Dragon Lords of Valdier Boxset Books 1-3

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Abby Tanner stared at the glass, seeing more in the hot glowing piece than molten liquid. As she began twirling the rod around and around she began forming different layers, bending and shaping them to match the image in her head. She loved how the shapeless glass transformed into a beautiful piece of art. She was also thankful she made a very good living from it. It gave her freedom that not many people could enjoy.

She worked with the piece for the next three hours, blending and blowing until a delicate flower formed. She was almost finished. The piece she was working on had taken her almost six months to finish. She had already sold it for over fifty thousand dollars. For her, though, it was not the money, but the enjoyment of creating something beautiful and enjoyed by others.

Abby looked up when she heard a dog bark. Smiling, she finished cleaning up her workshop. It was a fairly good size wooden barn not far from the cabin she lived in deep in the mountainous region of northern California.

Her grandparents had lived in the cabin before she was born. When her mother took off when she was a baby it became her home. Her mother died of a drug overdose when Abby was two, and she never knew her father. Her grandmother and grandfather had raised her. Her grandmother had passed away five years ago and her grandfather six months ago.

Abby still fought with the depression that overwhelmed her at times. Her grandparents were perfectly happy living in the remote mountain cabin. Abby grew up running through a wooded playground built just for her. She loved the freedom of the mountains and peace it gave her. At twenty-two, she had no desire to live in the nearby town of Shelby or the larger cities. It was bad enough when she left to attend a gallery opening of her work.

Brushing her dark brown hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail back behind her ears, Abby took another quick look around before closing the double doors to her workshop.

Laughing as the big golden retriever came running up to her, Abby bent down and gave Bo a big hug, trying to keep her mouth shut so she didn’t get Bo’s overeager tongue in it.

“He misses you,” Edna Grey said as she walked down the little path following Bo.

Edna had her long, dark gray hair in a braid down her back today instead of up in a bun. She was dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans with a plaid button up shirt tucked in at the waist. Even though she was in her late sixties, she moved like a woman half her age. Abby couldn’t help but smile as she saw the twinkle in Edna’s light green eyes as she followed Bo.

Abby glanced up at Edna and smiled. She could only hope she looked as good as her friend did when she got older.

Abby knew she looked young even for her age. She gave credit for her appearance to her grandmother’s side of the family. She had her grandmother’s dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, and heart-shaped face. Her nose was a little on the short side while her lips were a little on the full. Abby often thought the combination made her look like a pouty little girl but her grandfather used to say it made her even more beautiful because he could always see her grandmother in her.

“I missed him too. Yes, you are just a big ole softy, aren’t you? Yes, you are,” Abby said as she stood up.

Bo jumped back and forth waiting for Abby to pick up the tennis ball he was carrying in his mouth. His long tail swept back and forth as he pranced around in circles barking. Abby picked up the wet tennis ball and threw it toward the cabin. Like a bullet, Bo raced after the slime green prize.

“So, how are you doing?” Edna asked softly, walking back toward the cabin with Abby.

Abby was quiet for a moment before she let out a deep breath. “I’m doing better. It was really hard at first losing Granddad, but each day I seem to be handling it a little better. It helps being busy. That big piece I was working on for the couple from New York is almost done.”

Edna put her arm around Abby’s waist, hugging her close. “I can’t wait to see it. You’ve never been as secretive about any of your pieces as you have this one.”

Abby laughed huskily. “It’s one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever done. I can’t wait for you to see it. When I was contracted to do the work I was a little hesitant. Normally, I just create based on what I feel is in the glass. This time my client wanted to meet me and asked me to create something based on their home décor. I spent two days as a guest in their house. It was unbelievable. It helped. I was contracted to do it right after Granddad died. Being focused on it has helped me cope with his passing.”

“Is there any chance of you meeting a nice young man while you are going back and forth in all your travels?” Edna teased.

“No, absolutely not!” Abby said, horrified. “I like being alone. I’ve seen enough of men and their behaviors on my trips to make me leery of getting involved with anyone.”

