crossed the distance more confidently. She seemed utterly engrossed in whatever it was she was cooking, and he found himself unconsciously trying to walk louder. A pointless task; his shoes sunk into the soft grass muffling the sound of his approach. He really didn’t want to sneak up on her and scare her but in the near darkness and silence of the clifftop, with nothing but the sound of the sizzling pan and the boom of the waves at the foot of the cliff, he feared it might be inevitable.
He was about to clear his throat loudly to announce his presence when a huge shadow loomed out of the darkness, snapping and snarling as it barked loudly forcing him to stop dead and back up a pace.
Ava looked up and blinked in surprise. For a moment she wondered why Killian had returned to the house so late but as she was about to open her mouth her eyes narrowed, and she realized it wasn’t the contractor she’d met earlier in the day.
‘Kelley?’ she guessed.
He smiled at her, pleased she’d remembered his name.
‘Hello Ava,’ he replied easily.
‘Bailey!’ Ava called loudly when her dog continued to bark, ‘enough! You’ll wake the dead with all that noise.’
‘Please don’t say that,’ Kelley’s eyes flicked uneasily to the house to the left of them.
‘Bailey, back up girl.’
Kelley watched as Ava’s dog backed up, stepping into the circle of light cast by the fire as he moved forward, and he got a proper look at her.
‘Whoa! Holy shit that’s an enormous dog! Was she created in a lab?’
‘No,’ Ava’s mouth twitched, ‘she’s part German Shepherd part bear.’
‘When you said dog,’ Kelley’s eyebrows rose as he continued to stare at Bailey, who was in turn watching him mistrustfully, ‘I don’t know, I just pictured something small and cute that would fit in your purse.’
‘Would have to be a pretty big purse,’ Ava continued to stir whatever it was simmering over the fire in an enormous shiny, silver, flying saucer shaped pan.
Kelley grinned, ‘Big? I think you’d have trouble fitting her in a packing crate.’
‘Why do you think I drive a huge truck?’ Ava glanced up, a small smiled tugging at the corner of her lips. ‘Why are you here Kelley?’
‘Came to welcome you to the neighborhood,’ he gave her a cute, slightly lopsided smile, held up the bag and shook it. ‘I brought dinner, although whatever the hell you’re cooking smells a hundred times better.’
‘What’s in there?’ she asked curiously.
‘Burgers cooked just the way you like it and steak for your dog.’
‘You bought Bailey a steak?’ she stopped stirring and stared at him.
‘Seemed like the thing to do at the time,’ he shrugged.
‘Bailey,’ Ava called out after a moment, ‘let him sit down.’
Bailey turned her head toward Ava, letting out a little sniff of discontent but she moved out of his way none the less, trotting over and sitting next to her mistress obediently as she continued to watch Kelley warily with large unblinking black eyes.
‘I thought you were your brother just now,’ she watched him take a seat on a small log she’d placed beside the fire.
‘I heard that’s not the first time today that’s happened,’ Kelley glanced at the fire, noting that she’d taken the time to dig the firepit down into the ground, encircling it with huge rocks from the beach. Either side of the pit she’d laid logs just large enough to sit on. She was obviously a woman who was no stranger to the outdoors.
‘No,’ Ava snorted quietly. ‘I walked into his office this morning and met his heavily pregnant wife. Then he walked through the door and I thought it was you. Embarrassing.’
‘You’re not the first one to make that mistake and you won’t be the last,’ Kelley grinned. ‘I have to ask Ava, what the hell are you making? It smells entirely too good for something cooked on a campfire.’
‘It’s Thai street food,’ she twisted the pan over the flames, swirling the red colored contents around the inside with a sizzle as she reached into a paper bag and retrieved some leaves which she dumped in. ‘Bay leaves,’ she informed him at his curious look.
‘You know how to cook Thai street food?’
‘Among other things,’ she nodded. ‘This is Massaman Gai; it’s one of the milder Thai curries with Persian influences. Are you allergic to nuts?’
‘No,’ Kelley shook his head.
‘Would you like to try some?’ she offered.
‘I thought you’d never ask,’ he grinned.
‘It’s almost ready,’ she nodded.
‘You like to cook then?’
‘I