Stay (Healing Springs, Book 2)

by Amanda Torrey

  Ava chewed the side of her fingernail to keep from screaming out from the deep pain of betrayal. Looking at the happy couple made Ava want to pack up and leave town before anyone could spread a rumor about how stupid and delusional the Teacher of the Year really was.

  The woman playing with Cole was exactly the kind of woman someone like Cole belonged with. They were equally matched in their good looks and sexy bodies. She probably never binged on chocolate while eschewing trips to the gym. She probably never indulged in take-out Chinese food while having a Netflix marathon. She probably kept him very happy in all ways.

  Tears fell from Ava’s cheek, landing on her arm.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  She had allowed herself to fantasize when she should have maintained a firm grip on the contempt he deserved.

  He was even lower than she had even imagined. He wasn’t a man—he was the dirt on the bottom of a man’s work boots. He was the layer of dirt beneath the dirt they walked on. He was the slug that lived deep down in the ground. No, she didn’t want to insult the slug for what this creature was capable of.

  How dare he be flirting with her, kissing her, seeking her out? He was clearly involved in a happy, playful, joyous relationship.

  Ava shifted into gear, prepared to barrel out of there before he spotted her. Before she could turn, she saw—through her blurred vision—a little girl toddling toward Cole, arms outstretched. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulders. Ava didn’t need to hear the toddler’s laughter to feel the joy behind this portrait of family perfection.

  What a dirt bag!

  Ava raced home, nearly running a red light as she drove.

  Breathe.

  How could she breathe when her lungs were packed with shame and guilt and the terrible feeling of very nearly being the other woman?

  Ava had fallen into his trap. She had practically invited this to happen.

  For an intelligent woman who graduated with a 4.0, she was really quite uneducated in the ways of the world. If only they had taught “Heartbreakers 101” and “How to Avoid Making Stupid Life Decisions 102” in college. Those courses would have proved far more helpful in life than Statistics.

  She slammed her hand on her fuzzy pink steering wheel, then changed the channel from the singer crooning so lovingly on the radio to a hard rock channel, where the angry music spoke to her wounded soul.

  What was it about her that attracted cheating men? She knew the pain of being on the other end. When Ava had walked in on Kevin cheating with her colleague—a fourth grade male teacher they had been socially active with—on the satin sheets Kevin had given Ava for their anniversary, she had thought she’d done something to cause the betrayal. If she had been sexier. If she had been more conscientious about wearing make-up and nice clothes. If she had cooked more homemade meals.

  It took her a while to realize none of that mattered. Kevin liked men. Ava wasn’t one to judge—she had plenty of friends who were gay. But he could have broken up with her instead of cheating. She never thought she’d come so close to marrying someone who could never love her the way she wanted to be loved.

  How ironic that the next guy to lead her down the path of temptation could also never love her that way. Different reasons. Same effect.

  She didn’t expect a knight on a white horse to charge through the village to sweep her up and save her from a lifetime alone, but a few steps up from the pigs she kept getting involved with—the jerks who broke her heart—would be nice. Really, Ava enjoyed squishing mud between her toes as much as the next early childhood professional, but she refused to wallow in it with these piggy men!

  But Cole was such a hot pig. And he had managed to make her feel special. Desired, yet wanted for more than just sex. She guessed that was part of his charm.

  Almost any other flaw would have been forgivable. She knew perfection only existed in her dreams. She knew he wasn’t one to remain celibate for long. He’d always have a line of woman waiting for their turn.

  Ava couldn’t for the life of her figure out why he’d be chasing her when he had that gorgeous woman waiting for him.

  And the child? How could he do such a thing to that precious child! This was a small town. Everyone knew everything. Word would get back and the memory of his game-playing would linger long after he ditched the town again.

  They all deserved far better than the back stabbing, lying, cheating, pathetic behavior they were getting from that…

  Pig.

