by Tasha Black
Her excitement was contagious. It was funny to feel revved up about taking his financial temperature.
Clearly Ava was truly gifted at what she did, and passionate about it, too.
When he returned, she had her own laptop out and was opening a spreadsheet.
“I’m going to enter all your info into this,” she told him. “It will give us a baseline of your net worth and your financial health.”
He sat down beside her and peered over her shoulder. There were dozens of color-coded columns.
“Where do we start?” he asked.
“Let’s start with retirement funds,” she said. “Not that I think you should raid them. I just want to see where you stand.”
He turned back to his own laptop and began opening tabs.
He’d anticipated this conversation and had already bookmarked most of the pertinent sites where he could pull the info she needed.
He read off numbers and she typed, then asked for the next category of items.
After they had looked at the retirement accounts and the kids’ college funds, he offered to make her a cup of tea and she agreed.
As he watched the kettle, he couldn’t help peeking back at Ava.
She had pulled her hair into a ponytail. Her glasses slid low on her nose. She leaned close to the screen, her fingers tapping away on the keyboard with a merry confidence.
Something about the sound and sight made him feel safe, in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He carried their mugs in and she smiled up at him.
Her face was illuminated by the soft light of the screen and there was something beautiful about her now that she was doing something she was passionate about. The exhaustion was gone from her demeanor, replaced by the spark of liveliness he’d caught a glimpse of earlier when she’d been reading to the twins.
“Find anything good?” he asked her over the lump that was suddenly in his throat.
“Oh, we’re just doing recon now,” she told him. “I’ll be filling in blanks for a while before we start coming up with answers. Thanks for the tea.”
He sat beside her again, noticing the way she cradled the mug almost reverently, warming herself with it as she gazed at the screen.
It had been a long time since he’d been this intimate with another person. Not that sitting at this table was particularly intimate, but he was sharing his finances with her, arguably one of the most private things a person could share.
And she was baring her passion to him. Weaving numbers onto the brightly colored spreadsheet. She was showing him what mattered to her.
“Oh, look at that,” she exclaimed, leaning toward the screen suddenly. “Crap.”
She had spilled her hot tea onto her blouse.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment as he took in the sight of the soft fabric, drenched and clinging to her small breasts.
The wolf nosed at his bounds and Dax felt an unbidden surge of lust.
“Let me get you a towel,” he choked out, launching himself out of his chair, which skidded along the floor with a screech of complaint.
He jogged into the kitchen and pulled towels out of the drawer as he tried to talk himself off a ledge.
You’re only human. It’s a natural instinct, it doesn’t mean anything…
But Dax hadn’t really been aroused in a year, other than his depressingly obligatory forays into porn. He certainly hadn’t been aroused unintentionally. And definitely not by a real-life woman. Though plenty had launched themselves at him shamefully quickly after he lost his wife.
But the pull he felt to Ava was as clear and undeniable as it was uninvited.
That’s Jill’s best friend. She’s here to help you. Don’t be an animal, his nice guy side admonished him, even as some secret dark voice in the back of his head reminded him he was still young and rejoiced that there was still a spark of life in his libido.
He ran back out with the towels and thrust them at her, not trusting himself to help her or even speak.
“Thanks so much,” she said. “I’m such an idiot, I got so excited about those stock options you have from your old corporate job that I forgot I had tea in my hands.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said quickly. “Listen, I have to be up early with the twins.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she told him, looking horrified. “Is it okay for me to keep working on this? It looks like you’ve got some tabs open with your info.”
“Sure, sure,” he said quickly. “Go ahead, look at whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Dax,” she said with a sweet smile. “I hope you don’t feel I’m overstepping. I just want to help you find your two years with the twins, okay?”
Oh God.
She had sensed his discomfort. She was afraid she had offended him.
“I’m really grateful, Ava,” he told her earnestly. “I’m just tired. But I’m glad you’re doing this. And I know you’ll help if you can.”
Her face relaxed and her eyes shone with relief. “Of course I will,” she assured him.
“Thank you,” he said, turning and heading upstairs, trying not to think about her green eyes on him, or the strangely hypnotic dance of her fingers on the keys.
5
Ava
Ava awoke bright and early the next morning.
It was cold enough outside that frost formed a delicate lace on the window overlooking the street. But the inside of the house was warm and silent, except for the clicks and murmurs of the radiators.
She’d slept under a thick comforter, and she slid out as quickly as she could for fear of falling asleep again. The cool contrast of the wooden floor felt good beneath her feet.
Ava was excited about the work she had done last night. She still had a few questions for Dax, but she thought she had found the answer. Or at least an answer.
Humming to herself, she snagged some clothing from her suitcase and padded down the hallway as quietly as she could.
The bathroom was empty. But steam clung to the mirror and the room smelled like a woodsy aftershave. Dax must already be up.
She showered quickly, got dressed and headed downstairs.
She couldn’t wait to see him.
