Chapter 10
Brooks
“Wine or whiskey?” I ask Aspen. She’s sitting on a barstool in the kitchen, watching me rummage through my cabinets. It’s been awhile since anyone has been here, and I’m not used to entertaining.
“Wine.”
I grab a bottle of wine and two glasses from the cabinet and set them in front of her on the counter. I uncork the wine and fill our glasses.
“You wanna sit on the back porch?” I ask. “It’s a nice night.”
“Sure.” She grabs her glass and follows me out. We settle into the Adirondack chairs I have out back.
She sips her wine while I think about what an asshole my son is.
He had a great woman. She’s hardworking, fun to be around, and has a great personality.
Not to mention how beautiful she is. And he threw it all away for his old high school girlfriend, who has made her way through almost all of his old friends at this point.
It doesn’t make sense, and I can’t figure out what he was thinking.
“Are you alright?” I ask carefully. She hasn’t cried at all, and I’m worried that if I say the wrong thing, the floodgates will open. I’m a great listener, but I never know what to do when a woman starts crying.
“Not really,” she states calmly. “But I guess at this point, I’m used to people in my life ditching me.”
Shit. “Aspen…”
“It’s alright. It’s not your fault, so please don’t apologize for him.”
It might not be my fault, but it’s definitely making my conscience feel heavy. “He is my son. I feel like I should’ve taught him better.”
“Hard to do when he doesn’t answer your calls.”
I huff a laugh. Yeah, I guess she’s got me there.
She takes a sip of her wine. “You know he talked to me about marriage?”
No, I hadn’t known that. I’m obviously the last person Zach wants to talk to about that. “Really?”
“Yeah.” She chuckles. “He had a whole plan. We would move here, he would get settled in with the police force, and then we’d get married.
Have kids. Live the perfect life like I always wanted.
I fell for it, too, like an idiot. I moved to a place where I knew no one except for him.
I believed that we were in this together.
I wanted so badly to be loved by someone that I trusted someone I shouldn’t have. I feel so pathetic.”
“Whoa. You’re not the pathetic one here.
He’s the one who had something great and threw it all away.
” I have to believe that Zach did want those things with her.
Marriage, kids, the whole nine yards. I don’t think he would’ve said it and asked her to move her entire life here if he wasn’t serious.
Which is why I can’t figure out why he made the choice to cheat.
“He obviously has a different opinion.” She drains her wine glass and holds it out to me for a refill, which I do without question. Hell, she can have the bottle if it’ll make her feel better tonight. I know I’ve been there a time or two.
“You know we’ve hardly had sex at all since we moved here? I thought he was just stressed, but now I see he was probably getting it from someone else.”
I wince.
“Sorry, I know I shouldn’t be talking about this with you. I just feel so stupid that I moved my entire life for him.”
“Nah, it’s ok. I hate that he did this to you.”
She sighs. “Me too. I really liked it here, too. Now I’m going to have to find somewhere else to start over again. Alone.”
Whoa. What? “Why can’t you stay here?”
She looks over at me with glossy eyes. “Come on, Brooks. I can’t stay here. Blue Haven is Zach’s home. Not mine.”
“It could be your home. You’ve got a job. You’ve made friends.”
“But now I have no place to live. I don’t know if you know this, but it’s slim pickings around here.”
Before I can think better of it, I say, “You can stay in my cabin. The one next door. Until you find something better. I just need to give it a good clean.”
“I can’t ask that of you, Brooks. You’ve already done so much for me.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering. It’s selfish of me, really.
I don’t want to have to train another assistant.
I need you here.” It’s selfish, alright.
It’d probably be better for her to go if she wants to move on with her life, but I want her here.
I like Aspen. In a strictly platonic, work kind of way…
She chuckles. “Thank you. I’ll think about it. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do tonight.”
“Please consider it. Seriously. It’s the least I can do.”
“I will, thank you.” She drains the rest of her wine glass. “Well, I’m going to go cry myself to sleep. Thanks again for getting me out of there.”
“You’re welcome. Do you need anything for bed? There should be a spare toothbrush or two under the sink in the bathroom.” I hate the thought of her crying herself to sleep, but I know this is probably what she needs to do right now.
“Um, do you maybe have a shirt I could borrow?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I follow her into the house. She stops in front of the room she’s sleeping in while I continue to my bedroom to grab one of my shirts.
It’s probably inappropriate to let my son’s girlfriend wear my shirt to bed, but I don’t really have anything else.
This option is better than having her sleep naked in my house.
I quickly shake that thought from my head.
I hand her the T-shirt and tell her good night. She gives me a sad smile before she closes the bedroom door.
How could Zach do something so stupid? He had a great girl. Someone it sounds like he was planning a future with, and then he goes and throws it all away.
As if he can feel me thinking about him, my phone lights up with a text from him.
Zach: Have you seen Aspen? I can’t find her and she isn’t answering her phone.
Rather than texting him back, I go back outside and hit the call button. For once, he actually answers.
“Hey, Dad. Is Aspen with you?”
“Yeah, she’s with me.” I know she probably doesn’t want him to know, but I know the feeling of not knowing where someone is. They can talk about their future tomorrow, but at least he’ll know she’s safe. I have to believe he still cares about her.
