Page 73 of Shuttered Hearts

I love her, and I just want to be there for her—however that looks.

I let Ava borrow my truck this morning, knowing I wouldn’t be going anywhere except to see Quinn, so when I hear her pull into the driveway a couple of hours after she left, I have to stop myself from meeting her at the door.

“Hey, big brother! I’m home,” Ava calls as soon as she walks in the door.

There is no reason for Ava to shout. The ground floor of the house is an open concept. There aren’t many areas you can’t see from the front door.

“Hey,” I say from the kitchen. “Did you have a good time?” I ask, trying not to be obvious by flat-out asking about Quinn, but my sister knows me better than most.

Ava sits at the kitchen island, a look of concern crossing her face. “Quinn was in better spirits when she made it to The Diner this morning, but when I left, she was sitting down to coffee with her mom.”

“Did her mom approach her?” I reach into my pocket for my phone, wanting to make sure I haven’t missed anything from Quinn.

“No. Quinn started breakfast by asking me to set up some time for them to talk. It was a coincidence her mom showed up when she did.”

I feel Ava watching me as I study my phone for a minute before finally deciding to send Quinn a quick text.

Me:Hey, Bug. Ava just got home and told me about your mom. I’m here if you need me.

“It seemslike Quinn was really impacted by her mom leaving,” Ava says quietly. “I mean, I get it. I’m not saying I don’t. A parent abandoning you at any age can’t be easy. But it seems like it’s more than that.”

“There is more to it, but it’s not my story to share.”

“She’s told you about it?”

“Yeah, she’s told me about it.”

Before Ava can say more, there’s a knock at the door. “You expecting someone?” I ask her, making my way to the door.

“No.”

I’m a little surprised when I open the door to find Caleb. “Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you had a shift at the hospital.” I open the door wider, giving him room to enter.

“Night shift,” he says, coming into the house. “Hey, Ava.”

“Hey.”

“Is everything okay?” I ask Caleb. We may be best friends, but we rarely show up unannounced at each other’s house, not unless something is going on.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. You know I get bored when Emily and I are on opposite shifts.” Caleb moves into the living room, taking a seat on the couch.

“Well, since Caleb is here to keep you busy, I’m gonna go pack.” Ava stands from her seat. “See you tomorrow, Caleb!” she hollers on her way up the stairs.

“Sure thing!” he calls back. “Why do you need to stay busy?” he asks as I take a seat on the couch with him.

Caleb and I haven’t talked about the fact I’m seeing his sister. It’s not that either of us has been intentionally avoiding the conversation, but we haven’t directly discussed it either.

I haven’t been in a relationship since Melissa, and Caleb and Emily were already married when I got to Ashford Falls, so relationship talks weren’t something we’ve ever had. Yeah, he and Emily have fought, often causing Caleb to show up on mydoorstep, but they always make up faster than he ever has time to tell me about it.

It will be weird to talk about his sister, but I need to talk to someone. I sigh and decide to go for it. “Your sister.”

Caleb shifts in his seat, angling his body toward me and studying me intently. “What’s going on?” he finally asks after a few minutes.

“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “She’s been pulling away over the last week. I don’t know if it’s your mom being in town or if it’s more than that.”

“I’ve never seen you this invested in someone else before.”

“I’ve never been this invested.” Part of me wants to look away from Caleb, but I also want him to see how serious I am. This is his sister we’re talking about. I don’t want him to doubt how I feel about Quinn.

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