He knocked back the vodka. “Yeah, I would have hated you and I was over the moon. Thanks. I just… what the crap do I do now? I’m the laughingstock of the business and social elite in Seattle. How can I show my face there again? I don’t even want to. They’re dating now. Stepsiblings.” He shuddered. “They grew up together. Their parents married when they were seven. They were raised together full time. She never knew her dad and her stepbrother never knew his mom. God, who does that?”
“That’s worse than many situations that could have happened.”
“I just don’t know what to do now or how to face it. I’m getting a divorce, first off. But then what? Where do I go? It was all on her ticket. The apartments and vacation homes. The mad money. I signed prenups, so I’m done.”
“You can live here and stay with me if you like. No one can find you here and you can lay low until you figure out what you want to do and where you want to go.”
Hunter’s mouth dropped open as he glanced around. “Here? Have you seen this place? It’s on the other side of Butt-Fuck Egypt.”
“Yeah. And so is your life. Get drunk. Vent. Consider it. Whatever you decide is fine. Just giving you an option.”
And they did. They got sloppy drunk. Hunter spent the next two days being sick in his bathroom. The third day, he stumbled out, unshowered and stinking. He sat down and said, “I’m going to stay here for a while. Thanks, man. Not many are as solid as you.”
“Next time, try to find a woman who is.”
“I wish I could find a man without wanting a woman. I’m done though. No more for me. I don’t even know where I’m going to work now. Her stepdad—”
Oh, right. Her stepdad was Hunter’s boss. Shudder. Now stepdad would be stepdad and stepdad-in-law? Ugh. Ugly quick.
“Well, it’s damn cheap to live here so take whatever time you need. I mean it. Regroup. Then stop and decide what’s next and how you got here and all that. I like your company, so take some time to figure it all out.”
“You’re really a true friend.”
“I try to be.”
Asher had a roommate now and Kyomi was amused by Hunter’s presence. They quickly developed a contentious relationship that was more playful than serious, but they rarely got along. They clashed too often. She had nothing but snarky remarks for the city and his wealth-seeking methods, and Hunter had nothing but sarcasm for her ranching, small town, hick environment. She wasn’t a hick, but Hunter enjoyed driving that point home.
Asher was amused by both of them. Life was quiet and dull before, or busy and dull. But now? It was fuller and brighter. The incessant company from having a roommate was welcoming and friendly and it also healed another piece of his heart. He hoped he was fully recovered and finally overcame the wonderful romance of his youth. The great mistake of his twenties was how he liked to refer to it; but it was also the only thing that mattered from his twenties. He was going to be okay now, finally.
Until…
Until that one day. The one ordinary day, a few weeks later when Asher received a phone call that not only changed his life but left him crippled on his knees.
He walked out to the barn and started loading up the tractor. The cattle and horses still needed to be fed, no matter what else happened in his life. No matter the news that was reported to him. There was always work and nothing could fully stop that. That was the only certainty that Asher had left to count on.
Because everything had just changed. And nothing would ever be the same.
Chapter 14
“PHONE CALL FROM YOUR sister.”
Daisy grabbed her office line and nodded at her receptionist. Which one? “Hey.”
“Hi, Daisy.” It was Rose. But the way Rose said, “Hi, Daisy” was so distinct, Daisy instantly knew something was wrong.
Gripping the receiver, she asked, “Is it Mom or Dad?”
“No. None of us. Just…”
“What? What is it, Rose? I know this voice. Big-sister-consoling-me voice. What is it?”
“It’s Kate.”
“What about her?”
“Ovarian cancer. Stage four. She called Mom, Erin, Kailynn and Hailey. They’re conveying the bad news to the rest of the family.”
Her heart bottomed out. Tears instantly pricked her eyes. “What are they going to do? What? Oh, no, not Kate.”
“Daisy, it’s… not good.”
She nodded as her tears slipped free. Even though she knew, the words floated in her brain. The silent killer. Women rarely knew they had it because the symptoms in it’s early stages are so vague.
Her heart sank to her stomach. Asher. Fuck. Oh, no, not her Asher.
Straightening up, she decided that was the goal and the strength she needed. “I’ll head home.”
“We are too.”
“I’ll see you, sis.”
“You too. Daisy?”
“What?”
“In case life gets busy again or I forget to say it, I love you.”
She smiled at the phone. Her sister had the biggest heart. “I love you too, Rose.”
Putting the phone down, Daisy took a moment to gather her racing thoughts and emotions. Wiping her tears, she sniffed and used a tissue to dry them. She had to pull herself together and go back home for Asher. And for Kate. For all of them. Especially AJ. Oh, God, such a tragedy happening now…
Asher.
Asher.
Asher. Daisy chanted his name. She had to see him now. Today.
She rose to her feet, grabbing only the essentials and scurried out. “Family member is ill. I don’t know when I’ll be back,” she muttered before leaving. If she returned to nothing, she’d find a way to deal with it but not right now. She thought of Kate. And Asher. They were far more important than anything else now.
Just hours later, she got a ride to the airport. She headed toward the ticket counter and flashed a credit card. She was more than willing to pay whatever it cost to get home. Now. Immediately.
Today.
She could not follow a thought. Like a bundle of energy, she buzzed and fidgeted, her anxiety growing with an overpowering rush to get there.
Asher needed her now.
And the knife that felt like it stabbed her gut let her know she needed him too. And that meant, that no matter what, she had to let Palmer Cavato know, she could not be with him any more. She could not go home with a boyfriend. No matter what happened with Asher, her heart wasn’t in the relationship she’d been in. And that wasn’t fair to him or her.
It also meant as she went home, to Asher, everything felt different.
The usual quiet at the ranch was more oppressive and something felt different about the space. What was it? What changed?
He glanced up and looked out in the gloom of the dim light. He thought he could make out a body in the mist. A person standing there. A second later, he was sure.
His heart slammed into his ribcage and his hands were slick with sweat.
Daisy.
She looked exactly the same but completely different. He instantly recognized the same cornflower-blue eyes and blond hair, but she didn’t resemble the girl he used to date. She was polished and sophisticated now. She looked like she belonged on the cover of a movie magazine, not standing in the entrance of his barn.