Becca nodded. “You’re already building a life here. You’ve got a job and a cute little apartment; you have Rave and me to help with Daniel. Yes. I think you should pass on it.”
Ashley stood up from the bench. “OK.”
“There’s always time down the road to change your mind if things don’t work out, Ashley.”
“You’re right. Thanks, Becca.”
“There are six more weeks of summer. Maybe you can reevaluate then.” In that time Becca could introduce her to everyone, give Ashley a sense of family, of home.
For a few long moments Ashley stared at Becca. “I get it.”
It felt as though she’d said the words to herself. Becca frowned. “Get what?”
“Why he fell for you. You’re authentic.” Ashley nodded. “He deserves that.”
Becca watched her walk away, off toward the apartment complex just a block down. Becca couldn’t have said anything else if she had to. Surprise had stolen her words.
Becca’s dad was awake early the following morning and sitting at the kitchen table when Becca grabbed her keys to head out.
He smiled at her. “You work today, Pumpkin?”
“Nope. Spending the day with Rave.” Rave had called her at 6:30 a.m. and told her to get to his house pronto. Tuck was making pancakes, and if she cared about spending the day with them, she’d better show up in time for breakfast.
Becca’s dad nodded, his mouth pressed into a line.
She placed the keys on the table and blew out a breath. “What is it, Dad?”
She was in a hurry, but there was always time for her father. Breakfast might have to wait. Rave had also promised Daniel a fishing trip. She knew Ashley was working the early shift at Vernie’s. That gave Becca time to go out on the boat but be home in time for Ashley’s shift to end and to take her over to Crowder. Becca had already called her mom to let her know they’d be coming and to please set out some of the nicer items for Ashley to consider. “Look, Dad, I know when something is bothering you.”
He leaned back in the chair, his broad shoulders rising and falling. “The young man you’ve gotten involved with has a lot of grown-up problems.”
Her mind clouded. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He raised one hand. “Stepson, ex-girlfriend.”
She leveled him with a look. “He’s a good man, Dad. One of the best I’ve met, and until you get to know him, it’s pretty unfair to pass judgment.”
He closed his green eyes, a mirror of her own in color. “True. I just want you to be careful.”
“You do realize I’m not in high school anymore, right?” She knew he meant well, but really? He was treating her like a child, not an adult. Two years. For two years she’d been helping with bills and carrying some of the family burden. Had he missed that?
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She looked away. “It hurts that you don’t have more faith in me. In my judgment.”
He offered a sad smile. “I do, Bec. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”
“Then know I’m using it.”
His voice was toneless. “I’ve watched Rave at the memorial park. I can understand what you see in him. Forgive me for being a father.”
A grin appeared, even though she didn’t want it to. Honestly, his words had stung. More than she cared to admit. But this was her dad, her hero, and at the end of the day, he only wanted what was best for her. That fact alone made it easy to forgive his nosiness. “Deal. I’m going fishing with Rave, Tuck, and Daniel. Be home later.”
“Have fun, baby girl.”
She shook her head, kissed his cheek, and left the house.
She arrived at Tuck’s place, inspected the quilt fort, ate a hearty breakfast, and was waiting for Rave to come downstairs after taking Daniel up to change his syrup-stained shirt when the doorbell rang. Bullet jetted past her and went straight to the window.
Rave had Daniel in his arms when he hollered down to Becca, “Can you see who that is?”
Becca pulled the door open to find Ashley on the other side. First she smiled and waved for her to come in, but Ashley’s somber demeanor created a flash of apprehension that ran from Becca’s head to her heart.
“Sorry to just drop in.”
Becca shot a glance over her shoulder at Rave. “I thought you’d be at work,” he said as he let a squirming Daniel out of his arms to go hug Ashley.
“Something’s come up. I need—”
Tuck strode out of the kitchen with a cooler hanging on his forearm. He stopped just inside. All eyes were on Ashley, and if Becca wasn’t mistaken, both Rave and Tuck had a sense of what was happening.
