Loose Ends (Magnolia Series Book 1) (12 page)

Chapte
r
Nin
e

“Do you want to talk
about it?” Brandi drove down the two lane highway away from Luke’s home while Ava stared out her window into the bleak of night.

“Honestly, I don’t even know how to explain it, Brandi,” Ava sighed.

“Did he hurt you?” Concern laced her best friend’s voice.

“No, nothing like that. Everything was great this weekend. In fact it was the best weekend I’ve had in God knows how long.”

“You’re not giving me much to go on here,” Brandi laughed.

Ava stayed quiet for what she’d thought was a reasonable amount of time. How did she explain what’d happened when she wasn’t even sure herself? “Can we not discuss this right now? I’m beyond exhausted and just want to go home.”

“Whatever you say, chief. But as your best friend, I’m gonna want details eventually. I don’t like seeing you like this.” Ava felt a reassuring tap of Brandi’s hand on her knee, but only nodded in the dim lit interior of the car.

The miles ticked by as the two friends rode in silence back to Ava’s beach house. The entire weekend with Luke was replaying in her head like a bad silent movie and all she wanted was to either hit the pause button or delete the damn thing altogether. The ignorant thing was that even the tiny thought of his touch sent her body spinning out of control. He was masterful at handling her, and damn it if that didn’t piss her off. It wasn’t fair that he could draw her in like she was a helpless fly, then snag her in his web and devour her whole. Mentally kicking herself wasn’t going to be enough punishment in the coming weeks. The best she could hope for was to work her ass off to try and rid her brain of his touch and him in general. But Luke Daughtry wasn’t someone you could just forget. He made an impact like a damn meteor crashing into the earth. It would be a while before she’d be able to move without feeling him on her and inside her.

***

Monday morning Luke sat on the same porch swing he had the night before with Ava. It was stupid but he could still smell her floral fragrance floating around him as the slight breeze blew in his direction. He’d fucked up. And that wasn’t a good thing since his job was to keep a steady eye on her at all times. He’d never meant to shove her away like he had, he only wanted to emotionally distance himself so he could think straight and do the job he was being paid to do. Now all he could think about was making amends with her and hoping she’d let him in again. If she did, he needed to set some ground rules. Clearly they’d gotten in way over their heads by sleeping together. And if she redeemed him by some twist of fate, he’d have to make sure to never cross that threshold again. It would be dangerous for his plans; and come hell or high water, he would complete his task and walk away.

Finally deciding it was time to start his epic groveling, Luke threw on some different clothes and made his way to his truck in the driveway. What he didn’t expect was for someone to be standing there waiting for him.
Cole Matthews.

“I thought you were an early riser?”

“Not today. What’re you doing here?” Luke stood a few feet away and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Boss man said I needed to come and help you keep an eye on things.”

“Already pegging me for incompetent, I see.”

“Hell, Daughtry. You know as well as I do this has to be done right.”

“Would’ve been nice to get a head’s up. I don’t need a fucking babysitter.” Luke hit the unlock button on his key ring and went for the door. Before he could grab the handle to pull it open, the other man stepped in front of him, blocking his way. “I’m not in the mood for your shit today, Matthews,” Luke growled.

“Seems we have something in common then.”

“Yeah, okay. I fucked up but I’m trying to fix it. So get the hell out of my way so I can do just that.”

“Make sure you
do
fix it, or both our heads will be on the chopping block. I love you, man, but if someone is getting tossed under the bus, it’s gonna be you,” Cole chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this under control.”

The other man stepped out of Luke’s way and started to walk away from the vehicle. “Emotions are messy. Just make sure you don’t get yours involved. You know how this’s gonna end, you’ve seen it already.” 

“I don’t need a reminder.” Luke yanked the door handle so hard he felt his arm muscle protest. 

So they thought he couldn’t do his job. Big fucking surprise there. Those motherfuckers didn’t know him very well if they thought he needed someone to come down to Mississippi and wipe his ass for him. Yeah, shit had happened in the past; that was nearly ten years ago. He’d learned his lesson about how human emotions could fuck you over, and he didn’t plan on letting that happen again. Control over the situation was what he needed in order to see this thing through. He’d have that as soon as he got Ava back in his sights and made her forgive him. What the hell would make a female forgive you for fucking up anyway? Flowers? Chocolate? Hell, it’d been years since he needed to pull the chick card. As he started his truck and drove down the gravel driveway, he mulled over the options. Ava didn’t seem like the type of woman to swoon over material things like jewelry or fancy things. She was a grassroots girl. One who would more than likely be enamored with something simple. This was going to take some planning on his part but he was nothing if not meticulous with his actions. He’d wow her and then she’d have no choice but to forgive him.

***

“Good morning, Chase,” Ava greeted her first client of the day. The awkward redheaded, freckle-faced twenty-one-year-old smiled as he made his way over to the styling chair.

“Mornin’, Ava. How was your weekend?” He sat down and stared at Ava in the mirror.

She tried her hardest to be pleasant and friendly but none of those things described how she really felt on the inside. Exchanging pleasantries was about as far as she wanted to go on this dreary Monday. If the first day of the week wasn’t bad enough already, the storm rolling in outside made it much worse. “Better than some, and worse than others.” She tried to keep things vague. Not that she’d spill her problems to a client anyway, but giving any sort of solid answer about her weekend was far from her mind.

“You gonna be at Bo’s on Friday? It’s their 20
th
anniversary.” Chase was a good kid, but he’d always rubbed her the wrong way for some reason. Ava had a feeling he was once again getting ready to ask her out.

