8. Asher
8
ASHER
“Alright,” Wyatt sighed, tossing his rag down on the bench. “That’s enough. Out with it.”
It was dark outside and bright snow was falling through the amber of the streetlight. In just a half hour, I would be done and could head home to shower. Maybe I’d get to see Holly tonight, but only if I was lucky.
That was probably what was distracting me from Wyatt’s question. “What?”
“The woman. Who is she?”
I stood up and cocked my head at him in question. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been whistling and smiling around here all week. I haven’t seen you upset once.”
“I’m not usually upset.”
“No, but you’re not usually in that good of a mood either.”
That was an odd thing to say. “Did you want me to be in a shitty mood?”
“Dammit, that’s not the point!”
“Then what is?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as I watched my boss work himself up over nothing. I could just tell him about Holly, but this was way too much fun to watch. Wyatt never let anything bother him. Yet, here he was, struggling to comprehend how one of his workers could possibly be happy.
“You know what? I don’t want to know.”
“Okay,” I nodded, bending over the engine again.
“Goddamnit! Just tell me!” he screamed.
I chuckled to myself as I stood and decided to put the man out of his suffering. “What would you like to know?”
“Who is she? Is it serious? Are you sleeping with her? Is she going to come around here? Does she have any friends?”
That was more than I was expecting and I scratched the back of my neck as I considered my answers. “Uh…Her name is Holly. I would say it’s serious. No, not sure, again, not sure.”
“What?”
“I was answering your questions.”
“I don’t remember my questions.”
I frowned at him. “Then why did you ask them?”
“Asher, now is not the time to fuck with me.”
“When is the right time to fuck with you? Do I get a schedule or something?”
He glowered at me and turned on his heel, stomping into his office. This wasn’t over by a long shot. I finished up for the night and cleaned up. When I waved to Wyatt on my way out, he was less than thrilled to return the gesture. He was something of a grumpy asshole, but that was okay. I was in his shoes at one point.
Ice coated my windshield and took forever to scrape off. As I waited for the truck to warm up, I started cleaning off the truck, worrying over whether or not Holly would get home safely in this weather. She’d been alone for years, and logic told me she’d be fine, but that protective nature that I just couldn’t shut off reared its ugly head and took over, begging me to check on her.
I bypassed going home and headed right to her shop. She would be closing up for the night in a half hour, leaving me plenty of time to get there and clean her car off for her. At least, that’s what I thought. The roads were slick as hell, hovering just around freezing, leaving a little water on the road, but ice forming underneath.
There were too many crazy drivers out right now, driving way too fast and not paying attention to how the conditions were changing. Someone was going to end up dead before the night was over. By the time I pulled into the parking lot of her shop, my mind was made up.
I got out and stomped up the steps of her shop, shoving the door open.
“We’re closed!” her sweet voice called out.
“Holly!”
Her head slowly peeked around a corner, and a cute little O curved her lips. Fucking adorable.
“Is he here?” I heard another woman whisper.
Holly didn’t think I could see her swatting at her friend, but it was pretty obvious what she was doing. Being the good boyfriend that I was, I pretended not to notice.
Boyfriend. Yep, that’s what I was going with. I’d never been one before, but I was laying it out there. Even if it was only in my head.
“Asher,” she said, stepping out into the main room. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to drive you home. The roads are terrible.”
“Oh, I’ll be fine.”
“There’s ice everywhere. It’s not safe.”
“Aww,” her friends sighed from the back.
“I’ll take your friend home, too.”
In a flash, her friend popped out from the back and stuck out her hand, grinning widely at me. “Hi, I’m Noelle, bestie of Holly Lane and a huge fan.”
Christ, they were just alike. It was actually kind of comical. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Asher, as nice as it is for you to offer, I need my car in the morning,” Holly explained.
“Yeah, me too,” Noelle shrugged.
“Not a problem. I’ll drive you in early.”
“And we also?—”
“Get your hot cocoa every morning. I’m aware. Just tell me what time we need to leave.”
Noelle stared at me with puppy dog eyes and Holly— well, let’s just say I’d probably be getting one hell of a goodbye kiss tonight.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Holly asked.
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure. Now, what do you need me to do to help you finish up?”
She glanced around, then to Noelle. “We just have to lock up.”
“I’ll do it,” Noelle offered. “Go ahead and get your things.”
Holly waited for Noelle to leave the room, then walked over to me with a grin on her face. “So, what inspired the drive over here and the offer to drive us home?”
There was no way in hell I was going to tell her about my protective instincts. That would lead to more questions that I wasn’t ready to answer. Hell, I wasn’t sure I would ever tell her about that part of my life. I had left it behind, and I planned on it staying in the past.
“My windshield was iced over, and I just got to thinking about how long it would take you to clean off your car. So, I was going to come and warm up your car for you, but then I got on the road and it was icy as hell. Call me crazy, but I didn’t want to risk you getting into an accident. I sorta like you.”
“Yeah?” she smiled up at me as she wrapped her arms around my waist. “Just sorta?”
