Chapter 7
Despite the fact that she had gotten very little sleep during the night, Ashley awoke determined to make the most of the day—it was a new opportunity to enjoy the serenity of Sweet Home and share in her mothers’ excitement.
It was only three days until the wedding and the weather forecast was for a warm, balmy day without any signs of strong winds or rain. Martin and Jane wanted to start tidying up the garden and hedges, and getting everything into place. Ashley offered to help.
She wore her faded denim shorts and a black tank top, and had her hair tied back into a simple ponytail. It was too hot for makeup and her skin felt surprisingly soft and clearer after going a few days without the heavy makeup she usually wore in the city. Tania would be horrified if she were to see Ashley looking like this. If the outfits she had seen in the bar on Saturday night was anything to go by, she could stroll down the main street in her pyjamas if she wanted to and no one would bat an eyelid.
It was nearing midday when her phone rang. She stood from the flowers she was weeding and retrieved her phone from her back pocket.
“Hey Bryan.”
“Hi, just wondering if you were still up to getting together with us this afternoon?”
“Of course! I've hardly seen the kids since I’ve been here.”
Bryan laughed. “Great. Yeah, they’ve been itching to hang out with you too, but they’ve been keeping busy with vacation care at the school most days. They’re at a friends’ house today. Jess is picking them up around two and we’re going to head out to the lake for a swim. I can pick you up on the way if you're not doing anything.”
“Sounds perfect.” Ashley wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist. Her gardening gloves were filthy.
“See you then,” Bryan said, and hung up.
She was looking forward to a break—pulling out weeds in ninety degree heat was exhausting, and a swim in the lake sounded like heaven.
Bryan pulled up in their dad’s old pickup truck shortly after two. He went out the back to inspect Jane and Martin’s handiwork in the garden while Ashley grabbed her bag and sunglasses from inside. When she came out, Bryan was getting into the car and Jane was standing nearby, trying to cool herself down by fanning her face with her hand.
“You sure you don't want to come, Mom?” Bryan asked.
“Oh no, you guys go, have fun. We've still got some work to do here. We'll finish up soon though. What time do you think you'll be home, Ashley?”
Ashley paused and looked at Bryan. “I'm not sure. What time do you think Bryan?”
Bryan shrugged. “About five. Is that OK?”
Both Ashley and Jane nodded.
“No rush. We’ll see you whenever you get home. We'll probably aim for a late dinner—it’s too hot to eat before seven. Make sure you wear sunscreen!” Jane called as Ashley climbed into the truck and Bryan began to reverse out of the driveway.
The main swimming area at the lake was crowded. It seemed all the locals had the same idea as the tourists in this heat wave—cooling off in the lake. Several boats were out on the lake, some were water skiing, while others were looking to secure their own private area of the lake to spend the afternoon. Bryan kept driving and Ashley didn’t need to ask where he was going. She knew he’d be going to the swimming spot they had always gone when they were younger.
As they pulled up they could see Jess helping get the kids into their sun protective tops and was liberally applying sunscreen to their arms and faces.
This area was more secluded, with only a handful of other people around. It was a beautiful spot, lots of sandy banks with a jetty on the left, and a swing rope hidden behind the trees off to the right.
The girls came running over to Ashley as soon as they spotted her. They completely bypassed Bryan and wrapped their little arms around Ashley’s waist.
Bryan gave Jess a quick kiss and proceeded to kick off his shoes and started applying the sunscreen.
“Aunty Ashley!” Coco squealed. “I can swim without any water wings. But Harley can't because he's a baby. Can you swim?”
Ashley laughed. “I haven't gone swimming in a long time but yes, I can swim.”
“Good, it’s important to be able to swim in case a shark or an alligator try to get you when you’re in the water.”
“There are no sharks or alligators here, dummy.” Meika rolled her eyes.
They took Ashley’s hands and started walking over to their parents.
“Do you like my swim suit? Grandma bought it for my birthday.” Coco looked down at her pretty pink and purple love-heart patterned simming suit.
“I do, I was going to say it was beautiful—and so is yours, Meika.”
“Sunscreen?” Bryan offered the tube to Ashley.
“Thanks, but I brought my own.” She pulled out a tube from her bag.
