The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2) (6 page)

“I’ve always wanted to visit Britain. Tell me about London.”

It took us almost forty minutes to finish the walk and he spoke of
home the entire time. He told me about his family’s cottage just outside of
Loughton, northeast of the heart of London, about his brother and sister, and
his favorite travels. It was all very interesting and I loved hearing about a
different culture.

We finally arrived back at the parking lot. “So, Ava. Do you
remember every single one of those blasted notecards from yesterday?”

“Oh gosh. I haven’t thought about those all day. I hope I remember
them.”

“You’d better, after all the time I invested in you!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll study again later today and a bit tomorrow
before class.”

He leaned his backside on the hood of the car while I took a seat
nearby on a bench at the edge of the parking lot. “So, Miss Ava, what are your
plans for the rest of today?”

I cautiously answered, “Well…”
Oh no. Is he going to make me
study for hours again?
“Not too much,” I said hesitantly.

“Brilliant! Then you’re spending the day with me!” He reached into
his pocket and pulled out his car keys. I heard the locks click open.

“Oh really?” Excitement stirred in my stomach. I tried to hide it,
not wanting to look too eager. “Well, okay then. What are we going to do?”

“Just get inside, little lady!”

I curiously walked around to the passenger’s side door and slid
into the seat of the car. I was immediately impressed. I didn’t know a thing
about cars, but this one looked like it had all the extras. The interior was
sleek beige leather and the dash was basically a fancy computer. Adam put the
keys in the console between us and then pressed a button on the dash to start
the engine.

“Where did you get this car?” I reached out and ran my fingers
over the temperature controls by my side. It put the tape player in my Olds to
shame.

“Well, there’s something about me you don’t know.” He started the
ignition, but then stared out the windshield and said nothing.

The silence ate at my patience.
Come on! Say something!
My heart began to race, and an anxious feeling
snuck into my stomach. Was getting in a car with this man completely unsafe?

He had successfully backed up the sophisticated car, using the
rear camera display in the dash, and then said, “I’m royalty.

My jaw dropped.

“What do you mean, ‘royalty’? Like a prince?” He didn’t seem handsome
enough to be a prince.

Suddenly Adam burst into wild laughter. “Oh good God! To see your
face! That was hilarious!” He put the car in drive and headed up the hill,
continuing to laugh as I felt my face turn red with embarrassment. “No, I’m not
royalty!”

“That is not funny.” I told him, half laughing, half serious, but
he kept smiling. “Okay then, Your Highness. Where did you get this fancy car?”

“Would you believe I won the lotto?”

“No.” I looked out the window as he drove past the baseball fields.

The corner of his lips turned up as he searched for another
answer. “Quiz show champion?”

I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Absolutely not. Try again.”

“You’re a tough audience…hmmm…well, I don’t think you’d actually
believe the truth, so you’ll have to settle for…pop star!” He turned the car
left onto Main Street.

“Yeah, right. I like royalty better.”

He looked out the windshield smiling curiously. “Fine, royalty it
is. Just call me Prince Adam.”

We drove through some residential areas and drifted into UWSP
territory. I watched Gerke Field pass on our right. I knew something suspicious
was brewing, but I wasn’t about to push it. I barely knew Adam, after all.
“Alright, Prince Adam. Where are you taking me today?”

“Back to your house.”

“I guess I set my bar too high.”

“No offense intended, but you need a shower first.”

I laughed out loud. That was not what I expected to hear but it
was probably true. I did need a shower. “I thought Europeans didn’t shower every
day.”

He shook his head. “Nasty rumor. The French don’t bathe for days.
Londoners, if we stink, we shower.”

“Fair enough. Turn here on Fremont.” Adam turned his
fancy-schmancy car down the street.

“I’ll drop you off. Could you be ready in forty-five minutes?”

“Now turn here on College Avenue.” I pointed through the
windshield. “Sure, I’ll be all clean and fresh for your olfactory nerves. We’re
the last house on the block.”

“Oooh…did you look ahead in your biology textbook, Dr. Gardner?”

I gave him a fake angry face and Adam chortled gleefully. He
pulled to a stop in front of the two-story, creamy yellow house. A dark,
screened-in porch hung off the top floor.

“See you later, Your Highness.” I flashed a smile from the lawn,
and he called, “Cheerio, Ava!”

Inside, Elaina and Sharon were sitting around the living room
playing one of our all-time favorite board games, Sequence. Elaina was kicking
Sharon’s butt, like always.

“Hey! There she is!” Sharon’s face lit up when she saw me.

“Kasie told us we may have to send a search party after you!” Elaina
played a blue poker chip on the board.

“Naw, Adam is pretty cool. I totally trust him.” I took a seat on
the couch for a quick second. “Actually, I’m just home to shower and change,
and then I’m going back out with him again.”

Elaina put down her cards and sat forward. “Really? So are you
ready now to admit you like Adam as more than a friend?”

“No,” I said quickly. “I mean, I don’t think so.”

Oh no, my cheeks were burning pink!

“At this point he has just been really great company. He’s easy to
talk to and I feel comfortable with him, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t any
physical attraction between us.”

Sharon seemed to be studying my face for the truth. “I guess I’ll
believe you. But are you sure he feels the same way? You don’t want to lead him
on and then break his heart, do you?”

“Of course not.” Maybe Sharon was right. “I promise I’ll be
careful. If he ever gives me a signal that says more than friends, I’ll get the
heck out of there right away!”

“Good plan.” Sharon placed a red chip over the king of spades.

“Okay, I’m off to shower. He’s gonna be back in forty-five
minutes.” I left the living room and headed for my bedroom. I checked my phone
sitting on the window ledge above my bed—
no new messages
. I undressed,
pulled my silky green robe off the hook behind my door, and then grabbed a
white towel and some clean clothes from the laundry basket on the floor.

