Chapter 4 The Lake #2
“I have trail mix. Want some?” Summer tossed him the bag she was holding.
Avery dug a wet hand into the bag and threw a handful in his mouth. His face twisted in disgust. “Ugh, did you eat all the chocolate again? You always take the good stuff,” he said. He glowered at Summer, but it only spurred on her teasing.
“There are still plenty of raisins in there. Your favorite.”
Avery huffed in annoyance and picked out the nuts. Between the two of them, only raisins would be left by the time they were done.
Ava took in the young boy. She’d left in such a hurry when they met yesterday, but her memory served her right—he was the spitting image of Owen.
With a wide smile and chocolate brown eyes she was sure got him out of all kinds of trouble, he was Owen’s kid.
Except for the freckles dotting his face.
Owen didn’t have a single freckle on his skin, only a tiny mole on his right shoulder blade and an oval birthmark on his bicep she had no business remembering was there.
And she especially had no business remembering all the times she’d kissed that very birthmark while curled against his side.
The dock jostled again from someone climbing up the ladder, yanking Ava from her inappropriate thoughts. Embarrassment flooded her when it turned out to be Madeline in a black bikini. Like yesterday, a black baseball hat with a rafting company logo across the top covered her wet curls.
“Jeezum, kid. I swear you get faster every time I see you,” Madeline said as she crested the ladder.
Avery beamed at his mom’s praise.
“Hey ladies, we thought it was the two of you out here on the dock. Avery couldn’t stop himself from swimming out to say hi.” Madeline smiled at them and sat next to Avery. This also meant she was sitting in front of Ava.
Just my luck.
“We’re having a lake day. Ava needed a break after her foot lost a fight with her stairs this morning. You remember Ava from yesterday, right?”
Ava resisted the urge to side-eye her best friend. Nobody could forget the awkward encounter at the café.
“Of course. Famous Ava. What happened to your foot?” Madeline’s eyes widened in concern. She glanced at Ava’s feet crossed on the deck.
Famous Ava?
Ava straightened and pulled her knees to her chest in an unconscious response.
She couldn’t help but compare her navy one-piece, designed to cinch in the waist, to the skin on display with Madeline’s bikini.
She was all about supporting women, but a small voice in her head whispered comparisons of Madeline’s flat stomach and toned arms to Ava’s generous hips and thigh dips.
Aside from their freckles, which Avery must’ve gotten from his mom, Madeline was the opposite of Ava with her lean build and wild curls.
“A stair gave way under my foot. Luckily, it was the second to last step, so I didn’t go too far.” Ava tried to force a chuckle, but it dried in her throat.
“Jeezum, glad you didn’t take a tumble down the stairs. That could’ve been bad.”
Ava considered Madeline’s words. She seemed genuine.
Nice even. But Owen’s wife being nice put Ava off-center, like she was walking on wobbly legs after a roller coaster ride.
Maybe she was overthinking it and should be grateful to have a cordial conversation with her ex’s wife. It was better than the alternative.
“I accidentally broke one of the porch steps one time when I jumped on it too hard. Dad fixed it. He can probably fix yours, too. He fixes stuff all the time,” Avery said. His hand kept digging in the trail mix in the hope Summer hadn’t eaten all the chocolate.
Summer smiled in amusement. Ava could discern the sparkle in her eye with certainty. She was about to stir up trouble.
“You’re right, squirt. Your dad knows how to fix stuff. I bet he’d be willing to lend a hand,” Summer said.
Ava glanced at Madeline, but she was fighting to contain a smile.
“I’m sure he could be persuaded,” Madeline replied.
Confusion swamped Ava at their exchange. What in the ever-loving hell was going on?
“Anyway, how much longer are you in town for, Maddy?” Summer asked.
Avery answered before Madeline could. “Mom’s here until Friday.”
Avery’s face lit up with excitement, and he grinned at Madeline. It was obvious how much he adored his mom. A pang of longing pierced Ava’s chest. A sharp and sudden reminder of what she didn’t have.
Ava tore her gaze away, but something about Summer’s question bugged her.
“Why are you here until Friday? Don’t you live here?” Ava winced and tried to correct herself. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”
Madeline waved her off. “Owen didn’t tell you? I don’t live in Cedar Falls. Gotta get back to work after this week. It’s busy season for white-water rafting guides this time of year.” Madeline tipped her head down and tapped the bill of her hat so Ava could read the logo.
Splash Tours River Rafting.
Her mind reeled with the information. She had a hard time imagining Owen in a long-distance marriage.
