"I don't know," Sunshine said wistfully. "I think we're more lucky to have him."
Yeah, Tory was beginning to feel lucky that she'd met Ash too. Though to be honest, she wished they'd met under a better set of circumstances than his embarrassing her. "How long have you guys known him?"
"A few years for me. A lifetime for Talon. The two of them go way back."
Tory looked at the tall blond who was probably no more than two or three years older than Ash. His short curly hair was sweaty and he had two tiny braids that fell from one temple. She was glad to meet someone Ash knew really well. "No kidding? Ash never really talks about the people he knows."
"Yeah, he's brutally evasive."
Tory nodded in agreement. "Good description."
Sunshine offered her a bottle of water. "But even so, you have to love Ash. He's one of the few truly reliable people you'll ever meet."
Taking the water from her hand, Tory watched as Ash showed Talon how to shoot a basket during a time-out, then he laughed and shook his head when Talon screwed it up again. This was the first time she'd seen him really having fun. Most of the time, he was so reserved and closed off—as if afraid of allowing anyone to have any kind of power over him. There was only one reason she could think of that he'd be like that.
"Ash had a hard childhood, didn't he?"
Sunshine frowned. "I don't know. I've heard mixed things from different people. Some say he was very privileged and rich."
Yeah there was something very wealthy and Old World about him. Dignified as if he were accustomed to only the best things in the world . . . like the handsewn jacket she wore. "He does seem to have a lot of money."
Sunshine snorted. "Oh no, hon. What he has now, he earns. Believe me. But no one I know—and I know a lot of people who've known him for many years—really knows anything about his past or his family. He just refuses to talk about it."
Which meant it had to be brutal. Why else would someone hide it? Thoughts of family should be comforting. She was forever thinking about hers and smiling. The fact that Ash had closed himself off entirely from the subject said it all.
They were sources of pain for him.
Her heart heavy, she watched as the game picked up again. Ash was actually adorable as he ran alongside the kids who could barely play. They bumped into each other and tripped onto the court. Ash would run to make sure they were okay before he picked them up and set them back on their feet.
She'd never seen anything quite like it. But they were all cute. Especially Ash in all his Goth glory.
Sunshine dug out a bag of cinnamon flavored oatcakes. "Want some?"
"Thanks," she said, taking one from the small bag.
As they snacked, a mother and a small boy in a wheelchair came in and parked beside them so that the boy could watch the game. The boy who had short black hair and bright blue eyes grimaced as if he were in pain while his mother gently stroked his back. He was an almost exact physical duplicate of his mother, except the boy had a smattering of freckles over the bridge of his nose.
Tory scooted down to sit closer to him. "Hi," she said, holding her hand out to him. "My name's Tory."
He looked at his mother to make sure it was okay to talk to her.
"His name's Toby."
"Toby?" Tory grinned at him. "Really? My friend Ash was playing a boy named Toby this morning on the Xbox."
Toby smiled through his tears. "That was me! I kicked his butt!"
"Toby," his mother chided, "such language. What have I told you about that?"
He sat taller in his chair. "Well, I did."
Tory introduced herself and Sunshine to Toby's mother. "So are you two here to watch Ash?"
Toby shook his head. "My brother Zack is number seven on the blue team."
"Oh," she said, spotting the boy with brown hair, "he's the best player on his team."
The buzzer sounded for halftime. Ash came running over. His cheeks were mottled with red from his exertion. He held his hand out for Toby to high five him. "Hey Tobinator. How you doing?"
Toby squealed in glee. "Can we play?" he asked Ash.
Ash looked at Trish. "Is it okay?"
She frowned in apprehension. "Be gentle. He had a hard session with his therapist today."
"Will do." Ash picked him up and cradled him against his chest before he returned to the court where the teams were practicing again.
Zack passed his brother the ball. Laughing, Toby caught it and Ash ran him at the basket so that he could slam dunk it in to the basket that had been lowered to accommodate their smaller size. He held Toby over his head and twisted him back and forth, making the boy squeal in delight.
Trish's eyes misted at the sight of Ash with her son. "I don't know what I'd do without that man."