Chapter 6
Ashley followed the same path as her run yesterday morning. It felt a bit cooler which was a nice change from the stifling heat of the day before.
She mentally tried to shake off the memories of last night’s encounter with Jay. She still hadn’t gotten over his harsh insults. Any questions she had about how he felt towards her had now been answered.
Oh well, a few more days and I'll be out of this town and back with Steven.
She was planning on stopping in at the cafe and seeing Bryan but was hesitant, in case he asked her to work again. She could smell the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans from a block away and the enticing scent won her over.
Ashley was relieved when she walked into the cafe and saw that Amanda had turned up for work today, even so, it was still quite busy.
“Hey.” Bryan smiled as he walked out from the kitchen “You'll be happy to know I've decided to give you the day off work.”
“Ha ha,” Ashley said. “Best boss in the world.”
Bryan laughed. “That's what I keep telling everyone.”
“How'd you go with that check for Jay?” He began making a cappuccino.
Ashley sat down on one of the stools near the counter. “Terrible. He hates me.”
Bryan frowned. “What? He does not.”
“Trust me, he does. Oh, and thanks for telling me that he'd moved.”
Bryan lifted his palm against his forehead and gritted his teeth dramatically. “Ah, I'm so sorry. He hasn't lived there for years. I keep forgetting that you haven't been around.”
“Well, it doesn't matter now, he's got his check, and I just want to let you know, if you ever need anything—and I mean anything—delivered to him, you'll have to do it yourself.”
Bryan handed Ashley a cappuccino. She laughed when she saw he had created a little peace symbol in the foam on top.
“You want anything to eat? We still have the breakfast menu going, but if you want an early lunch I can get Dean to whip something up.” Dean was the chef.
“No thanks. Mom made me some of her gluten-free raisin toast earlier. Tasted like cardboard.”
Bryan laughed and returned to preparing a sandwich for one of the customers. Ashley flicked through the local paper. There were several pages were covered with photos and featured different articles about the upcoming Country Music Jamboree. She remembered back to a time when she dreamed about working for the Sweet Home Gazette.
“Well I'll be.” A loud voice boomed from the entrance of the cafe.
Ashley looked up to see a familiar face. It was Sam, Jay's father.
“Little Ashley Harper, all grown up!” He smiled as he walked over to greet her and gave her a hug, cutting off her oxygen supply.
“It's good to see you, Ash. How's the Big Apple treating you?”
He hadn't changed a bit. He was tall, with thinning hair. He wore his regular attire—old jeans, leather belt with a big buckle, and a button-down shirt. He used to wear a cowboy hat and Ashley was glad to see he still had it, as he carried it in his hand. Ashley's father and Sam had been lifelong friends. His face was full of lines, most probably from smiling too much.
“I'm well, Sam. The city is great; keeping me busy.”
“Good, good,” he said. “I suppose you're back for your Mama's wedding?”
“Yeah, back for the week.”
Bryan watched on with interest as he listened to their conversation.
“When do you go home? You should go and pay Jay a visit. I'm sure he'd love to see you.”
Ashley choked on her coffee and began coughing and spluttering. Sam patted her on the back.
“You all right?” He frowned.
“I'm OK, I'm OK.” Ashley insisted between gasps for air. Finally she cleared her airway enough to speak. “Uh, yeah. I might stop by and see how he’s doing.” She gave a thin smile, knowing she had no intention whatsoever of returning to Jay's property.
“Here you go Sam.” Bryan interrupted and handed Sam a white paper and a large drink in a takeout cup.
“Thanks,” Sam said and shot Ashley a quick smile. “Best organic, free range, non-GMO, tree-hugging sandwiches in town.” He winked.
Ashley laughed loudly, gaining the attention of several of the patrons.
Sam paid and began to walk out. “I'll see you on Saturday, Ash,” he called.
Ashley waved, ignoring the fact that Bryan was struggling not to laugh.
“What?”
“Why didn't you tell him you already saw Jay?”
“And say what? Oh yeah, I did visit your son and he did love to see me. So much, in fact, he told me to get off his property.”
“Did Jay really tell you to leave?” Bryan asked, now serious.
“Not in so many words, but that was pretty much the gist of it.”