The long distance of their relationship, in part, had contributed to their own split.
Their end goal had been for Ava to move to Cedar Falls after college so they could be together.
Then their pregnancy scare brought their plans to a halt.
Avery pulled her attention to the present.
“Mom has the coolest jobs. In the summer, she’s a raft and ATV guide. When it gets cold, she works at a ski resort. It’s awesome all the stuff she gets to do.”
“That’s right, kiddo.” Madeline threw an arm around Avery and tugged him into a side hug. “I’m all over Maine during the year. Can never stay in one place. Blame my wanderlust.”
Ava drew a blank on how to respond. Instead, she smiled, hoping it didn’t come across as awkward.
“AVERY!” someone shouted from the shoreline.
Ava turned to see a group of kids on the beach, one of them waving his arms to get Avery’s attention.
“Come play volleyball,” the same kid yelled.
Avery jumped to his feet, abandoning the mostly empty bag of trail mix on the dock. “Mom, wanna come watch me play?”
“Sure thing, kiddo,” Madeline agreed and pushed herself to standing.
She looked back down at Ava and Summer. “I’m sure I’ll see you again before Friday,” she said, following Avery to the edge of the floating dock.
Madeline pulled off her baseball cap and shook out her hair before balling the hat in her fist. “I’ll race you back, kid. ”
And then they were gone as they dove into the water and took off in a race to the shoreline. Ava let herself rock with the undulating dock. She didn’t know what to make of her second encounter with Avery and Madeline.
Summer leaned over to nudge Ava’s shoulder with her own. “What are you thinking about so hard over there?”
“I’m thinking it’s weird as hell Owen’s wife is so nice to me and that she doesn’t live in Cedar Falls. I didn’t think Owen would want to be in a long-distance relationship again.” Ava shrugged with a casualness she didn’t feel.
Summer looked at her in shock, her eyebrows almost hitting her hairline. “My idiot brother explained nothing to you. What did you guys even talk about when he drove you home?”
Ava stiffened at the reminder of their conversation. “He shared his condolences about my dad, and I told him what I was doing in town. That’s pretty much it.” She left out the parts she’d rather forget and the sting of loneliness that hit her afterward.
Summer huffed and rolled her eyes. “My brother can be so oblivious sometimes,” Summer muttered. “Ava, he’s not married. Never has been. He’s basically a single dad. Has been almost all of Avery’s life.”
Ava’s jaw dropped, her brain short-circuiting. Owen is a single dad? Why does that make him even more attractive?
That explained why Madeline didn’t live in Cedar Falls and why Avery was so excited about her visit.
“Wait, so they aren’t together? Why is Owen raising Avery on his own?”
“It’s not really my story to tell, but from what I know they were friends.
One thing led to another, and Maddy ended up pregnant.
But you know Owen, once he found out, Mr. Responsible stepped into the dad role.
Maddy does her own thing, though, so Owen has primary custody.
Seems to work for the three of them,” Summer said.
Ava wracked her memories from ten years ago. She had a vague memory of Owen making a friend during his chef apprenticeship after college. And suddenly, it clicked. The reason Madeline’s name sounded familiar yesterday. But then she remembered a detail that confused her.
“Is Madeline the friend he met working at the restaurant in Portland after college?”
Summer tilted her head as she contemplated Ava’s question. “That sounds familiar. I think that might be where they met. I know they’d only known each other a few months before she got pregnant. Why?”
“Wasn’t she gay?” Ava blurted.
There was a pause, then Summer burst into laughter. Ava found herself annoyed at Summer’s lack of an answer.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh,” Summer said with a chuckle. “Yeah, she is. I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Trust me, you remember stuff like that about the woman your boyfriend is hanging around with,” Ava muttered.
Summer appraised her. Ava suspected she once again showed her hand without meaning to.
“That still doesn’t explain how she got pregnant,” Ava thought aloud.
“Girl, don’t ask me to explain what happened between her and Owen that resulted in Avery. My brother’s sex life is none of my business, and I don’t want it to be. But there is no denying those genetics.”
Ava didn’t doubt Owen’s paternity. That was as clear as the sky was blue.
Her mind spun with the possibilities. Was it a moment of passion or a night when the loneliness became too much to handle?
Or was it spite? She immediately dismissed that possibility.
Owen didn’t have a spiteful bone in his body, unlike her.
But a very tiny voice in her brain planted an accusation that hurt far more than any other. That Owen sought Madeline out to give him the child she didn’t.