"Does she live around here?"
"Remember, she lives right next door to the bed and breakfast."
"Right," Abby says. "I think I'm still getting mixed up around town."
"Well, the town's not that big, but there are a lot of us Roughs. But let me give her a call real quick."
A few minutes later, after we’ve dropped Hijinx off at Lemon's so we can enjoy our lunch together, Abby and I settle into a booth at the only diner in town. Menus in hand, I ask her what she's having.
"Um, I think I'll take the grilled cheese and tomato soup," she tells our waitress, Cassidy.
"And what'll you have, Bartlett?" she asks.
"The usual," I tell her.
"Sounds good. Anything to drink?"
"Coffee," I say.
"Water's fine," Abby says. "Thank you."
Once Cassidy leaves, Abby smirks. "So they know your regular order here?"
I chuckle again. "I'm telling you, I was born and raised in this town. Yeah, Cassidy knows my order. I've known that girl since we were in grade school. Well, I was probably in junior high when she was in grade school. But yeah, same difference. Everyone around here has known each other forever."
"It's so crazy," Abby says. "I've never experienced anything like that."
"So your family was always on the road?" I ask her, wanting to get a better idea of what her family actually did on the road.
"Yeah," she says. She opens and closes the flip phone in her hand.
"Hey," I say, "you got your phone fixed?"
"Yeah," she says. "Harold at the sports store had a bin full of old chargers. That's all I needed."
"I'm surprised he had a charger that would work for a phone that looks like it's 10 years old," I say, teasing her.
"Hey," she says, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?"
"Fair enough," I say. "So he had a charger that works and you're good to go?"
Abby nods. "Yep. Good as new. So now I'll have to get your phone number and put it in my phone."
"That old flip phone can hold contacts?"
Abby rolls her eyes. "And now you're messing with me. Yes, I can even text on this thing," she says. Just then, her phone buzzes. She opens it and she reads whatever message has come through. Her eyes darken as she reads the screen, and she quickly closes it and shoves it in her coat pocket.
"Anything important?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "Nothing important."
"Is it your family looking for you?"
"Something like that," Abby says dismissively. "So, winter in Home is pretty cold," she says. "My cheeks were freezing the entire time I was walking Hijinx on the trail. You ever feel like you're freezing your butt off out here in the mountains?"
I laugh, but I’m still pretty aware that she's been changing the subject every time I try to talk about where she's come from, where she's headed. As much as I'm falling for this girl, I know Rye's right. I don't know much about her and I need to if I want to see this going anywhere. "So what are your plans, Abby? I mean, I know you said you came through here when you were younger and you always wanted to come back when you got a chance, but are you planning on settling down in Home?"
Her eyes meet mine as Cassidy brings us our lunch, my BLT and French fries, her grilled cheese and soup. "Thanks Cassidy," I say as she walks away.