  Ava pulled into her driveway, slamming the door behind her as an expression of the rage building inside. She winced as she moved wrong and her painful private area rubbed against a seam.

  Another reminder of the burning ire caused by him.

  As soon as she opened her front door, Karly rushed forward, thrusting a huge bouquet of flowers into Ava’s unsuspecting arms.

  “What are you doing here?” Ava studied the flowers—a gorgeous blend of tulip, rose, and orchid.

  “I let myself in. You know you need my help getting ready for the big date tonight.”

  Ava considered demanding her spare key back. This was not the emergency she had in mind when she gave it to her best friend.

  “Good thing I was here, anyway, so I could answer the door when these beauties were delivered.” Karly leaned forward to smell the flowers in Ava’s arms. “Read the card. I’m dying to hear what he said.”

  Ripping the small card from the envelope, Ava wiped tears away as she read the sweet words Cole had written. He predicted a wonderful date night, naming himself the certain victor for the evening’s challenge.

  Without another thought, Ava whipped her front door open with force she hadn’t known she possessed, threw the tainted flowers onto the walkway, slammed the door shut, and refused to look at Karly.

  “Um, hello? What have you done with my way-too-sweet best friend?”

  Ava prayed for a reprieve from the waterfall of tears. She hated her anger-provoked emotion. Being unable to control the flow made her even more angry.

  “You wanna know what’s wrong?” Ava sputtered, her face growing hotter with fury. She paced the living room, stoking up the fire in her gut and her recently-half-waxed nether regions. “That man is a no-good, lying piece of—”

  “Whoa, hold up. Are you talking about Cole?”

  “No, I’m talking about the freaking garbage man.” Ava sauntered into the kitchen, wishing Bear and Karly weren’t following.

  “What on earth did that card say?”

  “He’s married, Karly. Or at least he has a girlfriend. And a child. A gorgeous, sweet, perfectly innocent little girl.”

  Ava fell backwards into her kitchen chair. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and cradling her aching forehead in her palms. The sadness washed over her like waves at high tide, ready to swallow her whole. She was a lone, forgotten surfboard drifting over the waves, suddenly engulfed in the turmoil of a tremendous storm. Her tears fell freely. Sobs wracked her body. Bear placed his front paws on her knees, whimpered softly, and tried to get his wet tongue through her hands in an attempt to lick away her tears. The compassion her dog exhibited was enough to push Ava into a self-pitying fiesta. She wrapped her arms around his neck, thankful she had this small comfort. She didn’t even care that his shedding fur stuck so easily to her tear-stained face.

  “He said all that in a card?”

  One look at Karly’s bewildered face and she burst out laughing. Seeing this situation playing out from Karly’s perspective must be truly hilarious.

  Her laughter erupted with such force that her sides began to cramp as she imagined what Karly must have thought when Ava threw the flowers out the door.

  Puzzled at first, Karly soon joined Ava in her laughter, as was their tradition. Bear jumped away, clearly giving up on trying to figure out women. Ava hugged her middle.

  After several moments of intense laughter and a painful cramp, Ava rose from her chair and poured herself and Karly glasses of water.r />
  She gestured for Karly to follow her to the living room, where she plopped herself down in the comfort of her favorite overstuffed chair and began to relay the afternoon’s events to Karly.

  When she finished, Karly shook her head.

  “I don’t know, Ava. Something doesn’t seem right. I’m telling you, that man watched you at the bar like you were the only woman on earth. If he’s involved in this loving relationship you think he’s in, and he has to work, how is he able to spend so much time showing up where you are?” Karly paused, and Ava swallowed the lump in her throat.

  Was she seriously making a case for the poophead?

  “How do you know they’re not just friends?”

  Ava guffawed at the suggestion.

  “Yeah, okay. Can you picture a guy like Cole being friends with any woman? Let alone one as hot as the one he was with today. No way.”

  Ava sipped her water, desperately willing away the tears that threatened to spill again.

