Page 38 of Little Fury

“Jesus, Marcus, this isn’t funny.”

“It is. You beat my ass, Ava,”he laughs again.“It's not like I didn’t deserve it.”

“Marcus, I didn’t know how much you hated Tommy. I never would have gone out with him if I knew how much you disliked him.”

“Ava,”Marcus groans, running his hand through his hair and grabbing the base of his neck.

“Marcus, I’m sorry. I'd like to move past this if you’re okay with it.”

Marcus sighs. “Fine.”

“Cool. What do you wanna do today?”

“Ice my face, Ava. That’s what I want to do today.”

We spend our last weekend at the ranch with everyone. Our little pseudo-family all together, enjoying the time. Everyone but Sebastian was home for the weekend. He’s on a job but promised to catch up with us in the outside world. That guy will just randomly pop up one day on us. Beth cooked for us the entire weekend, insisting she wasn’t sending us off without making all our favourite meals.

“Little Ava.” I hear Harry say as he steps out onto the porch with me.

“Old man,”I say back, staring out at the night on the ranch.

“You’ve been here for 11 years. I honestly had no idea what I was doing when I agreed to take guardianship of you after your parents died. But I’m glad I did. This life isn't conducive for kids. So many things can go wrong. Too many times, people don't come home, and I couldn't do that to a kid. But then I got you. And I know I could never have takenyour father's place, but I’m so grateful to have had a hand, in the strong and beautiful young woman you have become.”

“Harry, I loved my dad; he was amazing.” I turn to look at him before continuing.“But in all honesty, I barely remember him. I remember that I loved him, and I remember him making me laugh. And I still miss him and my mom to this day. But Harry, not once since I stepped on your ranch did I ever feel unloved, alone, or unwanted. I may have lost my parents, and it was a shit thing to have happened, but it also brought me to you. For the last 11 years, I could not have asked for a better father. Because my dad, while great, was a great dad for a different Ava. That Ava doesn't exist anymore. She died with them. You are the one who made this Ava. You gave me a new life. Let me become who I needed to survive all that has happened and all that will. I love you, Harry, and I’m so proud to be your daughter.”

Harry looks at me.“Are you crying, old man?”I ask him. He grabs me and pulls me into a bear hug.

“Don't be an asshole, Ava. You're wrecking our moment.”

I laugh into his chest. I look up at him, my own tears in my eyes.“I’m going to miss ye, lass,”He tells me.

“Careful old man, your Scottish is showing.”

Marcus and I say our goodbyes and get on the road. We fly out early tomorrow, so Theo is driving us to Billings tonight.

When we get to the hotel, we’re both quiet. We have been waiting for this day for a long time, and now that it's here, it feels a little surreal. I look around the hotel room. The hotel was pretty booked, so we had one king-sized bed for the two of us.

“I can get a cot brought in,”Marcus tells me.

“Ha! I'd like to see you sleep on a cot all night,”I laugh at him.

“Fine, but I don’t want to hear about me hogging the blankets all night.”

“Dude. I am well aware of your blanket-stealing habits. You’ve done it since we were kids. Housekeeping is dropping off another blanket for me,”I wink at him.

“Sweet. Let's go eat.”

“Food sounds good. I want pie.”

“You always want pie.”

“Why are you trying to make me feel bad about that?”

Marcus looks at me and shakes his head.“Let’s go.” He grabs my hand and drags me out of the room.

There’s a steakhouse next door to the hotel, so we make our way over to it for dinner. We order a couple of beers and steaks, slipping into easy conversation about movies we want to see.

“Are you looking forward to being at the ocean for a while?”Marcus asks.

---