What they had was beyond physical or even emotional, it was transcendent, and she wanted to boldly explore as much of him and their life together as possible.
16
Daryl—The Main House
“Daryl, come sit with me,” Asher said after they were showered and dressed. He looked concerned, but Daryl refused to let his look become contagious. His Dragon wanted her to be strong and supportive of him. This is what she’d gleaned from the connection to that part of him that kept getting stronger and stronger.
She followed as Asher led her to a den area full of comfortable leather lounge chairs and sofas. Daryl hadn’t noticed the book that looked like a ledger in his hand until he sat and pulled her down to him in the oversized leather version of a lounge settee.
Settled and comfortably propped up on some throw pillows by his side he looked at her and said, “I’ve needed to do this from the day I met you. I want you to read this and then react in whatever way you see fit. All I ask is that you eventually allow me to talk with you. Please don’t shut me out.”
Nausea from all the nervous impulses hitting her stomach crowded in. Deciding to face it head on, Daryl said, “Don’t count me out before I’ve been up to bat.” Reaching for the ledger that he now held in front of her, she took it.
With the ledger in her hand, Daryl readjusted to lean against the back of the furniture in an upright position. Might as well handle it that way. When she opened the leather-bond book, it was filled with pages and pages of… diary entries that were filled in by a strong masculine hand.
“If you want to cut to the chase, start here,” he said, flipping over to about a third of the book.
Determination to get through this was the primary power that got Daryl to look down and start reading. And read she did. It was like a tale full of suspense, action, and intrigue. Asher got up a few times. Once to pace and another to get a few bottles of water for them. Still, she read. Daryl took her time and read the entire remainder of the book that was a journaling journey of a younger Asher Princeton.
When finished, she sat, staring ahead, as the information swirled around in her mind. Not only had Asher known her dad, but he'd also been involved in the last project her father had worked on. She could see him pacing and looking over at her every few minutes.
Laughter, soft but deep, startled her as it came up and out. Daryl could hear the internal clicking of so many questions falling into place. This answered a lot. Asher stopped pacing to look back over at her. Instead of feeling numb by what she’d just learned, her body felt alive and lithe.
“All these years I had it wrong,” she said, closing the ledger and placing it beside her.
Asher stood quiet, giving her his complete attention, but not saying anything in response.
She got up, feeling the need to move all the weird new feelings around and hopefully out of her body. Going over to the large windows that lined the outer wall of what she’d call the media room of the house, Daryl looked out, focusing on the guest house. The house and the person she’d been while there seemed like a million miles away and an eternity ago.
Words bubbled up and out. “I look at the guest house and what my frame of mind was while I was there. It’s funny. I did everything I could to fight a ghost’s war.” She turned back to see Asher had closed the distance and was a few feet away. His eyes, ever expressive, stirred with restrained need. She could see that clearly. The fullness of day made everything plain.
“Asher, why did you show me your diary? You could have kept it hidden and I would have never known.”
He exhaled. Her speaking to him seemed to release him from some stasis of waiting. “Good, at least you’re still speaking to me,” he said, not making a move toward her. “I had to. Showing you the ledger was the right thing to do. And it had to be now, as soon as possible because you—we—deserve to have a mating and family built on the hard truth and not lies that try to manipulate happiness. I wouldn’t be happy for long with this knowledge beating me up inside. And, my Dragon couldn’t be content with any hint of deception or unspoken truth between us.”
“Thank you. That confirms what my gut is telling me.”
“Which is?” he asked.
“That my father was a mere human with shortcomings like everyone else.” The air between them was live with a hint of anticipation to it. “I sense that this is the first big hurdle we have to cross as a couple. I’m going to cut to the chase and let you know that I’m in this with you. Not because of my word before, but because of the freedom I’ve been given through your journal.”
“Huh, I don’t understand. So, you’re not upset by what I didn’t do to help your father?” He ran a hand through his thick, black mane.
“I’m upset, but with myself. Not you, and oddly enough, not my mother or father.” Feeling the need to get out of the house, she said, “Would you take a walk with me? I have the need to expand and in here is constraining.”
“Sure, I’ll grab our shoes and meet you at the back doors.”
Daryl offered him a smile, as Asher took off to get their shoes from upstairs. Outside with the summer sun high in the sky, she took in a deep breath, willing it to keep her in her body. A lot had happened to move her to a different perspective about her entire life that it felt as if an emotional riptide was on the brink of overtaking her. Setting out to walk the grounds, Asher moved close and took her hand in his. She didn’t protest, allowing her mate to be here with her in this new reality.
When she was ready to speak, Daryl squeezed his hand, and they stopped. The location was appropriate. They stood behind the guest house, not far from where she’d met him in Dragon form.
“It had been me all along.”
He nodded.
“You found out and confronted him.”
“Yes, but I had no way of knowing what he’d do.”
“How could you?” she asked, stepping closer into his waiting arms.
“If I’d known we’d end up here, I would have tried harder, done more to save him.”
