Abducting Abby: Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 1

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."