Chapter 17
The Reunion
Ava pulled up to the curb outside the Portland Airport terminal after dropping Morgan off at the train station to catch her train back to New York.
The brakes on her dad’s old Subaru squealed in protest despite how gently she pressed her foot on the pedal.
She cast a glance at the white box strapped in the passenger seat.
Should she have warned her brothers about the extra passenger? Probably.
Her brothers strode through the automatic doors and stopped on the sidewalk, turning their heads in opposite directions in search of the right car.
Lucas looked like he had just left work, his quarter-zip layered over tan slacks and expensive loafers.
Their grandfather’s old watch gleamed on his wrist as he lifted the hand to run it through his gelled-back hair, tugging on the ends before letting go.
Noah towered over their older brother, his strawberry blonde hair catching the light as he stretched his neck from side to side.
He pushed his black frames further up his nose before spotting and waving at her.
Lucas followed Noah’s wave and scowled at the car, a stark contrast to Noah’s big grin.
She rolled the passenger window down. “Hey guys,” she said.
Lucas reached for the passenger door just as Noah called out, “Shotgun.”
“Too late. I already touched the handle,” Lucas replied.
“That’s not the rule and you know it. You’ve always been a cheater, Luc,” Noah complained.
Ava watched Noah accept the rolling bag Lucas held out to him and round to the trunk to load their bags. She popped the trunk as Lucas opened the passenger door.
“What up, Dodo?” Lucas said.
Ava narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. She suddenly felt less bad about the surprise waiting for him.
He stopped midway to sitting down, noticing the box clipped into the seat like a passenger. “What the hell is that?”
“Did I forget to mention I was carpooling? Say hi to Dad,” Ava replied.
“You’re so fucking weird. Unbuckle it.” Lucas scoffed, eyeing the box in disgust.
“Unbuckle it, what?”
Lucas rolled his eyes behind his Ray-Ban sunglasses. “Please unbuckle Dad’s ashes from the seat.”
Ava reached over to release the seat belt and picked up the box. “No problem, there you go. Was that so hard?”
“That’s what she said,” Noah chimed in, hearing the tail-end of their conversation as he opened the backdoor to climb inside.
“Nice.” Lucas grinned over his shoulder at Noah.
“Ugh, what are you, 13-year-olds?” Ava said. She thrust the box at Noah behind her. “Here, you hold on to Dad. You can spend some quality time together.”
Noah’s eyebrows pinched in confusion before breaking into a small smile. He carefully held the box, running his hand over the top. “Hey Dad, fancy seeing you here,” he said in a low tone to the box. He lifted his head to meet Ava’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “When did you get the ashes?”
“They arrived at the cabin on Monday. I didn’t realize they mail people's cremains like that. Or I would have if Lucas had warned me sooner–”
“I texted you as soon as I got the funeral home’s voicemail. I was in meetings all day.”
Ava rolled her eyes and continued, “Anyway, I thought we could all process this trauma together. You’re welcome,” Ava said.
“Like some kind of fucked up family exposure therapy. Charming, Dodo,” Lucas muttered, looking down at his phone.
“Don’t call me that, Lucy,” she retorted as she pulled the car away from the curb.
She felt a squeeze on her shoulder, and the subtle woodsy scent of Noah’s cologne filtered to the front seat.
She looked at him in the mirror. His face was split into a wide smile, a lock of hair flopping in front of his glasses.
“Thanks for bringing it. It feels kind of fitting to return to the cabin with a piece of Dad with us,” he said.
His blue eyes sparkled in the natural light, reminding her so much of their mom.
Noah was the peacekeeper sibling. His gentle personality the sensitive counterpart to their brother’s abrasive exterior.
“And ignore Lucas. He’s been pissy since our layover in Boston.”
Lucas scoffed instead of responding. He continued staring at his phone, his fingers flying across the screen.
Ava turned the volume up on the classic rock radio station, filling the lapsed silence of the siblings lost in their thoughts on their way to the cabin in Cedar Falls.
The blaze of the fire warmed Ava’s face in the cooling evening temperature.
While her brothers added dried twigs and debris to the fire pit, Ava was content to sit back and sip her old-fashioned.
The bitter orange taste blended deliciously with the smoky air.
Lucas may be an asshole most of the time, but he made a good cocktail.
When the Hanson siblings arrived at the cabin hours earlier, Lucas promptly raided their dad’s stash of liquor and deemed the half-empty bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon ‘acceptable’.
After a healthy slug of straight bourbon, he offered to make a round of drinks and Noah declared it was the perfect night to have a bonfire once they’d settled in.
