Pure Redemption (Tainted Legacy) (22 page)

“Ava Louise St. Clair,” her mother said, fighting to keep her voice calm, “you sit back down!”

“No,” Ava said, “I don’t think I will. Come on Gabe,” she said as she tugged him toward the door.

She heard her mother’s chair scrape harshly across the floor. It was followed by the soothing sound of her father’s voice urging her to just let them go. Ava could hear him softly explain that now didn’t seem to be a good time. No need to continue the conversation when everyone’s emotions were so high.

“Louise?” Gabe asked with a snicker when they were safely driving away. “Seriously?”

“Don’t even start,” Ava said but a smile tugged at her lips.

“You know, your parents are right,” Gabe admitted.

“About what part?” Ava wondered with a sinking heart.

“Well, probably most of it, actually. But I was thinking about the fact I don’t h
ave a job. I really should get
one,” he said glumly. “But I have no idea what I can do. I have a feeling I didn’t really work
before
. Probably
not
ever. What would I say during an interview? Yes, I’ve had experience running heinous errands for my father who happened to be a demon. Please, let me deliver your pizzas?”

“Probably not,” Ava agreed. The very thought of Gabe delivering pizzas seemed completely preposterous.

This wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed his mind. He knew he probably
should
be getting a job. However, Ava’s reluctance to let him leave her side sort of hindered that endeavor. Unless he chose to wrap himself up in a pink apron and work side by side with her at The Sugar Shack, he’d been fairly certain she wouldn’t have been happy with the idea.
He’d used that as his excuse. But Leah had a point and he couldn’t be making excuses any longer.

“So,” he said as he cleared his throat, “now that I gave all of my money away, I’m not sure how long that tank of gas or those groceries we got the other day will last. I should probably start looking.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “How do you even
get
a job, anyway?”

Chapter 16

“Were they furious?” Molly wanted to know.

Ava grimaced as she dumped another packet of sugar into her tea. “Not furious so much as a little shocked and a whole lot disappointed. I haven’t talked to either of my parents since then. I figure I’ll wait for them to call me. In the meantime, it’ll give them a chance to cool off. Or at least get used to the idea.”

Despite the fact that her parents were upset, it was worth it to go to sleep tucked into Gabe’s arms and to wake up the same way. She had no doubt if she could do that every day for the rest of her life, she would never tire of it.

Molly nodded as she dragged her onion ring through some ketchup. She’d known Ava since kindergarten and had been spending time with her family for nearly as long. “At least it’s out in the open now.”

“Right,” Ava said. She glanced at the clock hanging over the bar at Cheaters. She only had ten more minutes left of her lunch break. Then only a few more hours left of her workday. At the start of the summer she had nearly begged for extra hours and Becky had complied. She had been desperate for something, anything to keep her busy. Now that Gabe was back, she was wishing for more time off. Which she would finally have, after today.

She pushed her salad
around, swirling a cucumber through the dressing but not bothering to eat it
. “They also aren’t happy that he’s not working.”

“I wondered about that,” Molly admitted. “Why doesn’t he just go back to the radio station?”

Ava immediately wished she had not brought up the status of Gabe’s employment.
Or, rather,
un
employment.
“Gabe doesn’t think working with Rafe is a good idea. On the way home from my parents the other night, we picked up a newspaper. He was going to go through it again today to see if anything looks like it’s worth checking into. I also helped him pull up a few sites on-line that will hopefully help him find something.”

“Does he have anything in mind?” Molly wondered.

“Nothing in particular but I’m sure he’ll find something. It doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it bothers him. Ever since my parents brought it up, it seems to be all he thinks about. Of course it’s complicated by the fact that he can’t remember what job experience he has. Not that it even matters because I don’t think he ever worked outside of the family business
,
” she mumbled, “and he’s sure not going to ask Rafe for a reference.” She took a bite, not so much because she was hungry
. I
t just gave her an excuse to not have to talk.

“Have you talked to Julia lately?” Molly asked as she decided to switch topics. The current one seemed to be depressing her friend.

Ava shook her head. “I did try to call her to invite her to lunch but she didn’t answer.”

“Something’s up with her,” Molly noted. “She was all goofy and happy the last time I talked to her. When I asked her why, she told me there was no reason. The last time she was all
sappy like that was the end of sophomore year when Mitch tripped over his shoe laces. He collided with her, knocked her down and landed on top of her in the hallway in front of the trophy case.
Do you remember
that?
”

This got Ava’s attention
and to her surprise, she giggled
. “
How could I forget? So, y
ou think it’s a guy?”

“I know that sounds
unlikely,
because Julia is so…well,
Julia
,
” Molly said,
with a shrug
. “However, she’s been working a lot lately. Almost as much as you. I think she’s even been picking up extra shifts.”

“Why?” Ava wondered. Julia didn’t really need the money.

“
Exactly.
Good question. Which makes me think maybe it is guy related. Maybe a hot coworker? Or maybe Mitch became a caddie,” Molly pointed out with a grin. That seemed the most likely. “I did tell her the three of us should get together tomorrow, though. If you’re okay with that. We all finally have the day off.”

“Sounds good,” she glanced at the clock again. “I suppose I should run.”

