by Piper Rayne
I shake my head the little bit I can.
“Dane?” Charlie asks and neither one of them say anything, but I feel the shake of his head. “Did you go in?”
“I went in to find her.” He steps back, his two hands wrapping around my upper arms, inspecting me as though he just saved me from the building. “You okay?”
I step back, his hands falling off me. “I’m fine.” Walking by him, I weave through the crowd of people to the fire truck, but I’m stopped at the yellow caution tape. I dip under and try to put the fact that all the teacups and pots are now black, out of my mind.
“Excuse me,” I ask the man directing the other firefighters.
He stares down at me. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous.”
“That’s my shop.”
“I know.” His gray beard says he probably knows everyone and everything that happens in this town. “I’m glad to see you weren’t in there.”
“What’s the cause of the fire?” I turn to see Dane right behind me.
“Dane. I already told you to get out of here,” the firefighter snaps.
“Jim, you know I’m not going anywhere.”
Jim exhales a long and annoyed breath, his eyes never leaving Dane’s until they slowly turn toward me.
“We’ll have a full report in the morning. From the amount of smoke, you need to wait until the morning to go in. We’ll board up the windows for you, and lock it up once we make sure it’s out.”
“Jim?”
Dane’s hands land on my shoulders, squeezing them, standing so close his strong chest is supporting me.
Jim rolls his eyes. “If I had to guess I’d say it’s electrical.”
Dane’s hands leave my shoulders and I hear his groan. “Did you not call an electrician?” he asks me.
“Can I give you my phone number?” I ask Jim, purposely ignoring Dane. I’m not even sure why he’s here. He made himself pretty clear, and the way he’s acting right now screams boyfriend.
“That would be helpful.” He takes out his clipboard and clicks his pen. “Go ahead.”
I ramble off my phone number and then take a look at the store, not ready to leave.
“Come into the bar,” Dane urges, his arm wrapping around my shoulders again.
“No thank you,” I mumble, making my way to Charlie who’s sitting on the curb outside the bar.
She stands when I approach, her gaze moving between me and Dane.
I sit down next to her and watch the firemen go in and out of the bakery. The crowd slowly departs, all the local town folks stopping by our threesome to convey their sorrow for my situation.
“Ava,” my dad says, crouching down in front of me. “You’re okay.”
I nod, my eyes unwilling to leave the scene in front of me.
“They think it was electrical,” Dane adds in his two cents from next to me.
“I knew we should have gotten that building better inspected.” He turns around to watch the firefighters like the rest of us.
“Come in and I’ll make you a drink,” Dane says next to me, his hand landing on my knee.
I slide my leg over to shake it off.
“I need to talk to you,” he murmurs in my ear.
I shake my head.
“I’m going to talk to Jim and see what else I can find out,” my dad says to no one in particular and heads in the direction of the fire truck.
“I thought I lost you,” Dane whispers, or at least must think he whispered, but Charlie takes her cue and stands up, brushing her ass off.
“I’m going to join your dad.”
Charlie walks away, and Dane takes me by my shoulders forcing me to look at him.
“I’m sorry, Ava.”
“Thanks. Like everything else in my life, nothing goes as planned, but I’ll get through this. Just might take awhile...” Another loud bang inside has me turning my head.
Dane’s hand cups my cheek and he directs my head back in his direction.
“No, Ava, I’m sorry for being a jackass.” His eyes are tender and overflowing with sorrow. But I’d have the same reaction if his bar were currently burning to the ground.
“Okay.” I begin to rotate my neck back around to face the building, but his hand pressures my head to stay in place.
“I want another chance. When I thought you were in there...I couldn’t breathe. I ran in before the firefighters, searching every space for you. When I didn’t find you, I panicked. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach, and I swore to myself if I found you, I’d never let you go.” He grabs me and pulls my limp body into his.
I don’t reciprocate the hug. Instead, I lay unmoving in his arms, trying to process why he feels as though now is the time to tell me this.
I’m shoved back upright and he’s looking at me like he’s expecting an answer to his declaration.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. Accept my apology.”
A laugh escapes before I can quiet myself. “Oh, you’re serious.” I stand up, brushing the dirt off my ass. “Always so selfish, Dane. You thought I was dead so now you want me?” I stare down at him. “I’m not a shelter dog, Dane, I’m not going to wag my tail and jump in your lap because you rubbed my belly a couple of times.”
I walk toward my dad and the fire chief. Charlie glances between me and the curb where I can only hope Dane has disappeared from.
“Ava!” His deep voice rings in the night air, but I keep walking. “Mad Batter!” he yells again and this time Jim, my dad, Charlie, along with all the Climax Cove volunteer firemen are staring in his direction. I turn on my heels, ready to give him the evil eye with the hopes he disappears. “I will convince you that you’re meant to be with me.”
I roll my eyes turning around.
“Seven days from now you’ll be in my arms.”
“Dane.” Charlie’s tone is one of warning. “Now isn’t the time.”
