Bare Necessities (12 page)

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning, Seth was the first to wake. The sun was barely shining, but he was ready to get up and get started on finding the person now attempting to blackmail them. He was positive he knew who it was, even though Ava didn’t think so.

As he sat up, the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on stirred. Her sleepy eyes slowly opened.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“You don’t want to know.” He chuckled. “I can’t sleep. I need to get into the office and work on this case.”

Ava rubbed her palm across his bare chest. “You’re not on the case. You might as well stay right here with me.”

She had a point. One he would love to take her up on.

“I’m serious, Seth.” Ava sat up and leaned forward, lightly kissing his shoulders. “Stay with me.”

How was he to resist? Wrapping his hands around her neck, he pulled her close before lowering her back down to the mattress.

Seeing as she was already naked, it took no time for his hand to find its way to the warmth between her legs. She opened to him right away, and just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, her hand wrapped around his shaft and began working magic.

“You’re a very convincing woman and hard to resist,” he whispered into her ear.

She giggled. “Good to know I’m in control, officer.”

Groaning, he grabbed both her hands and held them down above her head. “Who’s in charge now?”

Ava lifted her hips and grinded against him. She then locked one of her legs around his waist and pulled him tightly against her. “I’m still in control. Now wrap yourself up, and get inside me.”

She was pressed against him, and her moist heat coated his manhood. He didn’t have to be told twice. Slipping a condom on, he returned to the heaven between her legs and entered into total bliss. Being with Ava was the most incredible feeling. He never wanted to be with another woman again. This was it for him, and he hoped like hell she felt the same way he did.

* * *

“Here, on my property?” Claire stared at Ava in disbelief. She had come down to meet Ava at the cabin.

“I’m afraid so.”

“I don’t like knowing someone was here lurking. This place has always been safe … until now.”

Ava felt guilty. If it was John as Seth suspected, she would feel horrible for bringing something like this to the small, safe town everyone loved. Not only was she corrupting the women with her sexy store, but she might have brought crime.

She shook her head. She couldn’t think this way. It couldn’t be John. He didn’t know where she was. Never had she spoken of Brookfield or even Julie. She didn’t share much of her personal life with anyone. And when she’d left, John had been at his low point and on the verge of going to rehab. She had hoped when she’d left it would push him over the edge, and judging from his e-mail, it had worked. Ava refused to believe it was him.

“I’m going to have to install some security lights and possibly surveillance cameras.” Claire pulled out her phone and looked to be typing to someone. “Jace will know who to get out here. Hopefully, today.” She glanced up toward Ava. “Your safety is important to me.”

“Thank you. That means a lot. Is it really necessary though?”

“Certainly. This has made me open my eyes. I have tenants to keep safe, and it’s silly that I’ve never taken these measures to begin with anyway.”

“If I can be any help, just say the word.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you know. I’m just sorry this has happened to you. And poor Seth. I’m sure he’s scared out of his mind for your safety.”

“And his job.”

Claire waved her hands. “He cares more about you. I’m sure of it.”

Ava crossed her arms and rubbed her forearms. Was there a real future between her and the hot officer? After making love to him last night and this morning, she felt like there was a real connection between them. They had fun, flirty, yet serious sex … if that made any sense. It was laidback yet full of needy passion. It was as though they couldn’t get close enough to one another until they were one.

“Tell me something. Have you ever been in a serious relationship?” Claire asked.

“Yeah, several. Why?”

“No, not a long-term one. A serious one. One that you were sure would last forever,” Claire clarified.

“Um…”

“I didn’t think so. I know I’m always butting in, but I really hope you give Seth a chance.”

Ava nodded.

Claire wrapped her arm around Ava’s shoulders. “I’m not your enemy. We can talk.”

“Thank you. It’s just that I’ve never had a friend to be like this with, so I’m not really sure how to open up.”

“Girl, it’s time for things to change. You need to fall in love, preferably with Seth, and you need a set of girlfriends. I love Julie, and I like you. The three of us need to head up to Jackson Hole to a bar and have some dancing fun. Once this weirdo gets caught. Sound good?”

“It does.” She wasn’t lying. It really did sound like a perfect evening. Maybe it was time to start letting her guard down and really connect with people.

“I don’t want to leave you alone, but I need to find Jace and get his thoughts.”

“I’m fine, Claire. Don’t worry. If Seth actually believes I can take care of myself, then that says something.”

Claire smiled. “You’re right about that, because he doesn’t think anyone can do that. You’re good for him. See ya. Call me if anything else happens.”

Ava waved as Claire left the cabin on a hunt to find her husband. Gazing around the untidy place, she debated on actually cleaning. Yeah, right. She was going to get dressed and then head to
her
shop. Whoever wanted her to leave was not going to win. She had wanted to open Bare Necessities for years.
They
weren’t going to keep her away.

An hour later, she stood in the middle of her shop, plotting out with boxes where the clothing racks would sit. Each box was labeled with a different item name as she tried to figure out what needed to be where. She wanted it to make sense and be easy for her customers to navigate.

