“Youwhat?”Winters stared at her.“Oh no, you don’t.I told you that sort of thing wasnotacceptable.”
“Yeah, I was fifteen when you told me that.I tried for a long time to be what you wanted.”Avery shivered, folding her arms with her hands tucked under.“But I’m not that kid anymore.”I rested a hand on Avery’s back and hoped someone was filming her courage for Rachel to see.Avery shot me a little smile and said, “I’m a woman in love with another woman, and I’m sick of letting your money and your control keep me from living my life.”
“Not on my dime.All those artworks you claim are so important?”Winters sounded like a man grasping for leverage.“If you want to keep them, you’ll toe the line, girl.”
“Mr.Winters!”The bodyguard waved his phone in our faces.“Someone’s at the estate, moving things around.The alarm wasn’t triggered, but there’s a big truck on the driveway.”
“There’s what?”Winters grabbed the man’s wrist to look.
“I let them in.”Avery’s giggle verged on hysteria.“That’smyart andmystuff, and I’m taking it with me when I go.”
“The fuck you are!”Winters gave the bodyguard a shove.“Call the cops.What are you waiting for?”
“There’s nothing the cops can do,” Avery told her father.“I wrote a letter of permission.I have the receipts for everything.”
“Paid out ofmymoney.”
“With my name on them.”
Winters’ face purpled.“Well, there’s something I can do.Move it, Muller.Get my driver.Now!”He rushed toward the door, trailing the bodyguard.
Avery eyed me wildly.“Now what?”
“Come on.”I set my glass on the floor, took her hand, and towed her in his wake.“I bet we can beat them home.”I wasn’t about to let Winters bear down on Logan without me there.“Can you run in those shoes?”
Avery whipped them off.“Can now.”She sprinted through the crowd, and I had to do some dodging to stick close behind her.
We burst out the door into the Oregon January chill.Avery didn’t slow down despite her bare feet and sleeveless dress.
“You’re going to freeze,” I shouted.
“Which way?”she threw over her shoulder.
“Here.”I resisted the urge to pick her up and led our dash across the cold pavement to the car.Once inside, I cranked the heat high and pulled out of my parking space.
Avery laughed, sounding truly joyful.“Holy fuck, Miles!”
The tires squealed as I turned out of the lot onto the road.I sped up to the safe limit for not getting pulled over.“You okay?”
“I’m… not sure.Right now, I feel great.Like, I came out to my dad.I told him to go to hell.”
Not in so many words, but yeah, that had been the effect.“You should call Rachel.”
“What time is it there?”
I didn’t have room in my head to do the math, but our evening was their daytime.Anyhow, “Rachel won’t care.Call her.”
“Right.”Avery reached into her tiny purse for her phone.
I focused on driving and not eavesdropping too much, but even without trying, I heard the love and excitement between them as Avery filled Rachel in.
After a moment, Avery said, “Rach wants to be on speaker.”She touched her screen.
“Hey, Miles,” Rachel said.“You there?”
“Yep.”We pulled up to a red light and I reached into the back for the sweatshirt I’d been wearing to move stuff around the studio, tossing it to Avery.She set her phone in the cup holder and pulled the outsized fleece over her dress.
Rachel told me, “You take care of my girl, understand?”