Bryan frowned. “Don't use that rubbish. It's full of synthetic ingredients—parabens, mineral oil, chemicals.” He listed them off on his fingers. “Use mine.” He handed Ashley his tube.
Jess smiled at Ashley and shrugged. “You get used to it after a while.”
“What?” Bryan asked. “I’m only trying to look out for everybody.”
“I know, baby.” Jess squeezed his cheeks together with one hand and gave him a kiss. “Thank you.”
Soon they were all waist deep in the water, the kids splashing around and attempting to stay on the inflatable toys they had brought to play on. Even Harley was having fun with his water wings. Bryan tossed the girls through the air like rag dolls, and they would hit the water at speeds Ashley thought would knock the wind out of them, but they resurfaced each time with enormous smiles on their faces, ready for more. Meika spotted a friend from school and they ran off together to make sandcastles. Coco decided to join them, so Jess and Ashley went back onto the sand to dry off and lay down in the sun.
Bryan stayed in the shallows with Harley, who couldn't get enough of splashing around in the water.
“How’s your week been so far?” Jess asked as they both rested back on their elbows, keeping a watchful eye on the kids.
“Relaxing,” Ashley said. “I don’t know how you survive with these kids—they're so energetic! It looks exhausting.”
Jess smiled and nodded. “It is. All the time. But I love it. Every day they make me laugh—and sometimes cry, and sometimes drink. But I wouldn't have it any other way. They’re such a blessing. I couldn’t imagine my life without them.”
“Even with all the chaos that comes with having kids?” Ashley asked.
“Even with all the chaos. One day, when you have kids, you'll understand. They change you—teach you patience, love, forgiveness. You'll see.”
Ashley smiled, but her heart was hurting. She wouldn't ‘see’, Steven didn't want kids. Loving Steven would mean having to make sacrifices in order to make their relationship work.
“Jay! Dad, look. It’s Uncle Jay!” Coco yelled.
Ashley and Jess sat upright.
Coco was running across the sand at full speed towards the road. Bryan scooped Harley out of the water and waved his arms as though he was trying to signal someone. Ashley turned around to see Jay’s truck, driving in the direction of his house. Bryan caught up with Coco and together they waved Jay down. Ashley saw them start up a conversation and turned back to face the water.
She could feel Jess staring at her.
“You OK?” Jess asked.
“Uh huh.” Ashley nodded, wriggling her toes in the sand.
“Is it weird seeing Jay?”
Ashley shrugged then finally said, “It is a bit.”
Jess nodded. “He's changed you know, since you left. Grown up a lot. Bryan and him are close, so we get to spend a fair bit of time with him. I bet if you talked to him, you’d see.”
Ashley smiled as Coco came running over.
“Jay’s coming for a swim!” she announced, excited.
Ashley’s heartbeat quickened.
She heard Bryan app
roaching from behind her.
“Is that all right? I invited him over—I hope you don't mind. He was only going home for the day anyway.”
Ashley smiled. “Yeah, of course it’s fine. It's not like it’s my lake.” She could feel her temperature rising, but not from the heat of the sun.
“Dad, throw me in the water again. I want to show Jay how high I can go!” Coco grabbed Bryan’s hand, pulling him towards the water. Harley then grabbed Jess’s hand and tried to pull her up.
“Wim, wim!” he said. Ashley interpreted it as ‘swim, swim’.
“All right.” Jess laughed and stood up.
Ashley was left on her own.
Good. Hopefully Jay will walk straight past and join the others in the water.
“Hey.”
Kill me now.
Benson ran straight by and bounded into the lake. Apparently dogs felt the heat too. Jay stood beside her and she squinted up through the blinding sunlight at him.
“Hi,” she said.
He sat down beside her.
This was awkward and uncomfortable. Wearing only a bikini made her feel overexposed in front of him, even though they had spent many summers here wearing only their swimwear in the past. She looked out towards Bryan, Jess, and the kids, silently cursing Bryan for inviting Jay over, and mentally preparing herself to cop an earful of abuse from Jay.
“I wanted to . . . ah . . . apologize for what I said the other night,” Jay said. “It was disrespectful and rude and I was out of line. I had a bad day, a really bad day, and I know that’s not an excuse, so I'm sorry.”