Becca took Ashley by the arm and led her to the couch. “Come in and sit down. We can all chat for a while.” She hoped the others didn’t hear the desperation in her voice, but Becca knew exactly what this was. Ashley wasn’t at work because she was planning to get Daniel and leave.
Becca tried to take a calming breath, but it came out in a shudder. She glanced at Rave. He stood over the couch like he knew her plans. Like he’d lived this before, maybe several times, and like he’d quite possibly come apart at the hinges if he had to suffer it again.
Deafening quiet pressed the air around them, causing it to tingle. Ashley finally spoke. “Rave, I—”
He sank onto a nearby chair, his tanned face white, his fingers tight at his sides. “Just say what you have to say, Ash.” Daniel found his way to the floor, where he and Bullet wrestled.
She forced out a breath. “I have a new job. I’ve been invited to work with my sister, Nicole, on the yacht. It’s a great opportunity, Rave, and it’ll give me a chance to put some money away for winter. Vernie said the diner slows down through January and February.”
Rave looked at Daniel.
The look wasn’t lost on Ashley. “It’s six weeks of work, but it will pay for my apartment until March. The problem is, I can’t take Daniel this trip.”
Rave leaned forward. “This trip?”
“The yacht has a regular crew and a seasonal summer crew. I can work summers, and the money is great, but they won’t let Daniel go until next year.”
Rave brushed his hands through his hair. “Ashley, you’d be away from him for a month and a half.”
Daniel was happily playing on the floor with Bullet and apparently not listening to the conversation. “I know I would. And the thought of that kills me, but, Rave, you said I should try to make a life here. I’ll be back in time to get him enrolled for school, and the money from the yacht will take some of the pressure off. Plus, I’ll get to be with Nicole. And Daniel will be here. With you. Unless you don’t want to keep him.”
Rave reached out and grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Of course I can keep him, but Ash, you’ve never been away from him for more than a couple days. I don’t think you realize what that would be like.”
Ashley cast a long look at her son. “I know he’ll be too busy here to miss me. Lots of parents have obligations that take them away from their children. I’m trying to do what’s best for both of us. I want to make a life here, Rave. I’m doing the best I can.”
When Rave started to shake his head, Ashley pointed a finger at him. “Of everyone in the world, you of all people know how much I love him. This isn’t like what happened with your mother.”
Of course that’s what he’d been thinking. That was why he’d sensed the change before she’d even admitted it. Becca’s heart broke for all of them. Especially for the four-year-old on the floor. Rave leaned closer and whispered, “You’ll miss his birthday.”
She drew a deep breath, but with it, her eyes filled with tears. “I know. But I’ll celebrate with him when I get back.” Her chin quivered, and Becca knew just how difficult this decision must have been for her.
Rave rubbed his hands over his face.
Becca dared not say a word. Even though she wanted to tell Ashley everything would be OK, it wasn’t her place.
“Rave,” Ashle
y said, using a tone that had likely gotten her whatever she’d wanted from him once upon a time. “Last night, Becca reminded me that it’s never too late to reconsider my options.”
Rave’s gaze shot to Becca and held. “You encouraged this?”
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Ashley leaned back on the couch cushions. “She encouraged me to stay. She said she wanted to help me make a life here. But it made me realize that I really don’t belong here. At least not yet. I need these six weeks. If you can give me this, I swear I’ll stay here for all of Daniel’s kindergarten year. I’ll give Barton a real chance. Besides, I’d never want to uproot Daniel in the middle of a school year.”
Rave lifted and dropped his hands. “You know you can count on me, Ash. But just know that being away from him will be devastating for you.”
Despair skated over her features. “I know.”
Rave’s steel-cold eyes softened. “But as long as he’s here, I’ll take good care of him. He’s in good hands.”
“He’s alive because of you, Rave. You’ve always been there for him. For both of us.” She brushed her hands over her thighs. “Now I need to tell my little guy good-bye.”
