There were several scenarios that could explain what Ava was really going through. After all, if I heard her conversation correctly, she was only twenty-two. And I remembered what it was like to be that young in my twenties. It felt like the entire world was against me. I had graduated college with a business degree to help the family and I thought I knew everything. I was in love with the woman I thought I would to spend the rest of my life with and I thought nothing could touch me. I thought everyone with an opinion that wasn’t mine wanted to see me fail, and I stopped at nothing to make sure people knew I wasn’t going to take their shit.
Maybe that was what Ava was doing with running away.
Maybe that was her way of exerting some sort of control over her life.
Whatever the case was, Ava needed to face it. On the slim chance that she was emotionally intelligent and hyper-aware twenty-two-year-old, she needed to admit her own faults. She needed to admit that she had more control than she did. She also needed to come to terms with the fact that her parents only had control over her because she allowed them to. In her mind’s eye, she had no other choice. She could either go home and deal with the abuse of her family, or she could run until they beckoned for her.
And as long as she went running back to them, they would continue to beckon for her.
I watched the young woman as she cranked up her car. Her dimly-lit eyes lifted toward her rearview mirror, then she pulled away from the cabin. I went and stood on the porch, watching her car recede down the driveway. With every inch she drove, I felt the cabin grow lonelier. I felt a light fade away from the inside of my home that hadn’t been there in a very long time. How the fuck was that possible? How could a young woman with her kind of disposition bring that type of warmth into a place?
I shrugged off the notion as I grabbed my coat and headed into the woods.
I walked whenever I needed to get my mind off things and having Ava in my cabin kicked up painful memories. Just seeing a woman lying by a fire drew up within me a carnal desire I had left sedated for years. Her body had been sprawled out underneath those covers trying to get warm while her hair called out to my fingertips. The soft and supple curves the blankets dipped into on her body caused my mind to swirl the other night. It had been years since I’d felt the velvety soft skin of a woman against my body. Warming my aching muscles and drenching my dry bones with her succulent fluids.
Just having her musky scent fill up my living room all night brought back swirling memories. Memories of when I was happy and ignorant. Memories of whisking myself away with the woman I loved. The ground was squishing beneath my feet, drenched from the rainstorm and unable to keep its own composure.
Lana loved the rain. Thunderstorms and lightning and torrential downpours. The louder it was, the more peaceful it was to her. It was like she fed off the drama of it all, and that should’ve been my first cue.
My first cue that she would’ve left me where I stood.
I walked through the woods and took in the scent of it all. The deeper I breathed, the more the scent changed. It morphed into lilac and lavender, the smell of Lana’s hair whenever she laid down next to me. I could still smell the tingling electricity that had battered the mountain top last night. I could smell the wet dirt underneath my boots morph into the smell of Lana’s skin. The smell that would encompass her when my tongue explored her body.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought she would’ve left me at the altar.
I clenched my fists as I thought about it. I stepped into the wild meadow a mile outside of my cabin and I paused. My body slowly burned with anger. I gave that woman everything. I took her to every place she could’ve ever dreamed and bought her every dress she could’ve ever wanted. I cherished her body every night and drew her from her dreams every morning with my cock between her legs. She sank her teeth into my heart and drew me into her gravitational pull.
Then she left me at the altar to starve without her soul.
Maybe that was why it was hard watching Ava leave. It had nothing to do with her, but everything to do with Lana. The love of my life left me standing at the altar, and I had walked outside just in time to watch her get into our limo and leave. I could still remember the trail of her veil as it got slammed in the car door as the limo driver took off. Taking her fuck-knows-where.
I hadn’t seen Lana since that day. Since she left the wedding, she had planned to go live another life elsewhere.
I never expected her to leave, and I never expected to be alone. As I stood on the edge of the meadow with my clenched fists and my aching jaw, I watched a family of deer step into the woods. A buck with a ten-point rack, a doe pregnant with children, and two baby fawns leaping alongside her. I thought about the children I could’ve had with Lana. The children I could’ve watched grow. I thought about all the family functions I did chance to attend that only served to remind me of what I didn’t have. A woman. A family. A purpose to live.
All I had was that fucking cabin. And for a moment, it was filled with a warmth I thought Lana had robbed me of the day she left.
I watched the family of deer eat their fill of the grass and flowers before I started my journey back to the cabin. Whatever I thought this walk was going to accomplish, it had failed. Instead of finding relief and solace in the nature that surrounded me, all I found was an emptiness I hadn’t yet come to terms with. An aching loneliness that fueled the anger pooling inside my chest.
It was good Ava was gone, because there was one thing Lana and her did have in common.
They were both flippant.
Flippant and temporary.
Seven
Ava
I drove through Kettle, Washington and back into Seattle territory. I had to use my GPS to get to the town limits, but once I was there I recognized where I was. My phone rang off the hook as I continued to drive, and all I could hope was that my father hadn’t tried to go to Cassie’s. The last thing I needed was to try and explain to him where I actually was and what I actually had been doing. The wrath I would incur from him would snuff out any chance I had of getting away.
