Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Whoever this man was, he wasn’t leaving here alive, so he had no choice but to listen to Grant’s rant about this generation being lazy asses.
****
“Okay, Ava, you’re starting to freak me out with the way you’re acting. What is up with you?” Violet asked.
“Nothing. Nothing is wrong.”
“You know you’re a bad liar, right?” Violet asked. “You were not even convincing when you got the last cookie.”
This was far beyond taking the last sugar cookie, or sneaking into her sister’s bedroom to play with her makeup. This was a whole different kind of secret that in all honesty scared the crap out of her. There was no one she could tell. Nothing she could say. Nothing she could do, other than serve customers, complete the online orders, stock shelves, and look toward the door, wondering if Pat was going to come back. He had looked so ... angry at the door.
She had no intention of calling the cops. Ava was very much aware of who Pat was, and the club, and she knew there were rules. Over the years she had watched television shows, seen stuff, and heard the rumors around town. It didn’t matter what she had seen or heard.
Pat told her not to go to the cops, and she trusted him. If he told her the man he dropped on the fucking floor was not there, then he was not freaking there. She trusted Pat. She believed in him. Some people might think that made her a doormat or delusional, but she didn’t give a fuck. This is what she wanted to believe, and no one was going to take that away from her.
It didn’t stop her from worrying about Pat.
She wondered if that man had anything to do with the shooting at the garage, or the burning of the animal shelter? She was so nervous. Her hands shook but she could only put that down to adrenaline.
After Pat had left, she had gone to her apartment window that overlooked the parking lot, and she saw him put the man into the trunk of his car. He looked so pissed when he did it.
Ava didn’t need answers. She just needed to know if Pat was okay.
“It’s nothing. Pat said he was going to come over for lunch, and I can’t wait to see him, that’s all this is.”
Violet frowned as she looked at her. “Okay, I get that, but something is up, I can see it.”
Ava clenched her hands at her sides, and the cutting table was between them, so her sister wouldn’t be able to see her do that. How could she get her sister off her case? She knew she was lying about something, so she decided on total honesty.
“I’m in love with him,” Ava said.
She knew she was on the right track as Violet’s eyes went wide. “Ava, I know you said this before, but you sound different. You sound sure, and if that’s the case, that’s ... big.”
“I know, right? I love him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. What do you think Mom is going to say?” Their mom was currently out back dealing with one of the orders that had gone wrong.
The suppliers from time to time tried to give them fabric that wasn’t selling. Her mother always refused to take it, which caused an argument with the driver. This had happened many times before. The first time it happened, she remembered her dad taking care of it, as no one was taking her mother seriously. It had been a good few months since this happened.
“Mom will be happy. You know she will be. All she wants is the best for you. Dad ... he’s gone, Ava, so it doesn’t matter.”
“But you remember him best. Do you think he would see Pat as a good guy?” Ava asked, hating that she was using her father’s memory to distract her sister. The truth was, she did wonder if her father would be happy with her decision in choosing Pat.
“Dad would have loved the guy,” Violet said, after several seconds of pause.
“How do you know?”
“Because of the smile you get when you see him.” Violet smiled at her. “My little sister, falling in love. I never thought it would happen. I always figured your first love was your sewing machine.”
Ava laughed. “Oh, believe me, it was, I love my sewing machine. Apart from when the bobbin runs out, and especially when I’m near the end of a seam.” Talking about sewing made life easier.
She couldn’t tell her sister what she had seen. She was not going to do that to Pat. A lot of women might consider her a fool, but she trusted Pat.
“I hear you on that one. I think that has to be one of the top five irritations of sewing. The dreaded empty bobbin thread.” Violet gave a sigh. “So, you’re worried about what Dad would have thought?”