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Grady made his way down the hall to the guestroom where Ava had stayed a few times now. He opened the door as quietly as he could, but Ava sat up straight away.
“Uncle Grady?”
“Yeah. It’s me, Pixie. You’re supposed to be asleep.”
“I was. But I was keeping my ears peeled for you.”
He chuckled. “It’s eyes peeled, and ears open.”
“Oh.”
“Either way. I’m here now. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.” She got out of bed and came to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Did you have a good time with your friend?”
“I did. He sent you a hug, and he said he’ll maybe come to visit next summer.”
“I’d like that.”
Grady bent down and lifted her up to sit on his hip.
She smiled and snuggled against him. “I’m too big to be carried anymore.”
“This doesn’t count. You’re tired and you’re supposed to be asleep.”
“Okay. But I’m not a big baby.”
“No, you are not! And anyone who would say that you were is an idiot.”
She giggled and tightened her arms around his neck. “I love you, Uncle Grady.”
“I love you, Ava. Come on, let’s say thank you to Molly and Marcos and get you home to bed.”
It was after eleven o’clock by the time he’d tucked her into her own bed and stayed for a few minutes, until her breathing deepened and he was sure she was asleep.
He hated that she so often felt the need to tell him that she wasn’t a big baby. That was his brother’s doing. Or maybe his sister-in-law’s. Either way, he was relieved that Ava was with him now and that she didn’t have to live with them anymore. From what Grady had pieced together, she’d learned that seeking affection was perceived as weakness. Whenever she cried, she told him that she wasn’t a big baby, whenever he carried her, she said the same thing. At first, she used to say it whenever he gave her a hug, but since hugs were a many-times-a-day kind of thing, she’d quickly learned that she didn’t need to defend her right to receive them. He was still working on the rest.
He should go straight to bed himself, but he was still tightly wound. He went downstairs and poured himself a glass of water. Here he was, back in his life. The little interlude where he got to be the old version of himself was over. And he was fine with that. Sure, the beach had been great, the waves had been even better. It’d been good to spend time with Monty again. But Ava meant more to him than any of that. She’d had a rough start in life, and he was determined that the tough times were behind her.
He took his phone out of his pocket and plugged it in to charge overnight. It buzzed with a text, and he pursed his lips when he read it.
Monty: Still no photo? Have you lost it? Or are you on it?
Grady sighed. He’d thought about Hannah on the long drive back from San Francisco. He could claim that he hadn’t lost his touch with the ladies. She’d been interested. What he’d lost was the ability to play a superficial game that didn’t lead anywhere. He’d liked Hannah. He’d been interested in her as a person. But he didn’t have the time for a woman in his life, so when he realized that she might just want to see him again, he’d blown the whole thing up. Granted, he could have gone about it differently. He probably should have explained to her about Ava. That would have been the decent thing to do. But he hadn’t. He’d given her the impression that he was married so that – what? He didn’t even know why he’d done it. So that she’d be the one to blow him off? Whatever. It didn’t matter. It had been a brief encounter in an airport and now it was over.
He looked down at his phone again.
Grady: I admit defeat. I struck out.
Monty: Dude!
He chuckled. He could hear that one word drawn out into three syllables, and he could picture Monty shaking his head in disappointment.
He set his phone down and headed upstairs to bed. He had to be up early in the morning to make Ava’s breakfast and pack her lunch. Then, as soon as she was on the bus, he was going to work. He didn’t officially start until nine, but Molly had been good to let him have a couple days off, and he wanted to do as much as he could at the restaurant to make up for it.
He paused outside Ava’s door and peeked in at her. She was lying on her back with her arm flung above her head. That made his heart happy. When she’d first come to live with him, she used to sleep scrunched up in a ball, like she was trying to make herself as small as possible. She was slowly relaxing and opening up.
~ ~ ~
