Abby

Passion In James County XI

Abby

By D.C. Roi

Chapter fifteen

Abby woke up in the morning feeling a bit better. She took a shower, then she put on a white long-sleeved T-shirt, loose blue pants with an elastic waist, and a soft cotton shirt-jacket with a pattern like an Indian blanket.

When she went to prepare some breakfast for herself, she realized there were things she'd forgotten when she left to come to the cabin. There was no milk and, actually, very little food, other than some canned goods. It looked like the first thing she'd be doing today was grocery shopping. She did make some coffee, then she sat down at the table and began putting together a grocery list.

As she sat in her kitchen, Abby saw Fran Martin come out of Greg's cabin. "It's good I didn't go over last night," she thought as she watched the attractive blonde walk away. "Greg had company. And besides, I was probably just imagining I was being followed anyhow. I...I wonder who Greg's friend is?"

Greg, even though he knew he was being silly, was at his kitchen sink, washing dishes, working very slowly, hoping Abby Marklin would come out of her cabin so he could catch a glimpse of her. He was off duty today, and planned to go into town to look at a new pickup truck, but the arrival of his neighbor caused him to change his plans.

Abby finished her grocery list, put the coffee cup in the sink, then she picked up her purse and headed for the door. When she walked out of the house and started toward her car, she noticed that it seemed to be sitting a little funny, as if it were leaning to one side.

"I wonder what's wrong with it?" she mused as she walked around to the rear of the car. "Damn!" she exclaimed when she saw the flat tire.

Greg felt his heart begin to race when his attractive neighbor emerged from her place and started for her car. "I wonder if Dr. Marklin's here, too?" he thought. He watched Abby walk around to the rear of her car and stand there, looking upset. "I wonder what's wrong?" Greg thought. "Hey, maybe she needs some help!" He grabbed his coat and started for the door.

Abby heard the door of her neighbor's cabin open, then Greg Atkinson came out.

"Hi, Abby," Greg said, starting toward her. "You look upset. Is something wrong?"

"Hi, Greg," Abby replied. "It looks as if I've got a flat tire."

"I'll get it off for you," Greg said.

"You don't have to do that, Greg," Abby said. "I was just about to go in and call the auto club."

"Hey, no need to do that," Greg said. "What are neighbors for, anyhow? I've got all the stuff to do it in my garage."

"Well," Abby said, "if you're sure you don't mind..."

"Of course I don't mind," Greg said, heading for his garage. He got a jack and the other tools he knew he'd need, then went back to where Abby stood waiting. "This shouldn't take long," he told her. "By the way, what kind of spare do you have?"

Abby looked puzzled and shrugged. "I have no idea," she told him.

Greg checked and found that her car had one of the new miniature spares. "Look," he said, "you're going to need to get this tire repaired. I can run it in to town for you, if you want."

"Greg, you really don't have to do all this," Abby said. "I'll call the auto club and..."

"I was going into town anyhow," Greg replied. "Where were you going?"

Abby flushed a little. "Actually, I was going into town, too," she said. "I have to do some grocery shopping. There's no food in the house."

"You alone this trip?" Greg asked as he worked on the tire.

"Yes," Abby replied. "Lee had to go to a conference and I was at loose ends, so I thought I'd spend some time up here. I really love this place."

"Me, too," Greg said, "I can't imagine living anywhere else." He got the tire off. "There," he said, "I'll throw this in my truck, then I'll go in and clean up and we can head into town."

"We...?" Abby asked.

"You said you had grocery shopping to do, didn't you?" Greg replied, "I can get a lot of groceries in the back of my truck."

"Did you grow up here?" Abby asked after Greg had cleaned up and they were headed toward town in his pickup truck.

Greg shook his head. "Not really," he replied, "I grew up in Jamestown, but my family used to come up here every weekend and I spent most of my summers here with my mom. When my folks died, I inherited the place and, luckily, the sheriff's department happened to be looking for a deputy to patrol in this area of the county, so..." He shrugged.

"I think living here year-round would be wonderful," Abby said. "It's...I don't know...it's just such a calm place to be."

"I know," Greg replied. "I've always felt it was the neatest place on earth."

Greg pulled up in front of Barney's Garage, located on the outskirts of the small town near the lake. "I'll drop your tire off now," he explained. "Barney can fix it while we're shopping. We'll pick it up on the way back to the lake."

After dropping the tire off, he drove to a surprisingly large supermarket located on the highway outside of town. The large store thrived because many of the people who vacationed in the area stopped there to pick up provisions on the way to their mountain hideaways.

"You certainly are well-known," Abby commented as she and Greg walked down the aisle in the supermarket. "Is there anybody around here you don't know?"

Greg reddened a little. "When you're the only cop in miles, people get to know you, and you get to know them," he said.

Abby picked a couple of boxes of cereal off the shelf and put them in her cart. "Isn't it dangerous being a police officer in an area like this?" she asked. "I mean, is there anybody around to help you if you get in trouble?"

"The state patrol has one guy who lives in this area," Greg said, "but their office is over in Mountainville, about thirty miles from here. And the Lincoln County Sheriff's deputies back me up when I need it, too. So do the state game wardens." He shrugged. "Actually, the job is really more boring than dangerous. Mostly I spend my time investigating break-in's at vacation homes and investigating car crashes."

"I don't know," Abby said. She picked up the last few items on her list, then headed for the checkout. "If it was me, I'd be scared."

They took Abby's purchases out to the truck, loaded them, then headed for Barney's Garage. Barney's wife, Ingrid, was at the desk in the garage office when Greg and Abby walked in.

