Chapter 27 Part 27
Asher
“You better get her out of here,” Eden said, threateningly, and Asher sighed. His sister was right. Lorelei had no business being there.
“Why are you here?”
Lorelei turned her head, smiling sweetly at him. “I brought you a pie.”
“Does Winchester know you’re here?”
“That’s neither here nor there and—”
“Lorelei, you’re engaged, and I moved on. I’m with Maggie now, so you need to respect the new boundaries in place. You can’t just stop by anymore. You made your choice, and so have I. Eden’s right. You need to leave.”
“We both know she’s going to break your heart,” Lorelei said, shoving the pie dish into Asher’s hands. She stormed back to her car and slammed the door shut, spinning her tires as she sped away from Asher’s house. Asher shook his head and gave the pie dish to Eden. She snorted and walked over to the big dustbin near the burr oak tree and smiled as she threw the pie away.
“Nobody on this ranch will put their lips on that pie!”
Asher chuckled, and followed her back into the house. Maggie looked uncomfortable, as he leaned against the wall. “Thanks for calling me.”
Eden turned, looking at Maggie with narrowed eyes. “You called him?”
“I’m in no position to help you hide the body,” Maggie said.
Eden started laughing, and Asher smiled, too. “There is a ravine about eight miles west of here.”
“That ravine is dangerous. Nobody’s hiding any bodies on this ranch,” Asher said.
“Of course not,” Eden said, grinning. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“I do, actually, but it also seems keeping you out of jail might become a full-time job,” Asher said. He avoided the slap Eden was planning, and headed back out to his truck.
Back at the cattle pen, Asher walked toward his father, where he leaned against the fence post with Colt and Dylan. Blair was with Doc, checking the calves. It was also their last dip before winter set in, even if it was a few weeks off.
“Everything okay?” his father asked him.
“Lorelei was at the house,” Asher said, sighing.
“When you were here, she didn’t want you, now that you’ve got Maggie, she wants you back,” Colt stated.
“Well, I don’t know how to say it more clearly. Everybody in town knows I’m with Maggie. They see me around town with Melody often enough, so it’s not like I’m lying about it. I don’t know what’s gotten into Lorelei; I’ve told her enough times that I’ve moved on.”
“While we’re on the subject of Maggie, Colt and I thought about giving her the truck Colt used to drive last year,” Dylan said.
“She is working for us now, and it only makes sense for her to have a ranch truck,” Dylan added.
“That will take a load off her mind,” Asher said. Dylan and Colt slapped him on the back, and walked back to the barn, leaving Asher alone with their father.
Thomas grinned, and shook his head. “You remember, about a year ago, when you told me you were going to ask Lorelei to marry you?”
Asher turned his head to look at his father. “Yeah.”
“Do you remember what I told you?”
Asher almost gritted his teeth, knowing what his father was getting at. “You told me, that even though I might think she was a sweet girl, she wasn’t the right girl for me, and that I’d be unhappy the second week after our wedding.”
“I also told you that she would never wear your momma’s ring,” Thomas said.
“Yeah, I remember, Pops.”
“Now, I wasn’t saying that to be mean. I’m your father, and I love you. I will always want what’s best for you, and the day I saw that engagement announcement in the paper was one of the happiest days of my life.”
“What’s your point, Pops?”
“Maggie makes you happy. She fits in with the family. Little Melody’s the perfect little granddaughter. When you’re ready to ask her, I’ll give you your momma’s ring,” Thomas said.
“I appreciate that, Pops, but I’m nowhere near ready for that yet.”
“You know, Asher, I met your momma at a rodeo. I had just won my first championship belt for bull riding, and the moment I saw her, I knew I was gonna marry that woman. We were married nine weeks later, and I’ve never loved another woman in my life.”
“So you’re saying I have four weeks left to be just like you?”
“Wiseass,” Thomas said, and left him by the railing.
Asher climbed over the fence, and walked toward Blair, taking over from Rick, and holding the calf down. Doc injected a dose of vaccine into the calf’s neck and it squirmed to get loose. He let go of the calf, and when he got to his feet, he kicked out with his hind legs, and ran.
“Did Colt tell you about the ranch truck for Maggie?”
“He did. It’s a nice gesture. I’m sure she’ll be happy,” Asher said.
“It’ll hold her over until you buy her another car,” Blair said, with a grin. “We both know you’re going to. I’m sure you’ve already looked at options.”
Asher shook his head, briefly closing his eyes. “Am I rushing into this?”
“Only you can answer that question, Asher. I can see you like her and that baby of hers, but you gotta ask yourself if you’re really ready to raise another man’s child,” Blair said.
“I don’t really think of Melody in terms of belonging to someone else,” Asher said.
“I know you don’t, but what happens when her daddy comes looking for her?”
Asher closed his eyes again. He’d thought about exactly that happening. If, and when, he and Maggie got married, Melody would never be a Fitzgerald. What if her father came to town and wanted to take Melody away?
“I guess I’ll have to have an uncomfortable talk with Maggie soon. She never brings up the subject, and I didn’t want to overstep,” Asher said.
“Love doesn’t fit in some neat package, Asher. It’s something you have to navigate with your partner, and make it fit for both of you. If Maggie’s the one, then things will work out like they should.”