“Probably not. I’m not much for public gatherings.”
Or running into Luke by chance, s
he thought.

“You outta come. It’s gonna be a good time. Free wings and beer from seven to nine.” He watched her as she spread the cutting cape over his body. “I sure could use a date,” he winked as she snapped the cape around his neck. 

Ava knew he meant well, but the kid was nine years her junior. It wouldn’t be considered robbing the cradle but it was pretty damn close to the mark. “Thank you for the offer, Chase. But I don’t think so.” How many times did she have to turn him down for him to get the hint?

“Sweet little thing like you needs a man to take care of her,” Chase said matter-of-factly.

Fury bloomed inside her already aggravated body and this was the last straw. Without thinking of the ramifications, Ava grabbed the leather-backed chair and spun the kid around so she could look him in the eyes. “First off, I’d think again if you think for one second I’m a ‘
sweet little thing’
. And secondly, I don’t need anyone to take care of me, least of all you. So how about you stop thinking one day I’m finally going to give in and go
anywhere
with you.” She was fuming as she saw he wasn’t paying a lick of attention to the words coming out of her mouth, but instead had his eyes trained directly on the small amount of cleavage revealed at her chest. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She stood up straight and pulled her top up to cover what was being shown. It wasn’t that her shirt revealed much at all though, Chase was being a pervert like always. “Look, you little shit. You need to learn some manners and tact. If you want a woman to be interested in you at all, you need to start listening to her instead of drooling over her tits.” Ava reached forward and yanked the cape from around his neck. Just as she went to pull her hands away, Chase grabbed one of her wrists and yanked her down on his lap.

“I like a woman who plays hard to get,” he cooed.

Ava tried to stand and pry herself from his grasp. “Let me go.”

“Come on now, we could be really good together.” Chase thrust his hips up to show her he was ready and willing in the southern region of his anatomy.

Bile began to rise in her throat at the thought of what he might do to her. After all, she was alone in her salon and she highly doubted anyone could hear her scream. She struggled more as he held tighter to her body. “Don’t fight it. I bet you’d like it once you had a taste,” the sick little fucker whispered in her ear and had the nerve to lick her earlobe. Not being able to remove herself from his punishing grasp, Ava let her body go lax. “See, I knew you’d want it.” He took her hand and placed it on the front of his jeans. “All for you, baby,” he chuckled.

The only thing she could do was play along until she could manage to either get the hell out of there or have the opportunity to shove her knee into his crotch and make him sing like a soprano. “You’re right. I’ve wanted you for so long, Chase. How about we take this to the back, out of sight from prying eyes?” Ava tilted her head to the large windows to the front of the shop.

He didn’t make a move to stand up. “What are you gonna do when you get me back there?” his voice dipped low. How disgusting, he was actually getting turned on by this shit. But she had no other choice.

“It’s a surprise.” Ava tried to keep it inexplicit. Just the thought of telling him anything sexual had her wanting to lose the yogurt she’d forced herself to eat for breakfast.

“I want you to tell me. Go ahead, tell me what you’re gonna do to me back there.”

Ava closed her eyes and willed herself to not throw up. Taking a deep breath she forced the words out, “I’m going to…”

“She’s not going to do anything to you, asshole!” Ava’s head snapped up to see Luke coming right for them. “I strongly suggest you let her up or I’ll make sure you eat out of a fucking straw for the rest of your life.” Relief hit as Luke came closer and wrapped his coarse-skinned hand gently around her bicep.

“And who the fuck are you?” Chase stood from the chair as Luke pushed her behind his big frame.

Anger pulsed off Luke in waves as she backed up a bit more in case things got physical. “I’m the guy who’s going to make sure you’re bleeding when you walk out that door. If you’re lucky, I’ll only break a couple bones.” Luke began to stalk toward Chase while Ava watched with horror.

Chase threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, look man. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to be apologizing to.” Luke bit out.

“Ava…I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have…” he stammered.

“Now, get the fuck out of her shop. If I ever hear of you coming in here, or even looking at her while out in public, I will rip every limb from your body while you scream like a little bitch. Is that clear?” Luke said with a deadly tone to his words.

“Crystal clear.” Chase scurried past her and Luke and darted through the front door.

Trembling with fear and adrenaline, Ava backed herself against the wall and slid down. Landing on her butt, she pulled her knees to her chest and tucked her head down. White hot tears began to erupt as she shook with so many emotions. In the two years since she’d lived here, she’d never been so afraid that someone would actually cause her harm. But today made her realize no matter where she ran to, she would never be safe. As she sat there bubbling with emotions, Ava could hear Luke’s soothing voice cutting through the fear induced haze.

“Ava, sweetheart. Look at me,” he kept his voice low and calm. When she didn’t look up, he gently placed a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his.

“Hey, everything’s fine now. I’m here.”

Instinct told her to throw herself into his waiting arms, but common sense made her pause. After what’d happened between them last night she wasn’t sure just where they stood. “Thank you,” was all she could manage to croak out between her sobs.

“Don’t ever thank me for protecting you. I’m just glad I came in when I did. Are you okay? Let me look at you.” Luke helped her stand on shaky legs. He seemed to be taking stock and making sure she wasn’t injured. She’d hate to see what he would’ve done to the forceful freckle-faced kid if he’d managed to harm her in any way. The thought was rather comforting. “I wanted to rip his fucking head off for touching you.” Ava shook her head. She didn’t need the police involved in her life for any reason. If Luke had beaten the hell out of Chase, it would’ve caused a shit storm in her life. “Let’s get you out of here. You don’t need to be here right now.”