Chapter 19
nineteen
DECLAN
“Hey, big brother,” Ava says, pulling me into a hug when she meets me at baggage claim the following day.
True to her word, Ava texted as soon as she booked her flight. Since Boston to Baltimore is a popular route, getting a flight wasn’t a problem.
No, the only problem I can find is the reason for her impromptu visit. Not that I’ll complain about it, Ava is one of my favorite people and I don’t get to see her nearly enough.
“Hey, squirt.” I hug her tight, a little longer than necessary, but I’ve missed her. “Thanks for flying down so quickly.” I finally pull away, taking the carry-on bag from her shoulder.
“Of course. You know I love Ashford Falls. I would take any excuse to visit. Plus, Scott has loved your mopey ass for years now. He deserves my awesomeness in his life for a little bit.”
I laugh as I throw my arm around her shoulder. “Did you check any bags?”
“Yeah, just one. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”
“You’re welcome as long as you want, but don’t you have to get back to work?”
“I’ve got plenty of saved-up PTO, and I’m between cases at the moment, so this really couldn’t have happened at a better time for me.” Her tone of voice has me questioning if there’s more to it than that, but I’ll let her get away with it—for now, at least.
She studies me while we wait for her bag. “So, anything new going on here?”
“No,” I say, but she continues staring at me. “What?”
“You seem a little fidgety.”
“Fidgety?”
“Yeah, I don’t know how else to describe it.” She crosses her arms and gives me a stern look. “What’s going on?”
I look at her, thinking if I’m ready to talk about it, but decide to tell her. Ava has been my person for years now. Yes, I’ve had Caleb and Scott, but Ava has been the person I tell everything to, since long before my divorce. “I may have kissed Quinn last night. And by kissed, I mean made out with.”
“You may have? You don’t know?” she teases.
“No, I definitely did. In the middle of the town square at the Fall Harvest Festival. Where everyone could see.” I look at her from the corner of my eye, trying to gauge her reaction.
Like me, Ava has heard about Quinn from the Marks family for years, and I’ve definitely started talking about her more since she moved home. But I haven’t really told Ava about my growing feelings for Quinn—not because I want to hide them.
No, Quinn is not the kind of person you hide. I didn’t tell Ava about my feelings because I didn’t even know what I was feeling. I couldn’t put it into words. I honestly don’t know if I can even put it into words now.
“Go big or go home, huh?” I look at her, clearly annoyed by her cavalier tone. “Okay, sorry.” She looks at me. “Wait, one more. You’ve really got a thing for your best friends’ little sisters, don’t you?” That one causes her to laugh so hard people look at us.
“You got it out of your system now?” I ask.
“I’m sorry, but you have to admit, that was a good one. First Ryan and now Caleb?” She’s still laughing as she rushes to grab her bag from the carousel.
“If I were in a joking mood, I would probably agree with you, but I’m not there yet,” I tell her when she returns to my side, taking the suitcase from her. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll be serious.” Ava walks next to me quietly for most of the trek back to my truck. “I know I’ve heard about Quinn from everyone, you included, but you’ve only ever talked about her as a co-worker and friend. What changed?”
“Nothing changed. She’s still very much those things.” I put Ava’s bags in the truck's back seat and open the passenger door for her.
“Okay, but it’s more than that now.” It’s not a question, but I answer her all the same. I’m not surprised Ava has picked up on the fact things have changed for me.
I walk around the front of the truck, climbing in before responding. “I think it’s actually meeting and seeing her with her family,” I say as I get in and start the truck. “Hearing her talk about her students, even the ones that piss her off.” I smile fondly, thinking about our last conversation about Tyler before leaving school Friday. “She really cares. Like in her soul, she cares about all of them.” I look at Ava. “After everything she’s been through, and not just with her mom, but everything in her life, the fact she still cares so deeply blows me away.”
Ava smiles softly. “I knew she was a great woman based on how Scott and Caleb talked about her, but you’ve made me a little jealous. I’d love to have someone talk about me the way you just did Quinn.” She reaches out and squeezes my hand. “I can’t wait to meet her.” She pulls her hand back to buckle her seatbelt. “As for kissing her in front of the whole town, if it’s meant to be, it will all work itself out. I have no doubt you will fight to make sure that happens if that’s what you want.”
I look at her for another minute before finally turning back in my seat to buckle my seatbelt. “Thanks, Ava.”
“Of course.” She smiles over at me again. “Are we going straight to Scott’s now, or are you taking me to the inn to get settled?”
