Chapter 6
He’d never had a woman at the cabin other than his grandmother. He was a solitary man and liked his peace, but there was something about Ava and Gracie that felt right. Something he was adamant he wasn’t going to delve too deeply into.
Ava had something on her mind. It wasn’t what she was saying, it was just that he’d started pick up on her little tells. Like the way she looked intensely at him and then just sort of glanced away without mentioning a thing. What was that about?
He wanted to talk to her as well…well, ask her out.
See if she’d be open to exploring that moment when they’d almost kissed.
He was particular about the women he slept with.
Guess it all came down to him not being a casual person.
His mom…she had been too casual. Making connections with everyone, expecting it to last, and then when it hadn’t, crashing hard and losing herself in drugs.
The truth was he was careful. He didn’t need a therapist like Ava to explain his behavior to him.
He finished his coffee, aware that these two women were stirring feelings he wasn’t ready to unpack. It was time to show her around the Navajo Nation here in Dark Canyon and then send her on her way.
Except he’d just been toying with asking her for a date. Those dual desires warred inside of him. He wanted to be safe. Wanted to protect himself from being hurt. Wanted to stay ignorant as to whether he was just like his mom or not.
Ava gave him a sweet smile as she got to her feet and took her mug into the kitchen. She moved with a fluid grace that he’d have to be dead not to notice. All long limbs and swinging hair.
Turning, she caught him watching her and tipped her head to the side, studying him again. But it was different this time. More female speculation. Interest and curiosity.
The same as his?
Was she wondering what he tasted like? If he had coffee breath at this moment? He was willing to risk it to find out what she tasted like. She’d probably be willing to risk it as well.
“Chay…”
“Ava…” he teased back.
“You’re watching me.”
“I am. You’re watching me back.”
“I definitely am…”
She trailed off. There was a but or an except implicit at the end of that phrase. “What’s stopping you?”
“You.”
“Me? Ava, I’m not saying no.” He held his arms out to his side. Glancing back at Gracie to make sure the baby was safe, he noticed her eyes were closed and she was sleeping with the giraffe in her hands.
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?” He took a step closer to her.
She chewed her lower lip and then shook her head. “Promise you won’t get mad.”
That didn’t sound very promising. He put his arms down, crossing them over his chest. “I’ll have to hear it first.”
“Oh…it’s not…I was just going to say that I like you and I wouldn’t mind kissing you, but I’m not sure what you have in mind.”
“Well, let’s kiss and see where it goes,” he said. “Not sure why I’d be mad at that.”
Her mouth quirked in a half grin. “That’s not the thing…before we start anything I have to tell you that I really think you should be Gracie’s adopted father.”
Well, fudge. That wasn’t what he’d expected at all. And she was right to caution him not to get mad, because it did piss him off. “What the hell? I told you I’m not father material. Gracie is a sweet little one, but that’s it. You and me? We don’t truly have anything to do with her.”
She took a step closer to him. The scent of her floral perfume teased him and he turned his face away. He didn’t want to like her or be turned on by her right now. She’d ticked him off bringing this up.
“But we do. I think you avoid caring about people and keep everyone at arm’s length. I’d want more than that if I got involved with you.”
He got his back up. Putting his hands on his hips, he glared at her, but she just raised her eyebrows at him. “I’m not even sure we’ll like kissing each other. This is a bit much, don’t you think?”
She came closer to him, not stopping until there was barely an inch of space between them.
Then she reached up and cupped his jaw. “No. I really like you, Chay. There is a spark between us. I think about you when you’re not around.
I miss you. So if I kiss you, I know myself well enough to realize I’m going to want more. I’m not sure you can deliver.”
Well, hell.
That rocked him back on his ass. He could barely think with her hand on his face, her breath teasing his neck and her gazing into his eyes. God damn, she was so sincere as she looked up at him. He’d have to be a stronger man than he was to resist her.
“I’m good with you and me. I can give you what you want. I’m not going to agree to anything with Gracie to get you.”
“I’m not asking that,” she said. “I’m just trying to figure out if you are cautious or completely closed off. That’s my dilemma.”
