Page 52 of Love Me Fearless

Chapter Thirteen

I spendthe rest of the day rebuilding the new chicken coop then planting new apple seedlings in Mr. Feeny’s yard. I swear Casper nickers from his pen, like he’s mocking me. Fitting, given the state of affairs.

It’s not like I haven’t endured Ava dating before. But this is different. This guy is here in Finn River—where Ava’s always known she would return to. It took everything I had to keep from hunting the guy down and telling him to take a fucking hike.

As if that isn’t bad enough, the disastrous conversation at Hazel Creek keeps rattling around in my brain. Ava has a right to doubt my intentions. I’ve never tried to hide my habits, and I’m very upfront about things with the women I take to bed.

But what Ava and I shared that night in that little cabin at Wolf Creek wasn’t just some fling. It was real to me. And it fucking wrecked me when she left. And now she’s saying that because of my history, I can’t be trusted?

I’m torn because she’s right but also wrong. How do I fit the pieces of us together?

That afternoon, I’m so consumed with unloading ourhay delivery that I miss Ava when she comes to help with the evening chores. In the morning, she’s already come and gone before I finish in the fields. I catch her lingering scent in the barn or get a flash of her dark ponytail as she moves, but we don’t talk. By Friday, I’m beginning to think she’s avoiding me.

It’s aggravating as hell.

On Sunday morning, I’m about to head out to meet the 4H crew when my phone buzzes with an alert. It’s from Bitterroot Search and Rescue.

Fallen hiker recovery. Muster at York Springs Trailhead 900.

I type a quick reply, then hurry to the house. A rescue mission is just what I need right now.

“I got a call out,” I tell Mom who is at the kitchen table with a calculator and what looks like spreadsheets of farm expenses.

Her eyes brighten. “Ooh. Have fun.”

“Maybe give the accounting a rest,” I say, and nod at the iPad I bought her—a refurbished one or she’d skin me alive—so she can devour as many books as she wants, plus the contrast is working better for her eyes.

Mom sighs. “I don’t know how I’m going to afford the vet bills this year.”

I offer my hand and she lets me pull her from the chair. “It’ll work out. It always does.”

“Tracy says I should charge more for my flowers, but I hate that.”

I scoop up the iPad and lead Mom to the couch. “Do you want my help? We could look at the finance stuff together.” I can think of ten ways to reduce costs, but I sincerely doubt she’d like any of them.

“Maybe if I took on a few more boarders.”

I resist the urge to groan. Horses eat money.

“Beth is off at one o’clock, right?”

“Should be, why?”

My conscience nags at me. “I’ll call Ava.” A hot buzz lights up myface at the thought of hearing her voice. Especially after not talking to her all week.

Mom waves me off. “I’ll be fine.”

I plant a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll keep you in the loop.”

Mom has already opened her iPad, so I scoop up my pack and head for the door.

Outside, I text Beth a heads-up and jump into the truck. Once I’m underway, I call Ava on speaker and set my phone flat on the dash—Mom’s version of Bluetooth technology.

“Morning,” she says.

I don’t let her brisk, businesslike tone get to me. “Do you have time to swing by the farm for a bit?”

“Is everything okay?”

---