You can’t wait to talk to him about what you found, she corrected herself.
It was one thing to notice, in a detached way, that he was handsome. It was another to get a crush on your dead best friend’s husband.
That’s not happening, she told herself firmly as she walked down the last step.
“You woke up before the twins,” Dax said softly, a congratulatory grin crinkling his denim-blue eyes. “Want some coffee?”
He was wearing gray flannel pajama bottoms with a soft white t-shirt that pulled tightly over his muscular form.
Again, Ava had an urge to embrace him, though the mere fact that he looked warm and cuddly obviously didn’t give her the right to touch him.
“Sure, I’d love coffee,” she said, looking out the windows instead of at him.
She watched the squirrels chase each other across the backyard as she listened to the satisfying sound of fragrant coffee pouring into the cup.
“Here you go,” he told her. “There’s milk in the fridge and sugar in the bowl. Help yourself.”
She turned and took the mug he offered. It was gray speckled stoneware with a brown owl design.
“I think my grandmother had a mug like this one,” she said.
“I like vintage stuff,” Dax said. “I got that one at a yard sale. I’m sure it was from someone’s grandmother.”
She grabbed milk from the refrigerator, wondering how long they could make small talk before she actually exploded from holding in the conversation about his finances.
“How long will Mason and Maddie sleep?” she asked.
“Probably another fifteen or twenty minutes,” he said. “Unless the neighbor’s dog barks, or the fire horn goes off.”
“I noticed a few things when I was going over the numbers
last night,” she said, figuring she ought to jump in while they had time.
“Yeah?” he asked. His eyes were hopeful.
“Let’s sit,” she said.
They carried their coffee to the table and sat in the same positions as last night.
“First of all, I don’t want you to touch your retirement,” she said. “You’re going to have ground to make up in that area when you do go back to work.”
“Okay,” he said. “I won’t touch it.”
“And I know you don’t want to touch the kids’ 529 funds, though I would caution you to put money in your retirement instead when you start saving again,” she went on.
“Oh, I’m more worried about them than me,” he said.
“Colleges are going to look at those 529s and the kids will be less likely to get financial aid,” she told him. “You can always plan to borrow from retirement for their education when the time comes.”
“Okay,” he said. “I don’t really get it, but okay.”
“I’ll explain it better later,” she said. “I just want to get to the good part.”
“There’s a good part?” he asked.
“I think so,” she told him. “What’s this?”
She showed him the property tax bill on the screen. “I saw this in your folder of liabilities.”
“Oh,” he said. “Yeah. Don’t get excited about that. It’s practically a teardown.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Tell me about it.”
“My grandfather thought land in the Poconos was going to skyrocket in value,” Dax said fondly. “He bought this cabin decades ago, right before the real estate market crashed.”
“Is there a mortgage on it?” Ava asked worriedly.
“No, nothing like that,” Dax told her. “He paid cash for it. It wasn’t expensive, and then it was worth even less. He left it to me a few years ago. He hoped Jill and I could fix it up and take the kids there for vacations someday.”
“Did you and Jill ever go there?” Ava asked. Jill had never seemed the outdoorsy type to her.
“Oh God no,” Dax laughed. “Jill hated camping, and that cabin is one very small step above roughing it in a tent. And of course, by the time we were settled in our careers, we spent all our time and money on fertility treatments anyway. I guess the property taxes are a waste of money for me, but it’s hard to think about selling grandpa’s gift. And they’re pretty minimal.”
Ava nodded. “Well, if you don’t use the cabin, then I think it may be key to helping you stay home,” Ava said. “And it could add to your savings even after you go back to work.”
“Really, it’s worth almost nothing,” Dax said.
“Have you heard of short-term vacation rentals?” Ava asked him.
“Like Airbnb?” Dax asked.
“Exactly,” Ava said. “They allow vacationers to have what some might consider a more authentic experience. And they allow homeowners to collect rental income.”
“Isn’t that just for like a night or two at a time?” Dax asked. “And you’ve got to clean the place like a hotel in between?”
“It’s gotten easier,” Ava said. “There are housecleaners and property managers who can help. Part of the reason the sale value of your property is lower is that vacationers don’t have to buy in order to stay in a cabin anymore. But it also means you could earn a substantial income renting it.”
Dax frowned and steepled his hands. “I like the idea. But the cabin isn’t in great shape.”
“We can check it out,” Ava suggested. “If we take an inventory of what needs to be done to get it ready, we can figure out how long it would take to earn out and start giving you a profit.”
“You would go with me?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said. “I’d be glad to. If it looks okay, we can coordinate with a property manager out there and have them help us figure out repairs.”
“You know what,” he said thoughtfully. “If you don’t mind making an extra stop, we can knock out another errand on the way.”
“Sure,” she said. “Do you think the babies will be okay on such a long car trip?”
“Oh, no,” Dax said. “I mean maybe they would be, but Carol has been begging to spend a day with them forever. I think she’ll help us out. Especially when she hears we’re picking up the Christmas trees.”
