Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
I hold out the wipes, and Ava takes a few. The girls are done with their cake, and together we wipe their faces. I have no idea what to do next. Do we go back into the barn? Let the kids play out in a nearby field?
All I know is, I don’t want Ava to leave.
I don’t want our conversation to end.
CHAPTER 13
Sawyer
DANCING IN THE DARK
I don’t realize the band is playing “Two Dozen Roses” until Ava starts bopping her head to the beat.
“One of your favorites,” I say without thinking.
“It is, yeah.” Her green eyes flick to meet mine. “You remembered.”
“How could I forget? It came on, and then you offered to body-slam me.”
She laughs. “I had some memorable lines that night, didn’t I?”
Yes you did, pretty girl. I remember them all.
“I think my favorite was, ‘Thanks for not killing me.’ ”
“Hey.” Ava lifts Junie off the bench. “Not all of us can be as smooth as you are.”
I should probably get back in the barn. Help finish framing that wall. We only have a few hours of daylight left to get the job done.
But Wyatt was coming to take over, right? I’ve been here since noon. A little break can’t hurt. I’m suddenly gripped by the fierce desire to dance. Maybe because I haven’t done it since dancing naked with Ava in my hotel suite.
Ava’s favorite song is playing. I feel like the universe is begging me to make a move.
“What do y’all think?” I help Ella off the bench too. “Should we go dance?”
“I can dance,” Junie says.
I squat, my knees cracking. The hammer in my tool belt claps against my outer thigh. “Bet you get your moves from your mama, don’t you?”
“I actually haven’t taught her the sprinkler yet,” Ava says with a chuckle.
She doesn’t regret that night if she keeps bringing it up, right?
I puff out my chest a little, knowing she enjoyed it that much. I’m dying to ask her if she’d like a repeat. I have no clue what I want from her. Sex? Or more than that?
I just wanna be wild with her again.
I had the thought back in Austin: that freedom, that spark, was what I’d been missing in my search for a significant other. After Lizzie and I had decided we’d be better off as friends, I tried dating some. Nothing had ever panned out, though.
Now I’m realizing that maybe I was looking for the lightning I felt with Ava. The chemistry. The immediate, intense connection.
I made the mistake of thinking I could create chemistry with Lizzie, but I was sorely mistaken. Connecting with someone—the ability to just be yourself with a person—is rare. Even rarer when you live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
Without that sense of connection, there’s no way I could fall in love. And that’s ultimately what I’m after—falling so hard, so completely, that I have no choice but to make that person mine forever.
Needless to say, trying to play it cool with Ava is fucking killing me.
“What about you, Elly Belly Boo?” I hold out my hand. “Can I have this dance?”
She leaps into my arms, giving me a big old bear hug. “Yes, Daddy. Can you carry me though?”
“Yes, baby, I’ll carry you.” My hammer claps me again as I stand up with an exaggerated groan. “Dang, Ella, did you grow even more overnight?”
Wrinkling her nose, she holds her fingertips over her mouth and giggles. “I think I did. I’m a big girl now.”
“Big girls use the potty every time, remember?”
Ava lifts Junie onto her hip. “Are y’all struggling with potty training too? It’s been slow going for us.”
“I’d rather get thrown by a horse than go through this again.”
“So much poopy underwear.” Ava shakes her head.
I shake mine too. “So much.”
“I didn’t poop,” Junie replies.
Ava smiles. “That’s good news. All right, you wanna show Mr. Sawyer how you can dance?”
“Okay.” Junie nods solemnly. “I’m very good at it, Mr. Sawyer.”
“I’m a good dancer too,” Ella says. “My uncle Wy says so.”
Junie reaches for Ella’s hand. “I love dancing.”
“I love it too!” My daughter giggles, letting Junie have her little hand.
I laugh too, heart twisting. I love seeing Ella open up like this. She has a few friends at school, but overall, she’s a quiet kid.
I love seeing her laugh.
Now that our girls are holding hands, Ava and I are close. Close enough that our arms brush as we head for the grassy clearing in front of the band.
Some older couples are already there dancing cheek to cheek, the Wallaces among them. My heart twists again. Can’t help but think of my own parents, how they’d definitely be out here crushing the two-step together.
This July marks what would’ve been their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. By the time Dad was my age, he had been married for five years and already had a kid with another on the way. Hurts thinking about all the stuff he’s missed out on.