"Hey, Greg," Ingrid said. She was blonde, exceedingly buxom, and wore her hair in a single braid that hung nearly to her ample bottom. As usual, she was wearing blue coveralls with "Barney's Garage" lettered on the back.

"Hey, Ingrid," Greg replied. "Barney got that tire fixed yet."

"Don' t know, but he's out back," Ingrid replied. "You kin ask him."

"I'll go check," Greg told Abby, "I'll be right back."

Greg found Barney, a balding, bespectacled man who weighed half what his wife did, bent into the engine compartment of an older car.

"You got my friend's tire fixed or have you been goofing off all afternoon, Barney?" Greg asked his friend.

Barney straightened up and wiped his hands on a rag. "That tire..." he said. "It ain't yours, is it?"

Greg shook his head, "Nope, it belongs to my neighbor," he said. "She came out this morning and found it flat. Why?"

"Tire's ruint," Barney said, walking toward his tire changing machine. "Been cut."

"You sure?" Greg said, following the mechanic.

Barney bent, picked up the tire, and laid it on top of the machine. He pushed down on the side wall and a clean cut about six inches long became clearly visible. "See what I mean?" he said.

"Yeah," Greg replied studying the gash in the tire. "Damn, Barney, this doesn't make sense. I mean, that cut couldn't have come from hitting something on the road, could it?"

Barney shook his head. "Not unless your friend run up against a knife," he said. "Besides, with a cut like that, they wouldn't have driven too damn far after."

"That's what I thought," Greg said. "Jesus!" He wasn't sure what was going on. "You got another tire you could put on for her?"

"Sure," Barney said. "Lotsa summer folks need tires about that size, I keep 'em in stock. I'll do it right now."

Greg walked back out to the front of the garage where Abby was waiting. "It will be a few more minutes," he said. "You need a new tire, the old one was ruined."

"Ruined!" Abby exclaimed, "How could it be ruined?"

"Do you remember hitting anything on the road on your way up here last night?" Greg asked.

Abby shook her head. "No...I...I don't think so," she said. "It was late and I was tired, so I guess I could have hit something, but..."

Barney came out with the tire. "There you go," he said, "this ought to do."

While Greg and Barney put the new tire in Greg's truck, Abby paid for the tire, then she and Greg left.

"I can't believe I hit something last night and don't remember it," Abby mused as they drove back toward the lake.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure you didn't hit anything," Greg said.

Abby looked at him, shocked. "What?" she asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Barney and I think somebody cut your tire while your car was parked here," Greg said. "I kind of hate to admit that, seeing as how it happened right under my nose, but..."

Abby was stunned. "You...you think someone cut my tire?" she asked. "Why?"

"I'm not sure whether you mean why do I think someone cut your tire, or why do I think they did it?" Greg said. "I think someone cut it because of the way the cut looks, and where the cut is. As to why they did it, I haven't got the slightest idea. It could be we've got a vandal running around and your car happened to be handy. Or, I suppose, it could be possible someone's out to get you or your husband. That seems a little far-fetched, though. I mean, you guys don't know that many people around here, do you?"

Abby shook her head. "No, not really," she said. She sat there, thinking, as they neared the lake. The headlights behind she'd seen the night before...had someone followed her up here from Jamestown? That seemed so unbelievable. Who could hate her that much?

"Greg..." she said, as they turned onto the dirt road that led to the lake. "Last night...you're probably going to think this is silly...anyhow, last night, there were headlights behind me for the longest time. I...I actually started getting scared."

"What happened to them?" Greg asked. "The headlights, I mean."

"When I turned in here, they kept going," Abby told him. "At the time, I figured it was just someone going to one of the cabins further down the road. Like over at Pringle Lake, you know?"

"It could have been that," Greg said. "Probably was." He said that more for Abby's benefit than out of belief it was true. He wasn't sure she hadn't been followed. He was sure her tire had been vandalized, and it looked as if she'd been singled out. Once they got back to the cabin, and he had Abby's car fixed, he was going to check with the other people who lived at the lake to see if any of their tires had been vandalized. "And it was probably kids out doing vandalism that cut your tire, too," he added.

"Do you really think so?" Abby asked. "How many kids are there who live around here?"

"More than you realize," Greg said. "And, since there isn't much for them to do, sometimes they get bored and stupid."

When they got back to their cabins, Greg helped Abby carry her groceries in then, while she put them away, he put the new tire on her car and put the car in the garage.

When Greg was done, he walked back into the Marklin house. "There," he said, dropping the car keys on the kitchen table. "If I were you, I'd keep the car in the garage and make sure the garage is locked at night."

"Thank you, Greg, I will," Abby said. "If I remember correctly, you said you had the day off, didn't you?"

"Ah...yeah," Greg said, "but there are a couple of things I have to do this afternoon. Why?"

"I'm making you dinner tonight," she said. "What's your favorite meal?"

Greg blushed. "Ah...would you believe meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy?" he replied.

Abby grinned. "I'm glad I bought that ground chuck," she said, "Your meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy will be ready at six-thirty. Can you wait that long?"

"I sure can," Greg replied, "But you know you don't have to do this."

"Of course I know I don't," Abby said and smiled. "But I really want to. You've been so nice to me today, it's the least I can do to repay you."

"Oh, well, if you put it that way..." Greg said. "Look, like I said, there are some things I have to do. I'll see you a little later."

"OK," Abby said. She watched Greg leave. "He's really nice," she thought. And, as she thought about her morning with her neighbor, she realized that even though all they'd done together was go grocery shopping, she'd had more fun with Greg that day than she'd had with her husband in a long time. "Maybe coming up here was exactly what I needed," she mused.

Greg got in his pickup and headed for the cabins of the other year-round residents on the lake. As he drove up the road he, too, was thinking about how nice his day had been.