20. Ashley
Chapter twenty
Ashley
Dinner had started surprisingly normally.
A pot roast sat in the center of the table, surrounded by mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, fresh-baked rolls, and enough side dishes to feed Santa’s entire village.
The dining room buzzed with overlapping conversations, silverware clinking against china, and the occasional burst of laughter.
Ashley stole a glance at Carter. He stood by the sideboard, speaking with Ms. Porter while keeping a watchful eye on the room. Ms. Porter kept her eye on Grandpa as if she were waiting for something.
Grandpa set down his glass of wine. The small movement was enough to grab everyone’s attention. Conversations faded, forks lowered, and even Gabe turned toward the head of the table.
Grandpa’s eyes scanned the table, his gaze lingering on each person as if he was committing them to memory.
Deep lines formed around his eyes, his age finally showing after all these years. His blue eyes slightly dimmed as if the light went out when Grandma Lily passed.
“While you’re all here,” Grandpa started before taking a long pause.
“What is it, Dad?” Uncle Rick asked.
He drew in a breath, and Ashley held hers.
“Money can buy you a lot of things,” he said quietly. “It can buy houses, cars, vacations, businesses, and just about anything you can think of. But there’s one thing it can’t buy.”
Nobody spoke.
Ashley’s heart battered her chest as she waited with bated breath.
“It can buy you the best doctors in the world,” Grandpa continued. “But it can’t buy you time.”
“Dad, why don’t you get to the point?” Uncle Rick said.
Grandpa nodded, then his eyes landed on Ashley before meeting everyone else’s at the table.
“I might not be dead, but I am dying.”
Ashley's breath caught. Taylor and Tori grabbed each other’s hands. Dad sank into his chair, and Aunt Marilyn downed the rest of her wine.
“Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. I’ve had it for years, but things took a turn. Doctors gave me six months to a year. That was six months ago. I figured if I can make it through Christmas, maybe I’ll be able to fix this mess before I have to answer to your grandmother.”
“You’re going to need more than one Christmas,” Cole mumbled.
“Good thing I’m a stubborn bastard. I got a call last week from my doctor. A new treatment trial opened up. It’s not a cure, but it might buy me time.”
“How much time?” Ashley asked.
“A few more Christmases, if I’m lucky.”
“Is that why you’re forcing us to be here? So you can get to heaven?” Gabe asked with a snort.
“Real nice, Gabe,” Tori said.
“Truth hurts,” Cole added.
“What do you know about truth?” Aunt Marilyn snapped.
The chatter faded as Ashley’s heart raced. He was dying… They had all believed they’d lost him once already, and somehow fate, or Grandpa himself, had handed them another chance. A cruel, painful one, but a chance nonetheless.
Guilt poked at her. When was he diagnosed? How long had he been alone with this news? No one even called to check in on him. It was as if he were indestructible, would always be here at Winterridge just waiting for everyone’s return. And now here they were, and he was actually dying.
She wasn’t going to waste it.
Tears welled in her eyes, her stomach hollowed out, and she couldn’t sit and listen to this anymore. She pushed up from the chair and hurried out of the room.
She heard talking; Carter said something, but she couldn’t hear over the pounding of her heart. Her mind spun with regret and sorrow and too many damn emotions.
“Hey.” Carter grabbed her arm, spinning her to him.
Her lips parted, but all that emerged was a sob. He pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. She cried for every holiday and birthday they hadn’t spent together. They were all too stubborn, too hurt, and too proud.
Mostly she cried because she finally found her way home to Winterridge, to her family, to the traditions she’d outgrown but secretly missed every day.
It was all slipping away. Even if the treatment worked, it wasn’t a cure.
It was borrowed time.
Time—the one thing money couldn’t buy.
Carter held her tighter as another sob wracked her body. “I wasted so much time,” she muttered into his chest.
His hand slid into her hair, and she pulled from his chest, looking into eyes that had always grounded her when the ground seemed so far.
“No,” he said.
“I did.” Fresh tears fell from her lids, and Carter brushed them away with his thumb. “I was angry and stubborn, and I let it matter more than my family.”
“Ashley.”
She shook her head. “I should’ve called. I should’ve visited. I should have done something.”
“There was nothing you could have done.”
“Did you know?” she asked.
He nodded.
“And you didn’t tell me? I thought we were done keeping secrets.”
“Everything okay?” Gabe’s voice boomed from behind them.
Ashley twirled toward him, finger pointing in the air.
“Don’t!” she exclaimed. Everything Carter had told her burned, turning her blood to liquid fire. “You don’t get to come over here and act like you care. Not when you threatened Carter when his dad was sick. What kind of monster are you? I can’t even look at you.”
Anger overtook her sadness, and despite everything, she let the anger win and chose the easier path.
She ran.