I ran, I swam and I focused on enjoying every bit of the amenities that this gym had to offer. Since I had no idea where the road was going to take Ashley and me next, I figured that I should take what I could get, whenever I could get it.
About an hour into my workout, I saw a familiar face making their way into the gym. At first, I almost ducked and went into another portion of the gym, since I was still slightly embarrassed about what had happened last night. But I figured that would be even worse if I was caught trying to escape from her view.
I continued what I was doing as I watched Ashley make her way over toward me.
“Good morning, handsome,” she said, smiling at me in a strangely familiar way.
“Morning,” I answered, continuing my repetitions. “How did you find me?”
She laughed. “Honestly, I wasn’t trying to find you. I thought that it might be a good idea for me to work out here, since you went for a run.” Her smile wasn’t exactly that of an accusation, but it was something.
“Yeah,” I said defensively, raising an eyebrow so that she knew I was kidding with her. “I ran fucking here.”
At this, she chuckled and shook her head before she put her headphones on and began her own workout routine.
We continued to hang around one another, but didn’t talk and I was happy. I didn’t want to have a public discussion about anything and I genuinely respected that she wasn’t about to bring anything up.
Even though we really didn’t talk very much, we still had a good time together and I truly felt that I needed time together in that way, especially because of what I was going to say to her when we returned to the hotel.
Last night, I was all geared up to talk about her father, specifically, but then the conversation moved in a completely different direction and I quit before I was able to get it back. I wasn’t too happy that I had done that, but this morning, I decided that maybe it was for the best.
However, I knew that I couldn’t put it off anymore. I wasn’t sure what she was going to say and I hoped she wasn’t going to feel like I was trying to pressure her into anything, but I did feel as though it was her right to know.
So, when we got back to the hotel, we washed up and I made sure that I was all ready for her when she came out.
“Hey, I wanted to talk to you for a second…” I smiled at her, before I slapped the bed next to me, which prompted her to take a seat.
“Uh-oh,” she said to me in a slightly kidding way while she made hard eye contact with me. “What did I do now?”
I chuckled. “You didn’t do anything. I just have to tell you something.” I paused, just to ensure that my breath would not give out on me, since I was feeling uncharacteristically nervous. But I did not waste another moment that would allow her to give any of her own input. “Remember last night when I told you I saw your father?”
She nodded.
“Well, he told me that he was sorry and that all he wanted to do was talk to you. I was going to tell you last night, but then everything got all fucked up…which, I am fine and would rather not talk about again, but in any case, I screwed up and didn’t tell you.”
“Why do you feel like you need to tell me?” she demanded, her eyes piercing into me.
“Hey, don’t be giving me shit! I’m just the messenger,” I replied, matching her irate tone. “And I’m only telling you because I think you deserve a choice. I don’t give a shit whether you want to, or whether you choose to take him up on the offer, but I did want you to know that he hasn’t written you off and that you are his main concern right now.”
“Yeah, because he has nobody else. I’m his last ditch effort and I’m sick of it,” she spat coldly. I was surprised that she was reacting this way, but it wasn’t like I could blame her. I understood how she felt.
I shrugged. “Like I said, I’m just letting you know that he would really like to talk to you. Maybe failed marriage number two has put some shit in perspective…”
“Screw his perspective. My father’s perspective comes from whatever ass he has to kiss in order to get what he wants. It has nothing to do with wanting to be a good father.”
I couldn’t argue with her, since I never cared enough to find out, but in taking that stance, I also realized I had no idea how to comfort her either. So, I just shrugged. “I’m just fucking relaying the message.”
“Let’s just go to the beach,” she replied after a moment of silence, before she got up and moved toward the door.
Fuck, I thought, very seriously considering that I had just screwed myself over for an asshole who wasn’t even going to give a shit.
As she slammed the door, leaving me behind, I wondered if that was part of the bastard’s plan all along.
Chapter Fifty-One
Ashley
The next night, I moved over to Tyler while he was sitting at the desk, researching different strong man competitions and I tapped him on the shoulder, sheepishly. Even though I had put a lot of time into this decision, now that it came time to make it official, I realized that I still wasn’t quite sure how I was going to approach this conversation, or if I should even try to rectify the situation he had presented me with.
After my fairly awkward tap, he turned his head slowly, stared up at me and blinked pointedly, before he said, “Yes?”
“I thought about what you said,” I told him flatly.
“About your father?”
I nodded. “You’re right.”
“What about?”
“If he wants to talk to me, I should at least give him that, right?”
Tyler nodded and gave me the most straightforward answer I believe I had ever gotten out of him. “All I can tell you, Ashley, is I don’t care how much of a dick my father was to me, I would give anything to be able to have just one more conversation with him.” He shrugged. “Even my mother for that matter. If she woke up and started to actually care, I would want to give her the benefit of the doubt…I would hear her out, at least. And you know how I fucking feel about her.”
