Or one very cute friend in particular.
She brushed the thought aside.
“It’s not like I want to be here. This couldn’t have happened at a more inconvenient time. Ijustinterviewed for the Board Member position at the hotel. But hold on a minute, I can hear someone pulling up to the cabin.”
“Keep me on the line. I need to know if you’re being murdered.”
Ava groaned and pushed herself up. Her hips screamed in protest after sitting on the unforgiving wood floor for so long.
Nobody knew she was there. She’d avoided going into town, only driving her dad’s Subaru once late at night to get groceries in a much larger town an hour away. Ava wasn’t ready to deal with everyone and their pitying stares and whispered comments about why she hadn’t returned to Cedar Falls in the last ten years.
A rapid knock sounded on the other side, followed by a yell. “Birdie, I know you’re in there.”
Shit.
“I need to go, Morgan. I’ll call you later,” Ava said, ending the call on Morgan’s protests, and pocketed her phone.
The frantic knocking continued. “I will break this door down. Don’t think I won’t.”
Ava knew better than to hide from Summer, her childhood best friend. Her loud banging demanded entry. Despite Ava’s refusal to step foot in Cedar Falls, Summer had remained her friend. The two of them rarely went more than a week without talking on the phone, or a few months without Summer taking the train to Manhattan to spend a long weekend at Ava’s apartment.
Summer was also the sister of the only boy Ava had ever loved.
Ava threw open the door after a harsh knock made the door tremble. The loon alarm yodeled when the door opened. One of her dad’s many quirky loon accessories around the cabin. He’d thought it would curb the kids from sneaking out. They’d still tried anyway.
“I can’t believe that loon still works. Oh my god, Birdie, come here.” Summer launched herself at Ava, wrapping her toned arms around her in a tight embrace. Her French braid whacked Ava’s face from the force of her movement.
An earthiness clung to Summer’s clothes like she’d dried off from a swim in the lake. The familiarity of the smell increased the weight Ava wore around her shoulders. That heaviness that shrouded your body in tragedy’s aftermath. Memories of fishing with her dad brought unexpected tears to her eyes. The reminder she would never again spend a day on the lake with her dad was so sharp and sudden she couldn’t avoid it if she tried. No matter how many boxes she packed or thoughts she ignored.
Summer tightened her arms around Ava’s trembling shoulders.
Ava regained control of her emotions and huffed a self-deprecating laugh before pulling away. She concentrated on Summer’s collarbone, unable to look her in the face. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was here.”
Her eyes filled with tears before she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. Summer grabbed the wooden loon napkin holder off the countertop. Ava accepted a napkin with a halfhearted smile and dabbed at her eyes. Then she attempted to wipe the dirt off her nose.
“You have nothing to apologize for, babe. I was trying to give you space, but clearly, that was a mistake,” Summer said.
Even though they lived in different states, they both had location-sharing apps on their phones so they could track each other’s whereabouts. You could never be too safe.
“I didn’t want to draw attention to my arrival.”
“Yeah, I gathered that.” Summer rolled her eyes. “What are you doing here? You swore you’d never come back, yet you show up without telling me. I could’ve given you a ride from the airport, at least.” Summer’s big brown eyes probed into Ava’s, roaming her face for answers.
Ava grimaced and stepped away, gesturing for Summer to follow her further into the cabin. She saw Summer glancing at the piles of stuff that had yet to be sorted in the open kitchen and dining area.
“I know. I was nominated for that board position just as I was going on leave, so I had a rushed interview before I left. The last couple of weeks have been a blur.”
She nudged theBirds of Maine Field Guidewith her foot as she walked by, pushing it out of sight under a chair. “We’re selling the cabin. Lucas and Noah couldn’t get away from work to help, so I’ve been packing it up on my own.”
“You shouldn’t be doing this alone,” Summer countered.
Ava shrugged. “It wasn’t worth the fight. I want to get it over with and get back home.”
Summer turned in a slow circle as she examined the mess in the living room. “We’ll do it together. I can come help a few times a week. We’ll have this place packed and ready to sell in no time.”
Relief filled Ava, quickly followed by denial. It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse Summer’s offer, but the truth was, she didn’t want to do this alone. She’d rather not do it at all, but that wasn’t an option either.
“Thank you,” Ava said.
