Chapter 14 Aspen
Aspen
Brooks and I don’t mention anything about the shirts he left for me.
We don’t even mention our dinner together.
As soon as I step into his office with his morning coffee, it’s business as usual.
I emailed him a few things I needed him to respond to, and he asks me to check in on one of our guests to make sure they are satisfied after a raccoon snuck into their cabin yesterday afternoon.
After our morning roundup, I head to the front desk to work for the rest of the day. I knock out some paperwork and finalize a few bookings for the fall. I’m finishing that up when Harper stops by the desk to check on me.
“Need any help with anything?” she asks.
I smile at her. “Nope. I’m all good.”
Her blonde hair is pulled back in a clip today, and her Moonlight Ranch shirt fits her body so well it’s easy to tell she’s in shape.
I know Brooks said they weren’t interested in each other, but it’s hard not to recognize what a beautiful couple they would make.
It almost makes me feel a little jealous of her, knowing that she would be a better girlfriend for Brooks than I would be.
Not that I could or would ever date him, but still.
After last night, my head is all over the place.
“We’re really glad you’re here, Aspen. I hope you know how much of an asset you are to the Moonlight family.”
Gah, she’s so nice, too. “Thanks, Harper. That means a lot.”
She nods and walks past me, probably to Brooks’s office. I hope they aren’t talking about me. The last thing I want is them both laughing at me behind my back because of the stupid shit I said last night. I can only hope they’re not the kind of friends who tell each other everything.
Despite my internal embarrassment, the day runs pretty smoothly.
I realize I actually enjoy meeting and talking with new guests as they check in and out.
When I worked in Atlanta, everyone was always in a rush, and there was never time to chat with anyone.
Things move so much more slowly here. I never realized how badly I needed that.
I always thought being busy and on the go go go was what I wanted, but I’m starting to love this slower way of life.
I’ve just finished up some checkout paperwork when Jazz saunters up to the desk with a huge smile on her face.
“If it isn’t my new best friend,” she says, coming behind the counter and hoisting herself up onto the desk.
“Hey! How’re the cabins looking?”
“Good now. You wouldn’t believe how gross some of these people are. Sometimes I feel like I have to wear multiple pairs of gloves and a hazmat suit just to walk inside.”
I cringe. “Gross.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. At least bossman pays me the good money though, you know?”
I laugh. “Yeah, I guess that’s good.”
“So, how’s your new little love shack?”
“It is not a love shack. But it’s nice. I’m all settled in. Actually…” I look around to make sure we’re alone. “Brooks invited me over for dinner last night.”
Her eyes go wide. “You went, didn’t you? I will kill you if you didn’t.”
“Of course, I went. He’s a pretty good cook, too.”
“Oh my god, you’re just making me fall more and more in love with him.”
“Do you want me to put in a good word for you?” I tease.
She waves me off. “Nah, my ship has sailed with him. It’s your turn, baby.”
I shake my head. “I told you, I don’t need a turn.”
She gives me a pointed look. “And I told you that you do.”
“I just got out of a two-year relationship. With his son. Remember?”
“I’m not asking you to marry him, Asp. Just have some fun. I bet he’s way better in the sack than little Calloway was.”
The sad part is… I think she’s probably right. Things were lacking in mine and Zach’s sex life. I never felt fully satisfied, but I loved him, so I let it go. Now, I’m wishing I hadn’t. I let too much go to the point that he felt he could sleep around and I would forgive him.
“Yeah, well…”
She gasps and grabs my arms. “We should go out! This weekend. Let’s go out and try to find you a rebound since you’re so against you-know-who.”
I wish I could tell her that I’m not against you-know-who, per se. But having a hookup with my boss would not be a good idea. That’s just basic common sense.
I’m really not sure I’m ready for a rebound either, but going out might be nice, and who knows.
Maybe I’ll meet the love of my life while we’re out.
I’m truly starting to believe that this town is where I belong.
There’s gotta be a reason for that, right?
It’s certainly not for Zach Calloway like I initially thought.
“Ok, yeah. That might be fun. Not the rebound part, but the going out. Getting back out there.”
She smiles and claps her hands. “Good! It’s a date then. Saturday night? I’ll come get ready at your place, and we’ll go together.”
“Perfect.”
She starts going through her clothing options, and from the sounds of it, she has a lot more clothes than I do.
I haven’t had much time to go out recently, so I haven’t needed anything for it.
Jazz is mid-sentence about what she might pair with a black mini-skirt when she stops suddenly and narrows her eyes.
A look of absolute disgust crosses her face.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Ew. Asshole alert. Incoming.”
“What does that mean?”
I turn to see Zach walking toward the desk with flowers and a big smile on his face.
“What the hell?” I mumble under my breath. Jazz and I both stare at him as he walks over.
“Hi, Aspen. Jasmine.”
“Hi, Asshole,” Jazz says, and I have to bite my cheek to keep from laughing.
“Charming as always, Jazz.” Then he turns to me. “You look beautiful today, Aspen.”
I ignore his compliment. “What are you doing here, Zach? I’m working.”