Her phone lit up on her lap with a notification. She swiped to read the message from Summer.
Summer: You at the cabin?
Ava: Yup, just hanging tonight. Want to stop by and see the guys?
Summer: So glad you asked because we’re already on the way there.
Ava: We?
Moments later, headlights cut through the dark path of the driveway. Her brothers turned to track the car crunching on the gravel.
“Expecting company?” Lucas asked.
The car rolled to a stop, and Summer jumped out of the passenger door.
Noah smiled at the sight of her best friend. “I don’t think anyone can expect Summer. She just appears,” he laughed.
“She messaged as she was pulling up,” Ava explained.
“Typical Summer,” Lucas scoffed, taking a drink out of his glass like he needed the extra fortitude to deal with their guest.
“What’s typical of me? How I’m so wonderful and charismatic? Unlike some people,” Summer responded as she neared the fire and raised her eyebrows at Lucas.
“It’s nice to see you, Summer,” Lucas replied.
“Likewise.”
Noah rounded the fire and opened his arms wide, gathering Summer into a big hug. Summer laughed in response, returning the hug with a squeeze around his middle.
“Lucas may not mean it, but I do. It’s so good to see you. Thanks for taking care of Ava until we could get here,” Noah told her sincerely, releasing her from the hug.
“Aw, see, this is why you’ve always been my favorite.” Summer took a step back to look up at him.
Noah rubbed absently at the back of his neck with a shy smile.
“Hey, girl, whatcha drinking?” Summer greeted Ava.
“Old fashioned, want a sip?”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Summer snagged the offered drink and took a deep gulp. “That’s smooth. We came down here to invite you guys out to the Mucky Duck tonight, but it looks like you’ve already got a party going on here.”
As if on cue, the driver opened their door to exit Summer’s car. Owen stepped onto the gravel, his phone to his ear in conversation. He smiled at whoever was on the other side before saying his goodbyes and shifting to put his phone in the back pocket of his dark jeans. He gave a wave to the group.
Ava’s eyes roamed over him, taking in the white T-shirt clinging to his chest under the unbuttoned green plaid shirt rolled up to the elbow to expose his forearms. His boots crunched on the gravel as he neared the fire. He wore his hair down tonight, a change from his normal bun.
Had he rolled his plaid shirt up just to get her attention? If so, it was working.
He looked fucking edible.
“Hey man, good to see you.” Lucas grasped Owen’s hand to shake.
“You, too. Wish it was under better circumstances,” Owen replied.
Lucas waved off his response. “Death and taxes. Comes for everyone at some point.”
“Dude, too soon,” Noah reprimanded their brother, shaking his head. “It is good to see you, Owen.” Noah reached out to grasp Owen’s hand as well and pulled him into a quick hug. Owen clapped him on the back twice before pulling away.
“Why does Owen get a friendly hello?” Summer crossed her arms and pouted at Lucas.
“Because I like Owen.”
“You know what I like? Having a drink in my hand.” Summer was not one for subtlety.
“I’ll get you a drink. What do you want?” Noah asked her, ever the diplomat.
“I want what Ava’s drinking.”
“Alright, follow me, I could use a top off,” Noah invited her into the cabin.
A moment later, Lucas stomped after them, muttering about how Noah wouldn’t know his bourbon from his ass, leaving Ava and Owen alone outside.
Ava watched him from her comfortable spot.
Heat warmed her cheeks as her mind replayed their earlier encounter outside the Agatha Building.
Owen, sweaty and shirtless on the sidewalk, giving her an unfettered view of the tattoo that trailed his shoulder and across his chest. She dropped her gaze to his hands to banish the memory, but that brought her focus to his rolled-up sleeves. Good forearms were her weakness.
“Never a dull moment with our siblings around, huh?”
Owen’s question disrupted her ogling of his exposed forearms. “What?” She shook her head. “Oh yeah, I forgot how much Summer and Lucas butted heads,” she laughed.
“You feeling OK? Your face is red. Might want to scoot back from the fire.” He moved toward her like he was going to drag her chair further away.
“I’m fine.” She scrambled to come up with an excuse for her blush. “Must be the alcohol, not used to drinking much.”
He eyed the glass in her hand. “If you say so.”
She took a fortifying sip, which, unfortunately, loosened her tongue more than normal. “Glad to see you found a shirt,” she said.
“Come on now, it wasn’t that scandalous. You’ve seen me without a shirt. Many times, if I remember correctly.”
“I don’t know. Ms. Shirley looked scandalized to me. Think I saw her take a picture of you from the café window. Probably to revisit later, if you know what I mean.”