“Christmas trees?” Ava asked.
“I used to be a Tarker’s Hollow volunteer firefighter,” Dax said. “We hold a Christmas tree sale as a fundraiser every year. I used to volunteer to sell trees. But of course, with the twins…”
“I’m sure a lot of people take a break with even one baby in the house,” Ava said.
“Anyway, Harkness Farms is the local tree farm, but they let people do cut-your-own, so we usually get our supply from a place in the Poconos,” Dax said. “If we’re headed that way anyhow, we can pick them up.”
“That’s a great idea,” Ava said. “When do we go?”
“I’m thinking tomorrow,” he said thoughtfully. “Let me run and call Carol.”
He grabbed his phone from the counter, tapped a contact and put the phone to his ear.
Ava took another sip of her coffee.
Listening to Dax talking with his mother-in-law, Ava understood how close they were. It was so good that Carol could be there for him and the kids. And it said a lot about both of them, that they were able to help pick up the pieces for each other.
A little voice floated down from upstairs.
“Dah,” it said.
Dax glanced at the staircase, but clearly Carol was in the middle of telling him something.
“I’ll get them,” Ava mouthed to him, heading for the stairs.
She had never gotten up with a baby, but she figured it couldn’t be that hard.
When she reached the room, she found Mason sitting up in his crib looking disgruntled. Maddie was still sleeping hard.
“Hey, buddy,” Ava said softly.
“Dah,” he cried, looking at her in trepidation.
“It’s just me,” Ava reminded him. “Remember the wild rumpus? And Max?”
He didn’t cry out again, but his lower lip trembled.
“Daddy’s on the phone with your grandma,” Ava told him. “I’m just going to keep you company until he comes.”
Mason eyed her suspiciously.
She scanned the room in desperation. How could there not be a bookshelf in here?
A stack of foam alphabet blocks on the table next to Mason’s crib caught her eye.
Though she knew she shouldn’t, Ava found herself putting three of the blocks in her hand.
“Mason, do you want to see something cool?” she asked him softly.
He looked up at her, curiosity winning out over worry.
Ava focused on the three blocks, opening her heart to them.
They were soft, lightweight and worn. They had been well-loved. The A had a picture of an ant. The M showed a mouse. A snake swirled on the S.
When she felt she knew the blocks and understood them, she reached for them with her mind, coaxing them.
At first nothing happened, and she felt a stab of defeat.
I’m sick. I’ll never be well again.
But when Mason whimpered, she shook those thoughts clear and redoubled her efforts.
The A wobbled slightly.
Encouraged, Ava reached again, with more confidence this time.
All three blocks slowly lifted off her palm, floating gently just above her hand.
Mason made an excited squeak.
“Do you want to see them?” Ava whispered, turning slowly and taking the blocks with her. “Look.”
They both watched as the M block floated slowly into the crib and hovered over Mason’s chubby outstretched palm.
Ava smiled and sent the A to join it.
Mason laughed and lifted his other hand.
The magic was coursing through her now, as if it had never left. Ava enjoyed the rush and felt a little thrill
of accomplishment as she sent the S soaring to float above the other two foam blocks.
“Hey, guys,” a deep voice said from the doorway.
Startled, she let go and the blocks fell instantly into Mason’s little hands and the mattress of the crib.
“You came up so quietly,” she said, wondering how much he had seen. Surely her body had blocked his view of what was happening.
“I didn’t want to wake Maddie,” he said with a smile. “She’s pretty serious about her sleep.”
Ava glanced over at Maddie who was somehow still asleep in spite of the noise Mason had been making and the fact that there were now three awake people in the room.
“Dah,” Mason said with a big grin, pulling himself up to stand at the railing of the crib.
“Hi, big boy,” Dax said. “Are you ready to come out?”
“Ow,” Mason agreed heartily, putting his arms up.
“Were you playing with Ava?” Dax asked him, lifting him up and pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“Ay,” Mason said.
“Yeah, Ava,” Dax said. “Can you say that, bud? Like this: Ay-vuh.”
“Ay…UH,” Mason said carefully.
“Wow,” Ava said.
“Good work, buddy,” Dax told him. “Let’s go downstairs so we don’t wake your sister.”
“Carol is going to help out tomorrow,” Dax told Ava as they headed downstairs.
He began telling her about the route they would take to the cabin.
Surely he hadn’t seen anything. If he had, he wouldn’t be talking about traffic and schedules.
Ava was relieved. It was good that she hadn’t ruined their friendship before it really began.
Though if she were honest with herself, it was kind of a shame that her magic was weak enough these days she could get away with practically doing it in front of people.
Her magic had been so strong, until the cancer.
And now, even though she was supposed to be in remission, the magic was still weak and faltering.
This was how she knew she wasn’t really well - that she might never be fully well again.
Whatever took her magic was still inside her somewhere.
6
