Page 75 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
“You’re right—nothing about you is normal. I should have said happy. You look happier with her here. She’s good for you. Have you thought of what’s next? She only has about two weeks left,”he points out as if I’m not already painfully aware that my Ava’s time here is winding down fast.
Has it been three months already?
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m working on it.”
Now that I’ve already made the decision to propose, all that’s left is to buy the ring. I’m running out of time, so I need to do it fast.
“I sincerely hope that you are because I’m not looking forward to the version of you that doesn’t have Ava in his life.”
“Yeah, me neither,” I concur, knowing just how much Ava being back here and us fixing things between us has changed me.
I know I was a pain to be around before, but I’m trying to be better—for her, for my family, and most importantly for myself. Previously, I was existing and not living. It feels good to have something to look forward to each dawn.
When everyone is settled down, Daisy leads us in saying grace, and we’re all invited to dig in.
Over dinner, I notice that something is definitely off with Ava. She’s back to picking at her food, something we’ve already worked on and overcome. She keeps getting distracted and is unlike her usual cheery self.
“What is wrong with you? You’ve been acting odd all night,” I ask, done with pretending that I can’t see it.
“I’m okay,” she replies with a fake smile.
“No, you’re not. Tell me before I find a way to force it out of you,” I grit out.
“I’m okay, really.”
“Ava,” I growl.
She looks at me defiantly, refusing to talk. I’m about to push further when Ella drops her fork noisily onto her plate. “Tell him or I will.”
Ava shakes her head, eyes wide in panic.
“El, tell me,” I demand.
She looks at Ava and gives an apologetic look. “I’m sorry—he deserves to know.” She then turns to me. “Earlier today, we found out that Estevan is the stalker who has been harassing Ava for the past year.”
Ava looks down, head bowed in shame, now that the cat is out of the bag.
“That fucker,” I rumble in anger.
“Language,” Jace warns.
“Sorry,” I apologize to Daisy, then turn to Ava. “Why were you hiding that from me?”
“I was going to tell you tomorrow. I didn’t want to ruin dinner,” she explains.
“I’m going to really kill him this time.”
“Please don’t—let the police handle it. There’s already a warrant out for him,” she pleads.
She looks so scared, so I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her closer. Beckett looks at me questioningly, and I give him a look to let him know that I’ll explain everything later.
“It’s going to be okay. You’re safe here,” I assure Ava.
She nods, her grip on my arm tightening. I don’t say anything because if I tell her that I won’t do anything to Estevan, I will be lying. He better pray the police get to him before I do!
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AVA
