by LuAnn McLane
“I think you should at least call him and lead him in that direction. I understand that Sophia did the right thing by telling him to go but that was before Ashley pulled this little stunt.”
“I do believe you’re right.” He reached for his pants and pulled out his cell phone. “Oh wow, I’ve got a text message from Avery.” He slid his finger across the screen and groaned. “Damn, he said that he got finished early and so they’re already headed for the lake.”
“Now what do we do?”
Easton blew out a long sigh. “Damned if I know,” he said, but then shook his head. “I take that back. I know exactly what I’m going to do.”
“And what might that be?”
“I’m calling Tommy. As much as I want to, it should be his father coming to his son’s aid, not me. Avery’s been wanting to connect to his father, and this is a perfect opportunity to make what they both want happen.”
“You’re a good man, Easton Fisher.”
“I’ve always aimed to be and that will never change.” He came up to his elbow and leaned in to give Carrie Ann a lingering kiss. “Now let’s set this plan in motion.”
22
Got to Get You into My Life
Avery sat at the end of the dock sipping on a cold beer without much interest. The rest of the guys were playing corn hole while getting their drink on even though it was early afternoon. The bridesmaids had stayed over last night since they couldn’t get into their chalet until today but they’d left early and would return on Sunday. Avery had gone to bed before the rest of them, eager to get away from Ashley. Not that he’d slept. Between the noise and thinking about Sophia, Avery had remained awake until the wee hours of the morning. Even though he hadn’t consumed that much beer last night, he still felt as if he’d been hit by a truck.
Avery looked out over the lake, absently watching ski boats whiz by thinking that he loved Max like a brother but he really wanted to be at the grand opening of White Lace and Promises. He’d bought into Sophia’s insistence that she would feel worse if he failed to come to the bachelor party but now he realized he’d made a mistake. He also knew he should be up there chugging beer at least pretending to be having fun, for the sake of Max, but he just couldn’t muster up the energy to fake it.
Avery watched a WaveRunner speed by and took another swig of his beer. Sunshine glinted off the lake making the water sparkle like diamonds and for some reason made him think of Sophia. He shook his head thinking that everything made him think about Sophia.
The weather had warmed up to the mid-seventies giving everyone a case of spring fever—well, everyone but him. Avery could smell the grill getting fired up, but burgers and hot dogs didn’t hold any appeal either. Laughter and music drifted his way. He knew he should get back up there with the guys but his feet refused to cooperate. With a drawn-out sigh he leaned back so he could reach inside his jeans pocket for his cell phone.
Should he call Sophia and wish her luck?
At this point Sophia would be putting the finishing touches on the salon. Avery scrubbed a hand down his face. He’d already ordered a huge bouquet of roses to be delivered tomorrow morning from Flower Power. Maybe he should also send her one of those edible fruit things he’d seen commercials for or a box of her favorite Godiva chocolates? Or should he call Reese and order an entire Italian cream cake delivered from River Row Pizza? He wanted to do all of it but more than anything else he wanted to be there with her.
He should be bringing Sophia lunch about now or doing any last-minute thing that she might need. Of course, doing any of those things would require her to let him back into her life instead of this stupid separation that she thought he needed to search his heart. He didn’t need to search for what was already there. If he had the power, he’d make his apologies to Max and hightail it back to Cricket Creek but he didn’t have transportation so he was stuck until Sunday.
And it was killing him.
Avery took another swig of his beer thinking that he’d just get drunk and do some of the goofy stunts that they’d talk about for years. Wasn’t it his job as the best man to get something crazy going? They’d talked about this weekend for so damned long and Avery felt as if he was letting Max down by sitting on the dock brooding in his beer.
Okay, he needed to quit sulking and get up there and get the party started.
Avery looked down at the can and willed himself to take a long swig. Surely once he had a buzz going he could muster up the energy to have some fun or at least do some serious pretending. Maybe he should have a shot of something, but his stomach churned at the thought. Damn, this wasn’t good. He sighed deeply and was just about to try to chug the rest of the beer when he heard footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder, spotted Max, and tried for a grin.
“Dude, if that was a smile it was a total fail.” Max sat down beside Avery and gave his shoulder a shove.
“I just have to get a few beers in me and I’ll come around.”
“Right,” Max said with a shake of his head. “You trying to convince me or yourself?”
“Both, I guess. Max, I’m sorry. I promise to get my shit together and join in the fun.”
Max took a swig of his beer and looked out over the lake for a moment. “No, I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have caved in to Ashley’s demands to change the date.”
“Why do we always do that?”
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. Habit? I should have stood up to her or at the very least insisted that you stayed home.”
“I’m the best man.”
“You are,” Max said and Avery was a little surprised to hear deep emotion in Max’s voice. “And you’re also my best friend.”
“Same here, Max. Man, I’ve missed you.”
“For sure, me too. But listen, I’ve been thinking about this and of course Zoe and I have been talking about you and Ashley endlessly.”
