Had he been in a fight?
My head turned from one man to another. How had I not noticed the similarities last time? In my defense, I’d been a little woozy post-adventure on the streets. Carter was younger by a significant amount, but the likeness was there.
“Is that Ava?”
Carter stepped aside, and the new faces that came into view had me reeling back on my heels.
I barely noticed Blaine urging me inside and the door closing; my focus was all on the woman and the little boy I’d wondered if I would ever see again. Nora and Adam were not the only two faces greeting me; Mary and Rachel were also here.
“It’s so good to see you all! Nora, how is Adam?” I hugged everyone, even Mary, who was not much of a hugger. Rachel loved cuddles and was eager for her turn. Poor Adam garbled his complaint, having no idea what his crazy Aunty Ava was all about. Rachel offered Adam to me for a cuddle. She had always been so good with the little boy.
“He’s doing great,” Nora said, pretty face turning blotchy as she wiped away tears. “He—Carter performed a procedure on him when we first arrived. Adam is cured.”
I hugged Adam tightly while he made his little baby gurgles and gripped my hair like a lifeline.
Rachel laughed. “I think he missed you,” she said.
“Yeah, you miss me, Adam?” I rubbed his back and drew his comforting baby scent in. He was clinging to me just as tightly, head pressed into the nook of my shoulder and arms wrapped like he was never going to let go. I’d always wondered how much babies understood. God, I’d missed them so much.
“What on earth are you doing here?” I turned slightly to glance over Adam’s head at the two men watching us with intense expressions. “In Carter’s home?”
“I’m—um.” Her face flushed bright red, and her eyes shot toward Carter.
“She’s got an owner,” Rachel piped up.
“Oh!” I said, noticing the new mark at Nora’s temple… and was that a hickey on her throat? She had always made a point of covering up the ugly tattoo her former owner had branded her with. For the first time, I could remember, her gorgeous red hair was tied back into a ponytail allowing the new ownership brand to peep through.
Nora, who hated men with a passion, was with a man, not just any man, but a handsome doctor who had to be at least five years younger. I bit my lip to try and stifle my smile.
“What?” she demanded. And right there was the feisty woman I knew and loved.
I grinned openly.
“You have no reason to judge,” she said with meaning, but her eyes held a spark of mischief that she showed so rarely.
She looked good—healthy, but there was also something else that made me think of a soul-deep kind of wellness that had been missing.
And she was right; I had no right to judge. I could see she had questions. Most people within the community of Sanctuary had questions about Jodi and me. Most assumed we were together, and we had been for a while. But what we felt had transitioned from one type of love to another.
“I’ve spoken to Jodi,” I said, reaching over to take Nora’s hand and squeeze it gently.
“Don’t mention that crazy bitch,” Blaine said with meaning. I threw a scowl at him over my shoulder, although it held no more heat than his comment, and I found myself smiling at him instead. His eyes dropped to Adam, who was still clinging in a way that I thought might be edging toward sleep.
I knew what Blaine was thinking. He’d made it clear he wanted a child with me. He damn near broke me with his enthusiasm for precisely that. I should be relieved that it hadn’t happened yet—my life was complicated enough.
I wasn’t relieved. The thought of staying here and having Blaine’s child filled my heart with joy.
I looked away, fearing my emotions were too close to the surface.
Blaine
Ava was hiding something. I was more convinced than ever. I wanted to drag her straight back to my apartment and force her to tell me what the hell was going on by fair means or foul. By the time I was done, her ass would be glowing red, and she would get fucked within an inch of her life.
The second part wasn’t much of a stretch; I was pounding her pussy every chance I got.
“We need to leave,” Carter said, glancing at his watch.
Ava passed the kid back to the little girl. Seeing Ava hold the baby had stirred up the primitive in me. I wanted to watch her belly grow, wanted to see her holding our child in the same loving way, but I also wanted her thoroughly claimed and bound to me in every way I could.
Earlier, Jodi had offered a smug grin as she told me that Ava wasn’t for me.
It had riled me; I could admit this. Ava and I were still too new to one another, still trying to navigate a relationship while I was only partially present and making questionable use of the time we were together.
Later, I promised myself we would have that chat.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ava
LEAVING ADAM WITH Mary and Rachel, we took Blaine’s Humvee together.
Today, I got my first real view of Guilder City in daylight. For once, it wasn’t raining, and my eyes often strayed from Nora to the world beyond the window. We sat together in the back of the Humvee, Blaine and Carter in the front.
“I can’t believe you’ve been in the same apartment building the whole time,” I said, feeling a happy grin spread across my face. The more time I spent with Nora, the more I could see how she was blooming into this new life.
“Me neither,” she said. The narrowing of her eyes suggested Carter would be in for a hard time. Yes, and so would Blaine. I understood we were not supposed to have any contact for a month… for whatever stupid reasons they had, but it still felt unnecessary.
Nora chatted about her work at the hospital, about the day care there, and the other staff. For as long as I’d known Nora, she had struggled with her health. Bouts of lethargy, headaches, body aches, and pains that she battled with daily both before and after Adam was born. I knew she had been hurt badly during her time on the streets before Jodi picked her up.
The rule said you didn’t talk about your past. There were times when I’d clung to that rule, but now I thought it was stupid. Perhaps, had I been a better friend, I might have asked Nora about her past.
Might even have shared some of mine. And maybe it might have helped us both heal a little.
It was too late to fix the past, but I was hopeful about tomorrow.
Our conversation died as we pulled into the complex that I thought might have been a conference facility in that bygone time. The Humvee slowed as it entered the parking garage beneath. Unlike the one at the apartment, this one was well lit and full of other cars. Two soldiers were stationed inside the entrance, and they directed us to a space.
“Perfect timing,” Carter said as the vehicle rolled to a stop. “You want Ava to stay with Nora and me?”
“Yeah, probably for the best,” Blaine replied, glancing back over his shoulder at me. “I’m less bothered about Taylor than his nosy-assed minions. Don’t want to end up in a challenge on her first day out. Not that any of Taylor’s advisors have a chance, but they have paid muscle they could call on to piss me off.”