21. Avery
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Avery
With my glass of iced tea in one hand and my book in the other, I turn toward the back door.
We got back from the softball games about an hour ago, and now my plan is to relax in the backyard for the rest of the evening. I don’t know where they’ll set off the fireworks, but maybe I’ll be able to at least get a glimpse of them from here.
There’s a sharp knock at the front door. Shifting my book to the crook of my elbow, I open it. Will stands there, staring back at me.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“Umm… I was going to go read out back.”
“No.”
“No?”
“You’re coming to the barbecue with us.”
My eyes dart to the side, seeing his knuckles turning white from how tightly he’s gripping the doorframe.
“Oh… Do you need me to watch Lyla?” I ask. They are all going to a barbecue at the guys’ parents’ house.
“No.”
I groan internally. “Then why can’t I go read?”
“Because you’re coming with us.”
“But why?”
He sighs loudly. “Because you just are.”
I stare at him, not saying a word.
He sighs again. “Because we want you to.”
I cock my head to the side. “You mean, they want me to.”
His eyes close for one… two… three seconds. “No, I want you to come, too.”
A smirk tilts at the corners of my mouth. “You want me to come?”
“Avery,” he growls, his voice a clear warning.
“And how exactly do you plan on making that happen?”
Before I can register what’s happening, my glass of tea and book are snatched from my hold and set on the table beside me, and I’m hauled over Will’s shoulder.
“What the hell?” I holler, pounding my fists into his muscular ass. He doesn’t say a word, just keeps marching across the gravel drive.
“Will,” I scream louder. “Put me down.”
“No.”
Is that the only word in his vocabulary right now?
“I don’t even have shoes on,” I say, pinching his ass. That at least gets a growl out of him.
“On it,” I hear Miles say before he jogs toward the guesthouse.
The fuck?
Will plops me down on the driver’s seat of his truck.
Again… the fuck?
He lifts me up, maneuvering me to the middle seat. Reaching over me, he secures the seatbelt over me. I’m so confused. I don’t even know what to say.
“I don’t trust you anywhere else in the car,” he says, sliding in beside me.
I just glare at him.
His hand lands on my leg. His long fingers are spread wide, encompassing most of my thigh. “You’re staying right here, rebel, so you don’t weasel your way out of this.”
Shivers pass through my whole body. Whether it’s from his touch on my skin or the fact he wants me this close, I don’t really know.
Either way, I’m not complaining. I can be angry at him and enjoy his presence at the same time. Right?
Miles jumps in the truck on my other side. He hands me my purse and the sandals I was wearing earlier.
“Phone?” I ask.
“In your purse,” Miles says.
“Okay,” I huff, reaching down to slide my shoes on.
“So, you’re coming?” he asks.
“Like I had a choice,” I say, motioning to the grump on my other side.
“Yes,” Lyla says from behind me. “Grandma makes the best food.”
“Hey,” Will says.
“Your food’s good, too,” she adds quickly. “But… Grandma’s is better.”
I’m pretty sure she didn’t want anyone else to hear that part, but we all did.
Will starts laughing as he backs down the driveway, clearly not offended by his niece’s words.
A fingertip trails down my neck, just behind my ear. Another round of shivers courses through me.
Owen.
He doesn’t say anything, but his thumb continues its path up and down across my skin. I lean into his touch, not wanting him to pull his hand away.
I am so screwed.
Gregory and Shana Kingston are probably the nicest people I’ve ever met. Within two minutes of walking into their home, they had both wrapped me in a warm hug and made sure I had a cold drink in my hand.
I might have been a little nervous before we got here, but they’ve made me feel like I’ve been here a hundred times before.
Now, I sit on the shaded deck on the porch swing, sipping a frozen margarita Shana made for me.
Lyla and Miles are filling up a bunch of water balloons with the hose. Owen and Will are gathered around the grill, talking to their dad while he grills the hamburgers and hot dogs.
Shana walks out through the sliding glass door with her own margarita in hand and sits down beside me.
She gently pats my leg. “I’m so glad you could be here, sweetheart.”
“Thanks for having me.”
She waves me off, like it’s nothing. To her, it probably is. To me, it means a lot.
I might have resisted coming when Will literally manhandled me into complying, but it’s nice to be around a family again. Even if they aren’t mine.
“You’re from Texas?” she asks.
“Austin, yeah.”
“I’ve only been there once, but it’s a great city. Are you going back after the summer?”
Austin is an awesome city, but it isn’t my city anymore. Maybe when the grief of losing my dad isn’t as fresh, I’ll be able to appreciate all the little things that bring back memories of him.
But that time isn’t now. It’s too painful, too raw.
I shake my head. “No, I won’t be going back. At least not right now.” I have the urge to tell her more. “My dad died a few months ago, and it’s too painful to be there.”
“Oh, honey,” she says softly. She wraps her arms around me, pulling me into her side. “I knew something had happened, but none of the boys would tell me anything specific.”
I let my head fall against her shoulder, soaking up her motherly comfort.
“Is your mom in the picture?” she asks, almost tentatively.
I drag in a deep breath. “She passed when I was a kid.”
Her hand squeezes my arm. “Sweetheart,” she whispers, “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all of that. Losing someone you love is the worst pain imaginable.”
I know she means every word she’s saying. They aren’t just meaningless platitudes said by someone looking to appease their own feelings.
She’s a mother who lost her child. She understands this more than most, more than anyone ever should.