  “Trust me, Karl. If they’re not married, they’re closely involved. The way they played was too familiar to be anything but lovers. Besides, you should have seen this woman. No way could he resist her. Especially not if I was the other option.”

  Karly sighed dramatically, leaning forward in her chair. “As usual, you underestimate yourself. Don’t try to tell me that man doesn’t have feelings for you. Right or wrong, no man in his right mind comes back to town and jumps through so many hoops to get a woman to go out with him. Especially not when he has so many who would eagerly take your place.”

  “Who said he was in his right mind?”

  Shared laughter lifted her spirits enough to not make her want to get in the car and run him down on the job site. Fury still stewed in her gut, but she wouldn’t blame herself for his evil ways. And resisting him would be no problem at all. She doubted she’d even find him attractive after seeing the real him.

  “Well, something good came of this,” Karly said.

  “You’re right.” Ava raised her glass as if for a toast. “I learned never to kiss a man I clearly know nothing about.”

  “Uh, no. Nothing wrong with that. I do it all the time.” Karly’s lips turned up in a quirky smile. “The good thing is you opened your heart. You were on the road to trusting someone other than you. Now don’t shut the door because of one possibly bad experience.”

  “One bad experience? Need I remind you of Kevin?”

  “Kevin is in a ballpark of his own. Ava, listen. Maybe you should get all the facts before making rash decisions and writing Cole out of your life.” Karly paused, took a deep breath, and rushed on before Ava could slip in her opinions of Karly’s uncharacteristic advice. “Maybe he gets along really well with an ex. That’s a sign of maturity, right? Especially if they have a child together. You love kids, and lots of potentials in our dating pool already have kids. You’d make a great stepmom. And if this is true, at least you know he’s fertile.”

  Karly punctuated her last point with a lecherous wink and a huge grin.

  “Now I’m thinking we need to hit the town. Maybe drive into Boston for the night?”

  “Are you insane? That’s a three hour drive.”

  “Yes, but do you want to let that freshly waxed va-jay-jay go to waste?”

  “It’s only a half-waxed va-jay-jay. So, va-jay?”

  “What?” Water spurted from Karly’s mouth.

  “You heard me. Half. And I can honestly say I will never, ever, ever allow myself to be tortured for a guy. Ever.”

  “Oh my god.” Karly laughed. “I have to see this.”

  “Um, no. Nobody will be seeing it.”

  “No wonder Opal was such a ball of pissy-ness. You didn’t allow her to complete her sculpting.”

  “She needs to find a new art form.”

  Once the laughter settled down, Ava settled in for a quiet evening at home. Alone.

  She didn’t believe a word Karly had said, but she was grateful to have her bestie there to help her clear away the storm clouds. And the possibility that she jumped to conclusions helped her feel a bit less trashy.

  Now if she could lock up her heart and tuck the key away, things would be fine. Perfectly, wonderfully, magically fine.

  Knowing this, why did she feel so shattered now?

  Chapter Five

  Cole approached Ava’s cobblestoned walkway with an unfamiliar feeling of trepidation. His left hand fiddled with his tie as his thoughts raced.

  Was this what being nervous felt like?

  He hadn’t been able to eat lunch, even though he had been busting his ass on the new construction. He had been out of the physical parts of the job for years—having shifted into the architectural portion—and he realized as he was filling in for some absent workers how much he missed getting his hands dirty. Transferring simple materials into a work of art was what attracted him to this career in the first place. He loved every part of it—developing blueprints, managing the crew, hammering the nails. The business side fed another part of him—the competitive need to win. But his heart would always be on the job site.

  He was grateful for his time spent on the crew today, anyway, because he had needed the distraction from thinking about his date tonight.

  Cole studied the flowers he held one last time. Had he made the right choice with the locally grown wildflowers? He thought they matched Ava’s vibrant yet down-to-earth personality.

  Just like the flowers, Ava was fresh and innocent. Beautiful and bold. Cheerful and pleasant.