“You have to leave now?” Becca blurted. She hadn’t meant to, but the words shot right out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Ashley nodded. “My sister sent a plane ticket for me. The yacht leaves Miami tonight. There was a direct flight from Gatlinburg. A car is picking me up at my apartment in an hour.”
Becca glanced at Rave, trying to digest all this.
Ashley continued. “I’ll have my cell phone, but it won’t work on the water. There’s a satellite phone I can use once a day.” She pulled a slip of paper from her front pocket and handed it to Rave.
He stared at the paper but said nothing.
Becca moved to place a hand on his shoulder while Ashley called Daniel over. She sank onto the floor and pulled him onto her lap. “Listen, buddy. Something came up, and Mommy is going to have to go to work for a long time.”
“I thought you were already at work, Mommy.”
She rubbed her hand slowly over his head, smoothing his hair. “I know, baby. But I have to go out of town. You’re going to get to stay with Rave while I’m gone.”
Rave cleared his throat. “That’s right, Rock Star. We’re going to have lots of fun.” But the words were flat, and Becca squeezed Rave’s shoulder to let him know she understood.
“But will you be back in a jiffy?” His bright blue eyes pleaded.
Ashley hugged him hard. “No, Daniel. It won’t be a jiffy. But I’ll be back in time to get you ready for school. You’re excited about school, right?”
He worked his mouth. “I guess.”
“I want you to be a good boy for Rave. Promise you’ll mind. I’ll try to call you every night before bed.”
“OK, Mommy.” He hugged her, his eyes squeezing shut as he did.
Becca fought tears as Ashley held her son to her. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mommy.”
“I’ll bring you something special when I come home.”
“OK.” But it sounded automatic, like there was too much weight on the little boy’s shoulders to answer with any excitement.
Ashley kissed his forehead, his cheek, his hair. “Come on, let’s get your things from the car.”
CHAPTER 15
“I just think it’s time I took you to the doctor instead of Phil.” Daniel was already asleep when Rave launched into the argument about Tuck’s doctors and why he should be going with him. For the second time in as many weeks, Tuck had gotten his medications mixed up.
“What about Daniel? Can’t just leave him to fend for himself.”
“No, we can’t.” Daniel had been with them for two weeks. Four more weeks and Ashley would be home. True to her word, she’d called every night. Even if the chats were short ones, Daniel loved listening to her tell stories about seeing dolphins and watching the night sky from the deck of the yacht. And just like Rave had expected, the separation was harder on Ashley than she’d ever thought it would be.
But they were all adjusting. Daniel went with Rave and Tuck whenever they were going to work on the cabin, and he pounded nails into a two-by-four using a little tool kit Rave bought at the lumberyard while Rave rewired, and Tuck watched and instructed. It was late July and though it was hot outside, with the windows open and the breeze working its way inside, the cabin temperature was tolerable. But only in the mornings, before the sun moved higher in the sky and the shade from the trees and the mountains shrank.
Rave had Daniel twenty-four, seven. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t love it. Their days off had been filled with fun and discovery. Becca joined them whenever she wasn’t at work, and the three had done everything from picnicking at waterfalls to swimming in streams. It was almost perfect; if it wasn’t for Tuck’s illness, life would be golden. But there was an illness and Rave knew he needed to know more about it. “We wouldn’t be leaving Daniel alone. Becca volunteered to watch him so I could take you to your appointments.”
Tuck frowned. “They’re during the day. She’d miss work.”
“I told her that. She said it was no problem. Things are slowing down at the coffee shop.” Rave poured a glass of iced tea and sat down at the table where Tuck was laying out his meds. “I know you’re a private person, Tuck. But I want to do this. Not just for you, for me. I worry about you. Knowing your doctor’s recommendations will help me rest easy. OK?”
Tuck shook his head no but grumbled an almost imperceptible, “OK.”
When the doorbell rang, Tuck and Rave looked at each other. “I didn’t know we had a doorbell,” Rave said, rising to see who it was.
