Chapter 30
Asher
We ended up staying in Houston for two weeks.
Number one, Martha Ellis’s small home in Hollister needed extensive repairs.
I’d done almost everything I could do myself.
The rest was going to have to be done by professional contractors.
And number two, Sierra seemed to be genuinely enjoying some time with her mother.
We were staying in Houston and driving to Hollister every day. Martha’s place was a small two-bedroom, and I had the floor torn up to fix some of the flooring in Sierra’s old room.
Sierra didn’t seem to mind visiting a city that had bad memories for her, so we’d enjoyed our time in Houston.
I leaned against a brick building in downtown Hollister, waiting for my woman to finish a conversation with an old friend.
We’d come to the downtown area to run some errands.
The town was an interesting place.
It was obviously growing because of its close proximity to Houston, but there were still many aspects of the small town it used to be.
People were friendly, and a lot of them seemed to know each other.
I watched as Sierra spoke animatedly with a female across the street.
She’d sped across the road as soon as she’d spotted the woman she’d apparently been friends with when she’d grown up in Hollister.
One moment, I was leaning against that building while I patiently waited for Sierra.
The next, I was bodily yanked into the alley between the two buildings and slammed up against the brick wall.
“Oof!” I uttered as the air was forced out of my lungs.
“What in the fuck are you doing with Sierra!” a deep voice demanded to know.
It took me a moment to orient myself.
What in the hell?
The big man in front of me still had a hard grip on my shirt, and the furious look on his face told me that I was probably going to end up fighting my way out of this situation.
“Gideon?” I said angrily. “What in the fuck are you doing?”
I knew this man, but I’d never seen this side of him.
The Gideon Alexander I knew was a seasoned businessman who never lost his cool.
In fact, in the business world, he was known for being as cold as ice.
We were friends.
In fact, he was probably the best friend I had aside from my brother, Cole.
“Sierra is one of my best friends,” he growled. “We grew up together. You two look way too friendly. Are you fucking her?”
Okay, he was my friend, but he was going way too far and getting way too personal.
Fury coursed through my body as I slammed my palms hard against his chest, sending him flying until he hit the wall on the other side of the alley.
Gideon was a big guy and a few years younger than me, but I had rage on my side right now.
“My relationship with Sierra is none of your damn business. And she’s your best friend?” I asked in graveled voice. “If she’s one of your best friends, why in the hell didn’t you protect her from all of the fucked-up things that happened to her?”
I saw a flash of remorse on his face. “We were best friends when we were young. After she got married, not so much. We spoke once in a while, but she became really distant. I thought it was because she was married and didn’t really want to be too close to another guy.
I didn’t know what that bastard was doing to her until it was too late. ”
“He nearly killed her,” I said in a low, dangerous tone.
“Do you think I don’t hate myself because I never knew that she was in danger?” Gideon asked gruffly.
I took a deep breath. “You couldn’t force her to talk to you,” I conceded unhappily.
As much as I wanted to blame Gideon because he’d known Sierra and those things had happened under his watch, my rational mind knew it wasn’t his fault.
Sierra’s husband had deliberately isolated her from everyone.
Hell, even her own mother hadn’t really known the truth.
“Are you two together?” Gideon asked suspiciously. “Fuck! Maybe I never should have asked her to stop by your place and see how you were doing. I didn’t think you’d hook up with her. In fact, I was worried about you because I knew you were isolating yourself.”
“You asked Sierra to come by my ranch?” I asked, confused.
“He did,” Sierra said as she arrived in the alley.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you that I didn’t come to your place for a job.
Not initially. Gideon asked me to stop by your ranch and check on you because you were friends.
He was worried about you, but he never really told me why.
The job offer to be your housekeeper seemed too good to be true, so I took it.
I wasn’t hiding that I knew Gideon. It just never seemed to matter why I originally stopped by after I started the job.
I would have mentioned it eventually. It just seemed like every time I was going to tell you about Gideon that something else more important came up. ”
Hell, Sierra and I couldn’t be together without touching each other, so I knew exactly what had come up.
I couldn’t really blame her for not saying anything earlier.
Gideon scowled at Sierra. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were working for Asher?”
She waved her hand at both of us. “Because I knew you’d act like this.
I didn’t want to tell you that I was attracted to Asher.
It’s not like we talk every day. You have a lot going on right now.
It wasn’t that difficult to just not mention it the few times we’ve spoken.
You’d just lost your father, Gideon. It didn’t seem that important. ”
I’d only spoken to Gideon a few times since his father had passed away, too. Those conversations had been brief, but I knew that the patriarch of the Alexander family had died.
I also knew that Gideon had moved from Austin back to his hometown in Texas recently.
I just hadn’t realized that Hollister was apparently his hometown.
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you,” Gideon said matter-of-factly.
“Could you please stop acting like a fool,” Sierra requested drily. “I’m thirty-seven years old, Gideon.”
I shot him a knowing glance. “That’s not going to happen. She’s my woman.”
He nodded, obviously not happy, but satisfied with that statement.
“I need to run into the store for a few minutes to get a few things for my mom,” Sierra declared as she sent us both a warning glare. “I’m sure you two want to catch up. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.”
Gideon and I were silent for a moment as we watched Sierra head for the market.
“How in the hell did you two end up together?” Gideon asked as Sierra disappeared.