  Even when she pretended to be irritated with him, she was all these things. And more.

  He wished he could blame his jitters on excessive caffeine intake, but he hadn’t had any all day.

  Cole stepped over the scattered bouquet of flowers on the walkway, then stopped short. He turned back to study the mess.

  Orchids. Lilies. The bouquet he had sent this morning.

  He shook his head at the carelessness of the delivery kid. He’d have to speak to the kid, as he generally used that florist for all of his local business endeavors. This wouldn’t do.

  Knowing Ava hadn’t been able to enjoy his romantic gesture, he decided he’d need to step up his game tonight. She deserved nothing but the best.

  He didn’t want to only win the challenge.

  He wanted to win her.

  Cole cleared his throat and smiled at the colorful “#1 Teacher” wreath gracing the door. He could only imagine how many little boys had crushes on their teacher. The dads probably did, too.

  Cole tightened his grip on the flowers and clenched his jaw. Not wanting to put off this moment any longer, he rang the bell.

  When Ava didn’t respond to the bell, he figured that maybe it didn’t work. He hadn’t heard it—not that he had been focusing on listening to anything but the rapid pulsing of the blood rushing through his ears.

  He lifted his hand to bang on the door beside the wreath. Before he could make contact, the door swung open, revealing his precious Ava. In a bathrobe.

  His groin tightened as he drank in the vision.

  Her bathrobe was tightly closed, but droplets of water traveled down her chest, disappearing between her terry-cloth-covered breasts.

  Wet curls rested against her neck. His hands itched to toss the flowers and the façade of being a gentleman and find her other wet curls.

  Remembering what he had always heard from his sisters about women wanting to be looked at in the face and not ogled, he forced his eyes to meet hers.

  There must have been some confusion.

  Yeah, he was a few minutes late. There had been complications on the job site before he was due to leave. But she wasn’t even dressed, so that couldn’t be the problem.

  She looked downright pissed.

  She had been fine this morning on the phone. Okay, so maybe she had been a bit icy at first, but by the end of the conversation she had been laughing.

  “These are for you.” He held the flowers out to her, half hoping she’d forget she
was holding her bathrobe closed.

  “Gee, thanks.” She accepted the flowers, then gracefully stepped around him and flung the bouquet onto the walkway.

  He jerked his head back.

  “What was that for?”

  “Don’t play innocent. You know.”

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking. Nor would I have harassed the florist for nearly an hour trying to get exactly the right arrangement.”

  He stepped into her apartment, preferring not to have this conversation on her front porch.

  “Nice place,” Cole complimented, not trusting himself to look at her. She was pissed and he was horny for her. Though he could feel her anger as if she were stabbing him, his damned erection didn’t cease to grow.

  “Thanks. Now go.”

  “I promise to be the perfect gentleman while I wait for you to get ready.” Cole took a step closer. Her steely tone should have warned him away, but he wasn’t one to walk away from a challenge. Maybe this was her attempt to win.

  “I am ready. For you to leave.”

  “Unless you’d prefer for me to forgo the role of gentleman and help you get dressed. Or undressed.”

  “That’s a sweet offer.”

  Finally, she was coming around.

  “But maybe your wife and daughter need your help more than I do.”

  Cole snapped his head back. What the hell was this?

  He smiled. He stepped closer. She backed away slightly, fear in her eyes.

  “Honey, you can try to push me away any way you want, but inventing a family for me isn’t going to work.” He shook his head as she backed away.

  How dare she look afraid? He’d never hurt a woman. He’d never take what wasn’t freely offered. And she damn well should know that better than anyone.

  Ava stormed to the door, slamming it shut. Pictures on the wall rattled. Fury marked every step as she moved toward the kitchen.

  Cole stood his ground.

  She’d have to realize what a foolish tactic she was taking. Fine, she wanted to try to win the challenge. But he’d certainly know if he had a wife and child.