The hot shower massaged my sore muscles and refreshed my sweaty
skin. After the quick shower, I dressed and blow-dried my hair. I was applying
makeup when I heard the doorbell ring and my friends calling for me.

“Ava! Adam’s here!”

“I’ll be right out!” I yelled from the bathroom. I felt a quick
flip of nerves in my stomach and smiled involuntarily. I suppressed it quickly—
he’s
just a friend,
I reminded myself. I spritzed a bit of perfume, took another
look at myself in the mirror and then opened the door.

Adam was sitting on the couch chatting with my friends, but stood
up when he saw me. He was wearing a brown sweater with a dark green T-shirt
collar peeking out. His jeans fit perfectly, and on his feet were casual brown
loafers. He looked preppy-cool with his carefully styled hair.

“Ava!” He gave a big show of sniffing the air. “That’s much
better! You ready to go?”

“Sure. Let me just grab my purse,” I said laughing. I ran down the
hallway to my room on the end and grabbed my phone from the ledge, slipping it
into my bag. Nerves crawled around my stomach. I took a deep breath and let it
out loudly, trying to force my gut to settle down. The sound of my girlfriends
laughing on the other side of the apartment interrupted my momentary freak-out
moment.

“Everything is fine,” I told myself.

I pulled on my brown, heeled boots and then left the room. When I
arrived in the living room Kasie was laughing so hard she was crying.

“What the heck is going on in here?” They all turned to see me
standing in the hallway and toned down the laughing immediately.

Were they laughing at me?

Adam stood up quickly and came over to my side. “Your flatmates
are a riot!”

“Yes, they are.” I looked from face to face trying to get a clue
from someone. No one gave me any kind of hint as to what they were talking
about and I began to feel a little hurt.
What secrets were they sharing with
Adam?
I gave the girls a “shame on you” look when Adam turned and headed
for the door.

“Have fun, you two!” Elaina hollered after us.

“We will!” Adam and I both said together.

“Cute. That was very cute,” I said as I opened the front door. We
walked up the stairs and down the sidewalk to where Adam had parked his black
car. He opened up the door for me.

“I guess chivalry is not dead in the UK?” I sat down, smiling, and
then watched him walk around the front and get in his side.

“No, it’s not. We are taught to treat our women with kindness and
respect.” He started the car and pulled out onto Fremont Street.

“How wonderful.” I wasn’t used to being treated like a lady. “So,
Prince Charming, where are we headed off to now?”

“Surprises, surprises.” He smiled sweetly as he pulled onto Clark.
“Are you hungry? I thought we’d do lunch first.”

“Starving.” We passed Iverson Park and the morning’s jog replayed
in my mind. A little farther up the road sat my favorite restaurant in Steven’s
Point—Hilltop. To my surprise, he pulled the car into the driveway instead of
passing by!

Lunch was delicious and the conversation was wonderful. Adam asked
me all about my interest in teaching and then shared with me how he decided to
study communications. He graciously offered to pick up the check, but to me
that felt too much like a date, so he allowed me to pay for half. With full
bellies, we made our way out to the car.

Adam drove back down Main Street toward campus. “Alrighty, Miss
Ava. I did my research and found a place right here in Stevens Point that will
make you feel right at home.”

“Really? That sounds exciting. Where is this mystery place?” The
car made its way around the mall and over to the riverfront.

The riverfront!

He was taking me to see where the Wisconsin River ran through
Stevens Point. I suddenly felt very excited and a large, toothy smile struck my
lips.

“Brilliant! You’ve figured it out. I can tell by the look on your
face.” He drove past Pfiffner Park and over to a parking lot lining another
grassy area. I could see the river from the road and my heart began to leap
with joy. I barely let the car stop before I jumped out.

“Hold on! Wait for me!” Adam shut off the car engine and jumped
out after me, laughing. I could hear him yelling as he caught up. “I knew you’d
be excited, but wow!” We ran across the empty field, over the sidewalk and past
a row of tall trees. We didn’t stop until we were all the way to the riverbank,
where Adam slowed down and let me go on ahead.

I ran right up to the place where the rocky shore met the water’s
edge. There I stood before the grand and glorious Wisconsin River. It took my
breath away like seeing a great old friend I’d been apart from for many months.
The river’s deep brown water flowed swiftly past me, and I imagined that same
water reaching my beautiful Dells by the time the sun set.

I took a deep inhale through my nose and recognized a smell I knew
only as river water—a scent that filled my soul with hope and calmed my heart
to contentment. The only sound was something I’d heard a million times
before—tiny waves lapping up on the rocky shore, a lullaby to my ears.

Although I felt at peace, I suddenly felt incredibly homesick. The
lump in my throat showed up just before the small, salty tear fell from my eye.
It gently rolled down my cheek and dropped into the water below me. I looked
out over the broad, brown river and wiped my face as another tear escaped.

A hand landed on my right shoulder and a voice came from behind
me. “I’m so sorry, Ava. I didn’t intend to make you cry.”

And then a dam burst inside me.

Overcome with emotion, I turned into Adam and surrendered to my
tears. He pulled me in for a tight hug, assuring me that everything was going
to be alright. I had no feelings of embarrassment, only a sense of comfort from
my new friend. He was so patient, just letting me release my tension on the
sleeve of his shirt. He held me tight, slowly rubbing my back.

Soon the clouds above us began to cry, too. I felt a water drop
from the sky land squarely on my forehead. The sound of the raindrops quietly
landing on the surface of the river was soothing. Adam broke the hug, and
although I wanted to go back in for another one, I thought of the conversation
I had earlier with my roommates—
Don’t lead him on
.