Chapter 104 Part 104
Asher
He leaned against the bar, and surveyed the crowd. Lorelei had given him a look filled with disgust, but other than that, she ignored him. She was on the arm of some man who looked so uncomfortable, Asher thought it was probably the first time in his life he’d put on a pair of jeans. He grinned at the thought, and stood upright when Bear Claw walked toward him.
“Hey, Asher,” he said, with a smile, and the two shook hands.
“You grow a few inches every time I see you,” Asher said.
“I went on my vision quest a month ago.” He looked earnestly at Asher. He didn’t like the look in the boy’s eyes. “I have a message for you.”
“A message?” Goosebumps had broken out over his skin and he resisted the urge to shudder.
“From your other life,” Bear Claw said.
Asher grabbed his arm and stalked off toward the orchard. People were giving them strange looks, but Asher just kept walking. Bear Claw didn’t resist, and Asher felt strangely out of place.
“What the hell do you know about my other life?” Anger pulsed through him, and he clenched his fists.
Bear Claw seemed unaffected. “The spirits told me that your other life happened so you could heal. You have to let go of the hurt that’s keeping you in the darkness. Don’t kill the wolf, Asher.”
“How do you know about the wolf?”
“The wolf howls in the plains, caught between this life, and the next. The wolf is a part of you, your spirit animal, your protector. The wolf will guide you like he did with the boy. Don’t kill him like you did in your other life.”
“I didn’t kill him, I ended his pain,” Asher said.
“This time, you must save him,” Bear Claw said.
Asher shook his head, Bear Claw’s words running on a loop. It was impossible for him to know about the wolf. He’d never told a soul. It never really happened. So, how did he know?
“I’m just the messenger, Asher. They will need you. Before the snow melts, and the cattle goes up into the high fields, they will need you.”
“Who?”
“The Crowley boys.”
This time, Asher couldn’t resist it. His whole body shuddered. The Crowley boys. Joel and Oscar. Bear Claw kept looking at him and then he smiled. “I know it never happened, Asher, but thank you for finding me in that cave.”
He turned on his heel and walked away from Asher, leaving him near the orange trees, confused, angry, and a little afraid. It took a while for his heart to beat normally again, and he waited several more before he returned to the party.
Emerson was standing with her back toward him, and she faced Lorelei, Amy, and Jennifer. Eden stood next to Emerson, and Asher hurried toward them.
“You’re just some white-trash city girl–”
Emerson pulled her arm back, and her fist made a thwack sound as it connected with Lorelei’s eye. Her head snapped back, and she cried out. The punch had been hard, meant to cause pain, and she moved forward to slap Lorelei again.
Asher grabbed her, and turned them around just as Lorelei retaliated. She hit his back with her fists, and screamed in frustration. The music died down, and all attention turned to them.
“Stop, Lorelei,” Asher said, calmly.
“She started it!”
“No, she didn’t,” Eden said. “You started insulting her. What has she ever done to you? You’re jealous and pathetic because my brother chose someone better than you.”
“Ten years, Asher! I gave you ten years!”
“You took ten years from Asher,” Blair said, as he intervened. “Don’t twist the facts now, Lorelei. I know of at least three guys you cheated with while Asher was deployed. I never told him because I didn’t want to hurt him, but then he broke it off with you, so there was no reason to tell him.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Her eyes were now filled with hate as she looked at Blair.
“You got it on with Logan in the back parking lot at the bar. Do I need to continue?”
Asher ignored the conversation between Lorelei and his brother, and turned Emerson around, and cupped her face. “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I?”
She chuckled. “Clearly not. I’m sorry I made a scene.”
“She hit you?”
“No, she didn’t touch me,” Emerson said.
Asher smiled, and pulled her closer to him. “That’s good.”
Winchester cleared his throat, and Asher chuckled. “I was going to introduce you to Claire, but I see the entertainment of the night is almost over.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Claire. Asher Fitzgerald, and this is Emma, my girlfriend,” Asher said, and lightly shook her hand.
“Claire de Haviland,” she said. “Can you get rid of her please? This is not how I pictured my engagement party.” She turned on her heel and walked away from them.
Winchester shook his head, and sighed. “Good times.”
“Tell your momma to shove it,” Asher said, and Winchester grinned.
“Getting right on that, Asher, but first, I have to now go ask Lorelei nicely to leave, and you know how that one’s going to go.”
“I’ll do it,” Emerson offered and both men laughed.
“The ambulance takes about 25 minutes to get here, and I’ll never hear the end of it if there are any blood splatters on my momma’s marquees.”
It took Winchester 20 minutes to get Lorelei and her friends to leave. Asher watched them arguing from the bar while he held an ice pack to Emerson’s hand. His mother had called them common folk, and he’d chuckled. He’d briefly seen Finn and Ashley, but now, they seemed to have disappeared.
Colt was sitting at a table, surrounded by women, and he had the biggest grin on his face when he lifted his glass, and nodded his head at Asher. Blair sat down next to him, and sighed.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said.
“It’s fine, Blair. It really doesn’t bother me who she gets it on with.” Asher clasped his hand on Blair’s shoulder and squeezed.