The Bridal Path: Ashley

by Sherryl Woods

  She heard a sharp gasp, then absolute silence for a full ten seconds.

  “Ashley, is that you?” he asked sharply.

  “Yep.”

  More silence descended. That was followed by a flurry of questions. “What the dickens are you doing answering Dillon’s phone and what took so long? Where the devil is he? Are you two at the cabin?”

  “We are,” she confessed, seeing little point in trying to hide the truth. “Actually, he’s in the kitchen cooking lunch. He’s very handy to have around.”

  “If he’s so blasted handy,” he said sarcastically, “then why didn’t he answer his own damn phone?”

  “He didn’t want to.”

  Her father chuckled at that. “I see. Typical.”

  “Did you call for some special reason?”

  “I called to see if he was relaxing the way he was supposed to. With you around, though, I doubt that’s possible. How’d you end up at the cabin, anyway? I thought you were in New York, fighting off muggers.”

  “They started fighting back,” she said in what had become an old ritual between them. Somehow, though, she couldn’t manage her usual teasing note.

  “Baby, are you okay?” he asked, his tone sobering as his fatherly antenna kicked in.

  “Right as rain,” she lied.

  “What has that man done to you?” he demanded. “I’ll skin him alive if he’s hurt you.”

  “This has nothing to do with Dillon. He just turned up here and found me already hiding out. He’s been great. By the way, how did you two become friends?”

  “He hasn’t told you?”

  “Daddy, if I didn’t already know his name, I doubt he would have told me that,” she grumbled. “He’s the most infuriating, tight-lipped man I’ve ever met.”

  Her father roared. “So that’s the way it is,” he said with glee. “By golly, I should have thought of this a long time ago. You and Dillon are perfect for each other. Can’t imagine why I didn’t see it sooner.”

  How lovely that he approved, she thought irritably. “Dillon and I are not perfect for each other. We haven’t even been here a week and we’re already…”

  She let her voice trail off as she weighed their quarrels against their lovemaking and decided her father definitely did not need to guess about the latter. She finally settled for adding, “Let’s just say we’d drive each other nuts inside of a month.”

  “Is that your opinion or his?”

  “A mutual one, I’m sure.”

  Her father chuckled. “Maybe I’d better get on home so I can watch this up close.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re already bored with all the women in Arizona.”

  “Didn’t say that. But you and Dillon, whoo-ee, that ought to be downright entertaining. Have you burned the cabin down yet with the fireworks?”

  “I don’t think I should be discussing any fireworks with you,” she retorted.

  “Probably not,” he agreed, though with unmistakable disappointment. “Put Dillon on.”

  Ashley started down the hall, then hesitated. “What do you intend to say to him?”

  “Nothing more than howdy,” he swore.

  Ashley didn’t believe him for a minute. Her father was constitutionally incapable of not meddling. “Maybe I’d better say goodbye, instead. It’s been nice talking to you, Daddy. Have fun in Arizona.”

  “Ashley Wilde, don’t you dare hang up on your father,” he ordered. “Ashley!”

  “Bye-bye,” she said cheerfully, cutting him off.

  With the cell phone still in hand, she went to the kitchen. She found Dillon at the table, methodically working his way through an omelet the size of his plate and a daunting stack of toast. He glanced up at her return, his expression unreadable.

  “Your father, I assume.”

  Ashley nodded.

  “I’ll bet he was surprised to find you here.”

  “Delighted is the word.”

  His expression turned wary. “Uh-oh.”

  “Uh-oh is right. He seems to have gotten the crazy notion that you and I, well, that we…”

  “Are a match made in heaven,” Dillon contributed.

  Ashley nodded, then studied him intently. “Which must mean that he really likes you.”

  “I told you we were friends. Didn’t you believe me?”

  “More or less.”

  He shook his head. “Do you always sleep with men you don’t entirely trust?”

