6
Avery had no idea what to do.
For one thing, the refreshed feeling she’d woken up with was already gone—the headache creeping back in and the cough coming and going. She crawled back into her bed upstairs. And, of course, she could smell Tucker on the pillow. She pressed her face into the cloth and took a big inhale. He’d always smelled so good to her, and now he was all over the sheets. Only she was too tired to get up and change them.
Part of her wanted to march downstairs and tell him the truth: that Shanna was his.
Another part of her wanted to march downstairs and tell him to get out of her house.
But she just pulled the covers up and tried to breathe.
Avery’s cell rang on the bedside table and she picked it up without looking at it. “Hello?”
“Hi, honey. I’ve been trying to call.” Her mother, Annie. “You socked in out at your house, too?” Avery’s parents lived in a little house near Benton Ridge’s downtown area. Her mom had worked in the bookstore there for years, and now in her retirement she spent her time making the rounds to the yoga studio and the coffee shop pretty much every day. “The city’s got the sidewalks around here clear, but I haven’t braved it yet. Too risky on the ice.”
“Hi, Mom.” Avery curled up on her side. “Yeah, we’re pretty well stuck here until the snow lets up.”
Her mom must’ve heard something in her voice. “Is that all?”
She didn’t have to tell anyone that Tucker was staying, but keeping one secret all these years had drained her energy for that sort of thing. Just tell her, she thought. Who cares? “We actually have a guest with us. Tucker Wells showed up just as the storm was hitting. He fell off his horse.” Avery gave her mom a quick rundown of the situation. She was greeted with silence.
“Mom? Are you still there?”
“You should send him packing. Tell him to get on out of there.”
“We’ll see what happens.” She shifted under the covers. “Are you and Dad okay? I’m also probably down with the flu.” The urge to cough got stronger with every word.
“Oh, no. Do you need us to come out? We can see how the car does on the roads.”
“No, I’ll be okay. We’ll all be okay. I’ll call you later, Mom.”
Her mom was still talking when she hung up the phone. Better to interrupt her than hack up a lung over the line, anyway.
When Avery’s cough settled, she let herself fall back against the pillows. She should send Tucker back home. For her heart’s sake, she shouldn’t have let him in the house at all. But what was done was done. And…though she’d never admit it to her mother, she liked having him around. She liked it more than she expected. Right now, she could hear him moving around in the kitchen. No doubt he’d find something to cook.
But it wasn’t just the food. It was the company. He’d taken care of her last night, and knowing that someone was downstairs with Shanna…
It was good.
And anyway, she couldn’t send him off on his horse with a concussion. Not in good conscience. No matter what had happened between them all those years ago.
Avery dozed on and off through the morning and the afternoon. She felt good enough to shower. “More snow,” she said to nobody, looking out of the bathroom window. It was coming down again.
The three of them ate a subdued dinner together. Tucker had thrown together some chicken soup earlier in the day, and Avery didn’t know how much she needed it until she swallowed the first spoonful. It seemed to revitalize her a little more with every salty, savory bite. Shanna and Tucker did the dishes afterward while she rested at the table. Not long after, Shanna said she wanted to go to bed.
Avery didn’t question it until they were tucked up together beneath the sheets. Shanna pulled out one of the Animorphs books she’d checked out from the school library and put it solemnly in Avery’s hands.
“Wait. It’s still early. Are you sure you want to go to bed?”
Shanna nodded furiously. “I do. Should I make you both breakfast tomorrow morning?” Avery’s daughter bit her lip.
Heat flashed across Avery’s cheeks. She cleared her throat and primly pulled the book into position. “All right. Let’s read.” Avery read one of the chapters, hardly seeing the words even as she said them. As soon as she finished, Shanna wriggled down into the bed and squeezed her eyes shut tight.
“You’re funny.” Avery kissed her on the temple. “I love you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
When she straightened up from tucking Shanna in, she caught a glimpse of Tucker in the hallway, a wistful look on his face.
Avery flicked off the light in Shanna’s room. No way she wanted to know what that look was about. But out in the hall, she found herself drawn to him.
“Are you coming down?” He kept his voice soft.
“Yeah.” She followed him toward the stairs. “I’ve been in bed all day. I need to stretch my legs.” And look at you. She wiped that thought from her mind as quickly as it came.
They settled in the living room, snow coming down in thick sheets outside. Tucker said nothing, but he still wore the same expression.
Avery decided to wait him out.
It didn’t last.
“What’s on your mind, Tuck?”
His green eyes locked on hers from where he sat in the overstuffed recliner. For a second, she was back in high school, looking at those eyes from across their English class, her stomach doing the same exhilarated leap at the sight of him. That’s not how things are anymore, she thought, but in a way…weren’t they?
“I was thinking I could have had thousands of nights like this if I hadn’t taken the job.” Tucker leaned forward, his flannel shirt stretching over his biceps. “If I hadn’t run away.”
Guilt washed over her,
