Chapter 2
Sierra
“You don’t have to wait here, Sierra. Come with me,” a feminine voice whispered in my ear as I waited in line for the bathroom.
Really, I didn’t mind waiting.
There weren’t that many people in the small line, and I welcomed the delay because that gave me more time to get my head together before I went back to my table with Asher.
I was startled when Lauren grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs of Cole’s beautiful mansion.
“I don’t need to go,” Lauren said as we came to a stop in what looked like the master bedroom. “I was just hoping we could chat for a few minutes before Cole and I leave on our honeymoon. Use the bathroom. I’ll wait. I could use a couple of moments to breathe in peace. It’s been a crazy day.”
She smiled at me, a gorgeous smile that showed how happy she was, right down to her soul.
The blue-eyed blonde radiated joy and every other emotion a bride should be feeling on her wedding day.
I grinned back at her before I ducked into the bathroom, happy for Lauren even though I had no idea what that kind of soul-deep happiness felt like.
I did my business in the bathroom quickly, and when I returned to the bedroom, Lauren was seated on the bed, carefully smoothing down the material of her ivory wedding gown.
“I love this dress,” she said as she stopped messing with her gown and looked up at me. “But it wrinkles kind of easy. I guess I’m not used to wearing fancy dresses.”
I could relate to that, and her confession put me at ease almost immediately.
She might be married to a billionaire now, but she obviously hadn’t been born to the world of the wealthy.
“You look beautiful,” I told her honestly.
“Thanks,” she replied. “I’ve been wanting to get to know you better for a while now, Sierra. I think this wedding just took over my entire life for a few months.”
“It’s okay. You’ve been busy,” I told her, not sure why getting to know me would be a priority for her.
She was Cole Remington’s wife and a successful woman with a doctorate degree.
I knew that Lauren didn’t lack friends. She was close to all of the Remingtons, and I’d heard that she’d grown up in Crystal Fork.
“It’s not okay,” she said as she shook her head. “You have a calming influence on Asher, and I know you’ve helped him get through all of these wedding events. I’m not sure he could have done this without you, and it’s meant a lot to me and Cole to have Asher participate as the best man.”
I laughed. “I think you’re overestimating my influence over him. Asher Remington doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. I think I’m a distraction for him. I think I talk so much that he forgets about being uncomfortable around people for a while.”
Lauren sent me a thoughtful look. “I don’t think that’s it. I think there’s something about your presence that soothes him. He’s comfortable with you.”
“I’m not sure why,” I said jokingly. “I think I irritate him most of the time.”
I wasn’t sure there was any kind of magic about the way that Asher tolerated me.
Maybe he’d just had time to get used to me.
We saw each other every weekday.
“Maybe that’s the distraction he needs to pull him out of his own head,” Lauren mused. “I know he’s really antisocial—”
“I don’t think he’s really antisocial,” I interrupted, without thinking about my words.
“I think it’s fear that keeps him isolated.
I’m not sure exactly what he’s been through in his past, but I think he has some bad PTSD.
I…recognize the signs because I’ve experienced it myself.
Even after a few years of counseling, I still have occasional issues. ”
Lauren frowned. “I’m sorry you went through that, and I’m going to want to hear more when I get back from Europe. Asher went through some really traumatic stuff, but it was all in his childhood.”
“There’s something called delayed-onset PTSD,” I explained. “I did a lot of research when I was in treatment. It onsets years or decades later. It can get progressively worse once those symptoms start. It can be triggered by stress or life events.”
I had no idea why I was sharing my suspicions with Lauren.
I had no business word vomiting my thoughts to her.
Maybe I’d kept my thoughts to myself for so long that I needed to bounce them off someone else.
I certainly couldn’t talk to Asher about this.
She sent me a quizzical look. “Like maybe the stress of building a business worth billions? Cole has told me everything he knows about how Asher has isolated himself over time. He said it started after they moved to Austin. They were young, but they were adults. From what I understand, it’s gotten progressively worse over the years.
I’m worried about him, Sierra. I wish there was something I could do to help him.
It hurts to watch him push everyone away most of the time.
I don’t think anyone knows everything that Asher went through as the oldest son, but the abuse from their father was horrible.
Cole and Asher were beaten badly as kids.
Their father was an extremely mean, abusive alcoholic. ”
I felt a little guilty talking about my boss behind his back, but the truth was that I was worried about Asher, too, and he wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who shared.
My eyes filled with tears at the thought of Asher and Cole being horribly abused when they were helpless children.
“I assumed his past was bad,” I said to Lauren.
“I just wasn’t sure how bad. It’s hard not to hear the rumors about Cole and Asher killing their father, but I think those rumors are ridiculous. ”
Lauren sent me a solemn gaze. “I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that Cole and Asher didn’t kill their father. Please don’t ask me how I know it, but that never happened.”
I nodded as I blinked back the tears in my eyes. “I believe you. I never believed those rumors in the first place.”
“You care about him,” Lauren said suspiciously.
“This job has helped me a lot,” I shared.
“I think it might be a little more than gratitude, but I won’t push,” she answered.
There was more. I lusted after Asher Remington like I’d never longed for a man before, but I wasn’t about to tell his new sister-in-law about that.
“I think you’re doing everything you can to help him,” I said. “I think he probably needs professional help, and you can’t force someone into that. He’ll have to want to leave his isolation.”