“Most folks knock.” Tuck shrugged and followed him with Bullet in tow.
Rave pulled the front door open. His sudden gasp drew all the air from around him. A wave of shock hit him full force, then trickled from his shoulders down, like an earthquake shifting the very ground where he stood. For a solitary second, his vision darkened. Rather than pass out right there in the doorway, he forced all the air from his lungs. He groped for something to hold on to and found only the edge of the door he’d opened. There, standing on the other side was the one person he’d never expected to see. She wore a white shirt and jeans. Her hair was longer, fuller, as was her face. The dark circles beneath her eyes were gone, and she looked healthy. A woman he’d known from so long ago. A woman who’d been slowly killed by the drugs in her system. Or so he’d thought. She was dead. Except she wasn’t. She was right there in front of him. Rave stumbled backward. “Mom?” No, it couldn’t be her. Sharon Wayne was gone.
And this was just a dream. He’d lived it many nights. Many times, and he’d wake with his hands aching, clutching the covers, trying to cling to something that was long lost.
Her eyes widened. “Rave?” There was hope in those words. Hope and life. When she reached a hand toward him, he jerked away, emotions surging from the deep basement of his heart. Her face, the face of his mother . . . staring at him, looking as surprised to see him as he was to see her.
Her fingertips hung in midair, waiting, wanting, but understanding filled her eyes. “Rave, how did you get here? It’s so good to see you.” Each word was a breathy whisper.
Rave shook his head. This wasn’t happening. It wasn’t possible. He willed himself to wake from this nightmare. Outside the crickets hummed, the air was crisp, cool off the surrounding mountains, the world was neither dreamlike nor nightmarish. It was normal. All normal except for his long-dead mother standing in the doorway.
She took a small step forward. He shuffled back. “Rave, I have so much to tell you. Honey, I’m so sorry for leaving you in Tampa.”
When the room slanted to one side, he groped for a better hold on the door, needing something to stabilize him. But the words entered his ears first, then his mind and then his heart. On autopilot he repeated them. “You’re sorry for leaving
me in Tampa.”
She nodded, her dark hair moving around her face. “Yes. So sorry.”
His fingers clutched the wood of the doorjamb. “How about being sorry for not coming back? How about being sorry for the fact that I had to quit school and get my diploma online because my mom ditched me just when things were starting to feel like they might be OK? How about being sorry for the fact that I was homeless within two weeks after you left?” He knew his voice was rising, his blood starting a slow boil as the years unfolded before him anew.
Concern furrowed her brow. “The Dawsons kicked you out?” She shook her head. “I thought they’d let you stay.”
His mother had rented the Dawsons’ pool house, and in exchange, along with the five hundred a month his mom paid them, Rave took care of their pool. The older couple had taken the two of them in and for the most part treated them like family. Until they realized he’d not be able to afford rent.
“Surprise, Mom. People let you down.” All this time, he’d assumed that she’d gone off and died somewhere. That she’d ended up overdosing, and the only comfort in that was that perhaps her passing had been a peaceful one. But instead, she’d been alive all these years. Since he was barely seventeen, she’d been out there somewhere and had never even tried to return to him. And that meant she had—in every sense of the word—truly abandoned him.
Her face clouded, tears filled her eyes. “I can never say I’m sorry enough.”
“Right.” Strength came back to him. Rave had made it on his own. He’d survived. He hadn’t needed her. “So don’t even start. Apologies from you are worthless. You haven’t earned the right to them.” Behind him, something moved, drawing Sharon’s attention. Rave turned to see his grandfather releasing his hold on the kitchen door and taking a cautious step forward.
“Sharon?” Tuck whispered, and a trembling hand came up to cup his mouth. Tuck looked old, frail, worn down by the disease that was working to kill him and by the daughter who stood before him, the daughter he’d made peace with burying long ago.
“Dad?” She leaned forward, but wouldn’t take a step. Fear, maybe, or dread. Tuck would certainly slam the door in her face if he was standing close enough.
Something Like Family Page 19