by Tia Siren
I assumed she was referring to his parentage. “Yes, of course.”
She shook her head and left. The girl had some serious issues. I couldn’t believe the four siblings didn’t get along better. They had no idea how lucky they were to have each other. I had no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no one at all. They had family by the buckets and didn’t appreciate each other in the least. It was a little disheartening. I wanted Jasper to have a big family, but I wanted it to be a family he actually liked and got along with.
Anna appeared once again. “Do you need me to make those copies for you?”
I nodded. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll have to go to the copy center. Your copy machine is on the fritz again. You really should buy a new one, you know.”
I chuckled. “I’ll get right on that. I think they’re only a couple thousand dollars.”
She looked at me over her shoulder. “If this deal goes through, you can buy ten.”
I smiled. Damn straight I could. I considered asking her if she knew why Tanner seemed so quick to accept me into the fold. If anyone should be mad at me, it was the old man. I had worked hard to get his land, and I’d apparently knocked up his daughter years ago as well. Either one of those offenses should have been enough to earn me banishment from the Parks family for the rest of my days.
But Tanner wasn’t angry at all. In fact, he seemed down right happy to see me. It was like he was welcoming me back with open arms. I decided I better keep my guard up in case it was a ruse, a ploy to get me to relax so he could spring a surprise attack on me. What kind of attack, I didn’t know.
I dismissed Tanner’s strange behavior from my mind and focused on the proposal. I needed to make sure every T was crossed and every I was dotted. There could be no mistakes. I was trying to get into the big leagues and needed to show I could compete with some of the most successful investors. Land was better than gold, and I wanted lots of it.
“I’m headed out,” I told Anna, feeling a little anxious about my meeting.
“Good luck.”
Her words took me by surprise. “Thank you.”
I had to drive up to Morgantown and wanted to make sure I had plenty of time. This was not a meeting I could be late for.
I arrived twenty minutes early and was shown into a conference room. I expected to be meeting with the entire investment group and had come prepared. Anna had done an excellent job putting together the packets that I would hand out to each person. My palms grew sweaty and my stomach was a jumble of nerves.
“You can do this,” I whispered to myself.
Several people meandered into the room. We went through the introductions and then I got right down to business. After an hour-long meeting, I had gotten what I wanted. I had a signed agreement with several stipulations. I was confident I could fulfill each of the demands the investment group had put in the contract. If I could get the property for the agreed upon price, the deal would move forward.
As I drove home, I couldn’t fight the bubble of excitement that came over me. I wanted to call Ashley and tell her the news. I was a little surprised she was the person I wanted to share my excitement with. She had become a friend once again, and I had to laugh at the irony of it all. My plan to buy her home to piss her off had certainly backfired, but it had been the best backfire possible.
Ashley was in my life. I had a son and we were building a relationship that I hoped to foster and grow. Life was good. The bitterness that had nearly eaten me alive these past six years was gone. I didn’t hate Ashley, and I wasn’t mad at the world for dealing me a shitty hand. I felt good, and I wanted to scream it from the mountaintop.
Now I had to hope the trust was willing to sell the land at the price I offered. The land wasn’t even on the market yet, but I knew they had called several realty agencies and there were a lot of interested parties. The competition would be fierce. I hoped my hometown advantage would be enough to persuade them to choose my offer.
Chapter 27
Ashley
It had been a long time since I made a dinner big enough to feed the entire family. I had first requested and then demanded that Hank, Leslie, and Anna all come over for dinner tonight. It was an old tradition that I hoped to reinstate. We had all gone our separate ways a long time ago. It had taken several years away and our dad’s illness for me to realize how important family was. At least I had realized it, and I hoped they would as well. I wanted Jasper to know his aunts, uncles, and cousins.
I was not exactly holding my breath about Anna showing up. She may, or she may not. Sadly, I was almost hoping she didn’t. She always stirred up so much drama and made get-togethers so uncomfortable. I wanted a nice dinner with no drama. I knew my dad was tickled by the idea. He wanted his kids all together under one roof and getting along. I was willing to set aside our differences to do that. I knew Hank was a little pissed that I had essentially bought the farm, but it was none of his damn business. He’d had his chance to save it. He hadn’t wanted to, and in fact hadn’t lifted a finger to help. But I had. I had made it happen.
“Mom, Grandpa says to ask you if you need any help,” Jasper said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“I’m good in here, but it would be nice if you two could clean off the table.”
“Okay.”
The spaghetti sauce I was making was one of my mom’s recipes. I had used tomatoes from the farm to make it. We were also going to be having green beans from the farm. I wanted the family to see how important all that food was, and how good it was. I had been snacking on the beans earlier today as I snapped off the ends. They were crunchy and sweet and would be perfect with the homemade spaghetti and meatballs.
“I can’t remember the last time I ate a meal in that dining room,” my dad said.
He walked over, took a long whiff of the sauce, and gave me a thumbs-up.
“It did look like it became more of an office than a place to eat. I got most of the stuff cleaned up. You and Jasper put the rest in a corner and we can go through it later,” I told him.
He nodded and headed back out to finish his chore.
