“I am sorry, Ashton. At first, I wasn’t ready to talk about it. Then, I just didn’t want to see the look of pity on your face. Besides, it’s not as bad as it seems,” I tried to explain, but hearing the excuse out loud, it sounded like total crap. Before I could continue, the jukebox came on, distracting me. Luke Comb’s Hurricane came pouring out the speakers scattered about the bar.
We sat there silently, listening, for a minute. The longer we were quiet, the harder I found it to come up with the right words to continue.
“You’re my very own hurricane, Kinsley. Do you get that? You fuckin’ wrecked me today.” Ashton shoved his hand through his dark hair. “I guess I was under this illusion that we told each other everything.”
“That’s not fair, Ashton,” I said, placing my forearms on the table and leaning in.
“How do you figure that?” he countered, cocking his head.
“For the last three years, we’ve barely spoken. Sure, on Facebook and text, but that’s it. Anna’s my friend, too. It’s not like I was purposely trying to hide it from you. I just didn’t want you looking at me like I’m some frail little girl that can’t fight her own battles.” I huffed. “Do you remember what happened when you found out Geoff had cheated on me?”
Ashton smiled and nodded. “Damn straight. We fucked him up.”
“See, you’ve made my point for me. I didn’t need you getting into trouble for me. This guy has money and connections to important people.”
“I’m callin’ bullshit, Kins.” Progress. I’m at least back to Kins.
He could always see right through me. If I was being honest at all, I would tell him I was mortified at what had happened to me. I had been so horrified that, if I had not just graduated, I would have transferred schools.
“Ash, why can’t you accept that I don’t want to think about it anymore. It was horrible. It’s not something I want to talk about. Okay? I’m fine. Can we please just leave it at that?” I pleaded, my eyes swimming with tears.
“If I believed for one second that you were okay and that you were actually moving on, then I’d drop it, but I remember what happened when I picked you up at the party a few weeks ago. Babe, you’re not okay and that’s okay,” Ashton said. Reaching out, he rested his large calloused hand on top of mine. “But you should talk to someone.”
His advice mirrored that of his brother’s. I had told Cooper and not Ashton, but he could never know that. I made a mental note to talk to Coop before he could say anything to him.
“Please don’t say anything to anyone,” I whispered. Refusing to meet his eyes, I stared at his large hands covering mine.
“Lizzy,” his tone caused me to look up, “you know better than that. I’d never say anything to anyone.” I gave him a weak smile and released the breath I had not realized I was holding in. “You may wanna have that conversation with Anna though.”
“I will.”
“Speakin’ of which, we should probably go rescue her from Ryan.” He frowned.
“Anna can hold her own, don’t worry about her,” I reassured him, standing and walking back out to the main room of the bar. Before we reached the wide entryway between the two rooms, I froze as a spine-chilling feeling settled into my bones causing my skin to recoil. I shook it off, telling myself it was nothing and continued to follow Ash back to the bar. When we got there Anna and Ryan were slamming back a shot of God knows what with Ethan.
She beamed as we walked back over, licking her lips. “You missed shots.”
“Oh, darn.” I laughed.
“I got next round,” Ashton quickly chimed in and pushed Ryan out of the way, so I could sit back down.
“You two kiss and make up?” Ryan teased, stepping to the end of the bar, a few seats away.
“Fuck off, asshole.”
I laughed at Ashton’s reaction.
Anna leaned in. “You okay?”
“I’m good.” I nodded, straddling the barstool.
And for the first time since everything happened, I said it and actually meant it.
As long as the text messages and eerie feelings disappeared, I would be fine.
* * *
Thursday, Anna and I drove to Delaware to the mall and did our best to shop ’til we dropped. I dropped but Anna had the stamina of a thoroughbred. She thrived on shopping. It was like watching a kid in a candy store. She ran from store to store; rack to rack. After trying on ten pairs of jeans, six dresses, and four pairs of shoes, I was spent. I almost collapsed in Nordstrom before she conceded.
