Ava pushed out the other chair at the table in invitation. Avery plopped down and launched into the latest chapter he’d read with his mom. Owen stared at them, an unreadable expression on his face, before he mouthed ‘thank you’ to her. She resisted the urge to watch him walk away and focused on Avery, giving a few well-placed reactions to his retelling.
“And that’s where I stopped. A student fainted and won’t wake up, but nobody knows what caused it,” Avery finished up.
“You’ll have to update me when you know more,” she said. “Or I guess I could just watch the movie.”
Avery’s eyes bugged out, and he gasped. “No. Then you’ll be ahead of me. I don’t want any spoilers,” Avery said.
Seeing Owen return from the office in the corner of her vision, Ava smiled at Avery and packed up her laptop.
“Alright, alright. I’ll wait. If I’m still in town, maybe we can watch the movie with your aunt when you finish the book,” Ava told him.
“When are you leaving?” Avery asked.
Owen chose that very moment to walk up to the table, a file folder withCedar Falls Historical Societystamped on the front in hand.
Ava wasn’t sure how to respond.As soon as possible?
When she considered the answer, it felt wrong. Trite. A week ago, that’s what she would have said, but now the idea caused her chest to tighten.
“Probably not until August,” Ava said. She kept her attention on Avery, ignoring how the left side of her face burned from Owen’s gaze.
“Cool,” Avery said.
Owen cleared his throat. “Ready to go, bud?”
Avery rolled his eyes and sighed. Then, just as quickly, he jumped up in his seat with excitement.
“Hey, Dad, can I hang out with Ava until you’re done? I don’t want to wait around City Hall, and you said I’m not old enough to stay home alone.”
Amusement filled Ava at his persistence and the look on Owen’s face as he searched for patience. “I’m sure Ava has better things to do, bud. She’s busy. Now let’s go or I’ll be late,” Owen said.
Avery’s face fell once more. His shoulders hunched, and he stood from his chair. And maybe Ava was a sucker with no experience with kids, but that pinch in her chest came back.
“I don’t want to overstep, but I’m done with work. I’m heading to the church to donate some stuff to the thrift store. Avery can tag along if he wants. I could use an extra pair of hands,” Ava said.
“You don’t have to do—”
“Yes, I wanna come. Can I buy something?”
Ava shrugged. “It’s up to your dad. What he says, goes,” Ava said.
“Please, Dad?”
Owen looked between the two of them, fixing his stare on Ava. She shrugged at his brows, raised in question.
“If Ava’s fine with you tagging along, you can go. Why don’t you clean up her table and meet us out front?”
Ava took his cue and grabbed her stuff, following him to the sidewalk in front of the café. She muttered a ‘thank you’ to him when he opened the door and ushered her ahead into the bright summer morning. A slight chill clung to the air, making her wish she’d ordered a hot coffee to go.
She turned to face Owen when the café door swung closed. The damp strands of hair around his ears were now dry.
“You really don’t have to take him. Trust me, he’s fine waiting for thirty minutes while I’m in a meeting.”
Ava adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, searching for the right words to explain why she offered.
“I know I don’t have to, but I don’t mind. Maybe I’m a pushover, but his little pinched expression reminds me so much of you when we were kids. You’d make that face whenever me and Summer talked you into doing something you thought would get us into trouble. This one.” Ava mimicked the look in question, and Owen cracked a small smile.
He tried to cover it by rolling his eyes and needlessly running a hand over his hair. For once he wasn’t wearing a flannel or button-up, and she glimpsed his defined biceps flex at the motion.
