Chapter 28
On the fourth day of no contact, Eli broke the unwritten rule of knocking before entering. Ash heard the metal grind of the key entering the hole, heard the thunk of the tumbler releasing, and simply sat where he’d been sitting for the past ninety-six hours, give or take a time or two to get up and pee.
“ Shit ,” Eli hissed. “It smells like a goddamn locker room in here.”
“Ha!” Boone replied.
Great. There were two of them.
“I’d say a locker room smells like a meadow compared to what our boy Ash has going on in here,” the middle Murphy brother continued.
Ash heard their boots on the hard floor as they approached but didn’t bother to turn around.
Boone went straight for the back door and threw it open, the cool afternoon breeze mingling with the stagnant living room air.
“What the hell is this?” Eli asked, standing next to the television in the corner of the room at which Ash had been staring for hours on end.
“ Titanic ,” Ash replied. “Have you seen it?” He stared up at his brother with eyes that stung.
“Of course I’ve seen it,” his brother told him. “Who hasn’t seen Titanic ?”
“Uh…me. At least when I named the dapples.” Ash let out a mirthless laugh. “You could have told me it was bad luck or something. But don’t worry. I know Jack and Rose’s fate now, and it’s sad as fucking hell.”
Boone turned around after attempting to usher in more fresh air and then crossed his arms. “Um…Ashton Elias? How many times have you watched the movie now ?”
Ash shrugged. “Today or since she left?” God, he couldn’t even bring himself to say her name. “Because I bought it so I could stream it on repeat.”
“Holy shit,” Boone uttered, incredulous.
Ash pointed at his brother. “Watch that language. You don’t want my niece picking up any bad habits.” But his attempt at teasing fell flat. Probably due to the monotone timbre of his voice. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t sure his face even remembered how to smile.
Eli ran the tips of his fingers over the bottom corner of the screen, and it went completely dark.
Ash flew up from his lived-in corner of the couch. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Ash? We’ve been calling and texting for four days!”
Ash shrugged. “My phone died. Didn’t see any point in charging it after that.” Especially when all of his calls to Willow went right to voicemail and all of his texts went undelivered. Blocked again.
“And what are you wearing ?” Boone added.
Ash glanced down at the white terry cloth that had been his sole garment for the last four days. “A robe . You’ve heard of them, right?”
Eli sighed. “Is it Willow’s robe, Ash? We know what happened, okay? Hell, the whole town knows what happened. We just wanted to know—”
“How I could be such an asshole?” Ash interrupted. “Does it even matter that I didn’t do what everyone thinks I did?” It wasn’t like he could prove it, and his voicemail to Sloane asking for an explanation earned him nothing other than a text in response assuring him that his back catalog was getting more streams than ever and to enjoy some good publicity for a change. Regardless of whatever the truth was, everyone was going to believe what they believed. And the town that took care of its own wouldn’t see him as one of theirs anymore.
Eli took a step forward and shook his head. “We just wanted to know if you were okay.”
“Because clearly you are not,” Boone added. “Have you tried to contact her?”
Ash threw up his arms. “Of course I tried to contact her. She blocked my number. I even tried her brother, but he only answered the phone long enough to tell me what I should do to myself and then hung up. Hell, I even stole Eli’s truck after he went to bed the other night and drove out to the fairgrounds to try and find her bus, but the only thing I found were people on the festival crew building stages. No tour buses. It’s like she disappeared, so…you know…what the hell else is there for me to do?”
Boone actually took a step back. “How about you hop in the shower, buddy? Then we can figure this all out.”
Ash sighed, his shoulders sagging. “You’re not going to leave until I do, are you?”
Both older Murphys shook their heads.
“So if I clean up, you’ll leave me, Jack, and Rose alone?”
Boone huffed out a laugh. “No, I’m unplugging your router and taking it home with me.”