Straightforward, in his own way, of course.
I nodded. “I know and after what happened with my mother, I’m pretty sure that no matter what, if I never saw him again, knowing that he wanted to talk, I would feel pretty badly if he suddenly died.”
Tyler nodded. “Then there’s your answer.”
“Will you come with me?” I asked him, hoping that he would be able to bury the hatchet and not want to kill him, at least not before he heard him out as well. Then again, he had already spoken to my father, so maybe he wasn’t who I should be worried about.
Tyler smiled. “If you want, of course I’m going to be there with you.” He gave me a wry look before he added, “Besides, I really should be there in case I need to kick his ass.”
“Hopefully that won’t be necessary.” I smiled and nudged his shoulder, “And thanks. You helped me a lot.”
“Well, I wasn’t trying to…” He responded in a tone that I knew was complete and total, probably very stupidly honest. “I was just…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Relaying the fucking message…” I laughed at my own impersonation of him before I walked off, calling behind me, “I’m going to call my dad and try to get this over with.”
“Good luck!” he called right before I closed the hotel door.
I called thank you, but didn’t risk chickening out by prolonging my conversation with Tyler, so I just dialed the number. I took a deep breath as the phone started to ring and I tried to push all of the negative thoughts out of my head.
I want this to go well, I told myself. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be calling. You have said your piece, now give him a chance to make amends.
However, when my father answered, I almost lost my nerve. Yet, I stayed strong and managed to breathe the words, “Hi Dad…It’s me, Ashley.”
“Oh! Ashley! Thank you for calling me. Did Tyler tell you that I wanted to talk to you?” He sounded more excited than I had heard him in a very long time.
“Yes. He did. I would like to talk to you.” I then did exactly what I didn’t want to do. I suddenly felt tears welling up in my eyes, while a lump formed in my throat. “I am willing to try to make things right between us,” I said, trying to swallow the lump of emotion as effectively as I could muster.
“Me too, sweetheart. I want to start by saying I’m sorry for everything. I was…stupid,” he replied carefully, and his apology, the apology that I took to mean everything, for the last five years of my life, caused it to be even harder for me to speak again.
I pulled the phone away from my face so that I could sniffle without him hearing and after another hard swallow I said, “There’s a lot of healing that needs to be done, Dad, but I think we can do it.” I managed a smile and I hoped that he could hear me through the phone.
I could tell that it was my father who was tearing up as he answered, “I think we can too!”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Tyler
The next day, we arrived back at Ashley’s father’s house and I had to admit that I was fucking nervous.
I knew that Ashley was pretty nervous too, just from the way that she squeezed my hand as we made our way down the beach, but she kept her spirits up.
The night before she was somewhat sad, but in a way, she seemed pleased that she was finally going to get this whole mess rectified; or at the very least, there should be some damn closure.
When her father answered the door, he seemed gracious and welcoming to both of us. I thought that was an improvement from the last time we had met.
At least he didn’t try to take a fucking swing at me… I thought as we walked into the house that was supposed to be our home, but had changed into representing something that was so much worse than that for all of us.
The eerie chill of the air was annoying as shit, but I made do, considering I knew I was there for Ashley. I was there strictly for support. If everything went well, I planned to keep my damn mouth shut. That was not something that came easy to me, but for the sake of fucking compromise, I supposed I would give it a try.
Still, even with everything that went on, I was kind of surprised, not only that I kept my promise to keep my mouth shut, but also because for the first time, probably ever, Ashley and her father had a good conversation without giving one another shit.
I didn’t really listen to the whole thing, since it was none of my damn business, but from what I heard of it, the two of them seemed to be working things out. There was no yelling and I would even go as far as to say the two of them actually listened to one another.
If I was into that kind of sentimental shit, it might have been beautiful, but my ass was just bored; which, I guessed, all things considered, was a good thing.
At one point, Ashley got up and hugged her father, which I took as a cue that things were getting patched up and we could probably leave soon, which made me happy.
However, just as I was beginning to be assured that things were winding down, I heard a familiar voice that I was sure was going to fuck up everything.
“Oh, so you are siding with them, are you?” My mother’s voice called as jealousy oozed from her pores.
I rolled my eyes and stood up, realizing that this was now my cross to bear. “Yes, Mom. I’m siding with them. You made your choice and I made mine.”
“Well, fuck you then!” she screamed as her face screwed up into a scowl, before she spat on the floor. She looked past me toward Ashley’s father and screamed, “Here’s your divorce papers, you dick! Now you and your little whore can live happily fucking after with my son.”
This made me completely irate. “Shut the fuck up!” I screamed, moving up to her, close enough so I towered over her. “I will not stand for you talking about Ashley, or to her father that way.” She cowered away from me as I added, “You need to leave, now!” At that, I snatched the divorce papers out of her hands as I said, “I will take care of this. Don’t worry, you will get divorced, but you sure as hell won’t get anything else.”
