumb.”
“I doubt it.”
I set the wooden keychain in her palm. She studies it closely, and I can tell the exact moment she figures it out. Her eyes light up.
“This is the skyline of downtown?”
If you can call the main street in Aspen Springs downtown, then yeah. I nod.
Her finger runs over the delicately carved wood that outlines the different buildings. She stops on the very building we’re standing in.
“This building brought you into my life two different times,” I say.
She blinks up at me with what I swear are tears, but the hallway is dark.
“When I agreed to buy this bar and move here, I think I wanted it to bring you back into my life, even if it seemed practically impossible at the time.” I take a deep breath, running my hand over my face. “I guess I’m saying I’m thankful to this building for so many things, but most of all for bringing me you.”
Regardless of what capacity I get to have her in my life, I’ll always be grateful for her being there at all.
“Kane,” she rasps. I know I’m not seeing things now. There are definitely tears wetting her cheeks.
She wraps her arms around me, burying her face in my chest.