“There is no me and Ashley. Zoe needs to wrap her brain around that little detail.”
“I know. Zoe just can’t give it up.” He took a swig of his beer. “You love Sophia, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” He hesitated, and then said, “But that night at the brewery, Ashley put it in Sophia’s head that I’ll always love her more and that Sophia is my second choice.”
“Damn, that’s cold.”
“Yeah, don’t tell Zoe, though.”
“Maybe Zoe needs to know the truth. The whole truth, Avery. I know there’s something you’re not telling us.”
“I don’t want to mess up the wedding by getting drama started.”
Max remained silent, but nodded. “I guess.”
“Sounds like you have something more to say.”
“Well, the four of us started hanging out together when we were just kids. When I fell in love with Zoe I think that maybe you and Ashley might have forced your relationship, you know?”
Avery nodded slowly. “Ashley pushed for it.”
“It’s what she thought she wanted. To be fair, I wanted for the two of you to be together, too. I know that Zoe and Ashley fantasized about having a double wedding when they were younger. They talked about how cool that would be.” Max shrugged. “We were kids.”
“Yeah, I get that. I mean, we had such good times together and she’s a pretty girl. I was attracted to her. The two of us dating other people seemed odd, at the time, but looking back, we should have. Don’t get me wrong—I did love her once.” Avery glanced at Max. “But apparently she thinks I still do, which is not the case.”
“Yeah, well, I think it’s partly because she’s just used to getting her way. And it’s human nature to want what you can’t have. Especially her nature.”
“Why did we always cater to her?”
Max shrugged. “We were kids and we all had our role, I guess. Ashley was the boss. I was the goof-off. Zoe was the perky one, always thinking of things f
or us to do.”
“And me?”
“You tried to please everyone. You still do. So I have a question. What do you want?”
“To be with Sophia tomorrow. To have her back in my life where she belongs.”
“Then do it, Avery. Look, I know you’re trying to do the right thing by being here but you need to go back to Cricket Creek.”
“But I’m your best man.”
“And I’m the groom and I’m telling you to go home.”
“How? I don’t have a car.”
“Call someone to come and get you.”
“It’s a three-hour drive. I don’t want to—”
“Stop! Would you just listen to yourself? Avery, you would do it for a friend who needed a ride. Why don’t you think that you deserve the same treatment from people who love you? Call your Uncle Easton. He’d be on his way in a heartbeat.”
Avery nodded. “Yeah, he would. But even before we split up Sophia insisted that she wanted me to come here.”
“Oh boy.” Max chuckled. “You need to learn that women don’t always say what they mean, but when we do what they ask we get in trouble for it. Trust me—she wants you at the grand opening.”
“That’s crazy. She insisted that I come here. How are you supposed to know what to do, then?”
“Look for clue words. That’s fine means the opposite. Maybe later means never. And it’s up to you really means you are supposed to guess at what they want to do. I don’t mind is tricky but it mostly means that they kinda do mind but are trying to be nice.”
“So you’re supposed to be a mind reader?”
“Pretty much.” Max laughed. “After a while you get pretty good at it. Well, sometimes.” He lifted one shoulder. “I try, and you know how much I love Zoe. There’s not a thing I wouldn’t do for her.”
“Yeah, I do. I couldn’t have picked a better man to marry my sister,” Avery said and meant every word. “And she loves you too, Max.” He felt another wave of emotion hit him hard.
“Zoe means well but she’s wrong trying to get you and Ashley back together. I see the way you look at Sophia. You’ve got to find a way back to Cricket Creek by tomorrow. I’d take you back myself but I’m already over the limit to drive.” He put his hand on Avery’s shoulder and squeezed. “I think you knew you two weren’t really right for each other—even before she did whatever it was that broke you two up.”
“Max—”
“Don’t even try to deny it. She did something. I don’t need to know what. Actually, I probably don’t want to know.”
“Yeah . . .” Avery looked out over the lake. “But you know, looking back maybe we both felt a little bit trapped and didn’t really know it. Something was missing and I guess neither of us really understood what that something was. Maybe she was trying to end things in the only way she knew how.”
“There you go defending her.”
“Not really. Just trying to understand, that’s all.”
“Like I said, women aren’t easy to understand.”
Avery nodded his agreement but some things were becoming clear.
“Well, I’m telling you that I’m cool with you leaving if you can find a way.”
“Thanks, Max. I mean, I guess I should have come to you sooner.”
“Just promise me you’ll start thinking about what’s best for you, okay? Because ultimately it’s what’s best for those of us who care about you. You deserve happiness. So start thinking about your own life, for once.”
“Thanks, Max.” Avery nodded. “Will do. Now get on back up there and enjoy your last weekend of being single. It’s about time for a ‘watch this’ moment.”
“I’ll leave that one up to Danny. He’s been shooting some bourbon so it shouldn’t be too long.” Max pushed up to his feet. “Shit is about to get real.”
