Page 20 of Spurred On

“Ain't gotta tell me twice,” Weston remarks, rubbing his hands together excitedly as he moves to the table.

Ava sticks close to my side as we walk to the table, and I pull out a chair for her.

“Thanks.” She takes a seat and looks around the table. “Does she need help?”

“Oh no, if you try to help her, she will swat you out of the kitchen. This is her thing,” Aspen says as she brings her glass of wine to her lips.

Within a few minutes, our bowls are filled up and piled high with chili, onions, cheese, and crackers. Ava stays quiet, but the smile on herface eases my anxiety about whether or not she’s uncomfortable. She watches everyone around her and all the conversations.

“So, Ava, what do you do?” Mabel asks, looking up from her bowl of chili.

She sets down her spoon and clears her throat. “I am in the process of getting hired at Windy Peaks Community Hospital. I just graduated from nursing school a few months ago.”

Aspen audibly gasps, slapping her brother on the arm; he winces and rubs the spot. “Shut the front door. Maverick, why didn’t you tell me she was working at my hospital?” She looks at me, eyes bright with excitement, “I work as a nurse there, too!”

“Uh?” I look around, mostly because I didn’t think about it, and they had never met.

“Men usually leave out the important details or ignore them entirely,” Ava says, looking at me—well, it’s more of a glare. I know there is little truth behind the glare Ava shoots me. We wouldn’t be here if I had listened to her important details.

“So, when do you start?” Aspen leans on her elbows, resting her hand on her fist.

Ava lets out a heavy sigh, shaking her head while bringing a shoulder up to her ear. “Your guess is as good as mine. They are taking their sweet time getting my paperwork processed.”

“Oh my god, I remember when I got hired there and it took over two months for them to hire me.” Aspen rolls her eyes before shoving a spoonful of chili into her mouth.

Pure panic showers over Ava’s eyes. “Well, I hope they’ve learned to be a little more efficient than that. How long have you worked there?”

“Since right after I graduated college, so about three years, I think? I was twenty-two when I got started, and I will be twenty-five in a coupleof weeks.” Aspen is the baby of the group. She always hated that. She tried to run with us our entire high school career, but bringing an eighth grader to corn field keggers was frowned upon, so she got left at home most of it.

“Oh, that’s great. Well, I am glad there will be a familiar face.”

Dinner goes on like usual. Everyone’s talking over everyone. Aspen decides she wants my chair so she can talk more to her new bestie; her words, not mine. Much to my surprise, everyone behaves, and I don’t have to whoop anyone's ass.

I look around the table and see how perfectly Ava fits in. A little too perfect because I am realizing I like having her around a little too much. This whole thing is temporary, and I would be smart to remind myself of that.

Only I’m not smart, and I want her alone. “Alright, well, I am ready to crash. You about ready to head home?” I ask Ava, unsure if she would want to stay here alone.

Aspen’s palms hit the table with athud. “Hey, you can’t take my new friend away that fast!”

“Why don’t you exchange numbers? You can come over and visit anytime,” I say, sliding my chair back, ready to make our exit.

“You’re going to regret that.” Rhett pipes out. And he is one hundred percent right, but if it means we get out of here sooner, it’s a risk I am willing to take.

The girls exchange numbers, and we say our goodbyes and head back to the house.

We drive the short distance separately; I wait to get out of my truck until she pulls up beside it. Swinging my door open, I step out and rush over to open Ava’s door. We walk up to the cabin together, and Imight be imagining things but it feels like there’s a little electric charge between us.

She pulls her coat around herself a little tighter before looking up at me. “Thanks for inviting me, that was really nice.”

“They’re a lot. But I am glad you had a good time.”

I open the door, gesturing for her to go first as she says, “You’ve got some good people in your circle.”

“I do. Did you want to watch a movie before bed?” My voice sounds a little more eager than I had intended. In fact, it's edging on desperate.

“I thought you were tired?” She raises her eyebrow.

“A little TV before bed always helps me sleep.” That might be a bit of a stretch, but telling her how much I’ve liked our nightly routine of watching a movie together would blur boundaries I’m not sure she is willing to cross.

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