  Something in his sober expression alerted her that the question was far more serious than his deliberately light tone conveyed. How many times did she have to have a red flag waved under her nose before she got the message?

  “I never meant to imply that I don’t trust you,” she said as carefully as if she had one toe in the middle of a minefield and the other foot ready for the next step.

  “You didn’t imply it. You just about flat-out said it,” he said. “You know, ever since we hooked up here, your drawers have been in a knot because you think I haven’t been entirely truthful with you, but what about you? There’s clearly something going on with you, and you haven’t opened up with me. Shouldn’t this communication and sharing work both ways?”

  Ashley couldn’t honestly argue with that. “True,” she conceded. “You first.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t. Let’s start with a little honesty on your part.”

  She drew in a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay, what do you want to know?”

  “What you’re running away from.” His tone indicated there wasn’t a doubt in his head that she was running from something.

  That certainly cut straight to the heart of the matter, Ashley thought. The question was, could she trust Dillon with the truth? Or would it forever ruin his image of her and destroy the desire that stirred in his eyes whenever he looked at her?

  She desperately needed the kind of unconditional passion that had existed between them the past few days. Could she risk that for something far more elusive? Despite what her father had said about them being a perfect match, she couldn’t see it. Dillon was her rebellion, nothing more. That had to be all there was to it. She surely couldn’t have given her heart to a man she hardly knew.

  “I’m not running from anything,” she said, unable to meet his penetrating gaze when she said it.

  “Really?”

  There was a world of skepticism in that single word.

  “Really,” she assured him.

  Something that looked an awful lot like disappointment spread across his face. He stood up.

  “I think I’ll go for a walk.”

  Ashley’s heart began a slow, painful thudding as the distance between them widened. She couldn’t let that happen. One of these days the gap would become too wide to bridge, even with spectacular sex.

  “Dillon?”

  “You’re welcome to come along, if you like.”

  He sounded so cool and removed it scared her. “Are you sure?”

  “Why not? A brisk hike will clear our heads, right?”

  Ashley was torn. She wasn’t sure she could bear the disdain she read in his eyes. But she was terrified to let him out of her sight for fear he’d conclude that whatever had been between them was worth nothing.

  When Dillon left the cabin, she fell into step beside him. Once again, he set a brisk, almost punishing pace, though this time he started out downhill. Filled with grim determination, she matched him stride for stride.

  “Okay, why don’t you just say it?” she asked eventually.

  “Say what?”

  “Whatever you’re thinking. I know you’re furious with me.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because you haven’t said a word since we left the cabin.”

  “Because sometimes all words do is lie.”

  Ashley winced at the direct assault.

  He glanced at her. “I’m sorry you feel you can’t be honest with me. Now I have some idea what a woman feels like when she’s been used.”

  Th
e comment had the same effect as a slap in the face. She was stunned by the raw hurt in his voice. It was the second time he’d said much the same thing. Ashley recognized belatedly that what she had done in the cabin by shutting him out had been far more devastating to their relationship than the truth might have been.

  “Dillon, I had no idea…”

  “No idea that the truth could matter to a man like me?” he said bitterly.

  “No,” she said at once, grasping his hand and jerking him to a halt. “Look at me. It was never that. Never.”

  “You could have fooled me.”

  Before she could say anything more, a shot blasted through the air.

  “What the hell?” Dillon said. Despite his cold anger, he moved instinctively to protect her, forcing her to the ground. “Could you tell where that came from?”

  With her emotions in a tangle, Ashley could barely sort out anything at all, but she nodded. “Over there, I think,” she whispered, pointing to a spot to their left.

  Another shot split the air, confirming her guess.

  “You stay here. I’m going to check it out. There shouldn’t be any hunters around in here. The land’s posted as private.”

  “Dillon, don’t,” she protested. “You’re not armed.”

  He gave her a wry look. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

  Even as the words left his mouth, he slipped into the woods with the skill of a man who knew a lot about subterfuge and silence. Ashley’s heart remained in her throat until she heard him call out.

