Blog Tour - Chasing Abby by Cassia Leo
Chasing Abby is the 5th and final book in Cassia's New York Times and USA Today best selling Shattered Hearts series.
About Chasing Abby
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series.
SYNOPSIS
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York
Times and USA Today best selling series.
Five years, six months, eight days….
It’s been eighteen years since Abigail was born
with a hole in her heart. Five years since she collapsed on the soccer field.
Five years, six months, eight days since she found out she was adopted.
Abby has spent five years wondering about the
family she never knew and waiting for her eighteenth birthday. When Abby shows
up on the doorstep of Chris and Claire Knight, her birth parents are overjoyed
to see the little girl they lost eighteen years ago.
One summer is all they have to make up for the
years they lost. But a summer of love soon turns into a summer of heartache.
Excerpt
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“MAKE IT QUICK,” Claire says, grabbing my
wallet off the dresser and handing it to me. “I want to make it to the beach
house before eight. And… I have a surprise for you.”
“A
surprise?” I say, tucking my wallet into the back pocket of my jeans. “Does it
involve nudity?” I grab her hips and pull her toward me so her breasts are
pressed against my chest.
She lets
out a nervous giggle as I brush my lips over the length of her slender neck.
“Maybe. Just hurry up, okay?”
I take her
face in my hands and look her in the eye. “In that case, I’ll be back in a
flash. Do I need to pick up anything on the way home? Massage oil? Whipped
cream? Batteries?”
She shakes
her head and pushes me away. “Just go have your drink and come back soon.”
I slap her
ass as I walk out of the bedroom and she yelps. “See you later, babe.”
I rush out
of the house and slide into the driver’s seat of my Jaguar. One of my many
regrets I have as a father is that I taught my children to appreciate the
feeling of being behind the wheel of a fast car. I used to set Jimi and Junior
in my lap when they were much smaller and let them steer while I drove around
empty parking lots. I regret it because now they refuse to drive the safer
self-driving cars. They want to grab that steering wheel and command the road.
Normally,
I ride my motorcycle everywhere during the summer, but there’s a chance of rain
today, so I’ll stick to the Jaguar. Last thing I need is to have my bike slide
over a slick road and into a busy intersection just hours before I’m supposed
to go to the beach house to spend the summer with my firstborn.
My Abby.
I park the
Jaguar next to Tristan’s new Tesla and head straight into the pub. He’s sitting
on the second to last stool at the end of the bar, as usual, and nursing a
draft beer while laughing about something with Link. Link bought the bar about
ten years ago when the previous owner retired. So, naturally, Tristan Pollock
has spent the last ten years getting drunk on Link’s dime.
His
shoulder-length light-brown hair flies all over the place as he points his
finger in Link’s face and laughs. “Ha! I knew it was you at that fucking show.
You don’t have to pretend with me, bitch.”
Link
shakes his bald head. “I don’t know why you’re talking shit. You were at the
same fucking show.”
“Yeah, but
I was there with my daughter. You were there with your girlfriend. That’s some
sick shit.”
I take a
seat on the last stool. “What show are you talking about?”
“Defy This
show at Walnut Creek last Sunday.”
I shake my
head. “I’m glad Jimi is past that stage.” Link slides a draft beer to me and I
down a few big gulps. “So what happened with Xander? Did you talk to Estelle?”
Estelle
Greenway is Xander’s sister. Xander was my manager for twelve years until we
parted ways over a contract dispute. We’ve stayed in touch for the past eight
years, though we hadn’t spoken to each other in about five months when Estelle
contacted me last week. Xander has been in the hospital for three weeks with
persistent pneumonia and, despite the doctor’s best efforts, his condition
continues to decline. I visited him in the hospital on Friday afternoon, but he
was in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. Tristan was supposed to
visit him yesterday to see how he was doing.
Tristan
shakes his head. “It’s not good, man. Estelle said they’re taking him off the
ventilator on Wednesday if he doesn’t improve.”
I grit my
teeth against the anger. “It’s a fucking lung infection. You’d think they could
just give him some fucking antibiotics. This is no way for him to go.”
Tristan
shrugs. “I don’t know. Estelle looked pretty relieved about it. She’s been
watching him suffer for weeks. That’s no way for him to live.”
I don’t
want to get into an argument about life and death with Tristan, so I change the
subject. “I’m going to the beach house tonight.”
Tristan
downs the rest of his beer and grabs the new one Link just set down for him
thirty seconds ago. “I know. You told me that on the phone.”
“Yeah, but
I didn’t tell you who’s coming with me.”
Tristan
squints his eyes as he stares at the pint glass in front of him. “Wait a
minute. Are you saying…?”
I nod and
let out a sigh. “She came to our house yesterday.”
Link sets
another beer down in front of a customer a few seats away then rushes back to
join the conversation. “Who came to your house?”
“Look at this
nosy hen,” Tristan remarks.
“Abigail,
my first daughter. The one… we gave up for adoption eighteen years ago.”
I’ve told Link about Abby before, but it was
at least a decade ago. I wouldn’t expect him to remember. And as much as it
pains me to say that we gave her up for adoption, I’ve always stood
behind Claire’s decision. Because I know her decision to give Abby up was made
completely out of love for me. I can’t show my gratitude to her by blaming her
every chance I get.
“So what
does that mean?” Tristan asks. “She’s going to the beach house with you all
this summer? Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“I don’t
know, but there’s no way I can convince Claire that it’s not. So I’m going
along with it for now. And, I gotta admit, it feels really fucking good to have
her with us.”
“Is she
there right now?”
“Nah, she
went home to pack some things. She took Junior with her. They’re driving to the
beach house with her boyfriend tonight.”
“Sounds
like a perfect family reunion. Now I know why you called this emergency
meeting.”
I slide
the beer away and turn to Tristan. “Listen, I know Senia’s busy with Izzy’s
dance stuff, but can you make sure she checks up on Claire? I know she’s going
to need to talk to Senia over the next week or so. However long Abby decides to
stay.”
Tristan’s
eyebrows shoot up and he laughs. “Are you fucking kidding me? When I tell Senia
about Abby being at the beach house, she’ll probably pack up the whole fucking
family and drive down there herself.”
I let out
a soft chuckle. “I guess so. Then, maybe don’t tell her right away.”
He turns
to me with one eyebrow cocked. “Now you’ve really gotta be kidding me. You know
I can’t keep shit from her.”
“All
right, fine. Just don’t tell her I want her to check up on Claire.”
We sit for
a few minutes in silence, just sipping our beers, then Tristan clears his
throat, like he’s getting ready to say something very serious. “So what do you
want to do about Xander?”
Purchase Chasing Abby:
Previous books in the series:
1. FOREVER OURS
2. RELENTLESS
3. PIECES OF YOU
4. BRING ME HOME
About Cassia
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassia Leo grew up in California and has lived in three different countries. She loves to travel and her dream is to one day score a record deal based on her awesome shower singing skills. She is the author of the Shattered Hearts series (Forever Ours, Relentless, Pieces of You, Bring Me Home) and the Luke, Knox, and Chase series.
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You can also follow her blog at http://cassialeo.com to stay up to date on new releases and giveaways.
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