Chapter 130 Part 130
Asher
He slammed the screened door shut, and sighed as he stood in the foyer. She was living in the Lansing house. Up close, she was still just as beautiful as he remembered, her smile still as magical.
He should have asked her why she was there, why she’d chosen his town to move to. He wasn’t sure he could see her every other day in town with another man and not react.
He didn’t have anything else to do, and Blair had chased him out of the barn, the ranch hands too afraid to make eye contact. It was already dark, and the boys were at summer camp. He was all alone, and there was nothing to occupy his mind.
He shook his head, and turned at the sound of the car stopping in front of his house. It was probably Blair coming to give him a piece of his mind. He’d snapped at everyone since leaving Emerson at the house.
The car door closed, and he knew it wasn’t Blair. He would have slammed the door in annoyance. He opened his front door and just looked at her. The sun was low now, but she stood next to her car, her arms wrapped around herself, just watching him.
“Can we talk, please?”
Asher nodded his head, and she started walking toward him. “I just need to freshen up.”
“Take your time,” Emerson said, and walked past him into the house.
She headed straight for the kitchen, and he rushed upstairs to shower and change. By the time he reached his bedroom, his shirt was off, and his jeans already unbuttoned.
Ten minutes later, he stood in the doorway of the kitchen and watched Emerson as she turned away from the counter with a cup in her hands, and smiled when she saw him.
“I made you some coffee,” she said.
“Thanks.” He sat down at the kitchen table and picked the cup up. The first sip almost made him smile. Her coffee always tasted different and he’d missed it.
“Was it you? At the bookstore?”
Asher swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Yeah, I was there.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to talk to you, but…you looked happy, Emerson. I saw your smile, and he kissed your cheek, and you looked happy.”
Emerson huffed out a laugh, and looked down for a few seconds. “Steve is my publicist. He’s like a father figure in my life. What you saw was an innocent peck on the cheek congratulating me on a successful signing day.”
“Oh.”
“There is something I do need to discuss with you—”
“Why my town, Emerson? Why are you here? Why are you renting my house, and living in my town?”
“As you’ve noticed, I’m pregnant,” she said.
“Kind of hard to miss.”
She smiled and chuckled. “Asher, the baby is yours.”
“Mine?”
“That’s why I moved here. I came back to tell you that I’m pregnant, and that you have a right to know about him, and he deserves to know his father.”
“It’s a boy?”
“It’s a boy. I thought…I mean, you do want to be in his life, right?”
“Of course, I do,” he said, and got to his feet.
He knelt in front of her, and placed both hands on her stomach. He closed his eyes, and Emerson could see the tears falling down his cheeks. He kissed her stomach lightly, and laughed when the baby kicked.
“Thank you, Emerson.”
“So, will you tell me now why you were in Minneapolis?”
Asher got back to his feet and dragged one hand through his hair. He needed a haircut. He shook his head, and pulled the chair next to Emerson out and sat down.
“I tried to call you, but the number Mark gave me didn’t work, and I didn’t know how else to find you. I wanted to talk to you, clear the air, but you looked so happy that I didn’t want to be a reminder of everything bad that had happened.”
He could see the various emotions in her eyes. “I came back, Asher, because for me, nothing has changed. I still love you.”
He stood up and turned his back to her. He took a deep breath, and shook his head. “I’ll be here to help you as much as I possibly can, but I can’t offer you anything else.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wiped them away. “Asher.”
He took her hand in his, and sighed. “I’m sorry I hurt you, if I could go back and not hurt you, I would do that.”
Emerson pulled her hand away, and got to her feet. “I wanted to tell you about the baby, and now I have. I need to go home.”
Asher watched as she grabbed her purse, and hurried out of the kitchen. He followed her out of the house, and stood on the porch as she got back into her car.
He gripped the railing tightly, as she lowered her head to her arms on the steering wheel, and cried. He didn’t know what to do and as he kept watching her, she wiped her eyes, and drove away from him.
He stood on that porch, staring at the space where her car had been. By the time he snapped out of it, his arm muscles hurt from clutching the railing so tightly.
He didn’t know how to feel about her confession. It wasn’t that he didn’t still love her, he did, but he knew that a life with him would only ruin hers, and he loved her enough to set her free.
He’d be there for her, no matter how much it hurt him. She needed to know that she wasn’t alone. He knew it would hurt when she did move on, especially with her now living so close to him, but he loved her enough to want her to be happy.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and started typing a message to Preston.
Asher: Send me the new tenant’s number.
A few minutes later, Preston’s text came through, and Asher saved Emerson’s number on his phone. He’d give her some time. She was tired and emotional. He’d give her a little space, but he wasn’t going to give up on himself. Not again.