We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory then went to the bookstore and grabbed a Frappuccino for the ride home. I was supposed to teach a jumper class that night, but the continued rain put a damper on those plans. Instead, we invited Ashton to come hang out and watch a movie. As soon as we told him we were watching Beauty and The Beast he hung up on me. Anna and I fell asleep on the couch before the end of the movie.
The next morning Anna and I woke up, had a yogurt, then headed out for a run before the sweltering summer heat got out of control. We were on the last leg of the second mile when she finally slowed to a walk.
“I needa . . . break,” she wheezed. “Jesus, you seriously do this shit every day?”
I laughed. “Yep. It clears my head.”
“Fuck that, I’ll stick to tequila.”
“It gets easier,” I promised, slowing my pace to cut her some slack.
“Yeah, okay. We’ll see.” She gave me a cynical glance. “So . . . what’s the deal with you and Ashton?”
“Ugh,” I rolled my eyes, “I’ve already told you. Nothing. He’s my best friend,” I explained, feeling like a broken record.
“If that’s the case, then you wouldn’t care if I asked him out,” she blurted out all at once.
“Um, no, I wouldn’t. I don’t think it’s a good idea though. You live in Charlotte and he’s here,” I started.
“Whoa, slow your roll.” Anna’s eyes widened like I had asked her to give me a kidney. “I’m talkin’ about drinks and maybe some dancing. I’m not lookin’ to marry the guy. Yeesh.”
“Go for it.” I wasn’t sure why she thought I would have a problem with her hanging out with Ashton.
“So, the guys mentioned that Cooper was gonna be home tonight.” She waggled her perfectly plucked eyebrows at me.
“Yeah, I know,” I said in attempt to play it cool even though inside I felt like my heart might leap out of my chest at just the mere mention of his name.
“Ashton also said he was gonna have some friends over tonight.” She continued to look at me slyly.
“And . . .” I baited her.
“Stop it, Kins. You know what I’m gettin’ at. Are we going? I could hang out with Ashton while you talked to Cooper.”
I chewed, contemplatively, on the corner of my bottom lip. “I guess so.”
Before I knew what was happening, Anna squealed and launched herself at me. I didn’t even have time to get my arms open to hug her back. “Eeeeh! Thank you!”
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head and laughed at her. “You’re such a dork.”
“Whatever. He’s fuckin’ hot and you know it.”
“Let’s get you home and in the shower before he sees you all sweaty,” I teased. Turning into the driveway, we climbed the hill to my parents’ house.
While she gushed outwardly, my insides fluttered at the possibilities with Coop. Maybe if he saw Ash with Anna he would finally see me. Really see me. I tried not to get my hopes up, but it would be a losing battle.
LATER THAT EVENING, ANNA AND I sat in the living room of my little apartment watching a rerun on TV and eating dinner. Together, we cooked Thai sweet chili meatballs and Lo mein. Since we would probably be drinking, we needed to make sure we had a decent meal in our stomachs to soak up the alcohol.
“Did you hear from Ashton?” She leaned forward, setting her empty bowl on the coffee table in front of us.
“Yeah. He said to come over whenever,” I told her, spi
nning the last few noodles around the tines of my fork.
“What time do you think everyone else is gonna show up? I don’t wanna be the first ones.”
“Well, Cooper and Storm are probably already there getting the bonfire started and Ryan should already be there with the beer. So, if you wanted, we could go over now,” I told her. Leaning forward, I picked up Anna’s bowl and carried it along with mine to the kitchen sink.
Anna stood and looked down at her clothes. “Do you think this will be okay?” She was dressed in simple blue jeans and a black V-neck short sleeve t-shirt.
“Of course. You look fine,” I answered as I turned on the hot water to rinse the dishes off. “Since when are you insecure? You never worry about what a guy thinks.”
“I don’t want to look fine, Kinsley. I want to make him stop in his tracks. I don’t know, I just feel like this is different.”
“Then don’t try so hard. Ashton isn’t the kind of guy who needs all the makeup and fancy clothes. He doesn’t do fake. Just be you and you’ll have him eating out of the palm of your hand,” I happily advised. “I, on the other hand, need to figure out how to get Cooper to make a move.”