Lauren sighed. “Cole said he suggested that once when they were still living in Austin, and Asher adamantly refused and blew the whole suggestion off.”
“Maybe he wasn’t ready,” I said softly. “I can’t say that I know him well, but I don’t think he’s exactly an extrovert by nature. Even without his issues, I think he’d still be a private guy. But he needs to lose his uneasiness about being around people when he wants to be.”
Lauren snorted. “Cole isn’t an extrovert, either. But I think there’s more than just uneasiness with Asher. Cole told me he hates anyone touching him. I’ve wanted to hug Asher so many times, but I could sense that it would make him uncomfortable.”
I got that.
Touch aversion with PTSD was something that took work to get over.
I tried to think back about the times that I might have accidentally touched Asher.
I could remember a few times when we’d had to brush by each other, but I’d never noticed that he freaked out about it.
The man obviously hid it well.
“Maybe it’s better to just give him his space for now,” I replied.
“I didn’t really mean to get this deep into a conversation about Asher,” Lauren said in a remorseful tone. “I know that we really don’t know each other well yet, but I’d like to remedy that when I’m back from our honeymoon. A woman can never have enough friends.”
Friends.
God, she had no idea how much I craved female friends that I could talk to.
“I’d like that,” I admitted. “I moved to Montana not long before I took the housekeeping job. I really don’t know anyone here.”
“You just up and moved to Montana?” Lauren asked curiously. “From where?”
“Long story,” I said with a sigh. “But yeah, I moved here not knowing a single person in Billings. I relocated here from Texas.”
I wasn’t really comfortable talking about my history, and Lauren seemed to sense my reluctance as she answered, “I don’t even know your last name or how old you are.”
I smiled. “My full name is Sierra Ellis. I’m thirty-seven.”
“You look younger,” Lauren observed. “I’m thirty-one and you really don’t look older than me.”
I’d heard that before.
I fingered a lock of my shoulder-length hair. “I think it’s probably the strawberry-blonde hair, the dusting of freckles, and maybe my size.”
I used to hate my hair and the freckles that were just barely dark enough to show.
Now that I was getting older, I was convinced that they made me look a little younger.
I couldn’t say I was tiny, but I was only five foot three and I was slim.
Maybe all of those characteristics made me look younger.
“You’re really attractive,” Lauren said wistfully. “Your hair and those light-green eyes are striking. I’d kill for your slender figure, too.”
“Don’t say that,” I insisted. “Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, Lauren. You’re absolutely stunning.”
The gorgeous blonde was perfectly curvy, and her husband obviously didn’t want to change a single thing about his wife.
She sent me a sheepish grin. “Old habits die hard. I’ve been on a journey to accept myself, but I guess I’m not quite there yet.
” She stood and smoothed down her dress.
“So, are you up for getting to know each other better when Cole and I get back? I wish we had could have gotten acquainted earlier, but things have been so chaotic. My head will be on straighter when we get back from Europe.”
“I’d love that,” I said honestly.
“I’m so glad that you came to Montana,” Lauren said as she smiled at me. “I think Asher needs someone like you around him.”
I laughed lightly. “I think I give him a giant headache, but he hasn’t fired me yet.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “As if he would.”
“He threatens to do it sometimes,” I shared in an amused voice.
She gave me an alarmed look. “He doesn’t.”
I nodded. “He does, but I ignore him. I think if he was going to fire me, he would have done it a long time ago.”
“You don’t find Asher a little…intimidating?” Lauren questioned. “I know he has a good heart, but he definitely gives off a scary vibe.”
“I don’t,” I confessed. “I think I’d rather work for someone who’s brutally honest about who they are than someone who hides an unpleasant demeanor behind a charming mask.”
“I guess that’s true,” Lauren agreed. “You never have to wonder how Asher is feeling. He makes that pretty clear.”
“He treats me fair and he pays me well,” I said. “I think that says more about him than a cheerful personality would.”
“True,” she said with a nod. “If you have your phone, I’ll put in my contact information and text myself so I have your number.”
I pulled my phone out of my bag and handed it to her as I answered, “I hope you have an amazing time in Europe. I’m jealous. I’ve always wanted to go to Italy and France. I’ve never really had the opportunity to travel at all.”
“Don’t be jealous,” she joked. “You’ll get there someday. And I’ll add you to my group thread with Anna, Reese, and Hannah so you can see the pictures.”
“You’re going to be on your honeymoon,” I teased, secretly delighted that she was going to include me in her group of friends.
“I can’t possibly have sex for two months straight,” she replied lightly. “A woman has to talk to her friends once in a while.”
“Okay, then send those pictures,” I encouraged.
“I better go,” Lauren said reluctantly. “Cole will be looking for me.”
I nodded and waited for her to lead the way downstairs.
Lauren didn’t move. She simply handed my phone back to me when she was finished with it. “Can I hug you?” she asked hesitantly. “Maybe this sounds weird, but I feel like we’re already friends.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, but I quickly blinked them back.
Kindness and friendship from another female were things that hadn’t existed for me in a very long time.
“Of course,” I said in a shaky voice before Lauren threw her arms around me and hugged me with enthusiasm.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment and savored the warmth and friendliness of her embrace.
I hugged her back, sensing that this woman was going to be a friend I’d sincerely treasure in the future.