Deceived: Devon Brothers, #2, page 8
“Time to go,” he offered, and she held a glass in the air to toast him.
“Up yours asshole,” she slurred.
Sawyer ground his teeth and reeled in his need to return the insults. Instead, he held out a hand to help her up.
“Come on, Mish, it’s getting late.”
Instead of taking his offer, she dumped her drink on his arm. Champagne wasn’t the best thing to get on a custom suit, but at least it wouldn’t stain.
“I’m not going anywhere until you apologize,” she barked, and her girlfriends cackled around her, sloshing their drinks in his direction.
“And what am I apologizing for?” he asked, crossing his arms, and taking a step back so he wasn’t covered in any more alcohol that wasn’t his own.
“If you have to ask, you don’t deserve my attention,” she said. “So until you figure it out, you can fuck off.”
“Really?” he asked. Yes, she was drunk, but this was his out. Everyone in the room heard her and he was sure there were a few of her friends filming this little interlude.
“You heard me. Take your useless dick and leave,” she spat, waving him away.
He gave her a large smile and then bowed.
“I can’t say it's been a pleasure, but I shall leave you to your own devices. Have a nice life.”
“You better call me tomorrow with an apology,” she shouted, and he raised his brows at this comment.
“There will be no apology. You’ve just written me off and so I am taking my useless dick to more glorious pastures. Thanks for that,” and he turned on his heel and made quick strides away from her even after he heard her hurling more pointed insults and demands at his back.
She may have been drunk, but he was free now. Everyone in the room heard it, especially her father whose reaction he saw plainly as he left the room. She’s stepped over the boundaries one too many times and now it was over.
Finally.
Chapter Ten
“This is fabulous,” Kit said as she looked wide-eyed around Avalynn’s small home. “Are these hidden cabinets?”
Avalynn was beaming as she squatted down and opened the hidden drawers in the kitchen.
“This is pretty amazing,” Cade offered under his breath to Sawyer as he too looked around the small room with astonishment. “And she’s been living here since she was a kid?”
“Yeah,” Sawyer said. “I was just as shocked.”
“Cade, did you see this?” Kit asked, gesturing for Cade. “We should do this in the kitchen.”
Cade gave his brother a quirky smile and made his way over to Kit where he crouched down to look at the small cabinets. Sawyer had only found out himself that all the customizations had been done with Avalynn’s own hands. And that was the most astonishing thing in all of this. Over her shoulder, Avalynn gave Sawyer a proud smile and he gave her one in return. For someone to be so self-sufficient, so clever with their creativity in the space they’re given, it was incredible.
As the three of them marveled at her handy work, Sawyer moved around the space looking at all the small details, including the stairs that led up to her sleeping loft.
“You can go up and look around if you’d like,” she offered, pointing up the stairs. “I made sure to clean before I came down.”
“You’re sure? It’s ok?” he asked. Sleeping spaces were personal and he knew exactly how it felt to have someone in his own space when they weren’t wanted there. But she gave him another smile and a nod.
The loft was bigger than he expected. From the ground floor you really couldn’t see anything beyond the edge of the platform, which was a nifty trick for added privacy. And though you couldn’t stand fully erect, it did afford a lot of extra space both for sleeping and for storage and again he’d found that she used the space wisely. The bed had been lifted on a platform made of deep drawers. She had a small desk with a TV above which she somehow managed to hook her computer system to as there were no other monitors visible. though the keyboard clearly was.
Lighting came in two forms. One was with adhesive strip lighting stuck all along the top of the walls. The other came in the form of a large skylight set squarely above the bed. Sitting and looking up he saw the blue sky framed by the green of the surrounding trees. How peaceful that must be during a sleepless night.
The bed itself was covered in a quilt that, upon further inspection, was made up of what he could only surmise were squares of old plaid flannel shirts and other worn fabrics. He wasn’t sure if the quilt held any personal significance, but he was sure it was comfy and warm on cold winter nights here in the woods.
The small bedside table was made of yet another apple crate that had been fitted with a makeshift shelf holding a small basket. On the table was an old, hand-wound alarm clock whose ticking echoed in the small space. And beside the clock was a worn copy of a book. Poems by E.E. Cummings. That one surprised him. He was no deep reader. Hell, most of his reading was reports and project plans that were more spreadsheets and calculations than text. He’d read a bit more in prep school and at university where it had been part of the curriculum, but he did always enjoy thrillers and fantasy novels when he had the chance to read, which hadn’t been for several years now that he thought about it.
“You OK up there?” he heard her call and suddenly feeling intrusive, stood from her bed and headed back downstairs.
“I love how you built storage everywhere,” he said, still looking around the small home picking up details he hadn’t seen yet.
“I kind of had to, there aren’t any closets,” she said with a chuckle, then pointed to the stairs leading to her loft. “I made those from apple crates I got from a local farmer when I was helping him clean out his barn. They’re really sturdy and the perfect step height. I connected them all with screws and brackets, even bracketed them to the wall so they don’t topple.”
