Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

good at looking at all sides of an issue, Abbey, but maybe you’re too close to this one.”
    Her fingers snagged a glittering chain of fine gold as it floated through the hall to her. “This will be perfect on you.”
    “I honestly don’t know how I feel about Aleksandr right now,” Abigail admitted as Hannah dropped the chain onto her outstretched palm. “I did close that door. Very firmly. I made certain I moved around so there was no chance that he could catch up with me. I returned his letters unopened. There was nothing to say. I don’t know him. I thought I did, but I don’t. I can’t be in love with, nor can I trust a man I don’t know.”
    “You’re very drawn to him,” Hannah said. “And when he’s close to you your auras mix together. They aren’t distinct. The house let him in. You say you’ve closed him out, but you went with him kayaking and you certainly didn’t have to do that. You’re going with him tonight and again, there’s no real reason.
    What I’m saying is, you aren’t a woman to do things you don’t want to do. You want to be with him. If you didn’t, Abbey, he would never get close to you. You’d be in the sea or on the beach or flying off to Australia or Florida or any other place where you go to be with your dolphins. You wouldn’t be here with him.”
    Abigail drew the tank top over her head. “I wish you weren’t right, Hannah.” She pulled her hair out off her neck and let it settle back into place. “I have no idea what to do with him. I’m so afraid I’ll never survive him again.”
    “Why?” Hannah peered at the earring rack to find the most suitable earrings. “Do you even know why?”
    Standing in the red lace panties and black tank top, Abigail looked vulnerable as she pressed the black jeans to her chest. “I don’t think love is supposed to be like this, Hannah. I ache all the time. I think about him all the time. I’ve always been whole without a man, but somehow he changed that and now I look at him, this man who was my world, and wonder if I ever really knew him. He isn’t what I thought.”

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    “What did you think?”
    Abigail sank onto the bed. “Words like gentle and tender come to mind. Now I look at him and think ruthless and merciless . How can that be?”
    “We all have many sides. You do. You know you do. Why are you always so careful to hold yourself in check? You have a temper and you’re quite capable of retaliating when someone has upset you. That’s why you walk away, you’re so afraid of what you might do.”
    Abigail shook her head. “It isn’t the same. I thought it was the same, but it isn’t.”
    Hannah sighed. “I’m not certain what you’re talking about so I can’t help. Would he hurt you? Hit you?”
    “No! Heaven’s no! He would never hurt me no matter how angry he got. No.” Abigail shook her head adamantly. “Aleksandr would step in front of a bullet for me.”
    There was a small silence. Abigail looked shocked. “Did I just say that? It’s true, but I hadn’t thought about it.”
    Hannah patted her hand. “If you know that deep in your heart, Abbey, I suspect you know he’s very much in love with you. Maybe you owe it to both of you to give him another chance, to find out exactly what happened, his reasons, and see if you can live with them.”
    Abigail pulled on her trousers. “I don’t know. I still can’t believe he’s here. It seems like a dream. And he told me he thinks a man named Leonid Ignatev has put out a hit on him. Ignatev tried a power play using me as a pawn and Aleksandr managed to get me out of Russia and defeat him.”
    “That’s not good,” Hannah said and sank onto the bed. “Have you told Jonas?”
    “We can’t tell Jonas. He’d try to have Aleksandr deported just to get him away from us. You know he would. He wouldn’t want Aleksandr anywhere near us.” She rubbed her temples. “I shouldn’t let him anywhere near any of you, but I know you all so well. It won’t matter what I say. You’ll butt in anyway.”
    Hannah laughed. “You’re so right, although I am worried about Aunt Carol playing the detective with Frank Warner. None of us really know him that well. Could he be involved in this?”
    “He’s good friends with Inez and she’s a great judge of character. I don’t know. On the surface, it looks like there’s some small pointers toward him, but I’m not about to