“He thought you’d gone to bed.”
She laughed. “No, he did not. Boy walked out that door knowing good and well I was in here washing the dishes. Son, that lie was for you. He better not knock some girl up. I’ll make him raise the baby. I might not be able to do a lot with him, but I’ll for sure make his ass be a daddy if he creates a life.”
We all knew that to be true for all of us. Bray was careful. We all were. Had to be.
“Where’ve you been all evening?” she asked.
“With Dixie.”
She put her towel down and turned around. “Well, it’s about time. That poor girl has loved you long as I can remember. She’s turned into a real beauty.”
That surprised me. Not sure why. Nothing much ever got by Momma.
“She’s young.”
Momma shrugged. “Your daddy was five years older than me. We were just fine.”
“Yeah, but you were seventeen when you started dating. Almost eighteen.”
“Does she make you happy?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“That right there is all that matters. You will be good to her. Treat her with respect and love her the way she deserves to be loved. That’s what I know. That’s what she knows. You do that and the rest will fall into place. Most of the time anyway.”
“What about her dad?” I asked.
Momma chuckled. “Well, now you might have to run for cover before he takes a gun to you.”
Great. Even Momma thought that might be the outcome.
“Oh, Asher, don’t look so worried. Anything worth having comes with a price.”
This time it was me who laughed. “My life may be the price.”
She shrugged. “You got to figure out if she’s worth that or not. I left you a plate in the microwave. Eat something and get your homework done.” She kissed my cheek, then headed to the living room to watch her evening shows. She’d stay up until Bray got home. Then he’d get an earful, before doing it again tomorrow.
Dixie Monroe
STEEL HADN’T CALLED last night and he hadn’t come by today. I could’ve gotten angry with him, but then again, yesterday I hadn’t been able to put the ring he’d given me back on after taking it off. Before seeing Asher again, wearing that ring wasn’t so hard. But now, it felt wrong. Like I was betraying Asher, even though he’d been the one to turn away from me.
I walked out to my car and glared down at the Sutton house. Why’d I let Asher affect me so much? Would I ever stop caring that he tossed me away after I gave him everything? I jerked the door of my red Jeep open while at the same time my phone started ringing. I stopped and pulled my phone from my pocket.
It was Steel.
Finally.
But I didn’t want to answer.
It continued to ring. On the fourth ring, I gave in and said, “hello.”
“Hey,” he said, then paused. With just one word I knew something was off. His tone was tense. Controlled. “We need to talk,” he said on an exhale.
Asher. This was all because of Asher.
“Why? Did you talk to Asher? Is he not okay with . . . us?”
Steel didn’t reply. His silence spoke volumes. This was about Asher. But why? Why did Asher care? And why was I letting a sliver of hope into my heart?
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the car door. He hadn’t spoken to me in three years, yet he still managed to rip me to pieces every time he was back in town. I needed my closure, some form of finality between us so that I could move on.
“Fine, we’ll talk later, but I have somewhere I need to be. I’ll call you? Is that okay?” I said it not caring if it was okay or not. I wouldn’t talk to Steel again until I found Asher first.
“Uh, okay, yeah,” he replied, sounding nervous and uncertain.
“Good. I’ll call you later.” I quickly ended the call before he could say more. Climbing into my Jeep, I chose not to think about what I was going to say. If I did, I would’ve talked myself out of this. I turned my Jeep down the hill toward the Sutton house instead of going to town. Asher had been running from me long enough. He needed to face this once and for all. He needed to face us. What he did and what he threw away.
Steel’s white truck was gone when I pulled around the house. I made my way to the barn. Asher’s blue truck was parked where he had always parked it, just to the right of the pump house. He could see it from his bedroom window whenever he parked it there. That kept his brothers from sneaking off with it.
I stopped beside his truck and turned off my Jeep, but that was as far as I could get. Facing Asher was terrifying. His rejection and refusal to look at me had always felt like a knife plunging right through my heart. I needed a moment to mentally prepare. I knew I couldn’t do this with him and walk away unscathed. I knew what lay in store for me afterwards.
The knock on my window startled me. Bray was standing there frowning. Taking one more deep breath, I closed my fingers around the metal latch, opening the door and stepping down.
“Steel ain’t here, but then I’m guessin’ you know that, seein’ as how you’re parked next to Ash.”
Bray’s tone held a warning. He thought I was here to cause trouble. I wasn’t, not any more than Asher had caused when he drove into town and sent my heart into a tailspin again.
“Bray, it’s past time I got some closure. Back off and let me go get it. He’s had three years to get his head from his ass. Now I’m ready to move on and I need to finish this . . . thing . . . what was left unsaid between us . . . when it ended and your brother did the ending.”
Bray stood there a moment, then sighed, stepping back so I could get past him. “You’re right. This shit needs cleared up. Momma’s gone with Brent to get some feed and some flowers for the front pots. Asher is . . .”
“ . . . right here,” he said, that deep familiar voice that still taunted me in my dreams interrupting Bray’s. Asher had seen me drive up. I expected that. It’s why I parked here. I wanted him to know I was coming.
“Fix this shit,” Bray said, glaring at his older brother, before turning and walking away, leaving us standing there alone for the very first time in years.
I’d come to demand closure and now that I had his complete, undivided attention, I couldn’t move a muscle. I couldn’t form any words. I felt paralyzed. Asher stood a few feet away, only wearing a pair of worn jeans hung low enough on his hips that his v-cut lower oblique were in clear unhindered view. Where the hell was his shirt?
As if he could read my mind, the black cotton fabric of his tee shirt suddenly draped over all those muscles, the same muscles I used to think were made for sex, back when I was the one Asher was having sex with. Lifting my eyes, I took in his wet locks and freshly shaven face, realizing he’d just showered.