“Thanks,” she said. She hadn’t wanted to seem rude. “That was Chay. He’s on his way back. I’m going to be staying with him for a few days.”
“Good—I’ll get to see more of you and Gracie.”
She was surprised that Aponi didn’t ask any questions about her staying at Chay’s. Like, did she think they were a couple now? Ava had no clue and no way to broach the subject without coming across as awkward.
The silence was a bit uncomfortable. More than likely just on her side. “Someone broke into my house. So Chay offered for me to stay with him until I can get a security system put in place.”
“I’m glad you are staying with him,” Aponi said. “I like you for him. But make sure it’s good for you, too.”
That was a bit too real for the moment. “I think he is. Do you see something I don’t?”
Aponi didn’t shrug or look away from Ava, keeping her gaze squarely on her face. “We all define ourselves in a certain way. You are someone who cares a great deal and wants to fix those around her. Chay doesn’t need fixing—he’s whole and complete. Make sure you remember that.”
Ava’s impulse was to defend herself, but Aponi hadn’t meant any malice. Giving Ava a hug, she left her office. Ava sat on the edge of her desk, Aponi’s words going through her head.
She was a fixer. As much as Ryan was a savior. They both had grown up children of wealth and privilege, aware that others didn’t have the same leg up. For herself, Ava knew she looked out for others because she could.
Had she done that with Chay?
He texted that they were back at the hospital and waiting in the cafeteria for her again. A little thrill went through her at the thought of seeing them both. Her day felt long, probably because she’d had very little sleep in the last few days. But she couldn’t make Chay into her oasis. She needed to find that peace for herself. No one wanted to be someone else’s lighthouse all the time.
Right now she felt more vulnerable and unsure than she had in the last five years. That break-in, the feeling of being watched. This had to stop. But there were few clues as to who was taking women around the state of Utah. Even fewer clues as to what had happened to Annie Ross.
Keeping Gracie safe was Ava’s number-one priority. But she also had to keep Chay safe. So not relying too much on him until he was ready for that. It was just a day ago when he’d canceled dinner.
The break-in had him feeling guilty. The last thing she wanted was a man who was with her because of something like that.
Closing down her computer, she grabbed her work bag and let the secretary know she was going to work from home for the next few days. She had some clients who preferred to do video calls than face-to-face meetings.
When she walked into the cafeteria and saw Gracie in Chay’s arms, her heart felt too full. She got it. This was what she wanted. A family with him, the three of them. Gracie astheir daughter, not a foster child. Chay as her partner. Not her reluctant boyfriend.
Chapter 16
Chay followed her and Gracie out to the Navajo Nation and his house. She took her time driving; trying not to let the events of the last few days weigh on her was somehow easier because of him.
She hadn’t lived with a guy, even temporarily, ever. She and Greg had had roommates when they’d been engaged and had spent the night at each other’s apartments, but it had never just been the two of them. The way it was going to be with her and Chay.
Gracie had nodded off about halfway there, so she was alone with her thoughts. Last night she’d gone down the Daniel Wayne spiral immediately when she’d seen her home had been broken into. Understandable, given that he’d stalked her a lifetime ago.
It felt like she’d been a different woman when that happened. She’d also always thought nothing bad could happen to her in Dark Canyon. Her family was there. It was the one place where she knew most of the townspeople by name or sight. They didn’t get a lot of tourists in the winter…which meant that someone would have noticed an outsider if they’d lingered in town with like either Fern or Annie.
Hitting the button for Chay’s phone, she waited for him to answer.
“What’s up?”
“I was just thinking that whoever brought Fern and Annie to town had to be familiar, you know? We don’t get a lot of strangers this time of year,” Ava said.
“Good thinking. I was already on that line of thinking. They didn’t just stumble on that abandoned shack. Someone knew it was there,” Chay said. “Narrowing down who it was hasn’t been that easy, though.”
“The cabin was so remote and on state land, right, not private?” she asked.
“As far as we can tell. But there are old hunting cabins and other ramshackle buildings that haven’t been kept track of.”
“I wonder when Fern was brought to the area. Was it in the dead of night?” Ava asked.
“Did you ask her?”
“She had a hood on and was drugged,” Ava reminded him.
