Page 37 of Mountain Man Officer

“Seriously,” she said. “Think about it. Do women have mind-blowing sex with their husbands? Probably not.”

I sighed. Every marriage was different, and I was willing to bet that some women were completely satisfied when it came to marital relations. “I just don’t know why he wanted to talk to you last night.”

“I don’t think it was Jason’s idea,” Ava said sadly.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Did you see how Ryan completely avoided looking at me?” Ava winced, uncomfortable even with the memory.

“No.” I shook my head. I had been so focused on Jason I hadn’t paid any attention to Ava or Ryan.

“It was like that last week too,” she said sadly. “I guess it’s really over between us.”

“Good,” I said.

She sighed.

“Seriously, Ava.” I adopted my “mom” tone. “He treated you horribly. I can’t understand why you would want to get back together with him.”

“He has a good job…” Ava began, looking down at her hands. “And he’s cute.”

“Ava…” I moaned, wishing I could make her see the light.

“Anyway,” Ava moved on, realizing she was in danger of wallowing, “I bet Ryan asked if he could talk to you, and Jason agreed.”

I considered it. It made sense. I had been angry at Jason for no reason. He hadn’t snubbed me, and there was still a chance that the sex had meant just as much to him as it had to me. I thought back over how I had acted last night when he had come home. I hadn’t said anything to him and walked out of the living room when he had tried to say hello.

“Oh.” I felt the air escape my lungs in a dejected sigh. “I think I messed things up again.”

“How?” Ava wondered.

“I thought that he…” When I tried to put my suspicions into words, it just sounded worse than ever.

“Slept with you and then hit on me?” Ava finished.

“Yeah,” I admitted.

She patted my hand.

The door swung open, making the bells ring. Bella walked in, ready for her twelve o’clock appointment. Ava stood up to greet her, and I busied myself with straightening up until another customer demanded my attention. As I worked, I wondered how I could make it up to Jason. I didn’t relish the idea of having a long and awkward conversation about how I thought he had been a prick. It was too early in our relationship to falsely accuse him of wrongdoing.

I decided to get him a present, but what? A bottle of vodka or a six-pack seemed too suggestive. I didn’t want to indicate that I was horny or looking for another hookup, though that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. I could get him a clock or a lamp or some other equally bland housewarming gift. But I wanted it to be special. After worrying over it in my mind for at least half the day, I decided on the perfect gift. I would go to the local hardware store and get him something for his woodworking. Hadn’t he said he wanted to make a coffee table?

I finished up my shift and locked up for the day, waving goodbye to Ava. The hardware store was on the same strip as the hair salon, only two blocks down. I walked quickly, thinking about what I was going to get. Did he need some woodworking tools? Or a book of projects?

I opened the door and stepped inside, my senses assaulted by rows and rows of tools. I realized in an instant that I was completely lost. A local teenager stocking the shelves looked up and took pity on me.

“Can I help you find something?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said thankfully. “I’m looking for a gift for a friend who does woodworking.”

“Woodworking supplies are in the back.” He turned and led the way through crowded aisles to the back of the store. Crammed into a display area no wider than a yardstick were an assortment of tools and accessories that I couldn’t identify. Which ones did he need? I glanced at the kid in panic.

“Maybe you could get him a gift card?” the boy suggested.

“Yes,” I agreed. That was perfect. Then Jason could come here and pick out whatever he wanted.

I followed the boy back to the register and paid for the gift card. I had just slipped it into my purse when the door opened, and Macy stepped in. She was in the middle of a conversation with her husband and had a baby strapped to her chest.

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