34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ash
G etting released from the hospital, she hopes Raif will be there, but it’s only her mother. Ash insists she can go home, but her mother drives her to her parents' house, and she is shuttled inside.
“Seriously, Mama, I’m fine. No injuries, I’m okay.”
“You’re okay when I say you’re okay, Ashley. You gave me a heart attack. What do you think it did to your father with his bad heart? He could have died, Ashley.”
Ashley knows her mother is scared and trying to guilt her. She tries not to take it personally. Her dad comes into the kitchen and kisses her temple.
“Glad to have you safe, sweetie.”
“Thanks Dad, me too.”
She can’t help but smile at him. He is the rock in her family’s storm, and she doesn’t know what they would do without him.
She spends the next hour helping her mother chop vegetables and peel potatoes for the stew.
Her mother rants and angrily chops the whole time.
Telling Ash she was careless and that she didn’t think about what would happen to her poor parents if she died.
That her mother didn’t even know what kind of funeral Ash wanted and how they have to plan it out now, just in case.
Ash is quiet, lets her mother go off while she works on the potatoes.
It’s the way her mother handles stress. To blame and throw around harsh words.
Ash knows her mother doesn’t mean it fully, that she’s just angry and sad at the situation.
The roast is in the oven, and Ash is sitting down on her parents' couch watching an old game show when the doorbell rings. It’s not her house anymore, and her mother is so particular that she makes no move to get it.
“You're both just going to sit there while someone waits at the door.”
“Yes, dear.” Her father replies, rolling his eyes. Ash can’t help the giggle she lets out.
She hears noise at the door but can’t tell what is happening till she hears the telltale sound of Raif’s voice.
“Let the poor man in, Julie. He hasn’t seen Ashley in days.”
She stands and helps her father out of his recliner.
When she moves to the door, she can see Raif standing there with two bouquets of flowers in his hand.
His long hair is combed and slicked back, and he has on a nice red flannel tucked in.
He’s clearly dressed to impress, impress her.
She smiles, can’t help the big goofy grin on her face, and he matches a smile right back at her.
Her mother finally moves out of the way, letting Raif in the house, and he kisses her on the cheek.
“Ash,” he says softly. It’s almost a whisper, like he doesn’t want her parents hearing him say her name, and it sounds so private, like it’s only for them.
“Here, these are for you.”
He hands her a bouquet of mixed colorful flowers, and she pulls them up to take a whiff. They are beautiful, some she recognizes, but some she doesn’t.
“And these are for you, Mrs. Grant. I wanted to thank you for picking up Ash from the hospital.”
Her mother preens at the bouquet of pink roses she’s handed. Hers are different from Ash’s. They look store-bought, whereas Ash’s look homemade, tied with brown twine and wrapped in butcher paper. She loves hers more.
“Oh, thank you. Such a nice man. Isn’t he a nice man, Ashley?”
“Yes, Mama,” she says automatically, eyes still locked on Raif.
“Come in, come in. There’s a roast in the oven. Make yourself comfortable. I’m going to finish getting Ashley’s room setup and then we’ll eat.”
“Actually, ma’am,” Raif says, turning to her mother, “I’m taking Ash home.”
Her mother gasps and opens her mouth, most likely to throw a fit, but Raif interrupts her.
“Ash would be more comfortable in her own home. She was discharged with a clean bill of health and will be going back to work tomorrow morning. I know she didn’t sleep well in the hospital, and a good night’s sleep in her own bed would do her good.”
Her mother is fuming and opens her mouth again to speak when Raif interrupts her again.
“We can stay for dinner, that roast smells delicious. But after that, I’ll be taking Ash home to rest.”
Her father chuckles, her mother’s mouth is pursed, and her brows are furrowed. She looks furious. Ash doesn’t know if anyone has ever stood up for her against her mother like this ever, and she smiles even bigger.
“I’ll go check the roast then, it should be done soon.”
And with that, her mother turns and stalks to the kitchen.
“Well I’ll be. Good on you, son, for taking care of Ashley like that. Julie’s mad right now, but knows you mean well, you may have just become her favorite person.”
Raif looks shy as he stands there, and when her father goes back to his seat in the family room, Ash goes up on her toes to kiss him, winding her arms around his neck.
“Was that okay?” he asks after pulling back from their kiss.
“That was great, thank you.”
When they move into the kitchen for dinner, the roses from Raif to her mother stand proudly in a vase on the table.
Ash can’t help but smirk. Her mother asks Raif questions about his work at the lodge, avoiding any talk of firefighting or the recent fire.
He is polite in his answers. Talking about his brothers and what his day usually entails.
When he asks her about the ladies' lunch in town, she brightens up significantly and takes over the rest of the conversation.
After dinner, when Raif is walking Ash out, her mother pulls her in by her shoulders.
“He’s a good man, that one. Keep him, okay?”
All Ash can do is nod. Even with James, whom her parents liked, it took her mother some time before she liked and accepted him. Ash guesses Raif’s show of care for her really went a long way with her mother.
At her house, she can’t help but feel relieved when she sees her car is parked in the driveway. Raif, of course, would think to bring her car home from the station for her. He’s so damn thoughtful.