Chapter 26 #2
“Okay, count of three. One, two, three.”
They hefted up the dresser from either side, lifting it a few inches off the ground. Ava slowly backed out of the room and eased into the hallway.
“So, I heard something interesting this morning at the café while getting our coffee,” Summer said.
Ava’s arms shook from the weight of the dresser. “Need a break,” she panted. They put the dresser down. “What gossip is spreading around town now?” Ava rolled her wrists.
Summer raised her eyebrows, and Ava nodded. They both picked up the dresser again, edging closer to the stairs.
“Rumor has it Owen’s truck was spotted near the trail to the watermill last night,” Summer continued.
Ava almost lost her grip. “Break,” Ava said, out of breath. They were at the top of the stairs, the dresser angled to turn from the hallway down the stairway. She had a sinking feeling about what Summer would say next. “Owen’s truck was at the watermill. What about it?”
After a moment, they lifted the dresser. Ava carefully descended the top stair, balancing the weight of the dresser pushing down on her.
“Ms. Andrews said he got out of the truck with a blonde woman. Couldn’t see her face, but the whole town is buzzing about who it could be.”
“Oh?” Ava breathed, her lungs constricting. From the direction their conversation was taking or the strain of the dresser bearing down on her, she couldn’t be sure. Probably both.
“It had me thinking,” Summer grunted. “Break.”
They lowered the dresser. Ava held it back with her hip, reaching to the stair railing for support.
“Thinking what?” Ava ventured. They both took a few deep breaths and got into position to lift.
They slowly descended a few more stairs, putting them halfway down.
“Well, you disappeared for a long time the other night at the bar. And then Owen is spotted with a blonde woman the next night. At a place notorious for hookups. Made me wonder if it was you.”
Ava’s arms gave out a few steps from the bottom. “Break,” she shouted.
They dropped the dresser. The stairs groaned from the impact.
“I need you to take more weight. My arms are giving out,” Ava panted.
“I’m holding all the weight I can manage, Ava,” Summer snapped back. Summer never snapped at her. “Were you with my brother last night?”
Ava swallowed hard, rubbing the sweat off her forehead to stall. She knows. “Yes.”
Summer’s eyes closed, her chest rising and falling with deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, she drilled Ava with a hard look. “Let’s finish getting down the stairs.”
Ava’s heart pounded from the stress of the dresser’s weight and the strain of their conversation. They lifted the dresser. Ava descended the last steps. When her feet touched the solid floor, the weight of the dresser became too much for her to support.
“I need you to pick up more slack on your end,” Ava said.
“Story of my life,” Summer muttered.
Ava’s arms burned from the strain. “What does that mean?”
“I’m always picking up your slack, Ava.”
Ava’s arms went out, and she dropped the dresser. Losing support caused Summer to drop her end. Ava leaped to the side, and the dresser slid down the remaining steps and out the open porch door, coming to a rest after bumping against the sturdy porch railing.
Ava’s heart hammered. She looked at Summer, still standing a few feet above her on the steps. “Summer I–”
“I don’t know where to start. The fact that you’re seeing my brother behind my back, after years of me begging you to tell me why you broke up in the first place, or that fact that you don’t think Cedar Falls is worth coming back to without your dad’s cabin as an excuse.
Like I’m not a good enough reason. I’m never enough for you.
Or anyone, it seems,” Summer said. She lifted her eyes to the ceiling, furiously blinking back tears.
Ava stepped closer to the stairs. “That’s not true. You’re my best friend, of course, that’s enough reason for me to come back. You are worth it. Worth everything good in the world,” Ava pleaded.
“I’m just not good enough for you to tell me the truth?”
“That’s not–”
“Do you even know what you’re doing? Hooking up with Owen?
He has a kid, Ava. My nephew. And I’ll be damned if you break both of their hearts.
I love you more than anything, but you weren’t here after the breakup.
You didn’t see the shape Owen was in. You know who was?
Me. I’ve been there for him. For you. For Avery.
Without even knowing the fucking truth.”
Summer stomped down the stairs. The portion of the dresser still inside the doorway blocked Ava’s path where she stood to the right of the stairs.
Summer slipped around it to the left and into the dining area.
Ava rushed through the living room to the downstairs hallway that connected to the kitchen, hoping to catch her before she got too far.
Summer was already stepping out the door by the time Ava got there. She grabbed Summer’s hand to stop her.
“Summer, wait.”
Summer snatched her hand out of Ava’s grip, pivoting on her heel to face her. Her face was a blotchy pink from the frustrated tears she tried to hold back.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t upfront about my feelings for Owen since coming back to town. The other night at the bar wasn’t planned. We ran into each other, and one thing led to another, and I was waiting to talk to you until Owen and I settled things.”
“So, you two are back together?”
Ava bit her lip, weighing her words. “We have an agreement. We’re giving it a shot the next six weeks before we decide.”
Summer laughed in disbelief. She turned to look at the pond at the edge of the property, shaking her head. “So, you’ll fuck my brother for six weeks, get him and Avery’s hopes up that you’re staying, then you’ll go back to New York.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying–”
“So, you’re quitting your job in New York and moving here?”
Ava’s mind spun, unable to keep up with the spiraling conversation. “Well, no. I don’t know yet–”
“Great. Sounds like you two have everything figured out and nobody’s going to get hurt.
No wonder you didn’t tell me, because you knew I’d call you out for your half-cocked plan.
You never take accountability, Ava. You go around sticking your head in the sand, happy to let everyone else make decisions around you to keep you in the dark so you don’t have to face the consequences of your choices.
And I’ve made excuses for you. For years I’ve stood by you, but I can’t let you bring my family down with you.
” Summer turned on her heel and marched to her SUV.
Ava hurried after her. “Please, Summer. It’s not like that. I’m trying here. Trying to do what’s best for everyone.”
Summer opened the car door and slipped inside. She looked at Ava over her shoulder, the door poised to slam shut. “Count me out. When you’ve got your shit together, we can talk. In the meantime, I need a break from this friendship. From carrying the weight of our relationship.”
She slammed the door shut and drove away; the wheels screeching from the force of her escape.
Ava’s heart pounded in her chest, trying to process Summer’s words.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes, Summer’s words piercing the happy bubble she’d been in since her date with Owen.
Was she right? Would she only hurt Owen and Avery by giving their relationship a try?
The telltale crunch of gravel announcing someone’s arrival had hope rising in her chest, thinking Summer was turning around and they could talk this out.
Instead, her dad’s old Subaru crept down the drive and pulled to a stop feet away from her. Lucas and Noah exited the car, holding takeout bags from the Early Bird Café.
“You seem to make a habit of pissing off the Fowler siblings,” Lucas drawled.
“Everything okay, Ava? We passed Summer peeling out of here like her hair was on fire,” Noah asked, concern on his face.
Ava sighed, a few tears trickling free. Summer was gone. And she was mad. Ava worried their fight was something that couldn’t be repaired. “She found out about me and Owen,” she sniffed.
“Got it.” Noah threw an arm over her shoulder and walked her toward the cabin. “I’m sure you two will figure it out.”
Ava’s mind raced, turning Summer’s accusations over and over in her head. She wasn’t sure they would figure it out, and the prospect of losing Summer terrified her.