  “Ash, it’s okay. Over here.”

  Not entirely certain whether he was being forced to lead her into some sort of trap, she inched her way in the direction of his voice. She found him kneeling on the ground over Mrs. Fawcett, whose ankle was bent at a distinctly odd and clearly painful angle. Ashley rushed to the teacher’s other side and knelt down.

  “Mrs. Fawcett, what on earth happened?”

  “I should think that’s obvious,” she said testily. “I tripped and fell and broke my darned ankle.”

  Dillon was gently easing his jacket around her. “How long have you been out here?”

  “Overnight,” she said, waving off Ashley’s shocked response. “I could have crawled to my house, I suppose, but I figured sooner or later someone would come along that trail and I could signal them with my shotgun.”

  “We need to get you to a hospital,” Dillon said in an admirably calm, reassuring tone. “Ashley can stay here with you, while I go to get the car.”

  “You’ll never get the car in here,” Ashley pointed out. “And as far as we are from the road, we’d do just as well carrying her to the cabin and going from there.”

  He nodded. “You have a point. I might not be able to get the car in here, but I can get the Harley.”

  Mrs. Fawcett’s lips thinned, and her chin set defiantly. “I will not be hauled around on that thing like some old sack of potatoes.”

  “Do you have a better idea?” Dillon asked.

  Her gaze assessed him from head to toe. “You look strong enough. You can carry me out of here.”

  “Like a sack of potatoes?” he asked.

  “No, like a lady, young man. I’ll have no funny business, either.”

  Dillon winked outrageously at her. “I may not be able to control myself.”

  Ashley chuckled at the teasing. It had brightened Mrs. Fawcett’s cheeks, so that there was no longer that ashen pallor to her complexion. But when Dillon gently scooped her up in his arms, her face went gray again.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I’ll be just fine if you’d get a move on,” she said in a voice tight with pain.

  Ashley regarded her worriedly. “Mrs. Fawcett, are you sure about this? Maybe Dillon should get the motorcycle.”

  “I can’t imagine why you two are so set on getting me on that contraption, but you can forget about it,” she said fiercely.

  “I just don’t want you passing out on me,” Dillon said.

  “I won’t,” she assured him. “I have to keep an eye on you, don’t I?”

  The two kept up their banter all the way to the house. Ashley’s heart swelled with pride at Dillon’s cool competence. She was even more impressed with his gentleness and his compassion. It was a whole new side to him that she’d never seen before and never suspected.

  When they reached the cabin, Dillon settled Mrs. Fawcett in the back seat of Ashley’s car.

  “Bring out a quilt and wrap it around her,” he instructed. “I’ll get her some water. She must be thirsty by now.”

  “Stop talking about me as if I weren’t here,” Mrs. Fawcett instructed, her tone as crisp and unrelenting as it had been when asking for algebra homework to be turned in. “Water would be nice, though.”

  Ashley thought of Dillon’s cell phone. “Is there someone you’d like us to call for you, someone who could meet us at the hospital?”

  “No, no, I’ll be just fine. They’ll set my ankle and send me on my way.”

  Ashley wasn’t so sure about that, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She didn’t want to butt head-on with the older woman’s fierce independent streak. She recognized all too well that it would be a waste of time.

  * * *

  The hospital in Riverton was small, but well-equipped to handle simple emergencies such as this one, thanks to Trent Wilde’s generosity.

  As soon as the ER staff spotted Ashley and heard the problem, they rushed to the car to assist Dillon with Mrs. Fawcett. Since most of the nurses, as well as the doctor on call, were former students, they treated her with even more deference than usual, Ashley was sure. Nurse Tammy Gates lost focus only briefly when she realized that the man with Mrs. Fawcett was Dillon Ford. Her mouth gaped, but she quickly forced her attention to the patient.

