“But we’re not doing anything else today. You’re getting out of this cabin and coming into town with me.”
Nope. She wasn’t showing her face in town.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ava protested. The thought of running intohimmade Ava want to put her head underwater like a loon. Except she would never resurface.
“Don’t care. I let you hide long enough in this dusty ass cabin all week. I know you’re dying for good coffee, and I know the perfect place,” she said with a hopeful expression.
Ava wasn’t convinced.
“I’m not above emotional blackmail. I’ll get you a wild blueberry whoopie pie,” Summer said.
Ava regretted Summer knew her weakness. The Early Bird Café was the only place she could get her treasured bakery treat. A treat her dad would buy to lure her into spending time with him well into her teenage years. The memory sent another pang of sadness through her. But she couldn’t go there for reasons—onebigreason.
“Summer, you know I can’t go there.”
“You’re going to run into him, eventually. Besides, he doesn’t work Mondays.”
Summer was right, but Ava wanted to remain blissfully ignorant of her ex. At least for a little longer.
It was too painful to think about the night Owen told her not to bother coming back and the white-hot shame that burned through her body when the memory resurfaced.
“You’re sure he won’t be there?”
“Positive.”
Ava considered it. Logically, she couldn’t hide in the cabin forever. Eventually, she’d need more groceries and faster Wi-Fi to check in with work. Some human interaction wouldn’t hurt either. And OK, thepromise of quality coffee and her favorite sweet did sound amazing. There was a good chance she wouldn’t see him in town. If it was his day off, then he wouldn’t be working at the café. She should be safe.
“Let me change and we can get some coffee.”
“Hurry. They’re only open until two on Mondays.” Summer clapped her hands in Ava’s direction. “Chop, chop.”
Ava glanced down at her watch; it was 1:40 p.m. now. The drive was nothing, but she didn’t want to be the person that kept them working longer than they had to.
“Actually, I’m good. I’ll wear this. Let’s go before I change my mind.”
“That’s the spirit. Come on.”
Summer steered her toward the door. The loon yodeled as they walked outside, announcing their departure.
“That damn bird,” Summer chuckled. “I’ve missed hearing it.”
“You’re driving us there. I hate driving up and down this steep driveway. Makes me anxious I’m going to roll right off.” Ava shuddered as she pictured it.
“I got you. Always.”
“I know you do,” Ava said.
Summer held up her pinkie finger in Ava’s direction. The small, childish gesture made Ava laugh. She raised her own pinkie and linked it around Summer’s. They broke apart and climbed into Summer’s Jeep.
“Have I told you about Jenny and her deadbeat husband?” Summer asked.
Ava caught the mischievous look on Summer’s face, the look she got when there was gossip to be shared. She shook her head no and turned to watch out the open window as they backed out of the driveway.
Ava was grateful to Summer for sharing gossip to keep her distracted as they drove away from the cabin. Ava breathed in the fresh scent of the pine trees drifting through the windows. They passed the familiar Watson Horse Farm that doubled as a crystal shop before turning left to drive on the winding road leading to downtown Cedar Falls. The corner of Teaberry and Pond Road was still home to Ida’s Antique Shop, its withered yellow sign barely holding on. Ava’s anxiety grew with their turn onto Pond Road. They were nearing the café as they passed the old watermill and the Flynn Real Estate office.
While a few new businesses and apartment complexes had popped up, Cedar Falls mostly looked like she remembered.
Ava eyed the café nervously as Summer parallel parked in front of the abandoned Agatha Building across from the Early Bird Café. Her leg bounced on the floor, a nervous habit she’d picked up from her mom. She reconsidered leaving the cabin for this escapade. Who needed coffee? Not her.