“That’s very creative,” Kit said, hands on hips. “And in today’s country kitsch style, it looks like something you’d find on an influencers home design site.”
Sawyer rolled his eyes at that.
“You have a problem with country kitsch?” Avalynn asked.
“No, not at all. I have a problem with influencers.”
“Really? Why?” she asked, taking a seat on the couch and he came to sit next to her.
“Maybe not all of them, just the intrusive ones. The ones that think they’re celebrities and take up space and make spectacles of themselves in public all for the sake of ratings.”
“Everyone’s gotta make a living I guess,” she said, looking at Kit. “Do you do any of that stuff?”
Kit shrugged and sat on a step.
“I wouldn’t call myself an influencer. We do film a lot of the stuff I teach at the farm, little snippets to give people help if they’re too far away or can’t afford to pay for one of my courses. I do it more to support young riders.”
“That’s completely different,” Sawyer chimed in. “I’m talking about these people who film at busy restaurants or do complete fashion shows in retail stores without permission and with little respect for everyone around them. It’s rude and intrusive.”
“That I agree with,” Avalynn said with a nod. “Last week these two girls came into the restaurant and were posturing and posing and filming the food, making a scene. It was comical. I’d be embarrassed. I mean, I really didn’t care that they were doing it, we weren’t busy, and no one said anything about it, but when they started talking about the restaurant and how shabby it was... that hurt a bit. It may not be a five-star establishment and we may not have up-to-date interior design, but we’re respectable.”
“See, that’s too much. You should have kicked them out,” Cade chimed in as he pulled a stool from the kitchen and sat to join in the conversation.
“We can’t do that,” she offered with a defeated shrug. “Customers are customers. If we start throwing people out, we’d be out of business. Things have been slow as it is.”
Sawyer noted her shift in mood, and it concerned him.
“Is the restaurant in trouble?” he asked with furrowed brows, and she shook her head slowly.
“Isaac would never tell me for sure but for the amount of work we do and how much he spends on supplies to feed maybe twenty people a day. The numbers aren’t what they used to be.”
“Perhaps you should change things,” Cade suggested, and Sawyer shot him an angry look. “Nothing drastic. Maybe spruce up the interior and advertise a bit. It couldn’t hurt.”
“I don’t think there’s a huge budget to use for any of that. As far as I know, Isaac has been funding some of it with his own money,” Avalynn said with a grimace. “I know there is an investor in the background, no one I’ve ever met or seen, but he doesn’t seem to do much but take his cut.”
Cade gave Sawyer a concerned look and Sawyer shook his head.
“Maybe I can come in and speak to Isaac about things. I mean, I know business hasn’t been great, but if there’s an investor involved, he should be putting money in, not taking money out, especially if the place is struggling.”
“We’ve been struggling for a while, especially since the pandemic. I mean, local farmers are a stalwart bunch and didn’t stop coming in even with the mask mandates, but it hasn’t picked up a whole lot since then. And now that people are staying home more, it’s like food delivery has taken over the area.”
“Maybe you guys should offer take out as well?” Kit said hopefully.
“We thought about it but again the investor didn’t agree to it. Said we’d be paying more in fees than the money we brought in. And Isaac can’t make any of those decisions without his approval.”
Sawyer shook his head. This didn’t sound right at all.
“Sounds like your investor is on the take in all honesty. And you don’t know who it is?”
“No, I’ve never seen him, and I don’t know his name.”
He gave his brother another knowing look. He would look into all this immediately. It sounded way too shady for his liking. And though he didn’t have a stake in the business, he did have time invested in it. That place was part of his life, part of his family memories. It was important to him in the most personal way.
Avalynn stood then and gave them all a sad smile.
“I totally forgot myself,” she said. “Would any of you want coffee? Tea? Something cold to drink?”
Cade shook his head and stood as well, putting the stool back in its proper place.
“Thanks, but I need to get back to the farm. Chores don’t wait for anyone,” he said with a chuckle holding his hand out to Kit who came to him and he put his arm around her.
“Are you sure? I mean I have pie from the restaurant too, we could sit and chat a bit longer,” Avalynn offered, but Kit stepped forward and gave her a hug.
“We really have to get going, but seriously, come down and visit. You’re always welcome.”
“Especially if you want to bring that pie,” Cade said with a poke.
Avalynn quickly went to the kitchen and pulled the pie out of the fridge, handing it to him.
“No, I can’t take this,” he said, but she handed it to him anyway.
“Seriously, take it. Otherwise I’ll eat it all myself,” she said, and handing the pie to Kit, Cade stepped in and gave her a big hug.
“Thank you, that’s sweet of you. Now you definitely need to come to the house and hang out. I insist.”
“Deal,” she said, returning the hug. Kit gave her a hug as well and they headed outside, and Avalynn followed behind.
“I’m going to hang here for a bit,” Sawyer offered as he stepped off the porch then sat at its edge.
“OK, see you at the house then,” Cade waved, and he and Kit left in their truck. Sawyer gave them a wave and Avalynn turned and came to sit next to him on the porch.