“I’m sorry you lost Olivia. I know I didn’t know her, but she sounds like a wonderful person,” I say, swiping at the single tear that falls.
I can feel her hitched breath as she inhales. “She was,” she says.
We’re both quiet for a minute before she speaks up again.
“We have to keep living after they’re gone. We must live for them as much as we are for ourselves and for the other people we love who are still here.”
Her words hit me right in the chest. As hard as it might be, I have to find a way to live my life now without my dad. I need to find what that life looks like and what’s going to bring me joy, like I know he’d want for me.
I nod against her shoulder, taking a couple deep breaths. We both have tears in our eyes when we pull apart.
“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we.” She laughs, wiping at her eyes.
I chuckle, doing the same. Glancing out over the yard, I see Owen staring at us. He mouths the word “okay?” with a slight tilt of his head.
I shrug my shoulders and nod. I’m as good as I can be right now.
He nods. His eyes stay trained on me for a few more second before he turns back toward his dad.
Shana is looking at me with those knowing eyes so many moms have. To distract her, I ask, “Have you lived in Aspen Springs your whole life?”
She smirks, like she knows exactly what I’m doing. Luckily, she plays along.
“No, Greg and I moved here shortly after we got married. We fell in love with it and knew this was where we wanted to start a family. We used money he got from his family inheritance to start the store. Then Will came along, and we’ve been here ever since.”
I take a sip of my forgotten drink. “I can see why you chose to stay. I love this town.”
“Would you ever want to stay?” she asks, a glimmer of something almost hopeful in her words.
“I’m taking an internship in California in the fall.”
She nods a few times. “I hope it’s everything you want it to be.”
I could tell her it isn’t really what I want to be doing, but I just give her a small smile. The vision of my future seems foggier than ever lately.
She hums quietly. “This town gave Greg and me a fresh start when we needed it at that point in our lives.”
I can’t ignore the part of me that yearns for this town to be my fresh start, too. A new home.
“Is that why you guys do so much for the community?” I ask to distract myself from my thoughts. I don’t know all the details, but I know they use a lot of their money to support the kids in town.
When Miles told me how wealthy their family was, I was shocked. None of the brothers act like they grew up with silver spoons in their mouths.
Then, when he explained what his parents chose to do with said wealth, I wasn’t surprised at all. I hadn’t met their parents at that point, but I knew the three men they’d raised.
She nods. “The inheritance and some good investments have provided us with more money than we could ever want.” She laughs to herself.
“Greg and I aren’t flashy people. We never wanted a rich life full of things.
We just wanted a business we could run together, a home filled with love, and our kids happy. We got that in spades.”
Her palm slides over her pant leg, smoothing out the wrinkles. “We just wanted to give back some of that love to others. My family life growing up wasn’t great, so I’ve always wanted to do what I could to bring joy to kids’ lives.”
“I think it’s amazing what you’re doing,” I say.
“Food’s ready,” Will says, walking up onto the deck with a tray of meat in his hands.
Shana and I share a smile before walking over to the picnic table where everyone is gathering.
“Who do you want on your team?” Greg asks Lyla.
“Uncle Miles,” she says instantly, causing a smug grin to spread across his face. “And Grandma and Grandpa.”
“Are you sure?” Owen asks. “They’re old.”
Shana steps forward, smacking Owen on the shoulder. The rest of us laugh.
“Maybe, but I love them,” Lyla says, leaning into Greg’s side. He leans down, kissing her forehead.
“Your loss,” Owen says wrapping one arm around me and one around his oldest brother.
We all divvy up the balloons, each team moving to opposite sides of the yard.
“Is this just going to be a free-for-all?” I ask, eyes darting between my two teammates.
They both shrug. “Pretty much,” Will says.
“Just stay on this side of the yard,” Owen says, picking up a few balloons.
“And hit them with the balloons,” Will adds.
“I could have figured that part out,” I say, rolling my eyes.
Lyla counts down from five, then screams, “Go!” Balloons start flying all over the place. I try to hit Miles because out of the four of them, he seems like the best target.
He hops to the left, dodging the balloon. “So that’s how it’s going to be,” he shouts. Then balloon after balloon fly at me at surprising speed.
I guess battle isn’t my thing because I start screaming and run to cower behind the grill that’s luckily on our side of the yard. Several balloons crash against the metal behind me. Water and colorful rubber bits fly around me.
Peeking over the top, I lob the two balloons in my hands to their side. Miles already has an armful ready to throw.
How is he so fast?
Just when he’s about to launch one at me, a balloon hits his side. Owen slides in beside me. The momentum carries me down onto the grass as he falls on top of me.
His boyish grin makes my heart beat a little faster. Seeing him happy is one of my favorite things in the whole world.
“Come on, gorgeous. Stop being a chicken,” Miles’s voice rings out.
Owen leans down, giving me a quick kiss before sitting back up.
“You, too, soldier boy,” Miles adds.
Owen just rolls his eyes, but his smile stays in place. He holds his hand out, pulling me up to sit beside him.
“Are you two kidding me right now?” Will shouts. He’s trying to dodge the balloons, but as the only available target, he’s getting nailed left and right.
He runs at full speed toward us, scooping me into his arms. “You’re getting out here to help me,” he growls.
I latch onto Owen’s hand, pulling him back into the fray with us.
“You’d better watch it,” I say into Will’s ear, “or I’m going to think you like having me in your arms.”
His face goes serious. “Maybe I do.”