Chasing Ava: A Bachelor of Shell Cove Novel (The Bachelors of Shell Cove) (13 page)

The dining table was the largest piece of furniture in Ava’s living area. The small two-bedroom, one and a half bath bungalow had a combination living/dining room area. Every seat at the table was occupied save for one.
 

“Ava, this meal is better than the last.”
Don’t smirk at your elders.
 

This was her punishment for daring to put a Baptist choir on a time limit.
 

“
Thank you Deacon Hill. It was kind of you to drive Granny Lou over this afternoon.” Aron, her younger brother by eighteen months looked across the dinner table with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Granny Lou needed to cease and desist with these matchmaking attempts.

“No trouble, my dear. I’m a man who appreciates good food in the company of a beautiful lady.” It was obvious he loved inviting himself to other people’s houses. This was the third time in two months he had commandeered a meal by conveniently driving Granny Lou to Sunday dinner. He was a pleasant, yet persistent man. She wanted to scream, but she remained attentive to the conversation.
 

Ava pressed and released the flesh of her left forearm as her eyes threatened to drift yet again, to the ill-fitting Afro wig perched haphazardly on his baldhead.
 

“Another piece of cake before you leave, Deacon?” Ava rose from her chair moving into the kitchen.
 

“No. My dear girl, I’ve had my fill this afternoon.” He reared back in the chair, bringing his hands to rest on his huge belly. Ava closed her eyes in a failed attempt to destroy the mental image of the pregnant abdomen accompanying the man at her table.
 

“I’m glad you enjoyed the pork tenderloin. You should join Granny Lou for a home cooked meal at my parent’s house. She and my mother cook a larger variety of food on their Sundays.”
 

He seemed to consider the option before he spoke. “That’s nice to know, but your momma lives another twenty minutes from here. I prefer coming to your house.” This conversation wasn’t going in the right direction. The right direction meant him staying away from her family dinners. Maybe a different approach was the answer.

“My job schedule limits my availability to spend quality time with
my
family,” she placed the emphasis on my family in hopes he would catch on. “This will probably be my last season hosting a Sunday dinner for a while.”

 
“I’m sorry to hear that because what you provide keeps my body running with the precision of a well-oiled machine. Too much of the wrong food clots up my gears for days.” No, he did not go there!
 

She could hear Aron’s laughter above the Deacon’s comment. Aron and his wife Zari were newlyweds. He laughed a lot these days, even at his sister’s expense. The couple had met at the drug store where Aron worked as a pharmacist. Zari was a second grade school teacher at Shell Cove Primary. They made being in a relationship look easy. Ava liked Zari. She was happy for her brother. If only her experience with the opposite sex was as carefree.
 

“Don’t laugh Brother Aron. You never know when you’ll need a burst of power. You need the engine clear of debris for the best fuel efficiency,” the deacon chastised.
 

“Is that right?” Aron queried, egging the man on. She’d make him pay for that.

“Yes, indeed. I’ve lost sixty pounds in the past two years. The doctor told me my high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes will continue to improve if I lose another hundred pounds.” Ava blew out a breath. How had the conversation descended in the Deacon’s bowel patterns?
 

 
“Losing sixty pounds is a wonderful accomplishment Deacon. Thank you for the compliment, the meal was prepared with herbs and vegetables from my garden. Mom and I canned a lot of the vegetables from the summer harvest.”

“Well now. Granny Lou put your cooking on my radar, but I didn’t know you could work the land. I know my grandkids would love to have you helping them mow the lawn and clean out the flower beds.”

 
“Ah, gardening is different from lawn maintenance. Besides, mom and I help each other with the gardens.”
 

“I recognize the difference, but you’ve got natural ability, Ava my girl. You’ve been gifted with wonderful hands.”
 

Ava noticed her sister in-law’s eyes tearing at the corners as they darted upward, then left and right in rapid succession. Zari’s body trembled with pent up laughter. Aron was struggling more than his new wife. His recurrent throat clearing was a poor cover for the peels of laughter.
 

Deacon Hill seemed to grasp his poor choice of words after taking in her father’s disapproving gaze.
 

“Hmm, I didn’t finish my thought. What I meant to say is you have wonderful hands in the kitchen. You should cook a few meals for my children. They would welcome a home cooked meal from such a beautiful lady. My third wife spent most of her waking hours in the kitchen trying to keep the kids fed.”
 

No he isn’t trying to turn me into meals-in-heels for his grown kids.
 

“That is a kind offer Deacon, but I am more adept at preparing meals for smaller settings. Perhaps you and all the children could join Granny Lou at my parent’s house for a mini feast.”
 

Clue number four, please exit via the front door.
 

“I’m sure the kids would love all the attention.”
 

Please take the hint. I am not interested.
 

The doorbell chimed at six thirty-one. The bottom dropped out of her stomach.
 

Please, please let it be Jehovah’s Witnesses or those people selling weekly subscriptions of the newspaper. Not Logan.
 

Everyone would be gone by now, if it weren’t for the deacon. She didn’t want to explain anything to her family about her budding relationship with Logan.
 

Aron was at the door before she could concoct an explanation for Logan being at her house.
 

“Ava,” Aron called in a singsong voice, “you have a visitor.”
 

Everyone turned to see Logan standing in the living room with a tropical fruit platter in one hand. His smile was fixed on Ava. She moved with robotic motion toward him. At the sight of him, her heart leapt with anticipation, while panic churned in her stomach.

