Ava sighed inwardly. The two of them had played nice on the ride back from the airport to the cabin. Who knew unboxing her dad’s ashes would be the thing to trip up the peace? She held her hands out to Summer for the box, removing it from both of them.
“It does seem small. That was the first thing I thought when I got the box yesterday,” Ava said, ignoring their bickering.
She placed the box back down, adjusting it a few times when it seemed crooked against the grain of the tabletop. Once satisfied, she looked up at her friends just in time to catch the look Morgan and Summer exchanged.
“What’s that look for?”
“Nothing,” Morgan said. She shook her head in emphasis, making her tightly coiled dark curls bounce. “Nothing at all.”
Ava glanced at Summer, knowing she’d break.
“We’re a little worried about you is all,” Summer said.
“More than a little,” Morgan muttered.
Ava sighed at the inevitable conversation she was about to have with her two best friends. She must appear worse than she thought for the two of them to be in agreement about something. Summer thought Morgan was pretentious. Morgan thought Summer wastoo much.
“If you’re about to team up against me, then let’s at least sit down.”
“I’m going to make us all coffee first. Be right in there,” Summer said.
Ava led Morgan into the living room that was far less cluttered than it had been when she first arrived. Gone were the knickknacks, old magazines, piles of quilted blankets, and many books. She’d cleared the dust, cleaned the hardwood floors, and emptied the closets in both the living room and back hallway. Owen repaired the stairs so well, she could’ve sworn it was never broken at all. The progress didn’t escapeAva as she directed Morgan to the worn plaid couch she’d eventually have to find another home for.
Morgan grimaced at the state of the couch, or maybe it was the scratchy material of the fabric and perched on the edge of the seat. Ava curled up against the far arm, placing one of the needlepoint pillows into her lap to hug.
“You weren’t kidding when you said your dad lived in a cabin in the woods,” Morgan said. Ava watched as Morgan scanned the living room from floor to ceiling. She didn’t appear impressed by what she saw.
“Not the bougie luxury cabin you were expecting, huh?”
“Definitely not. It’d freak me out being so isolated,” Morgan said with a shiver. “I’m more of a glamping kind of gal.”
“Don’t let Summer hear you talk about glamping. We’d never hear the end of it,” Ava said.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “So clearly you didn’t listen to my advice to take care of yourself. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here right now. Let me guess, you’ve been working off the clockandworking on this place nonstop. You’re probably still getting up each morning at six. Am I right?”
Ava looked away from Morgan’s accusing stare. “I don’t get up at six every morning,” she muttered.
“That’s all you took from that? And the rest?”
Ava blinked back the tears threatening to resurface. She thought she’d cried it all out of her system. How could there be anything left?
“I don’t know how to deal with this any other way. Tell me, Morgan, what do I do? How do I do this? Because I don’t know,” Ava pleaded. The tears she tried to ignore, much like her grief, blurred her vision.
Morgan moved closer and placed a warm hand on Ava’s back. The touch and the comforting scent of Morgan’s shea butter lotion grounded her.
“I don’t know either, babe. But shouldering this all alone is not the way. There’s a reason you have us. And your family.”
“She’s right.” Summer walked into the living room from the back hallway, three mugs of coffee balanced between her hands. She placed them on the scuffed-up coffee table and perched on the arm of the couch on the other side of Ava.
“I thought lending you help would be enough, but you’re still working too hard and not allowing yourself to process. I think it’s time to have your brothers step up,” Summer said.
Morgan nodded. Ava suspected the two of them had discussed this ahead of time. Of course, the only time they worked together was against her. Well, for her, but it still felt like an ambush.
“You have two brothers, right? At least one of them can make the time to come up here, even if only for a few days. He was their dad, too,” Morgan said. “We’re here for you, but we can only do so much. At least your brothers can relate to what you’re going through.”
Ava leaned forward to grab one mug, sipping on the warm coffee to give herself a moment. Their suggestion made sense, and Noah had promised to help when his contract finished, but they never decided on dates. Lucas likely wouldn’t come, even though she could really use his help to go through the administrative side of their dad’s affairs. She hadn’t even looked into his bank accounts.
Morgan and Summer remained silent on either side of her, but she could feel the weight of their exchanged glances behind her back. If the two of them truly were on the same page about this, then it was hard to deny they might have a point.