Molly nodded. “You two little workaholics are making me feel like a slacker. Not that I mind too much because I’m heading off to the beach with Oliver while you slave away.”

“Have fun!” Ava said with a laugh as she headed back to work.

***

Gabe’s motorcycle was parked out front, now that he didn’t necessarily need to park it out of sight. It was the first thing that Ava saw when she pulled up. So of course she expected him to be home but the cabin was empty. For a terrifying moment, she felt panic spear through her. Then she noticed a note on the kitchen table and had to smile that Gabe, of all people, had actually taken the time to write a note. It seemed so oddly domesticated.

I’m with your Dad. Be home later.

She stared at the note for longer than necessary. Why would Gabe be with her dad? Her head started spinning with all sorts of unpleasant explanations. Instead of sitting there, idly fretting over it, she decided to get a start on dinner. She pulled out some chicken, cheese and tortillas to get some enchiladas going.

By the time she had them completely prepared and in the oven, Gabe still wasn’t home. She was pouring brownie batter into the pan for dessert when she heard her dad’s car drive up. She rearranged the enchiladas to make room for the brownies and was getting ready to go outside to see what was taking them so long when Gabe walked in with her dad only a step behind.

“Do I even want to know where
the two of you have
been?” she asked, her voice laced with teasing suspicion.

Gabe was standing with his eyes closed, inhaling deeply. Ava couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him.

“Of course you do,” he finally said. “It smells so good in here,” he muttered as he leaned in, as if to give her a kiss. He seemed to think better of it with her dad standing right there. Instead, he swiped his finger across the side of the bowl to get a mouthful of chocolate.

“Okay, then, where have you been?”

“Thanks to Divine Intervention, I was able to stop by earlier to see if Gabe could help me with a few things,” Daniel explained. “One thing led to another and we were gone longer than we’d planned.”

“That doesn’t explain to me at all what you were doing,” Ava pointed out as she stood with her hands on her hips. “And how does Divine Intervention play into all of this?”

“Oh, right,” Daniel said. “Well, I was supposed to go up to the hospital today to visit Mrs. Muldoon. I got a call from one of her daughters just as I was getting ready to leave. She wanted to let me know that she was being released today. So I didn’t need to go visit her because she and her sisters would be there and they would be plenty busy getting her settled in at home.” Ava fought the urge to tap her foot impatiently. Sometimes it felt as though her dad delivered an entire sermon while trying to answer one simple question. “Because I didn’t have to go to the hospital I had some free time on my hands. Now, I could’ve just gotten a few things done around my office but I decided to come out here to see what Gabe was up to instead. See, Divine Intervention freed up my time.” Ava nodded and motioned for him to continue. “And since Gabe happened to be free as well, he agreed to come to town with me to put in some volunteer hours on the Douglas house.”

“Ah,” Ava said, “I get it. You came out here to recruit Gabe for volunteer work.”

“It gets better,” Gabe assured her with a wink.
This time h
e motioned for Daniel to continue.

“You know that Hanson Construction has volunteered some of their time, right?” Ava nodded. “Well, Mike Hanson happened to stop by the site to check on his crew. See, more Divine Intervention,” Daniel said with a grin. “I’d already put Gabe to work and Mike and I got to talking. One thing led to another and he mentioned that the company got a little busier than they anticipated this summer. They were looking for someone to do a little manual labor,” her dad explained.

Gabe shrugged sheepishly in a ‘who knew?’ kind of way. “Turns out I’m pretty good with a hammer.”

“I bet you are,” Ava teased. “I have a hunch you have excellent coordination to go along with all sorts of upper body strength.”

Daniel cleared his throat. “Uh, yes, anyhow…So Mike said that he’s got room for Gabe on his crew for at least a little while. Depending on if the number of jobs keeps up, or every now and then someone quits. But that said
,
he might be able to use him into the fall. Or depending on how things work out, maybe indefinitely.”

“Wait! You mean like a job? He didn’t just put you to work for the afternoon?” Ava asked as a smile took over her face.

“Like a job,” Gabe agreed.

“That’s so awesome!” Ava said as she tossed her arms around him. “See, I told you things would work out.” She turned to face Daniel. “
Dad
thanks. This really means a lot to me.”

Daniel scoffed. “I didn’t really do anything. Just put in a good word but really, Mike was already impressed. Like I said, I put Gabe to work as soon as we got there. He went about his business getting things done and Mike noticed. So, Gabe really got the job on his own.”

Gabe beamed at Ava. She knew how much getting a job on his own, for the first time in his life, meant to him.

“I suppose I better get going,” Daniel said as he pushed off from the counter where he’d been leaning.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Ava offered. “It’s almost done.”

“I’d love to. It smells delicious. But your mother is making cabbage rolls,” he said with an unhappy sigh, “so I suppose I’d better not.” He paused in the doorway. “I’ll see you both in church on Sunday?”

Gabe nodded before Ava could respond. Daniel left with a smile on his face and Ava was hoping that despite she and Gabe living together, maybe things would smooth over with her parents sooner rather than later.

“How was it?” she asked after her dad had left and they had started their meal. “Do you think you’ll like it?”

“Maybe,” he said. “It did feel good to be out doing something. And it’s not full time so your dad asked if I’d still be willing to help with the volunteer work. I told him I would.”