“In what world am I letting you stay at the inn? You’re staying with me,” I tell her as I pull out of the airport. “If you’re good with it, we’ll head straight to Scott’s. It’s Sunday, so everyone will be there for breakfast.”
“Yeah, you know I don’t need much sleep to function. As long as they have coffee, I’ll be good to go.”
“I’m really glad you’re here,” I tell her. “I’m not happy about the reason, but I love when you visit, and it’s been a while. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” She reaches out and squeezes my forearm resting on the center console. “I wasn’t kidding about all the time off I have saved up. I could stay through Thanksgiving. We could celebrate with the Marks instead of going home.”
I glance at her quickly, a little concerned. Thanksgiving is a little over a week and a half away. I’ve never known Ava to take that much time off work. “What’s going on?”
Ava avoids looking at me and looks out her window before answering. “Nothing. Like I said, I have a bunch of saved-up time.”
“Ava, you can talk to me,” I tell her quietly, sensing there is more to her wanting to stay for so long.
I see her look over at me from the corner of my eye. “I know, but I’m not ready to talk about it.”
“Okay, but you’ll let me know when you are?” I don’t like the idea of Ava feeling as if she can’t talk to me about whatever is bothering her, but I’ll respect it and trust she’ll come to me when she’s ready.
“Yeah, I will.”
The door opens before Ava and I make it up the porch steps, and I’m honestly a little shocked it’s Caleb at the door. I would have thought Quinn would have been the first to greet us with how antsy she had been when I left last night.
“Thank goodness you’re here.” Caleb rushes to pull Ava into a tight hug. “Quinn is driving me crazy with her pacing. I don’t know what’s gotten into her. She’s normally so calm under pressure. Like, scarily calm,” he says, looking at me over Ava’s shoulder.
I have a feeling part of Quinn’s uneasiness is due to what she told me the night of Max’s birthday. I can imagine reliving those memories, bringing them to the forefront of her mind, is making her anxious. She thought finding her mother would give her answers to the questions she always had and feared those answers would show her she had no other outcome in life other than being the same as her mother.
We could all tell her until we’re blue in the faces that she is nothing like Nicole, but she has to believe that for herself, and until she does, the idea of her mother being in her life will always terrify her.
“Custody battles are always scary, even when the other person doesn’t have a leg to stand on. We’ll get this all figured out,” Ava tells him.
“Well, come on in, everyone’s inside.” Caleb turns and leads Ava and me into the house. “Ava and Declan are here,” he announces as we enter the kitchen.
“Ava! Did you bring me anything?” Max asks as he rushes over to my sister.
“Max! That’s so rude!” Quinn shouts, stopping her pacing to look at him, shocked.
Everyone else laughs, used to this interaction between Ava and Max.
“It’s fine,” Ava says. “This was such a spur-of-the-moment trip I didn’t have a chance to get anything good, but I did bring you this cool deck of cards I found at the airport in Boston. They’ve got fun facts about the city on each of them,” she says, reaching into the bag, pulling the cards out, and handing them to him.
“Awesome.” Max turns for the living room, mind now focused on the playing cards.
“Hey, Ava. Good to see you,” Emily says from the stove.
Scott moves to get up from his seat at the kitchen table, but Ava moves toward him first. “Sit back down. I’ll come to you.” She bends down to hug him. “How much longer are you in that cast? I can’t imagine you’re enjoying it much.”
“Just a few more weeks in this one before I can switch to a walking boot, but you’re right, I’m ready to be done with this thing. It’s wonderful to see you,” he says, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “Sorry for the circumstances.”
She smiles at him, squeezing his hand in return. “I’ll take any excuse to be here. I’m thinking about making this an extended trip. Maybe crash your Thanksgiving dinner.”
“You could never crash something in this house. We would love to have you and your brother with us.”
Ava smiles at him again before turning toward Quinn. “Hi, I’m Ava, Declan’s younger and much more outgoing sister.”
Quinn chuckles slightly, making her way over to Ava. “Nice to meet you, I’m Quinn.” Quinn puts her hand out for a handshake, but Ava quickly pushes it away, pulling her into a hug.
“Oh no, I feel like I’ve known you forever with how much this group talks about you. I’m hugging you.”
I can see the shock on Quinn’s face, and it takes her a minute to return the hug, but when she does, I see her relax into it—her eyes close as I see my sister whisper something else in her ear. They pull away, and Quinn nods slightly before they both turn back to the group.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” Ava asks. “And can I help with anything?”