Heartache and Hope (Heartache Duet #1)(55)
She elbows my gut. “Shut up.”
“Hi, Ava,” Dad calls from the kitchen. He points a knife at the couch. “Just take a seat, and I’ll be with you in a moment.” He’s all sweetness and smiles, and I’m suspect.
My eyes narrow at him and then Ava when she says, “Thank you, sir. I appreciate this a lot.”
I flop down next to her, throw my arm over her shoulders. She pushes my hand away. “What’s with you?”
“Not now,” she hisses without moving her lips.
Dad comes into the living room drying his hands on a dish towel. He sits on the coffee table, dish towel beside him, and asks, “Can I take a look?”
Ava cranes her neck. “Sure.”
While Dad’s focused on peeling off the dressing, I put my hand on Ava’s knee. She pushes it away again.
“It looks like it’s healed just fine,” Dad says. “No more dressing, but be sure to use the cream I gave you until it’s all gone, okay?”
Ava nods. “Thanks again, Mr. Ledger.”
He gathers all the dressing and stands. “No problem.”
Ava stands, too, and I take her hand. This time, she lets me. “I’ll walk you back.”
I open the door at the same time Dad calls Ava’s name. Ava turns to him, her eyes wide, shoulders rigid. Dad stands between the kitchen and the living room. “I’m just starting on dinner. You’re welcome to stay if you’d like.”
Ava does her best not to let her shock show, but I see it even if Dad doesn’t. “I appreciate the invitation, but I have to get back home.”
“Oh.” Dad drops his gaze, his shoulders. “Okay, sure.”
“It’s just…” Ava starts, sensing Dad’s disappointment. “I can’t really leave my mom, so…”
Dad tilts his head. “Isn’t your stepbrother home with her?”
Ava nods, her grip on my hand tightening. “Yeah, he is, but he’s really only there for when things with her get uh…” She glances up at me, and I try to offer an encouraging smile. If this is Dad’s attempt at getting to know her, then we have to try. “Sometimes she gets physical and he—he has to restrain her.” I can hear her voice weaken with every word, so I release her hand, place mine on the back of her head and bring her to my chest, her ear to my heart. Ava exhales slowly, her eyes drifting shut. When she opens them again, she says, “I have to be there, because I’m the only one who can really talk her through whatever she’s experiencing.”
It takes a moment for Dad to respond. “Right. And… Trevor’s father? Where is he?”
I speak up. “Dad, what’s with the twenty questions?”
Dad shakes his head as if clearing the fog. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” Ava says. “He left a while back.”
“So, it’s just you kids taking care of her and the house and all the bills?”
Ava nods, then shakes her head. “No, we have a caregiver stay with her when Trevor’s at work and I’m at school. But yeah, on the evenings and weekends it’s just us.”
“Oh, good,” Dad says. “I assume that’s all done through your health insurance?”
“I wish, but no. Insurance doesn’t cover nearly enough of it. The military only really covered her physical injuries, and even though we still get her full benefits it’s not even close to…” Ava pulls away. Just a tad. “I sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. I promise. Things could be a lot worse,” she says, looking up at me. She faces my dad again, a frown on her lips. “At least she’s alive, and we can be a family. And I’m sure you and I can both agree that there’s nothing more important in this world than family. That’s why we sacrifice the things we do and protect the people we love.”
Dad sucks in a sharp breath, exhales slowly. “You’re absolutely right, Ava.”
Ava smiles at him, then, on her toes, she kisses me once. “Stay,” she tells me. “Have dinner with your dad. I’ll call you later.”
“Ava,” Dad calls again. “If you or your brother or your mom… if you need anything that I can help with, please…” he trails off, nodding, before disappearing into the kitchen.
“Jeez, Connor. I had no idea how bad things were for her,” Dad says, setting the table for us. “I feel horrible for the things—”
“I appreciate it,” I tell him. “But I’m not the one you should be saying this to.”
With a nod, he sits opposite me at the table, his hands clasped under his chin. “I’m going to make a few calls in the morning, see what I can find out about getting her some financial help for her mother’s care.”
My brow lifts. “Yeah?”
“It’s the least I can do.”
I sit back in my chair, watching him closely. “What’s with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like you’ve done a complete 180. Your attitude’s changed, and now you’re acting… I don’t know.”
Dad’s chest lifts with his inhale. “I reconnected with an old friend today, and they gave me a little perspective. That’s all.”