The more I continued to drive, the more I thought about Travis. Why in the world did the name “Travis Benson” ring such a bell? Did my family know a Travis Benson? Had he been on the news somewhere? He didn’t look or sound familiar, so I knew I’d never met him before. But there was still something oddly familiar about him that I couldn’t shake.
I couldn’t get him off my mind. The way his amber eyes were so serious even though he always seemed to be grinning underneath that beard. And his hair was beautiful. Just long enough for someone to be able to tangle their fingers up within it. I lived in a world where men didn’t grow their hair out. They kept it trimmed and swept off to the side. Anything else was considered weak or unprofessional.
But I enjoyed the length of Travis’ hair. I enjoyed how long it was.
He had been scary at first, but he surprised me with the work he had done on the car. He struck me as a woodworker, not as someone who could fix machinery. I wondered what other hidden talents a man like him had. I daydreamed about him and those amber eyes as I made my way home. I had no idea why he was so stuck in my head. I had no idea why part of me wanted to turn around and go back to him. It wasn’t like we had sat and talked for hours and hours and had all these things in common. But I could still feel the way he cradled me in his arms.
The way he had taken care of me when I was so frozen I couldn’t speak.
The way his voice had been so worried before he knew I was aware of his presence.
I took in a shaky breath as I pulled into my family’s compound. I refused to call it a home, because it didn’t feel like that. The massive wrought iron gates parted, allowing my car to wind all the way up the hill. The driveway was lined with apple trees my brothers and I had eaten off of for years, filling the yard with a luxurious smell. It had always been my favorite smell, apples and cinnamon. My mother made the best fucking pies around. It wa
s why my favorite seasons were fall and winter.
Because I could indulge in all the apple and cinnamon treats I wanted.
It was the only time I ever truly felt free. Whenever I would run around with my brothers outside, I felt like I was in control of my own life. They never told me what to do or how to behave. If anything, they had encouraged my rebellion against my father. They kept telling me that what I was doing was right and how my father treated me was wrong. They went along with his antics because they knew that was what they needed to do, but for men it was different. They had the promise of running father’s business someday. They had trust funds built for them and beautiful women lined up just waiting to be their brides. They got the promise of a future while all I got was the promise to be an accessory to someone’s future.
I pulled up to the five-car garage and put my car in park.
Part of me debated on pulling back out. Taking my car, ramming it through the gate, and never coming back. I took one last breath of the freedom I thought I had before I got out of my car, then I made my way into the house through the back door that lead into the kitchen.
My parents sat at the kitchen table waiting for me. My mother with her straight back, her perfect brown hair stacked high on her head, and a dress that fit her just for the pleasure of my father. He lifted his eyes toward me, the fire behind them scaring me as my brothers fumbled their way down the stairs.
“Ava! You’re back!” Hunter said.
“How was Cassie’s?” Lorenzo asked.
“Did you guys stay up all night talking about boys?” Finn asked.
My three brothers gave me a hug and I was thankful for them trying to cover my tracks. I knew they had always been supportive of me, and I knew they understood that I had been trying to escape. I could feel their pity dripping from their bodies as they hugged me. I could feel it in the way they kissed my cheeks. I nodded and smiled as I told them I had a good time, but I could tell my father wasn’t buying it.
“Why in the world is half of your closet gone?” my father asked.
I looked over at my brothers as they stepped away from me.
“It’s a good question, sweetheart,” my mother said. “I went in there to try and find you something for your date, and half of your clothes were gone.”
I rose my eyes to my father before I sighed, trying to come up with some sort of explanation.
And again, my brothers came to my aid.
“She didn’t want to tell you anything about it, but Ava’s been trying to lose some weight,” Finn said.
I looked over at my brother and gave him a curious look.
“What?” my father asked.
“Yeah. She wanted it to be a surprise for you. For the ball at the end of this year. But she’s been losing it a bit faster than she thought, and some of her clothes were too big,” Hunter said.
“And she figured since Cassie’s a bit stouter than her, that she could use some of her clothes. So Ava packed them up yesterday and took them with her,” Lorenzo said.
I tried to suck in my stomach as much as I could as my father’s eyes raked up and down my body. He got up and walked around me, studying me as I tried to alter my posture. I rolled my shoulders back and tucked in my hips. I drew in my stomach and tried to hide the excess weight I had in my arms. My mother’s eyes sparkled with pride as my father looked down into my eyes, my gaze lifting to meet his so as to not show weakness or shame.
That would give me away in a heartbeat.
“I’m proud of you, Ava. You look splendid. What have you lost? Five, ten pounds?” he asked.
I breathed a sigh of relief as my brothers smiled off in the corner.
“She does look really good,” Finn said.
“She’ll need a new wardrobe, though,” Lorenzo said.
“Yes. Something a little more updated, maybe?” Hunter asked.
“That’s actually a wonderful idea. I just updated my wardrobe and I’ve never felt better,” my mother said.
