She clutches me tighter. Holds on to me with so much weight it forces me down to a knee. And even though I know she doesn’tneedto hold on to me, because she’s got this on her own, I hope she nevereverfucking stops.
“It really is cute.”Ava swirls the last piece of warm bread into the even warmer dip between us. She pops it into her mouth and assesses me with a playful smirk.
“What’s cute?” I say, even though I already know what’s coming.
“You are such a gentle crier,” she says. “Quiet butweepy, you know?”
“You were sobbing before I even got into the room,” I point out.
She arches a finger toward herself. “I am a sausage-casing stuffed too full of raging hormones.Youare?—”
“How are you kids doing over here?” June asks, coming over from another table, eyeing the already nearly polished-off spinach and artichoke dip that she dropped off less than five minutes ago. She frowns. “I’ll go grab you some more of this,” she says a little quieter, as though not to embarrass Ava in front of the other patrons.
Ava simply shrugs, totally unbothered, and peers at the wedge of lemon on the brim of my water glass like it’s a butter-seared steak as June walks away.
“Easy tiger.”
Her eyes flick up to mine, ravenous. “What?”
“Food’s coming. Just give the kitchen a few more minutes to make sure your hamburger isn’t still bleeding.”
“I know the food’s coming, Kasey, I was here when we ordered it.” She rolls her eyes dramatically. But they land back on my lemon wedge.
I laugh. “Besides your insatiable appetite, how are you feeling?”
Her eyes soften. “Really, really happy.”
The door to the café jangles open behind me, courtesy of the bell hanging from the top of the door, and Ava’s gaze moves over my shoulder. And then her face hardens. Before I know it, she’s rising out of her seat. “Ava?” I ask, frowning. I twist in my seat and watch her march toward the man who just walked in—it’s the owner of the local hardware store.
“Excuse me,” she says. “Silas, right? Silas Greene?”
The man tilts his head, bushy brows pulled down. “Yeah?” he grunts beneath an ungroomed beard.
“You have a kid named Max, right?”
And then I remember—Liam’s fight.Shit.
“Yeah,” Silas grunts again. “So?”
“Thought it might be important for you to know your kid is amenace.”
Silas frowns. “Who the hell are you, lady?”
“I’m a good friend of Liam Bennett, and I’m really disappointed to hear some of the shit Max is telling him at school about the recentdeathof hismother.”
Silas’s face goes ruddy. “That kid nearly broke my kid’s nose,” he barks. “He had no right?—”
“Do you recognize me, Silas?” Ava interrupts.
His mouth tightens before letting out a firm “No.”
“Well, you probably should. I saw you at enough parties growing up. You were the too-old creep who always found a way to hang around a bunch of underage girls. You know my friend Mollyprettywell, if memory serves. From back when we weresixteen.”
This has Silas blanching. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ava nods and gives a dry laugh. “I imagine it’s all a little hazy, but trust me when I say I have the means to make youremember. I’m a lawyer now. And my father is the sheriff. You know Sheriff Joe, don’t you?”
Silas looks uncomfortable. “What do you want from me?”