Ashley was genuinely shocked. Jay had always been quite egotistical, so she knew it took a lot of courage for him to apologize.
He sat beside her with his knees bent, arms resting on his knees and hands clasped together loosely, staring out towards the water. “I understand if you’re still mad at me, and I wouldn’t blame you. I just felt bad and wanted to set things straight. You—”
“I forgive you,” Ashley interrupted, surprising herself.
He looked equally surprised and turned his face towards hers. There was a frown line between his dark blue eyes, indicating there was more going on in his mind than he let on.
“Thank you. For apologizing, I mean. I appreciate that you made the effort.”
He nodded then looked down as though he were shy. “That's OK.” He smiled. “Do you think maybe we could start over? I'd hate to be responsible for ruining your time here for your mothers’ wedding because I had a bad day and acted like a— what did you call me again? An ass?”
She felt her skin flush and looked down, embarrassed. She wasn't sure if he had actually heard that insult the other day or not. Evidently he had.
He laughed and she bit her lip, cautiously raising her eyes to his face. She could see he wasn’t angry—maybe even a little amused.
“Yes, I think that's a good idea. Let's start over. Clean slate.”
He nodded and looked satisfied, she even detected a hint of happiness in his expression.
“Uncle Jay! Watch me!” Coco yelled as Bryan lifted her up and flung her through the air. Jay laughed, a deep, loud sound, and Ashley couldn't help but smile at seeing the joy in his face. He had a great smile that lit up his whole face.
Meika yelled, “Jay, can you throw me?”
“I'll be there in a minute!” Jay called back, cupping his mouth with his hands.
Jay stood and removed his shirt in one swift, fluid movement. Ashley quickly looked away, but not before she had had a chance to admire his physique.
He no longer had the mediocre frame he’d had eight years ago. She recalled Nicole’s comment from the bar on Saturday night, about the men being easy on the eyes. If she was referring to Jay, like Ashley thought she had been, she certainly wasn't wrong.
He had broad, solid shoulders and his chest had a light covering of dark hair which tapered off as it travelled south down his torso. His stomach was more muscular than she would have imagined after seeing him the other night at the bar. Not that she’d had a chance to get a good look at him in the dimly lit room. She’d just assumed that because of his thick beard and unruly hair that he had neglected to take care of his body.
He hadn't.
She also noticed his tattoos; three of them. A long thin symbol which resembled an anchor on his right inner forearm, what looked to be an X with four letters in each section on the upper right side of his chest and a large tribal-looking pattern with writing she couldn't quite make out which ran right from the side of his rib cage right up and continued down the inner side of his bicep. He also had an angry-looking scar on his lower right rib, in a large V-shape.
She imagined that being a builder would be keep him physically fit, but he also had a great tan. He must take his shirt off to work in the summer.
Topless.
In the scorching sun.
Hot.
Why am I even thinking this? What is wrong with me? A sudden surge of heat shot through her veins. She was glad he was going swimming so no one would see her blushing. She could sit there on the sand, alone, and take a moment to calm herself down from her completely irrational and totally inappropriate thoughts, and if she was lucky the earth might open her up and swallow her.
He turned towards her and held out his hand.
Oh no.
“You coming?”
“No, I've already been in. You go ahead.” She waved a dismissive hand.
“Aunty Ashley, come in!” Coco called. Ashley couldn't refuse.
Jay looked down at her, offering his hand.
“I guess I’m coming in after all.” She smiled weakly and took his hand, as she did she couldn't help envisioning the scene in beauty and the beast. Belle had dainty little hands and the Beasts' hands seemed monstrously large in comparison to hers. With one quick movement she was on her feet, then he let go of her hand.
Her skin was burning and she was glad for the coolness of the water as she waded in and headed over to Jess and Harley. Harley was giggling gleefully as Benson paddled by. Meika and Coco were arguing about whether Jay or Bryan would be able to throw them the farthest.
It was evident that Jay had the advantage when it came to upper body strength, but Coco went further than Meika, much to Ashley’s surprise and Coco's delight. Ashley couldn't quite work out why Jay didn't use his full potential—maybe whatever was responsible for that scar prevented him from full use of his arm, or perhaps it was to preserve Bryan’s ego—after all, a girls’ first hero should always be her daddy. Jay’s ego had always been larger than life, so the only reason could be due to that scar and whatever injury that had caused.