“Even so, it’s a promise I intend to keep.” His voice seems to get louder as he continues, so I put my hand up in the air, giving him a wave to say whatever, just go away.
My dad’s ears perk up like a Doberman and he sets his sights on Dane. “He hurt you?” he asks me, bringing his gaze back around to me.
“No.”
With the smoke dying down, most spectators have left, leaving the four of us the only people other than the fire department.
“He did.” He steps off the curb to the street, headed toward Dane.
“Whoa, Vic, settle down,” Dane says.
Following my dad’s path, Dane holds up his arms in the air and the fear in his eyes would normally make me laugh, and a small part of me is saying ‘go daddy, kick his ass.’
“I told you someone was going to get hurt and it was my little girl.” My dad’s finger is already pointed and ready to poke Dane’s chest.
Now, Dane is still taller and overall bigger than my dad, but that Brazilian side of his temper is no joke.
“I just confessed to her how much I need her.”
“Ohhhhh,” Charlie coos next to me. She might as well wear a Team Dane pin on her shirt.
My dad’s footsteps stop and he turns to me, looking to me to see if this statement is true.
“I guess once he thinks I’m dead, it makes him realize what he passed on.” I cross my arms over my chest.
Dane ignores my dad and steps down off the curb on his side, his gaze locking with mine.
“I love you, Ava Pearson. Yes, it took me until that fire to realize how stupid I was, but I know now. I always was a slow learner.”
His footsteps are closing the distance between us and my heart is cracking open, begging me to let him nestle into that empty spot designated for him. Then the devil lands on my right shoulder and I’m reminded of the heartache he’s put me through. The fact that he didn’t care about us until he thought he could never have us again.
“Fear is ruling your emotions right now, Dane. Tomorrow when you wake up and realize, I�
��m here and I’m fine, you’ll go back to only needing one thing from me and that one thing is just a tiny piece of what I have to offer the man in my life.”
“You’re wrong.”
He steps up, and we’re practically chest-to-chest.
“Then you’ll have to prove it to me.” I grab his wrist and turn his watch to both of us. “Only time will tell.”
I walk over to Charlie who wraps her arm around my shoulders, sheltering me from him. He’s finally said the words I’ve longed to hear from him, but with everything going on I can’t even deal with it right now.
Either that, or it’s too little, too late.
28
Ava
Day One
I stayed until two in the morning. Jim allowed me to walk through quickly after he’d done his investigation with him at my side and a helmet on my head. The damage isn’t extensive, mostly just smoke damage, but enough that I’ll be closed for awhile.
With a cup of coffee from Steaming Hotties and a baseball cap on my head, I head to the bakery to meet the insurance guy before lunch. I had to call Norma, the building owner last night. She was none too pleased to hear about the fire. Somehow, I managed not to point fingers that maybe she should have looked into the electrical panel I was asking about last month.
Marcus’ truck, Garrett’s truck, and Dane’s Mustang are all parked outside the bakery, the three of them not in sight. I glance over to Happy Daze, seeing it dark and locked up still.
My foot leaves the curb to cross the street and echoes of hammering and sawing ring in the early morning street. Hank from Nail Me is walking down the street with a flatbed of lumber and drywall.
No. No. No.
By the time I reach the door, I find a crew of six people inside, three of whom are the men who own the vehicles parked out front, all hard at work inside.
“Dane!” I yell.
He walks out from the storage room area, his white shirt sticking to his skin and his pants swung low with his tool belt hanging off his hips.
I hate to admit it but that look really works for him.
“Good morning. I had made you some coffee, but better bet on Steaming Hotties.” He winks and leans back on the counter that’s still intact.
“What are you doing? The insurance guy is on his way.”
“Tom was already here. Took care of that and he gave me the okay to get working. Time is money and we need to get you reopened.”
I step closer. “I needed to get estimates and find out who I can afford.”
“Tom said he’ll be by later with a check. And we’re free of charge, so I’m pretty confident that we would’ve won the bid.” He winks and those moss-colored eyes draw me in.
“You aren’t doing this for free.”
He crosses his arms, his biceps bulging as the sleeves of his t-shirt rise, a classic you can’t stop me smirk on his lips. “Just go have some coffee and write down the color of paint you used.” He nods over to the prep table in the kitchen, set up with a cup of coffee, a muffin, and a paint wheel.
“You think this is going to win me over somehow?” I cross my own arms and jut out my hip.
He steps closer, his voice lowering into that deep timber that sends shivers up my spine. “It’s only day one. I still have six more, remember?”
Without another word, he turns on his heels and heads back to work.
Day Two
The usual crew is at the shop. Marcus, Garrett, some guys from Garrett’s crew, but today Dane’s Mustang is missing. As much as I want to be unaffected by the man and anything he does, it hitches when I notice that he’s not here today.
With the front windows on order, they’re concentrating most of their efforts in the storage room where all my supplies and ingredients were destroyed.
I sit at the prep table, looking over my list of everything I need to do in order to get the store up and running again when Dane walks in from the back room.
