Page 31 of Savage Ends

“Yes, of course.Of course I’m okay.”She forced a smile to her face.The truth was, last night she had loved every second of her time with Pat, and she didn’t want it to end.The fact it had to, sucked.

Hazel looked at her for several moments.

Ava waited.

Violet, the meddling older sister, seemed content that her work was done, and then went back to drinking her coffee and looking rough.

“I worry about you,” Hazel said.“You’re my little girl, and I guess I’m not used to boys even registering what they are to you.”

She could have vocally sighed in relief as her mother came toward her, wrapped those protective arms around her, and simply hugged her.It felt good.Better than good.

“I won’t do anything stupid.”

“Please, you’ve never been googly-eyed by a guy before,” Violet said.“Trust me, you may not want to do anything stupid, but the fact is, you probably will.”

“Mom?”

“No, your sister is right, unfortunately.”Hazel pulled away.“However, I don’t think I mind you feeling this guilt, because this smells amazing.”She peered over her shoulder.“And make sure I get some extra bacon.You know, after feeling tired all night from staying up late.”

There was that guilt, even though she knew her mother was just teasing her.

“You don’t play fair,” Ava said.

“It’s a mother’s role.”Hazel kissed her cheek.“So, are you going to tell us who the lucky biker is?”

Ava didn’t know if she wanted to tell her mother or her sister.Well, technically, Violet already knew seeing as he was the one who forced them into her car not too long ago for her to take them home.She was surprised Violet wasn’t screaming the name.

“It’s Pat.”

“Really?”Hazel asked.

“Yeah, is that a problem?”She nibbled her lip, wondering if her mother was going to change her mind.

“No, of course not.I’m just surprised.”Hazel frowned.“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around town with a girl.He’s a hard worker.Actually, scrap that, he’s not had a girl recently.There was a time he was a real wild animal, or at least rumor had it.”

Violet sat up.“A wild animal?Seriously?He’s quiet and soft-spoken.I don’t see anything wild about him.”

“Trust me, back in the day, he was responsible for making a lot of married women stray.”

“Back in the day, Mom?”Ava said.“You make him sound old.”

“Honey, he is a little younger than me, but not by much.”

“Ooh, Ava likes the older man.Now this is funny,” Violet said.

“Will you shut up?”Ava said.“He’s not old.He’s like late thirties, early forties.You drool over actors who are older than that.”

“True, true, but there is a point—they’re actors.”

“It still counts, so you can enjoy older men, just like guys can enjoy younger women,” Ava said.

Her mother and sister chuckled.Ava decided to ignore their teasing and just plated up their breakfast and carried it through to the dining room.

Their mother sat in her usual place, and once again, Ava felt so sad at seeing the empty spot that once belonged to her father.She took a deep breath and knew it was going to be all right.The pain would go away.They had a lot of memories with her father here, and without.

However, they had made it a bit of a tradition where Christmas dinner was no longer eaten at the table, but in front of the television watching a festive movie.It was a lot of fun, but they were all avoiding the truth.Their father or husband was no longer with them.

“Do you have any kind of protection?”Hazel asked.