15
As Ava watchedthe campers competing in the obstacle course for the fifth annual Mountain Ridge Camp Summer Games, she was trying to be present but she found herself checking her phone for the fiftieth time. Still no message from Asher. Not a missed call, a voicemail, a text, nothing.
It had been a week and a half since they’d had dinner at The Castaway and she hadn’t heard from him. She’d seen him around town on several occasions. In Hope Falls it was pretty impossible not to run into people even with the influx of tourists. But she hadn’t spoken to him.
It’s not like she thought they were going to talk every day, but she was surprised that he hadn’t even texted her. He’d seemed interested in her at dinner, but that could have just been him being nice. And his demeanor did seem different after they got the check. On the ride back into Hope Falls he’d been quiet and barely spoke to her as he dropped her off.
He clearly wasn’t interested in her. She needed to accept that and forget about him. That would be the healthiest thing to do. Because, even if, by some miracle, he was interested, nothing could happen between them.
The situation was complicated any way you looked at it. First, she’d just gotten out of a two-decade-long relationship. If they started anything, it would be considered a rebound. Not that that was actually the case. For one thing, she’d come to the realization that her relationship had been over for years before it actually ended. And secondly, Asher had been a part of her life for seven years. She’d been fantasizing about him long before she even knew his name.
Applause erupted around her and she glanced up to see that the first competitors had made it down the hill and were crossing the finish line. The campers were broken up into teams of two and the first-place team was Drew and Rayna. They were both covered in mud from the mud pit they’d had to crawl through beneath rope.
Ava cheered them on as they burst through the winner’s ribbon. She looked back up the mountain and saw that Blake and Noah were on their way down. Unless there was an upset, the duo was going to come in second place. They had two walls left to climb over and then a pit at the bottom that they’d have to belly crawl through.
Her involvement with Blake in the camp just added another layer to why nothing should happen between herself and Asher. Besides her train wreck of a personal life, and his lack of interest, in the real world she would never have any romantic ties to a family member of one of her patients. This camp wasn’t exactly the same thing, though. But Blake had sought her out in a professional capacity and that made things dicey from an ethical standpoint.
Not that it mattered because of all the many reasons that she’d already listed. So why was she so disappointed that he hadn’t reached out to her? Why couldn’t she stop thinking about his crooked smile and the deep dimple in his left cheek? Why did his face pop up in her head every time she closed her eyes?
“Those two seem inseparable.” Amanda stepped beside her and commented as Noah and Blake reached the bottom of the mountain and started climbing through the obstacle course. “I think they are adorable.”
“I think so, too.” Ava wasn’t sure how Asher felt about the pairing, or how much he even knew about it, but she was a fan.
“Her dad has sure made a splash in town. Every single woman in a twenty-mile radius sniffed out the new blood.”
Viv had mentioned that Asher was the talk of the female population of Hope Falls. She’d also relayed that he’d had quite the welcome party, all consisting of single women, stopping by his house with dinners and treats. Kelly King, the waitress at Sue Ann’s being the president of the welcome committee. Viv had relayed that info to Ava because she wanted permission to tell her friend about the past that Ava and Asher shared, but Ava told her no. Asher didn’t want anyone to know, and Ava had to respect that.
“Ahhhh!” A loud shriek of pain cut through the air, it sounded like a wounded animal.
Amanda, who was very pregnant, and Ava both rushed toward the direction of the scream and found Blake crumpled on the ground by the wall that the campers had to scale. Before they could do anything, Noah hopped down from the wall and was scooping Blake up in his arms. When he lifted her Ava saw the injury that had caused her to cry out. Her foot was wrenched to the side. Ava wasn’t a medical doctor, but she was fairly certain that Blake had broken her ankle.
“Medic! We need the medic!” Amanda spoke into the radio that she kept clipped to her belt.
Within just a few moments, the nurse came running up to them from the tent that she’d set up with medical supplies, water, and snacks for the campers. While she assessed Blake’s injury, Ava pulled out her phone and called Asher.
It went straight to his voicemail. “Hi, um. Blake hurt herself. She’s okay, I think. But she hurt her ankle. Call me back.”
There was a flurry of commotion as word spread that there was a camper down. Drew and Rayna circled around their friend and were trying to keep Blake calm as she clung to Noah.
When Justin, Amanda’s husband, arrived on the scene, Amanda instructed him to call Blake’s father.
“I already left him a message.” Ava lifted her phone as if that was somehow proof of the call she’d made. Immediately realizing it wasn’t she dropped her hand. “It went straight to voicemail.”
Amanda’s brow furrowed in confusion and Ava realized that there was probably no reason why she should have Asher’s phone number. It’s not like she had all the campers “in case of emergencies” information saved on her phone. “I had to file a report and he gave it to me,” Ava explained lamely.
After a quick examination, the nurse explained that Blake was going to need to go to urgent care so they could treat her because she wasn’t equipped to deal with the injury on site. Noah held her and Ava was impressed by his composure.
“Can someone call my dad?” Blake’s lower lip was shivering and Ava could see how scared the girl was.
“I already did, but I’ll call him again.”
Ava pressed his contact and put the phone to her ear.
“Can I talk to him?” Blake reached her arm out.
“Of course.” Ava nodded and handed it to her before she knew whether it rang or went straight to voicemail.
After Blake put it to her ear, her voice broke as she cried, “Daddy, I broke my ankle.”
