Tainted Legacy (YA Paranormal Romance) (11 page)

“It’s gone. I threw it. You were right. Touching that thing is like taking hold of live wires. I whipped it as fast and hard as I could.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Don’t whine. I did you a favor and you know it! You got to play the hero
and
now you can put your hands all over her any time you want. You’re welcome!” Rafe barked after him.

Gabe as usual, ignored him and left the main house. He started laughing again when he thought of Ava. He was picturing those awesome boots she was wearing. He decided he more than simply liked the girl, he actually
admired
her.

He stopped laughing.

Feeling like
that
could be a real problem.

Chapter 8

“Ava,” Leah St. Clair scolded yet again, “I don’t understand why you are making such an ordeal out of this.”

“Because it doesn’t make sense!” She knew she was whining and hated herself for it. Her parents wanted to meet Gabe. She had knownp> it was just a matter of time. However, the fact that they were just friends, the fact that he was older and probably had not had to get parental approval maybe
ever
before had her feeling panicked. She was afraid he’d balk at the idea and refuse. If he did, she didn’t like what that would mean for them. She wouldn’t be allowed to see him. But if he was the type of person that refused to meet her parents, he wasn’t the type of person she should want to spend time with anyway.

An obnoxious little voice in the back of her mind kept whispering that Gabe was not going to agree. She hated that little voice because it reminded her that if he failed this test, he would not only be failing in the eyes of her parents but her eyes as well. She wasn’t ready to let that happen.

“We have a right to meet your friends!” her mother told her yet again. “It’s that simple. Get over it, or stay home.” Her voice was soft but firm.

“I’m seriously contemplating staying home,” Ava pouted as she plucked the last glass out of the dishwasher and put it into the cupboard. “I just don’t want him to think that
I
think there’s more going on with us than there is. Most girls don’t have to bring boys that they are
not
dating home!”

“Ava, you’ve been spending almost as much time with this boy as you are with Julia and Molly since…” she paused to think. “I don’t even know when. It seems like quite a while. It’s time to meet him.”

“Mom, I’m going to be eighteen in less than two months!” She knew she shouldn’t push it. After how upset her parents had been last night when she called to tell them she would be late and why, she knew she should feel lucky they were even letting her out of the house. Not that what had happened had been her fault but that didn’t stop them from being upset. She had been upset as well. She had clung to Gabe as they walked the rest of the way to the car, telling him over and over how grateful she was that he had been there. She couldn’t forget the furious look on his face or the icy way he had threatened the man. As if it weren’t a threat but an actual promise.

“You’re not eighteen yet and you’re still living under our roof. It’s important to your father and me to know who you’re with, especially after what happened last night.”

Ava shook her head and started to leave the kitchen.

“So are we meeting him or are you staying home?” Leah asked.

“I’m deciding!” Ava called as she marched up the stairs. She went into her room, shut the door and swiped her cell phone off her bed. She decided it was now or never. Either Gabe would do this for her or he wouldn’t.

He answered on the fourth ring.

She knew her voice was strained and hesitant. “I’m sorry to throw this at you at the last minute but my parents have this thing about meeting everyone I spend time with and…”

“Yeah, okay,” he said without making her finish. “I was surprised I haven’t had to meet them before now.” Ava breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m actually just pulling up to the curb. Do you want to meet me at the door?”

“See you in a sec.”  Ava flounced down the stairs, calling for her parents as she went.

Leah poked her head out of the kitchen and Daniel came ambling out of his home office.

“What?” they both asked.

“Gabe’s here,” Ava said as she swung the door open. He smiled at her but looked hesitant as he took a step inside. Ava couldn’t blame him since he’d had all of a thirty second warning.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Leah said as she reached out her hand.

Gabe gingerly shook it and then turned to Ava’s father. He seemed to be appraising them both. They were oddly alike in their looks. Neither was as tall as Ava, both were on the portly side. Leah had auburn hair that obviously came out of a box. Daniel’s, what little he had left, was a dull brown streaked with gray. They were a rather plain couple with no trace of the flair or spunk that Ava had.

Gabe threw Ava a questioning look as he turned to shake Pastor St. Clair’s hand.

“I’m glad to finally meet you as well,” Daniel said.

Gabe reached out to take his hand but only shook it briefly before he jerked it away to cough into his fist. “Sorry about that. Scratchy throat, please excuse me.” He covered his mouth again, coughed and cleared his throat. “But it is nice to meet both of you,” he said as he stuffed his hands safely into his pockets. “I appreciate you letting Ava spend so much time showing me around. It’s been a real pleasure.”

“She seems to enjoy your company as well,” Leah said, making Ava blush furiously.

“So Ava tells us your family just bought out the radio station over in Granville?” Daniel added.

“Yes, sir,” Gabe replied. He told Daniel about it, going into enough minor details to appease Ava’s parents while she slipped into her sandals.

