“I’m going to be back soon. I promise, Joel,” I swear, drawing him intighter.
“We’ve got all that practice we need to do before try-outs,” I murmur into his ear, saying anything to stop his concern that I’m not going toreturn.
His quivering lips tremor against my neck when he nods his little head. It breaks my heart knowing I'm the cause of his tears. Every small tear directlyimpactsme.
“Don’t tell Mommy, but I snuck a few packets of candy into your sock drawer,” I whisper intohisear.
His head shoots off my neck and his eyes dart between mine. Seeing the truth projecting from my eyes, a large grin stretches across his face, rapidly drying his tears. I return his smile while wiping away the tear-stains from his pale cheeks. After giving him a final noogie on the head, I rise from my crouched position and shift on my feet tofaceAva.
For Joel’s sake, she is putting on a brave front, pretending she isn’t upset about my departure. When Ava initially suggested she could drive me to the airport, I declined her offer. Not because I didn’t want to spend every moment with her and Joel, but because I can’t stand the thought of leaving her at the airport crying. The memories of her walking away from me in this exact airport still agitate me. I thought those six years were going to be our longest separation.How wrong was I?Only after Ava assured me she wouldn’t cry did I agree for her to drop me off. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her into my thrustingchest.
“This time is different, Ava. We were young back then, just kids. Nothing could keep me away from you now. Not a single thing,” I say, intuiting that the memories of that day are also steamrollingintoher.
She runs the edge of her sleeve under her eyes before noddingherhead.
“Don’t tell Joel, but you might want to check his sock drawer when you get home. I may have gotten a little excited with the amount of candy I left inthere.”
A winded grunts sounds out of my mouth when Ava elbows me in the ribs. The weight on my chest eases when she pulls away from our embrace and I see the grin tugging herlipshigh.
“Leave him a couple of packets?” I plead, my words barely a whisper to ensure Joel doesn’t overhear ourconversation.
A smile etches on my face when Ava gently nods her head. After snagging my duffle bag off the ground, I place a kiss on the top of Joel’s head before pressing one on the edge of Ava’s lips. The battle not to slip my tongue inside her sweet, inviting mouth is tortuous. The ball-clenching kiss Ava and I shared a week ago has been the only kiss we’ve shared. Don’t construe my confession the wrong way. I'm more than interested in devouring every single inch of Ava. But it was only after Joel interrupted us with an expression of shock on his face did I recall Ava was only engaged to another man mere hours before our kiss. Not that Marvin will be a hard act to follow, but I don’t want to be the rebound guy. Once Ava becomes mine, there will be no going back - ever. So I need to ensure she has enough time to properly evaluate what she wants, because I know as well as the next man, rushed decisions can cause direconsequences.
When the final boarding call for my flight sounds over the speakers, I shift my eyes between Ava and Joel. “I’ll seeyousoon?”
A smile curls on my lips when they nod their heads in sync. Even with the feeling of a knife being stabbed into my chest, I spin on my heels and walk to my departure gate. I need to do this. I need to make things right with Isaac. Then I'll have a clear conscience to move onto the next stage ofmylife.
* * *
The flightback to Ravenshoe is thankfully uneventful and void of the nail-biting I experienced when I flew to Tiburon with Izzy last week. I can’t believe it has only been a little over a week since that day. So much has changedsincethen.
Exiting the domestic terminal, I spot Hunter’s hellcat parked illegally in a loading zone at the side. He is sitting behind the wheel of his car, either oblivious to the police officer filling in a citation for his illegal parking or hedoesn’tcare.
“I’ll be there in thirty. You better get that little red number out,” I hear Hunter murmur as I crank open the passenger door of his car and slide into the dark grayleatherseat.
“I’ll call you back in a few,” he states into his cell phone, his tone more stern thanearlier.
Snapping his untraceable cell shut, he throws it into the middle console of his car and turns his eyestome.
“Who was that?” I ask, not bothering to hide the innuendo in myvoice.
Hunter tries to hide his smile behind his scruffy beard, but I can’t miss it. Even if I could, the vibrant blaze flicking in his eyes is all the indication I need to know his heart is flipping in hischest.
“You’ll meet her in a few,” he says, snatching the parking ticket out of the officer’s hand and tearing out of theloadingzone.
When we reach the highway, he scrunches up the parking fine and throws it onto the pavement whizzing by. Once his window glides back into place, his eyes drift to me. He eyes me with curiosity but remains silent. My brow curves when he leans over and vigorously sniffs the edge ofmyjaw.
His lips quirk. “Hmm sweet,” he mutters, curtlynodding.
I adjust my position, moving away from him and his out-of-character awkwardness as I can in the confines ofhiscar.
Hunter grins and winks before jutting hischinout.
“Your turn,” he says, peering at me from the corner ofhiseye.
I eye him with even more curiosity thanearlier.
“You want to know if a beard captures a woman’s scent. Check,” he says, thrusting his beard-covered chin outfurther.
