Jenna threaded her arm through Blake’s and the two started to walk toward the face painter’s booth. After a few steps, his ex turned and gave him a look that clearly communicated this conversation wasn’t over.
He sighed, wondering when his life had gotten so complicated. For years, it had been drama free. It had just been him. He’d seen Blake during the summers and on holidays, but he hadn’t really affected her everyday life. Now, if he did decide to pursue things with Ava, that’s exactly what would happen.
Blake would be affected. And that wasn’t part of the promise he’d made to himself. But that promise was made before he’d even known Ava existed. He hadn’t known that there was an actual angel on this earth that felt like she’d been sent just for him. And now that he knew that, he didn’t know how to un-know it.
His mind was spinning with confusion when he felt a slap on his shoulder and turned to see Logan standing beside him. “It’s about that time. You ready to head over?”
“Yeah.”
As ready as I’ll ever be. The police station had a dunk booth and he’d signed up to be a dunkee.
As the two men walked toward the booth, they greeted several residents and Asher had to admit that even with all the internal turmoil going on, he still found himself smiling genuinely as he interacted with the people he’d met over his time in Hope Falls.
Jenna was right about one thing; this town was good for him. He was starting to get in the rhythm of small-town life. A huge part of that was integrating into the community. Policing a small town was such a more personal experience than working in a more populated city.
Asher had always kept people at arm’s length. Even Jenna. He wasn’t sure why he’d done that. His mom always said he changed after he lost his father. That he became more withdrawn and kept to himself. She used to say that he became an island of one and she’d have to get a boat to come visit him.
Maybe she was right. But if that was the case, he felt that being in Hope Falls had caused him to at the very least build a bridge to the mainland. Or maybe that was just the Ava Effect.
* * *
“What’s the deal cartwheel?”Viv asked as she sat next to Audrey across from Ava at a picnic table by the river that ran through Hope Falls.
“What do you mean?” Ava asked as she took her first bite of Dippin’ Dots.
Viv’s eyes narrowed. “Something’s…off with you.”
Viv was right. Something was off. The sisters had spent the afternoon at the Pine Cone Festival, which would have been great if she hadn’t seen Asher’s ex. The woman looked like a young Christie Brinkley. She was supermodel gorgeous. Just seeing her would have been bad enough, but Ava had seen her with Asher. The two looked like they belonged on the top of a wedding cake, or on the cover of a Williams-Sonoma catalog modeling furniture. They looked like the perfect couple.
She’d known academically that Blake’s mom was beautiful, and that obviously she and Asher had a connection, they were parents. But seeing the two of them together had hit Ava like the time she’d fallen from a high tree branch in the backyard of her childhood home. It had knocked the wind right out of her.
That had happened about an hour ago, and she still hadn’t quite recovered. Which was what her sister was picking up on.
“Okay, Debbie Downer, this sudden change of mood could only be attributed to one of two things, and by things I mean penises. So, we’ll do this process of elimination style.” Viv held up her pointer finger gesturing a number one. “Is the reason you’re frowning the Douchiest of all Douches’ fault?”
“Ian is not a douche.” Ava knew that was who her sister was referring to because the last text she’d gotten from Ian came up as that name. “And stop changing the names in my phone.”
Viv ignored her directive. “Okay, not the Douchiest of all Douches.” She lifted her next finger to represent number two. “Then that means your long face is because of TDD, who you promised me you weren’t getting attached to.”
Ava had promised her sister that when she’d found the note Asher had left her. But that was because even she knew it was a bad idea to be involved with him. And she was glad that she’d told her sister that because even though he had finally messaged her back and told her that his ex was in town, she hadn’t heard anything from him since. So, she was going to do her best to keep up the charade of her sadness not having anything to do with Asher.
“It’s not because of him.” Ava wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince, herself or her sister. “There have been a lot of changes in my life. I’m just adjusting to them.”
Viv’s eyes narrowed in an assessing stare. After a few moments she shook her head and made a buzzer sound. “Nope. Sorry, try again.”
“It’s nothing. Really.”
Viv leaned forward and whispered. “Have you talked to TDD since you hooked up with him?”
“Shh!” Ava glanced over her shoulder to make sure that no one had overheard that. Not that anyone would be able to decipher who TDD, which stood for tall, dark, and dangerous was, but still.
Viv leaned back with a satisfied smirk on her face as if Ava’s response had confirmed her suspicion. “I knew it.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“Yes, I do. I can sniff out a hookup ghosting from a mile away. I’m like a hound dog when it comes to hookups and ghostings, put ‘em together and it’s like I have a super sniffer.” Viv made a sniffing noise and leaned forward.
Ava remained quiet and took another bite of her circular ice cream treats.