“You should stop staring,” Jess said to Ashley. “He might notice.”
Ashley felt herself blush again. She couldn't believe it—she never blushed. She was always in control. Cool, calm and collected—until she came back to Sweet Home, that was.
“What? I don't—I wasn't staring. I thought I saw something out in the distance.” Ashley squinted, pointing off into the distance beyond the others.
“Right.” Jess grinned. “Of course you did.”
“I did,” Ashley said, trying her hardest to sound convincing and coming up a long way short. How humiliating.
“So do you think he’s changed? I know you haven’t spent much time with him yet, but he’s different, isn’t he?”
Ashley nodded. “Physically? Oh yeah. But mentally and emotionally? I don’t know.”
“You’d be surprised,” Jess said as she watched Harley, who was trying his hardest to climb onto Benson’s back. He succeeded, and Benson shot off like a rocket. Harley clung on for a few seconds before tumbling off and disappearing briefly beneath the water.
He emerged, spluttering, hair clinging to his face. Jess picked him up. He held out his arms towards Benson. “Again!”
After a little while Meika asked if they could go on the rope swing. There were three teenagers using the swing as Ashley and the others walked ov
er to it. Fortunately the other swimmers swung out, dropped into the water, and swam off to find more fun on their own.
Coco insisted on going first, so Bryan helped her and kept a close eye on her as she swung out and dropped into the water.
Meika went next. “Whoo-hoo!”
Next was Bryan, who swung out farther than the girls and quickly swam over to them to make sure they got back to the shore safely. Jay held the rope out to Ashley.
“Ladies first.”
“Oh no, I'm not going on that thing.” Ashley frowned. “I only came over to watch. You go.”
“Come on, you used to love this thing—we used to see who could go the farthest, remember?” Jay grinned.
Ashley smiled. “I do remember. I'm a little old for that now though.” She folded her arms.
“Never. Go on, you know you want to.” Jay cocked one eyebrow and the side of his lip curled up.
He stared at her for the longest time and she finally took the rope and walked backwards with it to get a bit of a run-up. She slid her foot into the noose at the bottom and pushed off. It hit immediately—the weightlessness, the air whizzing past, the feeling of truly being free and totally enjoying this single uninhibited moment. She closed her eyes, opening them again as she felt the momentum slow as the swing neared the end of its reach, then in one swift movement she slipped her foot out and let go of the rope.
The feeling of falling was like none other—the pit of her stomach rose and there was the briefest moment of fear, but the knowledge that there was water below to break her fall meant she was safe.
As she resurfaced, she saw Jay swing past overhead. His weight propelled him much higher than Ashley, then he let go, hugging his knees and curling up into a ball as he fell. He hit the water so hard she had to turn the other way to avoid being sprayed, not only by the huge splash, but the waves he had created. She struggled to keep her breath while she trod water and laughed.
He came up shaking the water from his hair and beard.
“Good to see you haven't changed.” Ashley laughed as he swam towards her. “Still showing off in front of the ladies.” She nodded over towards the bank where Meika and Coco were laughing and cheering Jay on. Jay smiled as he noticed them and gave them a wave.
“I never showed off in front of the ladies.”
Ashley raised an eyebrow and gave him a disbelieving look.
“Well, maybe one. But you could hardly call her a lady.” He laughed and swam backwards as Ashley tried to splash him.
They had reached the bank by the time Meika swung past again. Jess met them on the bank, carrying Harley, who looked as though he could barely keep his eyes open.
“I’m going to head off and get Harley home for his nap, otherwise he’ll turn into a little terror tonight. Bryan is going to stay with the girls for a bit longer.” She shifted Harleys weight, gave Jay a hug, then Ashley, and walked away.
Bryan and Jay continued swimming with the kids while Ashley retreated to the sandy shores to relax and soak up some sunshine. Those kids sure had a lot of energy. It amazed her that Bryan and Jess managed to keep up with them all the time.
She checked her phone. There were several missed calls from Steven.
