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“Good night.”
“Good night,” Ava whispers and tiptoes back to the couch. Now I feel bad. I lie there awake, wondering what to do. On the one hand, Ryder would kill me if he knew I invited his little sister into my bed. On the other hand, he did tell me to protect her, no matter what.
Just then, I see a flash of light outside. I leap out of bed and over to the window. Someone is out there. I grab my flashlight and my gun and run outside.
“Who’s out there? I’m armed and not afraid to shoot. Show yourself.” I hear more rustling. The light disappears into the pasture. It sounds like whoever it is is running toward the edge of the property. “Don’t come back here! Next time I see movement out here, I’ll shoot,” I yell as loud as possible.
“Travis? What’s going on?” Kenny is standing in the doorway.
“Someone is out there. They were shining a flashlight into my room. I came outside earlier and saw the bushes in front of my window had been trampled. Then they came back. I couldn’t determine who or what it was, but someone was running away.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Kenny says.
“Yeah, I’m about ready to sit on the porch the rest of the night with my shotgun.”
“I hear ya. I can take a shift.”
“Nah, I think they’re gone for good. I’m going to lock the doors, though.”
“I’ll keep an ear out, too,” Kenny says.
“Alright, let’s try to get some sleep.”
I go back inside and find Ava sitting on the couch, shaking with fear.
“Hey, Ava, it’s ok. You don’t have to be scared.” I sit down on the couch next to her. “They’re gone. I don’t know who it was, but I scared them off. If they come back, Kenny and I will take care of them. You have nothing to worry about. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know. I’m just a little freaked out. Ryder’s been acting weird, too. He keeps asking if I’m ok. It’s not like him. I just have a bad feeling that something is going to happen.”
“Not on my watch. Come on, you can sleep with me. The bed is big enough that we won’t even have to touch.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to make things weird.”
“I’m positive. I promise nothing will happen. We’ll be totally platonic and safe.”
I can’t, in good conscience, leave her alone on the couch. Ryder told me to keep her safe at all costs.
15
AVA
Iclimb into bed with Travis and fall asleep before I can even appreciate it. The next time I open my eyes, the sun is beaming through the window. I look away from the sun and see Travis sleeping next to me.
Wow. That’s a sight I wouldn’t mind waking up to each morning. He’s got just a bit of stubble growing in. It’s the same dark brown as his hair but with just a bit of gray hair peppered in.
He has one arm above his head and the other resting on his chest. He’s not wearing a shirt, so I can see the little hairs on his chest.
I watch his chest rise up and down, and up and down. It’s so serene that I’m tempted to lay my head on it. Just watching the movement is enough to lull me back to sleep–almost. It’s not every day I’m in bed with a half-naked man. I want to take it all in. He’s got the perfect body. He’s muscular but not too chiseled. You can tell he’s strong from living, not because he’s pumping iron all day. He’s got some meat on his bones.
He starts to stir. I’d better stop staring at him. I don’t want to be the weird girl who watches people sleep. I close my eyes and pretend to be waking up. I hope this isn’t awkward. I look over at Travis, and he looks over at me. No smile. No good morning. No nothing. Maybe he’s not a morning person.
“Morning,” I mumble to him.
“Good morning. Did you get some sleep?”
“I slept like a log. Thanks for letting me sleep in here.”
“No problem.” Travis sits up on the side of the bed with his back toward me. He stretches his arms above his head, highlighting his back and shoulder muscles. Wow. He picks up a white T-shirt and pulls it over his head.
