Chapter 3
3
B etween Heath leaving, and the end of my shift, I thoroughly convinced myself the check was a fake. So much so, I didn’t even look at it again until after I got out of my full day of classes the next day. Even then, it was only because I was searching my bag for some gum and found it while I was walking past my bank and figured it couldn’t hurt to take it in.
To my shock, it cleared even if I couldn’t read his signature, and it was a check from a business account. An hour later I was paying my mechanic in full for work that hadn’t even been completed yet.
At dinner that night, I was vaguely disappointed not to meet Nate—my new stepbrother—but I was riding the adrenaline high of Heath’s generous tip, so I couldn’t even be mad when Mom and Max announced they were moving their wedding date up.
Not that I needed to be mad. Max was great, and he clearly loved my mom like crazy. It was just awkward because the new wedding date would overlap with the week my dad was in town to visit, and I really, really didn’t want to see my dad upset. Mom promised me she would handle it, and I left it in her capable hands. They were her marriages, after all.
A month later, as I was speeding across town to the airport just after dawn, my phone rang.
“Dad?” I answered. “Shouldn’t you be at thirty-thousand feet right now? Your plane isn’t due to land for another hour, right? Or am I late?” I was sure I had written the arrival time down accurately when he’d given me his visiting dates earlier in the year.
His weary sigh on the other end should have tipped me off. “I’m sorry, Ashy… I’m not—” He sighed again. “Something came up over here that needed me to stay. I had to cancel my trip home. I’m sorry, kiddo.”
Disappointment struck me like an ice pick, and I swallowed back the tears threatening to fall. It’d been nearly six months since I last saw him, and if he was canceling rather than postponing, then it would be another six before he was back again. No wonder his marriage to Mom had fallen apart.
“Okay, yeah, I get it.” Maybe he didn’t want to be in town the same weekend his ex-wife remarried. It was understandable, even if it was bitterly disappointing for me. “Maybe I could come over there sometime?”
Another sigh. “Not here, honey. It’s too dangerous.”
I knew that. “We could meet halfway? Go sightseeing somewhere neither of us have been?”
“Maybe. I’d love that, Ash, you know I would. Let me see what I can work out after you graduate, okay?” He sounded tired. He sounded sad , and that gutted me. Despite having finalized the divorce with my mom nearly eight years earlier, he’d never stopped loving her. Of that, I was sure.
“Sure, okay. After graduation.” It was only six weeks away. As much as I’d kill to continue for my postgrad degree, I couldn’t afford it. Not after spending so much time and money studying sports therapy before changing my mind and swapping degree tracks. Maybe I could use my massage therapy training for a few years to save up before returning to study postgrad.
Some muffled voices in the background of the call seemed to distract my dad for a moment, then in the faint distance I could’ve sworn I heard gunshots.
“Dad?” I asked, instantly worried. He worked as a conflict mediator in South Sudan, and I was perpetually worried that one day he would be killed. Always trying to save the world, that was my dad.
“I’m here, kiddo, but I need to go. Hey, do me a favor will you?”
I swallowed the lump of emotion in my throat once more. “For you? Anything.”
“Tell your mom that I’m happy for her and Max. I really am. She deserves the absolute world, and he’s the guy who can give it to her.” His voice broke, and tears welled up in my own eyes. “I’ve got to go. Love you, Ashy baby.”
“Love you too, Dad,” I replied in a whisper, and then the call ended.
Fucking hell. Now I was a sobbing mess on the highway going nowhere.
I found the nearest off-ramp and circled back in the direction of my apartment instead. I’d taken the day off work to hang out with my dad, but I also needed to get over to Prosper for Mom and Max’s rehearsal dinner tonight. I’d told them I would be a bit late as Dad and I were spending the day together, and they’d been totally accepting of that. Now I wondered if they’d already known my dad wouldn’t show.
It sucked, but I could understand. At least now I had the time to chill out and get ready without a rush.
Rather than try to get ready at my own apartment with my five roommates all home and creating chaos, I drove over to Prosper and checked into the hotel that Max had booked for the weekend.
“Ashley!” my mom called out as I was receiving my key card from the receptionist, and I looked over to find her hurrying across the foyer to me. “You’re here early! Where’s?—?”
“He canceled,” I told her with a tight smile and a shrug. “Work comes first, and all that.” I couldn’t bring myself to pass on his message just yet. Not when I was still stinging from disappointment.
Mom’s brow creased and I instantly regretted telling her. It wasn’t her fault, the reason they’d needed to change wedding dates was due to the hotel renovating. It was now, or in eighteen months.
“Honey, I’m so sorry, I thought he?—”
“It’s fine.” I quickly cut her off. “I get it. We talked about maybe meeting somewhere for a vacation after I graduate instead.”
Her sad expression faded and she forced a smile. “That sounds nice. Actually, since you’re here early…could you spare a few minutes to pop up to my room?”
“Of course,” I agreed, looping my handbag over my shoulder. “Anything for the bride.”
Mom laughed, hooking her arm through mine and leading the way to the elevator block. “Have I ever told you, you’re my favorite child?”
I rolled my eyes at the old joke. “I’m your only child.”
She arched a brow at me, grinning. “For the next twenty-four hours, you are. Then it’ll be anyone’s game. Nate is a very polite boy, you know? And not to mention—” The elevator doors opening cut off what else she was going to say, and she quickly got distracted talking with some friend of hers from work who stepped into the car with us.