Ash gave his brother a half-hearted shrug. “Fine. But I’m really not in the mood for visitors.” He trudged toward the bedroom and into the master bath, turning on the water and letting the room fill with steam. He stared at himself in the quickly fogging mirror, shocked to see the wild-eyed, wild-haired, practically bearded man staring back at him.
How had he gotten here? How did his life feel more out of control now than it had when he was a couch-surfing busker in his teens? Ash was more successful than he’d ever imagined he could be. This was supposed to be the easy part, wasn’t it?
When he emerged again, cleaned but not shaven, he found Eli standing in the doorway, talking to someone on the porch.
“Willow?” he called, practically jogging for the door in nothing but his boxers. But when he pushed Eli out of the way, he found a man in a purple Mobile One polo shirt holding a package and tablet Eli was about to sign.
“Oh,” Ash said, deflated.
“Ash Murphy?” the guy asked, then laughed. “I mean, of course you’re Ash Murphy. Recognize you even with the beard. Sorry. I’m new. First week on the job. Never made a delivery to a celebrity before.” Mr. Mobile One’s cheeks darkened. “Um, especially a half-naked one? Anyway, I was delivering your replacement phone and would be happy to come in and set it up but was telling your brother that I was confused about the directions on the account.”
Ash’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean confused?”
“About the call and email forwarding? The note on the account is from four years ago, so I wasn’t sure if that was still in effect or…”
“Forwarding?” Ash asked. “What the hell do you mean forwarding ?”
Mr. Mobile One or Tad as Ash now noted from the guy’s name tag, let out a nervous laugh this time. “Well, there is a note on your account…” He tapped the screen on his tablet and then seemed to scan some text. “Here!” he exclaimed, turning the tablet toward Ash so he could read. “See right there? It lists one number and one email address to be forwarded to a secondary number.”
“What the actual…?” Ash recognized all three. The first two were Willow’s old number and her email address. The forwarding account? Sloane’s.
“Can you retrieve those emails and texts if they were somehow deleted from my sent folders?”
Tad shook his head. “Anything permanently deleted is…well…permanently deleted. But they’re saved on the forwarding account. You can just check them there.”
Ash was confused again. “Even if the account they were forwarded to belongs to someone else?”
Tad’s brows drew together and he laughed. “Mr. Morgan, you own the ‘forward to ’ account.”
Ash felt the hint of a smile tugging at his lips and a tiny spark of hope ignite in his chest. He stepped back and opened the door wide. “Come on in, Tad. We have some work to do.”
Then he glanced at Eli. “And when he’s done, I need your truck.”
***
Ash pounded on Colt’s door. “I know you’re in there, Morgan! I stopped by the ranch, and they told me you’re off today.” He pounded again until he was sure he’d bruise his hand, and then he pounded some more. He was going to pound until someone opened the door, and then—
The door flew open, and Ash stopped short right before he knocked on Colt Morgan’s face.
“Come on,” Ash told him.
“What?” Colt asked. “Where? And also, no .” His dark-brown eyes, looking so much like Willow’s, only spurred Ash on.
He grinned. “Even if I tell you it’s time to enact Article A?”
“Article A?” Colt asked, looking at Ash like he was crazy. Then his eyes widened with recognition. “Our contract. We never notarized it, Murphy. Why don’t you count your blessings you got off on a technicality and get the hell out of here?”
Ash shrugged. “I don’t need a notary to hold me to our agreement. I did what I promised not to do, and now I’m here to pay up.” Ash heard a commotion somewhere beyond the entryway, and suddenly the reluctant Colt took a step forward.
“I’ll be back in a few, Jen!” Colt called as he stepped the rest of the way onto the porch, quickly slamming the door behind him.
“Wow,” Ash said with a nervous laugh. “You are really excited to kick my ass, aren’t you?”
Colt crossed his arms and looked Ash square in the eyes, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “You have no idea, Murphy.”
They rode in silence the few minutes it took to get to the Meadow Valley Fire Station. Once out back in the workout facility, they found Captain Carter Bowen and some of his company using the free weights, but the ring was empty.