“That doesn't sound like something he'd say. We're pretty close and he's never said anything bad about you, even after everything that happened-”
“Everything that happened? What do you mean? I never did anything wrong.”
“I didn't mean it like that.” Bryan raised his hands. “I'm just saying after you left, it broke his heart. And I'm not saying it's your fault, or that you did it intentionally; I know you had to go and so did Jay, but it was hard on him for a long time.”
“We were kids. It wasn’t like it was anything serious.”
Bryan raised his eyebrows.
Ashley opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She had learned in New York that sometimes in life it was better to say nothing and let it go rather than cause conflict. She sipped the last of her coffee.
“Are you mad?” Bryan asked cautiously.
“No. I guess we're even now though—you made the effort to drive all the way to Portland to pick me up, and I made the effort to drop the check to Jay.” She shook her head. “I should have smashed that pie right in his face.” She smiled at the thought of seeing his self-righteousness face smeared with pie.
Bryan shook his head, a lopsided smile on his lips. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“Nothing yet—why? What are Jess and the kids up to?”
“The girls are at a friends’ house today but we should do something tomorrow.”
“Good idea. It's not like I've got anything to do,” Ashley said. “Literally.” No work had left her with too much free time.
“Cool. I'll talk to Jess and I'll give you a call. Maybe we could head out to the lake for a swim.”
“Sounds good. I better get back and see if mom needs a hand with anything for Saturday.” Ashley stood up.
“Have you got Mom’s car?” Bryan asked.
“No, I'll walk.”
“Are you sure? It's a long walk. You can take the Prius if you like.”
“Thanks, but I don't mind the exercise.” Ashley smiled mischievously. “And I wouldn't be caught dead in that car!”
When Ashley arrived home she discovered her mom didn't need any help preparing for Saturday. In fact, she and Martin weren't even home, Jane had left another note informing her that they had gone to play golf.
Why didn't she text her instead of writing notes?
The rest of the day was uneventful.
Too uneventful.
Ashley paced from room to room, looking for random tasks to keep her busy. A bit of cleaning, straightening the ‘Bless This House’, and, ‘A Family That Prays Together Stays Together’, plaques that hung on the walls.
She always found it intriguing, yet infuriating, that her mother had clung to her faith in the face of the fact that her husband had died a sudden and aggressive death despite all her prayers to the ‘Magical Man’ in the sky.
He must have been too busy to hear her.
Her father was diagnosed with ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, only weeks after she’d graduated high school. He was given a year to live, and told there was no cure. He didn't even make it that long: within five months he was gone. By the
n he had deteriorated so much he was barely recognisable. Those few months had been like living within a nightmare. Ashley had watched as her father degenerated from being a strong, capable man to a prisoner trapped within his own body.
She had avoided visiting him at the hospital towards the end—whether it was out of fear of seeing him, or anger that this had happened to them, she didn't know. Perhaps it was a little of both.
That was the one thing that irked her about religious people—the world could be crumbling around them and they would still be there, claiming, ‘My God will save me’. Delusional.
Then there was the fact that most of them were hypocrites, telling Ashley she had to get right with God as they praised God on Sunday morning, yet spent their Saturday nights shaking their booty in the club. Or at least the ones she knew did.
Her father had held to his beliefs throughout the steep slope of his illness. He spoke of God's goodness and mercy until he could no longer physically speak—and even then she knew he continued to praise God internally. What a waste of time that had been.
She needed something to keep her busy and keep her mind occupied. She resorted to reorganising the refrigerator.
Hoping to check in with Steven she tried calling him around three in the afternoon, but it went straight to his voice mail. He text her back shortly after saying he was in a meeting and would call her later.
When Jane and Martin arrived home she was glad that she could finally have some conversation.
She helped her mom cook dinner as Martin went out to fertilize the garden. Ashley caught her mother smiling out the window as Martin busily worked away, sprinkling organic fertilizer around the flower garden.
“He loves gardening doesn't he?”
“Oh yes, he's so good at it too, a real green thumb. It's incredible to think of how much the whole garden has grown and bloomed since he came along.” Jane smiled contentedly.
Ashley had been tossing the salad but stopped. “Do you mean the actual garden, or is this a metaphor for your life and love or something?”