“Ok, where are y’all? I’ll come meet you.” It’s loud behind him, so I imagine he’s still downtown.
“We’re at my house.”
“What? Why?”
“Because Aspen was looking for you and then found you with your mouth glued to Melinda’s.”
He sucks in a breath. “Fuck,” he mumbles.
“What were you thinking, Zach?”
I hear the frustration in his voice when he answers, “I don’t know. It wasn’t… it was a mistake. Melinda has been trying to get in my head ever since I’ve been back.”
“And you’re that weak? The two of you broke up for a reason. And isn’t she with Cory now?” I ask. Not only did he ruin his relationship with Aspen, but he went behind one of his best friend’s backs.
“Yes. I know. It wasn’t my best moment, alright? I need to talk to Aspen. Can I come get her?”
Oh, now he wants to come to my house? As much as I’d love to have my son here, I know Aspen needs her space right now. They could both use a night to think about what it is they want.
“Not tonight. She needs some space. I’ll bring her back to your place in the morning.”
He sighs, not liking that answer. “Alright. Will you just… will you just tell her I love her?”
“No, I won’t do that. I’m not sure that you do love her after tonight.”
“Fine. Whatever. Just bring her back in the morning. ”
He hangs up quickly, and I’m left wondering if I made the right decision.
Maybe a better father would be on his son’s side.
Maybe I should knock on her door and let her know what Zach said.
But cheating is not something I tolerate.
I’ll be damned if my own son doesn’t learn the consequences of his actions.
I clean up our wine glasses and make my way down the hall to my room.
I pause in front of Aspen’s room for a moment.
I hope she’s ok in there. The look on her face when she saw Zach kissing Melinda is one I won’t forget anytime soon.
It’s like I could see her heart breaking, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I shake the thought from my head and continue to my room, shutting the door behind me.
I’m up before the sun as usual, but this morning feels different. I’m painfully aware that someone else is in my house. I’m not sure exactly what I’m supposed to do. Do I get up and make us breakfast? Do I stay in my room until I hear her come out?
I finally decide to get up and shower. I get dressed quickly and then fire off a text to Harper letting her know that I’ll be in later today and Aspen needs the day off.
I tell her I’ll explain everything later.
She immediately likes the message. Knowing Harper, she’s probably already at the lodge.
That woman is more of a workaholic than I am.
No sounds are coming from Aspen’s room as I pass, so I head to the kitchen and start a pot of coffee. I peruse my pantry and fridge, trying to figure out if I should make anything for breakfast. Does Aspen like pancakes, or is she an eggs and bacon kind of girl?
Pancakes might be too much, so I pull out a carton of eggs and a pack of bacon and get started. By the time I’m done scrambling the eggs and frying up some bacon, I hear Aspen’s door open.
“Morning,” she says as she comes into the kitchen, still wearing my shirt from last night. Her curls are wild this morning, and her eyes are red and a little puffy, but she’s just as beautiful as ever.
“Hey. Did you sleep all right?” I ask, scooping some eggs onto a plate, trying not to stare at her bare legs.
“Not bad, considering. That mattress is really comfortable.” She slides onto a barstool at the counter. “Is that for me?”
“Yep. Hope you’re hungry.” I set the plate down in front of her.
“I am. Thank you.”
“Coffee?” I ask.
“Sure.”
“Cream and sugar?”
“Yes, please. The sweeter the better.”
I grab a cup from the cabinet and fix it for her.
As I put it in front of her, she says, “These are really good eggs.”
“Thanks. The eggs are from a local farm, so I think that makes them taste even better.”
I grab a plate for myself and sit down on the stool next to her.
“So, um, did you talk to Zach yet?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. He texted me and called me a bunch, but I didn’t answer. I want to end things in person.”
“You’re going to break up with him?” I figured she would, but I did hear the regret in Zach’s voice last night. I can’t help but feel bad for my son. He’s clearly confused right now. I’ve been there before. But I’m glad that Aspen realizes that she deserves better.
“Of course, I am. I’ll never be able to trust him again. Trust is important to me.”
I nod. “Well, I’m sorry it came to this, but I understand. Did you think any more about my offer?”
“Yeah, I did actually. If you’re still ok with it, I’d like to stay in the cabin. Just for a little bit until I can get myself on my feet again. I like it here in Blue Haven, and I’d like to stay for now.”
“Then it’s yours. I’ll get it cleaned for you for tonight.”
“Thanks, Brooks. I really appreciate it. I can pay rent.”
“Absolutely not,” I say quickly. No way in hell am I taking her money.
She chuckles. “Well, if you change your mind, let me know. I’ll try to be out of your way quickly.”
“Stay as long as you need.” It’ll be nice having someone so close. As much as I like the solitude, it does get lonely out here sometimes.
We finish our breakfast, and I do the dishes before she stands and sighs.
“I guess I need to get this over with.”
I nod. “Ready when you are.” I put on my boots and grab my keys while she changes out of my shirt.
It feels wrong driving her to break up with my son, but I know it’s the right thing to do.