“Hello sweetheart.” Logan bent and kissed her cheek. All the clinging of glasses, plates and utensils came to a halt in the background. Ava was temporarily comatose. No he didn’t call her sweetheart and kiss her in front of her family, but he had.
 

“Now wait a minute, that’s my Ava girl. I feel a burst of power coming on. We need to move outside so I have room to move.” She recognized the Deacon’s voice through the mental fog. Glancing right, Deacon Hill struggled to push his chair away from the table. His belly trapped under the table edge. Granny Lou’s hand at his shoulder stayed him from rising to his feet.
 

Please, don’t let the deacon to Father Time confront Logan at my dinner table.
 

After witnessing Logan handle Randall, she knew Deacon Hill should remain seated.
 

Her mother’s southern lilt drifted over the deacon’s commotion “Not a visitor I see. Ava, don’t be rude. Introduce this young man to your family.”
 

Ava still hadn’t found her voice. Logan stepped in to appease everyone’s curiosity. “Mrs. Walters I presume, I’m Logan Masters.” Logan took her mother’s proffered hand, delivering a business handshake with a charismatic smile. He was good. “Ava and I work together.”
 

“How nice of you to drop by. You’re one of the nurses at Ava’s job.” Her statement camouflaged the question in everyone’s mind. Logan was good, but Ariss Walters was better. A collective, very audible, sigh rose from the table. Ava was sure the gay male nurse stereotype was the reason for the reaction. A reprieve.
 

“Actually, I’m one of the pediatric surgeons on staff.” Reprieve aborted. Gee thanks, Logan.

Her father’s eyes narrowed at Logan’s comment. He studied Logan from head to toe. Again he repeated the sequence.
Target identified
she thought. She knew what would come next, missile locked and loaded. Her father’s base filled the room, “Why are you at my daughter’s house?”

“Ava and I are seeing each other,” Logan said in a firm and determined tone. He made eye contact with every person in the room before settling his gaze on Ava. Challenge hardened his stare.
 

“Well now, my grand baby is finally interested in something other than the Navy.” Granny Lou’s shrilled
well now
had a siren quality on the room occupants. Every person in the room looked at her grandmother. “Lord, I didn’t see this one coming. You are a lot lighter than I expected, young man. The pastor’s always saying we should be specific in our prayer requests.” Granny directed her statement at Logan.
 

“Please don’t say anything else, Granny Lou.” Ava wanted to bury her head in the backyard garden.
 

Of course, Logan unleashed his charismatic smile on her grandmother.
 

“Yes ma’am, I may not be what you were expecting, but I will be sticking around.” The man had no shame. It had to be wrong to charm a woman’s grandmother.

Ava turned to her mother pleading with her eyes for help.
 

In two minutes, Logan had done exactly what she did not want to do,
let anyone know they were together.
 

“Guess who’s coming to dinner,” her brother said. Ava shot him a glare. Now was not the time for comedic commentary.
 

But his comment snapped Ava out of her vocal paralysis. “Logan let me take the tray. Thank you for the fruit. They are my favorites.”

“You’re welcome. There’s a bed of quinoa under the fruit.”
 

 
“I love it.” Sitting the platter on the table, Ava gave Logan her attention. “Let me introduce you to everybody.” Logan grabbed her hand, holding it loosely in his grip.
 

The action momentarily stilled the words in her throat. She lowered her eyes to their conjoined hands. Looking at him, reassurance glowed in his emerald depths. This was a huge step for her. He acknowledged that truth.
 

He instinctively knew what she needed. And he had met that need by offering himself. Not just words. She was a grown woman with more unrequited needs than fulfillment in her life. Logan wanted her. And she wanted him. Admitting her desire for him bolstered her confidence.
 

Logan gave a barely perceptible nod. She took a deep breath of “big girls aren’t afraid to introduce their boyfriends” into her lungs.
 

“These are my parents, Andrew and Ariss Walters.” Starting at the seats closest to the sitting area she worked her way around the eight-seater square oak table.
 

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Walters. I look forward to spending more time with both of you.” The table fell quieter than a judge’s chamber. The shocked expression on her mother’s face quickly gave way to a soft smile. Her father hadn’t moved a muscle.

“See that you do, Logan,” her mother continued, “Drew and I are both retired and would love the company.” Ava’s father had retired from the postal service earlier that year. Her mother was so excited that they both were vibrant and healthy to enjoy retirement together. Her mother had retired from teaching after thirty years last summer. “Isn’t that right, Drew?” Not a word came from her father’s lip. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have Logan and the kids over for dinner when we return from our trip, Drew?”

Her father offered a grunt in response. Ava guessed Logan was the only man responsive to hearing his name. She decided to cut her losses and moved on to the next seated couple.
 

“My much younger brother Aron, greeted you at the door.” Aron was slow to extend his hand in greeting. “And next to him is my favorite sister-in-law Zari.”
 

Zari gave Logan a warm welcome, but not before she nudged Aron in the ribs with her elbow.
 

“I’m her only sister in-law and it’s a pleasure Logan.”
 

“Thank you Zari, the pleasure is mine.” Logan focused on a seated Aron.
 

“Aron, I noticed your Red Skins jersey, you a big fan?”
 

Leave it to Logan to identify the one thing Aron couldn’t resist talking about.
 

“I bleed burgundy and gold, you?”
 

Logan looked affronted.

“Baltimore Ravens through and through. I graduated from Johns Hopkins.”
 

“I look forward to the coming months. May the best team win,” Aron replied.
 

“I’ll buy your first Ravens jersey when they do.”

“Oh, you got jokes? We will see who makes the playoffs this year.”
 

Team sports bridged many a divide.