Page 48 of Falling for the Enemy

“You’re right. I was ready to start pleading my case for asking it. You don’t have to be old to write a memoir. You just need a life interesting enough to write one. Seems like you’d have a bundle of stories to tell.”

“I do always give my sisters a full rundown whenever I’m back home, but I’m not the writer. Ella is the writer of the family.”

“Maybe she could ghostwrite it for you.”

“Hmm, never thought of that.” We walked around a large fallen tree. Insects and tiny rodents were already figuring out how to turn it into a mini hotel. Ava stopped to watch them. She tucked several loose strands of hair behind her ears and leaned down. While she watched nature in progress, I watched her. She would be impossible to ignore even if we were standing on the Serengeti with herds of elephants and zebras between us. I’d still be able to find her in the landscape. She was like the North Star in the sky, impossible to miss.

We started walking again. I pulled my trail mix out and offered her a palm full. We nibbled as we walked.

“Jack?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry things ended up like this. I guess Brimley’s plan almost worked. For a short time, it seemed that the two of us were going to become friends.”

“Guess we weren’t expecting the other part, the part where you kissed me.”

Her hand flew out, and she gave me a knuckle punch. “That kiss is going to become the biggest regret of my life.”

I took her hand and stopped her. She turned reluctantly and with a defiant chin lift toward me.

“I was thinking the opposite. I was thinking that kiss will probably stick with me until they chuck me in the ground, and regret will have nothing to do with it.”

She gazed up at me with those green eyes until the silence around us was broken by the buzz of dirt bikes. Ava smiled. “You’re going to get your wish after all. Harold told me they’d meet us on the trail after he dropped Norm off.” Ava hurried ahead to meet them.

I stayed for a moment longer. “You’re wrong, Lo. I’m not getting my wish at all.”

Chapter Thirty-One

AVA

Iwalked through the door of the cottage and dropped my pack in the small entry. The familiarity of the sights (Nonna’s collection of porcelain cats and the lumpy old couch) the sounds (the ticking of the kitchen clock and the buzz of the ancient refrigerator) and the smells (the lingering aroma of coffee and that tangy, salty smell that permeated the walls) made me nearly dizzy with relief.

Ella came in from the back patio when she heard the front door shut. “Ava!” She ran over to greet me with a big hug, and I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed it until she tried to pull away, and I held her in place longer.

“Uh-oh, something isn’t right,” she said in the midst of the hug. “You’re possibly the worst hugger of the group, but right now you’re outdoing Layla in the huggability factor.”

I let her go. “I should defend myself against the worst hugger of the group statement, but I’m too tired.”

“But you’re home early, right? I know you texted yesterday and said you were on your way back, but we thought you’d be gone for two full weeks.” Her eyes rounded with worry. “Was it another one of those mysterious illnesses like you had in Egypt?I knew you should have stayed home. What is it? Should we take you to the doctor?”

“Relax, El, I’m not sick. An unexpected storm cut short the expedition. We had to evacuate early.”

“Thank goodness. I was doing research on Costa Rica, and I worried you’d meet up with a crocodile or a viper.”

I smiled to myself as I walked into the kitchen, and Ella followed. Two of Isla’s pastries sat on a plate on the table. I practically broke into tears of joy. “Can I have these?”

“Of course. I’ll make you some coffee, too.”

“Thanks, El. I’m exhausted and hungry and majorly homesick.”

Ella wrapped her arms around me from behind and pressed her face next to mine. “So glad you’re back.”

“Me too.”

“I want to hear all about it. Layla and I were taking bets on how things would work out with you being stuck with that mean jerk, Professor Sinclair.”

Jack was the last thing I wanted to talk about, but I knew my sisters too well. They were going to want details, and boy, did I have a few to share. I was going to leave off the kiss, though. I wasn’t ready to talk about that one yet.

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