“And Tabby would be?”
“His younger sister?” Ava teased.
Dr. Briggs caught on to her game and smiled.
Ava decided to elaborate. “My mom and I lived next door to the Stormes when I was a kid. Before my stepdad made us move. Anyway, Tabitha was my best friend growing up. We did everything together. We were in the same class. My mom was friends with her mom. They would drink coffee together and talk a lot. My mom was happier then.” She smiled at the memory. “I would hang out at Tabby’s house a lot because my mom didn’t like a lot of kids in our house. Or that’s what she said.” Ava’s smile fell away.
“Are you still friends with Tabby?”
Ava shook her head. “Tabby and her parents died when a space heater caught on fire. Magnus was at a friend’s house that night. That’s why he’s still alive.”
“How old were you when this happened?”
“Eleven.” Ava swallowed the lump in her throat. “I still miss her. I think about her all the time.”
“She’s a fond memory. That’s natural,” Dr. Briggs noted. “How long did you live there after that?”
“Not long. A couple of years, I guess. I got to go back to visit a couple of times when I could talk my mom into taking me.”
“Visit who?”
“Magnus.”
“You remained friends with Tabitha’s brother?”
Ava nodded, another smile creeping up. “I kinda had a crush on him when I was little. I had this dream that one day we’d get married and live there and run the kennels together. He’s always been there for me, even after Tabby died. He’s a couple of years older than me, but that didn’t matter to him. He still befriended me, checked in on me. When Harrison would … when I needed to get away from Harrison, I would go see Magnus because he’s always felt like my safe place.”
Ava looked at Dr. Briggs. “Magnus is the one who found me. He’s the one who put together a search party to look for me.”
“He sounds like a good friend.”
“He’s more than that,” she mused. “He stayed with me at the hospital and took me to his house once I was released. He’s taken care of me. Got me to and from doctors’ appointments, made sure I took my medicine, fed me soup, and bought me ice cream when I asked for it.” She laughed. “He’s been like a mother hen this whole time. I don’t know where I’d be without him.”
“He cares for you,” Dr. Briggs acknowledged.
“He’s in love with me,” she admitted. “He told me so.”
Dr. Briggs didn’t say a word, merely continued to watch her.
“He’s a good man,” she tacked on quickly. “He doesn’t hold me back. He takes care of me. He let me have a job, and the only thing he asked in return was that I see a therapist. He wouldn’t let me work until I made an appointment.”
“Why do you feel the need to defend Magnus to me?”
“Because I know what you’re thinking.”
“And what would that be?”
“That he’s taking advantage of me. That he’s using me.” Ava huffed. “He’s not. I can’t even get him to kiss me.”
“Do you want him to kiss you?”
“More than anything. Especially after hedidkiss me. But it was only one time. Since then, he’s kept his distance.”
She decided to leave off what had happened when he found her in his bed. Since they hadn’t discussed it since then, she was under the impression that Magnus had chalked it up to a one-time thing. Truth was, Ava had been thinking about it endlessly ever since, and she was constantly wishing for a repeat.
Ava sighed. “I kinda think he only kissed me because he saw me kiss Trey.”
“And who is Trey?”
