Seconds later, Brayden draped a coat over her shoulders and pulled her against him. She wanted to kick and scream. It was the least she should be allowed to do with everything on her plate. The store wasn’t saved. Mom was still in town, all up in her business. Then there was the matter of her feelings for Brayden. Ava couldn’t handle one more thing on her plate.
The last thing she could handle was Laurel.Not now.
“You’re freezing,” Brayden said, rubbing her arms. His magical ability to calm her didn’t appear to be working.Just my luck. “We should get you back inside.” Ava wanted to look into those reassuring eyes, but too many emotions coursed through her veins to trust a single one of them, no matter how tempting.
“I’m sorry,” Laurel said.
“You’re a few years too late,” Ava muttered.
“I want to fix this,” Laurel went on. “Ava, please. I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you over this. I won’t make excuses about past choices. I can’t change anything.”
“You’re right, you can’t.”
Ed lifted his head at her sharp tone, his ears dropping then standing. The moose really did seem to have it out for her. Hadn’t the universe given her enough obstacles for one season? She didn’t need the town’s favorite moose as her enemy too. She stared into those dark, wild eyes, realizing she’d rather befriend Ed than rip open old wounds with Laurel.
“We should get everyone back inside,” Brayden said, urging Ava forward with his arm as Ed shuffled in place. It might mean nothing. Or it might mean he was tired of the snack-crashers and preparing a charge. “Ed, try across the street,” he added to the moose over his shoulder when they were a safer distance away. “You might have better luck. Seems you picked this side pretty clean.”
“Are those even real berries?” Kinley asked.
“Ed will tear apart every wreath in town until he finds some that are.”
“Ava—”
“No, Kinley. You’ve picked your side.”
“There aren’t sides,” Laurel practically shouted. “Ava, I want to help.”
Ava turned sharply at that, her eyes narrowing at Laurel. “Help withwhat?”
“Don’t pretend everything’s fine. I know it’s not.”
Anger was easy enough to blame for her quickening pulse, but Ava couldn’t deny the sliver of fear. The only person who knew about the financial situation of the Forget Me Not was Brayden. She looked up at him now, appreciating his willingness to stand by her even in her hardest, craziest moments. She felt embarrassed to be hashing this out in front of him. If he had been about to confess real feelings for her, he’d think twice about it now. Ava was stressed to her limit, and this was the cherry on the crappiest cake she’d ever been served. “You should leave while you still can,” she said to him softly, apology in eyes. “This isn’t what you signed up for. I wouldn’t hold it against you.”
“I’ll go inside so you three can talk, but I’m not abandoning ship,” Brayden said as they neared the door. “We can talk tomorrow. After we’re done with the wedding.” He squeezed her hand before he slipped inside.
She waited two beats after the door closed to face Kinley and Laurel. “You two happy, ganging up on me like this?”
“Ava, we just want to help,” Kinley pleaded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on,” Laurel said. “It’s not that hard to figure out. You’ve been stressed out for weeks, from what Kinley’s told me. Hiding some secret you won’t share. Now you’re making a thousand Christmas baskets last minute? We put the pieces together.”
“It’s not a thousand.”
“Ava, we know something’s going on,” Kinley added, her tone much gentler. “Please, let us help. We’re your best friends.”
“No, youweremy best friends.” Tears stung the corners of her eyes. Ava wasn’t ready to return to Town Hall, but standing out in the wintery air was out of the question. She was surprised Mom hadn’t burst onto the scene. Luckilysomeonehad to watch the cookies.
“Go ahead and be mad, but we’re not giving up on you,” Laurel said, stepping closer. Unless Ava wanted to be backed up against a frosted door, she had nowhere to go. “Whether you like it or not, you won’t get rid of us so easily. We know the store’s in trouble. We also know you don’t like accepting help from anyone. It was the same when we were twelve, and it’s the same now. You can be mad at me all you want, but I’m not turning my back on you now.”
“You can call the cops on us for loitering at your store if comes down to it, but I wouldn’t count on it doing much good,” Kinley added, and the three finally cracked the faintest of smiles. “We won’t say anything to your mom. Promise. But let us help.”
“I don’t need your help.” But the declaration wasn’t as firm as it was before. Ava was almost out of time, and despite how decent basket sales had been, they weren’t enough. She’d only earned half the balloon payment. The clock was counting down at an alarming rate. “ButifI did, what could you even do?”
“We have a few ideas,” Kinley answered, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Will you trust us?”
Ava shook her head, her anger dissolving with each passing second. She and Laurel could hash the past out later. Right now, she had to admit it felt pretty darn good to have her best friends in her corner, even if they’d muscled their way into it. “If I fail now, I only have myself to blame.”
