Chapter 67 Part 67
Maggie
Asher’s side of the bed was cold and empty when she woke up, and her heart sank. Last night, he’d stopped talking, said it was too much, and there were more horrible things he wasn’t going to talk about. How much worse could things have been for them? She’d wanted to ask him if Mark had been there with him. Could that have been the reason he had shot himself? She shuddered with that thought.
She knew he wasn’t in the house the moment she started downstairs. Despite the heat being on, she shivered as she walked to the living room. She frowned, stepping closer to the window when she saw a moving figure.
She could make out the way Asher walked. Next to him was Dakota, as they made their way across the open field. She waited until he was close enough, then opened the front door as he stepped onto the porch.
“What’s going on?”
“Damn poacher on our lands,” Asher said angrily, as he stomped his boots on the porch. Dakota shook his fur and walked into the house, up the stairs, and straight to his bed in Melody’s room.
“A poacher?”
“I woke up from a nightmare, came downstairs, and found Dakota growling at the window. Looked through the scope of my rifle, and I saw movement, so I fired off a round.”
Maggie’s eyes widened. “You shot the poacher?”
“I shot at the tree next to him. I found the dragging marks and some blood. He probably killed a deer.”
“Maybe they were hungry.” Maggie looked hopefully at Asher.
“Poaching is illegal, and he can be lucky that I didn’t shoot him in the leg,” Asher said.
Maggie smiled, tightening the robe around herself as another door opened. “I’ll get coffee started while you put that thing away, where curious hands can’t get to it.”
“Morning,” Joel said. He was already dressed, looking ready for the day.
“Morning,” Asher said, as he put the rifle away.
“Did something happen?”
“There was a poacher on the ranch,” Asher said.
“Does that happen a lot?” Joel seemed interested in everything happening on the ranch.
“Not really, but next time I’m shooting him in the leg. He can explain his poaching to the sheriff after I’ve taken him to the hospital,” Asher said.
Joel laughed as Oscar joined them. He walked up to Asher and shook his hand. Joel shook his head but smiled at his brother.
“Let’s go help with breakfast,” Asher said.
“So, what are we doing this morning that counts as ranch work?” Joel asked.
“I always muck out Comet’s stall. He doesn’t let anybody else in with him. So far, I’m the only one he allows to saddle him. I’ve got four horses in my stable. We clean their stalls, feed, and water them, brush them down, and give them a treat every other day. We shovel the corral, then we exercise the horses in the afternoon, when it’s a little warmer. Takes about an hour to exercise them.”
Maggie had bacon frying on the stove, and Asher put bread into the toaster. She smiled when she saw Joel and Oscar setting the table. When Dakota gave a bark from the top of the stairs, Maggie chuckled.
“Melody’s awake.”
“I’ll get her,” Asher said, kissing the top of her head.
“So, how did you and Asher meet?” Joel asked her.
Maggie smiled, looking at him over her shoulder. “I hit him with a broom, then he mowed my lawn, and fixed the porch railings. All his brothers showed up to help, and they invited me to dinner on the ranch. That was kind of it. Asher has this presence, almost like a force; he just didn’t let go, and I haven’t regretted a single moment of it.”
Joel and Oscar laughed. “You hit him with a broom, and he still fixed things at your house?”
“He’s a real gentleman,” Maggie said.
By the time Asher returned ten minutes later, with Melody in his arms and Dakota trotting behind them, the boys had asked her a dozen questions about Asher and the ranch.
She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but she looked around the kitchen table, and a sense of family overcame her. These boys were now part of their family, and she felt content.
“You said last night you’re taking the boys shopping?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah, get some things done. You need anything?”
“Not particularly, but there’s a list on the fridge of things we need from the grocery store,” she said.
“Oscar, grab the list,” Asher said, as he carried their dishes to the sink. “We might only be back after lunch. I’m driving them to the city.”
“Have fun and drive safely. I heard Colt say yesterday that another storm might be brewing.”
“Come on, boys, chores wait for no man,” Asher said. Asher kissed Melody’s cheeks, and gave Maggie a kiss that might have made her blush if the boys were still in the kitchen, and then he was gone.
Maggie sighed as she started on the dishes, while Melody ate her scrambled eggs with her hands. Dakota waited patiently for little morsels to fall to the floor, licking them up instantly.
She was still amazed at how Asher did it all. He managed to take in stray people, make them part of his family, deal with his PTSD, and the trauma he suffered, and still smile every day.
“I don’t think those boys are leaving this house until they go off to college,” Maggie said to Melody.
“Boys,” Melody said, and Maggie laughed.
“You’re such a cutie pie.”
Maggie finished cleaning the kitchen and dropped Melody off with Thomas before heading to the main barn to her office. She knew she shouldn’t snoop, but today she was checking just how much Asher received every quarter from Colt and Dylan’s business.
Their business was doing really well, and she found a file at the back of the cabinet that outlined Asher’s involvement. He owned four breeding horses, and that brought in a lot of money. Colt and Dylan trained horses for breeders, and also ran a stable where other people’s horses stayed. It was quite an operation, and it seemed that Asher had funded the start-up a few years ago.
“You are full of secrets, Asher Fitzgerald,” she murmured, as she hurriedly put everything away.