The man was…amazing! But he would die. It was inevitable! He literally dove into danger and the man might not acknowledge the reality, but he was only human. Yeah, he might be stronger and faster and smarter than the bad guys, but a bullet was faster still.
A knock on her door startled her and she jumped up. When she peered through the peek hole, Abby couldn’t stop a yelp of surprise. Pulling the door open, she stood there, staring at her mother.
“Oh, honey!” her mother said, stepping forward and wrapping her soft, comforting arms around Abby.
“Mom!” Abby sobbed, resting her head on her mother’s strong shoulder.
They stood like that for several minutes while Abby just cried her heart out.
“Come on, sweetie. Let’s go sit down and you can tell me what’s going on.”
Abby sniffed and grabbed another tissue. “Why are you here?”
Joanne smiled. “I received a call from a Lieutenant Colonel Zeke Jeffers. He said that you needed me and I booked the flight as soon as we hung up.”
Zeke’s kindness only made her cry harder. “Oh Mom!” she sobbed, deflating as she sobbed out her pain and heartache. Joanne made soothing sounds, and then she pulled her daughter back into her arms, soothing Abby in the ways that mothers have always done.
When the current round of sobbing ended, Joanne looked at her daughter. “You’re not eating, are you?”
“I eat,” Abby sniffed.
“Not enough. I’m making you dinner. Then you’re going to tell me what’s wrong and explain to me why a stranger called to tell me my daughter is in pain. After that, we’ll figure this mess out.”
Abby sniffed but obediently followed her mother into the kitchen, sitting down in one of the chairs while her mother put the fabric grocery bags on the counter and started pulling out ingredients.
“Macaroni and cheese?” Abby asked, the first hopeful thought she’d had in days.
“Of course,” Joanne laughed, looking over her shoulder at her daughter. “Is there any other comfort food for times like this?”
Abby laughed, and buried her face in her hands. A moment later, she stood up and came over to hug her mother. “I’m so glad to see you!” she whispered.
Joanne’s arms tightened around Abby’s waist and she smiled. “You’re going to be okay, sweetie.”
Abby pulled away and forced her lips to smile, but she didn’t believe her mother. “How can I help with dinner?”
Joanne pointed to the bag. “You can open that bottle of wine and pour us each a glass. Then you can sit on that stool and tell me what’s going on.” She started grating cheese, but paused to look directly into Abby’s eyes. “And you’re going to explain to me why you didn’t call and tell me that something was wrong, young lady!”
Abby laughed as she got down two wine glasses. “I didn’t want to bother you.”
Her mother snorted. “Abby, when you’re upset about something, you call me! Understand?”
Abby smiled for the first time since she’d broken up with Zeke. “Understood.”
Her mother humphed a bit, then turned back to working. “Okay, so start talking. What’s going on?”
Abby poured the wine, then sat down on the stool with a heavy sigh. “I’ve been seeing a guy, Mom. He’s wonderful. He’s big, strong, and patient and,” she grinned as she looked at her mother stirring the flour and butter in the pot, “he bakes! He loves to bake things. When he’s stressed about something, he’ll pull out flour and sugar or whatever and bake cookies or bread or anything that comes to mind. Plus he cooks me dinner whenever he comes over. He loves to cook. He’s just amazing!”
Joanne laughed, nodding. “Okay, he’s handsome, he’s strong, he’s patient, and he’s well trained. So, what’s the problem?”
Abby’s smile disappeared and she took a long sip of her wine. Setting it carefully back on the counter, she said, “He’s a member of the Army’s Delta Force team, Mom. He’s Special Forces.” She sniffed. “He’s just like Dad. He goes into danger zones and…he’s…”
Her mother paused and looked at Abby. “I still don’t see the problem, sweetie.”
Abby shrugged. “Dad died.”
“Yes,” she agreed, stirring in the milk now. “We’re all going to die at some point.”
“Mom, Dad died in some foreign country and we still don’t know where or how or even why.”
She nodded again. “Yes, that’s true. But Abby,” she added in a handful of grated cheese, “he died doing something he believed in. He died doing something heroic, something that made this world a better place.”
Abby thought about that and nodded slowly. “Okay, fine. He died doing something he believed in. But he left you and me behind.”
Joanne nodded and sighed heavily. “Yeah. That was awful. I was devastated when I got the news.”
“Mom,” Abby groaned, “you’ve never gotten over him.”
Joanne laughed. “I’ve moved on with my life.”
Abby stared at her mother for a long moment, shaking her head slightly. “But you’ve never remarried.”
Her mother shrugged. “That’s true. But not because I haven’t tried. I just…I loved your Dad, Abby. I loved him so much and no other man has made me feel what I had with him.” She shrugged and peered into the pot, as if evaluating the cheese mixture. “Why settle for second best?”
Abby thought about how Zeke made her feel. Every time she saw him, her heart thudded with excitement. Every time he touched her, even non-sexually, she felt something stir inside
