Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses(50)

Caroline seemed to notice because she said, “You’re tired.”

“I’m fine,” she lied.

“How is Max? Is he feeling better?”

“Yes, thank you.” Abbey got up and made them both a coffee from a pot that Caroline had warming in the kitchen. She added cream and handed one to Caroline who had followed her into the kitchen. “He’s back at school now.”

Caroline sat down at the table. Abbey noted how controlled her hands were as she held her mug in her delicate fingers. Caroline was so different than Gramps. But then again, her issues were on the inside, eating away at her, and Gramps had to deal with the exterior complications of aging. On an off day he couldn’t even hold a mug. Caroline never complained, she never showed pain, she never let on that anything was bothering her.

The opposite was true for Abbey. When she was upset, she wanted to talk more than she usually did. The problem was that she really couldn’t explain to Caroline how she felt about Nick. She didn’t know where to begin, so instead she was quiet, and Caroline knew she was never quiet. Caroline was watching her, an inquisitive look on her face. It was as if she were waiting for everything to come pouring out.

“How’s the decorating?” she said, as if reading Abbey’s mind.

“Fine,” she lied again.

There was a shift in Caroline’s face—it was small, but she’d caught it. Caroline sensed something. How did she do that? “Has Nick been helpful? Is he getting you what you need?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“He told me that you all went to see Santa Claus last night.”

Abbey nearly choked on her sip of coffee. “He did?”

Caroline nodded. “Mmm hmm.” She took a slow sip of her coffee, her eyes on Abbey. “He enjoyed himself. I called him just as he had gotten home.”

“He made it very clear to me today that he doesn’t plan to allow it anymore. He called me a distraction.”

Caroline’s eyes widened with that comment but then she ironed it out. “Well, that’s to be expected. He’s never had anyone pull him away from his work before. He has to learn how to handle it. It totally took him by surprise. I think he finds you very interesting, and he cares what happens to you.”

Caroline was very perceptive. She’d said Nick enjoyed being with her, but this morning, he’d made his wishes pretty clear. Abbey wished she could talk to him: the man she danced with in the restaurant last night, not the man behind his computer.

She finished her coffee and said her goodbyes to Caroline. Then, she headed home.



* * *



“I wanted to tell you my thoughts about Caroline.” Abbey had turned the car around and gone straight back to Nick’s after seeing his grandmother. Despite Caroline’s insistence that she was fine, Abbey had worried on her way home and decided she needed to talk to Nick. While seeing him sent a wave of happiness through her, she kept it all business. “I think she needs to live with someone.”

“I was thinking the same thing. She called me after you left and told me about her fall. I want to ensure that she’s safe.” He was standing in front of his desk, leaning back on it.

Abbey explained the nature of Caroline’s fall and her concerns that something could happen when she wasn’t there. “She really needs to be careful with that hip.”

He pushed himself off his desk, looking thoughtful. “Would you be interested in moving into the cottage with her? I would, obviously, increase your salary…”

“What about her moving in with you?”

“Abbey, I’m in and out. The staff all have jobs in the house and can’t be at her beck and call. She needs an experienced nurse. She needs you.”

“I have Max. There isn’t enough space for the both of us in her cottage. We’d need more room.”

“You know where there’s a lot more room…” He looked around dramatically.

“Are you saying you’d want me and Max to move in here?”

“We could start on a trial basis—see how it goes…”

“I don’t know…” She sat down in one of the chairs. This wasn’t a decision she could make lightly. There were all kinds of things to think about. How would a move of this scale affect Max? Would he want to move into such a large home? And would she want that for him? She liked doing his homework at the small table in their kitchenette, under the lamplight in the silence of their little apartment. She enjoyed lining up all his various bottles of bubble bath on the tub and playing mad scientist with the different colors with him. Would she be able to do that in one of Nick’s bathrooms?