“I can ride with you,” she said, as if she was being helpful.
Taking Hannah with me would keep me from being alone while going to Dixie’s for the first time since this all happened. But I had demons to face and needed the quiet of my truck to prepare myself mentally. Dixie was very likely going to marry Steel. I had to accept that. Move on, though I wasn’t sure yet how I was going to do that. Although Bray’s reaction wasn’t healthy or normal, I understood his desperation. I felt the same way. I just reacted differently.
“I’m sure you’re needed at the front desk. I got this. But thanks,” I told her as gently as I could. She moved closer and closer every time she rode with me. I was concerned Hannah would be plastering herself up against me soon. Again, she was easy on the eyes and it wasn’t hard having her pressed against my body that way. I just wasn’t ready. As much as I wished I was, I wasn’t, but she kept trying anyway. I respected her enough not to use her. I didn’t think she saw it that way. That’s what worried me most.
“I’d rather be with you,” she replied, her voice dropping into a husky tone that was intended to be sexy. She wasn’t trying to be subtle at all as she rubbed her chest against my left arm.
I stepped back and reached for a bag of feed. I wasn’t even sure what kind I was holding. “Uh, Hannah, I’m flattered. But we both work for your dad and I don’t think that, uh, well . . .” I really sucked at this “I think this is a bad idea.”
She pouted. Looked damn good pouting, too. But not good enough to make me forget where I’d be going with her.
“I just knew going to the Monroe’s might be tough on you. I wanted to be there for support, if you needed any . . . support. I can think of a few ways I could help ease any ache . . . or suffering that going there might cause you.”
Her eyes went to my cock as she spoke. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider it. I was a man, but I didn’t hesitate when I said, “Thanks Hannah, but it’s best if we keep this a friend thing if that’s okay with you?”
She sighed and dropped the seductive gaze she’d been giving me. She looked more like old Hannah now. Sweet, kind Hannah, but in fewer clothes than she’d been wearing that very first day when I started working there. Her clothing had gotten skimpier and skimpier by the day, and by the end of next week, if she continued at her current pace, Hannah would be coming to work naked. Maybe her daddy would notice then.
“You’re always going to love Dixie Monroe, aren’t you, Asher Sutton?” She wasn’t talking in her sultry voice anymore. She was back to being herself. I thought about denying it, but I knew Hannah wouldn’t tell anyone, no matter my response. It would stay between us and I needed to say it, admit it to someone. Anyone.
“Yeah, I will, but I let her go, and she moved on.”
She frowned. “Why did you break up with her? That’s a mystery no one has ever understood.”
“It’s complicated.” I wasn’t telling anyone that. Not Hannah. Not a fucking soul.
She nodded as if she understood, when I knew she didn’t, couldn’t and wouldn’t. “Okay, Asher, I get it. But when you’re tired of seeing her with your brother and you’re ready to move on to something else, don’t forget me. I can wait.”
“If that day ever comes, you’ll be first I call.”
That brought a smile to her face. I liked seeing her smile. I didn’t want to think I’d been the one to take her ever-present smile away. “I could still go with you for moral support. As a fellow employee.”
I considered it. Having Hannah with me would’ve made it less awkward, but then again, it could’ve made things even more awkward, too. I shook my head. “Not this time. This is something I need to get over and deal with . . . but thank you for asking, Hannah.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, good luck, then.”
“Thanks.” Best thing I could have hoped for was for Dixie not to be home. Then I could unload, talk to Luke about work, and leave as quickly as possible.
Loading the truck didn’t take me long. I was on the road and headed to the Monroe’s in about twenty minutes. Had Hannah been sitting in the seat beside me, I might have felt a false sense of security. But that was all it would’ve been. No matter who was there, I had to face them eventually, see this through. And if Dixie was there, then I’d have to talk to her. Talk to her like my brother’s girlfriend. Accept what I said and what had to be, knowing she loved me, too. That was the hardest part. Knowing that my heart wasn’t the only one I broke. If there had been a way to save Steel in all this, I would’ve done it, but I didn’t see any other way to escape the truth.
Pulling the truck onto the dirt road that ran beside Luke’s big barn, I saw only his truck sitting there. Relieved by that, I parked and jumped down. I planned on making some small talk, unload the truck, and be gone in no time at all.
“I can help you unload that, Asher.” Dixie’s sweet, southern drawl stopped me in my tracks. I froze like a blizzard had hit me.
Motherfucking shit.
Dixie Monroe
I’D HEARD DADDY on the phone placing his order from Watson’s Feed and Seed. He didn’t know that Asher was likely to be delivering the order for them. I did. I knew it would be him. When Momma said that she had lunch ready, I told him to go on and eat with her, that I’d go out to the barn in case the delivery came. Oddly enough, he seemed fine with that. I expected it to be harder. He trusted me, but he was fatherly suspicious, as all good fathers were.
Asher’s back was still to me. He hadn’t turned around. He’d been expecting my dad and was obviously surprised when I was the one waiting there. I was relieved Hannah Watson didn’t climb from the truck. I wasn’t sure what my plan would have been if she’d been there with him. I was only focused on Asher, on speaking to him alone, even though I knew this was wrong. Even if he’d said it was over between us, I wanted to hear his voice again. See if it was truly over between us.
“Dad’s eating lunch,” I said, hoping he’d look at me.
His shoulders sagged and I felt somewhat guilty. The last two days had been hard on him. Having Scarlet rip Bray and Brent apart had been tough on all of them. He slowly turned to face me, “I’m having a hard time believing your daddy left you out here to take this delivery from me.”
Nonchalantly, I lifted my left shoulder. “He might not have known you worked for Denver.”
Asher shook his head and turned his gaze to the house. “Best I unload this and be on my way.”