Jasper came back into the kitchen. “Grandpa wants to know if you know where the tablecloth is.”
“Tell him it’s in the hutch.”
“What’s a hutch?”
“Tell Grandpa and he will show you.”
Jasper sighed and headed out of the kitchen. He was very put out that he had to be the go-between instead of playing with his rocks or digging in the dirt.
Dinner was almost done. I put the bread in the oven and grabbed a stack of plates to carry into the dining room.
“Wow! This looks amazing!” I said, taking in the clean dining room. All the chairs were lined up and the tablecloth in place made it look completely different than it had just a few short hours ago.
“I helped,” Jasper said.
“Good. Now it’s time to set the table. Can you put a plate at each spot? I’m going to get the silverware. Dad, can you grab the napkins?”
A commotion out front told me someone had arrived. It was Hank and his kids. His wife, Teresa, was not able to get off work. The boys came racing into the dining room and were quickly scolded by Grandpa to take their wild selves outside.
Hank came into the dining room and looked around. “Been a long time since I’ve been in this room.”
I nodded. “Yes, it has. I’m hoping we can start our Friday night family dinner tradition again.”
He shrugged. “We’re all busy, Ashley.”
“It’s only a couple hours a week, Hank.”
“We’ll see.”
“I think when we were young we were far busier. We managed to make the time then, even if we had dates and parties to go to,” I reminded him.
He chuckled. “I never went to parties. You must have me confused with someone else.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re right. It must have been my other big brother.”
“Hello?” Leslie called out from t
he living room.
“In here!” I yelled back.
Her eyes widened when she saw the table set. “Holy cow! This certainly brings back some memories. I think I forgot this room even existed.”
We all laughed. It had been a long time.
Leslie’s husband, Jason, came in with the twins behind him. “This looks nice. Good job, Ashley.”
“Oh, I can’t take the credit for this. Dad did it.”
All eyes turned to him, and he was beaming with pride. “Under Ashley’s strict supervision that is.”
“What can I do to help?” Leslie asked.
“You can grab the food—”
I stopped when I looked out the window and saw a familiar vehicle pulling up in front of the house. My stomach dropped as I blinked. It couldn’t be.
It was. Brock’s long legs stepped out of his truck. I watched as he smoothed down his shirt and leaned back in to pull out a bouquet of flowers.
“What the hell?” Leslie murmured behind me.
“I don’t know.”
“Who’s that?” Jason asked.
Hank came to see what we were looking at. “What the hell?” he said, repeating Leslie’s sentiments.
It didn’t take long for Jason to figure out who Brock was. Through the window, we watched as Jasper ran across the yard and threw his arms around Brock.
“Oh,” Jason said. “It’s the baby daddy. He’s changed a lot since the last time I saw him.”
I wasn’t going to admit it, but Jason was right. Brock was a man. He wasn’t the young man who had been a little lankier and a lot cockier.
“Dad!” I called out, having a feeling I knew exactly what was happening.
I walked into the dining room, my hands on my hips. “Did you do this?”
He grinned.
“Dad.”
“I didn’t know I couldn’t invite friends over to my own house.”
“Dad. You don’t think you could have mentioned that you invited my ex-fiancé to dinner with the family?” I asked, my eyes narrowed at him.
He shrugged. “Oh, Ashley, come on. I just invited Brock to dinner.”
“Argh!” I grunted as I turned to head out of the room and into the kitchen.
Brock came in the back door. Leslie, Hank, and Jason had all gone into the living room.
“Hi,” I said to him.
He handed me the flowers. “For the hostess.”
“Thank you. These are very pretty.” I opened a cupboard and grabbed a vase, quickly filled it with water, and set the flowers on the breakfast table. “They really brighten up the room,” I told him.
He stood there looking at me. I could tell he was nervous, and I was nervous for him. He had just walked into the lion’s den. It was up to me to protect him. Me and my dad, I supposed, since he was the one who had invited him. I didn’t think my dad would invite Brock over with ulterior motives, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Can I help with anything?” he asked, clearly not wanting to head into enemy territory alone.
“Yes. You can carry that pot of sauce and I’ll grab the meatballs,” I directed.
My dad found his way into the kitchen. “Ashley, you don’t make the guests work,” he said, taking the pot from Brock. “I’ll take care of this. You two can talk.”
“Hi, Tanner,” Brock said. “Thanks for inviting me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a home-cooked meal. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Of course you’re invited. You are family after all.”
My eyes bulged. What the hell had happened to my dad? Maybe this was the chemo brain I had read about. He was not acting normally at all. Inviting my ex to dinner with the family was not normal—my ex who had just tried to steal the farm and was still threatening to sue me for custody of the child he hadn’t known he had.
Leslie walked by, looked at Brock, and headed into the kitchen. It took about ten minutes to get all the food and drinks on the table and another five to round up the kids and get them washed up.
We all sat down with Jasper sandwiched between Brock and me. We had just started dishing up when I heard the screen door slam. We all looked at each other, and my hope for a nice quiet dinner evaporated.