“How’re you getting back?” she asked, and Sawyer pointed to the Volvo.
“I figured we could go for a drive, and I can show you the features, so you aren’t lost once you’re alone.”
Avalynn smiled warmly and touched his arm.
“That’s nice of you, thanks. Yeah, I’m sure that thing’s practically a rocket ship compared to my Subaru.”
Sawyer gave a chuckle and leaned back onto his palms.
“I’m glad you were able to get some good money for yours even though it wasn’t running.”
“It was a huge help, so was the fact that you are only charging me like half what yours is worth,” she said with a smirk. “I’m going to owe you for the rest of my life.”
“No, you’ll only owe me until its paid off. I’m not expecting anything more. In fact, I’d like to keep my end of the bargain.”
“And what’s that?” she asked, folding her legs under here.
“Help you, you know, teach you how to get more out of your money. Maybe even help you make a bit more.”
Avalynn shook her head.
“Isaac can’t pay me any more than he already does. And I make good tips. Besides, this place doesn’t cost me much so it's not like I need to be making a ton of money.”
“That’s not the point. The point is that you could be making more money with the money you already have. And you could definitely make money on the side.”
“How’s that?” she asked, curious.
Sawyer pointed his thumb at her house.
“This place. It’s amazing. And the things you’ve done, the creative storage ideas. I can guarantee other people could benefit from this.”
“And how could they do that?”
“You could offer storage solutions and draw up plans on how to make the shelving you made with the resources you had. You could sell the plans easily online. And as much as I’d hate to point you in this direction, you could make some great videos on how to do stuff. Start like a video channel online. The tiny house craze is huge right now, you could profit off that niche.”
She looked at him skeptically, then looked at her house.
“Well, I can’t say it’s not something I haven’t thought about, but I don’t know the first thing about how to film and unfortunately I don’t have the best phone in the world.”
“There are ways around everything. And I can help with some of it. I have a digital camera at home, a really nice one that I’ve barely taken out of the box. I could loan it to you until you got things going. Ring lights and stuff like that are cheap and easy to come by. And with your creativity, you can figure out the rest, I’m sure of that.”
She smirked and tilted her head, her eyes searching his face.
“What?” he asked.
“You barely know me, and you have all this trust and support for me. Why?”
“Because you deserve it?” he said with a chuckle. “And I do know you. We’ve been going to the meeting house for ages, and you were always there. It’s not like we’re strangers.”
“It just feels a little....”
He furrowed his brows.
“A little...?”
“I don’t know, forced? Like there’s a reason behind all this?”
Sawyer shook his head. And he got where she was coming from. Given her background, he understood why trust was such a hard thing to come by. He’d been there too many times himself.
“I’m doing it because I care and because you do deserve it. Everyone deserves a hand once in a while and I know you’ve had a rough time of it. I think its time someone showed you some love for a change.”
That admission seemed to shock her just as much as he shocked himself when he said it. But it was true. The more he got to know her, the more he wanted to help and support her because there was no one else giving her that. She was a lovely person, very caring and open-hearted and she deserved to get as much in return.
“Well, thank you,” she said softly. “I truly appreciate it. I’m just not used to it. I’ve been alone for so long, so if I seem weirded out by it, just know it's not intentional.”
“It’s OK, I get it. I’ll try not to come off as too overbearing. You’re just so easy to be with, and I like spending time with you. I hope that’s OK.”
“It’s great!” she said cheerfully. “I don’t have a ton of friends, and maybe that’s by design, but it's nice to have someone to talk to.”
“Good. So, how about that ride?” he said, standing.
“Fine, where to?” she asked, pulling the new keys from her pocket.
“Well,” he said, checking his phone. “It’s still early. We could take a leisurely ride as I go over the car with you. And if you’d like we could swing by my place to pick up the camera and then you could drop me off at the farm. By then it’ll be dinner time and I’m sure Kit will have made something good for us to enjoy.”
“Are you sure that would be ok to drop in without her knowing?” she asked as they got into the car.
“Yeah, she always makes a ton of food, but I can let her know ahead of time.”
“That would be cool, thanks,” she said, then fidgeted with the seat, not feeling anything underneath. “How do I move the seat?”
“There are controls on the side of the seat. The cool thing is once you set it the way you like you can save it in memory. I can show you that later.”
Avalynn raised her brows at that and began fiddling with the seat controls.
“Oh my God, they’re electric?” she asked.
“Heated and ventilated too,” he said with a smirk.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve never had electric seats. I mean, I’ve never had leather interiors either. This is all new to me.
“There’s also a massage setting,” he said with a laugh.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. There are controls for that too, I’ll show you later. For now, let’s just drive.”
She leaned forward, looking for the ignition but couldn’t find it. With a smile, Sawyer pointed to the dash.
“Foot on the brake, then insert the fob in that hole and push the button next to it,” he said, and she stared at him dumbfounded for a moment.
“There’s no keyhole?” she asked, and chuckling, he shook his head.
