Page 50 of Jack

“Ava, I’m not trying to be an asshole here, but there’s a reason you had to move from your hometown. He’s not afraid to try shit in front of your parents because he’s done it before.”

A denial got caught in my throat. He was right, Chad hadn’t cared about whether my parents were around when he harassed me. It’s not like they hadn’t protected me, they just hadn’t known how to deal with him.

“Okay, when you’re done there, come get me.”

“I’ll be about thirty more minutes. Now that I’m thinking about it, I think I’ll ask Nikolai to go up and lean on your ex and find out what the fuck he’s up to. I don’t like the idea of driving up there and leaving you alone back here, and I definitely don’t want you going back there, even if you’re with me.”

While I was grateful, the level of protectiveness he was demonstrating took me by surprise. He understood how traumatized I was from my experience with my former boyfriend, and that whole stupid town, and was doing what he could to shield me from it. I shook my head, mystified at his sensitivity.

“Thank you, Jack,” I whispered, my voice quavering with sincerity and appreciation.

Jack cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, if it isn’t him, Nik can scare the shit out of him and keep him off your back. If it is him, well, same thing, but I’ll be traveling up there to help Nik out,” he replied gruffly, clearly uncomfortable with my sentimentality.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

“Right, see you in thirty.”

****

Chapter 28

Jack

I pulled up to Ava’s house, discomfort tightening my gut. I looked down at my grease-covered t-shirt, knowing this was hardly a great first impression to make on Ava’s parents. I always worked on my car at Buck’s, so I always make sure he has a stock of parts for my car. I had to go to the glass place and special order a window, but the installation was pretty easy after that.

I rang the doorbell and noticed the dirt still embedded under my fingernails. I hastily stuffed my hands in the pockets of my jeans as the door opened.

An older woman with Ava’s blonde hair and pale green eyes opened the door and offered me a tentative smile. I’m sure Ava’s parents were more than leery of anyone she dated after their experience with that dickhead in Michigan.

“Hi, you must be Jack. Come in,” she said, waving me in. I noticed she had blue paint on her shirt and smudges of it on her hands. She even had a small smear on her neck, like she scratched there with her paint-covered fingers. She noticed me looking at her hands, but she simply laughed self-deprecatingly.

“Oh, sorry, I’d shake your hand, but I don’t want to get paint on you.”

I laughed, shocked at how at ease I felt. I raised my own hands, indicating the grease that still lingered despite scrubbing them with hand cleaner at Buck’s. “No problem.”

Ava’s mom laughed softly. “Well, then, I guess we’re both not fit for introductions. I’m Sarah Fisher. My husband is watching a football game in the other room.”

“Honey, can you grab me a beer,” a voice hollered from a family room at the back of the house, presumably Ava’s father.

Ava’s mother shot an indulgent smile in the direction of the voice. “How about you come meet Ava’s boyfriend and grab a beer on your way back to the couch?”

I heard a laugh from the other room. “I suppose I could do that.”

I felt a number of emotions coalesce at this simple interaction. First, I was somebody’s fucking boyfriend. I was startled every time I remembered what happened in Rico’s kitchen last night. The other thing that fucked me up was hearing Ava’s parents interact. The easy way they spoke to each other. The fact that they spoke to each other at all. It was…unsettling.

Ava’s dad rounded the corner as we stood in the living room. He was average height, with short, graying brown hair and brown eyes. He held out his hand and I quickly took it, surprised to find it rough with calluses. I frowned, remembering that Ava had said he worked in computers.

“Hi, I’m William, Ava’s dad. You can call me Will.”

“Uh, hi, I’m Jack,” I mumbled, all of my normal, easy charm completely failing me. “Sorry about the hands, I just worked on my car.”

Will’s eyebrows raised. “You work on your own car?”

“Yeah, I’ve worked on cars nearly my whole life.”

A boyish grin broke out across Will’s face. “Did Ava tell you I have a ’74 Trans Am?”

“No shit? You restore it yourself?” I shot Ava’s mom a quick look. “Sorry.”

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