She moved a few more around and then decided to get Kimberly’s opinion. Picking up her phone, she texted Kimberly out of curiosity just to see if she was around. After she set her phone down, she powered up her laptop to start ordering a few of the things she was going to need. She was determined to get this place open soon. Once it was, she would finally feel like Brookfield was home. And once she felt like that, it would be time to make it official and find a place to live and call her own.

Her phone dinged. She picked it up and unlocked the screen to read the text. She expected it to be from Kimberly, but it was John—again.

I really would love to see you and show you how sorry I am. It’s part of my twelve-step program. I’d like to apologize in person. Let me know when.

Ava stared at her phone, debating what to do. Part of her wanted to call her current wireless carrier and request a new number, but it wasn’t like he was hurting her. He wanted to talk, that was it. It made sense. If he was in rehab and following the steps, then it was only logical he would want to apologize to her for how things had been between them. But seeing him wasn’t a good idea. Maybe she’d call him later.

She quickly replied, hating herself for it but letting him know she would call him later to talk. After she hit the send button, she heard a weird sound from the back room. It sounded almost like a phone’s noise when someone received a notification. Surely, she was hearing things, but how strange it would happen right after she’d sent a message.

Her phone lit up and then followed the sound of a new text message from John. He told her he was looking forward to it. Even though she wasn’t, she decided to send one more message. She typed,
Me, too
. and then nervously let her finger hover above the send button. What the hell was she going to do if she heard the sound again? There was no way John was in her back room. No fucking way.

Now she was scaring the shit out of herself. Her heart raced. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the button.

Seconds later, she heard the same sound. She froze, staring at the closed door that led to the back room. Had she closed it? There was just no way. He couldn’t be. With her phone clutched tightly in her hand, she started to walk backwards toward the front of the store, praying whoever it was wouldn’t decide to show their face. She had to get out of here and to Seth.

Her purse sat on a table near the front door. She tiptoed to it, and just as she put the strap over her shoulder, someone said her name. Turning, she came face-to-face with John.

“I’ve been waiting on you. I wanted to talk to you,” he said. He didn’t look like himself. He was usually well dressed and clean shaven, but his clothes were wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and he was in desperate need of a razor.

“John, hi.”
Stay calm.
“I was just going to leave and call you on my way back to the cabin. But instead you’re here. It’s good to see you.”

“Is it really? I’ve been trying to find you. You never should’ve left me.”

“You needed help, and we just weren’t good for one another.”

“That’s not true. We were very good together.” He stepped closer.

“Let’s be serious. We fought—a lot. It got out of control.”

“You always liked it rough. And that last time, I didn’t mean to. I never meant to hit that beautiful face of yours.”

Ava slowly took another step back. “This doesn’t sound much like that apology you said you wanted to give. I have a meeting I need to get to. Can we do this later?”

“A meeting? I thought you said you were just heading home and you were going to call me? Still a pretty little liar. That’s what got you into so much trouble.”

“I never would’ve lied if you didn’t want to control me so much. Who the hell wants to tell someone their every move? It’s not normal.”

“If you weren’t up to no good all the time, it never would’ve mattered.”

Ava slipped her phone into her back pocket and reached behind herself to see if she could feel the door yet.

“We have company,” John said, looking out the glass.

Turning around, she saw Kimberly. Just as Kimberly opened the door, Ava shouted, “Get out of here!”

Kimberly stopped mid-step and assessed what was going on. She then grabbed her phone from her pocket and quickly went back out the door. Relief started to set in that help would be here soon, but that quickly vanished when John grabbed Ava by her forearm and started forcing her out the front.

“You’re going to walk with me as though we are friends to my car. We are leaving, and you are coming home with me. If you don’t do as I tell you, I will hurt that girl along with your cousin and her daughter. And don’t think I won’t. People who have money also have power.”

Ava gulped and nodded. She then walked out the door with him as he’d asked and crossed the street to a blue sports car. She’d seen this car in Brookfield before, several times, but it had never registered in her head that it might be his.

Once she took her seat, he climbed in and started the car. From the side mirror, she could see Kimberly on the phone looking as though she was having a panic attack. Seth would save her. She was sure of it. Afterwards, he’d never trust her again. She’d repeatedly told him she could take care of herself and had gotten him to start letting go of his past, and now this happened.

“I think, before we go home, we should take a detour. Let’s get married,” John suggested.

“Married? No way.”

“Ava, I don’t want to hear it. You’re mine. I just went halfway across this damn country to prove it. Doesn’t that show you just how much I love you?”

More like how psycho he really was. “You know how I feel about marriage.”

“And you now know how I feel about you. Really, do you have much choice? What’s that pretty little girl’s name? Ah, Lila.”

“You’re a real creep, you know that?” she snapped.

He laughed as he sped through town, heading right for the interstate. Things weren’t looking good. If he got on the interstate, it was going to be much harder for Seth and the other officers to find her. Ava closed her eyes. All she could do now was hope luck was on her side.