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“The animals are all bedded down. Been fed and watered,” he said.
“Good.” I stopped before the door and unlocked it. Pushing it open, I fumbled for the light switch and flipped it on. Stamping the snow from my feet, I stood there cursing myself for not having the forethought to ask for two beds, the queen-sized bed taunted me. We would need to share it.
Noah came into the room and stopped as well, staring at it too before he announced, “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“It’s fine. You slept on the cabin floor last night; you keep it up you will end up being a liability to me. One that I can’t afford to have.” I sighed and slung my backpack to the floor. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, I could do with something in my gut.”
Pulling the blankets off the bed, I said, “You look like your frozen. I’ll go get food if you want to hop in the shower.”
He unzipped his bag and was watching me. “I’ll take you up on that... but what you are doing with the bed?”
“Looking for bed bugs and dirty sheets. Surprisingly they are clean and no bugs.” I started righting the sheets when he went to the other side of the bed and started helping me make it. The memory of us doing just that slammed into me like a car going ninety hitting a brick wall. Tears gathered in my eyes, and I quickly blinked them away, but not before he saw them.
“Ava are you okay?” he asked, coming around the bed to stand beside me.
The mask that I so carefully wore, was back in place as I looked up at him. But just beneath the surface it was threatening to slip again as memories of us together flitted through my mind.
He reached out his hand and caressed my cheek. More than anything I wanted to give in to his touch but knew I couldn’t. Stepping away I busied myself by removing my cape. Refusing to look at him, I pulled my weapons from the sheathes and laid them down on the table.
Putting the cape back on I made my way to the door. “Burgers okay for you?” I asked, gripping the door handle, praying he didn’t come up behind me. If he had, my resolve would break, and I’d be falling into his arms.
“Yeah, Ava, that’s fine,” he said quietly. I knew that tone. He was confused, but mostly hurt. Squeezing my eyes shut, I nodded and turned the handle. Opening the door, I slipped out like the wraith in the night that I was and made my way to the restaurant as the tears flowed freely from my eyes.
Swiping the wet trails from my cheeks with my sleeve, I took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the restaurant. I stood corrected. It wasn’t a restaurant it was a bar. With my emotions in check, I made my way to the counter to a young woman who was serving up brews.
“What can I get you?” She asked as she pulled down on the tap, filling a mug.
“Do you serve food in here?”
She laughed. “That we do! Best food around for miles.”
An old man sitting at the bar hunched over, spoke. “It’s the only food around for miles.”
“Oh, you hush George, you know you love the food here!”
A chuckle slipped past my lips at their banter, I looked at the woman and said, “I’ll take six cheeseburgers than. Two plain, the others loaded, to go.”
“Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”
I sat down on the nearest stool and looked at her. Could she make one I wondered? Ever since having Noah back in my life I was feeling nostalgic. I wanted our old lives back. Knowing it wouldn’t happen I could still have a taste of the past. “Do you have the stuff to make a margarita?”
“I most certainly do! I’ll just put your order in for the burgers and be right back.”
She disappeared through a door, and I turned around on the stool looking around the crowded bar. Country music blared from a juke box set in a corner, a crowd of women danced on titled section off to the right it while a group of men played a game of pool.
One of the women broke off from the others and gyrated her way over to the pool table, throwing her arms around one of the men standing there waiting his turn. He stood there, like he was made of stone. Clearly, he wasn’t interested in the woman, and set her aside when his turn was up. Not being deterred the woman moved onto the next man. I recognized him from earlier. It was little dick man from the pickup truck.
He on the other hand was thrilled at the attention. Pulling her into his arms, his hands snaked down to her ass and jerked her towards him as he and assaulted her mouth with his. I use the term because that’s exactly what he did. When she jerked back in horror is when I saw the blood. The fucker had bit her on the lip. I stood up and took a step forward but stopped when I heard George say, “Don’t do it.”
“Pardon me?” I asked.
“I said, don’t do it.” He looked over his shoulder at the couple than back at me. “He will tear you apart if you intervene.”
I suppressed the smile that was threatening to break upon my lips. “Will he now?”
“Yup,” he nodded. “That’s Duke McGee. Comes from a rich family that spoiled the little bastard. He gets away with murder... literally.”