“Good morning. I didn’t hear you.” He sits on the stool across from me.
Again, with the sweat soaked shirt. Add on the backward baseball hat and I’m busy convincing myself not to crawl over this table like a stripper and straddle him.
“Morning. I didn’t see your car.”
The usual smirk arises, his fingers tapping on the table. “Did you see the black pick-up truck?”
I nod, my heart skipping a beat for what day two in the win-over-Ava-game might bring.
“It’s mine. I traded in the ‘stang. I’m not up to pick-up level yet, but hey, if you want more kids, a car seat could fit next to Toby in the back so I figure we have a least a couple years with this one.” His lips curl up further, and eventually he loses the battle, chuckling.
I try and keep the smile from spreading across my face. “What if I had triplets?”
“Then we’ll get a Suburban.” He points to himself. “See, not even a stutter.”
I nod. “Good to know.”
“Food for thought, right? Kids and marriage don’t scare me, as long as you’re part of the equation.”
He slides the stool out and disappears back into the storage room.
Day Three
My front door shuts behind me, but my feet don’t make the daily trek to Mad Batter because Dane is parked in my building’s lot, leaning back on the front of his truck.
He pushes off and walks toward me, a coffee from Steaming Hotties in his hands.
I tentatively take it from him.
He circles around and holds out his arm for me to take like he’s a debonair gentleman escorting me into a ball. “Let’s go shopping.”
“What?” I loop my arm through his.
“Shopping. You need some things so we’re going to take a day trip.”
“What day is this again?” I ask, falling into step with him.
“Day three. Why? Have I already convinced you that I’m not acting out of fear?” His footsteps stop and he looks down at me.
“I’m just curious, how long you’ll be able to keep this up for.”
He leans closer, opening the passenger side door for me. “Until you accept my apology.”
“I already accepted your apology.” I slide into the front seat of his new vehicle.
He shakes his head. “Not really. Not if you’re not willing to take me back.”
He shuts the door, circles around the front of the vehicle and hops in next to me.
“I promise, no griping, no arguing, and no whining. I will willingly carry things, haul things, and help with decision making all day.” He holds out his pinky. “Pinky swear.”
My pinky clasps onto his and the butterflies in my stomach start flapping their wings frantically at his touch.
“We’ll see.”
“You can’t break me, Ava Pearson.”
He was right, the entire day he was at my side, and by the time we headed back to Climax Cove, the truck bed was full of new supplies for the bakery.
Day Four
The bakery is coming along and since I missed yesterday, I’m eager to see how far the crew has come on the rebuild. I still need to do a big meal or something to thank all these people for helping me without any pay or complaints.
I’m about to cross the street when Dane approaches and puts his arm over my shoulder. I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t touched during our day trip yesterday. No smooching or hand holding, but our limbs brushed occasionally and every time they did, I thought I’d have to call the fire department to hose me down.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He continues to lead me away from the bakery and right to the doors of his bar.
“A few customers have been jonesing for your cupcakes.”
We walk through the bar to the back kitchen. On the counter rests flour, sugar, and an array of baking ingredients.
“This is yours for the day. I’ve closed the grill until dinner.” He winks and then turns on his heels, but peeks his head back into the room. “Of course, if you feel obliged to pa
y me back, I’ll gladly take payment in peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes.”
He chuckles and I hear the door shut behind him, leaving me alone in the bar.
A few minutes later Charlie comes in and pulls up a stool from the corner beside me.
“Still playing that hard to get role, huh?” she asks.
“I’m not playing anything.”
I look around for an apron, finding a section on the back wall where I see some.
I pick one up and put it over my head.
Charlie starts laughing and shaking her head.
“What?”
She points to the apron and my eyes venture down. On the front it reads, ‘I <3 Dane’ under it.
“He’s pulling out all the stops.” She shakes her head. “If I were you, I’d keep the whole chase-me thing up to see what else he’ll come up with.”
She vanishes into the bar and I’m left alone in a foreign kitchen with my thoughts about Dane. I’m not purposely playing a game of cat and mouse with him, but putting my heart out there in case he really isn’t in this is hard. What if he gets scared and changes his mind?
It’s in his kitchen that I realize why Dane gave me a space to bake. It wasn’t because the town wanted my cupcakes, it’s because my best thinking happens when I’m mixing and baking and creating. One thing is clear, he’s weaseling his way back in and I now know I want nothing more than for him to prove me wrong.
Day Five
I roll over and when I go to check the time I see that I have a bunch of notifications on Instagram.
That’s weird.
I open the app and that’s when I see that Dane has tagged me in roughly twenty pictures of the two of us from our shopping excursion the other day. His profile picture is of me at his house staring out at the ocean. I’m not even sure when he took it, but I clearly didn’t know he was capturing the moment.
The hashtag with the picture is #needmorenightslikethis.
I go to his photos and see he’s erased any pictures of him with other women. I’m the only female on his page besides his mother and one of Charlie flipping him off.