Addicted to Ashton (Hawthorne Bluff #2)

Chapter 1

Ashton

Detective Ashton Reynolds sighed; he thought this day would never end. He and his partner, Detective Hank Somerset, had been following up on leads related to a recent murder in the area, and he was beat. But at least it was Friday, and hopefully he wouldn’t get called in for anything tomorrow, seeing as he had plans for at least part of the day.

Shrugging into his jacket, he squeezed Hank’s shoulder as he walked past and said, “Have a good weekend, partner.”

“You, too,” Hank replied. “Doing anything special?”

“I’m volunteering at A Helping Hand.” Ash stopped and turned to Hank. “Want to join me?”

“Is that the community kitchen in Plymouth?”

“Yeah. They’re also trying to expand into some other support stuff too. Clothing, counseling, and eventually, a small retail store. It’s a really worthwhile cause.”

“I’ve gotta take a pass on tomorrow, but I’ll keep it in mind for the future. I told Janice I’d go antiquing with her.” Janice was Hank’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. Seemed like she was on again, at least for the moment.

“Tell her I said hi,” Ash said. “And you two have a good time.” He chuckled as he left the squad room. For all he knew, they’d be off again by Monday.

He sat in his SUV, debating what to do next. It was almost seven, and he needed to eat, but he knew his refrigerator was practically empty. He was usually good at keeping his freezer stocked with homemade meals, but he’d gotten lazy of late. Ah, well, the Gray Whale it is, then.

The parking lot was crowded, but it was, after all, Friday night. He probably should have just walked from the precinct. The Whale, as folks here referred to it, was a popular venue. A combination restaurant and bar, it was the local watering hole and gossip central.

A spot opened up at the bar a few minutes after he walked in, and he sat, waving at Phil, who was working behind the bar.

“Hey, Ash,” Phil called out, “wanna beer?”

“Yeah, but just one. I’m beat, and I wouldn’t want to get pulled over when I drive home,” he joked. He didn’t expect to see any patrol officers in the three minutes it would take him to get to his house.

Phil placed the icy brew in front of him and asked, “Need a menu?”

“Nah. I’ll just have a cheeseburger. Medium with mustard. And fries, please.”

“You got it.”

Ash sipped his beer, scanning part of the room mostly out of habit. All the tables were full, and he recognized most of the customers. The few strangers were most likely tourists, of which Hawthorne Bluff got a few, given their proximity to Plymouth, Boston, and even Cape Cod.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see his cousin Finn walking toward him.

“Hey, bro,” Finn said, giving Ash a one-armed hug. They really were more like brothers. When Ash had been just eight years old, his parents were killed in a car crash in Spain. Ash had been staying with Finn’s family at the time. His aunt and uncle had adopted him and folded him into their family. So yeah, Finn and his two siblings, Courtland and Mitchell, were more brothers than cousins at this point.

“What brings you into the Whale on a Friday night?” Ash asked.

“I’m meeting Clay here for dinner. It’s been a busy week for both of us, and we haven’t seen much of each other, so this is kind of a date night.” Clayton Bradley, manager of Bradley House B and B, was Finn’s new boyfriend. Even though they’d just started seeing each other, Ash got the impression that Clay might actually be the one for Finn.

“So it’s going well between the two of you?”

“Yeah, it is.” Finn’s smile lit up his entire face.

“I’m happy for you.”

“And what about you,” Finn turned serious, “dining alone on a Friday night?”

“You know what my schedule is like, Finn. I’ve got no time to meet anyone.”

“When’s the last time you actually went on a date?”

“Hmmm,” Ash thought. “I went out for dinner with that paralegal Donna a few months ago, but that didn’t really work out. And I had a couple of dates with that guy I met at the gym—Bill or Bob something. But he was way too into himself and frankly, a little too young for me.” Ash didn’t hide the fact that he was bisexual, but having an expanded pool of options hadn’t really helped him find someone.

Phil placed a burger in front of Ash and turned to Finn. “These two,” he whispered, gesturing to the couple seated on Ash’s left, “should be leaving in a couple of minutes. Is Clay coming in?”

“Yeah. He should be here any second. Can I have a Woodford on the rocks when you have a moment?”

“Sure thing.”

Ash hung up his jacket and tossed his keys into the bowl on the small table just inside the door. It had been great spending time with Finn and Clay at the Whale, but he probably shouldn’t have had that beer, considering how exhausted he was. Ah, well, he’d gotten home safely, and at least he’d sleep well tonight.

