Chapter 8
Ava
I went back a week later with a warm, freshly baked Arkansas Jam Cake in my car.
Trust me, I’d tried to stay away.
My friend Abby said I sounded like I was obsessed with the man. Or the ghost. Or maybe both.
She’d said it in a joking way, but I knew she meant I was getting lusty over a man I hardly knew. I’d had to remind her that she’d done the same thing when she first met Silas.
As I cleared the final turn of his meandering driveway, my heart sank.
His truck was gone.
Again.
Should I leave the cake? Or should I not leave the cake?
I was going to start running out of excuses to come over soon. If I drove away right now, he’d never know I’d stopped by, and then I could try again later.
But the cake wouldn’t be warm if I did that.
It won’t be warm anyway. Not unless he comes back in the next twenty minutes.
I got out of my car and balanced the cake in my hands. It was in one of my cake-shaped Tupperware containers.
When I got up to the front porch, I noticed a book propped up against his doorjamb, with an envelope leaned up against it.
After putting down the cake, I sat down next to it and looked at the envelope. It had my name on it.
Then I noticed the cover on the book and my mouth dropped.
“How did he…?” I muttered quietly, not even realizing I’d spoken out loud.
The cover had a little girl dragging a mannequin up a stairwell.
Irma’s Big Lie.
I never would have remembered the name. Somehow I’d remembered the character’s name being Alethea, not Irma. But this was definitely the book. I clutched the book to my chest as I tore open the letter.
He wouldn’t be leaving me notes and books if I hadn’t made an impression on him. Right?
Tyler felt it too.
There’d been an undercurrent between us. A magnetic force.
Ava,
The cookies were perfection, as was the evening we spent together. I’ve been kicking myself for not getting your phone number. Here’s mine. Will you leave yours? I’d like to see you again. If that sounds like something you want, let me know.
Anyway, I found your book. It’s from the Deer Springs library, so it’s only a loaner.
I checked it out with all the renewals possible, which means you can keep it for six weeks.
I wish it were a copy you could keep forever.
I’ve looked in all the second-hand shops in the area, just in case, but haven’t found a copy yet.
Look forward to seeing you soon,
Tyler
I clutched the letter to my chest as a happy sigh of contentment drifted past my lips.
For a man like Tyler, this was practically a declaration of love. In fact, I was keeping this as a memento… his first love letter to me.
If I had my way, there would be many more to come.
I’d met a lot of people in my life, and I’d dated a few of them, too. But no one I’d ever met had drawn me in as fast as this man had.
What I felt for him was confusing. It wasn’t reasonable to feel so smitten over a man after just one night, especially when it wasn’t even a date. But I was completely and hopelessly crushing on the man.
I looked at the letter.
There was no way I was leaving his front porch without seeing him. Nope.
Instead, I programmed him into my phone immediately, then dialed his number.
“Who’s this?” his rough voice picked up after the fourth ring, right before I was certain I’d be going to voicemail.
“Hey, Tyler. It’s Ava!”
“Ava. Well, hot damn! I’m glad you called. Guys, I’ve got to take a break. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I could hear a loud beeping sound over the phone, but couldn’t tell what it was.
The background noise got quieter, and he came back on the line. “How are you? Should I presume you got my letter?”
“Yeah. I got your letter. Are you coming home soon? I brought you a cake.”
He let out a loud breath. “I’m in Tahlequah at the junkyard. I came to get a spare part for the old truck I’m restoring.”
“Oh, too bad. No, what I mean is that’s great! I was just hoping to see you. That’s the part that’s bad, not about finding a truck part.”
Tahlequah was over the border in Oklahoma, in Cherokee country. If that’s where he was, he wouldn’t be back for hours.
His voice went low, sounding husky for a second. “Ava, I’m going to be awhile, but are you free tonight? Maybe we could… have a date? If that’s something you might be interested in.”
Butterflies skittered inside me. They weren’t even dancing. They were running up and down inside me like mad.
He said date.
A giddy laugh burst out of me. “Tonight sucks for me. I work in the evenings. I’m an emergency dispatcher, and I work mostly night shifts. I’m off tomorrow, though. What about then?”
“Tomorrow sounds perfect,” he growled out, sending a shiver of excitement through me. “I’m free anytime. What works for you?”
“Six p.m.? We can make it a cake date.”
“What’s a cake date, Ava?” he asked in a throaty groan, as though we were having phone sex.
“It’s where I teach you how to make a cake.”
He laughed, “We’re going to make a cake together?”
“Yes, we are. It’ll be piping hot right out of the oven. And then you’re going to tell me what was in that letter. I’ve been dying to know.”
“Oh. Is that why you’ve been stopping by?”
“No. Only partially. The other reason—the main reason—is to see you again. I had… fun.”
I could hear a sharp intake of breath. He rumbled, “I had fun, too.”
Then we were quiet for a moment, just listening to each other breathe on the other end of the line.
“You want the motor or not?” someone growled out.
That wasn’t Tyler. That was someone else talking to Tyler.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” he said.
I heard a loud crashing sound, like metal on metal.
“What’s going on there?”
“They’re crushing some cars. Look, I’ve got to go. But… I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I can’t wait.”
It made me want to cancel the plan and tell him I’d be there right after my work shift tonight. But that would be at four in the morning. And I’d rather be rested and freshly put together. I didn’t want him to see me after I dragged my raggedy ass home from work.
“I can’t wait either, Tyler. You’ve been on my mind.”
I winced even as the words slipped past my lips. If there’d been any question of how I felt about him, it was clear now.
But to my surprise, his voice went even lower, turning into hot gravel coated in honey. “You’ve been on my mind, too, Ava.”
I went weak in the knees and leaned against his front door, sitting there for a long time, even after we ended the call.
My heart was doing a happy dance, and my pussy was pulsing with impatient hunger.
I had the thrill of new love coursing through my veins.
Tyler likes me. He really does.