Gideon knew a lot about my past.
We’d been tight during our years in Austin.
I’d shared more with him than I’d ever shared with anyone except Cole.
We hadn’t exactly been colleagues in Austin, but we’d been in the same business circles.
“I needed a housekeeper. When she showed up at my place, I offered her the job. I had no idea that you’d sent her to Crystal Fork. You know that Cole got married. Sierra was there to help me get through all of those wedding events.”
“That probably wasn’t easy,” he said grudgingly.
“I didn’t tell her all of your personal business, Asher.
I just asked her to stop by your ranch. I knew you were having a hard time.
Maybe I thought Sierra could be a friend because she had to fight to recover, too.
You seem better. You’re obviously getting out again. ”
Other than Cole and Sierra, Gideon was the only other person who knew about my struggles with PTSD and the fact that I was seeking treatment in Montana.
“Exposure,” I explained. “Like I said, Sierra has been there for me.”
“She’s been through it herself,” he commented.
“That’s probably why we initially got along,” I shared.
“And now you’re crazy about her?” he asked a little skeptically.
“Probably more than that,” I said gruffly. “You have no idea what a huge favor you did for me when you sent her to my ranch. I want a future with her, Gideon, but I don’t want to rush her. You know what she’s been through.”
“You’re really that serious about her?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I can’t imagine my life without her anymore.”
“If it makes you feel better, she’d never be with you if she wasn’t crazy about you, too. I don’t think she’s even thought about a relationship because of what happened to her. I honestly wasn’t sure if she could ever trust someone again.”
I wondered just how much Gideon knew about the details of Sierra’s life.
Probably not much because she’d obviously never told him about her financial struggles.
There was no way that Gideon would have allowed her to suffer financially if he’d known.
Maybe they’d been tight as children, but Sierra had definitely kept some things to herself.
“You two didn’t connect much during her marriage?” I asked.
He shook his head. “She was pretty distant. It was like we were friendly acquaintances. We ran into each other a few times here in Hollister when we were both visiting at the holidays. She avoided me. Probably because her husband was an asshole. In hindsight, I think she was actually trying to protect me. After a while, I think I just gave up. We reconnected again after she got out of the hospital. We’ve stayed in contact ever since.
I wasn’t happy when she told me that she was moving to Billings, but I understood her need to get away from the place that had caused her so much pain.
I thought maybe she needed a new start. That’s another reason why I told her to look you up.
I was going to ask you to keep an eye on her.
I just haven’t had the chance to talk to you about it.
Things have been pretty crazy since my dad died. ”
“I’m sorry about your dad,” I said sincerely.
He nodded sharply. “Thanks. We have a lot to work out. We’re all home now.”
I didn’t doubt that things were complicated.
The Alexander empire was vast.
“I’m sorry I lost it,” he added. “Things are tense for me, and I hate everything that Sierra has gone through. I want to see her happy. It would kill me to see her hurt again. Hell, she deserves a carefree life after all of the shit she’s been through.”
“I plan on making damn sure that she’s never hurt again,” I replied. “That’s my biggest goal in life right now.”
Gideon folded his arms over his massive chest and leaned against the wall.
“You two are probably good for each other. I’d like to see her with you, Asher.
I’d rather she move back to Texas where I can keep an eye on her, but maybe that isn’t the best thing for her.
How is Martha dealing with your relationship? ”
I grinned at him. “She likes me. I’m handy with tools.”
I had a feeling that Gideon didn’t know how badly Martha’s house needed repair, either.
If he did, the repairs would probably already be done.
I was fairly certain that Sierra’s mom did like me, but there was a part of her that was still wary.
I understood that.
She’d watched her daughter go through hell and back because of a man.
It made sense that she was going to be watching any man who got involved with her daughter.
Gideon held out his hand. “Take care of her. I let her down, and I haven’t forgiven myself for that yet. If I’d known what was happening to her, I wouldn’t have just let it happen.”
I believed that. Gideon wasn’t the kind of guy who wouldn’t have rescued a friend who needed him.
I shook his hand and he pulled me in for a brief hug.
He slapped me on the back and pulled back, his expression suddenly apologetic.
“Fuck!” he cursed. “I completely forgot about the whole touching thing. I’m sorry, man.”
I shrugged. “I’m good.”
Strangely, I was good.
Maybe because Gideon was a friend and no threat to me.
I might not love rubbing shoulders with strangers, but I seemed to have no problem touching people I trusted now.
“When are you headed back to Montana?” Gideon asked.
“Tomorrow,” I informed him. “We’ve been here for two weeks.”
“Damn!” he grumbled. “I guess we won’t have time to grab dinner or something to catch up.”
“Next time,” I told him, knowing that he was swamped with family responsibilities at the moment. “We’ll be back. Sierra’s mom is here. They’re close.”
He nodded. “Next time. Give me a call and keep me posted on what’s happening. Sierra and I might not be as close as we were when we were kids, but I give a shit about what happens to her. I’ve been worried about you, too.”
“We’re fine,” I assured him. “Just worry about taking care of your family right now.”
I knew that things were complicated for Gideon here, and one thing he didn’t have to worry about was Sierra.
She already had a man who would do anything to protect her.
As far as I was concerned, her hard and difficult times were over.
I wasn’t going to let her future turn out any other way.