“Well, the jury’s still out. I mean, you did measure carpet by rolling around on the ground.”
She smacked my arm and started to walk away, but I tugged her back to me and placed a searing kiss on her lips, reminding her just how much I liked her. When I let her go, she stumbled back a step, pressing her fingers to her lips.
“I’m just gonna—” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and giggled as she spun around, nearly walking into a doorframe.
I chuckled at her reaction. I had to admit, it was one of the things I liked about her. She was real with me, not trying to hide the effect I had on her because she wanted to play it cool.
I never really had that chance with Jade. Everything was shoved at us, arranged, and tainted by our situation. And by the time I finally opened my eyes and really saw her, it was already too late for us. That was part of the reason I wasn’t hesitating in the slightest with Holly. I didn’t want to waste a minute when it felt right.
“Okay, so I think I have everything,” Holly said, coming out of the back with Noelle in tow. She was digging around in her purse for her keys as her hat dangled from her arm, about to fall to the ground. I snatched it right as it slipped, then tugged it down on her head.
She grinned up at me as I pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose.
“You need straps or something on that so you don’t lose it.”
“That wouldn’t be very cute. Besides, I love this hat. It has the pom pom and everything.”
It was cute. I grinned as I flicked the little ball on the top of her head.
“Aww, aren’t the two of you just so freaking adorable?” Noelle gushed. “I think I might actually need a barf bag.”
Holly turned and stuck her tongue out at her for good measure.
“Alright, let’s get you ladies home. We can’t have you freezing in the snow flurries.”
I opened the door, bracing against the cold wind as it hit us hard. Even the cat ran away from the door, crying out as the chill hit him. Holly ran out first, squealing as she rushed down the steps, not watching at all for ice, but Noelle stopped in front of me.
“I really hope you’re not a jerk.”
“What?”
“You seem like this really great guy, but if this is all an act and you break her heart, I’ll stab you with a needle all over your body until you slowly bleed out. And only once you’ve lost a significant amount of blood will I throw you to the bears to be eaten alive.”
I cocked my head at her. “Wouldn’t more fresh blood attract the bears?”
She thought this over, tilting her head up. “You may have a point. I’ll consult with you should the time come.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Shall we go?”
“After you,” I said, waving her forward. “You don’t have any needles on you now, do you?”
“Luckily, my sewing kit is at home.”
My lips twitched in amusement. “Well, looks like I lucked out.”
“Just this once. Tomorrow, I’ll make sure my travel kit is with me.”
“I can’t believe how bad the roads were. That was insane!” Holly said as we pulled into her driveway.
“Now you see why I came to get you.”
Her smile lit up my dim truck, warming my cold heart. Hell, I was at a severe risk of falling hard for this woman and never recovering.
“Well, I’m glad you did, even if you’re going to be extremely late getting home.”
“It was worth it, but we should get you inside because the ride home is gonna take forever.”
She bit her lip, her brows pulling down slightly. “You could…you could stay over. I mean—if you don’t want to drive home. Not that I’m asking you to stay over or anything like that,” she rushed. “Because we’re still…and it’s just so…not that it couldn’t ever go there. I’m just saying?—”
I pressed my fingers to her lips, silencing her garble before she worked herself into a tizzy. “I know exactly what you’re saying. And I won’t be staying the night. Not because I don’t want to, but because we’re not at that point yet. And I have to get home because I don’t have a change of clothes, and your couch isn’t long enough for me. Does that answer all the questions running through your head?”
Her eyes drifted up like she was running through the list in her head. “Yep, I think so.”
“Alright, then.”
I got out and walked around to her side, opening her door, thankful that she waited for me. Knowing her, she’d jump down and slip on ice.
“Do you have everything?”
She slung her purse over her shoulder and nodded. “Yep, that’s everything.”
I grabbed her elbow, holding onto her the whole way. Her feet nearly went out from underneath her a few times on the walk up, but luckily, she didn’t go down.
After opening her door and checking her house, I tugged off her hat, grinning at the way her hair frizzed up from the static. She rolled her eyes in irritation. She always hated when I played with her hair, which was why I kept doing it. I loved it when she was perfectly imperfect.
“I’ll be here bright and early with hot cocoa.”
“I still can’t believe you came to get us.”
“I still can’t believe you can’t believe it.”
She slid her arms around my waist and pulled me closer, raising up on her tiptoes. “Maybe the next time we have a date, you could come over for movie night.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Ms. Lane, are you trying to round a base with me?”
“Maybe? I guess we’ll have to see?”
“You know your friend threatened to stab me with a sewing needle. You’d better keep an eye on her and sharp objects.”
Her lips split into a grin, illuminating her whole face. “You should have seen what she threatened the last one with.”
“I’ve got to hear this.”
“Death by fire ants.”
“Was she going to lock him in a box?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. I’m not even sure where she would get the fire ants. I stopped questioning her methods after she threatened me with gnoming my store if I didn’t stop singing Christmas songs.”
“Gnoming? What is that?”