Her and Max were staying in the penthouse suite, which didn’t shock me in the least. Max was, among his many other attributes, on the Forbes Richest list. At least he wasn’t a dick about being one of the chosen few, though.
“Ashley, sweetheart!” He greeted me with genuine warmth as Mom and I entered the impressive suite. “You’re early! Carina said you wouldn’t be here until dinner. How’s Stew?”
From the corner of my eye, I could see Mom trying to subtly shake her head, but Max just looked confused. I sighed and crossed the distance between us to accept the hug he was offering.
“He had something come up,” I mumbled vaguely.
“Max honey, I thought since Ashley was here early, we could talk to her about Mrs. Greenberg’s thing? Before everything gets crazy tonight?” my mom interjected before Max could offer any sympathies about my dad canceling, and I was thankful for it.
Max released me from his warm hug, beaming with excitement. “Yes! Good thinking. Come sit with us, Ashley. Do you want anything to drink?”
I shook my head, following them over to the enormous lounge area in the middle of their suite. “No, I’m fine. Just curious now. Who is Mrs. Greenberg?”
“Mariah Greenberg.” Max sat on an armchair, perched forward on the seat while Mom sat beside me. “She was the great-aunt of a friend of mine and…irrelevant, really. She died a few years back and awarded her whole estate to a scholarship fund at Nevaeh University.”
My brows rose. “Very generous of her.” But what that had to do with me, I had no clue. I was about to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in Humanities from Valley State College.
Max and Mom exchanged a look, then Max shifted his gaze back to me. “Well, part of the fund is reserved specifically for advanced studies. Doctorates, master’s, and postgrad degrees.”
“Okay…” I narrowed my eyes. Were they trying to suggest I apply? Max had offered to pay my tuition at Nevaeh when I graduated high school, but I’d firmly declined, not wanting to sponge off my mom’s boyfriend for such a significant amount of money. Not when Valley State was still a good school and the fees were astronomically less.
Mom shifted in her seat, her knee pressing against mine. “Honey, we know how you feel about taking money from Max, but this is a scholarship so…”
Ah, I was right. “So…it’s surely too late to apply now, and I bet there are thousands of hopeful applicants so?—”
Another guilty look between them. Oh god, what had they done?
“We applied on your behalf,” Max told me with a small wince. “About six months ago.”
“And you got it!” Mom added, all smiles. “Master’s degree in whatever humanities subject you want to pursue. Here.” She hopped up and hurried into another room, leaving me bewildered and speechless as I stared at Max.
“Max…what?”
He had the grace to look a little apologetic. “Last time we had dinner, you seemed so depressed about the job prospects you were looking at, and Carina said you’d always wanted to continue your studies.”
“I was,” I agreed, nodding as I tried to process. “And I do… This is just a shock, Max. I don’t?—”
“Here!” Mom announced, returning with a manila folder full of paperwork. “The official offer letter. It outlines everything included in the scholarship, such as housing in the dorms, but if you wanted, we could find you an apartment nearby and?—”
“Mom.” I cut her off with a smile. “Stop. You’re babbling. Let me see?”
She handed over the paperwork, and they both waited silently while I read it through. If I was honest, I was checking to see if anywhere hinted at Max having secretly funded the scholarship himself, but that was far-fetched. He was rich, but that didn’t make him a liar. If they said it was a legit scholarship, then I had no real reason to doubt it.
“You still have a few weeks to select your courses, but we need to accept the offer by Monday to secure the scholarship funding,” Mom told me softly. “We planned to tell you sooner but things have been so crazy and we kind of wanted to do it as a wedding present.”
I chuckled. “That’s not how wedding presents work, Mom. I’m supposed to give you one, not the other way around.”
She took my hand in hers, meeting my eyes with her own imploring gaze. “Exactly. Knowing you’re getting an amazing higher education at such a prestigious university is the best gift you could give us both. We want you to have the best opportunities in life, Ash baby, and this school can give it to you.”
Jesus. How the hell could I say no to that?
Fighting the burn of tears, I nodded my acceptance. “Okay.”
Mom gasped, her whole face lighting up. “Yes? Really?”
The relief on Max’s face almost made me laugh, and I nodded again. “Yes. Thank you. Both of you. I never would have even thought to apply for something like this…I don’t even know what to say.”
“No thanks needed,” Max assured me with genuine happiness in his eyes. “Like your mom said, we only want the very best for our kids.”
Our kids . As sad as I was for my dad, I was painfully happy for Mom. Max really was the best thing to happen to her, and he already thought of me as his own child. Apparently Mom felt the same about Nate, and I still hadn’t met him. Then again, he had gone to private schools and had friends and various functions. I’d been focused on my stuff. Still, I guess it was weird.
After several tight hugs from Mom, I excused myself to find my room and freshen up. They were all due to attend the ceremony rehearsal any minute now, but I’d been excused so I intended to enjoy the enormous tub in my room.
It wasn’t until I was neck deep in bubbles and sipping on the complimentary champagne from my minibar that the news fully set in. I wasn’t going to be taking a low-paying position as a primary school teacher in Panner Valley after graduation. I’d be moving into the dorms at Nevaeh University. I didn’t have that on my bingo card, but I was actually crazy excited.
Grinning to myself, I took a gulp of champagne and sank lower into the bubbles. My future was suddenly very bright.