Chapter 24
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
ASPEN
“Istill think we should have done a booth with baked goods,” Maggie mutters under her breath.
Rain, Kim, and I share a look.
This isn’t the first time Maggie has mentioned wanting to do more, and frankly, I’m not surprised. My best friend has been an overachiever since I met her.
Kim clears her throat. “We were only permitted one booth.”
Maggie rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but everyone knows they could have made more room. I mean, for crying out loud, they let the lady who’s selling honey have two tables!”
“Because the shit she makes with honey is fucking amazing,” Rain tells her with no shame.
Maggie glares at her, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Do you think this is funny?” Maggie demands as she swings her gaze back to me.
“No, never. But do you think you could finish zip-tying this stand together? My arms are starting to get tired,” I tell her.
Maggie huffs and does as I ask.
Over her head, Rain mouths, “Thank you.”
I shoot her a wink.
“Hey, what’s going on over here?” a voice calls out.
I look over my shoulder and smile when I see Ashley.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“You told me you would be here, and I was in the area, so I thought I would stop by. I hope that’s okay,” she tells me.
When Maggie is finished connecting the two metal racks together, I pull Ashley into a hug.
“It’s good to see you, and it’s more than okay,” I murmur.
When I pull back, the other girls give her hugs as well.
“What can I do to help?” she asks as she looks around.
“Do you want to help me attach the prizes to the racks?” I ask.
“Sure.”
While Rain, Maggie, and Kim move on to the next task, Ashley and I take clothespins and pin stuffed animals and other things to the racks.
“You know not all of this is going to fit on here, right?” she asks.
The girls and I laugh.
“No, but the bigger things will. We will pull things out as we need them,” I tell her.
“Okay, just making sure. So how are things going with my brother? He treating you okay?” Ashley asks.
“Yeah, Aspen, is he treating you okay?” Kim teases as she takes water balloons out of their packaging.
“What kind of water balloons are those?” I ask.
I’ve never seen anything like it. They are balloons attached to some sort of tube with a weird thing on the other end.
“You connect this end to a hose, and then it fills up all the balloons at once. When they are full, they fall off, already tied,” Kim tells me.
“Well, shit, where was that when we were kids?” Rain says.
“It clearly hadn’t been invented yet. Now stop stalling and spill the beans,” Kim says, looking at me.
Leaning against the table, I sigh. I know I need to tell them something because these women are relentless. When they want to know something, they won’t stop. Still, when it comes to my love life, or even lack of one, I’ve been more on the private side.
“He treats me well,” I tell them, just to give them something.
“She’s never been one to talk about men. At least, ones who have been around for longer than a couple of hours,” Maggie tells them.
“Wait, you’re private?” Rain asks, surprised.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Kim mutters.
“Why?” Ashley asks.
“I don’t know,” I lie.
“Bullshit. Spit it out,” Rain says, calling me out.
I could lie and just tell them I don’t kiss and tell, but Rain and Maggie know that isn’t true. I have no issues talking about guys who are around only for a few hours. It’s the ones who stick around longer.
No one ever wants to admit that they are worried about jinxing something by talking about it and end up being left.
Internally, I laugh at myself. I bet my therapist would have a field day with me.
“Earth to Aspen. Rejoin us in the land of the living,” Rain says in her best announcer voice, pulling me back into the present.
“If I talk about it, it would make it real, and if it’s real, that means it could hurt if he leaves,” I mutter, not looking at any of them.
The girls are silent for a moment before Rain busts out laughing.
“You think that man is going to leave you? News flash, the only way he’s leaving is if it’s with you on the back of his bike,” Rain says.
Ashley nods. “My brother is obsessed with you. Pretty sure he would rather cause himself physical harm than hurt you.”
I can’t help but smile as I think about it.
She’s not wrong.
“Has he ever made you think that things between you are temporary?” Maggie asks.
“No, never,” I tell them.
Maggie nods. “Then you need to have trust in him and your relationship. Granted, you guys are still new, so it will take time, but we all see it. Don’t get too far into your head that you miss out on being in the present.”
“You’re right,” I tell them.
“We typically are,” Rain teases, making me roll my eyes.
I look back over at Ashley. “Okay, enough relationship talk. I need you to give me shit I can use to blackmail your brother.”
Ashley tips her head back and laughs. “I hate to break it to you, but he’s not the type to let anyone blackmail him. I literally have nothing.”
“Nothing? Not a single thing?” Rain asks.
“Nothing,” Ashley confirms.
“I have a hard time believing that. Even the most noble men have done some stupid shit,” Kim says.
Ashley shakes her head. “No, I’m serious. When Asher was a kid, he never stepped out of line. He always thought about every angle before he ever did anything. He would weigh the risks and the rewards to decide whether it would be worth it. It’s actually pretty fucking annoying.”
I can’t help but smile.
Yeah, that sounds like my guy.
We couldn’t be more opposite if we tried.
I’m spur of the moment, and he’s a planner.
I do before I think, but he is always thinking three steps ahead.
I’m hot-headed, while it takes him longer to snap.
I run my mouth where he usually keeps his closed, except for when it matters most. Maybe that’s why we work so well together.
They say opposites attract, and for the first time ever, I think there might be some truth to it.
