Chapter 14
Ava was back at the park doing more photo shoots for Valentine’s Day, which was quickly approaching.
She had bought some props to set up a fun photo booth-style shoot and was doing quick mini sessions of fifteen minutes each.
Cole was watching Ruby since it was the weekend, and she was thankful he had been willing.
She knew she needed to think about where to get a babysitter in the future if she ever needed to head to a shoot and Cole wasn’t available.
Ava tried not to get her hopes up about getting permanent guardianship of Ruby. The court date was only a few days from now, and she was getting antsy. She hadn’t heard from her mom or Frank at all since she gained temporary custody, but she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Two hours later, her last session was ending. She was cold despite constantly moving to get different angles for the photos. She said goodbye to her last group and moved to put her camera away when she heard her name being called. Ava looked up to see Cole and Ruby approaching from the parking lot.
“Hey! What are you two doing here?” she asked.
“We want to get photos too,” Ruby said.
Ava looked at Cole, who smiled back. “Ruby begged me, and who am I to say no?”
“Softy,” Ava said.
“Does that mean we aren’t doing them?” Ruby’s lip jutted out in a pout.
“No, we can do them. Go look through the props.”
“Softy,” Cole retorted.
Ava smacked his arm lightly and giggled. “Go get some props, and I’ll take photos of you two.”
“Oh, please,” Cole said. “You’re going to be in the photos too. Get your camera set on timer mode and let’s do this.”
She watched him walk over to where Ruby was digging through the props.
She handed him a fake pink mustache and a pink hat, which he promptly put on.
Ava smiled softly as Cole interacted with her sister.
It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, but the more it happened, the more she realized how in love she was with him.
His kind heart had always been one of his greatest qualities, but this last week, his unwavering support had shone through.
She blinked back tears at the realization and took a steadying breath before setting her camera up on the tripod with a timer.
“Ready?” she called over to them.
“Ready!” Ruby shouted back. “I have your props ready, too.”
Ava giggled under her breath and turned the timer on before rushing over to them.
She quickly put on the large pink glasses she was handed and held up pink sparkly lips on a stick.
The three of them posed for over twenty pictures while passing around their props.
By the end, Ruby was laughing hysterically and asked if she could see the photos.
“I’ll show them to you when we get home, but right now I want to get out of the cold. I’m freezing,” she said.
Cole was already filling her bins with the supplies and taking them to her car. She wouldn’t complain about the extra pair of hands.
“Maybe we should get hot chocolate,” Ruby said. The pleading look in her eyes had Ava laughing.
“What did I miss?” Cole asked as he came back to grab the last bin.
“Ruby thinks we need to get hot chocolate since I said I’m cold.”
“I think that’s a great idea. And I know just the place.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Of course you do.”
Ava drove her car back to their place, where she met Cole and Ruby, and then hopped into Cole’s car. He drove them to Storyville’s Stories. Katie was behind the counter and smiled brightly at them when they approached.
“Girl, do you always work?” Ava asked. “I feel like you’re always here.”
Katie laughed lightly. “These days it feels like it, but we’ll be hiring an extra hand soon. Interviews start next week. But enough business talk. What can I get you?”
“Hot chocolate, please,” Ruby said.
“Oh, the best. Whipped cream and marshmallows too?” Katie said.
Ruby nodded. “Oh, yes.”
Katie looked at Cole and Ava. “For you?”
“I’ll take the same,” Ava said.
“Me too,” Cole said.
“Coming right up.” Katie poured milk into the frothing pitcher and heated it up, making three hot cocoas before setting them down in front of them. Then she topped them with whipped cream and mini marshmallows.
“Wow,” Ruby said. “Thank you, Katie.”
“You’re very welcome.”
The three of them sat at the countertop of the coffee bar and sipped their cocoa. Ava’s hands warmed as she gripped the cup, finally warding the chill away.
“There you are.”
Ava froze. She knew that voice. Frank. She slowly turned to face him.
“Hi, Dad,” Ruby said, scooting closer to Ava on the edge of her barstool.
“Frank, what are you doing here?” Ava asked. She had never seen him read before, so he wasn’t there for the books. Plus, she doubted he had the money for coffee.
“I heard you might be here, so I wanted to come see my little girl. I’m very disappointed in you, Ava.
Trying to take Ruby away from her mother is cruel.
She’s been nonstop crying,” Frank said. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Constantly pretending Ruby is yours is disgusting behavior. You should be committed.”
Ava flinched at the ugly words and put an arm around Ruby, who was practically in her lap.
Cole stood and placed himself between Ava and Frank. Katie came around the counter and wrapped an arm around Ava’s shoulders.
“Ava has been taking care of your child, whom you have been neglecting. Don’t you dare step foot in my store and speak ill of her. She is a far better parent than you and a far better person,” Cole said.
Frank took another step closer, only an inch from Cole’s face. They were evenly matched in height, but Cole was lean and had more muscle. Frank had a protruding beer belly since his only form of exercise was lifting a bottle to his lips.
Ava wanted to intervene, but Ruby was hugging her tightly, and she didn’t want to let her go. This would traumatize her enough. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.
Eli appeared out of nowhere and pushed Frank back a step. “Hey, back up.”
“Step away, boys. This doesn’t concern you,” Frank spat.
“To hell it doesn’t,” Cole said.
“Ava and Ruby are our family, so you bet your ass we will be involved in this conversation. But right now, I need to ask you to leave, or I will call the cops,” Eli said.
Frank stared at them, and Ava thought he wouldn’t go. After a tense moment, he took a step back.
“Fine. But this ain’t over. See you in court.” Then he stomped out of the store.
They all let out a collective breath.
“You okay?” Katie asked.
Ava nodded, so Katie rubbed her arm before walking back around the counter. Ava looked down at Ruby, who looked freaked out with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“It’s okay,” Ava said. “He’s gone.”
“I thought he was going to take me,” Ruby whispered.
“He can’t, baby. You’re staying with me from now on.” Ava knew she shouldn’t promise something that might not be true a few days from now. But she would fight tooth and nail to keep Ruby with her. She had to keep her. Losing her wasn’t an option.
“Let me know if you guys need anything,” Eli said.
“Thanks, man,” Cole said.
After Eli walked away, Cole turned toward Ava and Ruby, wrapping his arms around both of them.
“How about we head home?” he asked.
Ava nodded solemnly. She helped Ruby off her barstool and kept hold of her hand as they walked to the car.
No, she couldn’t lose Ruby. Not now. Not ever.