Jane smiled again. “I was talking about the actual garden, but I guess you could say he has helped breathe new life into my garden too. After your father passed I thought that that was it for me. I thought I would never find love again. I was OK with that, but I guess God had other plans for me, and His plans are so much better than I could have ever imagined or hoped for.”
“Well, I'm happy for you guys.” Ashley smiled. “I really am. Martin is great—apart from all his lame ‘dad’ jokes.”
“What? I think his jokes are great.” Jane chuckled. “But thanks, honey. I think he's pretty special too. I can't wait for the day we get to plan your wedding.”
Ashley felt herself tense up. “Yeah, I don't know if that's something Steven and I want to do,” she said.
Jane looked confused. “You don't want to get married?”
“Not really—I'm mean, it seems like such an unnecessary event—for us, not for you. I'm happy for you and Martin of course, because that's what you want to do. I don't think I'm that interested in a wedding.” Ashley shook her head, keeping her gaze on the salad she was tossing.
“You think you might elope or something?” Jane was genuinely puzzled.
“No, I don't think we'll bother getting married at all.”
Jane stared at Ashley, eyes wide with surprise.
“What?” Ashley asked after an uncomfortable pause.
“Nothing.” Jane shook her head. “It's just that comes as a bit of a shock. I thought you always wanted to get married. Well, you did when you were younger.”
“I also wanted a pony when I was younger, but I guess things change. Steven and I don't consider marriage to be a priority. We don't need a piece of paper to prove that we love each other.”
Ashley began to chop the carrots, pretending she couldn't tell Jane was gawking at her. She knew her mother was disappointed by what she had said but it wasn't like she could force Steven to marry her. Besides, she didn't really want to get married, did she?
Her phone rang. She wiped her hands on the tea towel and answered it. Tania.
“Hey Tania, what's up?”
“Oh my gosh, craziest day at work today.” Tania was always over–dramatic, the kind of person who would drop a pen on the floor and declare that the world is ending.
“Why? What happened?” Ashley asked as she strolled out onto the front porch for some privacy. The sun was still out and a soothing melody of birds singing in the distance filled the air.
“Well, for one, Dianne is in a bad mood.”
Ashley scoffed. “When is she not in a bad mood?”
“No, she's like, furious. Stephanie couldn't find the editorial layout you created for this weeks’ issue, and Dianne completely lost it at us.” Stephanie was the young, bright new intern at the office.
“What? I emailed it to Stephanie on Friday—it's in her email.”
“Well, you'd think so, but it is gone.”
“Did she check her other folders? It can't have just vanished.”
“Yep, she checked everywhere. It is gone—either that, or she deliberately deleted it herself.”
Ashley frowned, confused. “Why would she delete it? Surely she wouldn't do it on purpose?”
“To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised Ash. She wants your job and I have a feeling she’s going to take advantage of you being away this week to play favorites with Dianne. It's embarrassing. She’s following Dianne around like a puppy—getting her coffee and acting ever-so-sweet, and Dianne’s totally buying it! Stephanie even ‘volunteered’ to stay back late tonight to finish the layout herself.”
“Well she lost it so it's only fair that she fixes it.”
“That's the thing, Ash. She told Dianne she never even got the email from you! So now Dianne thinks you took off without finishing your job.”
Ashley’s heart began to race—she’d sent the email. She knew she had, because she worked extra hard to get it finished in time. She knew Stephanie envied her position at the office, but she didn't think she would actually stoop this low. “I can't even access my files from here. They're all stored on my laptop, which I left at home—I knew I should have brought it with me!” Ashley let out a frustrated sigh. “I'll give Steph a call and see if we can figure out what is going on.”
“Cool. But don't tell her I told you—I don't want her to know it was me, OK?”
“I won't say anything, promise.”
“So, anyway, how's the country? Are you missing the Big Apple yet?”
Ashley laughed. “Well yes, and no. I miss Steven-”
“And me!” Tania interrupted.
“And you, of course, but it's nice to have some peace and quiet.”
“Peace and quiet? What do you do out there?”
“Not much. Just sit in the garden or on the jetty, and relax.”
Tania laughed. “I think I would die of boredom. Ash, I better go, I’m meeting this guy I met at the bar on Friday night—Harry. He’s a web designer and he’s totally loaded.” Tania laughed. “He’s cute too, so it’s a win-win for me. Yay!”
