he was going to see her again. But he’d spent half the evening flirting with her mother. What in the heck did that mean? Yes, she knew it had been a joke with her mom, after her initial shock of it all, but still, she found herself slightly jealous. She wished she was able to be as confident and as at ease as her mother. Her mom had often told her she was far too serious.
But Avery had always needed to be serious. She’d seen the consequences of thinking life was nothing more than a game. It didn’t go well. Sure, people had fun for a while, but then they found themselves broke, alone, hungry, and homeless, and often addicted to drugs and alcohol.
“The heck with it,” Avery muttered as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “It’s not to see him. I want to check on my mom, I’m hungry, and I don’t feel like cooking.” She shut and locked her door.
“What was that, dear?”
Avery jumped at the question, then felt her cheeks flush as she looked at her neighbor, Greta, who was obviously returning from walking her sweet little dog, Bella, who Avery had dogsat and walked a few times when Greta hadn’t been feeling well.
“I guess I got caught talking to myself,” Avery said with a sheepish smile.
“Oh, that’s nothing,” Greta said with a laugh. “I not only talk to myself on a daily basis, I also talk to my sweet Bella, who thinks I’m a genius.” Avery laughed.
“That’s because you are,” Avery confirmed as she bent down and gave Bella a scratch behind the ears. The dog quickly flopped down and exposed her belly for a nice scratch. “You are spoiled, little girl,” she told the dog who grinned up at her with half hooded eyes while Avery kept scratching her. She reluctantly stopped and stood, the dog giving her a pouty look. “I’m going to see Mom. Is there anything you need from town?”
“You’re always such a sweetheart, but Bella and I are headed to bed. Maybe next time I’ll have you bring me back some onion rings,” Greta said.
“I’ll make sure I go earlier next time and do just that,” Avery said. She loved her neighbor. She was quiet and kind . . . and definitely nosy.
If any stranger entered this hallway, Greta was on it in an instant. Not that Avery ever had visitors. It was impossible to have friendships when a person worked as much as she did. Well, her mother and uncle came over on occasion, but Greta knew them. She’d have cookies waiting for her uncle when he showed up. Greta made cookies for a lot of the people in the building.
The two women said their goodbyes, and then Avery was on her way. She always took the stairs, knowing she was too sedentary about 70 percent of the time with the job she had, so she was active as much as possible when she wasn’t locked to a desk.
She made it to the curb, then hailed a cab. It didn’t take her long to reach her uncle’s bar, and as she stepped from the cab, she could hear music blaring. It was loud and bound to get even worse as the night wore on. She’d probably have a hard time getting a table, let alone her favorite one in the back corner. And she didn’t want to seem as if she wanted to see Carl if he did happen to be there.
The second she was out of the cab, though, another person climbed in, and it pulled away. She stood on the curb, hesitating. She could always hail another and make a quick retreat. That didn’t sit too well with her as she didn’t like living in fear or being indecisive. She began walking away from the bar, though, needing to think for a few moments. Why was this man she’d met the night before even entering her thoughts? Why did he have any affect on her at all? She’d talked with him for a couple of hours. He was nothing to her. He certainly shouldn’t be influencing where she went.
Avery was never indecisive. It wasn’t in her nature. Why was she was acting that way all of a sudden? Maybe it was her last case, or maybe it was a lack of sleep, or maybe it was a six-foot man who’d made her feel something she didn’t want to feel — hormones.
By the time she looked