“I’m glad you were able to stop in,” Leah told Gabe once he had finished. Her voice turned slightly wobbly when she added, “I’d like to thank you for watching over Ava last night.”

“We appreciate you going with her to file the report. And for keeping her safe,” Daniel said with a great amount of feeling. “I hate to think what would’ve happened if she’d been alone.”

“No need to think that way,” Ava said as she put a calming hand on her mother’s shoulder. “I wasn’t alone. I’m fine. Now…can we go?” she asked hopefully.

Leah sighed. “You can go. Just be careful.”

“Mom, it’s the middle of the day. I’ll be fine. See you later,” she told her parents as she ushered Gabe back out the door. “I’m so sorry about that,” she said on the way to the car as her blush continued to color her face. “I’ve told them over and over you’re just a friend.”

“So how does this work?” Gabe wondered. “Do I have to visit with them every time now, or is once good?”

“Once is good, I think,” Ava said giving him a curious look. “Haven’t you ever had to meet a girl’s parents before?”

“Never,” Gabe admitted as they got into his car.

“Wow,” Ava said as she slumped in her seat. “Now I feel like a real freak. We’re not even dating and you had to meet my parents.” She hoped he would comment on the dating aspect but he didn’t.

Gabe shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what to expect but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Consider yourself lucky it happened so fast. If I’d given Mom any more of a warning she’d probably have made you stay for iced tea and scones.”

“They weren’t what I expected,” Gabe told her.

“What do you mean?” Ava asked. “Were you afraid they were going to tie you to a chair and torment you with four hundred personal questions?”

“No,” he said with a laugh. “That’s not what I meant. You just don’t look like them. Either of them. At all.”

“Oh, right,” Ava said as though she just remembered something. “I guess I’ve never told you that I’m adopted.”

“No,” Gabe said as he shot an inquisitive look her way. “You haven’t.”

Ava shrugged. “Oh. Well, I am. I guess I just didn’t think of it. Most people from town already know because it was kind of a big deal,” Ava said as she felt color rise to her cheeks again. She thought maybe it should just settle in there. It seemed she couldn’t stop blushing when she was around Gabe. “I don’t remember the last time I actually had reason to tell anyone. But yeah, there you have it.”

“Why was it a big deal?” Gabe wondered. “I mean, other than the obvious reason. Was there something else?”

“It’s kind of a peculiar story, actually. Daniel and Leah, my parents, had been trying to have a baby for years. They finally decided to adopt, had all of their paperwork in order, they were just waiting.” Ava shrugged. “Nothing unusual about that. Wher>

Gabe threw an incredulous look her way. “Your birthday is in June. When is Easter?”

Ava threw an incredulous look back. “In the springtime.” She briefly wondered how he could not know that. But then from what she’d heard about his family she doubted holidays were ever celebrated. Holidays were so important to her and her own family. Her heart twisted in her chest at the thought of Gabe growing up in a household where holiday traditions and meals were never acknowledged. “Either March or April. That year it was March.”

“So your mom gave you up when you were nine months old. Isn’t that kind of…?”

“I was almost two, actually,” she admitted. “And yes, it’s very unusual.” Ava was watching Gabe, surprised by the way his face had tensed and suddenly paled. “Are you okay?”

“What?” he asked as his eyes darted to her and away again. “Yeah, of course. I’m just…just wondering what would make someone do that.”

Ava put a tentative hand on his bicep, noticing immediately that he didn’t tense the way he normally did when she bothered to touch him. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s the only life I’ve ever known. I love my parents, they love me. If my birth mom couldn’t care for me then she definitely did me a favor because I’ve had a great life.”

“You’re really okay with it?” Gabe asked, perplexed.

“I am,” Ava told him. “I wish I knew what my birth mother’s name was. Or what my name had been, that kind of thing but overall, I couldn’t be happier to be a St. Clair.”

They drove in silence for a while. Gabe seemed to be mulling something over but Ava had no idea what. Maybe he thought it was odd that she was adopted. Or that she hadn’t mentioned it but truly, it just hadn’t come up before. Or maybe he was wondering why her mother had waited so long to give her up. Or what had happened to make her give her up.

She’d wondered too but had no answers as there were no answers to be found. The police had searched for any clues but came up with nothing. If
they
came up with nothing, she didn’t have much hope of ever coming up with anything either. About the best they could do was to confirm that she hadn’t been kidnapped and dropped off on a doorstep.

She hardly thought about it at all anymore. Unless a conversation like this oedi like tne brought it up. She loved her adoptive parents. She couldn’t love them more if they were her birth parents. They were the kindest, most caring people she had ever met. When Grier had shown up in her father’s office a few years ago, explaining her home situation, which Ava was not privy to, he and Leah had hardly hesitated before taking her in.