Chapter Ten Jake #2
“This isn’t the city. Nobody breaks into houses here. Well, except pesky goats, but it’s safe in Abbey Falls,” she says, trying to reason with me.
“Lock the damn door, Ash, and I’m fixing that latch for you too.” I’m trying not to get too heavy-handed, but knowing she’s lying in bed at night on her own, not safe from the outside world, has my chest burning.
“Okay, got it, but I have bigger problems right now.” She starts walking back toward the piece of stray lingerie.
“Bet you’re glad you rescued that one.” Stepping toward her, I look at the piece of lace on the ground then focus back on Ash’s face.
“No, no, no. Don’t!” Ash shrieks as I lean down to pick it up.
She pulls my hand away, and I watch her swoop down and scrunch it into her hand.
Her cheeks are red, and she can’t look at me, and when she stands up straight again, we are almost toe-to-toe.
Then I catch something out of the corner of my eye and turn to look into a small corner of what must be Ashley’s bedroom.
There is a trail of clothes and underwear from an overturned basket in the corner, toward the door.
“Oh no, I can’t believe she has done this. She has never gotten inside before or taken a fancy to my clothes.”
Knowing that she’s already struggling with the embarrassment of me seeing her underwear, I need to let her deal with this. “You fix this disaster up, and I’ll start in the kitchen.” I turn to walk back to the initial scene of the crime, and Ash sniggers.
“Sorry, I can’t help surveying the state of your gourmet back. A variety of food in the most artistic abstract pattern.”
“Here for your viewing pleasure.” I keep walking but manage to catch her mumbling a reply, which I’m not sure she meant for me to hear.
“Oh, it’s a pleasure alright.”
The smile on my face quickly fades, though, as I survey the kitchen.
“There was a reason no one wanted that stupid goat.” Not wasting any time, I grab the trash can and start picking up what I can before attempting to clean up the raw egg.
There must be a trick to doing this, but I have no idea what that is.
So, resorting to my hands and paper towels, it looks like I’m making more of a mess than when I started.
“Umm, do you need some help?”
Looking up, I see Ashley leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed and the cutest little twinkle in her eye.
“Not sure it’s ever something I imagined. You on your knees, in the middle of my kitchen.”
“Christ, can you stop opening your mouth if you are going to say things like that? Because I’ll tell you right now, the next time you see me on my knees for you, it won’t be in the kitchen, and you’ll be wearing some of those lace things that you were too embarrassed to let me see.”
And instead of her cheeks reddening from my words, I can see the fire in her, and I find myself wishing I could be the one to stoke that heat right up.
But I know I can’t, so I need to pull this topic of conversation back to my egg problem, before I do something stupid—like what I was about to do before I was cock-blocked by a goat.
“Now, do you have any bright ideas on how to clean this floor, other than getting a hair dryer, turning it on to hot, and cooking it to a solid? Because this shit is slippery as hell.”
Ashley is still staring at me, with her mouth slightly open.
“It’s either that, or we let that hairy garbage disposal back in here and wait for her to lick the floor clean.”
The mention of Daisy being back in the house is enough to snap her out of the moment.
“No way! Daisy is banned from this house forever.” She waves her finger at me and then drops her hand to contemplate my question. “Ummm, okay, let me get the dustpan and broom maybe and then the mop for when we are finished.”
Shrugging, she very carefully heads to the cupboard under the sink, bringing out the dustpan, which has to be better than my hands and a few paper towels.
It takes us a little while, but finally the kitchen looks more like a normal room and less like a war zone.
I can’t say the same thing for me. The knees of my jeans are covered in various stains, and I have no idea what the back of me looks like.
But I don’t care because the laughs we just shared over this whole debacle are worth one set of clothes that I’ll probably just throw out anyway.
Carrying the bag of ruined food out to the trash can outside, Ash follows me to the corner of the house, then stops and looks toward the barn. The longer summer days make it so beautiful to be outside.
“If Daisy knows what’s good for her, she’ll be back in the pasture with Gerald or hiding in the barn with Herb, who’s unusually quiet now, which is another concern I don’t want to think about,” she declares like she’s trying to convince herself Daisy might do the right thing and stay put, but the reality is that she probably won’t.
Stopping behind her, I can’t help taking in the vision in front of me.
