Chapter 16 Part 16
Asher
“Do you want me to bring some dinner down for you guys?” Eden asked, as she stared at their joined hands.
The crunch of gravel had their heads turning toward the front door, and Asher grinned. “I believe that’s the first of the church brigade. I ran into Pastor Mitchells this morning.”
“Oh?”
“What does that mean?” Maggie frowned, as she asked.
“It means that half the town already knows you were in an accident, and staying here, so they will bring food,” Eden said.
A car door slammed, and Asher stood up. He opened the screened porch door and took the cardboard box from Lauretta Hastings. He could smell the fresh pastries inside, and he fought the smile. “Thank you, Mrs. Hastings.”
“Not a problem, my dear, Asher. When I heard about poor Maggie’s accident, I knew I couldn’t rest before I brought you all something.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Asher said. “Eden and Maggie are in the living room. You can go right on through, and I’ll be back with some sweet tea.”
He winked at Maggie, and her cheeks heated slightly. Melody was moving all over the place as she attempted to follow him to the kitchen. He placed the pastries in the fridge, and rearranged a few other things, knowing full well that by dinnertime, the fridge would be filled to capacity.
He loaded a pitcher of sweet tea with four glasses on the tray, and grabbed Melody’s sippy cup from the drying rack. Back in the living room, he poured sweet tea for everyone as Lauretta Hastings spoke to Maggie about her recovery, and told her how she couldn’t be in better hands.
“Well, I need to get myself home before Wilbur sends the Sheriff out looking for me,” Lauretta said.
“I’ll walk you out,” Asher said.
“Take care, Maggie. I’ll pop in again in a few days to see how you are.” Lauretta waved, and hurried to her car, smiling as Asher opened her door for her.
Eden and Maggie were both laughing when he returned to the living room. “What’s so funny?”
“I was just asking Eden if this was normal behavior,” Maggie said.
“It is here. We look after our own, and after today, people will see you as one of Two Bear Meadow’s residents,” Asher said.
Eden narrowed her eyes, looking at Asher. “What did you do?”
“Nothing much.”
Eden shook her head. “Uh-huh. Anyway, I’m going back to the safety of the main house before the rest of the brigade arrives. I can only drink so much sweet tea.”
By 7 p.m., the fridge was stocked with cold chicken, lasagna, two casserole dishes, a chocolate cake, muffins, fresh-baked bread, a fruit basket, a hamper from the butcher, and an assortment of soft-cooked foods for Melody. Someone was also kind enough to bring a doll for Melody.
That night, they ate the lasagna, and a pastry each. Melody had icing in her hair, and Maggie laughed when Asher realized he’d have to give her a bath by himself. He took Melody up first, bathing her as the instructional video suggested, and put her to bed.
“See, it wasn’t that bad,” Maggie said, as he picked her up, and started walking up the stairs.
“Not that bad? I had to change my T-shirt. The video didn’t mention splashing,” Asher said.
“You watched a video on how to bathe a baby?” Maggie laughed loudly, and Asher couldn’t help but smile as well.
“I’ve never bathed a baby before. I wanted to do it right,” he grumbled, causing Maggie to laugh even more.
“You are the sweetest man I’ve ever met, Asher. Thank you,” Maggie said, when he’d put her down on the bed.
“I haven’t done anything anyone else wouldn’t have done,” he said, turning his back on her. “Sleep well, Maggie. Call out if you need anything; I’ll wake up.”
Asher checked on Melody, and adjusted the overhead fan to a lower speed. She sighed in her sleep, and Asher smiled. When he stood under the spray of the shower, he realized he was already attached to them. One day, and he was already thinking about which bed would be better for Melody when she outgrew the crib.
He washed his hair, closing his eyes so he didn't get soap in them. It had been strange walking into Lorelei’s office. He didn’t feel regret at losing her, and he had to wonder why. Was it that he had become too used to her and their relationship? It’s not like they’d spent that much time together. Since meeting Maggie on Friday, he’d spent more time with her than he had spent with Lorelei in a month of leave.
‘You were used to her, you didn’t love her,’ he told himself, as he toweled himself dry, and pulled a pair of cotton pajama pants on. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, his finger going to the two bullet holes above his hip. He had other scars from the Army, but those two bullet holes would haunt him to his dying day.
He listened to the sounds of his house, the timer on the air conditioner adjusting the temperature. His breathing was even as he bent his arm under his head, kicking the covers off his legs. His chest felt restricted, like a weight was resting on it.
Sleep was eluding him, and he worried that Maggie would still want to leave when the cast was removed from her ankle. His brothers and his father had checked in on her during the day as well, each taking turns to make an appearance. They all liked her, and they were completely mesmerized by Melody, as he was.
‘Where’s Melody’s father?’ he wondered, knowing it would keep bothering him until he asked Maggie about it. She never spoke of him. He hated that he didn’t know more about her. He didn’t even know the basics, like her birthday, favorite food, or favorite color, what music she liked, or if she even had any allergies, yet he was worrying about keeping her here. For all he cared, she never had to go back to the Lansing house. They could just keep on staying with him. That thought put a smile on his face as he finally fell asleep.