He hands me the bouquet. This man has never, in the entire two years of our relationship, brought me flowers, and he chooses now? “I brought these for you.”
I grab them and put them down on the counter without even looking at them. He looks from my crossed arms to my unimpressed face, and I can see him start to get a little nervous. I’m not sure what he thought this would accomplish.
“Can we talk for a second? I won’t keep you long.”
I sigh and look to Jazz. “Can you watch the desk for a sec?”
“Yes, but I’m watching you. Don’t try anything stupid, little Calloway.”
Zach rolls his eyes and follows behind me.
I don’t take him to a private room because I don’t want to be alone with him.
Instead, we stand off to the side of the lobby, clearly visible by Jazz…
just in case. I know I don’t know her all that well, but I one hundred percent trust that she would have my back if I needed it.
“What’s up?” I ask, ready to get this over with.
“I wanted to see how you are. You haven’t returned my texts or calls.”
“That’s because I don’t want to talk to you, Zach. I thought that was obvious.”
“Aspen, please. I’m so sorry for what I did. It was such a stupid mistake. I miss you so much.”
“I don’t want your apologies, Zach. You can’t take back what you did, and I will never forgive you.”
He sighs, and his shoulders slump in defeat. “I know. I’m an idiot. I don’t deserve you, but I’m not going to stop trying to prove my love to you, Aspen.”
“I’m telling you there is no point in trying.”
“I don’t believe that. I know you haven’t forgotten what we had, and I know I certainly haven’t. I made a mistake. We have a future together, I know it, babe. I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children, my partner.”
“It’s not gonna happen.” Honestly, it makes me sick just thinking about it. I could never commit to someone who betrayed me the way that Zach did. I’m embarrassed that I even considered marrying him at one point.
He smirks at me. The same confident smirk that used to give me butterflies but now just makes me feel gross. “I’m not giving up, Aspen. I’ll wait however long it takes. So, where are you staying?”
“That’s none of your business.” It’s bad enough he’s showing up at my job. The last thing I need is him showing up unannounced at my cabin.
“You’re really not going to tell me?”
I shake my head. “I’m really not.”
He slowly nods his head. “Alright. I see how this is gonna go. You’re gonna play hard to get. That’s alright. I can handle it.”
“Everything ok over here?”
I’m startled by the sound of Brooks’s voice. He looks from me to Zach, concern clear in his eyes.
“Hey, Dad. Yep. All good. Just talking to my girl.”
“I am not your girl,” I snap.
“She’s playing hard to get,” Zach says, like I’m a child making a joke.
I sigh and wonder if he’s always been this annoying and I just chose to ignore it. “No, I’m not. I don’t want you to win me back, Zach. We’re done.”
I turn and walk away from them, grabbing the flowers as I pass the desk. With their eyes on my back, I shove them in the trash and keep heading down the hall to the offices. As I walk away, I hear Jazz say, “Hell yeah!” which brings a smile to my face.
I sit down in one of the empty offices and hold my head in my hands. After a few minutes, I hear footsteps and hope to god it’s not Zach. I’m really not trying to play hard to get. I want him to leave me alone. He can go be with whatever girl he wants now. He’s free. I don’t care anymore.
“You alright?” Thankfully, it’s only Brooks.
“Yeah, just annoyed that he showed up here unannounced. This is my job. That’s just embarrassing.”
“I think he was just worried. He said he hadn’t heard from you.”
“That’s because I don’t want to talk to him!” I snap, and then immediately feel bad for raising my voice at Brooks. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
He raises his hand to stop me. “Don’t even worry about it. I get it. I told him to leave.”
My shoulders deflate. “I’m sorry, Brooks. I know you wanted him to come back to the ranch, and when he finally did, you had to tell him to leave. I feel terrible.”
He kneels down beside me so that he can meet my eyes.
“Hey, I want my son to come back to the ranch because he wants to, not for whatever game he’s playing right now.
The ranch is your home now, too. I want you to be comfortable here even while you’re working.
If his being here while you’re working makes you uncomfortable, then he needs to leave. He’s the one who messed up. Not you.”
I stare at him in awe. He’s willing to make his own son leave in order to make me comfortable? “Brooks… I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”
“We’re a family here at Moonlight Ranch. Don’t ever forget that.”
I give him a wobbly smile while I try not to cry. He seems to notice that I’m trying to stay strong, so he stands and takes the attention off my face. “Do you wanna head home for the night?”
I shake my head. “No, I’ve got a little bit left to do.”
I follow him out of the office, and he gives me a quick nod before he heads in the other direction.
I head back to the desk where Jazz is in the middle of checking someone in, so I stand behind her and wait for her to finish.
Once the family has received their map and key, they head off to find their cabin.
“You good?” Jazz asks.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Don’t be apologizing for that. That was completely inappropriate of Zach, but it was awesome to watch you shove those flowers in the trash can.
You should’ve seen his face when you did it.
” She laughs, and I wonder if I took it too far.
The flowers were nice, but I don’t want anything from him.
I don’t want him to think there’s any chance of us getting back together.
Because there’s not. It’s over. The sooner he realizes it, the sooner we can all move on.