He took a deep breath. She wasn’t the first woman to ask him that. Usually it was after a few dates and they’d slept together. But Ava was cautious. He didn’t know why…maybe he should be asking a few questions.
But who wanted to delve into baggage when there were sparks between them? “I’m cautious.”
She nodded and then went up on her tiptoes.
Her hand on his face slid to his shoulder to balance herself as she brushed her lips against his.
He almost groaned at how good she tasted as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him.
Opening his mouth, her tongue tangled with his and he knew that this woman was going to change him.
The way she talked and tasted. The way she felt in his arms, setting fire to his blood. The way her honesty made him want to be a different man than he’d been before.
Chay. He was stirring her in a way no one had in a very long time. That feminine part of herself she’d thought had died with Greg. Shoving that thought away, she concentrated on his kiss. It was bold and strong, like the man himself, but tempered, also like him.
He let her set the pace, which suited her. He tasted of coffee and man. He smelled of the outdoors and the smoke from the fire he had going in the fireplace. His hands on her hips were strong, but he made no move to pull her closer. Just kissing her and exploring this spark between them.
She’d overtalked it, so in a way she felt very lucky that he’d still kissed her. But that was the way she was. No two ways about it. She overthought everything and needed to sort stuff out in her head before she acted.
His tongue rubbed over hers, and a shiver raced down her spine, making her lean forward slightly until her breasts were nestled against his chest. He groaned, lifting her off her feet. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, deepening the kiss.
The doorbell rang, startling her. Chay lifted his head, his skin flushed and his expression tense as he set her on her feet, turning away. He took a moment, breathing deeply before he walked to the door. She hurried back to the sofa where she’d been sitting to check on Gracie.
The baby was sleeping, and Ava got her blanket from the diaper bag and covered her with it. A cold draft seeped into the room as Chay opened the door.
“Grandmother.”
“Grandson. Didn’t realize you had company,” she said as she kissed his cheek and then walked into the house.
His grandmother was shorter than Chay and had gray hair that she wore in two braids. Her smile was friendly as she noticed Ava and she nodded at her.
Ava waved back and then felt totally lame. “Hi there.”
“Hello. I’m Aponi Benally. But you can call me Grandmother.”
“I’m Ava Colton,” she said, going over to shake the older woman’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Ava…you’re the one fostering the baby?”
So Chay must have told her about Gracie. “I am. She’s sleeping over there, if you want to see her.”
“I definitely do,” Grandmother said. “Chay, take this to the kitchen.”
She handed Chay a Tupperware not unlike the one he’d brought to her house. “Are those more blue corn cookies?”
“Yes, and some winterberry muffins,” Grandmother said.
“Yum. I’d love it if you’d share the recipe with me so I can try to make them. They were so good.”
“I’m happy to. Are you a baker?”
“Not unless slice and bake counts. But I am trying to learn one new thing each month.”
“Any baking counts. Why don’t you stop by my house one day soon and I’ll show you how to make them?”
“I’d love to,” Ava said. “This is Gracie.”
Grandmother got down on the floor next to Gracie, touching the blanket that covered her with one hand.
“Chay mentioned this blanket is similar to ones you make.”
She nodded. “I send them to friends and family so I could have made this one for her.”
That would be sweet and a universe type of connection between the two of them.
If Gracie was Chay’s cousin, then that would possibly make her Grandmother’s great-grandchild.
Ava wanted to ask more but felt like she’d pushed Chay far enough today with bringing up that she thought he should raise Gracie.
“I wondered that, too,” Chay said as he came back to join them, bringing a hot drink for his grandmother. “I was going to show Ava around the town.”
“I can watch this little sweetie if you two want to go,” Grandmother offered.
Well, this could be awkward. Ava couldn’t leave Gracie in the care of a stranger. The day care at the hospital was approved, but that was it. She looked at Chay, and he smiled and nodded.
“Thank you. That’s a very generous offer. I’m working with the case worker to allow Chay to have more time with Gracie, but as of right now I can’t leave her.”
Grandmother nodded. “Of course. I should have realized. How long have you been fostering her?”
Ava told her it had only been a few days and recapped the story of how the baby had been found. “The DNA test revealed she was Annie Ross’s baby. Though the birth wasn’t registered.”