I angled my phone toward her. “It’s about twenty minutes out of the way. Houston is huge.”
“I’m game if you are.”
I navigated her through the highway interchanges. Houston was a maze of toll roads and interstates. We finally exited and drove along normal city streets before turning into a neighborhood bordered by a fancy stone wall.
“My, my,” she said, ducking her head for a better look at the tall, lush trees that lined the road.
“It’s something, all right.” The Houston we’d seen so far had been industrial and gray. Houses were packed together like cracker boxes on a shelf. But this neighborhood took its time. Each home was unique, spread apart, and lush with greenery.
“Older neighborhoods keep their trees,” Gram said. “Looks like Ava’s dad does all right.”
I glanced back down at the phone. “It’s up ahead on the left.”
Gram slowed down as we approached the house Marcus Roberts bought nine years ago, according to the real estate records. The brick two-story had a wide porch with a swing. Bright flowers led up the walk.
“Children live here,” Gram said, gesturing to the lawn. A pink bike lay in the grass.
“You think Ava has a sister?” I had no idea what Ava would think of that.
“He might have remarried, and she’s a stepdaughter.”
“True.” I snapped a quick photo of the front of the house, in case Ava wanted to see. She might have already Google Mapped it, but being here was an entirely different thing.
We drove on, and I helped Gram get back to the highway.
“You going to tell Ava you found him?”
“Sure. I don’t keep secrets from her.”
“That’s good.” Her eyes held mine for a moment, then she refocused on the road.
“Are you really okay with her coming?”
“It’s fine. Just don’t expect any quality time. You’re going to be in recovery.”
She was right. But I wanted Ava there. “I sure hope it works.”
“Me too, baby. Me too.”
CHAPTER 31
Ava
When Tucker came over after his trip to Houston, I was sitting on the floor of my apartment surrounded by photographs.
“Look here.” I pointed to an image of him leaning against the giant blue shoe at the mini golf course. “The saturation is good.”
“I like the new printer. Are you going to start charging?”
“Big Harry said I could put cards out if I wanted to drum up customers. I’ve been taking pictures of the regulars for a while now. Should I wait until I graduate, though?”
“I don’t think many photographers go to school in the first place. You’re already ahead.” Tucker kneeled in front of an image of Charles reaching for a frothy-headed beer, a stream of colored light from the neon landing on the mug like it was the Holy Grail.
He lifted it to examine more closely. “This is good.”
“You think so? My professor says I have the eye.”
“You do.”
