Chapter Twenty-Two

 

 

Abby hadn’t thought she’d be able to get a good flight sooner than Saturday or Sunday, but she found a last-minute deal for a flight early the next morning and booked it as fast as she could, saving a few hundred dollars. It was a good thing she’d already talked with Luke to let him know she’d be gone for a little while.

But she would sure miss him.

She shoved a few of her things in her suit case, cursing herself for not having done her laundry earlier. At least the laundry room had been put back together. She put another load in, then went back to the guest room to finish the last coat of paint.

When she finished up, she texted Luke to see if he was busy. She got an automatic response saying he was driving and would get the text later.

“I should probably just get a cab or Uber,” she said to herself. “Besides, he wouldn’t want to get up in the middle of the night to drive me to the airport.” She didn’t want to take Lyle to the airport and pay for long-term parking.

She put in her request for a pick up and finished all her packing. She moved through the house, looking to see if she needed to do anything else before she left, but other than the back porch, she didn’t have a whole lot left to do besides deciding if she was going to sell it still or come back. This next half month would be the test. Could she handle being away from Luke? She’d spent so much time with him lately that she knew she would miss him terribly while she was gone. If she couldn’t wait to come back to him, then she would know what to do next.

“This will be a good thing,” she told herself.

 

***

 

Luke found himself back in his apartment in the city, knowing he needed to take a little time to come to terms with Abby’s plans. He saw she’d sent a text while he’d been driving, but he didn’t feel ready to answer it. It might be best to make a clean break.

He could get some of his work done at the office that he had been doing over the internet while staying at his mom’s to help her and Abby with her fix-up projects.

When he got the paperwork all finished to list her house, he could send her the files in California if she wanted to get a move on things.

He threw himself down onto his bed and turned on his television, trying to find something to help push Abby out of his thoughts.

He could do this. He was a professional. He wouldn’t let his feelings get in the way of how he did his job. If Abby wanted to sell, he had promised he would help her. Though he wished he could have changed her mind, he wouldn’t do anything to sabotage her chances of selling, no matter how tempted he was at the beginning.