“Well isn’t this fancy,” Anna said, breezing into the dining room with a man trailing behind her. “Scoot over,” she instructed Leslie’s son. “Me and Derrick want to sit next to each other.”
No one said a word as Anna and her boyfriend, or whatever he was, sat down at the table.
“Anna, maybe you ought to introduce us to your, uh, guest,” Dad said.
“This is Derrick. You know, the father of my child. Yes, he knows I’m pregnant,” she said, shooting a look at me.
Oh joy. This was going to be a great evening.
Derrick smiled, appearing to be completely oblivious to the tension in the room.
I cleared my throat. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ashley, this is my son, Jasper, and that’s Brock.”
The rest of the table went about introducing themselves since it was clear Anna couldn’t be bothered to do it.
We passed around the food, loading up our plates. There was an attempt at small talk, but it failed miserably. Anna had a way of turning nice family gatherings into complete fiascos. I decided she must have been raised by wolves and then dropped into our family without anybody knowing. There could be no other explanation for her rudeness and open hatred for us all. It wasn’t only me she was being a bitch to. She and Leslie had been exchanging barbs as well.
I wanted to cry. My nice family dinner was ruined. I felt bad for Brock, too. No one would even talk to him. The only time they looked at him was to shoot daggers at him with their eyes. Thank God Jasper didn’t pick up on the tension. I wanted him to be able to enjoy his dinner with his father.
“I’m going to grab a bottle of wine,” I announced.
Alcohol was the only way this meal was going to go down. I left the table and headed to the kitchen pantry to see what I could find.
“It’ll be okay,” Dad said, coming up behind me. “It’s like pulling a scab off a festering wound.”
“Gross, Dad.”
He chuckled. “It isn’t all that pretty in there. I know you’re angry that I invited Brock, but he is a part of this family and it’s about time everyone got used to it. He’ll be okay. He’s a tough guy. He can hold his own should your sisters and brother decide to gang up on him.”
“Oh, God! We left him in there alone!”
I grabbed the bottle of wine and dashed back into the dining room. I didn’t see any blood on the table so assumed the claws had not come out.
“Wine?” I asked, opening the bottle.
Brock declined, but every other adult lifted their glass, including Anna. I rolled my eyes as I passed her over. She was only doing it to get a rise out of me, but I would not fall for her silly, childish trap.
I plopped down in my chair and generously filled my glass before taking several gulps.
“Should we say a blessing?” Dad asked from his place at the head of the table.
I nearly scoffed at the request. A blessing wouldn’t work at this table. We needed a damn exorcism.
Chapter 28
Brock
I’d done a lot of really stupid things in my life. I could admit that. But showing up to dinner at the Parks farm was probably right up there at the top. I couldn’t blame youthful recklessness for my behavior. This had been a decision I had pondered for a while. I chose to come out here with the hope that this could be the start of a real relationship with Ashley.
What the hell had I been thinking?
Thankfully, it was Ashley who prepared the meal, otherwise I would have been terrified to take a bite. I could tell by Leslie’s glares that she was still pissed at me, and I didn’t put it past her to poison my food.
“This is great,” I told Ashley.
“Thank you. The recipe is one of my mom’s, and the tomatoes and some of the herbs in the sauce are from right here o
n the farm.”
Jasper excitedly nodded his head. “Yep. I helped pick the tomatoes, and the beans,” he said with a great deal of pride.
“You did a great job,” I complimented him.
Leslie emptied her glass of wine and refilled it. I could feel her staring at me, but I ignored her, choosing to focus my attention on Jasper.
The food was great. I was truly impressed. Ashley had never been much of a cook back when we were dating. It was a running joke between us that either I cooked for the both of us or we starved. Clearly, the years had changed that. I wondered if she had taken classes, or maybe it was a mom thing. You had a kid and you automatically knew how to cook.
No, that wasn’t accurate. My mother had been a horrible cook. Or at least the times she had bothered to cook, it had always ended up burned or raw. There was never a perfectly done meal in our house. I had vowed never to eat canned soup again when I moved out of the house at sixteen. Even thinking about a can of chicken noodle soup made my stomach turn.
Things were moving along with dinner. My plate was nearly finished and I was already planning my excuse to leave early. I had been mostly keeping my head down and minding my own business, choosing not to get involved in the small talk happening around the table. Ashley was taking the same approach.
Then it happened. I knew it was coming, and I had expected Leslie to be the one to say it. All she needed was a little liquid courage.
“Since no one else is going to say it, I will,” she started. “Why is he here?”
I didn’t have to look at her to know I was the “he” being referred to.
“I invited him,” Tanner said.
“Why?” Leslie shot back. “How is everyone okay with this man sitting in our family’s home, eating our food at our table?” she spat out.
“First of all, it’s mine—well, I guess technically it’s Ashley’s—home, and secondly, it’s my table,” Tanner said in a rather calm tone.
I looked at him, silently thanking him for coming to my defense. The table erupted into a lot of conversation all at once. I caught words, but they were all talking and I couldn’t quite understand what was being said. The gist of it was that I was a horrible human being and scum upon the earth. I don’t know why I had expected any different.