Avery laughed, already feeling a sense of relief. Now, who should he call to come to pick him up? Uncle Easton? “Yeah.” He picked up his phone but noticed that he’d gotten a text message that he’d missed. Avery read the message and felt a jolt of surprise. “Really?”
His father was on his way to pick him up and should be arriving within the hour. Now how in the world did his father of all people know that he needed a ride home? Avery shook his head and looked back at his phone wondering if there was something wrong with his mother, but no other messages were to be found. He thought about calling his father but he didn’t want his father fishing for his phone while driving on the interstate.
Avery headed up to the cabin for his suitcase, and then said his good-byes to Max and the rest of the guys. They insisted that he do a shot so Avery decided to do one . . . or two. Avery grabbed a burger and by the time he’d finished eating his father called to say he was in the driveway. Avery hurried to the front of the cabin and spotted the red Ford pickup that had more miles than a truck should pile up, but his father refused to get a new one until this one quit running.
“Hop in, son.”
Avery nodded and hurried around to the passenger side. Whatever was going on had a sense of urgency to it. After tossing his suitcase in the back of the cab he settled into the cracked leather seat. His father immediately threw the gear into reverse. “Dad, what’s going on? Is Mom okay?”
“Yes, unless you count her constant indecision as to what her mother-of-the-bride dress should be. She’s changed her mind a dozen times and the dress she favors is too small so she’s been feeding both of us nothing but rabbit food and plain old boring chicken breasts night after night. I swear I’m gonna start clucking soon.” He pointed to the fast-food bag he’d tossed onto the floor. “Best damned cheeseburger and fries I’ve ever had. Don’t tell on me. Apparently, I should lose a few pounds as well. Ha.”
“Did Mom really say that to you?” It wasn’t like her to be so bold.
“Not in so many words,” he said a little indignantly, and if Avery wasn’t so confused as to why his father showed up in Tennessee to take him home he might have found the comment funny. “She’s getting a little sassy these days, your mama is.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and I have to say that I like it.”
Avery looked at his father in surprise. He waited for him to continue the conversation, namely why he was there but he started whistling as he pulled into the main road.
“Dad, are you gonna tell me why you’re here?”
He slid a glance at Avery. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Uh . . . no.”
“Son, you need to be at the grand opening of Sophia’s salon,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“How did you know?”
“Easton called me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, and I know that you and your uncle are close but in the future I’d appreciate if you’d confide in me too,” he said, and the even tone took on an unexpected edge of emotion.
“Dad, I’m sorry.”
“No need,” he said. Silence stretched out for a couple of heartbeats. “Son . . . I love you.” Before Avery could reply he continued. “I haven’t said that nearly enough to your mother, you, and Zoe. It was damned hard for me to be on the road so much. Hard on your mama but harder on me than I let on. See, being a hard-ass made it easier to deal with missing my family.”
“Dad . . .” Avery felt moisture gather in his throat.
“I was jealous of your relationship with Easton and when you two went into business together it was . . . well”—he paused to clear this throat—“tough on me. See, I wanted to spend the time with you. All those weekends you and your buddies spent up at the cabin with Easton . . .” He shook his head.
“You should have joined us.”
“I was invited but I stubbornly refused and Easton finally stopped asking. My damned pride turned into depression and I sat in my La-Z-Boy watching sports when I wanted to be h
anging out with you. I was grumpy and hard to live with. Your mama should have set my sorry ass straight but she never said a cross word, mostly because your grandma and grandpa fought all the time as you already know.”
“Yeah.” Avery nodded but let his father continue.
“We married young and had you kids right off the bat, not really having any real time for us, and then I started driving a truck and, well, we weren’t as close as we should have been. Your mama pretty much did the parenting on her own.”
“Dad, you provided a nice life for us. I didn’t appreciate your sacrifice, but I sure do now. Dad . . . I thought you didn’t want to be around.”
“Hell no. Killed me every time I missed a ball game or birthday party,” he said gruffly. “I shoulda let you know that but being distant helped me cope, or at least I thought so at the time.”
“I’m sorry. I should have picked up on that.”
“Ah, Avery, you were just a kid. This wasn’t your fault. Look, I can’t go back in time but I want to make up for what we lost. I don’t want your relationship with Easton to change. In fact, he insisted that I should be the one to come get you.” He gave Avery a wry smile. “Were you thinking of calling him to come and get you?”
“Yeah,” Avery admitted.
“Well, like I said, I’m glad now that Easton filled in for me as a father figure. He’s a good man. I wish that I had pushed my pride to the side because Easton and I could have been close, like brothers.”
“There’s still time.”
“Damn straight. I love your mama. I’m gonna take her places and do things she likes instead of sitting in that damned chair watching nothing but sports. And I want to spend more time with Zoe, but especially you, Avery.”
“I’d like that, Dad. And I’m glad it was you who came to get me. I shouldn’t have gone to begin with but I was caught in the middle.”
“You’re like your mama and want to please everyone.” He chuckled. “Zoe’s more like me in that she is a little bit stubborn.”
“Ya think?”