Page 97 of Savage Ends

“No, I don’t.How are things for you on the dating front?”

“I don’t date,” Violet said.“I’ve also not been out dancing since that disaster night when your boyfriend’s bike got attacked.I mean, what kind of asshole attacks a bike?Maybe cowards.”Violet touched her forehead and then shrugged.

“You know, not all guys are cheating assholes,” Ava said.

“I know that, sis, but honey, you have one serious boyfriend, and you can’t talk about all men.Trust me, I know there are good and bad boyfriends.Just like I know there are good and bad women.Trust me, that trophy of bullshit can swing both ways.”

Ava looked toward her sister who was arranging the fat quarters of fabric neatly.There had been a brand-new quilt pattern released not long ago, with a load of fat quarters of fabric to make it.They only had a couple of collections left.Ava had been surprised by how quickly it sold out.Not Violet, who had reminded her mother to have ordered extra.

“Is it hard ...seeing them?”Ava asked.

Violet looked at her with pursed lips, and she had the feeling her sister was going to come back with some kind of wiseass comment.Only, she didn’t.“It used to.I mean, when it first happened, I didn’t even want to see them.Then, when she was pregnant, it got worse, but now I don’t care.”

“You haven’t met someone.”

“Ava, babe, look around you.The town of Carnage is not exactly filled with available single guys that are decent.I’m not going to settle and I’m certainly not going to throw myself at every guy that looks my way.”

“Okay.”

“I want what Mom and Dad had.”

Ava looked toward her sister and nodded.“I want that too.”

“Do you think you have that with Pat?”

“I don’t know.I hope so.I mean, when I’m with him, it’s like the whole world slips away.Even if I’m in a bad mood, I can look toward him, and he makes me smile.I mean, he also makes me worried, you know with the fact he’s in a motorcycle club, but that doesn’t seem to matter that much.”She shrugged.“You know what I mean?”

“You do love him.”

Ava had been so engrossed in talking to Violet, she hadn’t seen her mother come back into the shop.

“Yeah, I love him, and it is kind of scary, because I know he’s older than me.I guess I worry that he is going to realize there are a lot more mature and sophisticated women out there.”She shrugged.

“Nah,” Violet said.“That guy loves you.What I am curious about, though, is you spend a hell of a lot of time working here, not getting paid, when are you going to quit your coffee shop job, and come back here and work full time.We’ve got the place under control now.You don’t need to take on that other job, in case we hit a bad spot.”

“You knew about that?”Ava asked.

Hazel laughed.Violet rolled her eyes.

“We always knew why you did it, honey,” Hazel said.

“You have loved working in this place since we were kids.When we finished school at the end of the day, you didn’t want to go home and do homework, you wanted to be here.I remember when Dad finally secured this place, you were so excited.”

“I knew Mom was going to make this place work,” Ava said, looking toward her mother.“You’re right, I love working in this place, and I would love to come back full-time.The only problem is, I can’t do that to Lauren.No one ever seems to stick around.”She frowned.“Staff come and go, and I’m the only one she can rely on.If that changes, trust me, I will be here faster than you know.”

“It would be good to have you back,” Hazel said.“You’re here all the time anyway, but it would be nice to actually pay you.”

Ava looked toward her mother, and then went to her, hugging her.“I’m going to keep my apartment.”

“Yeah, you might want to do that, because this morning, you and lover boy were not exactly quiet,” Violet said.

“Violet!”

“What?I am only speaking the truth.It took him like ten minutes.Last time I checked, that wasn’t a long enough time to do anything right.”

Ava groaned and covered her face with her hands.“Will you stop?This is so embarrassing.”

Violet laughed.