Chapter Six

Abby hung up the phone and finished writing down the information for the appointment she’d just booked. It was four-thirty. Time to go home. Karen and she rotated the last hour of the day since it was usually slow. Today was her day to leave early. She got her purse headed for the door, rubbing her temples. “See ya tomorrow Kar”

“Have a good one, Abby,” Karen returned.

Carter had been standing by the entrance of the building for nearly twenty minutes. He’d been trying to work up the courage to just go in, thinking that he might as well, just leave since she’d be coming out soon anyway and he didn’t want a scene.

He leaned his aching back against the brick and pressed his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose.

He heard the door open and the footsteps of someone. He hoped they’d just keep walking. He didn’t need some do-gooder trying to see if his was okay.

“Carter?”

His head snapped up and there she was, looking more beautiful than ever. Her hair was longer, making her look younger. Her frame was the same, though: slight, still, but strong. Her face was a mixture of disbelief and shock.

“Is that really you?” Abby couldn’t control her voice. It cracked and gave out on her until she was barely whispering the words.

He nodded, not trusting his own voice.

Gathering up her emotions and finding her voice again, she said, “Well, I must say: if there’s one face I never truly expected to see again, it was yours.”

His face tightened. “I can go.”

“No! I didn’t mean I didn’t want to see your face. Just that I never thought I would.” She stepped toward him. Closing the distance easily. “It’s good to see you again.” She said solemnly.

He stared into her soft blue eyes and shrugged, then looked away. He looked ragged. He hadn’t shaved for a couple of days and he certainly wasn’t into making a fashion statement, either.

“Are you back for good?”

“Yeah, I’m meeting with Weaver next week about getting a job in the ER. I was surprised to hear that you quit.”

He obviously had not gotten her letters. Oh, God, this was going to be difficult. She had to tell him. It wasn’t fair, but there it was. He had to know that he had a son.

“Do you want to go get some coffee somewhere? And talk?”

He looked at her in surprise, clearly not expecting this. “You want to talk? You never used to want to talk.”

“Things change, Carter,” she said softly.