8. Asher
Asher
After I hung up on Sutton, I pushed back in my chair. More of the puzzle fell into place when I met Sophie. She had a daughter, a young one at that. That explained the exhaustion I’d seen on her face.
It was admirable that she seemed to be raising her on her own. I would love it if that had closed the door on her and my brain was able to move on. But it hadn’t stopped me from thinking about her or having that tightness in my chest.
Shaking off my feelings about Sutton, I tried to get a few hours of work done but of course my phone started buzzing, meaning the group chat was kicking off.
Quinn
*sent photo*
*sent photo*
*sent photo*
I know you were all on the video call with us but I just wanted to send a couple photos.
Noah
I can’t believe you said yes.
Will
Photos are beautiful Quinn.
Oli
We were on video like three minutes after you said yes. But the photos are great.
Jaxson
Happy for you guys.
Knight
If you’re all going to be stupid, then we don’t need to include you in our big moments.
Quinn
No one listen to Theo. I know you were all happy for us because I’m pretty sure I saw a tear in Noah’s eye and Asher actually answered the call.
I stepped out of my truck, letting Thor out of the back.
He bounded ahead of me as I walked toward where the rest of the guys were huddled in front of the entrance to the construction site.
Will, Oli, Noah, and Jaxson were all here already, which meant that just Quinn and Knight were left to arrive.
We were here today to do a walk-through of the new members club. The foundation had been poured, and the framing would be done in two days. Once we signed off, they could get started on the next phase of construction which would include plumbing and wiring.
The fifty-thousand square foot building was sprawling across the land that we now owned.
It was just on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by forest and quiet walking trails that would be mapped out for members to use.
A golf course was being put in, set back so it wasn’t in your face, and members could access it by foot or by the golf carts that would be made available.
The space would have two swimming pools, one outdoors, heated for the winters, and an indoor one, plus a spa, a fine dining restaurant, and a lounge.
Before the plans went to the project team Quinn convinced us to add a library.
Oli, being our CFO, was still deciding how many suites would be most profitable for the square footage.
But since those were on the second floor along with the library, we didn’t have to have that finalized yet.
The plan was to have staff quarters out back in a separate building so people could live on site if needed, especially in the summer, but they were still framing that up.
Thor barked at each of the men, lapping up the attention. Noah shook his head at me with a smile. I quirked an eyebrow in question as I strode up to the group.
“Do you own any other clothes?” Noah asked as I stood there blinking at him.
He and the other guys were in various forms of jeans and clothing more appropriate for a construction site. I rarely wore jeans so changing hadn’t even crossed my mind. He was lucky I’d tossed on my sports coat rather than the suit jacket.
“Hundred bucks says that Knight also shows up in a suit,” Jaxson called from beside me.
“Deal.” Noah shook his hand with a smile just as we all turned to see Quinn and Knight’s car pulling up next to mine.
“Heel,” I commanded Thor before he could go bounding toward them.
The guy had no fear of cars. I think he could almost tell who it was and I didn’t want him to take off.
He sat dutifully beside me but his tail was wagging in excitement, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his whole body quivering.
They’d landed not long ago and headed straight here. Quinn jumped out of the car before it was even turned off and was about halfway to us before Knight got out of the car, glaring at her, likely for not waiting until he opened her door for her.
“Go.” I released Thor and he took off running. Quinn bent down to greet him excitedly, cooing and giving him a good scratch behind the ears. Knight stopped beside them to get in some love with the dog.
“You owe me a hundred bucks.” Jaxson turned to Noah who opened his wallet and slapped the bill in his hand.
Once, Quinn had told Noah that her grandpa always said you should have cash on you at all times, so he’d started carrying it. Fucking unnecessary to be carrying around one-hundred-dollar bills.
Knight straightened and pulled down the sleeve of his suit shirt.
“Welcome home, you crazy kids,” Will greeted them as they made their way toward us, both of them beaming.
They had Facetimed the group the night they got engaged so Quinn could tell us all at the same time and show us the ring. She said she didn’t want there to be arguments about who would see it first.
Except we all knew Knight was proposing on the trip and had all seen the ring in a group chat that we agreed we would never tell her about.
Knight had even removed us all and then deleted it since she had his passcode and wouldn’t have hesitated to pick up his phone and reply to a text, call one of us, or google something.
We all managed to keep the secret though.
A round of hugs and back pats started. I pulled Quinn in and bent down so my mouth was beside her ear.
“You know you were already a part of this family. This is just giving us all a reason to party.”
Quinn pulled back with a big smile on her face, her eyes slightly teary. “Thanks, Ash.” She placed a gentle kiss on my cheek before moving on to Noah, who picked her up and spun her around while she laughed and Knight grunted out a warning.
“Glad you could keep her.” I slapped Knight’s back.
“I’m damn lucky,” Knight muttered, watching her with a small smile as she and Jaxson chatted.
“Hey.” Greg walked up to our group. “Ready to do a walk-through?”
The space was framed out, and I honestly knew that whatever Noah had planned would look good.
I didn’t care about the pipes and where all the lights would be or how many power outlets were in each room.
But the place was exactly what we were looking for.
Even without the walls up you could tell that it was shaping up just the way we wanted.
After the full tour, we ended up back in the lobby, Noah getting an agreement from all of us before we signed off and started toward the front.
“Ash,” Quinn called, coming up beside me as we stepped out of the building, the rocky mountains a beautiful background to the stunning, pine-tree-covered grounds.
