Page 23 of Whatever You Want

Unbuckling my seat belt, I turned sideways to face my daughter. “I’ll let you out of the truck as soon as your iPad is turned off and put away?”

My eyes followed her movements as she shut her screen down and slid it into the storage bin on the floor. I scratched the side of my cheek, debating on whether or not I should scold her for eating a bag of goldfish when she knew I didn’t want crumbs in the back seat of my truck. But when she looked up, giving me a gapped-tooth grin, I decided to let it go.

As soon as I hit the unlock button, she jumped out and ran straight over to Madison. I slid a baseball cap over my head and stepped out of my truck. Just because Ava and I kissed and spent a night under the stars last week didn’t mean things had to be weird between us today.

“Hey.” Ava smiled, blowing a strand of hair out of her eye that had fallen out of her ponytail. She seemed different today. Her face was free of makeup, showing off her natural beauty, but that wasn’t all I noticed. Maybe it was the bright morning sun, or perhaps it was the dimples I was seeing for the first time poking out of her cheeks, but she seemed less guarded today. She reminded me of the woman I first met. She seemed more put together and a little less broken.

“Looks like your helper is taking a break.” I pointed to where the girls were sitting on the grass, showing no signs of moving. Brina was showing Madison her new bead-making kit. I don’t know what my mother was thinking when she bought that thing. It was so messy it should have come with a warning label.

“Yeah, apparently.” She scrunched up her nose. “The funny thing is, most of what we are moving is her stuff. I’m leaving a good amount of the furniture for the new owner. It still amazes me though how much junk accumulates in a house over a few years.”

I swept my eyes across the yard. Marco and Quinn were loading the stuff into the small U-Haul. “Starting fresh, huh?”

She looked down at the ground. “I figured a clean slate would be best.”

I adjusted the hat along my forehead. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”

I had no idea what the hell to say. Clearly, she was sad about leaving her former life behind. This was a huge step for her, and I couldn’t even imagine all the mixed feelings swimming through her head.

She glanced up and gave me a small smile. “I hope so.”

I rubbed a hand over my face, noticing a bead of sweat rolling down her neck, moving straight toward her cleavage. I did my best not to follow its path, but I’m pretty sure she caught me staring.

I started backing away before I made things more uncomfortable. “All right, Captain, what do you need me to do?”

“There are a few odd and end pieces of furniture that I’m taking, but it’s mostly boxes. Everything is labeled, so I just need you to load as much as you can into the U-Haul. There is coffee and bagels on the kitchen counter. Help yourself.” I turned to walk away, but her hand reached out and touched my arm. “Logan, thank you for coming to my rescue today. I’m sure you have a million other things you would rather do on your weekend off. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“I told you I don’t mind.”

“Well, then I’m glad Marco thought to ask for your help today.” She removed her hand, and I followed her into the house.

I felt guilty for lying to her on the phone the other day. Marco never asked to borrow my truck. When he called, explaining why he had to cancel our plans to go fishing, I jumped at the chance to help. I was taking advantage of every opportunity I could get to be around her again.

I peeled my eyes off her backside and reminded myself to keep things friendly. That’s what she needed right now, a friend.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I stepped inside the air-conditioned house. It was way too hot and sticky for this early in the morning, so the cooler air was welcome.

Amelia was fixing herself a cup of coffee when she saw me. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” I said, making my way over to kiss her on the cheek. “How does it feel to be kid-less for a few hours?”

“Marietta showed up an hour early.” She set her cup down to secure the lid and sighed. “I barely got to hug my daughter before she was whisked away for the day.”

I chuckled. “Sounds about right.” Marco’s mom dedicated her entire life to her family. She lost her husband a few years ago, so spending time with her two boys and grandkids is what she lived for.

I placed my hands on my hips, surveying the room. Everything was well-packed and organized, making for a quick move across town.

“All right.” I rubbed my hands down along my gym shorts. “I better get started.”

Two hours later, Brina and I were pulling into Ava’s new neighborhood. We had to make a quick run back to my place to grab her inhaler. She hasn’t had an asthma attack in a while, but I wanted to be prepared just in case.

I looked down the street to check out her new house. It was everything I pictured it to be. It was situated in an upper-middle-class neighborhood and only a mile away from the elementary school. The two-story colonial looked to be in great condition. The landscaping was another story. The overgrown hedges along the front needed a good trim, and some of the bushes needed to be replaced. The lawn was even worse. It had a number of spots that would require some reseeding. I was meticulous about my yard, something that drove my neighbors crazy. My head was already filling up with ideas of what I could do to give this outdoor space a new look.

I carried a couple of boxes up the driveway and set them on the front porch. As soon as I stepped inside, I could tell it had been recently renovated. It wasn’t an older house, but it wasn’t exactly new either. As a matter-of-fact, the more I looked around, the more I liked it. It was open and bright with a killer backyard. I could totally picture Ava and Madison restarting their lives here.

“Where do you want this?” I yelled over to Ava, who was carrying a bucket of cleaning supplies in one hand and a mop in the other.

She tilted her head to the side and studied the box. “That goes upstairs in my bedroom. It’s the last door on the left.”

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