The weight of moisture pooling and hanging on for dear life to her lower lashes had her blinking to free them. When a single tear fell, Asher wiped it away with a gentle thumb.
Daryl smiled, seeing how much this man loved her. If it had been the other way around, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do what he did then or now.
“You saved him—in a way.”
“How so?” Confusion etched his masculine beauty.
“How much longer would he have been able to go on pretending? I was away in college and not coming up here to help him in the summers.”
“But I could have followed up and made sure he was in a good place. I didn’t know he’d take it like he did. I promise.”
Daryl reached up to place a hand on his chest. “I know, love. And, you couldn’t know he’d take his life when he was exposed. That was a choice my father made—not you.” She smiled bright, amazed at the weight that was lifted. “You know, before I read your journal, I thought it was my fault. I thought that when I didn’t come back during college, he didn’t have anyone to cheer for him. I thought he was a little sheep out there in the big, bad, technology world. And, I thought it was my quest to avenge his memory and make the industry respect him. In hindsight, that’s the drive that made me do that project.”
“I can see that. We have so much to discuss and learn about each other, and that will be fun to do, but I want you to know that we’re a lot alike. I worshiped my father too. When I found out that he wasn’t the perfect man or Dragon I thought he was, I had a crisis of faith and ran away. Unlike your dad, he’s alive and well, back on the west coast where I was raised. I haven’t spoken to him since I left a little over fifteen years ago. Being with you and our joining as a family has given me a new hope that I can repair a relationship with him. Its demise was of my doing to tear down in the first place. I’m taking the opportunity to ask his forgiveness, because of you.”
Asher bent down and placed a de
licate kiss on her lips.
He added, “Because of your kindness toward me, I’ve got new hope that my dad might be willing to do the same. He’s never even met, Brock. I owe it to my son to try to repair the breach so he can have a relationship with his grandfather.”
“What about your mother?”
“She died in childbirth with my sister. That was part of the issues with my dad. When she and my sister died during the delivery, he went away emotionally. Over the years, I took it personally until I couldn’t stand him or our lives anymore. I left and came to Atlanta when I was barely twenty-one. The need to show him how much I didn’t need him or his money drove me to make myself into the Asher Princeton you see today.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
“Yep, so you can see how we both had driven life goals fueled by our relationships with our fathers.”
“Wait, before you go all Freudian on me, let me stress that your father didn’t take your ideas and try to pawn them off as his.”
“I wasn’t a prodigy genius either. Daryl, when your proposal came to Harry Sonders, he knew this would be the chance of a lifetime for our company. And before you ask, no, he never knew that it had always been your mind and ideas that your father had used for his inventions. He thought you were a chip off the old block. Only I knew. When he said Daryl’s kid had made a proposal, I knew I was going to back it no matter what it was. You, Daryl, not your dad, was the mind behind his greatest inventions. All his advancements would happen either during the summer or right after. It didn’t take me long to realize those times corresponded with his kid’s visits.” Asher rubbed her arm as he spoke, comforting them both. “On a few occasions I’d pressed him to make adjustments to things, and his work was subpar to when you were around.”
Asher brought her in close and hugged her. Daryl needed his touch in a major way. Hearing this about her father was difficult, like watching an idol crumble and disappear.
“Did anyone else find out about him and what he was doing?” She had to know. Something akin to embarrassment for her father waited in the wings to swoop in and haunt her.
“Not that I know of. When I told him to come clean and stop using your designs and inventions as his, he stopped but never said anything. The next thing I knew, he’d been found dead with a self-inflicted wound.”
“Yeah, there was no note, nothing. I thought someone had driven him to do it. Now, it’s clear as day that ‘the someone’ I was hunting down had been himself.” She looked up from in his embrace to watch how his breathing moved within him. The Dragon within still held mysteries for her. Daryl wanted to know how much was him the man and him the dragon that made him so strong, so young. “Was it you or your dragon that made you leave home, build your company, and… confront my father? You were younger than I am now and I couldn’t do what you did.”
“It was both. And, don’t sell yourself short. You did a lot of what I did. You left Austin to come here with no friends or support, started your company and built an industry game changer. I’d say you’re pretty awesome yourself.”
“When you say it like that, I’d say so too. But, Ash, I need you to know I’m still me. Learning what happened to my dad is going to take some time to process. I don’t move that fast when it comes to feelings and things like that. And, like you, I have a relationship with my mom that I need to mend. Now, I can see how she tried to protect me from what my father was doing. In her way, she loved me—the best way she knew how.” She stepped back to look up at her mate. “I turned my father into a god that could do no wrong, at the expense of my mother. I must fix that. I also need to look at where I go from here with my company.”
His eyes grew large. “How so? Are you going to stop working on the prototype?”
“Cool your jets, there, Mr. CEO. I’m going to finish the project—on time. I’m saying that considering what I’ve learned about myself through what my father did; I have a new outlook on what I can do. I’m not stuck in following his footsteps. I like the energy sector, but it doesn’t give me the thrills. There are so many other things I’d like to explore to invent, improve, and innovate. I have the freedom to do that now that I’ve been released from the ghost of my father’s legacy.”
