“Yes. I didn’t realize they were your cousins until we started to get ready to move here. It seemed like everyone had something to say about the Bonds and who was related to who. I mean I knew you were from the Bond family, but I don’t know everyone if they don’t have the same last name.”
“It can get confusing. Trust me, I know. So you found a place?” she asked. “Good for you. I know how hard it is. I struggled to find one myself and had to stay with my parents for a few weeks until I could get into my place.”
Colleen nodded her head. “It’s so hard. I knew it would be. At least finding something we could afford. We did sign a lease on an apartment, but they aren’t ready yet. Not until October.”
The new apartment complex that Bond Realty was building by the sounds of it. “So where are you staying for the next few months?” There was still a week left in July and the summer would be busy and packed full of rentals. Not to mention what it’d cost to rent this time of year at a weekly or monthly rate.
“Believe it or not, Emily said we could stay in one of the efficiencies in the hotel. It’s just got a king sized bed and little living room and table, but it’s fine. They aren’t charging us, which is even better, though I shouldn’t say that. So that gives us some breathing room with Greg being out of work for so long.”
Ava put her fingers to her lips and turned it like a key and tossed it over her shoulder. “I won’t say a word, but they are really good that way. It’s hard to find reliable staff to come to the island and stay so if they wanted Greg, then they’d do what they could to make it easier.”
“They said the same thing. So here I am. He started working this weekend. We’ve got a storage unit back in Plymouth with all our stuff in it and it gives us time to figure out how to get it all over here or even take our time and do it in trips. It’s not like we’ve got a lot. We only had a two-bedroom apartment. Nothing major. We’re still paying off my student loans and Greg had some even though he didn’t finish college. Life is expensive if you don’t budget well, but we are getting there. Sometimes being young you just don’t think long term and live in the now and it bit us in the butt.”
“It sure is expensive,” she said. What else was she going to say? She never had to worry about money or living paycheck to paycheck even if she was terrified of that for a short period of time when her credit was shot and over forty thousand in debt was racked up in her name.
Though she had a security system at her house now and there hadn’t been any issues, she still couldn’t forget what started all of this journey of uncertainty in her life.
Griffin was monitoring the system and he hadn’t said if there were any worries. There wasn’t anything she’d seen or had concerns about either.
Nope, in the past few weeks, she’d spent the night at Seth’s one other time and they tried to do something on the weekend if they could.
Mary Young was due back from her extended vacation next week and Adele was dying to see her grandmother and have a sleepover. Ava and Seth were thrilled to hear her say that and couldn’t wait to have a night to themselves in the house alone.
Not that they had to worry about Adele because she hadn’t said anything about the first time Ava stayed the night nor the second. Seth and she went to bed after Adele and made sure they were up before the little girl too.
Adele had been asking when she could spend the night at Ava’s, but that would be a little harder since Ava didn’t have any other spare beds besides the one that Adele would stay in. So that might cause questions on where Seth was staying.
For now they were letting it go. They’d be going on vacation together in a few weeks too and Adele was excited over that.
It seemed like she was fitting into this ready-made family when she never expected it.
Things were falling into place and with any luck the rest of the mess in her life would too.
“I’m glad you’re here. If you have any questions on where to find stuff or where to go, just let me know. I’ve been on this island since I was a baby.”
“I’m so excited,” Colleen said. “How many people can say they live on an island? It’s like a dream come true. I’ve got something in common with you now.”
Ava held back the snort. “I’m not sure you want to have things in common with me.” If only Colleen knew, but then she told herself not many did and no one would feel sorry for her if they did.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Colleen said. “You’re young. You’re pretty. You’re so nice and you’re a doctor. Everyone was jealous of you in the office.”
“What?” she asked. That was news to her. “I never knew that.”
“Not in a mean way,” Colleen said. “Just that you kind of have it all. Who wouldn’t want to grow up to be like you?”
“I’m not that old,” Ava said, laughing.
“Oh dear. I’m making a mess of this in my excitement to be here. I really don’t mean anything bad by it.”
“It’s fine,” Ava said. “I understand. But remember one thing, the grass isn’t always greener.”
“Trust me, I know. Many are jealous I moved here, but they don’t understand that it costs more and it’s not like it’s a nonstop vacation. Greg is working nights when he never did before. He’s always been home at night and that will be something new for me. But
