Even if she did learn about the company less than a week ago.
“Sully, you’re welcome to join if you wish,” she tells him. Sully nods and leans over to whisper to one of his men. “Matthias, my father, and I will take another car.”
“Does that mean I’m not fired?” Vas jokes but I can see the seriousness behind his eyes. Vas is the closest thing Ava has ever had to a best friend that wasn’t Maleah or one of her sisters, and for the last month or so he’s been lying to her.
Withholding information.
Keeping secrets.
Because of me.
“Still on my shit list,” she mutters darkly as she brushes past him. Vas’s shoulders slump.
“She just needs time,” I tell him, handing him the key fob to Liam’s Ferrari. “See you there.”
Vas nods looking like someone kicked his puppy.
Ava will forgive him a lot easier than she’ll forgive me. That I’m sure of. It will just take time for her heart to heal.
The drive to Ava’s childhood home is quiet. No one is sure what to say. My wife grips the small box tightly as if she’s afraid someone will take it from her. I understand her reticence to let it go. This is her smoking gun. It’s going to be whether her father believes her that matters.
I stare up at the two-story family home and for a moment I wonder what Ava’s childhood here is like. She never really speaks of her time with her mother and that’s my fault. I’ve never taken an interest in her past as she has in mine.
Over our time together she’s revealed snippets every now and then, but I get the feeling that most of her memories from this time are repressed. I just don’t know if it’s purposeful on my wife’s part or if someone forced her to do it.
She wastes no time throwing open the rickety front door and barging inside like a woman on a mission. Ava passes directly through the living room and into the large, homey kitchen.
This is where Ava’s love for baking came from. On several occasions I’ve caught her and Mia baking up a batch of cookies or brownies.
Sometimes even cakes.
Mia tells me it helps her feel safe and secure.
Now I know why.
It reminds her of a time when she was safe and secure. A time before Elias and Christian. A time before me. If I could change my Little Red’s history, I would do it in a heartbeat. Even if it means we would never meet.
“Here it is,” her voice is calm, barely above a whisper as she pulls it out of the small closet hidden at the side of one of thepantries. If she hadn’t pointed it out, I would never have known it was there.
She passes the first box off to me and my heart swells instantly that she trusts me enough to keep it safe for her. At least I haven’t lost that completely. Ava may not fully trust me in some areas, but she knows all I want to do is keep her safe.
The box she holds in her hand now is different.
Newer.
Carved from a tree called Rowan that is native to Ireland. On the top is the same symbol as the one I hold.
The Celtic love knot.
Gingerly, she opens the lid and peers inside.
“That’s the promise ring I gave her when we were fifteen.” Liam’s throat bobs with emotion as he looks at it. Respecting my wife by not simply grabbing the ring, he waits for her to hand it to him. “We always knew we were going to get married. She made me promise her after she got dumped by Mason Walsh in the second grade.”
Ava snorts a laugh as she picks up the next thing.
It’s a lock of her hair and a baby tooth.
“Your mother said it was tradition to put a lock of your first-born daughter’s hair into the box and her first baby tooth. It is said to promote a healthy relationship between the mother and daughter as they move forward in life.”