He wanted to talk to her but doubted video chatting at this time of night in her parents’ house was a good idea. Hell, if he hadn’t chickened out, she might be sleeping in his bed right now, neither of them aware her house had been broken into.
Ava: Yeah. Wasn’t sure how to respond.
Chay: I get that. I said let’s go slow and then hit pause. But it was just pause. Not stop.
Ava: Good. Wasn’t sure.
Chay: Be sure. Can I see you in the morning?
Ava: Yes. At the hospital around ten.
Chay got to the hospital at nine because he was anxious to see Ava. He would have gone to her parents’ house but thought that might not go over well. He’d spoken to Jacob, who felt strongly that the break-in was tied to Annie Ross and her child.
“Ava was worried about Daniel Wayne, but I’m checking to make sure he’s still in jail. It makes more sense that this is connected to Annie and the baby. I’m going to keep looking into it,” Jacob had said when they talked on the phone.
Chay had reassured him that he’d keep a close watch on Ava and Gracie. As soon as he saw her truck pull into the parking lot, he was out of his. Ava stepped out of the vehicle, and Chay drew her into a tight hug.
She looked tired and small. Funny, because she always seemed so big and fierce, and he’d never expected her to be anything else.
Her arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly. The affection he had for her threatened to overwhelm him, so he looked up at the sky to distract himself. He saw signs of a snowstorm in the clouds.
“Are you working today?”
“I am. Just one session and then…”
“Stay with me? Just for a few days until Jacob and his team have a chance to figure out if this is tied to Annie Ross.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” he said, opening the back door and getting Gracie out of her car seat. The little one smiled when she saw him and called him “mama.”
“Nice.” Putting his arm around Ava, he drew both of them close to him. “You two had me worried.”
“We’re okay. Luckily I wasn’t home,” Ava said.
“That is a good thing. Remember the other night when you thought it was PTSD that had you feeling you were being watched…”
“I am trying not to think of the possibility that I really have someone watching me, but it’s hard to shake.”
He shouldered Gracie’s diaper bag and then watched as Ava locked her truck. Taking her hand in his, he walked with her to the hospital’s side entrance. “Another reason for you to stay with me. Kidnappers might think twice when there’s a man involved.”
“Or they could shoot you,” Ava pointed out. “I don’t want to put you in danger.”
“I’m not arguing about this. I want you to come stay with me. I’ll be fine,” he told her. He wanted to order her to come with him, but he was smart enough to know better than to say that out loud. But whatever she decided, he was going to be with her. If she wanted to stay at her place or at his.
“Don’t get cocky,” she warned him. “We’ll stay with you. I need a crib for Gracie.”
“I already got one. If I hadn’t gotten cold feet yesterday, you would have seen it.”
She looked up at him, her eyes clear with worry and fear and affection. “I can stay with my—”
“Enough. It’s time for me to man up. Stop running from every person I might feel something for. Don’t make me repeat that again.”
She hugged him and then took Gracie from his arms. “Oh, I might. Seems to me that you said you like me.”
Like her? Hell, yes. It was more than like, but he wasn’t ready to delve into that yet. “I might.”
“Ha.”
