He waved me off, pulling a bottle of ginger ale from the fridge. “Take your time.”
“Back in a minute.”
* * *
Hunter
I looked around, curious. I had no idea how I had gotten here. Why I had asked Ava to stay last night and again to spend the day with me. That wasn’t my usual MO. Then again, Ava wasn’t my usual sort of woman.
I hadn’t expected to end up at her house, but now that I had, I decided to explore a little. I wandered into the living area and turned to take it all in. Designed as an open plan, it was light and airy. The colors were muted greens, grays, and creams. The furniture simple and comfortable-looking. The kitchen had a lot of open shelving and tons of bottom cupboards and drawers. A large island separated the two spaces. A small two-seater table was tucked into the corner, situated under a window that overlooked the heavily treed back.
The front wall housed a nice-looking gas fireplace, the mantel made of rough stonework. I ran my hand over it, noting the craftmanship. A TV was higher up in an alcove fashioned for that purpose, all the wires hidden. My eye caught the wall opposite, filled with pictures, and I walked over, studying them. I recognized the older women as my visitors in many of the pictures and drew my assumptions about the men beside them as their husbands. There was a family picture of Ava with her parents and siblings. She resembled Cami a great deal, and she hadn’t been kidding when she said her dad and brothers were huge. They all towered over her and her mother, and they resembled their father. There was a large photo which I assumed contained most of, if not all, of the family. I lost count of the number of people in the picture, but I recognized the water behind the group. It was professionally done, the families in small groupings within the photo. They were all smiling and happy, and something tugged in my chest. I often wondered what it was like to belong to a family. It was something I had never experienced and knew I never would. I wasn’t built that way. My DNA didn’t allow me the peace to settle somewhere or connect strongly enough with a person on an emotional level to want to even try. Yet, there was a strange longing that drew me to the picture, and I studied it.
“That was taken last year,” Ava said, appearing beside me.
I startled, looking down at her. She had changed into a loose shirt and some sort of drapey cropped pants with old, beat-up runners on her feet. With no makeup and her hair loose around her shoulders, she was stunning.
“You’re not all related.”
“By blood, no. But we’re a family, nevertheless.”
The words were out before I could stop them. “I don’t understand.”
She smiled, tracing her finger over the picture. “My dad didn’t have a family growing up—not a good one anyway. Neither did Maddox or Bentley. They became their own family, and once they each fell in love, it grew. Most of us third gen grew up here. Some came and went, but they were always part of us. Part of holidays and good memories. I love them as much as if they were one of my brothers.” She shrugged. “I can’t explain it. They are all part of me. I would do anything I could to help them, and they would do the same for me.”
That was a completely foreign concept to me. With a shake of my head, I turned. “You ready to go?”
If my abrupt change of subject startled her, Ava didn’t show it. She stopped by the chair in front of the window and picked up a book. “Maybe I can read today,” she mused.
“You like to read?”
“Very much. But lately, I’m too tired.” She frowned. “I’ve been wanting to start this one for a while, but I can’t seem to keep the words straight.”
I plucked the book from her hands. “Historical romance?” I smirked. “I would have taken you for a murder mystery kind of gal.”
“I love those too, but this is my guilty pleasure.”
Before I could respond, the sound of heavy footsteps on the front deck echoed in the room. I met Ava’s startled gaze.
“Stay quiet,” she said, panicked.
But the sound of the footsteps, followed by the loud knocking, was too much for Cash. He began barking, rushing to the door, his tail wagging.
“Shit,” Ava muttered. “Sorry. I think it’s my brother.”
She moved past me, and I had no choice but to stand there. I wasn’t going to hide in the bedroom as if I were doing something wrong. Besides, the barking Cash did had blown any chance of a quick exit.
Ava opened the door, and a large man stepped inside. Cash went berserk, jumping up, wagging his tail, spinning in circles, beyond excited about a new visitor.