Chapter 22 The Deed
The Deed
She could no longer fake her enthusiasm. While standing at the bar to order another round of drinks, a wandering hand brushed Ava’s ass. Again.
She sighed in frustration and tapped her foot on the sticky floor, willing the bartender to hurry back with her drink order.
Ava looked over her shoulder, scanning the bar for Summer in the corner booth they’d snagged, but she couldn’t see through the packed crowd.
Early July was peak tourist season in Cedar Falls and the busiest the bar would be for the rest of the year apart from Labor Day weekend.
“Two Jack and Cokes.” The bartender slid two plastic cups across the bar.
“Thanks.” Ava flashed him a smile and threw a few dollars in the tip bucket.
She grabbed the drinks and threaded through the crowd, grateful to be wearing sneakers with how many times her toes got stepped on.
She blew an errant curl away from her face when a patron’s elbow jostled her on her way by, causing her to stumble the last few steps toward the booth.
One more drink, then I’m convincing Summer to call it a night.
She breathed a sigh of relief at escaping the crowd and slapped the drinks down on the table.
Except Summer wasn’t alone. An attractive man with slight stubble and wavy red hair swept back to reveal his blue eyes learned into Summer’s personal space.
His arm slung across the back of the booth; he leaned closer to say something in Summer’s ear that made her toss her head back in laughter.
Ava caught Summer’s eye and raised an eyebrow at her in an unspoken question. You good?
Summer nodded back with a smile. “Thanks for the drink. Ava, I was getting to know Caleb. He’s visiting Cedar Falls and is interested in getting the local experience. Caleb, this is my best friend, Ava.”
The man reached out to shake Ava’s hand. Smile lines crinkled at the edges of his eyes. Summer certainly knew how to pick them. “Nice to meet you, Ava,” he said.
“You, too. I hope you enjoy your visit,” Ava responded. Not interested in third-wheeling it, Ava took advantage of Summer’s distraction with a potential hook-up to excuse herself. “I’m going to step outside for a breather. I’ll be back in a few, Summer.”
“Are you sure? Caleb is here with a few friends. They’re coming to join us any minute,” Summer asked with a hopeful look.
Ava recalled the condom Summer slipped into her purse before they came out tonight. Just in case, Summer had said. There was no scenario where Ava would hook up with a random guy she met at the bar tonight.
An overwhelming need to escape swelled in Ava. The pounding music and shouting voices grated on her nerves. Conflicting scents of musky aftershave and floral perfume from the surrounding people made Ava’s head fuzzy.
“I’m sure. Won’t be gone long. I’ll catch you in a bit,” Ava assured Summer.
She slipped away before Summer could say anything further.
Ava pushed her way through the crowd and outside.
The swinging door slammed against the frame, muting the thumping base of the music inside.
She filled her lungs with fresh mountain air to calm her hammering heart rate.
“You alright there, Ava? Do I need to drag some dirtbag outta there?”
Ava startled at Pete’s voice. A rare occurrence for the Mucky Duck, but when the crowds picked up, Pete sat guard on the lookout for troublemakers.
She doubted there was much he could do, given his bad right knee and the fact he was well into his seventies, but she appreciated his concern.
Cedar Falls locals were good about protecting their own.
“Everything’s fine. Got a little overwhelmed. I’m going to take a walk to cool down.”
Pete stared at her for a long moment before responding.
“All right then, but you let me know if you run into trouble.” He patted the wooden baseball bat propped against the wall beside him and winked at her.
“By the way, your brothers get back alright? Noah stopped by earlier to drive Lucas home after he drank half a bottle of our good whiskey. You kids hanging in there?”
Ava frowned, knowing her brother getting drunk in the middle of the afternoon was her fault.
It hurt even more that her brothers seemed to be there for each other despite their anger, but neither of them had checked on her.
She pushed her guilt into a tiny box, like the many others she used to ignore her emotions.
“I’m sure they’re fine. Haven’t seen either of them this evening.
I’ve been spending time with Summer.” She paused as the countless true crime documentaries she’d watched flashed through her mind.
“Speaking of Summer, can you keep an eye out for her until I get back? She’s hitting it off with a guy inside, but you can never be too careful. Red hair, wearing a navy pullover.”
Pete nodded, reaching back to grab his bat and hold it across his lap. “You got it.”
She gave him a genuine smile, relieved to know Summer had backup if she needed it.
“Thanks, Pete. I’ll be back soon.”
Ava followed the sidewalk with no destination in mind, only knowing she couldn’t stand to be in the crowded bar for another moment. The weight of the afternoon’s revelations weighed heavily on her mind, even after a couple of drinks. Everything felt like it was her fault.
Dad’s debt. Dad’s will. Lucas’s anger. Noah’s sadness. Alec’s denial.
Lost in self-pity, Ava came to a stop when a light caught her attention.
The Agatha Building.
Her heart sank each time she passed the building and saw the renovations underway.
The dream she’d once shared with Owen was officially dead.
Her foolish, love-stricken dream. The reason she’d studied at Columbia University and pursued learning from the best five-star hotels in New York.
Her eight-year career was all for nothing because she’d walked away from her future with Owen.
Her frustration with herself swelled.
Driven by an irrational need to see who was behind the renovations of the building, Ava crossed the street to peek inside.
