The words 'I broke off the engagement' shocked her still and she felt a cold chill down her back which signaled her adrenaline kicking in. Rachel wasn't sure she could have been more shocked iff she had said she was running away to join the circus. She didn't know how to respond as her brain struggled to assimilate the statement.
Abigail began talking again and Rachel half listened. It was clear her daughter was going through some kind of crisis. She loved Gabe! She'd just said so herself! This other person could only be a momentary thing, someone who was taking advantage of her cold feet. Abigail was a perfectionist, and she'd procrastinated this wedding so much - obviously because of her fear of it not going off perfectly. Now here was someone who could give her a way to run from that fear.
This was ridiculous. She'd taught her daughter to be stronger than this. "What are you thinking?" she finally asked, her voice strong and firm. When in doubt, Rachel retreated to her no-nonsense, trouble shooting persona - the one seen mostly at work. "Abigail, you've made a terrible mistake. You've obviously got cold feet. You've still got time. I'll call Gabe in and you can explain and I'm sure he'll forgive you. He's hurt now, but he loves you. He'll look past this."
She had to stop her daughter from making the biggest mistake of her life.
For a moment she was taken back to another conversation, one with her husband the night before their wedding. She'd stopped him from making a mistake then, and she'll stop Abigail now. After all, she was Daddy's little girl. Rachel had never realized how alike the two of them were.