No Denying You (Danvers #5)(58)
Looking amused, Ava said, “No, not really. Mac and I usually go to a small Irish bar close to my place when we want a drink.”
“Was he busy tonight?”
Ava looked down, drawing circles on the smooth tabletop with her fingers. “He’s always busy now. I should know that life moves on, and it seems so has he.”
Emma wasn’t sure how to respond. The other woman seemed so sad that she felt compelled to offer some comfort. She reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, Ava. Were you . . . Did you break up?”
Ava looked surprised by the question. “There was nothing to break up. I never let us start dating. Mac is too good for that.”
Confused, Emma asked, “Too good for what?”
“Me,” Ava whispered. “He’s too good for me.” Emma was too surprised to comment. As she was thinking of a reply, Ava shook her head and locked her blue eyes on Emma. “So, you and Brant?”
Words of denial sprang to Emma’s lips at once, but then she dismissed the notion just as quickly. Why bother? She doubted that Brant was giving his sister a play-by-play of their relationship status, but Ava was far from stupid. She had to know that something was going on. Besides, it might be a mistake, but she needed someone to talk to. Blowing a wisp of hair inelegantly out of her face, she said, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
Ava surprised her again when she gave her a satisfied grin and said, “That’s good; I’m glad. He’s been alone for too long. He was never good at that, no matter how much he tried to convince everyone, including himself, that he was fine. Brant was meant to be married and have a family. He shouldn’t have been saddled with so much responsibility so early on. Our parents were irresponsible and the old man was a sadistic bastard.”
Despite herself, Emma was intrigued. Other than throwing out bits of information here and there, Brant wasn’t the type to disclose a lot of personal stuff. She knew that his parents were killed in a plane crash and that his grandfather had raised them afterward. She also knew that Declan had been the wild child and had enlisted in the military at eighteen. “So . . . um . . . your grandfather was tough on you?”
Ava’s laugh was devoid of any real humor. “He didn’t care enough to be tough. Yeah, he expected certain things . . . certain behavior, but mainly he just wanted us to stay out of his hair. His household staff raised us. Of course, we were all teenagers when we came to live with him, so it wasn’t like we were in diapers and dependent upon someone for all of our care. What we were was traumatized but he never considered that.”
Emma felt tears prick her eyes and hastily wiped them away, knowing that Ava wouldn’t appreciate the show of sympathy. “I’m sorry,” she offered, not knowing what else to say.
Ava looked at her blankly for a moment before draining the last of her drink and standing abruptly. “I’ve got to be going if you’re ready.”
Emma stood and followed her out. They made their way back to Walmart in silence. Emma had lost the urge to go back inside for her shopping cart full of sugar and movies. Suddenly this seemed more like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s kind of evening. When she stopped at her car, Ava turned and squeezed her shoulder. “I meant what I said. Brant needs you. Don’t let him push you away.” Then with those words, she was gone.
Emma drove home more confused than ever. Her cell phone started ringing just as she shut her apartment door behind her. She saw Brant’s name on the ID and smiled. Apparently, she was irresistible to the Stone siblings tonight. “Hey you,” she answered.
A moment of silence followed her playful greeting before Brant said, “Hey . . . Em.” Emma thought he had been close to using an endearment, but had settled for shortening her name. “Where are you?”
“I just attempted to gorge on chick flicks and chocolate at Walmart but was saved by your sister. I’m home now.”
Brant chuckled that sexy laugh that she loved so much. “I don’t even know what that means, but I’m glad you’re safe. So you saw Ava?”
“Yep, I ran across her in the store and we went for a drink. I . . . I don’t think she was having a good evening.”
“Why not?” Brant asked, concern evident in his voice.
“I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with Mac and his new girlfriend.”
“Shit,” Brant sighed. “I figured that was going to hit her hard.”
“I’m confused about that situation,” Emma admitted. “If Mac cares about her and she obviously cares about him, then why can’t they just admit it?”
“It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Mac has never made a secret of how he feels for my sister, but Ava hasn’t been able to accept it. I know you’ve heard enough to know that she had something happen to her when she was younger. She was . . . raped by her prom date. I don’t want to go into everything that happened afterward, but I will say that Mac found her and a bond was formed between them. My grandfather handled everything terribly and Ava has spent the years ever since then angry and grieving.”
“Oh my God,” Emma breathed. “She said that Mac was too good for her. She blames herself, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Brant bit out. “Everyone made damn sure of that. The bastard who did it never faced any consequences. I know regardless of what she says, Ava has done nothing but look over her shoulder since then. Luckily, Mac will always watch out for her even if he isn’t with her.”