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She smiled hesitantly. “I don’t have to go.”
“Ava, don’t you worry about a thing. There’s no problem. You can go. I don’t mind. I know you and Molly will have fun. And I’m not mad. I just … I’m going over to see Hannah tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to help her out. And then tomorrow night … I’m going to take her out.” All his doubt and hesitation evaporated when Ava smiled.
“You are? Uncle Grady, that’s awesome!”
“You think so? You don’t mind?”
She shook her head vigorously. “I hope you guys have a great time and if you do, maybe I’ll get to hang out with her one day, too.”
He held his arms out to her and she came and snuggled against him. “I hope it goes well, too. And she’s already said that she wants to hang out and take pictures with you one day. Did you know she’s a photographer?”
Ava’s eyes grew wide. “She is? That’s awesome! Don’t mess up on your date, will you?”
He had to laugh. “I’ll do my best. You need to rewind the movie. We just talked over your favorite song.”
She smiled up at him. “Okay.”
He went into the kitchen, smiling when he heard her singing along. He poured two glasses of juice. The pizza should be here any minute. The doorbell proved him right as he was carrying the drinks to the living room. He set them down on the table and picked up his wallet.
Ava followed him into the hallway and watched as he tipped the delivery kid.
“Can we eat it straight from the box?” she asked.
“You know we can. That way there are no dishes for us to deal with later.”
The smile on her face made his heart happy. She’d come a long way since she’d come to live with him. She’d been so scared and timid about so many things. The first time he’d ordered pizza for them, she’d been amazed that he set the box down on the coffee table and handed her a slice and a paper towel. She’d never eaten like that at his brother’s house. There she’d had to sit at the table to eat. She’d told him that they did have pizza sometimes, but it came out of the oven and was served at the dining table, with side salad, and eaten from a plate with a knife and fork.
He grinned to himself as she picked up a slice and carried it carefully to her seat on the end of the sofa, holding her paper towel underneath it to catch any drips or crumbs. She’d come a long way, but he doubted that she’d ever be able to relax and forget about rules completely.
“Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” Grady called after her later when she ran upstairs to get ready for bed.
“I won’t. Don’t forget to come up and say goodnight.”
He smiled to himself. As if! “I’ll be up in five minutes.”
He went into the kitchen to rinse the few dishes that were in the sink and put them in the dishwasher. He wondered sometimes if he should ask her to help with things like that. He knew that taking responsibility for little household chores was good for kids. But he struggled with the idea. At his brother, Braydon’s, house she’d had a whole list of chores that she had to do—and got it in the neck when she didn’t do them right. He balled his fist at his side. He tried not to let himself think too much about what life had been like for her with her other uncle. Braydon and Vanessa had two boys and apparently, some very old school views about gender roles. While Ava had had lots of chores, the boys had done nothing.
He hadn’t been sure what to believe when she first came to live with him. The way she described it had him picturing her as some poor little Cinderella and he’d struggled to accept that Braydon would treat her that way. When he’d talked to them about it, it’d become apparent that Vanessa was the one who had some strange views about what a good upbringing for a little girl looked like. Fortunately for everyone, they’d been willing to surrender her guardianship to him. He would have fought for her if he’d had to. It wasn’t easy, and he knew he didn’t always get it right, but he did his best for her.
He frowned at the sound of the doorbell. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Other than pizza deliveries, the doorbell rarely rang.
He opened it and smiled when he saw Grant standing there. “Hey. Do you want some company?”
Grady laughed. “I take it you do?”
“Yeah. Chelsea’s out tonight and I was going to just chill at home, have a quiet night in, but that made me think about you—that’s all you ever get to do these days. So, I thought I’d come see if you wanted some company. I don’t have to stay if you’re busy with Ava.”
Grady looked up the stairs; he could hear the water running in the bathroom. “No, come on in. If you can wait ten minutes, I was just seeing her to bed. After that, I’m all yours.”
“Awesome. Can I say hi, or is too late?”
“Is that Uncle Grant?”
They both looked up to see her standing at the top of the stairs, looking cute as a button in her pink pajamas.
“Hi, Ava.”
“Hello! I have to go to bed now.” She looked so sad about it.
