She needed to address his misguided expectations about their relationship status. Just not today. Not when she felt this raw and exposed, running on no sleep.
Coffee. I just need some coffee, and then I can deal with another day.
Ava left her bedroom and trudged to the stairs. She eyed the mess in the living room on her way down. After her ride with Owen, she’d tackled a new project to keep her thoughts at bay. She’d pulled everything out of the living room closet, thinking it would be an easy win.
The scattered piles of old games, puzzles, and loon figurines showed otherwise. The closet had been an accumulation of decades of garage sale finds and knickknacks shoved aside to be dealt with another time. Except that time was now, and it was a nightmare to sort through.
Distracted by the clutter, Ava’s heart dropped as she stumbled. A loud crack split the air, then she fell forward. Ava grabbed the banister to steady herself. Once her heart rate settled to a steady gallop, the sting registered on her left foot.
Her foot had sunk into the stair.
She knew the house needed work before it could sell, but she’d figured she would clear out her father’s belongings and slap some fresh paint on the walls. Not fix broken stairs.
What else is wrong with the house?
She sat down on the step above and tried to pry her leg out of the wood. Aside from the shock of her almost fall, she wasn’t hurt. It was like the wood gave up and sank beneath her as she stepped on it. She pulled away the bits of wood and eased her foot out to inspect the damage.
Her ankle was pink from the friction, but otherwise unscathed. The stairs weren’t so lucky. An obvious foot-sized hole was in the second-to-bottom stair. She could see straight down to the flooring underneath, along with disintegrated bits of wood that had given way.
She unlocked her phone to search ‘what do you do when you break a stair’ but an incoming call from Summer popped up midway through her search.
“Hello?”
“Hey girl, I’m heading your way. What do you want to work on today?”
Ava blamed her nonexistent sleep and stair mishap for her confusion. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean? I said I’d help with the cabin, so I’m coming over.”
Oh. Right.
“Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night. Please tell me you’re bringing coffee?”
“Of course I brought coffee. I’m pulling up now.”
Summer disconnected the call before Ava could say goodbye. Sure enough, gravel crunched outside as Summer’s car rolled down the steep driveway. Ava spared a last look of annoyance at the ruined stair, then eased around it to the solid floor of the living room. She couldn’t think about repairs right now. Maybe she would try her hand at DIY and watch some YouTube videos.
Ava tested her stability while walking to the front door. No pain or weirdness. That was good.
The loon yodeled above the doorframe as she welcomed Summer inside. To her great relief, she held two large coffees from The Early Bird Café.
Finally, something was going right with her morning.
She reached out to grab the coffee, but Summer pulled her arm out of Ava’s grasp. “Is that any way to greet your best friend? Not even a thank you before you grab the goods?”
“It’s the only greeting you’ll get this morning.”
Summer looked her over with a more critical eye. “You look like crap. And I say that in the most loving way possible.”
“I feel like crap. Couldn’t sleep last night. Alec won’t leave me alone, and my foot went through the stairs.”
“Sorry—what? What do you mean, yourfoot went through the stairs?”
“Come see for yourself.”
Ava took advantage of Summer’s shift in focus and snagged the cold brew coffee cup she knew was hers. She took a deep gulp and let out a happy sigh.God, I missed the coffee from The Early Bird Café.
She led Summer into the house and to the stairs in question. Summer leaned down to get a closer look, noting the hole’s distinctive outline.