ASHER
With my arms loaded down with boxes, I weave my way through the beginning stages of the carnival. It’s kind of wild to think that this time tomorrow, this place will have people shoulder to shoulder.
I hear their laughter before I see them and can’t help but smile.
“I’m serious! When I was like ten, I wanted to be a princess for Halloween, and I was scared to go trick or treating by myself, so my mom made him dress up as a knight and take me.
I loved it so much that they made him do it the next year.
By that point, I was over trick or treating, but I liked spending time with him, so I kept going,” my sister tells them.
“Hey, stop telling stories about me,” I tease as I approach.
The girls all turn and smile when they see me.
“But where’s the fun in that?” my sister teases.
“Come on, prospect. You don’t want us to know that you have a soft spot for the women in your life?” Kim adds.
Rain laughs. “Like we didn’t already know that.”
I set down the boxes and put my hands on my hips. I look at my sister and shake my head.
“See what you started? Before you started coming around, they thought I was a badass, and then you went and ruined it.”
“Sorry, not sorry.” My sister shrugs.
“Okay, kids, play nice,” Aspen quips.
Reaching out, I grab her and pull her into me. I tickle her sides, making her laugh.
“I’ll show you nice,” I say for only us to hear.
Aspen’s breath catches. “Promises, promises.”
Spinning her in my arms, I kiss her. Aspen quietly moans into my mouth, making my cock twitch.
I forget where we are and that we aren’t alone until someone whistles.
“Okay, you two, a mom passing by just covered her kid’s eyes. You should probably stop until you find a room,” Maggie teases.
Still holding on to Aspen, I wink. “What do you say? Want to run away with me and find a place to hide?”
“If you ask nicely, I might,” she sasses back, making me laugh.
“What did I miss?” Ridge asks as he approaches.
“Nothing,” Rain mutters.
I look up in time to see him frown.
“Everything okay between you two?” Kim asks, eyes flying between the two of them.
“Fine,” they say in unison.
“I’d bet my firstborn that they are in fact not fine,” Aspen says quietly.
“No betting the children,” I scold her under my breath.
My girl rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t look away from our friends.
“Do you guys have more boxes to bring in?” Maggie asks.
“Yeah, there’s more in the truck,” I tell her.
Aspen looks up at me. “Want me to come with you? I can help carry them.”
“Nah, you stay here with your friends, Songbird.”
Her eyes light up, and I can’t help but lean down and give her a quick kiss.
“Hey, Ridge, can you actually help me with this? I can’t unscrew it,” Maggie asks as she hands him something.
He looks over at me as he takes it from her. “Give me a minute and I’ll walk with you.”
“I can walk to the parking lot by myself,” I tell him solemnly, making the girls giggle.
“You guys are all a pain in my ass,” he mutters.
I tap Aspen’s ass, making her jump, and I can’t help but chuckle as I walk away. Walking back to the truck, I tip my head to others who are starting to set up their booths. The place is starting to fill up with people getting ready for tomorrow.
As I approach the truck, I swear I see someone lingering around it and slow down. I stand still, out in the open, waiting to see if they make themselves known. After a few minutes, no one pops up.
In fact, the parking lot is dead.
What the hell?
Moving, I walk to the truck and I circle it. I look under the truck, around the body, and even on the roof. Nothing. It looks normal. I circle it again and head to the bed. I check the tape on all the boxes and see that they are undisturbed.
What the fuck?
Scanning the parking lot, I begin to wonder if I imagined it.
Are the late nights starting to get to me?
Am I being paranoid because I know Adlet is still out there?
“Hey, you good?” Ridge calls out from behind me.
“I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong?” he asks as he comes to stand next to me.
“I swore I saw someone fucking with the truck when I was walking up, but then they just disappeared.”
Ridge goes tense next to me and begins to scan the area.
“Call Meek. There are cameras here in the parking lot. He might be able to find something,” he says as he checks the truck for himself.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and find his number.
“Yeah?” he says, answering after two rings.
I tell him where I am and what I thought I saw.
“Give me a minute,” Meek says.
As he types away in the background, my skin begins to crawl.
Someone’s watching me. I know it.
As discreetly as possible, I begin to scan the area again. Nothing stands out.
What the fuck is happening?
“Finding anything?” I ask harsher than I meant to.
“Are you good?” he asks after a minute.
“No, I’d bet money right now that someone is watching me, but I don’t know where the fuck they are,” I tell him as Ridge comes up next to me.
“Put him on speaker,” Ridge says quietly.
I pull the phone away from my face and do as he asks.
Meek sighs. “Well then, you’re going to hate what I have to say.”
“Hey, just so you know, it’s Ridge, and I’m with the prospect.”
“Did you see anything?” Meek asks him.
“No, I got held up with the girls for a minute. Now tell us what you found,” Ridge tells him.
“That’s just the thing. I didn’t find anything. Only thing that popped was the people going from their vehicles into the carnival. That’s it. Nothing suspicious,” he says, making me curse.
“So you mean to tell me that I just imagined it?” I snap.
“I never said that, but it is a possibility,” Meek says.
“Thanks for looking,” Ridge tells him.
“Of course. Call me if you need me,” Meek says before he hangs up.
“I swear I’m not going crazy. I know I saw someone,” I tell him.
“Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Now let’s take the rest of this shit to the girls so we can all get the fuck out of here and back where it’s safe.”