Page 83 of Where Are You Now
Ava didn’t want to lose a single piece of her father. This rod and the bait were all she had left of him, and while she had a whole tackle box full, she owed it to him to keep their connection safe. She held the rod steady, tugging methodically and reeling. Lucas assisted with holding the rod.
“I’ve noticed quite a bit of debris in the water lately,” her mom said. “I hope you don’t get hung up all day.”
But as they pulled in whatever the object was, it was almost as if it were fighting.
Then, the air went out of Ava’s lungs, and she began to reel with all her might. Tears filled her eyes, her heart pounding as she moved, every rotation an unbalanced baby step toward her father, just like she’d made as a toddler, awaiting the safety of his embrace.
Finally, the object emerged from the water: a giant largemouth bass, just like her dad had said he would send. A sob rose in her throat as the wind blew the trees, and she could almost swear she heard on the wind,I see you.
“That’s the biggest bass ever,” Lucas said. He helped her get hold of it.
Ava grabbed the line and held it up, crying. “Look, Mom!”
Her mother clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes glassy with emotion. “You don’t think …”
Ava shook her head. “No, I don’t think. Iknow.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“You sure you have everything?” Martha said the next day as she peered at Ava’s neatly stacked suitcases in the back of Lucas’s Range Rover.
Ava mentally ticked off her packing list. “I think so.”
Martha put her hands on her hips. “Well, it’s been a blast.” She opened her arms and gave Ava a squeeze, but it was clear she was fighting emotion. “Have a safe flight home.”
Lucas closed the hatch.
“Will you be okay?” Ava asked.
“Of course. I have Dorothy.” She winked at Ava. “You two be careful. Lucas, get my baby girl on her plane.”
“Will do.” He gave Martha a hug.
Martha tipped her head toward the sky and blinked away tears. “Go, go, before I blubber all over you.”
“I’ll be back as soon as humanly possible,” Ava promised.
Her mother nodded, her sadness clearly getting the better of her.
Ava and Lucas climbed into his vehicle, and he started the engine.
Martha threw up a hand and waved as they bumped alongthe drive to the main road. Ava swallowed the lump in her throat, watching her mother disappear in the side-view mirror.
The ride to the airport was quiet, and then they filled their final moments with parking, finding the airline kiosk, and checking in her bags. Once Ava had her gate number, Lucas walked her to the screening area, where he couldn’t go any further.
Ava didn’t want to leave him, but she didn’t have a whole lot of time to get to her gate. She reminded herself that this goodbye would be the first of many if they were to see each other after this, and if she was so lucky as to see him again, she’d have to get used to it.
“I’ll see ya,” he said, the noise of the corridor fading into nothing but the two of them.
She committed the look in his eyes to memory in the hope it would get her through the empty nights alone. She squeezed his arm, not wanting to let go. She didn’t have a plan, but she sent a silent prayer of trust up to the heavens.
“I’ve gotta go,” she whispered.
“Call me when you get there so I know you made it safely.”
“Okay.” Ava shifted her bag on her shoulder.
The line of travelers was building around her and she needed to get through the bag check quickly to make her flight.