  Once Mrs. Fawcett had been taken away for an X ray of her ankle, Ashley looked at Dillon, who seemed suddenly intent on fading into the background.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I hate hospitals.”

  He said it with such vehemence that she was startled until she recalled how much time he must have spent in one when his mother was dying with cancer. He’d been an impressionable boy back then, too. Naturally this wouldn’t be one of his favorite places.

  “Do you want to leave?”

  “Not until we see if Mrs. Fawcett’s okay. If they do release her, she’ll need a way home.”

  “You were wonderful with her. You were gentle and you kept her distracted.”

  He seemed so uncomfortable with the praise that she couldn’t help asking, “Why does it bother you so when I say something nice about you? Don’t you think you deserve it?”

  He scowled at that. “Don’t play amateur shrink with me. Maybe I just don’t like the surprise I hear in your voice.”

  Stunned, she simply stared at him. “Surprise? What on earth do you mean by that?”

  “It’s as if you can’t believe I could do anything nice.”

  “Dillon, that’s crazy,” she protested, then fell silent as Tammy came out of the back and headed their way. Her attention was focused entirely on Dillon, just as it had been all through high school.

  “I can’t believe it’s you,” she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss him squarely on the mouth. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”

  “You, too, Tammy. It’s been a long time.”

  “Too long,” she said adamantly. Belatedly she seemed to remember Ashley’s presence. “Ashley, it’s great to see you, too. Of course, I feel as if I see you all the time, what with your picture on magazine covers and TV all the time. Congratulations! We always knew you’d be somebody. You had everything it took–beauty, brains and ambition.”

  Now that Tammy was started, she couldn’t seem to stop gushing about Ashley’s celebrity status. When she called over one of the other nurses and an aide and introduced her, Ashley was so uncomfortable she wanted to run screaming from the ER. Only years of making public appearances gave her the aplo
mb to be gracious.

  “How is Mrs. Fawcett?” she asked, trying to force the attention away from herself.

  “She’s doing just fine,” Tammy assured them. “Her ankle’s a mess, though, and we want to keep her a day or two to be sure there are no aftereffects from her staying out overnight. She’s kicking up a terrible fuss over that. Maybe you could talk to her.”

  “I’ll go,” Dillon said at once and vanished into the treatment area before Ashley could budge.

  Tammy’s gaze promptly grew conspiratorial. “So what’s between you and Dillon? I was stunned when I saw the two of you walk in here together. You slumming or what?”

  Stunned by the unexpectedly crude suggestion, Ashley merely stared.

  “Not that he’s not the sexiest thing on two feet,” she added hurriedly. “I ought to know. I dated him for a whole semester senior year. He was to die for.”

  “I’m sure your husband will be thrilled to hear you hold such fond memories of another man,” Ashley said.

  Tammy wasn’t the least bit put off by the comment. “Oh, heavens, Whit knows all about Dillon and me. He was Dillon’s best friend back then. He figures the end result is all that counts, and he wound up with me.”

  By default, Ashley guessed, but kept the nasty assumption to herself.

  Listening to Tammy, though, had given her some idea of why Dillon got so upset with her reactions to him. Slumming, indeed!

  In some ways, she was no better than Tammy. She’d been labeling him since the moment he’d arrived at the cabin, and the label she’d pinned on him had everything to do with the past. No wonder he’d been seething with resentment this morning and on several occasions prior to that.

  But hadn’t he been doing much the same thing with her? Just like Tammy, he’d been caught up in the myth of Ashley Wilde, superstar model, or alternatively, superstar student. How did anyone ever get past such deeply entrenched images to the real people they hid?

  She thought of the way Dillon made her feel and knew with everything in her that somehow she had to try.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dillon was hiding out, and he knew it. He lingered beside Mrs. Fawcett’s bed, forcing a conversation she was too drowsy to participate in beyond an occasional sleepy comment. Anything was better, though, than going into the ER lobby to face Ashley and Tammy.