Noah and Knight were ahead of us, talking to Greg.
I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.
“I have a favor to ask of you.” She stepped in front of me, pulling us both to a stop.
The rest of the guys continued on around us.
“It’s yours,” I said, agreeing instantly. She knew that I would do anything she asked of me. I’d never had a little sister to protect, but now I did.
“The event for the foundation this weekend—you’re going, right?”
I nodded. Could I have gotten out of it? No. We all showed up to support the foundation that Knight started for his mum. Did I want to get out of it? Also no. They did good work and I liked supporting them, even if I hated all the small talk.
“Would you be able to pick up Sutton?”
“Is something wrong with her car?” I asked with a frown.
It looked like the thing was barely hanging on when I saw it the other day, and it had made some fucked-up sounds as she drove away, so I wouldn’t be surprised.
She let me get away with getting baby stuff for the office but would she notice if I had the car fixed?
I could do it while she was at the office; she might not know if I changed the engine and nothing else.
That might help me. Maybe if I fixed something for her, I would be able to leave her alone.
I pulled myself out of my planning and focused back on Quinn, who was standing there, smiling at me. That look made me nervous.
“No, not that I know of. But she brought a bunch of boxes home from the office to organize the guest packages, and it seems like too much to manage with Sophie coming to the event.”
“Did she agree to this?”
As much as I wanted to pick her up, I also didn’t want to do something that was going to piss her off. Well, I think I pissed her off with the baby stuff but that was necessary. Doing any more wouldn’t work in my favor.
What did I need her favor for? I hadn’t figured that out yet.
I ran through other options that would be less invasive, including sending a car to pick her up. But then who would help her carry her shit downstairs? I could pay someone for that too but was that better or worse?
“I told her I would get someone to help her get there. She said it was unnecessary, but I disagreed and I’m her boss so what I say goes since it’s a work event. I just don’t think she knows how to ask for help.” The smile that broke out on Quinn’s face was mischievous. She knew she had me.
Honestly, any excuse I had to see Sutton was thrilling to me these days. Still a bit of a fucking mystery as to why.
“I’ll get her.”
“You did not have to do this,” Sutton insisted as soon as she pulled the door open.
I grunted in response because I didn’t know what to actually say to her. I wanted to do this. Seeing her wasn’t a chore—getting to lift some of that weight off her shoulders was what I wanted. Especially because it included actual weight.
She turned back into the apartment but she didn’t invite me in so I leaned in the doorway and watched as she gathered her things off the counter.
“I could have delivered this stuff to the venue beforehand. Quinn thought I couldn’t handle getting these boxes in the car with Sophie on my own.” I watched as she rolled her eyes, like it was ridiculous.
“I’ve seen your car, it’s old as shit,” I muttered as I looked around the space. The apartment was small, toys lingering all around, but it was clean, put together. Pops of color were in the blankets and pillows and really screamed Sutton.
Bright, sweet, and a little chaotic.
She whipped her head back to me and glared before she pointed to the stack of boxes on the floor. I had to hold back a smile because I liked seeing her fire.
“I can grab Iris and she can hang with Sophie while I help you carry these down.” She didn’t bother to respond to my comment on the car. Because she knew I was right. I was surprised the thing was still running.
“No need. You get Soph down and transfer her car seat to my truck.”
She lifted Sophie in the carrier, which looked too heavy for her. I knew she would do this on her own all the time, but the idea of it happening when I was right here was maddening. But she didn’t seem like she was used to accepting help.
“You have a truck? How am I supposed to get the car seat—”
“It’s a four door; she’ll have plenty of room in the back if you can easily transfer the base of the seat. Truck bed has a cover so the boxes can go back there.”
I placed my hand on the carrier and took it from her carefully before Sutton could protest. I looked down at Sophie, who seemed so fragile tucked up in there with a blanket around her and something in her mouth. She was watching me but doing that slow-blinking thing.
“Aren’t you getting a box?” she asked as I stepped back out into the hall.
“I’ll come back.”
She opened her mouth but shut it again when I sent her a look.
Instead she followed after me, closing the door without locking it, I assumed so I could get back in.
She tilted her head, watching me as we rode the elevator.
It didn’t look like it should be running but here we were.
I raised an eyebrow in question when she didn’t say anything.
“You scowl and grunt a lot but I think you’re nicer than you seem.” She flushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
“Don’t let any of the guys hear you say that.”
She laughed as we stepped out of the building. My truck was parked right out front in the fire lane. I had made sure the thing had the best safety rating before bringing it with me today. If it hadn’t, I would have gotten a new one.
“Go grab the car seat and get it in.”
She scampered off quickly as I put Sophie on the ground and kneeled down in front of her as she blinked up at me. Noah would be thrilled to see me in dark jeans today, even if I was wearing a button-up.
I held my finger out toward Sophie and she grasped it in her strong little hand. The contrast of her porcelain skin against my dark tattoos was a good reminder that she was sweet and pure and nothing like me.
The thing in her mouth fell out as she started blabbering. I’d never been one to like kids. They were fine, but I didn’t really interact with them, especially as an adult. But Sophie was cute as shit. She had the same blonde hair and bright hazel eyes as her mother.
Sutton came back and I left her to get the seat sorted in the car so I could grab the boxes. I was going to wait and then lock her in the truck until I could come back but this area wasn’t terrible.
Didn’t mean I didn’t move quickly.
With two trips I had the car packed, her apartment locked, and we were on our way to the event.