The Ideal Man

TWENTY – EIGHT

The aftermath wasn’t pretty.

Ava stood in the center of the backyard surveying the damage. She didn’t hear the thunder and was still standing there when the skies opened up and rain poured down on her. When she walked into the kitchen, she was soaked through.

John got a towel and tried to pat her arms dry, but she pushed his hand away. She was shaking with outrage.

“Where is she?” she demanded in a shout that vibrated through the house and could have registered at least a seven on the Richter scale.

Her mother sat at the table with her head in her hands as Ava ranted her accusations that Ellie had deliberately set out to ruin her party. After listening to the ridiculous outburst for several minutes, Claire raised up and said, “Ava, stop talking and go home. You’re giving me a headache.”

Ava’s hand flew to her throat. “Mother, this was supposed to be my night. And John’s,” she added. “How could you take Ellie’s side?”

“I haven’t taken any side,” her mother said. “You don’t know what happened before you got out of your car,” she pointed out. “You shouldn’t blame anyone.”

“Oh, I know who to blame. Ellie.”

“Stop shouting. I know you’re upset-”

“Upset does not begin to describe what I’m feeling.”

“This wedding has turned you into a crazy woman.”

“I just wanted it to be perfect. What’s wrong with that?” She burst into tears and moved into John’s arms to let him comfort her. “And the yard was so pretty after the flowers were delivered… and the tent was perfect and…” She suddenly pushed away from her fiancé. “Where is she?” she shouted.

“In the bathroom,” her mother relented. “Max and your father are tending to the cut on her forehead.”

Ava stormed out of the kitchen, rushed past her aunts, who were sitting on the sofa enjoying slices of cake, and ran down the hallway, leaving puddles in her wake. She tried to get past her father, who was inadvertently blocking the bathroom door.

Ellie had already cleaned the cut with disinfectant from her father’s first-aid kit and was now sitting on the side of the tub holding her hair back while Max applied Steri-Strips. He wasn’t doing a good job because his hands were shaking. He was still so damned angry that Patterson had touched her, he could barely speak. Thoughts of what could have happened were racing through his mind. What if he had stayed outside? Patterson could have killed her before Max heard her scream.

“Max…,” Ellie began.

“Hold still.”

“I am holding still. I’m a physician. Let me-”

“No, I need to do this.”

Ellie had been holding her hair back so long, her arm was going to sleep. She didn’t complain, though. The look of anguish on Max’s face made her want to comfort him, but she knew he would have none of it. He felt he had failed her.

“Daddy, could you give Max and me a moment alone?”

“You’re still bleeding,” Max told her.

Her father put the first-aid kit in Ellie’s lap and pulled the door closed behind him. Ellie heard Ava shouting and quickly got up to lock the door. She ignored Ava’s pounding on the door as she took the Steri-Strips from Max and applied them to the cut. It took her three seconds to close the wound. Then she turned to him.

“Thank you.”

He glared back at her, still angry. “I messed up.”

“Thank you.”

“What the hell are you thanking me for? Stop that. Now isn’t the time-”

Ellie kissed his cheek, then his jaw. “Thank you,” she whispered, “for saving my life and for catching him.” She rubbed her lips over his. “Now you say, ‘You’re welcome.’ ”

“Ellie, you could have been killed. I should have-”

“Thank you.”

He realized they were back where they’d started. “You’re gonna keep this up until I say, ‘You’re welcome.’ ”

“No, until you kiss me.”

He gently wrapped his arms around her, whispered, “You’ve got blood in your hair,” and kissed her. Her mouth opened under his.

All the while, Ava was banging on the door, threatening everything short of murder.

When Max finally lifted his head, he said, “Want to borrow my gun?”

“You can’t hide in there forever, Ellie,” Ava shouted.

“Might as well get this over with,” she said.

Max got in front of her and opened the door. He backed Ava up by simply walking into her. She didn’t have a choice.

The aunts were horrified by Ellie’s condition. Her torn dress was splattered with blood, and the hair around her wound was matted and bloody.

“Come sit with us,” Aunt Cecilia said, patting the cushion between Vivien and her.

Ellie obeyed and smiled as each aunt tried to comfort her.

Their sympathy enraged Ava. “I’m the victim here,” she cried out.

“I don’t see any blood on you,” her mother snapped. She sat down in the wingback chair next to the sofa.

“Claire, the cake is delicious,” Cecilia said.

“Where’s Annie?” Ava demanded. “She’ll take my side.”

“She’s changing her clothes, and for heaven’s sake, there isn’t any side to take.”

Hershey motioned to Max. A minute later, Ellie looked over her shoulder to see the two men standing in the kitchen. Max had his hands in his pockets and was nodding every now and then at what Hershey was telling him.

As soon as Max walked back into the living room, William blurted, “This is all my fault. I left the front door unlocked when I was showing guests through the house. That’s how he got inside. Before Spike arrived, he hid upstairs and waited. That’s what he did, and it’s all my fault.”

“Who hid upstairs?” Ava was trying to follow the conversation.

“Evan Patterson. He got into the house with a gun, and he waited upstairs.”

Ava was stunned. “Why didn’t anyone tell me? I heard someone say Ellie was in trouble, but I didn’t know-”

“You’ve been ranting and raving in the backyard for the last half hour,” Ellie said. “No one could get a word in edgewise.”

Claire turned to her husband. “You can’t blame yourself, William.”

“That’s right, Dad,” Ellie agreed. “You need to focus on the good news. Evan Patterson is on his way to lockup, and Max told me that, because he had a gun and tried to kill me and a federal agent, he’s not going to get out for a long, long time, if ever.”

Her father’s spirits lifted. “Yes, that’s true. I’ll admit not knowing where he was hiding was a constant worry.”

Ava slumped down in a chair. John kissed her forehead and announced that he was going to eat some dinner. The kitchen looked like a smorgasbord.

“Every time…,” Ava grumbled. “It always becomes about you, Ellie. Every time. I’m getting married, but tonight wasn’t for me. I swear I think you planned it.”

Always the drama queen, Ellie thought. She felt a burst of irritation and said, “That’s right, Ava. I planned the entire thing. I called Evan Patterson, and I said, ‘Listen, Evan honey, go get a gun, sneak into my parents’ house, and hide upstairs. I’ll let you punch me again and try to kill me so that Ava’s party will be ruined.’ ”

“Sarcasm isn’t appreciated, young lady,” her mother said.

Ava looked defeated. Her head fell forward, and her shoulders drooped. “Every time…”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Ellie said. “Okay, Ava. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I ruined your party. I really am. Everything was beautiful. You planned it perfectly.”

Her sister perked up a little. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” Ellie said. Her head was starting to throb, her nerves were shot, and she was beginning to tremble in the aftershock of what she had been through. “Everything was gorgeous.”

“Thank you for admitting you ruined it,” Ava sniffed.

“Yes, I did, and I’m sorry,” she said for the third time.

“I’ll forgive you if you’ll just promise me one thing,” Ava said.

“Anything.”

“Promise me you’ll stay away from my wedding.”