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“Don’t be silly. First of all, I bet Dylan is already down there and getting into some kind of trouble with Nevaeh, so, good luck with that...” Kelly chuckled. “And I’m heading down, anyway.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure you want to be there to congratulate Finn when he comes out. He had a great day.”
“You trying to get rid of me, girl?”
“N... No. I mean, I don’t want to be in the way.”
“You listen up, now, okay? You aren’t in the way, and you’re not, what? A burden? No way. I know all this is new to you, but Scott adores you, and, before you start thinking I’m only being nice because he asked me to, you should know that’s not the kind of person I am. I’m nice to people who deserve it, and I don’t have any time for the fake crap some girls try to pull. If Scott loves you, it’s because you’re worth loving, so the least I can do is get to know the girl he thinks the world of. Especially since he and Finn are as close as brothers, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other before too much longer.”
Abby, chastened by Kelly’s emphatic speech, had little to say in return, so, nodding, she accepted she had made a new friend. Then, curious, she asked, “Why haven’t I met Finn yet?”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “That boy. He was so worried about scaring you off he about disappeared this summer.”
Abby’s eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. “Finn...?”
“Nah,” Kelly interrupted, catching on to Abby’s train of thought. “He saw the two of you together at the hospital visit thing, but Scott kept insisting you weren’t ready. You should have seen his excitement when he told us you’d agreed to come to the game with me. If he weren’t six-foot-four, two-thirty, and one of the most intense quarterbacks I’ve ever seen on the field, I’d almost call him adorable.”
She flashed a sideways grin at Abby, who could picture an adorable Scott much more easily than the one Kelly described. She’d seen so much of the relaxed, real version of him over the last several months, and so little of the one who ruled the turf.
Abby chewed over Kelly’s revelations as they descended deeper into the bowels of the stadium and her stomach turned over. She had been scared, and so anxious; Scott had been right to fear. But in pursuing her, he’d let his own friends—his own life—slip through the cracks, sacrificing them to be with her. Even if it had been his choice, Abby couldn’t allow it to continue now that she knew. She hadn’t even questioned his attention, hadn’t questioned why he hadn’t spent any time with his own friends and teammates all summer.
Abby raised her chin, resolving to change, to do better. Scott shouldn’t have to give up his life because of her anxiety. He shouldn’t have to give up his friends because of her fear. Dylan shouldn’t have to give up seeing the Raptor kids because he spent all his time with her and Gen, either.
“We’re having a barbecue in a couple of weeks. You should come, let Scott introduce you to some people. Bring your dog. I hear she’s well-behaved, and Dylan will love showing her off.” Kelly raised an eyebrow.
Abby nodded. “I’ll be there.”
Twenty
ONCE AGAIN, SCOTT dropped Dylan’s bag off at Abby’s house on Thursday morning. She could have brought it over the night before, after dinner, but Scott had been adamant he wanted to come by before he left. Arriving with his son’s duffel, two cups of coffee, and a small paper bag with several different kinds of doughnuts, he settled on the couch while Abby grabbed plates from the kitchen.
Gen, who had greeted Scott at the door, pranced around the living room holding a tug toy in her mouth. After trying several times to grab the other end of it, Scott turned to Abby with a perplexed expression.
Abby laughed. “She wants to play, but she doesn’t want to risk losing. Ignore her; she’ll get tired of playing keep-away and come closer.”
Sure enough, within a few minutes, Gen laid her head on Scott’s knee, toy still clenched firmly between her teeth.
“You ready to play now, pup?”
Gen lifted her head, ears twitching forward at his playful tone, and Scott caught hold of the toy.
“Watcha gonna do now, huh? I’ve got it and I’m not letting go.”
Toenails scrabbling on the slick floor, Gen backed away, jerking the rope. Taking pity on her, Scott slipped off the couch and onto the floor where he, too, slid with the strength of her tugs. With one more massive effort, Gen yanked, overbalancing Scott until he sprawled, face down on the floor, losing his grip on the rope.
Gen tumbled over backwards.
Abby, sipping her coffee, coughed as she held back her laughter.
“Well, that’ll teach me.” Scott stood and pretended to dust himself off before settling again on the couch, twining his fingers in Abby’s.
“Can you imagine trying to explain it to the team if you’d gotten hurt? ‘Yeah, I dislocated my shoulder playing tug-of-war with my girlfriend’s dog’.”
“Coach would kill me. But at least you’d be able to reset it, right?”
“Ah, maybe no more tug.” Technically, she could, but she had no desire to ever deal with a dislocated joint again. Not as bad as an open fracture, but still... yuck!
Abby set her coffee on the table and reached for a doughnut. Before she could, though, Scott gave a quick tug at their twined hands, toppling Abby against him.