Aspen
Present
Ruthie, Jasper’s mom, is a Godsend. Not only did she man Vintage Threads, she also picked me up at the airport. The shitty part of the situation is that Jasper is gone for two more weeks. Though he called and I texted for the most part, I soaked in the time with my family. If my mom has it her way, she won’t even let me know if she gets worse, especially since this was the third time I hightailed it back home when Dad called.
“I owe you and Jasper so much, seriously. Anytime you need anything, let me know.” I place my bag on the counter of the shop. It’s leather, has tassels, and is probably one of my favorite vintage finds. I’ve always had a flair for fashion, just not your typical style. No, I love lace, leather, bell bottoms, chunky heels, clothes that have flair. The more jewelry, the better. Well, that’s in my case, at least.
“You owe us no such thing. It does stink that Jasper wasn’t home to pick you up instead of old me. Plus, Aspen, you pay me, handsomely at that. If it weren’t for this job, I’d be sitting on my ass eating bon-bons and watching soap operas all day.” Ruthie is so full of shit. She knows it and I know it. That woman can run circles around me.
“It does stink, but he’s been texting and calling when he can. He warned me about how this works. Honestly, I get it. It’s his job, and he’s as passionate about it as I am about the shop. Plus, it means more girl time for us. I do believe a new shipment is coming in today,” I tell her with a wink. I’m not fibbing in the least. When Jasper dropped me off at the airport, we exchanged numbers. The only thing he asked is that I text him when I landed. Once I did that, it opened the floodgates. I woke up every morning to a good-morning text, and every night, even if I was fast asleep from taking a shift with Mom either at the house or the hospital, I had a good-night text too. For someone who’s so rough around the edges, works his body to the bone, and I know is dead-to-the-bone tired when his shift is over, Jasper made sure he made time for me, and on rare occurrences, he’d call or even FaceTime.
“That will keep us busy. Oh, that reminds me. I need to have Jasper come and replace a headlight for me. He’s going to be so annoyed. He’s been on me lately about getting a new car, but mine still runs,” she says, shrugging her shoulder. Jasper is the spitting image of his father based on the pictures Ruthie has shown me. His dad worked the oil field when Jasper was a toddler. He had an accident and they couldn’t save him. Now, here Jasper is at the age of thirty-five, his mom is fifty-five, and still, to this day and all these years later, Ruthie is content living her life on her own. The woman has more grit and determination than I will ever have.
“You better watch out, or Jasper will just buy you one. I’ve heard him cuss about that car on more than one occasion. Hell, he asked me to check on you this week to make sure your car hadn’t broken down yet.” I try to hide my laugh. On our last FaceTime call, he was lying in bed, his phone propped up on the pillow, his eyes so tired from work I could see the heavy bags underneath them. Jasper was smiling though. That man sunk my heart like a boat that needs an anchor. Dark chocolate hair framing light brown eyes, a few days’ old beard slowly growing in. The muscles he inadvertently flexed when he would move around. The deep olive complexion, the light dusting of chest hair, and the necklace I know from Ruthie he wears to bed every single night he’s on the rig, and he definitely has it on non-stop when he’s home for his days off. It’s something his mother gave his father and was handed down to him, the gold necklace with a cross hanging from it, showing off even more of his body. And let’s just say the whole package of Jasper Knight had me hot and bothered most nights we were able to FaceTime.
“I know. He acts like I can’t afford a new car or that he’ll just up and buy me one. He knows that’s not how I am and not how he was raised. I live well within my means, I have money in the bank, and I’m able to toot around on vacations when I want. No offense, honey, but I only work to keep me from getting as round as a house.” She’s on a tangent now. I clearly opened up a can of worms.
“I’m just saying if I were Jasper, I would probably be worried too. It’s not like he can come home and fix your car. Hell, my soon-to-be brother-in-law is a mechanic, and you should see what he did to my sister, Rowen’s, car. He practically replaced the whole thing, and I’m sure she won’t even drive it anymore.” The one thing I made sure of when my business was in the black was make sure my Tahoe was brand new. It didn’t need all the bells and whistles, but it dang sure needed a warranty. It’s not like I can ask my dad to hop on a plane and come take a look at my car. I definitely wouldn’t have three weeks ago, and even with Mom doing great, there’s no way she wouldn’t want to come down here with Dad.
“Oh, I know, it’s why when he does get home, I’ll pick his brain on what he thinks would be best for me. I don’t want anything like that monstrosity of a vehicle you have, or even what Jasper drives, though his truck does come in handy when it comes to repairing things around the house. Ugh, anyway, let’s get to work so when this new shipment comes in, we’re ready to roll.” Ruthie is full of piss and vinegar, and I absolutely love it.
“Ready when you are. We’ll order lunch in today since we’ll probably be here late. Unless you have plans?” She deserves the time off. I think I’ll probably tell Ruthie she doesn’t have to come in every single day the rest of the week. We have a high schooler who likes to help out a few hours, four times a week. It’s extra cash, but I’m sure she’s mainly here for the discount we offer employees.
“I’ve got nothing going on, except a date with a box of wine.” I laugh at that. Not that I can blame her. Hell, I’m twenty-four years old and love a cold beer every now and then.
“If you need a break, please take this week off. I promise I’m not one to take advantage of you. And you better have kept a log with all the hours you worked. Not just the part-time crap you like to pull,” I admonish.
“Who, me?” She points at herself.
“Yes, you.” I walk into the back office, expecting it to look like a crime scene of mail, invoices, and shipping labels. It doesn’t though. There are a few things that are stacked neatly on my desk. Apparently, Ruthie took over everything and didn’t leave me with much to clean up.
“You did way more than you let on, didn’t you?” I ask her as I walk back out of the office and into the main area.
“I did no such thing. Shit came in, and it was easy to do. Plus, Stella was here, and I was able to do the office work while she dealt with the customers. Now, stop busting my chops. Jeesh, you’re as bad as Jasper.” She gives me her knowing eyes. Something tells me her son has told her way more than I’ve let on, but I’m not mad about it. Though, if I don’t tell my mom, she really will be down here, along with Rowen and Peyton. That would be a mess of tacos and margaritas, plus the fun of my sisters. Yeah, I’ll have to see when Berkley and the girls want to come down. Hopefully, that will happen soon.
Ruthie and I start clearing a space for us to work on merchandise, adding tags, scanning the clothing into the system, and then finding new, fashionable ways to put it in the storefront will be the last order of business.