Chapter 32 Part 32
Maggie
She spent Saturday cleaning her house. The weeks she’d spent at Asher’s house had resulted in a lot of dust accumulating at hers. Thomas had ensured her that she still had a job, and the use of the truck, no matter what happened between her and Asher.
It gave her some comfort knowing how much they cared. When her phone vibrated on the counter, she wiped her soapy hands on the dishcloth. It was Eden.
“Hi,” Maggie answered.
“Are you okay?”
“Not really, but I will be fine.”
Eden sighed. “You’re not going to tell me what happened, but I’ll tell you what happened. Asher was attacked by a pack of coyotes up in the woods. He nearly didn’t make it back, but Blair found him, wet and halfway frozen to death.”
“What?” It felt like her heart had stopped beating. “Is he okay?”
“He’s Asher; he’ll be fine, just like you, apparently.”
“I’m sorry, Eden, it’s just difficult to talk about. I should’ve told Asher, but I didn’t, and now that he knows, everything’s a mess,” Maggie said. She could feel the threat of tears, so she blinked her eyes rapidly.
“I don’t care if you and Asher broke up. You’re still my friend, and you’re still working for Colt and Dylan. We’re still going to invite you over for dinner, and Daddy’s still going to want to spend time with Melody. So don’t for one moment think just because Asher’s upset with you, that we all are. What happened is between the two of you, but don’t write us off, like you wrote Asher off.”
Maggie smiled despite the looming tears. “I’d never write you off.”
“Things will blow over. Asher never stays mad for long,” Eden said. Maggie kept quiet, because she didn’t agree. Asher would hate her forever. She couldn’t even blame him. He’d told her how he felt about lies, and even if she hadn’t outright lied to his face, by keeping the truth from him, she had lied.
“I’ll see you on Monday, Eden. I’m cleaning many weeks’ worth of dust here. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“Okay, call me if you need anything. I can have any number of Fitzgerald men there in a jiffy,” Eden said.
“Thank you. I appreciate you.”
They ended the call, and Maggie sighed. Asher never went to the offices where she and Eden worked. He ventured into town sometimes, but she doubted that she’d run into him. That only left church. If she went to church tomorrow, people would know something was wrong. Asher wouldn’t escort her inside to sit with his family. She shook her head. There was no way she was going to church tomorrow.
After her phone call with Eden, she got herself and Melody ready to head into town. She would need to buy groceries, and thanks to Asher’s generosity, she had quite an amount saved up in her account. He never let her pay for anything, and now she felt guilty about that.
She spent two hours in town, buying groceries and cleaning materials. She bought a few appliances for her home, and extra blankets. She had made sure to pay her rent, and the utilities, and once again, thanks to Asher, her heating worked perfectly.
Maggie pulled into her driveway with trepidation. Asher’s truck stood on the street, and she wondered how explosive his temper would be. If she could turn the car around and flee, she would. She had no idea how she was going to face him.
She unclipped Melody from the car seat, and picked her up, leaving the trunk open. Her front door opened as she stepped onto the porch. She frowned slightly. She’d locked the front door; she was sure of it.
Melody stuck her arms out and babbled something that sounded like ‘Dada.’ Out of habit, Asher took her, and Maggie turned on her heel. Her trunk and the back seat were filled with her purchases. She grabbed a few bags, and almost walked right into Asher as he stood behind her.
“Go inside; it’s cold. I’ll get these,” he said.
“I’ll be fine. I can carry my own groceries,” Maggie said. Her voice sounded harsh to herself, and she looked down quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“Go inside.”
Maggie nodded her head, and carried the two bags inside. Melody clapped her hands, and Maggie smiled at her. She carried the groceries to the kitchen, and started unpacking them. Asher made four trips before everything was finally inside.
“Can I get you some coffee?” Maggie asked him, when he put the last things down in the kitchen.
“I just brought over Melody’s things. You left a lot of her things behind,” he said. It sounded like an accusation.
“You bought those things. I didn’t want to assume that I could take them,” she said.
Asher shook his head, and sighed. “Don’t be childish, Maggie. They’re Melody’s things.”
“How did you get inside? I locked the front door.”
Asher shuffled on his feet. “I can get into most places. I thought you packed up, and left when I didn’t see your car.”
“Look, I get you’re mad at me, and I know I should’ve told you about my past—”
“You were never going to tell me,” Asher said.
“Do you blame me? It’s not something I want to advertise. So yeah, I didn’t want you to ever know about that.”
“But now I do know, and I’m not sure how to feel about it.”
“I’m sorry, it was never my intention to hurt you.” Maggie lowered her head, and then Asher wrapped his arms around her.
“The man that called, is he Melody’s father?”
Maggie took a step away from Asher. “Who called?”
“He didn’t give his name, but he said that you stole money from him, and that he wants it back,” Asher said.
Maggie’s face paled a little, and she exhaled the breath she’d been holding. “No, he’s not her father.”
Asher nodded his head. “Maggie, I am mad. I’m so upset with you, that I can’t think straight. I don’t know how to deal with this, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll be mad forever. It doesn’t mean that I won’t be here if you need anything, or if Melody needs anything.”
“You’ve done too much for us already, Asher. I won’t be a burden anymore,” she said, knowing how stupid she sounded.