Chapter 10 The Caution Tape
The Caution Tape
The truck headlights cut through the dark road on his drive to Ava’s cabin.
Owen had intended to pick up Avery much earlier, but he couldn’t seem to catch a break.
Between Maddy’s premature departure, the Historical Society meeting running long, and his evening chef calling out sick, Owen had been putting out fires all day.
And through it all, worry about Avery lingered in the back of his mind.
He was a resilient kid, but it became a different story when his mom left town.
He turned onto the gravel driveway leading to the cabin.
The headlights illuminated the wild blueberry bushes lining either side of the path that turned into a steep decline to the property, bringing the lit-up cabin into view.
Owen parked the truck and rolled his neck to ease the tension before hopping out into the cool evening.
He glanced around for Summer’s SUV but only saw Gavin’s old Subaru.
A bolt of anxiety went through him. Had he misread the text from Summer? It was possible with how stressed he’d been today. He pulled out his phone to check the last exchange with his sister.
Owen: Finally wrapping up at the café. About to come get Avery.
Summer: We’re at Ava’s cabin. Come meet us here.
Owen: ?
She hadn’t responded further, but he was certain she would have informed him of a change in plans.
He pulled up Summer’s contact to call her but paused when the cabin door opened.
A strip of light escaped the cracked door, creating a lit up path to Ava in the doorway.
The yodel of the loon alarm registered at the same time as her smile.
“Hey. Thought I heard someone pulling in. Didn’t want to wake him up,” Ava said. She opened the door wider, inviting him inside.
Owen pocketed his phone and approached, unsure what to do about the way his chest throbbed at the sight of a relaxed Ava. Wavy strands framed her face, shining golden in the warm cabin light.
Ava’s laptop sat open on the dining table next to a lit candle that tried to replace the aroma of pizza with honey crisp apple and a single white lily in a glass of water.
He could hear the low hum of a movie somewhere in the cabin.
Owen glanced around the combined kitchen and dining area, surprised by the sense of comfort that settled over him.
It’s like coming home at the end of a long day.
“It's weird being here again, isn’t it? Like nothing, yet everything has changed all at once,” Ava said in a low tone.
“It’s like time stood still in this place. Has the loon alarm and everything,” Owen agreed.
Ava gave him a small smile and gestured toward the living area he knew was on the other side of the stairs.
“Avery fell asleep watching a movie. Summer needed to get home since she’s teaching sunrise yoga in the morning. Figured it was easiest to let him sleep until you could get him,” Ava explained before he could ask.
Relief filled him. “Sorry about this. Didn’t realize he’d end up here when I asked Summer to watch him today. How was it?”
Ava waved a hand dismissively in his direction. “We had fun. Avery’s a cool kid. We gave him the full cabin experience. You know, canoeing, blanket forts, a movie on the old projector screen.”
She nodded toward the living room and walked to the hallway in front of the stairs. Owen followed, his eyes dropping to the sight of her hips swaying in front of him. He never could resist the view of Ava in those tight yoga pants.
He shook himself of the thought and stopped beside her at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the wall. On the other side of the stairs, in the living room, Avery lay sprawled in a blanket fort on the floor. The projector screen was down, playing a movie he recognized.
“Avery and his mom are reading this book series together,” Owen said.
“Yeah,” Ava whispered. “That’s why he picked it. Lucky for him, dad had all the movies on DVD. Got to explain what a DVD was to him today. God, did that make me feel old.”
Owen chuckled. “I can’t believe Gavin still had that projector. It must be at least twenty years old.”
“You know my dad. Never got rid of anything, especially if it still worked. Avery thought it was cool at least.”
Owen glanced once more at Avery’s sleeping form. His hair spread in all directions on the pillow, his chest rising and falling slowly. Warmth and relief drove away the last remnants of stress from his day, seeing his son comfortable and cared for in the most unlikely of places.
Then a flicker of bright yellow to his left drew his attention. Yellow caution tape stretched tightly across a hole in the stairs where a step was missing.
“What happened there? Avery didn’t break that, did he?”
Ava grimaced but shook her head. “That was me. The stair gave way under my foot a couple of days ago. Summer and Avery found dad’s stash of Halloween decorations when putting away the life jackets and had some fun.
I’m just glad I convinced them to go with the caution tape instead of the bloodied white tape. ”
“Good call,” Owen said.
They stood there in charged silence, neither of them moving from the narrow space where they watched Avery sleep.
The changing scenes on the projector cast moving shadows in the living room.
Owen was hyper aware of Ava’s presence next to him.
If he moved his hand an inch, it would brush her waist. She shifted on her feet and bumped into him, the brief contact sending a buzz up his arm.
Owen’s hand reflexively cupped her hip, her softness giving way under his fingertips.
“Oh, sorry,” she murmured. She pulled away, but his hand tightened, drawing her close enough to inhale the lemony-sweet scent of her hair. She’d always smelled like lemons and sunshine to him. She still does.
What was he doing? He had no clue. All he knew was she still fit perfectly in his palm and the warmth in his chest had more to do with the way she’d smiled at him in the doorway when he’d arrived than he cared to admit.
She peered up at him, following his lead and taking a step closer. Her pink lips parted, her eyes widening in an unspoken question. He squeezed her hip tighter, and she swayed toward him, pressing her palm against his chest. Her touch burned through his shirt.
She bit her bottom lip, and some being possessed his body because he lifted his other hand to trace his thumb across it like he had countless times in the past. Her warm breath skittered across his thumb, sending another buzz through his arm.
Ava leaned further into him, her chest grazing his own, trapping her hand between them.
A snore from the living room had them breaking apart. Ava stepped so far back her shoulders hit the door to the porch behind her. He yanked his head back in surprise, smacking it on the wall.
He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. Owen avoided her gaze and looked to the living room, where Avery now slept on his stomach. “I should get him home,” he said.
“Right,” Ava said in a hushed tone.
Owen approached his son and gently scooped him into his arms, praying he wouldn’t wake up. Avery’s head lolled against his shoulder and continued snoring, despite the jostling. His back tightened from the strain.
Either he’s getting too big or I’m getting too old for this.
Owen turned to leave the living room. Ava was nowhere in sight. He continued to the kitchen, where she waited by the front door. She opened it for them and followed him to the truck to open the passenger door for him, too.
He placed Avery on the bench seat of the truck, where he immediately curled into a ball. Owen shut the door quietly and faced Ava. She stood a few feet back, hugging her arms to herself to ward off the chill of the evening air.
Owen rubbed the back of neck. He was aware of the awkward distance between them, physically and otherwise. “Thanks for this. For everything,” Owen said with sincerity.
She gave him a tight smile and nodded. “Of course. Tell Avery he’s welcome back anytime,” she replied in a hushed tone, still concerned about waking his son.
The gesture only increased the warmth in his chest.
“Goodnight, Ava.”
He rounded the truck and hopped into the driver’s seat.
He took his time buckling in and checking his mirrors until he confirmed Ava was safely back inside the cabin.
Only when she closed the door behind her and the gravel drive became dark again, deprived of the warm lighting of the cabin’s open doorway, did he finally back out of the driveway.
His worries about Avery were now gone, replaced by the memory of Ava’s soft lip against his rough finger.