She's smiling, having no idea that her whole world is about to come to a halt. "Hey guys," she says. I walk right over to her and give my girl a kiss. Damn, I like that. My whole world has expanded with her in it. My eyes? They're hearts too. Juniper and Jacob, Lemon's friends, aren't the only ones who are head over heels.
"So, I've got great news," she says. "I heard that Home Brew is hiring. And I think that they might call me later for an interview. So, fingers crossed." She's been looking for a job the last few days. And while we haven't said anything about where she's going to be living because, well, I want her to live with me, nowhere else, we are talking about employment, which seems like a safer subject.
"That's awesome," I say. "Of course they'll hire you. They'd be lucky to have you."
Lemon nods. "Yeah. And I'm totally tight with the owner. Griffin and I were in 4-H together for years. I can totally give her a good word if you want."
"Of course," Abby says. "That's super nice."
"Abby," Plum says, jumping up and down and reaching for her hand. "Did you hear the other good news?"
"What's that?" Abby asks.
"The circus is coming to town tomorrow," she says. "Look." She hands Abby the flyer. "Dad says he's going to take me. Do you want to come? Daddy, can Abby come with us?"
Abby takes a flyer from Plum's hand and she takes a step back. Her face goes completely white as she takes in the news. "Oh God. Oh God," she says. "This is bad."
"Bad," Lemon says. "What's going on?"
"It's my family. This is my family's circus."
Rueben frowns. My family is a big family. So even though I filled my parents in on the situation with Abby and her parents, not all my siblings know because there's a lot of us and it's a complicated story. And like Lemon has explained over and over again, it’s only been a week.
"Well, if it's your family, that's a good thing, right?” Lemon says. “Maybe they could come over to Mom and Dad's on Sunday for family dinner and–"
"No," Abby says, cutting Lemon off. "They're not coming to your parents' house ever," she says. "You don't understand. This is terrible. This is like..."
Plum begins to cry, looking up at her dad. "Daddy, why is the circus bad?"
Rueben picks Plum up. "It’s nothing, honey."
"I'm sorry," Abby says. "Plum, the circus is fine. I didn't mean to scare you. I just, I used to work in that circus," she says, blinking back her tears. “And it's just not the best place." She shakes her head, feeling trapped, stuck. I see it.
"You don't have to explain everything right now," I say. "What we actually need to do is call Graham down at the station."
Rueben's eyes widen as he takes in the seriousness of the situation. "Hey, Lemon," he says, "why don't you take Plum home? I'll come get her in a little while."
"Of course," Lemon says, realizing what's going on. "We're just going to go upstairs for a minute and grab a few things. I have my purse and my jacket up there."
"Actually," I say, "Abby, why don't you go with them, all right?" I give her a kiss on the cheek. "Rueben and I, we're going to go talk to Graham and we'll be right back, okay?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," I say. "I'm sure. All right?" I give her another kiss and then I watch her and my sister and Plum go upstairs to the office that is above the hardware store.
Rueben looks at me. "What in the hell is going on?" he asks.
I run a hand over my beard. "Her parents trapped her, kept her basically a prisoner for years. And if they're coming back into town, they're coming for one thing and one thing only."
Rueben nods, understanding. "They're coming for her."
12
Abby
Once Lemon grabs her coat and purse from upstairs, we head back outside to her cottage down the street. Plum is confused by what's going on, but Lemon's a good aunt and explains to her that there is nothing to worry about. "Your dad and uncle just had to go run an errand," she says, looking at me and whispering over Plum’s head. "Are you okay?"
I nod, because I am. Bartlett has texted telling me that he's at the police station and talking to his brother Graham. Apparently, they're all on it. They saw some semis with the Big Top Circus logo come through on the way to Burly already, headed to the fairgrounds.
He tells me he'll meet up with me soon and that everything is going to be fine. Wanting to believe him, I put my doubt behind me and head over to Lemon's place.
Just as we get to her house, though, I get a phone call from a number I don't recognize. Thinking it might be my father calling me from an unknown number, giving me information and insight on his plans, I take the call.