CHAPTER THIRTY
Ava
I could tell Lucas was in a bad place after losing the snowmobile competition. Harv announced Isabella as the winner immediately, and Lucas all but shut down.
Isabella seemed to take it all in stride, and Mason was glowing with pride. I wondered, if I had the skill to race like that, would Lucas have that same look of love and admiration? I glanced over to see him scowling, his eyes dark and sinister.
I knew we still had a long way to go before Lucas was someone I could consider long term. However, despite all the warning signs telling me to steer clear, something irrational inside of me was falling deeply for him, despite everything.
Lucas disappeared into the chalet, and I trudged after Isabella and Mason to lunch in the dining room.
I didn’t want to follow Lucas and anger him further. God knew what was ahead for us tonight.
I needed him in a better place, or things could get ugly. I grabbed some lunch, mostly avoiding Isabella and Mason, who sat in the dining room together chatting and enjoying each other’s company. Grabbing a book out of the library, I hunkered down near the picture window in the den to eat and reread one of my favorites, Jane Eyre.
The time melted away as I lost myself in the book and was startled when Mason showed up on the chair across from mine.
“Ava, sorry to interrupt, but I wondered if you had a moment?” He was such a handsome man, and his smile was so kind. I couldn’t understand why Lucas disliked him so much and needed insight, so I put the book down.
I gave him what I hoped was a genuine smile. “Of course.”
“How are things going for you?” He seemed deeply concerned.
“They’re better than I expected.” I tried to keep my tone light, despite wanting to talk to someone, anyone about the things that were troubling me.
“Much as you expected, then?” He was prying now, digging for the deeper things I was trying to hide.
“Lucas is complicated, but I’m… he… He has every right to be, I’m just doing my best to adapt.” Again, I flashed him a smile.
“Of course you are, and I’d say you’re doing a fair job of it.”
Fair job? I’d endured a lot, and from the understanding in his eyes, he knew it.
I met his gaze head on. “I’m doing my best.”
“You are. I admire your willingness to go beyond your comfort zone. Lucas is a tough one. He’s had a harder life than he’ll let on. You’re not meant to be his savior, and yet, I think somehow you are. I want to see him happy.” His smile was genuine, like he was more concerned about the cousin he couldn’t see eye to eye with than winning the competition.
I didn’t understand and felt almost like I would be betraying Lucas to dig deeper. Mason was looking at me in a way that made me wonder what he was holding back. Like he wanted to say something and didn’t know how.
“What is it, Mason?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but then again, I wanted to learn everything I could about Lucas, and there was obviously something deep and dark between the cousins. Mason just might be the key to figuring it out.
“I just want you to give Lucas a chance. You’re a marvelous woman, Ava, and well, I’m reaching out to you because I’m afraid his behavior might turn you away from him. Try to understand the man underneath the disguise, if you can. I don’t feel like I can say more. Just, good luck.” He leaned across the space between us and patted my knee, gave me a nod.
I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped as the atmosphere in the room seemed to change, becoming oppressive in a way I didn’t understand.
“What the hell is this?”
I jumped, and my eyes snapped to a red-faced Lucas, his eyes raining fire and brimstone down on Mason.
I wasn’t quite ready to face Lucas, and now his eyes landed on me, filled with accusation. I jumped to my feet at the same time as Mason.
“Lucas, I was just—”
Lucas took a menacing step toward his cousin and held up a damning finger. “You just shut the fuck up. You think I don’t know what the hell you’re up to?”
Mason rocked back on his heels, his face paling, shaking his head. “So we’re back there again?”
Lucas took a step closer. “You could never be satisfied, always had to take what I had too.”
Mason was still shaking his head. “It’s not that way, never has been that way. You never would listen to reason. We were just friends.”
“Friends!” Lucas huffed and turned toward the window, his fists bunched at his sides. “I saw you, you and Amber. Then after, you were an item.”
“An item? You saw what you wanted to see, same as you are now. You’re a damn fool, Lucas. I came in here to talk to Ava, to give her some insight.”
Lucas scoffed. “To charm her more likely.”
“Dammit, man. I don’t know why I try to get through to you.”
Lucas’s body seemed to deflate as he let out a long sigh, and for a second, I thought he was going to concede to Mason. “Unc and Lucy are right. You two are much better suited.”
Much better suited? What was he talking about? Then it hit me. Mason must have come between Lucas and a woman at some point. And he thought… Lucas thought Mason and I were going behind his back?
Anger shot through me. How dare he accuse me of such a thing? And with his cousin!
I opened my mouth to tell him just what I thought about such an arrangement and where he could stick it when a cry rang out from somewhere in the front of the house.
Mason took off for the door, and Lucas and I followed. It was Lucy, babbling incoherently in the hall, kneeling over Harvey, who was lying prone and pale on the floor.
“What happened?” Mason shouted and leaned over his uncle.
Lucy looked up, her perfectly made-up face tear streaked. “He heard you all fighting, then he clutched his chest and collapsed. Oh my god, he’s had a heart attack!”