Page 42 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
Ava whispers something in her ear before she disappears as quickly as she came in, without another word or glance in my direction.
Ella heads for the fridge while I stand here, wondering if it’s okay to pry information about Ava from her or not. It’s the reason why I came here in the first place, and since Ava won’t talk to me—upon my request—I might as well get the information I need from somebody else.
“How did it go today?” I ask Ella, who is stacking her arms with snacks.
“What?” she mumbles, glancing at me for a moment.
“Daisy’s music class,” I answer, refusing to mention Ava directly to avoid suspicion.
“You saw that smile on her face. What do you think?” she retorts.
I narrow my eyes since I need a better, direct answer.
She rolls her eyes at me. “It went great—all the kids loved her. Daisy wouldn’t shut up the whole ride home, and Ava has agreed to take over the classes until she has to head back to LA in two months.”
Now that’s more like it.
I’m relieved to hear that the music lessons went well. Ava does look and sound happier if the laughter coming from the living room is any indication. Which means I didn’t do so bad in pushing her to replace Daisy’s teacher.
“Is that all, boss, or do you have any more questions?” Ella challenges.
I do have more questions, but they’re not for her. I wordlessly step aside to let her pass.
Now that I have my answer, I should turn around and leave, but I find myself sticking around. I can’t join the girls for their game, but I want to be close enough to Ava without being creepy, so I grab a beer and join my father and Jace in the dining room.
“Look who’s decided to join us. Is your cabin on fire? Do we need to call 911?” Jace teases as I plop myself next to him.
I use the arm of his wheelchair to pop open my beer bottle as I glare him down to silence.
From this position, I have a good view of the living room and its main attraction—Ava.
“Would you like me to deal you in?” my father offers.
I nod and tip my beer bottle at him. I don’t really want to play, but I can’t just sit here doing nothing. My main goal is to keep an eye on Ava, but I have to play it cool.
She has been here for a month, and I’m no closer to having my questions answered. She’s actually doing what I asked of her—staying away from me—so why is it irking me so much?
What I know for a fact is that she’s no longer the sweet and sunshiny girl I once knew. She’s been replaced by a shell of a girl who fakes smiles, doesn’t eat enough, and sleepwalks, even though it’s been a while since that happened.
From the moment I saw her again, I knew something was off and different about her. Ella confirmed as much weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to find out what, but it seems it’s high time I focus on her again.
This means that Ava and I need to sit down and talk. I don’t know how or when, but I know it needs to be as soon as possible before she starves herself to death.
I just need to find a way to make her stop running away from me long enough to have a constructive conversation.
“Hey, pay attention,” Jace demands, snapping his fingers at me.
I mutter a half-assed apology as I focus my gaze back on the game.
“Beck will be coming home next month,” Dad announces, talking about my youngest brother.
We’re five siblings—four brothers and Ella. I’m the eldest, followed by Jace, then Ryder, who doesn’t live with us, andBeckett—the problematic one. I love all my brothers; we all have our own issues, but Beck is a special case.
As for Ryder, well, we just hope he’s alive wherever he is. He’s even worse than I am when it comes to staying close to the family.
“Finally, I’ve missed him. I hope he’ll be in time for the next game night—he always cheats and still loses,” Jace chuckles.
He’s right about that one.