Ashley couldn't help but laugh. “Sounds great. Have fun, and thanks for letting me know about work.”
“No prob. Bye.”
Ashley said goodbye and hung up. She immediately dialled Stephanie's number, which went straight to her voice mail. “Hey Steph, it's Ashley. Can you please give me a call as soon as you get a free moment? Thanks.”
She hung up and took a deep breath.
She stared at her phone, willing it to ring, but it didn't. All that could be heard was the steady singing of the cicadas. She could hear her mother and Martin laughing in the kitchen.
There wasn't a lot she could do from this end. She had no choice but to wait for Stephanie to call her, then she might be able to get to the bottom of it all.
She sighed, trying to suppress her anxiety, and went back inside to help with the dinner.
Th
e phone rang after dinner, as Ashley was getting ready for bed. Steven, not Stephanie.
“Hey stranger,” Ashley answered the phone. “How’s everything going?”
“Great, actually. We managed to acquire another high profile client today—and I looked at an apartment in Upper Manhattan that would blow your mind. Views straight over the city, two bedrooms, massive office, and close to everything.”
“Sounds beautiful,” Ashley said.
“Good, because I put a deposit on it,” Steven stated.
“What?”
“I bought it. For us.”
Ashley was speechless. On one hand she felt excited that he had thought of her in his decision making, but she hadn’t even decided if she was ready to live with him yet, let alone told him.
“It’s empty at the moment, and I pulled a few strings so we can start moving in as early as next week. I’ll arrange a removalist to do all the work so you don't have to lift a finger. I’ll take care of it all—don’t worry about a thing.”
“Steven, I thought you said you were going to wait? I haven't even said I was ready to move in yet. I haven’t had a chance to speak with Hallie and I’m sure she’d be interested in knowing I was moving out in less than a week!”
“I’ve already called Hallie and offered to cover the rent payments for you until she finds someone new.”
“What?” She could hardly believe what she was hearing, and was more than a little angry that he had gone ahead and done all of this behind her back.
“Hallie was totally fine about it,” Steven said. “So now you don't have anything holding you back, right?”
Wrong.
She didn't know what was holding her back, but her gut was telling her it was a bad idea.
“I just . . . I can't believe you did that Steven.”
“Are you serious?” Ashley detected a hint of anger in his voice. “Why can't you be thankful? It’s not like you have to do anything. I can only see positives from your side—a new apartment uptown, plenty of space, we get to spend more time with each other. I’ve already dealt with Hallie and you don’t have to lift a finger. What more could you want? Seriously, I don't want to sound conceited, but there are hundreds of girls who would love to be in your position.” There was a pause. “Is it me?”
“No,” Ashley said, it was barely more than a whisper. “It's not you.”
“Then what? Are you afraid of commitment? If it doesn't work out, I will personally make sure you have another apartment to move into. Like I said, it’s not a marriage. There are no legally binding contracts.”
Ashley felt embarrassed when she couldn't come up with anything to say in her defence.
“Are you there?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Well say something!”
She opened her mouth to speak but was at a loss for words. What could she say?
“You know what. You're preoccupied with family stuff at the moment, so I’ll go and I’ll give you a call later.”
He hung up.
Her head was spinning and she felt nauseous. Things were going from bad to worse. Here she was, in a relationship with one of the most eligible bachelors in New York, who had just purchased what she could only imagine would be a ridiculously expensive, ritzy apartment in the middle of the city for her and she was. . . what exactly, too afraid to move in with him? She was angry with herself. He was right, she should be thankful. She should be jumping at the chance to move in with him, but something was holding her back. Fear? Maybe her problem, was that she was never satisfied and always striving for more, like the grass was always greener on the other side of the fence—or the other side of the country.
She looked in the mirror at her reflection.
“Get yourself together, Ash,” she whispered.
She picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts to Steven’s name. She held her finger above the ‘call’ button but decided not to press it. No, she didn't even know what she was going to say and didn't want to aggravate him further. He had one of the biggest business meetings of his life in less than two days and she didn’t want to be responsible for upsetting him this close to landing the deal. She put her phone on the dressing table and climbed into bed, switching off the bedside light. She lay down, trying to clear her mind from negative thoughts, hoping a good nights’ sleep would help ease her mind. But as all the different scenarios and possibilities flooded her head, sleep seemed to elude her.