Blue Horizons (A Horizons Novel Book 1) (15 page)

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand. Where are you?” The pitch in Emma’s voice rises.

“At the moment, heading back to the house.” Ava glances over at me before she looks back out the window. She looks tired.

“Well, hurry up! We’ll wait for you.” Irritation and impatience leak through in her words and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“No, don’t, I need to stay here for a few days,” she says firmly.

“Av! You aren’t making any sense. Why do you need to stay here? We have stuff to take care of . . .” I look over at Ava as she leans forward and rests her forehead on her good hand. Her eyes are closed and that’s when I see the first tear roll down her face. My heart instantly cracks down the middle at her distress.

Shit. I wasn’t expecting her to cry during this call. It’s stressing her out and I hate this. I want to hang up on Emma. I want to pull over and hug her. I want to make this entire situation go away.

“Hello! Are you still there?” Emma asks. My hands tighten on the steering wheel.

“Yeah, I’m here, sorry. Listen, don’t flip out, okay?” Ava sits back and runs her good hand over her face to wipe away the tears. Her eyes are swollen and her nose is red, and I can’t help but think she’s still so freaking beautiful.

“You’re scaring me.” In the background, I hear Cora ask what’s going on.

“I’m on my way back to the house from the urgent care . . . I fell and broke my wrist.” She rushes the words and then dead silence fills the truck as more tears leak down her lovely face. These tears aren’t tears of physical pain—this is something else, and my stomach clenches.

“Please tell me you’re kidding . . . you’re not kidding, are you?” Ava doesn’t say anything, she just shakes her head no.

“Av, I’m about to have an all-out panic attack! What happened?” Cora says something again from the background and Emma shushes her.

“I tripped and fell while running.”

She just lied to her friends and I don’t understand why. I mean, Whiskey chases—it’s his thing—I guess I just don’t understand why she can’t tell them that. Maybe it has more to do with explaining the panic attack, not that it’s any of their business. I don’t know.

“Holy crap, Av! I’m staying here with you.” Speaking of panic, Emma is all but screaming and Ava winces from the volume.

“No, please don’t. Please take that meeting for us. I have to follow up with the orthopedic tomorrow and then I’ll head back to the city.”

This is keeping her from her job. Guilt floods me, and I hope she doesn’t get into trouble.

“Oh my God, no! You need to see a specialist in the city, not some country quack!” Ava looks down at her wrapped arm and runs her fingers back and forth across the bandage.

“Maybe you’re right,” she mumbles.

“Of course I’m right. If it doesn’t heal properly . . . oh, I think I’m going to be sick.”

I’m confused and my vision tints a little red with anger. I understand worrying about your friend when they get hurt, but why is she acting like this affects her too? Emma didn’t break something, Ava did, and she needs to calm down.

“Hey, it’s going to be fine. It’s just a crack. Look, I know you’re upset and I’m really sorry, but I can’t deal with this right now, I’m just—”

“Have you called Mona?” Emma cuts her off.

Who’s Mona?

“No. I wanted to call you first.” Ava’s fingers return to tapping on her leg.

“Have you looked at the calendar?”

Ava squeezes her eyes closed. I should be looking at the road and not at her. “No, but I already know.”

“How many?” Emma asks.

“Three.” The word echoes through the truck cab like cannon fire.

Three what?
I’m so confused by their conversation.

“Shit,” Emma says under her breath.

“Tell me about it.” The fake upbeat tone Ava has been attempting vanishes.

“I don’t know what to say right now. I’m shocked, upset for you, and overwhelmed.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Ava says defensively.

“Oh, Av, I know.” Emma lets out a sigh. “And I’m so sorry you’re hurt.”

Ava sniffs. “Please call Mona for me. I can’t deal with her.” Ava hugs her arm closer to her chest.

“Okay, Cora and I will take care of everything.”

“I really appreciate it. I need a few days to wrap my head around this, and then I’ll give her a call.”

“I really think I should stay with you,” Emma pleads.

“No, don’t. I’ll be fine.”

Will she be fine? I hadn’t thought about her needing extra help, and she
is
going to need it.

“Where are you calling me from?” Emma asks.

“Ash’s phone.” Ava glances over at me and gives me a small smile. God, I love her smile.

“Ash, as in the same Ash we spent yesterday with?” Emma’s tone is slightly accusatory and I’m not sure I like it.

“Yep.” Ava’s smile gets a little bigger and my heart thumps a little harder.

“Why are you with him?” Emma mutters my name to Cora, and Cora animatedly yells, “What?!”

Huh?

“He saw me fall and took me to the doctor.” Her smile fades a little. Not being ready to break the connection, I reach over and place my hand over hers. Instead of pulling away from me, her fingers tangle with mine. I know it’s such a small thing, but coming from her, I’m elated.

“Be careful,” Emma warns.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?
My eyebrows furrow in confusion, and Ava pulls on my hand bringing my eyes from the road back to hers. They are soft, letting me know she feels cared for and not afraid. But why would she be afraid of me?

“I will, don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried about you . . .” she trails off.

“I’ll be all right. Listen, I’m gonna go. I’ll call you after I talk to the ortho. You’re right—I’ll see a specialist when I get back to the city.”

“Just call me tomorrow. I’ll take care of Mona, and Cora will find you the best specialist.”

“All right. I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, Av, I’m so sorry this is happening to you.” I look over and see her swallow. Emotional pain crosses her face again.

“Me too. Later, Emma.”

