26
Ace
My first thought on Saturday morning was to call Harper and check in on Ava. But even though she’d seemed happy to see me the night before, I didn’t want to push her too much. I didn’t want her to feel like I was forcing myself on them, or that I was interfering in her life with her daughter. I reminded myself that I’d told Harper she could call me if she needed anything. I’d wait to hear from her.
I smiled, thinking about the previous night. It sucked that Ava was sick, but she’d been so sweet while I was over there. I was glad that she’d finally been able to sleep, not least of which because I’d enjoyed the shower with Harper.
My dick twitched just thinking back to that. I’d been surprised when Harper invited me to join her. For a moment, I’d actually thought that I’d imagined it. God, she was sexy. Watching her strip down, and then getting my hands on her, there underneath the spray, it had been good.
She’d seemed sort of distracted afterward, but I could tell that she was tired. And no doubt, she was still worried about her daughter. It made me want to do that again, at some point in the future, maybe while Ava was over at her grandmother’s house.
But for now, I had to figure out some way to distract myself until she called.
I ended up calling Sadie and suggesting another training session with Vixen. The training went well, and afterward, as we sat on a bench in the park, I considered asking her to be one of the people who came to work for George and me. After all, George had said that I could hire a couple of people, and Sadie was a natural at least when it came to her own dog. I knew that she didn’t really have any experience in training animals, but I had a feeling she would learn quickly.
Before I could ask, though, Sadie asked a question of her own. “So are Harper and your daughter going to come out today? Vixen really liked playing fetch with Ava, I think.”
I sputtered. My daughter? I thought back, trying to remember if there was something I had said that would lead Sadie to believe that Ava was mine. But I couldn’t think of anything. I hadn’t implied that Harper and I were married, had I?
“Ava isn’t mine,” I said quickly.
“Oh!” Sadie said, looking surprised. She shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume.”
“Harper and I just started dating,” I explained. “We aren’t anywhere near married yet.”
“Right, of course,” Sadie said, still looking embarrassed. “I just thought Ava looked a lot like you.” She shrugged. “Same eyes, same smile. Kind of funny, right?”
I frowned, thinking about it. When I really thought about it, Ava really did look like me. But that didn’t mean anything, did it? I had read something, once, about people dating people who looked similar to them. The same way that dog owners sort of looked like their dogs. Probably Ava’s dad had looked similar to me, that was all. Harper had a “type.”
But I started doing the math. Ava was three years old. Harper had been in Kuwait four years ago. Was it really so absurd to think that maybe that night that Harper and I had slept together, Ava had been conceived?
Was that why Harper had left so abruptly?
But no, I pushed that thought out of my mind right away. I doubted that Harper had known about Ava already when she had left. And then I had to wonder, would she still have left like that if she had known about Ava? And why hadn’t she ever told me about our daughter, if so?
I shook my head. Ava couldn’t be mine. Harper would have told me, I was sure. Maybe not while I’d been overseas. But when she’d run into me here in Boston, maybe. At the very least, she would have told me when we started dating; I had to assume. The math was close, but that didn’t mean anything.
I tried to put it out of my head. But when Harper called, as I was on my way back to my place later, I almost asked. She wouldn’t lie to me outright; that I was sure of. This seemed like the sort of question that I should ask face-to-face, though, if I really had to ask.
And I didn’t really have to ask. I knew that Harper wouldn’t keep something like that a secret. I trusted her.
“Hey, Ace,” Harper said. “I just wanted to say thanks again for last night.”
“How’s Ava doing?” I asked.
“Still not one hundred percent,” Harper sighed. “My mom’s actually coming over to help out. But seriously, thanks again for your help.”
“No problem,” I said. “I was serious; if you need anything else, just call. I mean, you probably don’t now, not if your mom is coming over. I’m sure she knows what to do better than I do.” I laughed self-consciously, rubbing the back of my neck.
Meanwhile, my thoughts were in turmoil. If Ava really was my kid, I was going to need to learn things like that. How to take care of a sick child. How to be a dad.
I suddenly remembered what Harper had said the night before, about how for someone who had never wanted kids, I would make a good dad. I felt another flash of pride at that. But was she hinting at something? Was she telling me that I was a dad? Was the reason she never told me about Ava that she thought I wouldn’t want Ava?
I felt guilty just thinking about that. In truth, I was still conflicted when it came to Ava. She was the sweetest little girl, and I doubted that I could ever act toward her like my father had acted toward me. But who knew, maybe underneath it all, I was just the same cold bastard as he was. Maybe it was better that Harper didn’t tell me about my daughter if Ava really was mine.
But I was being stupid. Ava wasn’t mine. I had to stop dwelling on it.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say that I do want to see you again, but it might be a couple days,” Harper continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “I’ll have to see how Ava’s doing.”