They hadn't spoken since two nights ago. Steven was great, really—stable, secure, motivated and ambitious. But he could be demanding. He liked power—at work and in his relationships.
She knew this about him right from the moment they met. She had only been working at the newspaper for a few months when there had been a massive legal case. Acelebrity was trying to sue the newspaper for libel, claiming a story that they’d published was false. But, in all honesty, when had a celebrity story actually been factual?
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Dianne had retained Steven’s firm to manage their case. He’d just passed the bar exam, and was ready and willing to dive head first into his career, and that he did. One morning, she found a massive bunch of red roses on the front desk, along with a note asking if she would go out to dinner with him. She was shocked—she didn't even think he knew who she was. It certainly made her the envy at the office for quite a while, and if Steven was interested in her, then so was Dianne.
Their relationship grew from there, but now it felt as though they were at a cross roads, and she didn't know where to go next. She phoned him.
He answered on the first ring.
“Hi, Ashley.”
“Hi.” Was he still angry with her?
“Listen, I just wanted to say sorry about the other night. I was a jerk and I shouldn't have said what I did.”
Ashley nodded—not knowing why she did, it wasn't as though he could see her
“Will you forgive me?”
“Of course I will,” she said. “I want to wait til I get back to talk about it. It's not something I want to discuss over the phone. It seems it keeps making us fight, and I hate when we fight.”
“Me too,” Steven agreed. “We've both had a lot on our minds. I didn't exactly handle the whole issue in the correct way. I won't mention it again until we are face to face. I promise.”
“Thank you.” That was a relief.
“Look, I can't talk for long, Chris is waiting for me to collect all the documents for tomorrow, and I'm going to try to get an early night for once, so I'm ready to fly out tomorrow.”
“That sounds like a good idea. What time is your flight again?” Ashley asked.
“6:15 a.m., but I want to make sure I'm up in time for a workout before I leave.”
Ashley giggled. “I’m sure you could take one day off from exercising.”
“Healthy body, healthy mind.” She could hear the smile in his voice.
“OK, well, take care. I know you’ll be great.”
“Thanks, Ashley. I’ll call you from Japan if I get a free moment.”
“Don't worry if you can't, focus on what you need to do. I’ll still be here when you get back.”
“OK. Well, say hi to your mom and Bryan for me.”
“Will do. Bye, I love you.”
“Love you too,” Steven said and hung up.
Well that conversation had gone a lot better than she had expected. She placed her phone into her bag and looked up to see Bryan, Jay, Meika, and Coco headed towards her. Bryan picked up a towel and began drying himself off.
“Did you want to have another quick swim before we head off, Ash?” he asked.
“I do! I do!” Coco shot her hand up in the air.
“No, you just had a swim. You need to get dried off and dressed,” Bryan told her.
“Aww."
“You heading home, Jay?” Bryan asked as Jay pulled his shirt back over his still-wet skin.
Jay looked around as the sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky. “Nah, I think I'm going to stick around and do some fishing.”
“Can we go fishing too Dad, pleeeeease?” Coco asked.
“No way. It’s almost six, and I told your mom we'd be home half an hour ago.”
“Do you like fishing, Ashley?” Meika asked.
“Are you kidding me?” Ashley smiled and placed her hand against her chest. “I love fishing. We used to go fishing all the time when we were kids. I'm the champion. Isn’t that right, Bryan?”
Bryan rolled his eyes. “Your Aunty Ashley caught a trout and it was about half a hair longer than mine. Barely.”
Ashley laughed.
Jay looked at Ashley. “Did you want to stick around and do some fishing?” He raised his eyebrows, causing his forehead to furrow. “I’ve got a good rod you can use.”
Bryan coughed, stifling a laugh and Jay looked horrified as he realized the connotation of what he’d said. His cheeks turned red. Ashley bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“I mean.” Jay cleared his throat. “I have a spare fishing rod in my truck you that can borrow. If you want to, that is? And then I can drive you home afterwards.”
This time Bryan burst out laughing, tears
began to form in the corners of his eyes. “Smooth, man. Real smooth.” Bryan slapped Jay on the shoulder.
“Umm, yeah, why not.” Ashley tried to ignore Bryan, still making an effort to hold back her laughter.