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entered her mind which she allowed herself to mull over: I wonder
what Rachel was thinking as she went over the cliff?
    Abby
disengaged from that thought and turned her attention to Craig. She was at a
loss on how to comfort him, so she did what she had done for many of her
patients. She reached out and grasped his hand with a gentle, soothing touch.
His hand released the steering wheel, relaxing beneath hers. His jaw rippled as
it, too, unwound little. His eyes narrowed some, as if he was attempting to
control his emotions. He sighed as he looked over at her.
    “Chloe
loves to look at the flowers. She calls it her mother's garden. It’s remarkable
how children innately accept the cycle of life, while we adults flounder and
rage against it.” He grimaced around his words. Abby was startled by how
insightful he was, and by the wisdom in what he said. It was not that she
assumed him to be stupid, or less than educated, but she did not expect him to
share something he had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about so openly
with her.
    “I
think it's wonderful how the whole community came together for you and your
daughter,” she said. Abby found it more than wonderful; it was downright
fascinating.
     
    She
came from a busy city, where very few neighbors even knew each other’s name.
And she was no different than the rest. She could not put a name to a single
neighbor on the street where she lived. By now, they all knew her name. If not,
they knew where she lived well enough to target her house with eggs, spray
paint, doggie-doo bombs, or bags of garbage. She was disgusted by all the
detritus strewn over her front yard. Not that she deserved an outpouring of
support.

Scenes from her past echoed in her mind as she slumped down in her seat.
    “That's
how it is, here,” he said casually. The further he drove from the garden, the
less intense his emotions became. “It's more than a community; it's like a
family.” Craig glanced over at her, a light grin tugging at the edges of his
lips. “Of course, everyone does tend to be a bit nosy.”
    Abby
blushed as she remembered the final accusation she had lobbed at him when they
were at Lake Marie. She had been terrified he would dig too deep, discover too
much. She still was.
    “Well,
you know what they say about outsiders?” Abby attempted a laugh. “Once an
outsider, always an outsider.”
    “Not
here,” he corrected as he slowed the car at a red light. He glanced over at her
and only then did Abby realize she was still grasping his hand. She drew it
away, her fingertips dancing nervously across his skin. “Here, they say an
outsider is only an outsider until they're part of the family.”
    Abby
folded her hands in her lap, looking at them as if they had done something to
offend her. “Well, that’s a warm notion, but I’ll only be here for a little
while.”
     
    The
light changed and Craig began to drive again, nodding. “As you mentioned . You've yet to tell me why you're here in the
first place.”
     
    “Just
a little time away,” Abby replied, managing to make her voice sound friendly
enough.
    He
barely paused before inquiring, “Away from where?”
    “From
where I was.” She cast a saucy smile in his direction. He could prod all he
wanted, but he was not going to get much out of her. Craig, enjoying a
challenge, was not deterred. He switched lanes cautiously, and then glanced
over at her with a glint in his dark green eyes.
    “Away
from whom?” he boldly cast again.
    The
question threw her off slightly, as she knew there was only one person she had
truly wanted to get away from, the only person she could never escape. She
thought about lying, about making up a story about a bad break up and a
boyfriend who was too persistent. She thought about flat out demanding he stop
asking so many questions. But when he turned the car into the grocery store
parking lot, his eyes swept briefly over hers with such warmth and openness,
she found herself answering