Chapter 31
Asher
“I love my daughter, Asher,” Martha said without preamble as she walked into the extra bedroom where I was just finishing the floor.
Sierra and I would be leaving the next day, so I wanted to finish up this one last task.
I had contractors coming in a few days for the roof and some other things I couldn’t do.
We’d eaten a good dinner, and Sierra and Martha had shooed me out of the kitchen to complete this task.
I was nearly done, but Martha obviously had something on her mind.
I watched as she sat in a small chair beside the bed.
I paused what I was doing and sat on the floor.
If she wanted to talk, she’d get my full attention.
“I realize that,” I answered.
“I think you care about Sierra,” she mused. “But I watched my girl go through things that no woman should have to endure, and I buried my grandchild. I don’t ever want to see Sierra in that much pain again. It nearly broke me.”
Her words made me feel like I’d been kicked hard in the gut.
Martha looked a little fragile. It was obvious that she’d spent her life doing very physical work, but I knew she had a strong spirit. She’d raised an amazing daughter on her own while she was working as much as she could, trying to provide Sierra with everything she needed.
I met her solemn eyes. “What can I do to reassure you that I’d never hurt Sierra?”
I understood her fear, and I didn’t want her to worry when we were gone.
“I asked Sierra about your family,” she mused. “She told me that you have a brother and that your parents are gone. I have a feeling that she left a lot out in that explanation.”
I appreciated the fact that Sierra didn’t want to betray my trust, but Martha was probably going to want a little more than that.
“My mother died when I was a child,” I explained. “She was a good mother to Cole and me. Unfortunately, my father killed her. He was pure evil. I definitely can’t say that I miss him.”
“If he was that violent, he must have been horribly abusive to you and your brother,” she said in a sad tone.
I went on to explain a little of my history.
I didn’t go into details about my childhood, but I did include a bit about my struggles with PTSD and how that had probably drawn Sierra and me together initially.
“You’ve had a hard life,” Martha stated.
I shrugged. “My brother and I are close. We always had each other.”
“You both needed at least one parent who cared about you while you were growing up,” she said gently.
“We probably did,” I conceded. “But we don’t always get what we need. We survived.”
She nodded. “Your mother would have been so proud of both you and your brother. You’ve done well for yourself, Asher.”
I swallowed hard.
This wasn’t exactly an easy conversation for me.
I didn’t talk about my past, and talking about my mother still got to me.
The thing was, nothing was more important to me right now than putting Martha at ease.
Giving her some kind of peace of mind was more important than my dislike of talking about my past.
I was an open book for the woman who had raised my woman and gone through hell with her.
“I care about Sierra,” I said. “My goal is to make her happy. I don’t ever want to see her hurt, either, Martha. You might not believe that right now, and I don’t blame you, but she’s safe with me.”
A glimmer of hope reflected in her troubled eyes. “I want to believe that, Asher. I guess your relationship just evolved so fast. I think you two are probably good for each other.”
I didn’t want to keep trying to convince her that I was never going to hurt her girl.
It was going to take time.
The pain she’d gone through with Sierra was still too recent and way too raw.
“Come to Montana,” I suggested. “Spend the holidays with us and visit whenever you want. I think it would mean a lot to Sierra to have you around often. She misses you.”
I’d suggest that she move closer to us, but Martha’s life was here in Hollister.
While she might love being close to her daughter again if she moved to Montana, it would be difficult for her to leave the world she’d lived in her entire life.
She had tight connections here in Hollister that had existed since her childhood.
If I could make Crystal Fork like a second home to her, that would probably help enormously.
“You don’t want your girlfriend’s mother around more than necessary,” she argued.
“I do,” I disagreed. “I want to get to know you better. I want you to meet my family. I have cousins and my aunt in Crystal Fork, and my brother is right next door. He’s married now. I think you’ll like his wife.”
“You have a big house?” she asked hesitantly.
I grinned at her. “It’s huge.”
I wasn’t sure she’d quite internalized the fact that I was a billionaire or exactly what kind of lifestyle that allowed me.
That wasn’t surprising since Martha had struggled for every penny she made her entire life.
“I have a feeling my daughter isn’t paying for all these repairs to my home,” she said in a scolding voice. “I know how much needs to be done. My daughter is a brilliant artist, but that extra money wouldn’t come easy for her right now.”
Sierra hadn’t mentioned to her mother how she’d managed to get the money for so many expensive repairs.
I’d kind of hoped that Martha wouldn’t question it.
I should have known better.
I shrugged. “It helps that I could do some things myself. Her career is getting really prosperous. She’s doing fine.”
Every word I’d just uttered was true.
She sent me a questioning look. “I think you might have made sure that she was fine.”
She knew absolutely nothing about Sierra working for me, and I wasn’t about to enlighten her.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for your daughter, but her successes are all about her and her talent.”
She suddenly smiled. “You always support her. She needs that, even if she won’t admit it.”
“I’m her biggest fan,” I told her.
“I’m glad to hear it,” she said softly as she rose from her chair. “I’m still not sure I understand a man who has his own plane to travel in, but that’s probably a good thing. I’ll see my daughter more often.”
I got to my feet and grinned at her. “You’ll come visit?”
She nodded. “Probably more often than you’d like. I think I’d like to see Montana and get to know that brother of yours and his wife. I’d like to meet your aunt and your cousins, too.”
It occurred to me that she and Millie would probably become fast friends.
“I think you’ll like Crystal Fork,” I said. “It’s smaller than Hollister, but it’s a friendly town despite the tendency for gossip.”
She shook her head. “You can’t live in a small town without gossip.
Hollister has grown over the years, but the gossip is still here.
I know I’ve questioned you a lot, Asher, but my Sierra is happy.
It does my heart good to see it after everything she’s been through.
I was starting to worry that I’d never see her truly happy again. ”
“She makes me happy, too,” I said truthfully.
“If your relationship keeps growing, I think the two of you can heal each other’s souls,” she said hopefully.
I was fairly certain that Sierra was already healing my soul.
I was a much different man than I’d been before we’d met.
I didn’t know if I could heal hers, but I knew I could make her happy, and that meant something to me.
I opened my arms to the older woman.
I didn’t initiate physical contact with anyone but Sierra, but I wanted to comfort her mom.
She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me hard.
My gut tightened as I held the older woman.
“I think you’re a good boy, Asher,” she said tearfully.
Shit! How long had it been since I’d heard those words?
Definitely never since my mother had died.
I didn’t discourage her from calling a man in his early forties a boy.
Honestly, it was pretty sweet.
“Thank you for all of your hard work on my home,” she added.
“It was my pleasure,” I replied, surprised by how much I meant those words.
It had felt good to use my hands and do some physical work on home repairs for a change.
It also felt good to be helping someone who needed it.
I’d notice that kind of satisfaction when I’d been working around Millie’s place, and it was no different with Martha.
Billionaire or not, maybe I just needed to feel useful in a more personal way than simply donating money.
“Are you ready for dessert?” Martha asked as she ended the long, heartfelt embrace. “I told Sierra I was coming to check and see if you were ready to have pie. I think she’s going to be suspicious because I stayed in here for so long.”
I winked at her. “I’ll tell her that I needed a little help.”
She swatted my arm. “She’ll know better.”
“Give me fifteen minutes,” I said as she walked toward the door. “I want to finish up here.”
She nodded. “Thank you for sharing so much with me,” she said in a grateful voice. “You certainly didn’t have to, but it makes me feel better.”
She left before I could answer.
I shook my head and went back to work, realizing that it really hadn’t been that difficult to share things with Sierra’s mother after all.