“Well, you said he kissed you back,” she offered as she headed to the bedroom.
I followed. “He only kissed me because I caught him off-guard. He’s taken every other opportunity to run in the other direction.” I flopped down on the bed and propped myself up on my elbows as I watched Anna through the closet door. I wished I felt as hopeful and confident as she did. “What if he feels the same way about me as I feel about Ashton?”
“From what you’ve said, I don’t think so. And you’ll never know unless you talk to him,” she hollered out. Hangers scraped along the metal rod as she looked through the clothes she brought with her from Charlotte.
“I mean; it would be karma.”
“Sweetie, I don’t think that’s how karma works. I think you have to do something bad for something bad to come back to you. And you not being into Ashton doesn’t qualify. For the record, I don’t exactly see him as a lovesick guy pining for you. Okay, enough moping. What do you think if I go totally comfy and throw on my cut off shorts and keep the same shirt on?”
“Perfect. And throw on your black flip-flops.” I rolled over, stretched out and stared up at the ceiling fan. “I’m just gonna wear what I always wear.”
“Boring,” Anna advised. “You need to dress up a little, get him to notice you and then ignore him. Make sure he sees you talking to some other guy.” A malevolent smile spread slowly across her face.
“Okay, little Miss Expert. What would you have me wear? Keep in mind we’ll be over at the farm.” I rolled to the edge of the bed, placed my feet on the floor, and stood up. I had yet to take Anna over to the farm. Ashton agreed to handle the lessons today when I promised to teach both lessons on Saturday.
“Hmm, let’s see.” She tapped her index finger to her bottom lip. “What do you normally wear to the parties over there?”
“Jeans, a cute top, and either my cowboy boots or those booties of mine that you love,” I answered, padding through the doorway into my closet.
“Okay . . .” She moved along the racks of clothes, pushing the hanging fabrics as she went searching. “So, no skirt or jeans; shorts are too casual. I’m thinking a little sundress and your cowboy boots. Show off those tan legs. Let him visualize them wrapped around his waist, hugging his ass.”
I took a second to visualize it myself. Mmm.
“Dresses. Uhh, I think I only have a few casual dresses.” I walked toward the left side of the closet where her clothes were housed. The rack next to hers had several dresses.
“I’m thinking Sandra Bullock in Hope Floats. You with me?”
“I am.” I smiled. We had watched that movie a few times over the last few years. “And I think I have the perfect dress.” Shuffling through the hangers, I found the dress I had in mind and held it up for her to approve. In my hands was a pale, dusty pink sundress with a subdued floral pattern. It had spaghetti straps and small buttons down the entire front. Anna grinned and I had my answer. “I’ll change my bra.”
Twenty minutes later, we were walking across the hardscaped veranda in the backyard of my parents’ house.
“Lizzy, honey, before you leave can you please come inside?” my dad called to me from the back deck.
“Sure, Dad,” I agreed, then turned to Anna. “You can finally meet my dad.” Dad was a workaholic and was gone before we left this morning for our run and came home after we went out last night.
Climbing the half flight of stairs to the deck, I opened the sliding door to the family room and waited for Anna to enter before closing it.
“Dad, this is my friend, Anna. Anna, this is my dad, Phillip.”
“Please, call me Phil,” he requested. “Sweetheart, your mom and I are going to take off for a few days. Go out to Uncle Reed’s cabin on the lake for some R and R.”
“That sounds fabulous, Dad. When do you think you’ll be back?” I asked, leaning on the back of the couch while he stood in the kitchen. I was thankful Anna would be here with me and I wouldn’t be alone. My parents never just took off, but they deserved it. Since I had been home, I had walked in on them a few times kissing a little too passionately on the couch. While it grossed me out, I wasn’t stupid. My parents were happily married people. And that was enough about that.
“Not sure. You planning on having a wild party?” He poured himself a glass of scotch.
I smiled and shook my head. “Nope. I leave that to the boys.”
“Good.” He took a swallow of the throat-burning liquor. “So, Anna, Kinsley tells me that you have one more year of college left. Do you know what you want to do after school?”
