Chapter 4
When Ashton woke the next morning, he knew the list of what he had to get through today was long and arduous.
Yet the War Dog was one of today’s priorities, along with a search for his grandfather.
The thought of Khan and Grandpa suffering because Ashton wasn’t on top of things was completely unacceptable.
He headed downstairs, made coffee, and quickly fried a couple eggs and put them on toast. He was already sitting here, eating, before Jenny wandered in.
She stopped and frowned at him.
He smiled and chuckled as he greeted her. “I’m still on early morning military time,” he explained. “So don’t get yourself riled up about me cooking my own breakfast.”
“Well, I should at least be here to look after your meals,” she snapped, glaring at him.
He laughed. “Maybe you can do that tomorrow then,” he suggested. “Today has already started, and, as you know, I have about a day and a half to get through in the next twenty-some hours.” He tossed back his coffee, refilled it, brought out his phone, and started setting up what he needed to do.
“Surely there isn’t anything you can do at this hour,” she muttered.
“Not just yet,” he said. “I’ve got appointments at eight with the lawyer, at nine with the banker, at ten with the sheriff, and, after that, I’ll search for Grandpa and Khan and go from there.”
“You’ll have to adjust your schedule as you go,” she pointed out, “because one hour won’t be enough in some of those places.”
He frowned at her, double-checked his schedule, and groaned. “Maybe, but I may not have much of a chance to change it either. Things are pretty tight because everything is a top priority.”
She didn’t say anything, just nodded. She poured herself a cup of coffee.
He asked her, “Will you look after Grandma?”
She looked at him and raised one eyebrow. “I always do.”
“I know,” he confirmed, “but you also know that we have a bigger problem than many of us thought we did.”
She nodded. “Yes, you’re right there,” she agreed, with a shrug. “You do need to talk to Crystal though.”
“I do—and also John and Glenn.” She didn’t say anything to that. “Have they caused any trouble?” he asked.
“Not caused trouble, but the twins don’t really do anything helpful either,” she shared. “So, I don’t know what that’ll look like if you’re planning on shifting things.”
“Well, I have to,” he stated, “because the place cannot keep going as it is, particularly with too many people taking with no intention of giving back. Something has to give, or we can’t remain here.”
“And, of course, people don’t like change,” she pointed out.
He smiled. “I know that, and I’ve already told Crystal that she’s welcome to stay.”
“She’s trying to get out on her own and has been for a while. You should know that Johanna has been … just snarkier and meaner to her, which has made her very uncomfortable.”
Ashton sighed. “I do know that.”
“Your grandmother will come in for breakfast pretty soon—or maybe not now that you’re here,” she corrected. “The twins, however, rarely miss breakfast.”
“And why do they come in here?” he asked her curiously. “Aren’t they in one of the suites?”
“They are, but they don’t cook for themselves,” she said. “I still do that.” He just stared at her, and she nodded. “I get it. Changes need to be made.”
“Yeah,” he muttered, “they definitely do.” He got up and added, “I don’t know quite when I’ll be back.”
Just then, the back door to the kitchen opened, and Crystal walked in. She looked at him and then frowned.
He frowned right back. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” she replied. Then she saw the coffee and smiled. “If you don’t mind, I could use a cup of coffee.”
He stared at her and shook his head. “Of course I don’t mind. Why would I?”
She shrugged. “Well, things are obviously changing, and I don’t quite know how much.”
“They’re going to change, yes,” he confirmed, “and in a big way. But that doesn’t mean you’re not welcome to coffee. And, if you need to talk to me, I am about to walk out the door because I have multiple things I need to do today.”
“Right.” She nodded. “Didn’t something in your day have to do with a dog?”
“Yep, I’m going to see Sean Keaton this morning.”
She frowned at him and repeated, “Sean?”
“Yeah.” He turned to her and asked, “Do you know him?”
“Yeah, I volunteer with the seniors’ groups here,” she shared, “and he’s one of the people I work with sometimes.”
“When you say, work with,” he asked cautiously, “what does that mean?”
She smiled. “He doesn’t need care, per se, but he’s old, lonely, and he’s really suffering right now because of his missing dog.
We find that if we spend some time just keeping people company, they aren’t so isolated.
Plus, it provides the opportunity to identify other issues quickly when they arise. ”
“Which is also why I’m trying to find the dog. It’s not good for either of them to be separated,” Ashton noted, with a shake of his head. “I need to talk to him.”
