Her text alert rang, drawing her from her thoughts. Kelsey and Em were meeting for barbeque at The Mineshaft. She accepted the invitation with a quick reply and grabbed her coat.
“Let’s get straight to it, Avery.” Kelsey rested her chin in her palms as she leaned across the lengthy, family-style picnic table in the underground restaurant, designed to resemble a silver mine. “What did you think of Grey?”
“How did he treat you?” Emma’s concerned expression contrasted greatly with Kelsey’s dreamy one. “Was it uncomfortable?”
Avery couldn’t help but laugh. Heck, yeah, it was uncomfortable. Uncomfortable in a flummoxing “I wish my best friend didn’t have a major crush on you and my brother didn’t injure you and we weren’t here in public” kind of way.
Heat scorched her cheeks. Hopefully her friends would write off her odd reaction as an inability to cope with difficult circumstances instead of the rush of lust coursing through her veins.
Avery took a deep breath and answered Emma first. “It was tense at first, but Grey treated me fairly. In fact, he offered to go elsewhere if I wouldn’t work with him.”
“You didn’t take him up on it, did you?” Kelsey’s panic-stricken face caused Avery to shake her head and grin.
“No, Kelsey, I didn’t. Despite my ethical constraints, Richard is indefinitely unavailable and there aren’t other options nearby, so I agreed to work with Grey.” Avery cleared her throat, remembering the well-defined contours of his thigh muscles: vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, semitendinosus. Stop! “You know I can’t really tell you about his therapy. But he’s very determined and strong, so I’m optimistic.”
Avery conveniently omitted any mention of “Bambi” or Grey’s flirting. The whole situation presented quite a pickle. Kelsey, her brother, ethics. If only she didn’t like Grey’s attention, it would be so much easier. She had to control her feelings.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Kelsey scowled. “What did you learn about him personally? Give me something I can use next time I see him. Something to show how compatible we would be.”
“Honestly, Kelsey, do you think he met me and started spilling his secrets?” Actually, he did in fact do that a little, but not in any way that would please her love-struck friend.
Kelsey wrinkled her nose and shrugged one shoulder. “I guess not. But promise you’ll try to help me if the opportunity arises.”
The best way to help Kelsey would be to redirect her overblown infatuation elsewhere, because Grey apparently had no interest in what Kelsey was offering. Of course, that wasn’t what Kelsey meant. Still, Avery’s response wasn’t exactly a lie. “I promise to help you.”
“You look exhausted,” Emma interrupted.
“Gee, thanks!” Avery teased. “But honestly, I need this cold beer.”
“Drink up, ’cause I’ve got gossip.” Kelsey picked a warm corn muffin from the basket in the center of the table and slathered it with honey butter.
“Ooh, sounds good.” Avery could use a juicy distraction from overthinking everything with Andy, her parents, and Grey. “I hope it’s fun.” She edged closer to the table.
“Well, I don’t know how you’ll feel about this, actually.” Kelsey paused. “I hear Matt may be coming back to town.”
Avery straightened her spine and glanced at Emma for confirmation. “For a visit, or for good?”
Emma shrugged. “I don’t know. He called Grizzly’s to see if they still needed an off-season bartender.”
Kelsey cut in. “Apparently things aren’t so hot with little Miss Silver Spoon anymore.”
“Phht,” Avery said, waving one hand dismissively. “Didn’t take too long, did it?”
“So, does that weird face you’re making mean you wouldn’t take him back if he returned?” Kelsey asked.
“Why would you think I’d take him back?” Avery bugged her eyes. “Do I have chump written across my forehead or something?”
“Because you loved him and you guys had talked about the future, even if you weren’t officially engaged.” Kelsey’s sincere consternation galled Avery.
“I thought I loved him, until he dumped me and took off!” Avery’s mouth twitched. She picked up the sweaty, cold bottle of Blue Moon Harvest and took a swig, wishing the beer would wash away the shame of being duped by Matt. “Honestly, as if his betrayal wasn’t enough, do you think I’d want to go back to the mousier version of myself I was becoming in that relationship? No, thanks. He pulled me under once, but I’m free now. I’ve never made the same mistake twice, and I’m not about to start with Matt.”
“But—” Kelsey began, but then Emma interrupted.
“Kels, Matt isn’t any of our business.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset anyone.” Kelsey slumped back into her seat. “I just want to see one of us in love and happy.”
Avery adored Kelsey’s mushy heart, even if she never did understand it.
“Since when has love ever guaranteed happiness?” Avery fixed her gaze on the bottle in front of her. She picked at the edges of its wet label, then raised the rim to her lips and chugged a good portion of its contents. “Besides, none of our hearts have done a good job of picking a partner. Just as well, from what I’ve seen of marriage, anyway.”
Silently, Avery vowed to be smart. To see the heady swirl of lust and infatuation for what it was instead of pretending it was something more. To remember that flirtatious nicknames, sultry eyes, and full, kissable lips were merely tools of seduction, not love.
Chapter Four
Avery’s blissful moment of relaxation—nestled into the corner of the sofa, sipping her chai while flipping through Shape magazine—ended when her father stormed into the living room from the garage, the vein in his temple straining beneath his skin.
“Avery, what’s this I hear about you working with Grey Lowell?” He came within a few feet of her and then folded his arms. “I had to learn about it from Joe at the hardware store. Said Andy must be grateful that you’re trying to butter up Lowell. Made me feel like an ass.”
“Joe’s an idiot, Dad. And I didn’t mention it because there’s already enough tension in this house.” Her dad’s continual disappointment hung over the roof like a dense fog, each swipe he took at Andy exploding like a grenade in the living room. Snide remarks like Joe’s only made her dad more irate.
She’d been grateful for her parents’ help caring for her brother during his recovery this past month, but now she wished they’d return to Arizona until his trial.
Avery continued reading the magazine, determined not to let her dad destroy another Saturday morning. “Anyway, I’m just doing my job.”
“Don’t give me that malarkey, young lady. Nobody’s forcing you to work with that man. In fact, I can’t believe you’re allowed to treat him, under the circumstances.”
“That man is not the enemy.” She rested the magazine on her lap, her hands tightly gripping its edges. “He’s a patient who recently had knee surgery. There aren’t any other ortho PTs within thirty miles of town, so I’m working with him. It won’t be a problem.”