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“I’m glad you asked me to come to lunch with you. There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” Jeremiah said and she smiled up at the older man. He was quite handsome, with salt-and-pepper hair cut short, and he always dressed in tan dress pants and a button-down shirt. But there was something about his green eyes that captured her attention. Ava wasn’t sure why she felt comfortable talking with him, but she could almost see sadness and happiness combined in his eyes when he spoke. It was odd.
“What did you want to talk about?” Ava asked as the doors to the elevator opened.
She was holding on to Jeremiah’s arm as she exited the elevator. She was so happy she couldn’t help but smile.
“Ava.”
Ava looked up and was shocked to see both Colton and Evan.
“What the hell are you doing here? Let go of our woman.” Colton raised his voice and he looked so angry, as if he would strike Jeremiah.
“Colton, what’s going on?” Ava asked as Jeremiah released her arm then patted her hand.
“It’s okay, Ava. This is what I planned on talking to you about today,” Jeremiah said as Colton pulled her toward him and then behind him. She felt Evan’s arms wrap around her midsection, and Susanna now stood to the side.
“What’s happening?” Ava asked.
“You stay away from her,” Colton said as he took a challenging step toward Jeremiah.
“Son, please listen to me.”
“I am not your son. You lost that right years ago,” Colton stated very loudly.
Ava could hear the woman at the front desk calling security.
She looked at Evan. “Evan, what is going on? Why are you here?”
“Let’s go. Susanna, come on,” Colton said as he directed Susanna to walk with them. They headed outside, and Ava turned to look behind her. She saw a very angry, red-faced Colton breathing heavily with fists by his side.
Susanna was pulling out her car keys, and Jeremiah was walking a few feet behind them.
“Please, son. Please talk to me. It’s been too many years. There’s so much to talk about and explain,” Jeremiah said and Ava thought he looked so sad. This was their father? The one who abandoned them and their mother when she was ill with cancer?
Colton stopped and turned toward Jeremiah.
“I don’t want to hear your lies, old man. Evan and I don’t need you or want to know about your excuses. Leave us alone and stay away from Ava,” Colton whispered through clenched teeth and Jeremiah stopped where he was.
They continued to walk until they got to Susanna’s car.
“We’ll follow you,” Evan said in an angry tone.
Ava looked at Susanna and Susanna looked just as taken aback by the confrontation in the hospital as Ava was.
“You don’t have to. I can head back on my own. It’s a short ride. Ava, you go with Colton and Evan and call me if you need anything.”
Ava hugged Susanna and thanked her for coming along to the doctor’s office. Ava wanted to know why Colton and Evan were still so angry after all these years and how come they didn’t know or care that their father was still alive. It was one subject about their pasts that they didn’t get into great detail about whenever they talked. Colton was so angry. She hadn’t seen that side of him, only briefly, when he grabbed that jerk at the bar and restrained him as he made the guy apologize to Ava.
Evan helped Ava step up into the truck as Colton got behind the wheel and started the ignition.
Through the windshield she saw Jeremiah standing by the front entrance watching them. He looked so sad, and she wondered if there was a way to help this family heal so that Colton and Evan wouldn’t be alone without a family.
* * * *
As they traveled back to Delite, both men remained straight-faced and quiet until Evan released a long sigh then t
urned toward Ava.
“So, how did it go? What did the doctor say?”