“One more and I’m so ready for it to be over but I’m not quite sure what I’m gonna do. My father would prefer I start learning the family business,” she explained, her brow creased. “It’s what’s expected.”
“And what would you prefer?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I like the thought of real estate and financing but I’m not sure about working with my father.” She frowned again.
“Family working together can be difficult. I could see why you’d be wary,” my dad empathized. He set the rocks glass down on the countertop. “You should talk to your father if something’s bothering you.”
I could see Anna getting uncomfortable talking about her dad. Her eyes bounced from Dad to me, looking for a life preserver. “Where’s Mom? I wanna tell her goodbye before y’all leave.”
“She’s upstairs packing but she should be down in a minute. What are you two going to do tonight?” Before I could answer, Dad pulled his cell from his pocket. “Sorry, darling, I have to answer this. Excuse me.”
“Phillip,” my mom’s voice admonished as she came down the stairs with a leather duffel on her shoulder. “You said no more calls.”
He mouthed his apologies and disappeared to his office in the back-right side of the house.
“Kinsley, honey, could you give me a hand? Dad was supposed to take the bags out to the car and not take any more phone calls.” Her voice got louder as she went, but she looked over at me as I crossed the living room with a happy grin.
My parents had a great relationship. They were best friends as well as husband and wife. They still teased each other, chased each other around the kitchen, and snuck inappropriate kisses when they thought they weren’t being watched. It was inspiring to know that kind of love existed. Did they fight? Absolutely, but Mom said they never went to bed angry.
After I grabbed the two other bags from my parents’ room upstairs and brought them down, I hugged and kissed my mom goodbye.
“Your parents are so freakin’ adorable,” Anna gushed. “I wish my parents were half as in love as yours.”
“I hope I can find someone that’ll love me the way my dad loves my mom. If she asked for the moon, he’d charter a shuttle.” We walked out the large front door. �
��You wanna walk?”
“Sure. It’s not like it’s far. Plus, we won’t have to worry about driving later.”
“True story.” I laughed as we passed by our cars in front of the garages and continued down my parents driveway toward the road.
After crossing, we walked along the edge of the road careful of our step in the dark. A short walk later, we found Ryan, Storm, and Ashton lounging by the pool.
“Princess, you came,” Storm greeted me like he was surprised I was there. Eyeing Anna up and down before focusing back on me, he asked. “Who’s your friend?”
“Anna, this is Storm, Ashton’s oldest brother.”
“Why does he call you princess?” she whispered as we sat down at the first picnic table.
“Ugh, don’t ask.” I shook my head then looked over my shoulder, surveying the driveway. No Jeep. “Who all’s coming?”
“Ethan, Irwin and Ashley, Katie and Luis, Heather, Pete, Jace, Steve,” Ryan rattled off the usual suspects. “And anyone they bring. You know how it goes.”
Looking from Ryan to Storm and Ash, I asked. “How’s Scott today?” I felt bad not getting over the last two days to check on him.
“He’s in a good mood today. Told me and Ashton he was gonna come out for a beer tonight,” Storm said as he climbed off his lounger and strutted toward us. “Princess, you gotta minute?”
“Sure.” I nodded, looking to Anna. “I’ll be back. Ashton, entertain Anna would ya.”
“It’d be my pleasure.” He grinned with a bounce of his eyebrows. He immediately stood up and trailed behind Storm. “Wanna grab a beer?”
Anna beamed. “Yeah, that’d be good.” Anna being Anna, waited for Ashton to get closer then slipped her arm between his arm and side.
Storm, dressed in cargo khaki shorts and a buttery-yellow t-shirt, headed for the barn as I followed him. He stopped in front of Peaches’ unoccupied stall. Never one to dance around a subject or pull any punches, Storm got to the point. “What’s up with you and my brother?”
He was his brothers’ protector, mine too for that matter. Since we were little he always ran interference. I couldn’t help but wonder who protected him. Ever since my senior year when Chelsea left him on Christmas, he hadn’t been the same.
Claiming Cooper (O'Loughlin Brothers Book 1) Page 11