“What about Clay? You know he’s interested,” Edna asked.

Abby wrinkled up her nose in distaste. Clay was the local sheriff for the town of Shelby and had been trying to get Abby to go out with him since she was eighteen. He was a nice guy, but Abby just didn’t feel the same way about him as he seemed to feel about her.

Abby made the weekly trip to town to mail the blown glass she sold to her distributors and pick up any items she needed, like groceries or supplies. And every week without fail, Clay would show up at the post office to ask her to go out with him. She would politely turn him down, and he would follow her around town bugging her to have a meal with him.

“Clay’s a nice guy and all, but I just don’t feel that way about him,” Abby said, petting Bo and throwing the ball again.

“One day you’ll meet the right man. Thank you again for keeping an eye on Gloria and Bo for me,” Edna said as they walked up to the horse trailer attached to the back of her pickup truck.

“No problem. You know I enjoy their company when you take your little trips,” Abby said with a laugh, watching as Gloria, Edna’s old mule, tried to nudge her head out of the little window. Gloria loved the apples Abby always gave her.

“Well, you are the only one Gloria doesn’t try to bite and push around.” Edna opened the trailer and backed Gloria out. Bo danced around the old mule’s feet trying to play.

“How long are you going to be gone?” Abby asked, pulling an apple out of the smock she wore over her shirt and jeans. “I hear there’s a storm coming in tomorrow night that’s supposed to be pretty bad.” She held out the apple for Gloria, who swept it out of her hand crunching on it as Edna led her over to the small corral near the cabin.

“Yeah, I heard about it. We’re supposed to get a couple of inches of rain and possible severe thunderstorms. I plan on heading out as soon as I leave here so I can miss it. I’ll be back by the end of the week. Jack and Shelly are having Crystal’s birthday party on Thursday. I’ll drive back on Friday,” Edna said as she let Gloria go with a swat to her flanks.

“Do you have time for a cup of tea or coffee?” Abby asked, watching as Gloria walked into the small barn attached to the corral. Abby had already put down a thick bed of hay for Gloria in one of the stalls and had fresh food and water.

“A cup of coffee would be great,” Edna said, following Abby up the steps and into the small cabin.

Abby loved her small home. It had two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, a small living room, and a combination dining room/kitchen. A huge fireplace dominated the living room, and small pellet stoves occupied each bedroom for the chilly winter months. Luckily, it was getting to be early summer, so except for an occasional cool night she wouldn’t need to light either the stoves or the fireplace. The cabin had large windows in the kitchen and living room, which let in an abundance of natural light.

Abby’s grandfather owned his own music business in Los Angeles, and her grandmother had been a songwriter. Both had been extremely talented. When Abby’s mom fell in with the wrong crowd, they thought moving to the mountains would get her away from it.

Unfortunately, her mother ran away, instead, and at seventeen, she became pregnant with Abby. Abby had only been a month old when her mom dropped her off and disappeared. Two years later, she was found dead from a drug overdose along with her current boyfriend. Abby’s grandparents were devastated by the death of their only daughter and did everything they could to make sure Abby was kept out of that type of life.

Abby had her grandmother’s gentle personality and love for the arts. Her grandmother used the time in the mountains to write songs and taught herself the art of glass blowing. Soon, her grandfather had taken up the hobby, and it became another business with the help of the Internet. In the past six years, Abby had made a name for herself internationally with her beautiful creations.

Edna and Abby spent the next half hour catching up on Edna’s family who lived in Sacramento and Abby’s new contracts from several different museums asking to display her work. Bo was content to lie on the rug in front of the hearth watching his tennis ball.

Before long, Abby was watching the tail lights of Edna’s pickup truck disappear down the steep driveway of her home. Abby called Bo to come back as he tried to follow Edna’s truck, laughing as he looked back and forth, trying to decide who he wanted to stay with. A promise of a treat soon had him running back up the steps of the cabin and into the warm interior.