“I had fun chatting with you, sweetie,” Piper told Nova in the back seat. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay.” She kissed Nova’s cheek.
“Okay! Bye, Auntie!”
For the past three hours, they had talked nonstop. Nova seemed really taken with Piper. No surprise there. Piper was young and vibrant. She’d grown into a beautiful woman.
“Melt my heart,” Piper whispered to Abe and me. “See you guys tomorrow.”
“Thanks for entertaining, Nova, sis.”
“Are you kidding? I had the best time.” She closed the door and waved.
Abe drove off fast. Probably to deter his parents from running out to his truck.
“I like Auntie Piper,” Nova said. “Is this the farm?”
“It is.” I peered over my shoulder and smiled. “We’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Now, where are we going?”
“To our house.” Abe lifted my hand and kissed it.
“Abe?” I said his name in a questioning tone. He was clearly up to something. But saying “our house” made my heart stutter.
“Just enjoy the ride, baby.” He rubbed his thumb on my hand to calm me, appearing confident and excited.
Don’t freak, lady.
But it had been an extremely emotional few days, far more eventful than I liked. I couldn’t promise I could hold myself together in any situation, good or bad. Just being in Fargo made my skin itch. My parents still lived in town, and tomorrow, I’d be facing Abe’s family.
He continued stroking the top of my hand. It helped tremendously to temper my building anxiety. I did trust Abe now that I knew the truth.
I covered his hand with my other one, sat back, and enjoyed the ride.
Not much more than five minutes had passed when he turned onto a dirt road. I immediately spotted a brick home. It was three times the size of the rental house Nova and I lived in. A chimney poked out of the black metal roof and there was a covered front porch.
“Is this on your parents’ property?” I squeezed his hand between mine.
“Yes. Each of us kids has a five-acre parcel.” He parked in front of the garage. “Piper’s is down the road from ours.”
“I seem to remember hearing something about that a long time ago.”
“Relax, baby.” He cupped the back of my neck and pulled me toward him for a kiss.
“Are we going inside?” Nova bounced in her booster seat.
Abe released my lips. “Yes, let’s go in.”
“I don’t know about this,” I told him honestly. “I just feel…”
“Overwhelmed. I know, just trust me.” He got out of the truck, helped Nova in the back, and then came to my side. “Let’s go.” He winked, tugging my hand.
Abe opened the front door and stopped me from following Nova.
“Wow, this is huge, Mommy!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“The place isn’t totally finished yet.”