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“I love you, Evan, and together we’ll get through this.”
* * * *
Ava tried to insist that Evan and Colton drop her off at home before they went to see their father. But neither man would have it. As strong and masculine as they were, it seemed they needed her strength and wanted her by their side when they made this huge step.
As they parked the truck outside their father’s small house, she felt their nervousness. But then they got out of the truck and looked up to find Jeremiah standing on his front porch, looking shocked.
Both men grabbed her hands and walked with her flanking each of them as they headed toward their dad.
“Colton, Ava, Evan,” Jeremiah said and she could see the tears in his eyes.
“Dad, we need to talk,” Colton said in a low tone.
“I’d like that, son.”
“We have something for you. Something that you need to see. It might help you like it helped us.” Evan held the letter from Alicia Banks in his hands as his father stepped aside, opened the door, and invited them into their home.
Ava smiled, knowing that this was a huge step for all three men, and perhaps the first step toward becoming a family once again.
Chapter 12
Ava was standing by the patio with all her Dixie Chix as the men cooked massive amounts of food on the grill. Having a barbecue was an awesome idea, and with all the changes and extension of family, it was a huge event.
“I think we should do this every summer,” Susanna said as she took a sip of sweet tea and watched Sally and Elise hold Jake and Jackson.
“You’ll have your own soon enough, Elise,” Paula teased as she set a large salad on the table.
“This is great,” Ava whispered while taking in her surroundings and feeling like her new family was extra special.
“Looks like your men are making some progress with their father,” Alexa stated. The women all looked out toward the picnic tables where Evan, Colton, and Jeremiah were talking and smiling.
“They sure are. It’s been a hell of a month,” Ava said.
Susanna placed her arm around Ava’s shoulders. “It’s been a hell of a few years,” she added and they all agreed.
“We’ve been through a lot, but having all of us as one big family sure does make life a lot better,” Paula added.
“Cheers to that,” Alexa said and raised her glass.
“Cheers to Dixie Chix and our men. We’ve all found love and we all get to stay together,” Susanna said. They clinked their glasses together and began talking about the fall and how crowded the holiday table would be this year.
Susanna whispered to Ava, “So how long do you think it will be before you officially move out of the house and into Evan and Colton’s place?”
“Well, I’m practically living there as is now. But, I did look into hiring a manager, so that we continue to rent out the rooms to the rodeo guys and any other stragglers needing a safe place to stay on their journeys.”
“That’s great. Now you’re getting into real estate, huh?” Susanna teased.
“I’m a business woman just like you, Susanna. We’ve learned about survival the hard way and taking matters into our own hands in order to succeed in life. I love it here in Delite, and I think I’ll be sticking around.”
Susanna hugged her. “Life couldn’t get any better than this.”
Ava agreed as she looked toward Colton and Evan, and both men waved her over. She made her way to them, feeling lucky to have them in her life. She was glad that they had made peace with their father and were working on strengthening their own family bonds.
“Come sit down here with us. We were just talking about you,” Colton said as he pulled her onto his lap.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulders as Evan caressed her thigh under the skirt she wore.
She couldn’t help but see Jeremiah smile.