No longer riddled with the broken windows she and Owen used to climb through, Ava went straight for the front door.
The handle gave way under her hand, easily turning to grant her entry to the building.
Someone must be inside.
She didn’t care.
Resolved to find answers, she shoved her way inside.
Her eyes grew wide with amazement. Gone was the peeling wallpaper and moldy smell of water damage.
In its place were gleaming, restored wood floors.
The smell of fresh paint filled the room from the sage green walls.
Ava gasped in delight. The renovations were exactly how she would have done them, down to keeping the original crown molding.
A shuffling of papers brought her examination of the room to a halt.
At an old desk on the opposite side of the room sat Owen, studiously examining a stack of paperwork. The dark wood had intricate gold designs and knobby legs. His grandfather’s. The one they’d talked about using in the bed-and-breakfast if they were to restore it. A piece of history, they’d said.
Ava stepped closer, casting a partial shadow over the scattered papers.
Owen’s head snapped up. She watched him remove his earbuds and set them aside.
His eyes pinned her to the spot. She couldn’t move closer if she tried.
The calming breaths she’d taken since leaving the bar did nothing to calm the turbulent beating in her chest as Owen pushed himself to stand.
He placed both hands on the desk in front of her, leaning toward her.
“Ava.” His voice was gruff, filled with something she couldn’t decipher.
“Owen.” She couldn’t muster another response. Her confusion clouded her good sense.
Is Owen responsible for renovating the Agatha Building?
She swallowed to avoid choking on the tense silence that surrounded them.
Owen hung his head instead of looking at her. “I guess you know now.”
“Know what?”
Owen lifted his head to spear her with a look. A line appeared between his furrowed brows, and his jaw clenched. His deep brown eyes locked on hers. “You know I bought the Agatha Building. I’m the one renovating it.”
Ava wracked her brain for their conversations about the renovation.
Whenever she commented, he would brush her aside.
She’d thought he was as in the dark as her.
But that wasn’t true. It had been him all along.
The day he was shirtless outside the building, saving her from tripping over pipes.
The details of the interior matching her vision.
His meetings with the stunning redhead who was in the charge of the Historical Society.
It was all him.
“Why?”
“You know why, Ava.”
Her knees almost buckled under the intensity of his stare. The air was a live wire, threatening to shock them both. A flush crept up Ava’s chest and her heart thundered even harder.
“After all this time?” Her voice felt small in the face of the truth she couldn’t comprehend.
“I never forgot our dream. But it doesn’t matter now. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriend?” His voice took a sharp edge, cutting Ava to the core. The change in topic gave her whiplash.
“Boyfriend? What are you talking about?”
“That guy. He was asking around town for you today. Came into the café and acted like he knew the place. Said he was looking for his girlfriend. Wanted to surprise her.” Owen scoffed and crossed his arms.
The bitterness in his voice was unmistakable. Owen was pissed. At her.
“Are you jealous, Owen?”
He shook his head and scoffed again. “Jealous of that prick? No. Just wish you’d been honest with me since coming into town. I thought–” Owen cut himself off.
“You thought what?”
“It doesn’t matter. Forget it.” She watched Owen take a step back from the desk. He was shutting down, shutting off. She couldn’t bear to watch them repeat history.
Ava stepped around the desk, closer to him. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t know what he told you, but we’re not together. Haven’t been for months. I turned him away. Told him to return to New York because we’re over.”
Owen paused his retreat. Ava took that as a good sign and stepped closer.
“It never would’ve worked between us, anyway. Can’t seem to make it work with anyone.” Ava huffed a humorless laugh at herself.
She watched Owen grind his jaw, but he refused to speak.
Worried she would lose him, Ava closed the gap between them so they were both standing on the same side of the desk.
She glanced down at the paperwork he’d been focused on when she interrupted him.
It was a standard building permit, but that wasn’t what caught her attention.
In bold, capital letters across the top of the page read the building's name.
Birdie’s Bed and Breakfast
Shock wound through her body, leaving a ringing in her ears. She pulled her gaze from the desk and looked at Owen. His eyes roved her face, cataloging each emotion. It was like he could see her inside out.
“Why does that paper say, ‘Birdie’s Bed and Breakfast’?”
Owen uncrossed his arms. The rolled-back plaid sleeves revealed the veins in his flexed forearms as he slowly clenched and unclenched his fists, awakening an inferno inside of Ava.
“You know why,” he said deliberately.
Ava rose at the challenge in his voice. Without taking a second to consider her actions, she fisted his flannel shirt and pulled him closer. Owen grabbed her hips, picking her up and placing her on the desk. She spread her thighs wide so he could step between them.
Owen took the hint and pressed his hips flushed to her center, the bulge in his jeans pressing deliciously against Ava’s core.
She released his shirt to twine her hands around the back of his neck.
One of Owen’s hands left her hip to palm the back of her head while his other hand kneaded her exposed thigh.
He lowered his face to hers, his lips ghosting over her own. His coffee scent made her mouth water.
“Ten more years could pass, and I could still never get over you, Birdie.”
Ava closed her eyes as the nickname washed over her. The first time he’d called her Birdie in ten years.
He fisted her hair in a firm grip and closed the nonexistent gap between them.
The first touch of his lips on hers felt like home.