Free Wildflower by Prudence MacLeod Page B

had left a note for her mother.
    “Dear Mom, I was in town after all so I
thought I would pick up my stuff to save you the trouble of mailing
it. You must have been at work, sorry I missed you. See you next
time. Abby.”
     
    “Ok Billy, let’s go,” she said as she climbed
back into the van. He sped away and drove straight to the nearest
post office where Abby re-labeled the boxes and mailed them off to
herself at Edna’s. In less time than one might suspect they had
returned the van and were back in the air. Edna was just starting
to cook supper when they came through the door.
    “Well?” she asked as they breezed into the
kitchen.
    “Smooth as silk,” smiled Abby as she bent
over a steaming pot on the stove for a sniff of whatever Edna was
cooking. “I promise Billy, the next time I take you to Halifax I
will give you time to look around a bit.”
    “Hey, I saw it from the air before we
landed,” he laughed as he dropped into a chair. “You’ve seen one
city, you’ve seen them all. At least now I can say I ran off to
Halifax with the world’s most beautiful woman.”
    “Yes you can, and thank you for the
compliment.”
    “Sit down here now and rest,” admonished Edna
as she guided Abby to a chair. “You’re supposed to be resting and
all you do is race around all over the planet.”
    “Well there’s nothing more for me to do until
the paperwork clears on the house. I think I’ll just hang out here
and take it easy for a few days.”
    “Now that’s a wonderful idea. When those
boxes get here Billy can go to the post office and get them for
you.”
    “Absolutely,” agreed Billy. “So what are we
going to do for our next date Abby?”
    “Oh my, the next one will be so much more
exciting Billy,” Abby exclaimed in an exaggeratedly breathless
voice. “We’re going car shopping. I will need a car if I am going
to live way out in Jamaica Point, and I am not going onto a used
car lot without a man on my arm.”
    “You know Miss MacKai, I am starting to
suspect I am being used here,” mused Billy, a grin firmly place on
his face.
    “Of course you’re being used Billy,” replied
Abby, matching his grin, “and shamelessly so I might add. Can you
live with it?”
    “Live with it and enjoy it to the hilt,” he
laughed. “I’m not off again until next Wednesday, will that be soon
enough?”
    “That would be fine Billy. I’ll rest up from
this little adventure while I wait.”
    “I’ll poke around a bit and see what’s
available out there.”
    “And I’ll keep an eye on the both of you,”
admonished Edna as she served the meal. She smiled warmly to see
that Abby and Billy had become friends and he seemed to have lost
his awe of Abby. Edna really liked Abby and secretly wished that
Billy could win her affections, but knowing what Abby had just gone
through, Edna doubted that Abby would ever give her heart to a man
again, at least not for a very long time.
     
    A week later Abby smiled as she put her new
hunter green Subaru Outback through its paces on the way to her new
house. Abby herself would not have thought of buying a lease
return, but Billy had scouted out this one for her. It had really
low miles on it and it almost seemed like new. The salesman had
actually cringed when he’d realized that a cabbie was going to test
drive it. Billy had liked the car and Abby had liked the price. She
paid cash for it and bought some extended warranties then they took
it home to Edna’s and loaded all the boxes as well as her suitcases
into it. She had actually been amazed that it all fit in one load.
In the middle of a sunny Thursday afternoon, Abby set out for her
new home.
    Abby had rested completely for several days
after she’d returned from Halifax. She’d gone auto shopping with
Billy one day and he took her to a movie matinee on another, but
outside that she had done nothing but rest for over twelve days.
Abby was feeling back at full strength now and somewhat excited
about beginning