“You’re just like your father!” she screamed with the same venom attacking her words as she spoke.
“Good!” I exclaimed. “Because I am sure as hell not anything like you.”
At this, my mother’s mouth dropped opened and she stomped away from the three of us, hopefully leaving us for good.
When I turned around, I was met by Ashley, who ran into my arms and thanked me, before she immersed me in a long, passionate kiss.
And for once, her father didn’t even fucking mind.
Epilogue
Ashley
A year later, I sat across from my father and my boyfriend, having dinner while another glorious summer came to a close.
After the divorce from Tyler’s mother, no one had seen her, but that wasn’t such a bad thing.
Tyler had kept his word and had taken care of all the proceedings, representing his mother, so that my father would not have to give up everything he owned. In fact, Tyler had even exposed the court system to what his mother was doing, which caused them to be very leery of her.
He seemed to have settled into our family quite nicely. He was happy to be able to be a part of the traditions that my father had resurrected once again, in memory of my mother. And because of that, along with my father’s slow, yet steady re-emergence back into the way he acted before my mother died, the beach house, as well as the house that he owned on the mainland, was beginning to feel a lot more like a home.
Tonight, however, we were taking it easy. The three of us gazed out over the ocean and enjoyed the view.
I sighed and looked between my father and Tyler and realized, with some regret, that we would not be able to squeeze many more nights like this out of the summer.
After all, I prepared to go back to school for another year and Tyler was going back on his strong man tour. He had gotten a sponsor in his trip around the country last year and this year, he was beginning to make a good living doing exactly what he loved.
Even though I had only known him a year, I knew that this was the happiest he had ever been. He had opened up a lot more to me over the course of the year and I was starting to truly understand what he was all about.
I felt as though I could tell him anything, but what was better, I also felt as though he knew he could tell me anything.
The bond that we had forged and the relationship that we were building, I felt, was a strong one and I was fairly certain that Tyler felt the same way.
“Hey, Ashley,” Tyler said, putting his hand over my own, breaking me from my thoughts and forcing me back completely into the present.
“Yes?” I answered casually, smiling at him with ease.
“I uh…This seems like a good time,” he said as he glanced over at my father, who nodded his head toward him and smiled.
“A good time for what?” It was now that I could feel Tyler’s hand trembling as it grasped tightly onto my own.
“Ha!” Tyler barked a laugh as I gazed deeply into his eyes. “Oh fuck…” he stated carefully, before he gave another nervous chuckle. “Shit…Forget I said that….Damn, I suck at this…”
My amused expression heightened, but I couldn’t help the feeling of confusion that washed over me. I stared at him with a hard, strange look in my eye, while my head automatically bent to the side.
“What is it?” I asked, reaching out for him.
He quickly caught my hand inside of his, as though I had set off some kind of nervous reflex.
I gave a quick, quiet giggle as my eyes passed over to my father, who I could see was also making very weird faces. It was almost as though the two men were sharing a secret that I had no knowledge of.
I narrowed my eyes before I passed another glance between them and said, “Um. Dad…Tyler…What is going on?”
“I believe Tyler can answer that for you…” my father said before I felt him nudge him underneath the table.
I looked at Tyler just as his eyes, like laser pointers singed into my father,
before he hissed something about throwing him under the fucking bus.
My prince charming… I thought, amusing myself.
Then, after a sigh, Tyler grasped my one hand with his and moved closer to me. At this, he looked deeply into my eyes before he said, “I know I curse a lot…And I know that I have had a really, really fucked up past.” He winced then, as though he didn’t mean to say it that way, but continued. “I am not the best man. I have my faults, but you have shown me how wonderful life truly can be. I love my life with you and you…you are truly the best thing that has ever happened to me. I need you in my life and I am ready to take the next step in order to ensure that I am always standing by your side…”
“Oh my God…” I gasped under my breath as I realized what was going on, while Tyler slid onto one knee. Instinctively, I pulled my hand back from him and covered my mouth with my hands, which gave him a moment to pull the tiny square box out of his pocket.
He looked up at me, just as he opened it and exclaimed, “Ashley, will you marry me?”
“Oh my God, yes!” I screamed, reaching down to kiss him as he came up to meet my lips.
As our lips touched, I heard my father laugh in a happy, satisfied way, while a smile spread across Tyler’s lips as well. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in closer.
By this point, my heart was beating so fast while my mind was running a million miles a minute and all I could think was, I can’t believe this is happening. But when we pulled away for a moment and my mouth opened, the words that came out were, “I love you, Tyler, with all my heart.”
His beam widened as he squeezed me tightly, looked deep into my eyes and answered, “Damn, Ashley, you know I love you too!”
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Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family) Page 108