She stared at him for a moment and added, “Sean doesn’t do very well with strangers.”
“I don’t know if he would consider me a stranger after a few minutes,” he replied, “because we’re both veterans, and generally that helps clear the air.”
“Yes, though he’s not been treated that well either,” she added. “Some people here? … Honestly they haven’t been terribly welcoming.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his gaze going to Jenny, then back to Crystal. “Are you telling me people in this town have been hassling a veteran?”
She didn’t know what to say, but she glanced over at Jenny, who spoke up.
Jenny began, “Listen. After you went to be bed last night, I had a talk with Crystal, and we agree that you are likely to find that the twins aren’t terribly welcoming of anybody who is different.”
He stared at her for a long time and muttered, “We’re going to have lots of fun coming up, aren’t we?”
She winced and nodded slowly. “Yes, so you probably need to be prepared for that.”
“Great,” he muttered, his tone calm. “So my cousins find me different too and will likely be difficult when I speak to them about the upcoming changes, is that it?”
“Maybe,” Jenny noted, “but let’s not go in that direction yet.”
He laughed at that. “Right, and you say yet because …?”
“Well, your grandmother is quite partial to them.”
“So, are they enabling her? Or is she enabling them?” Jenny winced and didn’t say anything. He just nodded. “Got it. So, they think the cash cow will never die? So they’re just staying on her good side, hoping that they get this place, is that it?”
“I don’t think anybody really understands how the finances sit,” Jenny pointed out, cautiously looking at Crystal and then back at him.
Crystal clarified, “We spoke at some length last night, and it’s obviously that various issues have been compartmentalized.
Now that we’re seeing the larger picture, things are becoming clearer, and we feel the potential is there for people to make assumptions about what they might gain in ways that just aren’t true. ”
He let out his breath slowly. “So, Grandma’s really done a number on them, hasn’t she?”
Jenny didn’t say anything. She just lowered her gaze and stirred her coffee.
“Right,” he muttered, turning to Crystal.
“So, to answer your question, there will be a lot of changes—a lot more than I care to admit. However, that’ll have to wait because I have a full day.
So, if either of you need me for something, text me, and I’ll get here when I can.
Or wait until I get home. I just don’t know when that will be. ”
“I could come with you,” Crystal suggested, “and help break the ice when you talk to Sean.”
He hesitated and looked from Crystal to Jenny, then back again. “Is that really going to be an issue?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “It might be, yes.”
“Well, in that case, get ready to go because I’m heading out now.” She hesitated and he nodded. “My day will not get any easier. So, I fully intend to get as much done as I can before I run out of energy,” he explained, with a small smile.
Crystal nodded. “Be right back.” And, with that, she turned and bolted out the back door.
He turned to Jenny and asked, “Since when has she done volunteer work with seniors?”
Jenny smiled. “Crystal does a lot of volunteer work. Seniors, people on welfare, single moms, the women’s shelter. She’s kind of all over it.”
“And does she also work another job to make money?”
“I don’t really know, but she’s mentioned trying to set up her own business.”
“And is that going okay?”
“I have no idea.” Jenny shrugged. “I can tell you that, out of everybody here, she at least works to help out, and she does the chores.”
“While great on its own, it doesn’t bring any money into this place.”
“Right.”
“Something to keep in mind then.”
Jenny grimaced. “I get the idea and can see the problems you’re facing, but not everybody is the same here.”
He smiled, leaned over, and gave her a hug. “That I do know. When Grandma gets up, tell her that I’ll be home a little later, and I need to talk with her.”
Jenny rolled her eyes at that. “Which will guarantee that she’ll run to the country club or somewhere else in order to avoid you.”
He smiled, his face beaming. “Yeah, that country club membership has to go as well. Yet not today, so hopefully she’ll stay out of trouble in the meantime.”
“Don’t count on it,” Jenny muttered. “Johanna has an unending ability to get into trouble.” Then she sighed. “She really isn’t a bad person, you know?”
He looked back at Jenny and smiled. “I remember how she used to be, and she wasn’t a bad person back then. But what she’s doing now is very wrong, and she’s putting the whole place and the whole family at risk.”
Crystal raced back to her little house, grabbed her wallet, keys, and a sweater as a second thought, then headed back over to the vehicles. “I’ll take my own truck,” she called out, as she neared his truck.
He shrugged. “Okay. Any particular reason?”