Stripped - By Brenda Rothert Page 0,48

we get one, Abby? Please?”

“First of all, Honesty?” Abby said disdainfully. “Is that seriously her name?”

“I think so. Anyway, can we?”

“Puppies are a ton of work, Sara. And we don’t have a fence around the yard.”

“I know, but they’re so cute. Please? I’ll take care of it.”

“Maybe we could think of a better pet for us, like a fish,” Abby offered.

“A fish? That’s no fun. I can’t pet a fish or take it for a walk,” Sara groaned.

“Maybe a cat,” Justin suggested. Abby glared at him.

“Yeah, but there’s the litter box to take care of …” she said.

“Dog or cat? You can choose,” Sara said. Abby was impressed by her shrewd negotiating skills.

“I will think about a cat,” she said. Sara clapped happily.

“A girl cat,” she said. “All white! We can get her a pink collar.”

“But I’m just thinking about it. That means maybe,” Abby reminded her. Sara looked at her solemnly.

“I’ll be really good,” she promised. Abby smiled, knowing she would likely relent. She had never had a pet growing up, and she wanted Audrey and Sara to have the things that she had missed out on.

Abby felt like time had stopped as she sorted through paperwork on her desk Thursday morning. She was still glum about things with Chris. He didn’t understand that she was the least impulsive person he would likely ever meet.

She pulled the envelope with the plane ticket out of her purse and looked at the departure time for the hundredth time. 8:30. And it was 8:50, so he was already in the air. Why was she still thinking about it?

“Do you still have that spreadsheet?” Marla asked as she walked to Abby’s desk to study the papers there.

“I can email it to you, that’ll be faster,” Abby said.

“Plane tickets? Are you going on vacation?” Marla asked, smiling.

“Oh. No. Chris wanted me to go to Malibu with him this weekend, but I can’t.”

“That’s awful! Why not?”

“You know how it is. My sisters, work … I just can’t get away from today until Monday.”

Marla gave Abby a look as she sat down in the chair in front of her desk.

“No, you’re not blaming this on work. I would gladly send you out of here for this trip. This is exactly what you need, Abby. A break from how hard you work all the time. And from the kids, too. It’s good for you.”

“It’s not just work. You know things aren’t great with my Mom, but I haven’t shared every detail with you. I can’t leave the girls with her or ask Justin to take care of them that whole time. He has class and work. It was a nice gesture for Chris to make, but I just can’t do it.”

“They can stay with me,” Marla said.

“What?”

“Sara and Audrey. We’d love to have them. Jack and I miss having our kids around since they both left for college.”

“Marla, I can’t ask that.”

“You didn’t, I offered. I’d love it, really, Abby. I’ll pick them up as soon as I leave work and take them to school tomorrow. We’ll do some fun stuff this weekend. I have no plans. Come on.”

“You’re the best boss ever. I probably would go, but the plane’s already in the air,” Abby said sadly. “It’s just not meant to be.”

Marla glared at her from across the desk.

“There are other flights. Get your ass to the airport and get one,” she said.

“But …”

“But nothing. Write down the names of the girls’ schools, what time they get out, and then get the hell out of here.”

Abby stared back at Marla, considering. She did trust her completely with her sisters. She would have to take the weekend off at the club, but she had one coming, because she never took time off.

“Okay. I’ll do it,” she said, excited at the prospect.

As she studied the directions to the house on her phone, Abby started feeling nervous. Chris didn’t even know she was coming. The address of the house had been listed in the email he had sent her with photos of it. She hoped her arrival would be a nice surprise. More than anything, she was nervous about meeting his friends. She had never been social, and she worried she wouldn’t fit in with them.

The phone’s GPS directed her down a private lane, and she drove down it cautiously. She wound around the tree-lined path, gaping when a sprawling beachfront home came into view. The photos hadn’t done it justice; the house was a sprawling marvel of modern