“You’ve never looked better either, my love. Finally! My daughter shows a little bit of pride in her body. Did Cassie enjoy any of the clothes?” my father asked.
“A few of them. But Cassie’s much more… well-endowed… in some areas. A few fit, but I still have most of them,” I said.
“Ah, well. I’m glad she could use a couple of things. I have no idea where in the world her mother gets her fashion sense, but it’s horrendous. I’m not sure how her husband puts up with it,” my father said.
“I have to contact the tailor. We need to get Ava’s new measurements for her clothes,” my mother said.
“And I have work that needs to be accomplished. I’ve got another bid to put in for some land. That gas pipe isn’t going to build itself!”
I stood there with a lopsided smile on my face as my parents dashed out of the room. I sighed with relief as I hunched my shoulders and let my stomach roll out a bit. I looked over at my brothers as they grinned at me, then they escorted me over to the kitchen table.
“So, where were you really?” Hunter asked.
“How far did you get this time?” Lorenzo asked.
“Kettle,” I said. “I got as far as Kettle.”
“Holy shit. You made it over an hour outside of the city,” Finn said. “What happened?”
“Did you guys get a massive storm here?” I asked.
“Nope, but you probably did in those mountains. They get them there all the damn time. It’s insane,” Finn said.
“You got caught in one, didn’t you?” Hunter asked.
“I did. It was bad, too. I thought I’d totaled the car,” I said.
“Wait, slow down. You were in an accident?” Lorenzo asked.
“It wasn’t bad, I swear. I just skidded off the road and ended up in a ditch,” I said.
“How the hell did you get out of it?” Lorenzo asked.
“I just waited it out. The water got high enough and it carried my car back to level ground, then from there I could get home,” I said.
“But you obviously stayed the night somewhere,” Hunter said. “What happened?”
“A hotel, you nimrod. Where else would I have stayed?” I asked.
My eyes darted between my brothers, hoping they would buy what I was selling. The last thing I needed to tell my overprotective brothers was that I had stayed in a cabin on the mountain with some burly man with sparkling brown eyes. They all looked at one another before they drew in a deep breath, and I just knew I had been caught.
Until Finn started talking.
“The banker prompted this, didn’t he?”
Tears crested my eyes as Hunter began to rub my back.
“I can’t marry that man, you guys. He’s forty-four years old. Ready to have kids. Allergic to everything under the sun. I don’t know anything about him,” I said.
“Who said anything about marriage?” Lorenzo asked.
“Dad. The last argument we had before I packed up my things was that I was going on a date with my future husband. They wanted us to meet, get to know one another, then our family and theirs were going to start arranging wedding plans,” I said.
“What the fuck is that bullshit?” Hunter asked. “We didn’t know about this.”
“Yeah. Mom hasn’t said anything about it,” Lorenzo said.
“I figured she wouldn’t. Mom will speak up if she doesn’t like someone, but she likes this guy. And I have no idea why,” I said.
“Does this guy’s name happen to be Timothy Wells?” Hunter asked.
“The third? Yeah, that’s him. Wait, do you know him?” I asked.
“The entire family does. His father is the man who monitors all of the family company’s investment accounts,” Hunter said.
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“Yeah. That’s probably why this is important to Mom and Dad. They probably feel if they marry you to him, then once he hands the investment company to his son, he’ll cut them some kind of deal or work extra hard on their accou
nts or something,” Hunter said.
“I’m nothing but a business transaction to them,” I said.
“Don’t worry. We’ve got your back,” Finn said.
“We’ll talk to Mom and Dad,” Lorenzo said. “We’re not going to let them marry you off to someone you don’t want to be married to.”
“They won’t listen to you guys,” I said.
“Ava, you’re our baby sister,” Hunter said. “And it’s our job to protect you. Even if that protection means bucking up against Mom and Dad. What they’re doing is wrong, and you know we’ve always been behind you on this.”
“Yeah. When we went to bed last night and you didn’t come home, we know what you had done,” Finn said.
“And quite frankly, I was hoping you would make it this time,” Lorenzo said.
“I can’t marry that man, you guys. I can’t stay here,” I said.
“Just stay put for now. If you try to leave again, it’s going to throw up flags. Let us talk to Mom and Dad. I’m sure with enough digging and enough prodding, we can get them to drop this idiotic decision,” Finn said.
“Yeah. Just give us some time and you just lay low,” Hunter said.
I was thankful for their help and support, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. My father was dead set in marrying me off, so if this fell through, he would just find someone else. There was no amount of arguing, debating, or reasoning that would ever make my parents see that I was just as capable as my brothers. I was their little princess, but in the Lucas family that came with a price.
And it was a price I was going to pay no matter what.
Whenever I decided to make my leave again, I had to make sure it was foolproof. Because when I left again, I couldn’t ever come back. Not for my brothers, not for my family, and not for Cassie.
I had to leave all of it behind for good.
Mr. Beast Page 37
