Free Run Away Baby by Holly Tierney-Bedord Page B

him that time, and for once Randall had had nothing more to say.
    Luckily, he’d been too drunk to remember this.
     
     
    Randall’s snoring had gotten louder again – Abby decided from the sound of him that he was actually sick and this wasn’t some elaborate trap – and he woke himself up with a start.
    “Shh. Go back to sleep,” she whispered. He turned over and she started rubbing his back again.
    She had no way to let Charlie know she wouldn’t be meeting him. He’d figure it out when she never showed up.
     
     

Chapter 19
     
     
    “Hi,” Abby said.
    “You made it! I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to, after being a no-show last time.”
    “I told you, something came up.”
    “Well, you hurt my feelings.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “You know, I gave you my phone number in case something came up.”
    “I didn’t want to call it.”
    “I get it. I forgive you. I’m glad you’re here now.”
    “And I even found the south entrance.”
    “Nice job.”
    “Look at this,” she said, holding up a printed receipt.
    “What is it?” Charlie asked, taking it from her hand to have a closer look. He read the key points on it aloud: “Abby Greer. $1280 paid in full. Not for Credit, Non-transferrable: Call of the Wild; Wilderness Basics with Prof. Robert Stenslie.”
    “That’s right!” She’d realized that the only way she could take Charlie’s classes without arousing Randall’s suspicion was to sign up for the classes Danna-Dee had mentioned. And since she was signed up anyway, she’d decided she might as well go to them.
    “Did you sign up for these recently?”
    “Yeah. About ten minutes ago.”
    “Okay. So you’re actually enrolled in these other classes?”
    “Yeah. Do you know Bob Stenslie?” she asked.
    “Uh, no, I don’t. I thought you wanted to have me teach you?”
    “I do! I guess I thought the more I could learn, the better, you know?”
    “Sure. I guess so.”
    “I’m not sure how I’m going to pay you. I mean, I have plenty of money, but not always access to it.”
    “That’s okay. You don’t have to pay me anything,” he said.
    “I will though. I just… I’m not sure yet how I’m going to do it. But at some point I definitely will.”
    “It’s fine if you can’t.”
    “These classes I just signed up for don’t start for a couple weeks, so I probably can’t hang out until then.”
    “Well, that’s disappointing. You can’t start classes with me until these start?”
    “Well, I was thinking, if it works for you, these classes end at 3:30 each day, so if you come by here we can do your classes afterwards and it will work out perfectly. Randall has no idea how long the real classes go. They’re only forty-five minutes. He won’t know that, and he’s at work until six or so most nights. So as long as I’m home by then and have all this legitimate stuff from Wilderness Bob’s class to show him, this should all be fine. I think this is actually going to work.”
    Charlie looked down at the receipt in his hand and then gave it back to Abby. “So what’s happening right now?” he asked her.
    “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.”
    “Wanna go for a ride with me?” he asked.
    “I don’t think so.”
    “You could say enrolling took longer than it did.”
    “I don’t know.”
    “So what exactly are you looking for?” asked Charlie. He ran his rough finger along her jawline.
    “Nothing. A friend,” Abby said. She didn’t pull away from him though.
    “A short little ride. Come on. We’ll get some coffee.”
    “I don’t think I should do that.”
    “Just say yes.”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Stop worrying so much.”
    “We’d be gone for just a few minutes?” she asked him.
    “Sure,” he said.
    “Okay. I’ll do it. But then we’d better leave my phone in my car.”
    “Why?”
    “Randall tracks it, so I need to keep it here by the college.”
    “What?”
    “He’s a little crazy.”
    “I’m seeing that.”
    “I’m used to it. That