Chapter 93 Part 93
Asher
He stood in the doorway, the image of that towel barely covering the essential parts, still flashing in front of him. He exhaled a long rush of air, and walked to the freezer. He took the pack of steaks out, and placed it in cold water in the sink.
It took him a minute to close the freezer door and get himself under control again. She wasn’t pretty in the sense that you stopped and looked twice, but the more time he spent with her, the more he realized she was beautiful. It was her personality, the way she carried herself, her positivity, and just the way she was. He headed up to his bedroom, fighting the urge to not knock on her door. The storm had soaked his clothes right through, and he knew she wouldn’t have been in the kitchen in only a towel if she knew he was there. She didn’t strike him as someone that played games like that.
When he was finished in the bathroom, and dressed, he headed back down to the kitchen. Emerson was cutting tomatoes at the kitchen table. She didn’t look up when he walked in, and he almost started chuckling.
“Sorry about earlier,” he said, and her head snapped up.
“No! I’m sorry, if I’d known you were back…I was about to get in the shower, but I remembered that I hadn’t taken the steaks out to defrost.”
Asher cleared his throat as that image appeared in his mind again. “It’s fine.”
“I really didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”
“It’s fine, Emma. It’s not like I haven’t seen a naked woman before,” he said.
“Oh, really? You have?” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on him, and he sighed.
“Yeah, so you wouldn’t be the first one to take me for a joyride.”
Her cheeks burned bright, her eyes widened as she looked at Asher. “I never said that! Colt said that!”
“Uh huh.”
“Besides, you’re not my type,” she said. Asher chuckled, but he had turned his back to her.
“And men like Grover Balducci are?” Asher lowered his head, and gripped the counter in front of him. The moment he’d said it, he regretted it.
“You’re an asshole,” she said, softly. He heard the scrape of her chair, and her footsteps as she ran out of the kitchen.
He had no idea why he’d said it. Was it because she made a point of it to tell him that he wasn’t her type? Did he like her that much already? He couldn’t be sure.
He put the steaks in the air fryer, and finished the salad. When the machine beeped, he took the stairs up to her bedroom. He stood in front of her room and knocked.
“Emma, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Her door opened just a little. “It’s fine.” He could see that it wasn’t. She’d been crying.
“Then come downstairs and eat. Dinner’s ready.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said.
“You’re being ridiculous. I said I was sorry, and I meant it. If you think you’re punishing me by not eating–”
“Fine! I’ll eat, okay!”
Asher shook his head, and stormed down the stairs, not caring if she was following him or not. He’d already set the table, but now his appetite had left him.
When he saw that Emerson had followed him into the kitchen, he got the steaks out, and placed the salad in the middle of the table. He sat down without acknowledging her, and piled a heap of salad on his plate.
They ate in uncomfortable silence, Emerson taking small bites. Asher finished his food, put his plate in the sink, and walked out of the kitchen without saying a word to her.
In his bedroom, he paced the floor, the itch to saddle One Star growing. He needed to be outside, inhale the air, and feel the rain on his skin. He felt trapped inside his house, and that looming darkness edged closer. He didn’t know what had triggered it, but he knew if he didn’t leave now, he’d lose his mind.
Emerson looked up from the sink where she was busy washing the dishes as he stalked past her into the mudroom. He pulled his boots on, and walked out of the house.
He could feel her behind him and he glanced over his shoulder. She looked worriedly at him, but he shook his head, and walked around the house. The rain poured down on him, and he relished it.
The darkness soon hid him from sight, and he exhaled a shaky breath. He didn’t want to like her. She was in hiding, only there because he could keep her safe. Why was he acting like an idiot?
In his mind he could see himself taking that shot again. Putting One Star out of his misery. It hadn’t rained that night, but there had also been a storm raging inside him. He’d walked out, needing to be outside on his horse. Asher took deep breaths, trying to squash that memory that didn’t exist. His first fight with Maggie had cost him dearly. That had been the trigger.
He had no idea how long he stood in the rain, but by the time he walked back to the house, the lights downstairs were off, and the kitchen was clean. The light by the stairs was on, and her door closed.
He stood in the hallway, listening, but he was sure she was already asleep. He’d been gone for hours without realizing it. It was dangerous to lose himself like that, dangerous for her. Despite what he thought, and what he felt, he’d never let her get hurt. He was oddly protective of her.
In his bedroom, he chuckled, when he switched the light on. Morbid the sheep sat on his pillow. It was her way of trying to make amends. He had no way of explaining it to her, but seeing that sheep on his pillow brought him a sense of peace and calm.
“Idiot,” he murmured to himself, as he took his drenched clothes off.