As he got ready for bed, he thought about his conversation with Finn. He was feeling pretty pathetic. Forty years old and no real love life to speak of. Usually, it didn’t bother him. Much. Work kept him busy, and what he’d told Finn was true—his schedule didn’t leave him much time to meet anyone. But seeing Finn with Clay had just made him realize that time was passing, and if he didn’t meet someone soon, he might end up alone. Not that he’d settle for just anyone; he wasn’t that desperate. But it would be nice to have someone to come home to. Someone to talk with about his day. To snuggle with on the couch while you read or watched a movie together.

Ah, well, tomorrow’s another day. He slipped under the covers, set his alarm, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

The alarm rang at seven, jarring Ash awake. Cursing the ungodly hour for a Saturday, he padded to the bathroom to pee, then shower. Thank goodness he didn’t have to be at the shelter until nine thirty to help prep for lunch.

Caffeine. He definitely needed caffeine. Once dressed, he grabbed his keys and phone and headed out to Cuppa Joe’s for breakfast. He sat in the shop, sipping his coffee and nibbling at his breakfast sandwich, half expecting to see either Court or Mitch pass through, but neither showed, so he soon returned to his vehicle to begin the short ride up to Plymouth.

Rather than turn on the radio—Ash loved some quiet time, especially in the morning—he pondered his life on the drive. He was reasonably happy. He enjoyed his job and got along well with his partner. He had a wonderful, loving family. But again, seeing Finn and Clay together had started him thinking about his own future; he wouldn’t mind finding someone and settling down, but hell, he was already forty. And how did it get to be September already? Where had this year gone? Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. But he could still have a fulfilling life, right? Like volunteering at A Helping Hand. After all, it had started years ago as a small community kitchen, offering meals to homeless and otherwise less-fortunate people in the area and was now growing into so much more. Maybe he could help make a difference there.

Ash parked in the small lot at the back of the building and checked his phone to remind himself who he was meeting here—Joyce Riordan.

He walked in the back door and found himself in a restaurant-style kitchen, bustling with activity. A short Black woman with colorful locs was giving folks instructions, so Ash approached her.

“Hi, I’m Ash Reynolds. This is my first day volunteering.”

“Hey, Ash.” Her killer smile radiated warmth. “Welcome. Gimme one sec.” She looked at one of the guys just standing there, wearing a long white apron, and said, “Dean, can you start prepping the vegetables?”

Turning back to Ash, she reached out her hand, smiling again. “Very nice to meet you. I’m Joyce. You’re the detective from Hawthorne Bluff, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me. What can I do to help?”

“I dunno,” she said bluntly. “What can you do?” Then she chuckled. “Sorry, I don’t mean to tease, but since you’re new, I’m not sure what to ask you to do since I’m not sure of your skills yet. Help me out, please.”

“Oh, sure. I know my way around a kitchen, so I can certainly help with food prep. I can cook a bit, chop fruits and vegetables, wash dishes, just about anything, really.”

She looked a bit skeptical but said, “Okay, how about you work with Dean over there?” She pointed to apron guy. “With the weather starting to turn colder, I like to do something warm when we can, so we’re making vegetable soup for lunch today. It will go great with the loaves of sourdough that a local bakery donated to us. There’s onions, celery, zucchini, and carrots to be chopped. Diced about a half inch or so if you can manage that.”

“You got it,” he said, cheerfully. “Where can I hang my coat?”

“There are pegs behind the door over there, and you can wash up at that sink. Dean can show you where the knives and cutting boards are.” And then she was off, moving quickly through a set of swinging doors that, Ash assumed, led to the dining area.

After washing his hands and rolling up his sleeves, he walked over to Dean. “Hi, I’m Ash. You’re Dean, right?”

“Yeah, pleased to meet you. Did Joyce put you on veg duty too?”

“Yup. She said you could tell me where the knives and cutting boards are.”

Dean reached under the counter and retrieved a large cutting board, then opened a drawer to grab an apron identical to the one he was wearing. “Here, put this on,” he said, turning and pointing to another set of drawers along the back counter. “Knives are in there. Pick out something you like. And there are gloves in the next drawer over. You don’t wanna be chopping onions without those, or your hands will stink for days!”

They chatted amicably to pass the time as they chopped.