“Don’t mind us, boys!” Colt called with a salute as he led the way to the other side of the ropes. “Just here to give this asshole what he deserves.”
Ash and Colt stood at opposite corners, bouncing on their toes and shaking out their arms.
“Not gonna lie,” Ash began. “Your enthusiasm is a little intimidating. I’m going to do my best not to block or retaliate, okay? But I can’t help what I might do on instinct.” He strode toward the center of the ring and nodded at Colt. “Gimme all you got, Morgan.”
Colt had begun moving in Ash’s direction but stopped short. “What the hell are you talking about? Not going to block or retaliate? Do you have a death wish?”
Ash let out a nervous laugh. “I mean, I’m hoping it won’t go that far. But Eli said he can treat a broken nose without me going to the ER. Hate to mess up this pretty face, but I feel like there’s less chance of internal injuries if we keep it up here.” They had now amassed a small audience, so Ash added, “And these guys are all EMTs, so if I have any injuries requiring emergent care…”
“What the hell is the matter with you, Murphy?” Colt ran a hand through his hair, his eyes volleying from Ash, to the small crowd of firefighter/EMTs, and back to Ash again. “I’m not hitting a defenseless man.”
“If you don’t at least put on the gloves,” Lieutenant Hayes called from down on the ground, “either one of you could be charged with assault. I’m just sayin’…”
Ash held up a hand and gave Colt the bring it gesture.
Colt closed the distance between them, and Ash braced himself for where the blow might land. When Colt grabbed the collar of his T-shirt, Ash gave himself a mental pat on the back for not yet having flinched.
“What the hell is this?” Colt asked through gritted teeth.
Ash exhaled a shaky breath through his nose. “I broke her heart, man,” he replied, unable to mask the pain in his voice when he recalled the look of betrayal in Willow’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to,” he continued. “And I’m doing everything in my power to fix this whole situation even though I know I can’t win her back.” He shrugged. “Figured I’d start by getting the ass kicking I deserve, then move on taking back control of my professional life and my goddamn cell phone. Then… I don’t know. Maybe I can convince you to tell me where Willow is so I can at least tell her the truth I didn’t know four days ago, and then I promise never to bother her again. I just want her to be happy and to know despite my many, many, many mistakes…I’ve always loved her.”
Colt yanked at Ash’s collar, and Ash closed his eyes, readying himself for the blow. But a second later, Colt growled and shoved him backward, swearing under his breath. He ran a hand through his hair and threw his arms up. “How the hell am I supposed to deck you after that?”
Ash raised his brows. “Because I’m an asshole who signed away his life at nineteen and took ten more years to grow up and take it back?”
“Shit,” Colt replied. “You really do love her, don’t you?”
“More than anything,” Ash told him.
“Enough to just stand there and take a beating?”
Ash nodded. “I mean, I probably wouldn’t stay standing for long.”
Colt rolled his eyes, then scrubbed a hand across his face. “I’m only telling you this because Willow has been a wreck all week, and I don’t want her to have to perform like this next weekend.” He sighed. “She’s staying at my place.”
***
Ash barreled through the door as soon as Colt opened it. “Willow?” he called. “Wills?” He ran straight into the kitchen and living area, but it was empty. He ran up the stairs, throwing open doors and calling her name, but every room and every closet was empty. When he made it downstairs, he found Colt standing in the kitchen with a sticky note in his hand.
“I found this on the fridge.” He handed the note to Ash.
You better not have touched him. Can’t stay in MV anymore.
Jenna taking me somewhere to crash until the festival.
She’ll fill you in. Thanks for being there for me.
See you at the show. Love you,—W.
“Okay. Call Jenna, man.” Ash’s heart was racing. “She’ll tell you where they’re going and we can go after them.”
“Don’t you get it?” Colt asked. “She knew I wouldn’t hit you…even though I really wanted to. And she obviously knew I’d crack and tell you she was here.” He clapped Ash on the shoulder and sighed. “She doesn’t want to be found, Murphy. I’m sorry.”