4. Avery
CHAPTER FOUR
Avery
Okay. Maybe walking three miles back into Aspen Springs wasn’t my best choice to date.
I regularly go on walks, but the altitude here is no joke. I feel like my lungs are only filling halfway with air with each breath.
I found a car online that a lady in town named Maggie was selling. Today’s my last day before I start working tomorrow, so I figured this would be my best chance to get it.
I might not be staying in Aspen Springs beyond this summer, but I want a car of my own. I sold my dad’s before making the journey here, so this will be my first car that’s just mine.
A fresh start.
I can use it now and then bring it with me to California at the end of the summer for the internship I have lined up after finishing my master’s degree.
I could have asked one of the guys to drive me, but I wasn’t going to bother them over something I could easily manage on my own. All their cars were parked in front of the house, so I slipped out like a teenager breaking curfew.
I sigh in relief seeing the street sign showing me I’m in the right place.
The house in question is older but well kept with a gorgeous front porch that looks fairly new. Bypassing the ramp, I walk up the stairs and knock on the door.
A woman who appears to be in her mid-fifties opens the door. Her slightly graying brown hair is pulled back with a claw clip.
The edges of her mouth curve into a smile. “You must be Avery.”
“That’s me,” I say, returning her smile.
“I’ll grab the keys, and we can go look at the car,” she says.
I turn to look at the older SUV parked along the sidewalk in front of the house. I follow behind her when she returns with the keys. There’s a slight limp in her gait, but she makes it to the car.
“I loved this car, but my kids insisted I get something that would be easier for me to get in and out of. Grayson was especially persistent about it.”
I laugh as she hands me the keys. “At least they love you enough to bug you about that kind of stuff. It could be worse.”
“Could it?” she asks. Her voice drips with sarcasm.
I laugh even more. I like this lady. She’s feisty as shit despite facing some obvious obstacles in her life.
She waves her hand toward the car. “Go take it for a spin. See what you think.”
My eyebrows draw up toward my hairline. “Just like that? You don’t even know me.”
“Are you a serial killer or something?”
“Well, if I was, I’m pretty sure me stealing your car would be the least of your worries.”
“Touché. Go drive the damn car.”
Just as I’m about the close the car door, she hollers at me, “Don’t go murdering anyone out there with my car. At least wait until it’s yours to cause any damage.”
Holy crap.
I don’t know how I actually manage to drive the car around a few blocks with how hard I’m laughing. I don’t know the last time I actually laughed like this.
Too long.
I find her sitting on the front porch when I return. “It’s great. I’ll take it.”
“Glory be,” she says, nodding emphatically. “Glad you found your new murder machine.”
“What would your kids say if they heard you talking like that?”
“Grayson would try to tell me to stop. Hadley would just sigh but secretly be laughing.” She tilts her head to the side, thinking. “You and Hadley would actually be two peas in a pod, if I had to venture a guess.”
I hand her the check I just wrote out to her.
“You’re in town for just the summer, right?” she asks.
I nod. “That’s the plan.”
“What brings you to Aspen Springs of all places?”
“I’m nannying Lyla Kingston for the summer.”
Her features soften at the mention of the little girl. “I love that girl. She’s a fighter despite everything she’s been through.”
I nod in understanding. I might not know Lyla well, but I know what losing your mom at a young age is like. I could see the same determination burning in her eyes that still reflects in mine when I look in the mirror.
Maggie wags her brows at me. “Those Kingston brothers aren’t too bad to look at either. I think you’re going to have a mighty fine summer.”
All I can do is smirk because she isn’t wrong. Not even a little bit. All three of those men are fine.
With a few bags of groceries sitting in the front seat of my new car, I pull up in front of the guesthouse that’s mine for the time being. Putting the car in park, I can’t help feeling the rightness that blankets me.
I’ve felt adrift since my dad took his last breath, and for the first time since losing him, I feel like maybe I’m in the right place.
It might not be my forever place, but for right now, I know this is where I’m supposed to be.