Ashley standing with her back to me, hair falling past her shoulders, and the dwindling light of today’s sunshine mixed with moonlight starting to brighten the night sky is all showcasing her body.
Streaks of warm shades of brown glisten in her hair in the light, and the gentle breeze has the delicate strands drifting back and forth.
Her flowy skirt is fluttering in the cool night air just as she shudders a little with the chill.
The thought of her being cold shakes me out of my trance.
“We need to get you back inside, can’t have you getting cold.” Walking alongside her and taking her hand, I wrap it around my elbow as I escort her up onto the porch.
“Yes, thank you. We both know what happens when I get cold; I go looking for something to warm me up.” She steps in front of me so we are facing each other, on the porch blocking the door.
“Someone,” I reply in a deep husky voice as I feel my cock reacting to the memories of our night in the woods.
Ashley drops her face and looks down, making her hair fall forward and cover her cheeks.
Placing my hand under her chin, I lift her face so she’s looking at me again. “Don’t do that. Best night of sleep I had in a long time.”
Fuck, those lips are like a magnet.
“On the dirt in the middle of the woods,” she softly recounts.
“Yeah, with you wrapped in my arms.” I know I shouldn’t, but I run my thumb over her perfect lips.
The rush of emotions swirling in my chest gets stronger every time I touch her.
“Fuck, I wish this was a different time and a different place.” I maintain eye contact as I lean in and kiss her ever so gently on the forehead.
I know that if I put my lips on hers again, like I so desperately want to, then we aren’t stopping until I have her on that bed, stripped down to some lace and making her feel everything she’s been missing.
Her soft little moan tells me she feels the same. I slip my hand into her hair, place my chin on the top of her head and pull her into my chest.
“If only I dated and you weren’t leaving,” she murmurs into my shirt, and I feel it all the way into my gut.
“If only I was staying,” I whisper to both her and the night sky.
Time is irrelevant as we stand together, dreaming of what could be if things were different.
My phone buzzing in my pocket is enough to break the moment. Ashley pulls away, and I reluctantly let her go.
“Answer it.” She takes a step back from me, and the connection is broken.
Looking down, I see it’s Declan calling, and I send it to voicemail.
“I should be going, leave you to get that leg up and rested,” I say, knowing she’s seeing the physio tomorrow, and hopefully she will be able to take the moon boot off and start to get back to normal.
“Let me know how your appointment goes.” Stepping toward the top of the stairs, I pause for one last look at her and then continue toward my truck.
As I get to the driver’s door and pull out a blanket to cover the car seat, Ashley has walked along the porch a little so she’s now directly in my eyeline.
“Jake,” she calls.
Drinking in the sight of her, I just nod at my name.
“Thank you.” I’m not sure what she’s thanking me for. Cleaning up the kitchen mess or for walking away so neither of us make a different mess that will be a lot harder to clean up.
“I’ve got you.” Because I know I can’t say my pleasure, because sure as shit this is not fun walking away.
Besides, I meant what I said. I’m here for her in any way she needs me, even if it’s not what either of us wants.
I’ll still be here and even more so now, with her dickwad of an ex as a potential threat at any time.
“And lock the fucking door!” I yell to her as I pull away in the truck, which has her giggling as she closes the door.
Hitting the asphalt in the truck as I leave the gates of Windemere, I don’t feel ready to head home yet, so pushing Declan’s name on my phone, I call him as I drive past the gates of Heatherbrae, and then just keep driving.
“Hey, sorry I missed you.” As the phone connects and I hear his voice, I know it’s the comfort and the distraction I need.
“Hey, Jake, just saw the photos you sent through of the barn rooms. They look fucking awesome, and I can’t wait to get up there.” The excitement in his voice is rubbing off on me.
“Me too, man, can’t wait to have you guys here. Then we can really get into it. Plus, sitting outside around the firepit just isn’t the same without you all.”
“Bullshit. Be honest, you just need a break from being Gran’s sole focus. Not much fun being the favorite, is it?” Declan is already laughing before I join him.
We both know Gran doesn’t play favorites, but if she did, it would be Beckett for sure. She’s always had a soft spot for my surly big brother, like he needs just a little extra to break down that grumpy, serious barrier he carries around with him.
“All jokes aside, how’s Gran doing?” Declan asks.