“Oh, whew! I thought you were going to stop using that brilliant mind of yours to invent.”
“Never, that is who I am. But, I do have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Did you know me before? You know, did we ever meet before this time?”
“No. All I knew about you was that Daryl had a child who was some genius. I assumed you were a boy and was shocked to find out you were—you when we finally met here.”
She mulled over what he said before saying, “I could say that is sexist, but I know you and that you’d never mean it that way.”
Asher grabbed her into his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Forgive me just the same. Everything about you is helping me identify and work on biases I didn’t know I had.”
“My pleasure,” she said laughing. “And on that note, thank you for not calling the cops on me too. You could have used a bias when you learned that a black female was living in your guest house, uninvited.” She paused to consider how that sounded. “That didn’t come out like I thought it would. But, so you know, I did feel bad about squatting on your property.”
“Thank you for not leaving. From the moment we met, I—no—my Dragon knew who you were. I saw it as the cosmic hand of destiny making sure we met. Think about it Daryl, out of all the places you could have ended up; you came directly to my home. I’d say that was fate like a Mofo.”
“I’d say so too.” Daryl needed to reveal one more thing. “Asher, since we’re being honest, I have to say that every time I hear you talk about Monique, I get jealous. Are you sure nothing ever happened between you two? When you speak of her, it’s like talking about a former lover who’s become a dear friend.”
His laughter was loud and booming.
When he’d gotten it out and composed himself enough to speak, he said, “Boy, I cannot wait for you to meet her. No, Monique and I have never had anything more than a sibling type of relationship. There are things about her I’m not at liberty to say. She can tell you if she wants but suffice it to say Monique is particular in the kind of men she’s into. Dragons don’t fit into that mix.”
“She knows you’re a Dragon?”
“Yes, and she’s fiercely protective of Brock and me. If she likes you, Monique is the most loyal friend and ally you’ll ever have. If not, heaven help you.”
A shudder rocketed down Daryl’s spine. “What if she doesn’t like me?”
“That won’t be the case. She was the one to tell me you were my mate. She’s got this gift of knowing things. And, she always said I needed a strong woman like her, but willing to put up with me to be my mate. She sees you as a woman after her own heart. Like I said, she’s eager to meet you too.”
“I see.” Daryl still wasn’t sold on the joys of meeting Monique.
“I’ll admit she can have the demeanor of a prickly pear, but when she’s for you, you know it. And trust me, Daryl, she’s definitely for you.”
His assurances helped assuage some of her apprehension but not all of it. Thoughts of Brock flashed in her mind’s eye. A sense of longing and need to see the child came over her. Picking up Asher’s arm to check the time on his watch, it was less than an hour before camp let out for the day.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s time to get ready to go get my baby. Come on.”
“Brock?” Looking at his watch, he tossed back, “But we still have almost forty-five minutes. Your baby will be fine.”
“Maybe, but I won’t. I need him to see us as soon as the day is done. Asher, I love you and Brock. That little guy wormed his way deep into my heart the first time I met him. Now that we’ve had this talk, I have a huge urge to get him and shower love all over him. I might be overstepping here, but I need Brock as much as he
needs me.”
“What about me, I need you too?”
“Oh, hush up, Dragon. You’re my biggest need and want—always will be. Where Brock is concerned, I get it. He’s looking to fill the hole his mother left. I get it because I was looking to replace the hole my father left. We were brought together to heal too. You help me heal as a woman and Brock helps me heal as a child.”
Asher smiled and led them back toward the main house. “Makes perfect sense to me.”
“Mom, Dad!” Brock yelled as he took off, snatching his hand from the female camp worker. She yelled after him with no luck. The kid had zoned in on Daryl and Asher, and there was no stopping him.
When he reached them, Brock ran into Daryl’s waiting arms. She swooped him up, planting a big kiss on his flushed cheek.
“I missed you so much today!” she said. “Did you have a great time?”
Still a little out of breath from his Olympic sprint, Brock breathed hard as he said, “Yeah! We had so much fun.” Kissing her on her cheek, he said, “Mom, I made this for you.”
Brock thrust a figure made of pipe cleaners attached to a cardboard tube. Daryl took it and smiled.
“Now, this is cool. Thanks, my love.” It was thoughtful how he’d given her his day project, and she knew this was a big thing for him to do. “Does it still work?”
Asher looked from the figure to them, confusion lacing his gorgeous features and said, “One, I’m confused. What is it? And, two, why didn’t I get one? Are you always going to give Daryl all the cool stuff?”
Brock giggled happy and content being in Daryl’s arms.
“Oh Dad, it’s a rocket. I gave you one long time ago. It’s in the drawer back home where you keep all my gifts from school. And yes.”
“Yes, what?” Asher said, still not following.
Brock laughed again, loving how he had his father so confused. “Yes, I’m always going to give mom all the cool stuff. I have to make up for all the time I didn’t have her with me. Isn’t that right, mom?” he asked, huge, excited green eyes making her heart melt.
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