“Bye, hun.”

The phone clicks off and silence refills the truck. I have no idea what half of that phone call was about, but I get the feeling a broken wrist means more to them than the average person. Shit, this just makes me feel worse. Ava relaxes back into the seat, lays her head against the window, and closes her eyes.

“Please don’t ask me about the call,” she mutters on a sigh.

“Wasn’t planning on it.” And I really wasn’t. This girl is locked tight with secrets, and she doesn’t volunteer information very easily. Oh well. She’ll tell me if she wants to.

“Thank you, Ash.”

“Anything I can do for you?” Like give you the moon . . .

“Maybe just drive a little longer so they’re gone when we get back.”

“I can do that.” Slowing the truck, I hit the blinker, and make the turn toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. May as well take the scenic route.

Her injured arm returns to her chest in a protective move and the fingers on her left hand relax under mine. I’m so happy she doesn’t pull them away; I’d hold her hand forever.

By the time I turn down Lake Horizons Road, she’s asleep against the window and I make the decision for her . . . she’s staying with me.

“AVA, WE’RE HERE,” he says quietly so as to not startle me. My eyes flutter open and I turn to meet his. I can’t help but wince from the pain and he frowns. It’s the same frown he had during my call with Emma.

After we hung up, I closed my eyes to let him know I was done talking. He seems to follow my mood pretty well, and I appreciate him not asking me a thousand questions. Really it isn’t any of his business, but I can’t blame him if he’s curious. That call was kind of cryptic.

I feel bad for lying to Emma. She would never lie to me, but she and Cora don’t understand. Over the years, their support and understanding has turned to make me feel more like an annoyance. I know they love me and mean well, but I can’t just turn it off, and sometimes it feels like that’s what they almost expect. The memories—triggers—are never going to go away, as much as I want them to.

“Listen,” the tone of his voice changes. It reminds me of the one in the urgent care when he
told
me he was coming in the back with me. “I think it’s best if you just stay with me. How about you let me run in and pack up your things? You can just sit here if you want and I’ll be right back.”

I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to spend more time with him, because I really do. When Emma offered to stay, a huge part of the reason I told her no is because I was hoping he would. I know I’m going to need a little extra help and I jumped on the opportunity blindly, but it felt right. I mean, I wasn’t sure how he would feel about it, but I wanted to take the chance. In my mind, he’d come over and hang out—never did I think he’d want to move me in with him. I eye him cautiously. Can I do this? Can I stay in the same house with him? Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.

“Okay,” I say timidly, being rewarded with the biggest smile. Even through the pain, butterflies take off at the sight of those dimples.

“It’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. Trust me.” The second the word “trust” leaves his mouth, I flinch. As much as I like him and feel this undeniable connection to him, I don’t know him.

"Trust you?" My words are slow, but he needs to hear me. “Trust isn’t something that’s just given, Ash. It has to be earned.”

He regards me for a few minutes and runs his hand across his jaw. “Ah, see, I disagree with you. For me, trust is automatic until you break it.” I can appreciate his positive outlook, but mine wasn’t just broken, it was shattered. “Look, your friends know where you are and who you’re with. You’re gonna need some help, and besides, it’ll be fun. The apple harvest is this week, so there’ll be some town activities we can go to.”

Looking into his eyes, I try to match them with distrustful ones I have seen in the past, and there’s nothing. They are wide open, letting me in. He wants me to see him. They are clear, light blue, and looking back at me . . . adoringly. Trust. Maybe I can allow him this. After all, in little ways, he’s been proving himself since the moment I met him. He respects my physical boundaries, he’s been patient and listened to me cry twice, he’s never pushed me to answer questions that I don’t want to, and in general, he’s been very protective of me.

“Okay,” I say, sounding a little surer of myself. His smile returns, he leans over, and pats my leg. Heat from his hand quickly spreads and a blush crawls up my neck.

He turns the truck off and opens the door. “Do you want to stay here or come in with me?”

“I’ll come in. I just want to make sure everything is locked once we’re ready to leave, and I’ll need to pack up Tank too.” Carefully, I slide out of the truck trying not to jostle my arm, and I hear him sneeze. I know I shouldn’t find this adorable, but I do.

“Tank?” he asks, walking over to meet me. His shoes crunch against the gravel and I take in his long legs and broad shoulders. He’s still wearing the gray beanie, and it looks so good on him.

“My dog.” I grin.

“You have a dog?” He looks at me curiously as we walk up the steps. It dawns on me how bad things were the last time on these steps, and I hope he’s not thinking about it too. He holds the door open for me and together we walk in.

“Yep. Right after I got her—”

“Wait, you have a female dog named Tank?” A giggle escapes at the amused look on his face.

“Yep, I wanted the girliest name possible and picked Tinkerbell. Well, within a week it shortened to Tink, and then Cora was over one night and says, ‘Tink? Should be Tank because her gas tank never runs out.’ Tank just stuck.”

“Where was she the other night? I’ve been here twice and haven’t seen her once.” As he follows me up the stairs, my chest tightens a little. He’s not going to hurt me; it’s an irrational reaction, and I hate that I’m having it, but it’s not lost on me he’ll be the first guy to enter my bedroom in seven years.

“She sleeps in her crate when I’m not home—or travel bag, while we’re here—and for whatever reason, she doesn’t bark in it. And,” we reach my bedroom door, and I pause before opening it. Can he tell that I’m nervous? That he makes me nervous?