Page 7 of Love Me Fearless

“How are your folks?” I ask to change the subject. It’s too early to unpack my feelings, and what’s the point? Ava and I have never agreed when it comes to my dad. She thinks I should quit trying to impress him, but a part of me still tries, as if it could bring him back, or make up for however I failed to measure up.

“Really good,” Ava says as we round the first curve. “Mom’s enjoying her summer off as usual. Going for hikes, working in her garden. I think she’s dating someone, but she won’t talk about it.”

“Why not?”

“She’s private about stuff like that.” The trail enters a grove of aspens, the leaves flashing golden in the rising sun. “Dad’s been really busy with rescues. They had a big one in the Bitterroots a few weeks ago. He really needs a bigger crew, but they don’t have the funds. There’s a levy this fall. Fingers crossed it passes.”

“I’ll be sure to send in my ballot.” Ava’s dad heads the volunteer Search and Rescue organization, is a captain for Finn River Fire, and might be the only person who scares me. Maybe because I sometimes sense he’s reading my thoughts about his daughter.

“How’s Louisa?” Ava asks, flashing me a smile.

“Between her flowers and horses and wrangling my sisters, it’s a wonder she ever sleeps,” I say with a laugh.

“Are we still helping this afternoon with the flowers?”

“She’s counting on it.”

“I have a new book for her,” Ava says.

I groan. “You two and your cowboy romances.”

She laughs. “Both of us are too busy for a real man, so book boyfriends will have to do.”

The idea of Ava fantasizing about some fictional cowpoke bending her over a hay bale makes my skin prickle, so I increase our pace a little. Ava side-eyes me, accepting my challenge with an arch to her brow.

By the time we’ve lapped the lake and added a mile to cool down, a sheen of sweat coats our skin. I stop at the cabin for my swim buoy and towels, then we continue down to the dock.

“What a perfect day to get married,” Ava says as the planks flex under our feet.

“I’m glad they let us help out today,” I say.

“Did you hear how much that company wanted to charge them to run the bar and shoot candids?”

“I’m sure it was a lot.”

“Like ten grand. Ridiculous.”

“Jesse will do a better job anyway.” Sofie’s older brother is an amazing photographer and filmmaker.

“Agreed.”

At the end of the dock, I lower one of the sit-on-top kayaks to the water for Ava, then dive in. The cold explodes on my hot skin, refreshing and invigorating all at once.

“Aren’t you going to jump in?” I ask Ava when I come up.

She’s peering at me from the end of the dock. “It’s too dark.”

“I promise I’ll save you from the monsters of the deep.”

She glares at me. “I’m not afraid of monsters.”

“Come on, Greely. Get in.”

With an adorable scowl in my direction, she plugs her nose and leaps. When she comes up spluttering, her hair in her face, I can’t help but laugh. Ava is always so put together. It’s a rare treat to see her out of her element.

“Brr!”

I sidestroke closer to her, the gentle water making me feel sleek, my muscles eager to work. “It’ll put hair on your chest.”

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