“She filled the shop with gnomes.”
“So…gnoming is like…the kids’ version of teepeeing a house?”
“Something like that,” she giggled. “But what she didn’t realize was how much I liked it. She thought I’d be creeped out by it.”
I didn’t even know what to say to that. It was just too strange to even think about. “I need to head home.”
A disappointed sigh left her lips as she slid her fingers through my hair and her lips brushed over mine. I really didn’t mean for it to turn heated, but then she slid her tongue inside my mouth and moaned so indecently that my cock sprang to life and jerked inside my pants.
I spun us around and pressed her up against the wall, knocking the picture off the wall as my hand worked its way through her hair. Fuck, her lips were so kissable. I slid one leg between hers, getting just the right friction against my cock as my lips skimmed down her neck and?—
I pulled myself back, breathing heavily as I spun away from her, intertwining my fingers behind my head so I didn’t go over and maul her again. My cock was straining painfully against my zipper, and there wasn’t much that could make it go down at the moment. Maybe a cold shower would do the trick. Or a dip in the snow. There was plenty of that.
Hell, I needed to leave right now.
I turned around and Holly was still panting hard, her eyes filled with lust as she stared all disheveled and fuckable.
“I need to leave.”
I stalked to the door and walked out before I did something stupid like tearing her clothes off. But I didn’t leave until I heard the lock click. It took a few minutes, but she finally did it.
And I was still fucking hard.
I got in my truck and did my best to concentrate on the drive home. The roads were quickly turning to shit, not that they were any better on the ride to her house. At least she was safe at home now.
My phone rang and I hit the button to answer on speaker, distracted by thoughts of Holly’s sweet lips and the feel of her body pressed against mine.
“Asher?”
My woody instantly vanished at the sound of his voice. “How the fuck did you get this number?”
“Did you really think you could hide forever?”
“If I wanted you to find me, I would have given it to you.”
Chase sighed on the other end of the line. “Things are falling apart here. We need you.”
They needed me. It was laughable at best. I’d already given all I could. I was happy now. I had nothing left of myself to give the company. That guy was gone. But who I became was someone I could live with. I liked this guy. He was carefree and happy. There were no demons to contend with, no one chasing him and vowing to kill him. This guy was just a regular man.
“I can’t help you.”
“You can. You just refuse to.”
“Chase, what you need is someone who works in your field. I no longer do that shit.”
“You could.”
“No, I really couldn’t.”
“You’re trained.”
“That doesn’t mean I do it,” I argued. I really didn’t need to be arguing about this when I should be concentrating on the roads.
He sighed heavily. “Asher…it’s Cash.”
“Don’t—”
“He’s gone off the rails. He fired Kavanaugh?—”
“I don’t care.”
“He left Eva?—”
“Stop telling me this stuff.”
“He killed Rafe!”
I jerked the wheel to the side of the road, ignoring the blaring of the horn from the vehicle behind me that I cut off. I pulled into a gas station and shifted into park. “He did what?”
“You’ve been gone for too long, Asher.” His voice was solemn as he took a deep breath. “Rafe went to rescue his sister. That’s what all this shit has been about. Long story short, he sacrificed himself for her, and he couldn’t get out. He was being burned alive and Cash couldn’t reach him. He pulled the trigger and put a bullet between his eyes.”
I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel and closed my eyes. Fuck, that was really bad. Cash had to be spinning out of control. Just like me. But I couldn’t get pulled into that life again. There were too many days when I wanted to eat a bullet or I was too drunk to function. I just knew that if I went back there, it would start all over again. I wasn’t strong enough.
“Chase…I can’t do it,” I croaked out. “I wish I could. I—I can’t get pulled into that life again. I won’t survive.”
“You’ve never tried.”
“Because I already know the outcome.”
“There are things we need to discuss. Things that can’t be talked about over the phone.”
He wanted to come out here. I was already shaking my head, though he couldn’t see me. “No. Not a fucking chance.”
Silence filled the line for a good minute as I waited for him to argue with me, for him to tell me he was coming anyway. But it never came.
“Are you at least doing okay?”
I looked out the window at the snowstorm. “A little cold at the moment.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, it’s snowing, so there’s that. The last time I was this fucking cold, I was falling off the side of a mountain with you,” I chuckled.
“But you’re doing okay?”
“I’m good. Really good, actually.”
He choked out a laugh. “Holy shit. You’ve met a woman.”
I wasn’t even going to deny it. “Yeah, I did. And she’s amazing.”
“Yeah?”
“Cute as hell. Funny…She makes me smile.”
He was silent for a moment. “Then she must be something special.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Tell Patrick I said hi.”
“I will. Stay frosty.”
“Oh, you’re funny.”
“That would be a change.”
I hung up, still smiling, but the moment the line went dead, a weight settled in my chest that hadn’t been there in a long time. I avoided thinking about home at all costs, and talking to Chase had just brought it all roaring back to life.
“Goddamnit,” I muttered, shifting into drive and pulling back out onto the road. That call had just fucked with my head.