Chapter 49
49
SUMMER
I collapsed onto the sofa in my living room, trying to ignore how cold it was compared to the toasty warmth of my parents’ place. “Do you want to take the spare bed or share with me?”
Asher stood in the doorway, Cookie’s pet carrier in one hand and the backpack from his father over the opposite shoulder. “Either is fine. I’d prefer to be with you, but only if you’re comfortable with that.”
“I am.” Although I wasn’t sure if “comfortable” was the right word, exactly. My insides felt like throwing a party. I finally had him.
In my house.
In my bed.
Hopefully, in me .
I wished the circumstances were different. I’d never be grateful for him losing his house, but I was pleased he was allowing me to take care of him.
“Come on. I’ll show you the room and then we can set up whatever Cookie needs.”
I led him into my bedroom, wincing at the unmade bed and the overflowing laundry basket. I kept a reasonably tidy house, but I was far from a neat freak. My place would never feature in a Home & Garden magazine.
“You can unpack your clothes here,” I said, tapping the top drawer of my dresser, which was empty from the last time I’d done a massive clear out. “Or you can hang them in the closet or leave them in the bag if you’d prefer.”
“Thanks.” He lowered the backpack to the ground. “What about Cookie?”
“The windows and doors are all shut, so you can set her free. She can go anywhere in the house, but we’ll put her litter box in the laundry.” I knew some people preferred to keep them in the bathroom, but I personally liked to smell nothing but candles and essential oils while enjoying a soak in the tub. No kitty litter odor welcome.
“And her food?” he asked.
I shrugged. “In the kitchen maybe? Wherever you’d like. Anywhere is fine with me.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
He set the carrier on the ground, dropped to his knees, and opened the door. “Come out, pretty girl.” He made that clucking sound with his tongue that people use to attract cats. “It’s okay.”
Cookie didn’t emerge. Considering how many different places she’d been dragged around in the past few days, I wasn’t surprised.
“While you do that, I’ll get her litter box set up,” I told him.
“You don’t have to—”
His protest faded out as I left the room. I pulled a jacket on and went outside to the car, where we’d left the stuff we’d bought for Cookie on the way home. All of her usual things were still in Asher’s house, out of bounds, so she’d needed more.
I tucked the heavy bag of litter under one arm and stacked the bedding, toys, and food in the shiny new litter box to carry inside. I locked the front door and set up the litter box on a few sheets of newspaper in the laundry before filling a bowl with water on the kitchen floor and adding a few treats to another.
When Asher strolled into the kitchen, there was no sign of the cat. “She wouldn’t come out, so I left her in there with the door open. She’ll leave eventually.”
I grimaced, sympathetic to the cat’s situation. “It must be a stressful time for her.”
He huffed out a breath. “For all of us.”
I opened the fridge. “Want a beer?”
“God, yes.”
I usually preferred wine to beer, but some days called for it. I got two bottles out, popped the tops off, and handed him one.
He drank deeply, then let out a sigh. “I needed that.”
“I’m not surprised. I’m exhausted, and it wasn’t my house that caught fire.” I rubbed my belly as it rolled uncomfortably at the memory of how frightened I’d been when he’d bolted toward the burning house. As long as I lived, I’d rather not experience that level of terror again.
“I’ll understand if you want to go to bed,” I continued. “Even though it’s early, you’re probably having an adrenaline crash.”
But he shook his head. “I don’t need a bed, but curling up with a movie on sounds nice.”
“Let’s do that then.” I took my beer to the living room, and he followed close behind. I gestured at the sofa. “Sit.”
While he got comfortable, I brought up a comedy film on Netflix. I didn’t think either of us were up to watching an action or thriller movie, and a romance would have felt a little on the nose.
As the opening credits played, I hurried into the hall and searched the cupboards for the biggest, fluffiest blanket I owned. I sat beside Asher, tucked my legs beneath myself, and pulled the blanket over us.
During the first scene, Asher tugged me around until he was spooning me, his strong chest pressed against my back. I relaxed into the embrace, breathing in his masculine scent, appreciating the fact that any trace of smoke had been cleaned away.
When the movie ended, I cooked nachos, and we ate them at the table.
“We’ve never talked much about the future,” Asher said out of nowhere.
“I guess not,” I replied. I hadn’t thought much beyond securing our relationship.
“What do you want it to look like?” he asked.
“The future?” I frowned, considering. “I suppose we date for a while, and if it goes well, we eventually move in together. I don’t mind whether that’s at my place, your place, or somewhere else.”
I loved my cottage, but it was just a house. People mattered more than places and things.
“Do you want marriage?” He paused for a moment, then quietly added, “Children?”
I smirked. “I think you know my stance on marriage. Did you not see the hearts in my eyes at both Kennedy and Grace’s wedding ceremonies?”
He chuckled. “Fair enough. But kids? You’ve never really said.”
“I’d like children,” I said slowly. “But they’re not make or break for me, and if I do have them, I want to keep my job.”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “You own half a business. I wouldn’t expect you to just give that up to be a full time mum, unless that was what you wanted.”
I scooped beans and meat onto a corn chip and dunked it in sour cream. “Some guys would. I know it’s old-fashioned, but small towns tend to attract people with those values.”
His jaw firmed. “I’m open to children too, and if I had them, I’d want their mother to live life exactly how she pleased. We could work out the details.”
“Good.” I watched him load salsa onto a chip and crunch into it. “We have plenty of time anyway.”
He licked his fingers clean. “What about pets? Are they something you want? I’ve often wondered because people expect vets to have a house full of them, but you don’t.”
I reached for my beer, realized it was empty, and set it back down. “I love animals, but it didn’t seem fair to have a pet when I work a lot. Especially when… Well, honestly, I wasn’t sure how long I would stay in Destiny Falls.”
His spoon clinked loudly against his plate as he dropped it. “What? Why would you leave?”
My heart raced. “I don’t plan to anymore.” I debated whether to put my cutlery down too, but decided against it. With my luck, my trembling hands would break something. “I just…”
“What?” he urged.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “There were days when I thought I might need to get away from here. I didn’t know how I’d be able to find love when you were always around for me to compare men to.”
His breath caught. He was silent for a long moment.
I forced my eyes to open. “Ash?”
His face had crumpled. “I’m sorry, Summer. I’m sorry for hurting you, and for taking so long to see what was right in front of me.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and tried to steady my breathing. “Everything happened the way it was meant to. Yeah, it hurt, but I was too young. This is how it was supposed to be.”
He ran the backs of his fingers along my cheek, whisper soft. “You’re amazing. I love the way your mind works.”
“You’d better.” I tried to make my tone more cheerful. I needed to change the subject. “Because I’m going to use this brilliant mind to figure out who’s been after you. No one hurts my man.”
“No.” His hand dropped from my cheek. “It’s too dangerous. Just let the police deal with it.”
“The police are understaffed and under-resourced. We can do this.”
“No, Summer.” His tone was firm. “I won’t risk it.”
I lifted my chin. “Fortunately, you don’t get to tell me what to do.”